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In an earlier century, there lay a large boulder in the middle of the roadway. Traveler after traveler walked past the boulder, veering off the side of the road to get around it. All the while, they were shaking their head and muttering, "Can you believe that? Someone should get that big thing out of the way. What an inconvenience!"
Finally, a man came along and, seeing the boulder, took a branch from a tree and pried the boulder enough to get it rolling and rolled it off to the side of the road. Lying underneath the rock, he found a small bag with a note. The man picked up the note and read it. It read as follows:
"Thank you for being a true servant of the kingdom. Many have passed this way and complained because of the state of the problem and spoken of what ought to be done. But you have taken the responsibility upon yourself to serve the kingdom instead. You are the type of citizen we need more of in this kingdom. Please accept this bag of gold that traveler after traveler have walked by simply because they didn’t care enough about the kingdom to serve."
I wonder what "bags of gold" we’re missing each day, simply because we don’t bother to get involved in serving our heavenly kingdom. Are we the type of heavenly citizens our Father needs more of?
Ridgecrest is a large Baptist-run assembly ground, nestled in the mountains of western North Carolina. All summer long, every year, thousands of Christians come to Ridgecrest for training, inspiration, Bible study, and challenge.
A few years ago, during a conference, people began to notice a man hanging around the grounds. He did not look like he had just stepped out of your typical Sunday School class. His clothes were tattered and torn; they looked like something even the Salvation Army would throw away. His face had not been visited by a razor for a long time. His shoes could best be described by the title of Hymn No. 2 in the book – “Holy, Holy, Holy”! And worst of all, there was the BO. You know about BO? Let’s just say that when you got close, you did not get a whiff of Chanel No. 5. This young man was clearly “not one of us”, not the kind of person you normally see at Christian campgrounds.
What did he do? Not much, really. He did not approach anyone. He did not harass anybody. He did not ask for money. He mostly just hung around. When chapel services were held, he would walk across the front and sit down. When classes were under way, he would lie down on the grassy slopes nearby. And when meals were being served, he would stand on the dining hall porch, not far from the long lines of people clutching their meal tickets. No begging, no demands, just standing around.
At the end of the week they announced that there would be a special speaker for the closing service, and that he would speak on the theme, “Inasmuch as you have not done it unto one of the least of these, you have not done it unto me.” They promised that the audience would truly remember this message. The hymns were sung, the prayers were prayed, the choir sang, and the special speaker approached the podium. Who do you think was that special speaker? Who brought that memorable message?
That scruffy young man! That hangaround bum with the worn-out clothing, the messy beard, and the offensive BO! It turns out that he was a young pastor who had been asked to play a part by the organizers of the conference. And his message stung as he said to the crowd, “No one tried to include me in anything. No one asked me if I needed help. No one invited me to the dining hall. No one sat down to listen to my story. A few put religious tracts into my hand. One or two pulled out a dollar bill and gave it to me. But most of you turned your eyes and pretended not to see me. My appearance offended you, and you left me out.”
Appearances are deceiving. He looked like a beggar and a bum, but he was a pastor. (Please don’t anyone say that’s all the same thing!).
THE IF/THEN OF EASTER
It’s Easter time. Time to eat all the candy and marshmallow eggs. Time to pig out. There’s gotta be a nicer word for pig out. A euphemism, as it were. Hey, try to think up a nicer word for euphemism. And while you’re at it, think up a shorter word for abbreviation. And a synonym for Thesaurus.
And why is it that doctors call what they do "practice"?
Why is it that to stop Microsoft Windows, you have to click on "Start"? Why is lemon juice made with artificial flavor, and dishwashing liquid made with real lemons? Why is the man who invests all your money called a broker? Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called rush hour? Why isn’t there mouse-flavored cat food? Why do they sterilize the needle for lethal injections? Why don’t you ever see the headline, "Psychic Wins Lottery"? Why are there Braille labels at drive-up ATMs? Why are they called apartments when they are all stuck together? Why can’t women put on mascara with their mouths closed?
And why is the resurrection of Jesus Christ such a big deal?
I mean, there’s gotta be an if/then relationship. If Jesus rose from the dead ... then what? We deal with if/then statements every day. For example, Chris Baker said at one point in his life, "If I go to medical school, then I can be a doctor." Columbus said, "If the world is round, then I can get to the East by sailing west." Enrico Fermi said, "If we can just split the atom, then it’s gonna produce a whole lot of energy." Bill Gates said, "If I copied the Apple-Macintosh desktop, then people would like Microsoft Windows more." Keith Hoerig said, "If I learn to play the bass guitar, then I can get hot chicks."
So ... what’s the big if/then statement for the resurrection? If Jesus rose from the dead ... then what? What are the implications? Does it affect my life more than the fact that I live in 2002 “A.D.”? If Jesus Christ rose from the dead, then does that affect what time I get up in the morning?
If Jesus rose from the dead, then does it affect my situation at school or what’s going to happen at work tomorrow? If Jesus rose from the dead, then does it affect what T. Rex will do to Interstate 25, and what kind of season the Broncos will have this year?
SOURCE: Mike Sares in "The If/Thens of Easter" on www.sermoncentral.com
ALL THE EVIDENCE
Professor Thomas Arnold, for 14 years a headmaster of Rugby, author of the famous, History of Rome, and appointed to the chair of modern history at Oxford, was well acquainted with the value of evidence in determining historical facts. This great scholar said:
"I have been used for many years to study the histories of other times, and to examine and weigh the evidence of those who have written about them, and I know of no one fact in the history of mankind which is proved by better and fuller evidence of every sort, to the understanding of a fair inquirer, than the great sign which God hath given us that Christ died and rose again from the dead."
Brooke Foss Westcott, an English scholar, said: "raking all the evidence together, it is not too much to say that there is no historic incident better or more variously supported than ...
Listen to this quote from Ray Stedman –
“….notice that a major point of this parable is to give us a clue to the way that the enemy works most successfully. It is by imitation, by counterfeit. How simple it would be if evil people would only look evil. Wouldn’t that help a lot? If hypocrites would only snarl and growl a little bit it would help so much. But they always look so pleasant. They always talk so sweetly. They are such nice people, and that is why we go along with their ideas. We cannot believe that such nice people could be so far wrong. And, unless we use the Word of God to evaluate their teachings, we can be deceived by the niceness of people who are imitation, counterfeit apostles, as the Word of God calls them.” (From the sermon, THE CASE OF THE MYSTERIOUS HARVEST, by Ray C. Stedman)
“Kick Me!” Matthew 28:1-10 Key verse(s): 6:“He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.”
Getting pulled into a practical joke is not much fun; especially when you walk in so innocently and depart with egg all over your face. I remember that my two brothers and I always had a pretty good time playing jokes on one another. Some were simply like pinning a “kick me” sign on the back of a jacket. And, then again, some were pretty elaborate. It was the elaborate ones that really stick in my mind even after all of these years.
There is only one sure and good way to pull a well-designed and high impact practical joke on somebody. It can’t be a spur of the moment thing. It takes time and teamwork to execute a “real” practical joke. And, I am convinced, that is why God gives us brothers. Those who have more than one brother as do I, are in real luck. When two can plan, one is always left over to be the convenient prey. That’s what was always so rewarding about growing up in the Brunner house. Three boys sharing one bedroom, none separated by more than a year and a half in age, is just the right formula for generating pranks of all sorts. On some boring day when the sun was not shining and we couldn’t be outside to expend our energy, the urge to plot and plan would suddenly take hold. “Hey! We could trick Glenn!” or “Mark is reading. What if we . . . “ or “Kurt would never see it coming. Let’s . . .” What one didn’t think of, the other did. The unsuspecting brother, despite the fact that he should have been prepared, walked right into and, wham! The prey was trapped, dumped-on or temporarily rendered foolish. That was the name of the game, put out the bait and then sit back and watch.
Of course, the real king of all practical jokes was the one that could be deflected back at the perpetrators. Overhearing the plot and then going along with it just to make it backfire was the epitome of all practical jokes. If you knew that the other two were plotting to put a pail of water over the bedroom door and you knew that they had to come and seek you to draw you into their trap, it was just as easy and even more fun to play the fool and lure them into your trap when they least expected to be fooled on the front-end of their own practical joke. Watching their surprised and stunned expressions was one of the greatest triumphs of boyhood. Just when they think they have you trapped, you spring your own and put the whole plan into a cocked hat.
Sometimes I think that is how Satan must have felt when he plotted and planned for our Savior’s demise. He had planned this for ages, the chance to get his revenge on the One who had thrown him from the heavens, expelled him from paradise. The plan was a good one. Trap the Son of God into being received as the Messiah and then, just when he had been proclaimed the Savior of all Israel, kill him. What fun and delight the devil and his minions must have had as they watched the life of our Savior play right into their hands. Those unsuspecting and easy to dupe band of disciples would not even know what hit them. The women that followed him and had sacrificed all would be left destitute and looking the fools. Why even the Jewish Sanhedrin could be pulled into it. Responsible for the killing of the Son of God? Now what would God have in store for them this time? And sinful man? We would finally have them right where we wanted them all along. Without hope of ever pleasing God and with the blood of his own son dripping from their hands where else could they turn but to the king of this world, Satan himself?
What a plan and Satan nearly pulled it off. He counseled with his peers and laid out the plan. He watched it unfold and even got more than he bargained for. Stoning or being thrown off a cliff would have done just nicely. But, crucifixion! Now that was a real boon. There is no doubt that as Satan prowled Golgotha that dark Friday, he was laughing and yukking it up pretty good. But, in the end, what he had planned so carefully and had taken great pains to pull-off ended up in one big backfire. Just when he was ready to spring the trap and declare the victory, he found himself hoisted on his own petard. Wanting to prove his power over Christ and his mastery over mankind, he ended up walking into his own trap. He had attacked the wrong man. Martin Luther wrote: “But he meets with a higher power which he cannot overcome. And all this has been wrought in order that our Lord Christ might glory because by being cast down He was lifted up on high, and these three mighty foes, sin, the devil, and death, must low lie under His feet . . . Thus sin, like death, attacked the wrong man, and so grew weak and died in His body.” (Sermon for Easter Day, 1544. w.a. 52. 249f) On Easter Sunday the one with egg on his face wasn’t the sinless son of God, the disciples, the women or even us! And it’s still there today.
EVANGELISM?
A 4-year study funded by the Lily Endowment designed to identify and analyze highly effective examples of evangelism by congregations in 7 mainline denominations reached two primary findings: (1) Of the 30,000 churches that qualified for the Mainline Evangelism Project, only 1/2 of 1% (.0005%) are baptizing a significant number of adults (conversion baptisms). This translates to 150 churches of a qualifying survey pool of more than 30,000. The average age of churches qualifying in the study as evangelistic was 89 years.
(Leadership Network Advance 8/22/08)
MYTH MAKERS AND FABRICATORS?
Intervarsity Christian Fellowship had an interesting article written by Curtis Chang, refuting some of the claims made by Anada Gupta that the Bible, in regards to the resurrection of Jesus, was bad history and that the men who wrote it were just myth makers. Chang writes:
"The names that are specifically mentioned for the first trip [to the tomb]are all consistent: they are women, with Mary Magdalene figuring prominently in all accounts, as Gupta concedes.
This consistent detail is again significant for distinguishing the male, Jewish authors of Gospels from myth makers or fabricators. As Boston College professor of literature Peter Kreeft, reminds us:
'In first century Judaism, women had low social status and no legal right to serve as witnesses. If the empty tomb were an invented legend, its inventors surely would not have had it discovered by women, whose testimony was considered worthless.
If, on the other h...
EVANGELISM IS JUST THE BEGINNING
Many feel that the mission of the church is to merely be witnesses to a lost world. It is true that we are to bear witness of the risen Christ and His transforming power. We are told in Acts 1:8 that we are to be His witnesses to the ends of the world. Again we are told in Mark 16 to preach the Gospel to every creature. At the 1968 World Congress on Evangelism, John W.R. Stott said, "The Church engages in evangelism today, not because it wants to or because it chooses to or because it likes to, but because it has been told to. Evangelistic inactivity is disobedience. It is easy to determine when something is aflame. It ignites other material." "Any fire that does not spread will eventually go out. A church without evangelism is a contradiction in terms; just as a fire that does not burn is a contradiction." (Christian Theology in Plain Language, p. 162)
While the preaching of the Gospel is our responsibility, evangelism in and of itself is not the complete mandate of the Great Commission. Evangelism is just the beginning of the commission given to each and every individual member of the Body of Christ.
(From a sermon by Gerald Flury, "Disciple and Discipler" 6/29/2009)
CHRIST'S PRESENCE: A FACT, NOT A PROMISE
Dr. G. Campbell Morgan told about an experience in his early Christian life. He would visit several ladies once a week to read the Bible to them. When he came to the end of Matthews Gospel, Morgan read, "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." He added, "Isn’t that a wonderful promise?"
One of the ladies quickly replied, “Young man, that is not a promise – it is a fact!"
(From a sermon by Darren Rogers, 11 The Valley of Grace, 10/28/2009)
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