Larry C. Brincefield
larkayb@earthlink.net
February 2, 2003 Sunday Morning
Title: Almost Ain’t Good Enough
Text: Acts 26:28
Introduction
Have you heard the saying, "Almost ain’t good enough"?
I’m not sure where it originated...
but in high school, if someone said, "well, I ALMOST made it"
we would respond, "almost ain’t good enough" (pardon the grammar)
When you think about it...that saying isn’t always true...sometime almost IS good enough.
if one of my children came home from school with a spelling test with the score of 97%...
they might say, "I ALMOST got them all right".
and of course, we would be very happy with almost a perfect score.
In that case, amost IS good enough, in my book.
and I’m sure there are other cases where almost IS good enough.
But, then again...there are plenty of times that almost is not good enough
Space Shuttle Columbia almost completed their mission...
they were only about 16 minutes from landing...
they were just ending a 16 day science mission...
their families had been brought in so they could see their family member after they landed.
but then something when wrong...
Space Shuttle Columbia broke up and pieces of it began to rain down in Texas.
They had ALMOST completed their mission...
they were almost there!!
but almost is not good enough...
and today, our nation, and even the world is mourning the tragic loss of 7 astronauts.
1 month ago, I told you that our vision this year was Christ 1st...
I told you that each month, we would launch a different theme...
Today, we are launching the shuttle of Revival
and as I began to think about what has happened...
I began to realize...
just because you LAUNCH the shuttle...
that doesn’t make the mission successful...
just because they made it up into orbit...
that doesn’t make the mission a success.
just because they were able to complete some scientific experiments...
that doesn’t make the mission successful...
the shuttle MUST LAND
it must successfully complete its journey.
And I began to think about our revival....
just because we LAUNCH the shuttle of revival...
doesn’t mean that we will actually have revival...
we must successfully complete our mission.
Read Text: Acts 26:28
Body
1. The Story
King Agrippa said, "You almost persuade me to become a Christian" Acts 26:28 (NKJV)
King Agrippa was the King of the Jews from about 53 AD - 93 AD.
Paul was being held prisoner because of his faith in Jesus Christ.
Festus wasn’t sure what to do with Paul, so he asked King Agrippa to help out.
Festus and Agrippa had the opportunity to hear Paul share his testimony.
When Paul got to the part where Jesus Christ was crucified and rose from the dead,
Festus jumped up and said, "You are out of your mind, Paul!" he shouted. "Your great learning is driving you insane." Acts 26:24 (NIV)
King Agrippa, on the other hand, said, "You almost persuade me to become a Christian." Acts 26:28 (NKJV)
Almost......but not quite.
In this case, I’m sorry to say, almost is just not good enough
2. Launching a Shuttle is dangerous...
there are literally thousands upon thousands of things that can go wrong....
The astronauts are aware of the danger...and are willing to proceed anyway.
Mission control is aware of the danger...and they do whatever they can to alleviate that danger.
But launching a shuttle is still dangerous business....
because you never know when something tragic might happen...
and people lose their lives.
you know, launching a revival is dangerous too.
you never know...
there’s a chance that the revival will fail...
we do everything we can to reduce that possibility,
but it can still happen.
We put all the pieces together so that we can launch a revival....
we call our evangelist...
we call our special musicians...
we unlock the doors...
we turn on the lights and heat/air...
But unlike the shuttle,
there aren’t thousands of things that can go wrong...
there are only 3
If people refuse to pray...the revival will fail...
If people refuse to come...the revival will fail...
and If people refuse to respond to the leading of the Holy Spirit...the revival will fail.
Almost isn’t good enough in a shuttle mission
sure the science experiments are nice...
and the astronauts performed some important things...
but the mission ended in failure with the death of 7 astronauts.
and almost isn’t good enough in revival.
sure...the music is nice...
and the special speaker is great
but if all we do is just sit back....
and enjoy some good preaching and good music...
if all we do is just allow it to stir our heart...
without letting it change our life...
if all we do is sit back while the altar call goes unheeded...
then the revival is a failure.
King Agrippa let Paul’s testimony move him....
it brought a tear to his eye...
it stirred his heart....
it ALMOST moved him to repentance....
it ALMOST moved him to give his life to Jesus Christ...
ALMOST..but not quite.
And almost ain’t good enough.
3. Launching the Space Shuttle is a sacrifice...
Those astronauts sacrificed years in training...
they sacrificed time with their families...
they sacrificed money to pay for education and training...
they were willing to sacrifice their lives...
and ultimately, that is what it cost them...their lives...
they believed in what they were doing so much...
they were willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen...
I wonder if we have the same commitment to sacrifice when it comes to our revival...
I wonder if we have the same willingness to sacrifice ourselves when it comes to spiritual things.
Are we willing to sacrifice our time?
Are we willing to sacrifice our money?
Are we willing to sacrifice our comfort?
Are we willing to sacrifice our lives?
"whatever it takes to draw closer to you, Lord, that’s what I’ll be willing to do"
Do we really mean that?
It doesn’t seem to happen often in this country that people are called upon to sacrifice their lives for their faith...
Have we grown nonchalant about it?
Have we let revival become routine?
4. When the Space Shuttle launches, there is always a danger that some people won’t make it....
7 people lost their lives on Space Shuttle Columbia...
Kalpana Chawla
Michael Anderson
Willie McCool
Rick Husband
Laurel Clark
David Brown
Ilan Ramon
It breaks my heart to think about how the families are hurting...
children growing up without their father or mother...
what a tragedy...
The Bible tells us that all those who make it to heaven will have their names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
It continues in Revelation 20:15 "If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire"
Scripture doesn’t tell us that there is a list kept of all those who don’t make it...
like we list the names and biographies of the astronauts who don’t make it...
But I just wonder if perhaps there is such a list...
and if so, I’m sure that King Agrippa and Festus names are on that list...
all indications are that they ended their life living in sin....
they didn’t make good use of the opportunity that they had...
they almost made it....
but not quite...
and almost is not good enough...
almost means their destination was the lake of fire.
And I wonder how many people that attend our revival...
their name will be on that list....
because they had an excellent opportunity during the revival...
but they didn’t make good use of that opportunity...
Oh...they were moved....
they were stirred...
they shed a tear at a beautiful song...
but when the time came to respond...
they just sat back...
almost persuaded...
but not quite...
and almost is not good enough.
Conclusion
Today we are launching our shuttle of revival....
and it has never been more clear to me than today...
with all that’s happened with Space Shuttle Columbia...
that this is more than just a gimmick...
this is more than just a theme...
this is more than just a graphic in the bulletin...
It is a matter of life or death.
It is a matter of heaven or hell
The success or failure of this revival will depend on how successfully we complete our mission...
do we land safely on the other side?
or do some of us not make it?
we are lost in a tragic way because we didn’t respond when we had the chance...?
we were almost persuaded...
but not quite...
Almost won’t cut it...
being stirred in the heart isn’t enough...
we must respond when the Holy Spirit is speaking to us.
As I watched some of the news coverage...
I heard several times that space shuttle landings had become almost routine....
obviously, we cannot afford to let the space shuttle mission become routine...
it is too important...
lives are at stake.
People, let’s not allow revival to become routine...
it is too important....
lives are at stake...
the eternal destiny of people’s souls is at stake...
Close with prayer around the altar.
