(1) THEY LEARN A LOT FROM BIBLE COLLEGES AND SEMINARIES
When young pastors graduate from Bible College or Seminary, they are excited about preaching and teaching all the things they have learned from God’s Word. But as much as they might learn in Bible College and Seminary, also-
(2) THEY LEARN A LOT FROM THE MINISTRY ITSELF
In the ministry, you learn things that no Bible College or Seminary could ever teach you. For example, a Pastor over the years learns a great deal about people.
One of the things they learn immediately, is that WHAT PEOPLE SAY MAY NOT ALWAYS REFLECT WHAT THEY REALLY MEAN.
Many professing Christians say, “I love the Lord.” These Christians state that very clearly, but their life also very clearly reflects that they DO NOT truly love the Lord.
Let me show you what I mean. I tell my wife I love her, which I do, but:
• Suppose I was always making excuses for not coming home. In fact, the only time I would come home was when she begged me to come. If I was to do such a thing, do you think I could convince her that I really loved her?
We have people who say they love the Lord and the only time they come to the house of God is when someone begs them to come….humm! Do you think they really love the Lord?
• Suppose I was a military man and I had been away for several years. I finally come home, and as she is unpacking my clothing, she finds all the letters that she wrote to me are in my suitcase, unopened. Do you really think I could convince her that I loved her? When she asked me why haven’t I opened her letters and read them, suppose I told her I was too busy to open them.
We have people in our churches who claim to love the Lord, but they do not have time to read God’s letters (His Holy Word) written to them…humm! Do you really think they love the Lord.
• Suppose I spent all my money on other women. After I recovered from the gunshot wounds, do you think I could convince her that I loved her?
We have people who claim to love the Lord, and they spend their money on everything that you can imagine, but when they come to church they do not even give the Lord a decent tip…humm! Do you really think they love the Lord?
I could tell my wife that I love her all day long, but if my life reflected these negative things, THERE IS NO WAY SHE WOULD BELIEVE ME, ABSOLUTELY NO WAY! DID YOU HEAR ME? NO WAY!
Then folks, why do we think God is not as smart as the average housewife?
This crowd that you have to always beg to serve the Lord, might have once loved the Lord, but it is certain that they no longer love the Lord.
Many professing Christians see the Christian life as a life that you continue to live in sin, but you slow down a tad on sinning! No! God does not want us to SLOW DOWN, God wants us to STOP OUR SINNING!
Illus: This reminds me of the fellow who came to a stop sign and he slowed down and kept on going. A patrolman pulled him over for running the stop sign.
• He said to the officer, “When I came to that stop sign I slowed down.” The officer politely said, “Sir, stop does not mean slow down, it means stop.”
• The driver kept arguing and said, “I slowed down a lot though.”
• The officer decided he was going to teach him what STOP MEANT. He reached over and grabbed him by the head and took out his nightstick and started tapping him on the head, and he said, “Do you want me to stop or do you want me to slow down?”
When God saves us, He does not want us to slow down on sinning, he wants us to stop!
WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO GET YOU TO THE PLACE THAT YOU WILL TRULY LOVE HIM AND SERVE HIM?
We know it is not going to take the GOODNESS OF GOD for many, because it seems the more God blesses some, the further they get from the Lord.
Illus: Every pastor can show you people who once served the Lord every time they got a chance, and every time the church doors were open they were there. However, God began to bless them, and now they do not have time to serve the Lord.
WHAT WILL IT TAKE to draw us near to the Lord? As I read the Bible, I find that the Lord uses different things to deal with those who are not where they ought to be.
In a previous sermon, we found out that God sometimes has to use “Tough Love” to get people to return to Him. Such as:
• It might take a drought (Physical or spiritual)
• It might take a disease
God does not allow these things to come into our lives because He doesn’t love us, He allows them to come into our lives because He does love us. Let us look at some of the things some people might have to experience before they are willing to return to the Lord.
I. IT MIGHT TAKE A DIVORCE
Let me say up front, it is never the will of God that a man or woman gets a divorce. Never! Anytime a divorce has occurred it has nothing to do with GOD, but with SIN.
But God has a way of taking some bad things in a person’s life and using those bad things to cause a person to RETURN TO CHRIST. You see, our families are the most precious thing we have on this earth. But it is so sad that many times people do not realize this until they have lost a family member in DEATH, or because of sin someone has lost their family due to a DIVORCE.
Someone said, that DIVORCE IS WORSE THAN DEATH. That is, it is easier to go through losing a mate to death, than it is to lose one though divorce.
Illus: Margaret Atwood said, “A divorce is like an amputation: You survive, but there's less of you.” (Marriage Partnership, Vol. 7, no. 4.)
Many people in this society in which we live are familiar with the pain of divorce. Look at this sad letter written to Ann Landers.
Illus: Dear Ann Landers: Ten years ago I left my wife and four teenagers to marry my secretary, with whom I'd been having an affair. I felt I couldn't live without her. When my wife found out about us she went to pieces.
We were divorced. My wife went to work, and did a good job educating the boys. I gave her the house and part of my retirement fund.
I am fairly happy in my second marriage, but I'm beginning to see things in a different light. It hit me when I was a guest at our eldest son's wedding. That's all I was -- a guest. I am no longer considered part of the family. My first wife knew everyone present, and they showered her with affection.
She remarried, and her husband has been taken inside the circle that was once mine. They gave the rehearsal dinner, and sat next to my sons and their sweethearts.
I was proud to have a young pretty wife at my side. But it didn't make up for the pain when I realized that my children no longer loved me. They treated me with courtesy, but there was no affection or real caring.
I miss my sons, especially around holiday time. I am going to try to build some bridges, but the prospects don't look very promising after being out of their lives for 10 years. It is going to be difficult re-entering now that they have a step-dad they like.
I'm writing in the hope that others will consider the ramifications before they jump. Just sign me
-- Second Thoughts in P.A.
Dear Second Thoughts:
I could use the rest of this column to reflect on "sowing and reaping," but it would serve no useful purpose. I'm sure you also know that a father can't disappear for 10 years and expect his sons to welcome him back with open arms. Sorry, Mister, your wife has earned their respect and devotion, and what's left over is going to the man who is now making their mother happy.
All over this nation, we have people in and out of the church that have suffered a divorce. It was so devastating that their lives will never again be the same. But sometimes it takes a DIVORCE before some people will return to the Lord.
II. IT MIGHT TAKE A DEATH
The death that causes a person to return to Christ could be-
A. OUR DEATH
Look at 1 Cor. 11:29-30, “For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.”
These two verses make it clear that because of sin, “Many sleep.” That is, many have died.
Illus: As we look across a cemetery and we see thousands of grave markers, only God knows how many died a premature death due to sin. Some could have lived another 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, or 50 years, BUT BECAUSE OF SIN THEY DIED A PREMATURE DEATH.
These verses are talking about the misuse of the Lord’s supper, but the message is true in all areas of our life - SIN KILLS.
The Bible speaks to the young people of this congregation in Ephesians 6:1-3. We read, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; That it may be well with thee, AND THOU MAYEST LIVE LONG ON THE EARTH.”
Sin can shorten our lives and kill us. A lot of folks have lived their entire life in sin:
• They did not have time for God, but they do now
• God was not very important to them, but He is now
Sometimes it takes OUR DEATH before a person is willing to RETURN UNTO THE LORD. But other times, it might take -
B. THE DEATH OF SOMEONE WE LOVE
Illus: Years ago, a teenage boy came to know Christ as His Savior. His parents would not take him to church, and the only way he could attend was to catch the church bus that came by his house to pick him up each Sunday. The young man accepted the Lord, and he tried to get his parents to attend, but every time he asked them, they refused. The pastor of the church went to his house, and he also invited them to come, but they let it be known they were not interested in the slightest. Nothing could touch them, but you probably guessed it by now, this healthy looking, nice young man died around 18 or 19 years of age. It was unexpected, he died one evening while he was asleep.
Listen, the first thing those parents who had no time for God wanted to do was call their son’s preacher. When he arrived, both of them were crying with such broken hearts that you could hear them out in the streets.
They said to the Pastor, “WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?”
The pastor said, “When it comes to bringing him back, there is nothing you can do. But if you ever hope to see him again, you have got to go where he is. He is in heaven, and if you do not accept the Lord Jesus as your Savior, you will never see him again.” THEY DID EXACTLY THAT!
But you know what it took to get those parents to come to the Lord? IT TOOK THE DEATH OF THEIR ONLY SON!
Listen, some have had to lose:
• A Spouse
• A Child
• A Grandchild
• A Grandparent
Before they would come to the Lord.
This is using “Tough Love”, but it is the only kind of love that He can use to reach some people. Some folks have the wrong idea about punishment.
Illus: This reminds me of the little girl who had been very mean all day. Her mother told her to go outside and get a switch, and bring it inside so she could punish her. She was gone a long time, and finally the mother yelled, “Hurry up and bring that switch inside”. Finally the little girl came in and said, “I couldn’t reach the limb on the peach tree, so here is a rock to throw at me.”
We can rest assured that any time God has to use TOUGH LOVE, it is because it is the only thing that will get us to the place where we are willing to serve Him. GOD CAN USE DEATH to bring people into right relationship to Himself.
WHAT WILL IT TAKE? It might take A DIVORCE, A DEATH, or-
III. IT MIGHT TAKE A DISCIPLE
What do you mean preacher? Sometimes all it takes for a person to come to the Lord, is for a DISCIPLE of the Lord to ask a lost person if they would like to be saved.
Look at 1 Peter 3:15, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:”
Notice, God’s Word says, “Be Ready”.
Illus: The Boy scouts motto is, “Be Prepared”, and every child of God ought to be prepared every day to tell people of the hope that is within us.
As you ask people if they would like to accept the Lord Jesus as their Saviour, you will be surprised at how many of them will say, “Yes, I would like to accept the Lord, but I do not know what I must do.” But if you do not ask people if they would like to be saved, you will not be able to lead men to Christ.
Sometimes all it takes is a DISCIPLE.
Conclusion:
What will it take to get you to love and serve the Lord again? Will it take:
• A drought
• A disease
• A divorce
• A death
• A disciple
God uses all these things to bring people unto Himself, but God prefers to lead men to Himself by His goodness.
(1 of 2)
I. IT MIGHT TAKE A DROUGHT
II. IT MIGHT TAKE A DISEASE
(2 of 2)
I. IT MIGHT TAKE A DIVORCE
II. IT MIGHT TAKE A DEATH
III. IT MIGHT TAKE A DISCIPLE
