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Sermon & Worship Packages: Time to Remember
Isaac Butterworth
Can you recall a time when you were close to God? So close, I mean, you could swear you heard the rustle of angels’ wings? Maybe there was an expansive feeling within, perhaps a tear at the corner of your eye?
I recall such a time. Believe it or not, I was in church. I was a student at Austin Seminary, and I was worshiping at a church just off the campus of UT, right there on Guadalupe, or “the Drag,” if you know Austin. We were singing. The hymn was Isaac Watts’ “O God, Our Help in Ages Past.” The organ swelled. The voices of the people swelled with it. The moment was intense. And I sensed that I was in the presence of God. I almost couldn’t sing. I couldn’t contain the joy. I wept. I wanted the moment to last forever. It didn’t.
Within thirty minutes, I was back into my routine. Out in the heavy foot traffic of hurried figures, racing along the Drag to some appointment they were, no doubt, already late for. Cars buzzing by, honking obtrusively, trucks rattling along in careless disregard for my fast-fading ecstasy. No one I saw the rest of the day had felt what I felt. I had almost touched “the hem of the garment,” if you know what I mean. I had felt God close, and now he seemed galaxies away.
AN EXTREME CASE Here is an extreme case of a human being so convicted of doing right that he helped criminals.
The father of the famous German philosopher, Emanuel Kant, was and old man and was traveling on a perilous journey through the forests of Poland. On his way the encountered a band of robbers who demanded his valuables, finally asking, ˇ°Have you given all? They only let him go when he replied, ˇ°All.ˇ± When safely out of sight his hand touched something hard in the hem of his robe. It was his gold, sew there for safety. He had forgotten it in his fear and confusion. He hurried back and confessed to the robbers that he had not told them the truth. They did not take his gold, but gave it back to him along with his purse, his prayer book and then helped him on his mount. They asked his blessing as he rode away.
When I was a young Marine Sergeant, stationed in Yuma Arizona, I worked for a Warrant Officer named, Chris Cox. Now, Warrant officer Cox stood about 6ft 4 inches and weighed just shy of three hundred pounds of solid muscle.
At the time I had just started back to college and I was in my first year of undergraduate course work. I was taking an introductory business class as part of my general education requirements… One day I was telling Warrant Officer Cox about what I had been learning in my college classes…
I was telling him about the communication cycles I had been learning about. I was telling him about what causes communication to break down in the workplace and different strategies to counteract the breakdown of communication and how to foster a positive atmosphere of communication.
I told him that I wanted to hold some training on communication for the troops the next training day that we had scheduled. He pretended as though he was interested and said that would be a good idea… and after a while of my excited ramblings he said, “I took a class like once… have you ever heard about the brick method?”
I very seriously said that I had not and then asked, “What is the brick method?” To which he replied… “It’s simple, when somebody doesn’t listen to what I tell hem… I hit them upside the head with a brick!”
Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.” (ESV) The Bible gives us many alternatives to the brick method.
IF THEY COULD WRITE
What glorious news they’s have to tell
If only they could write today
Those who have gone afar to dwell
Where all the glorious spirits stay
In fancy then I set it down
What they would pen for me
"I’ve touched the hem of Jesus’ gown
The way they did in Galilee
And thinking thus, I am cont...
Raymond Johnson
Prudentius (c. 348-after 405)
His power and miracles proclaim him God.
I see the wild winds suddenly grow calm
When Christ commands; I see the storm-tossed sea
Grow smooth, with tranquil surface bright
At Christ’s behest; I see the waves grow firm
As the raging flood sustains his treading feet
He walks dry shod upon the flowering tide
And bears upon the flood with footsteps sure.
He chides the winds and bids the tempest cease.
Who would command the stormy gales: “Be still,
Your strongholds keep and leave the boundless sea,”
Except the Lord and maker of the winds? …
Who on the sea could walk, who with firm step
Upon the flood could without sinking tread
That path with soles upborne and feet unwet,
Except the author of the deep, the Spirit,
Poured from the Father’s lips, that moved across
The waves, not yet hemmed in by solid shores?
A Hymn on the Trinity, Lines 649-79
How do you do that? I have a perfect illustration from my favorite book next to the Bible THE JOURNEY HOME by Orthodox Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein. I’ve shared excerpts from his book with you in the past. Although it is classified as fiction, it is based on authentic events and a genuine friendship Rabbi Eckstein enjoyed with evangelical, charismatic pastor Jamie Buckingham. Pastor Buckingham went to be with Jesus in 1992 after a courageous fight with cancer. Rabbi Buckingham wrote his book as a tribute to Pastor Buckingham and their friendship. The fictional character Jamie is a caricature and personification of Pastor Buckingham. A journalist who is going to write a series of articles on Israel, this Jamie is touring Israel with Rabbi Eckstein. The two of them come to strengthen each other’s faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Jamie admits in the beginning of the novel that He really is not a real Christian. He honestly confesses, “‘Christianity isn’t something we’re born into like you Jews are born into Judaism.’ He sighed. ‘It’s something we accept. And I never really accepted Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior’ [THE JOURNEY HOME, 5].”
The Holy Spirit begins moving in Jamie’s heart as he and the Rabbi travel through the Holy City. When they visited the Kotel, the Western Wall, or the Wailing Wall, Jamie was deeply touched.
Rabbi Eckstein continues the story: “I notice, out of the corner of my eye, that Jamie was writing a note and placing it in the cracks of the Wall. He, a Christian, was moved as I was by touching the hem of God’s holy earthly garments.
“‘What did you pray for?’ I asked reverently.”
“‘I asked that God would restore my faith in Him.’ Jamie looked abashed, humbled” [THE JOURNEY HOME, 8].
On the Via Dolorosa a few days later, Jamie was truly born again. Rabbi Eckstein finishes the testimony:
“‘Don’t you see?’ he said, suddenly sobbing. ‘He died for me, sinner that I am.’ With that, Jamie broke down and cried uncontrollably, ‘O Jesus, sweet Jesus. I’m sorry for my sins. O Jesus, thank you for saving me. O Jesus. . .’
“I stood in awe and silence as I watched his born again transformation and what God was doing to his heart. Jamie could not speak. He just sat down on the ground, clasped his head in his hands, and wept.
“‘Oh Jesus,” he finally said between sobs, ‘I accept you as my personal Lord and Savior. I receive you as my Lord, my Christ, my Friend.
“‘Fill me, Father, with your Holy Spirit, that I may serve You faithfully all the days of my life. You are my Lord, and in the Name of Jesus, I pray. Amen. Thank You, Father, thank You, Father, thank You. . .’
“Jamie looked at me tearfully, almost oblivious to my presence yet eager to hear my reaction. Frankly, I didn’t know what to say. I had never witnessed anything quite like that before, except on those television evangelist shows . . . . A beautiful peace seemed to come over Jamie, as if the burden of life’s struggles was lifted from him. I envied him that peace” [SOURCE: Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, The Journey Home (Chicago: Shavit House, 2001), 194-5.]
Former President Ronald Reagan learned the need for decision-making early in his life. A kindly aunt had taken him to a cobbler to have a pair of shoes custom-made for him. The
shoemaker asked, "Do you want a round toe or a square toe?" Young Ronald hemmed and hawed, so the cobbler said, "Come back in a day or two and tell me what you want."
A few days later the cobbler saw young Reagan on the street and asked what he had decided about the shoes. "I haven’t made up my mind," Reagan answered. "Very well," said the cobbler. "Your shoes will be ready tomorrow." When Reagan got the shoes, one had a round toe and the other a square one.
Said Reagan, "Looking at those shoes every day taught me a lesson. If you don’t make your own decisions, somebody else makes them for you."
In "The Hem of His Garment" a sermon by W.A.Criswell (preached on 12/9/90) Dr.Criswell told this story, "Sir John Simpson, knighted by Queen Victoria in this last century, was a glorious Christian architect. He built those marvelous hospitals in London and in other cities of England- a great Christian, building those hospitals. When he was dying a great friend came to see him, and said to him, "Sir John, when you see Jesus, you will be privileged to lay your head upon H...
A "CONQUERING" FAITH
The following story comes from Hank Hanegraaff's book, "The Last Disciple" (which refers to the Apostle John, the last one of the 12 to die). It is set within the historical context of first century Rome's persecution of the church. Leah is the sister of a young Christian named Nathan whom Caesar has sentenced to death by the wild beasts in the amphitheater.
A cacophony of sounds assailed Leah in the darkness beneath the amphitheater, sounds of quiet desperation. Groaning. Fear. Beyond those sounds coming from the prison cells on each side of the tunnel, she heard the occasional distant roar of animals trained to do the executing later.
She wanted to be brave. Needed to be brave. For Nathan.
She lifted the hem of her dress, blocked out her fear, and moved deeper into the darkness. As she left the shafts of light behind, the air seemed to close in on her, and her throat tightened as smells of suffering added to the sensation of smothering-body wastes accumulated at each cell, vomit, and the cloying, nauseating sweetness of alcohol from those fortunate few with enough money to bribe the guards and acquire the numbing forgetfulness from wine.
In this terrible labyrinth of doom and death, as darkness fell on Rome Leah began to search for her brother.
When she finally found Nathan, Leah expected to see the same despair that she'd seen in the other cells crowded with prisoners as she had peered inside, straining her eyes in the dimness to find her brother.
The prisoners gathered in her brother's cell, however, were not catatonic or drunk or wailing like those condemned to the arena for murder or robbery or arson. Instead, they were quietly singing hymns as they held hands. They were men and women and children, a dozen of them, making a joyous sound that seemed to brighten the cell as surely as if each had been holding a candle.
...
Nathan {speaking to Leah} closed his eyes briefly, "I wish so badly that you would understand. It is not turning away from the faith of our fathers. Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets and the promises of God." He opened his eyes. "I'm sorry. You've heard me say that many times. I will continue to pray that you ... find this faith."
Leah did not understand. Here was Nathan. In a horrible cell. Facing a horrible death. And he prayed for others to share his faith? ...
{Nathan speaking} "It is faith in the resurrected Christ that gives us hope through all tribulations."
She gestured at the prison cell. Helpless. Hopeless. "Even through this?"
He was emphatic and looked her directly in the eye. "We willingly face brandished steel, the lion's gore, the tunica molesta because we follow the Christ and we are utterly convinced that we, like our Master, will one day rise from the grave in resurrected, glorified bodies."
Leah bowed her head. Rubbed her face. What was it about her bother's faith that made him so resolute yet so joyful?
{Nathan speaking} "The people who are destined for prison will be arrested and taken away," Nathan whispered. He'd reached through the bars with both hands and gently cradled her face. "Those who are destined for death will be killed. But do not be dismayed, for here is your opportunity to have endurance and faith." These are the words of John, the last disciple of our savior ... and he has given us comfort."
"What is our destiny? ... For all of us, is it not death? ... I'm not afraid of dying, Leah. I am afraid that my family will never understand what faith in Jesus means. The real tragedy is not to die young. The real tragedy is to live a long life and never use it in service of the Master. If my death leads you to eternal life--"
Nathan took a deep breath. He, too, was fighting tears. "I am heartbroken too. But if I have been called to be a witness in the arena with the others who believe, I cannot deny my Savior."
...{After the Christians are led into the arena}
Instantly, the beasts stopped the frenzied circling and responded by crouching. The crowd became silent as the moment of horror approached. In this silence, a sound rose from the sand. It took several moments for Leah to realize that her brother had begun to sing a beautiful hymn. Others on the sand joined with him, and their voices rose like a choir.
This serenity and peace were not the reaction that the mob had expected, and the silence of the audience continued, more from surprise than anything. The words of the hymn became more clear as the men and women poured joy into their singing.
A few lions crept closer.
Her brother fell to his knees and clasped his hands in prayer.
The boldest lion suddenly leaped forward.
Leah... turned her head and closed her eyes in that last moment as the lion closed in on her brother with outstretched claws.
One of the subtle yet powerful undercurrent's of Hanegraaff's book is Rome's failure to comprehend the source of joy, strength, and courage the Christ-followers possessed in the face of Nero's (and others) reign of terror. THAT SOURCE, THE PRESENCE OF THE RESURRECTED CHRIST, IS THE HEART AND SOUL OF OUR ABILITY TO OVERCOME AND MAINTAIN A TESTIMONY. The Romans did not understand that "conquering" did not mean victorious in battle but faithfulness to the end and its impending reward.
MUSTARD-SEED FAITH
Charles Spurgeon once said:
"It is marvelous how fine the wire may be that will carry the electric flash. We may want a cable to carry a message across the sea, but that is for the protection of the wire; the wire which actually carries the message is a slender thing. If thy faith be of the mustard-seed kind, if it be only such as tremblingly touches the Savior’s garment’s hem, if thou canst only say, ’Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief,’ if it be but the faith of sinking Peter, or weeping Mary, yet if it be faith in Christ, he will be the end of the law for righteousness to thee as well as to the chief of the apostles."
(From a sermon by Freddy Fritz, "Christ Is the End of the Law" 2/27/2009)
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