ÒBecause you say, ÔI am rich, have become wealthy, and
have need of nothingÕ -- and do not know that you are wretched, miserable,
poor, blind, and naked -- I counsel you to by from Me gold refined in the fire,
that you may be rich, and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the
shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with salve,
that you may see. (Revelation 3:17,18)
Not that
I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may
lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren I do
not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those
things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I
press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:12-14)
Has anybody here seen my old friend Abraham? No, I am not
talking about Honest Abe, the President mentioned in the song. Nor in this
article am I talking about Martin Luther King Jr., or John F, Kennedy. These
three American icons were immortalized in song for their efforts to make this
country a better place for all citizens, and because they were martyrs. The
Abraham I am talking about is Abraham from the Biblical Genesis, Martin as
Martin Luther the reformer, and John as the disciple that Jesus loved, the
author of Revelation. These three religious giants were not martyrs as best we
know, but died of natural causes, well advanced in years.
All three of this trio of Abraham, Martin, and John stood
for God in their day, each in his own way, they each challenged the then ruling
religious society, and helped create a new religious paradigm from the
old. They were also successful in
over coming the power of the state. All three were men of faith, but not the
faith that most people consider faith, these three men, had a faith that was
able to transform not only their own lives, but also millions that followed
after them.
In reference to Revelation 3, last week and the church of Laodica, I have been
doing a little non-scientific research. This experiment is that as I channel
surf through the television channels, when I come across what appears to be a
church service, I spend a few minutes and make mental note of what is taking
place. The results of that survey are as follows:
1. All the
services seemed to be in big, expensive facilities, many which I would consider
lavish.
2. All
except for one message by a preacher who had been dead for over fifteen years,
did not have what most Christians would consider a gospel presentation.
3. All the presentations were about how to be a success
in worldly terms, and only one spoke at all about overcoming hardships, trials,
and tribulations.
4. During
the segments I watched, except for the preacher that had been dead 15 years,
did I see what I would consider attributes that would be readily apparent if
Abraham, Martin, and John were behind the podium. I am not saying that those attributes
were not present in any or all the men and women on the platform, it is just my
survey did not detect it.
So I guess when I mentioned last week that people get out
of their tepid circumstance and do something, perhaps I should provide a little
guidance. I also learned through this experiment, that the Lord has protected
me greatly these last few years. I have come to expect that in church services,
you should hear about Jesus, not just in passing, but even in the context of
the cross and the resurrection.
There was this one dude sitting on a stool with a dowdy
looking sweater, giving a message(?) comparing the successful Christian life,
to an aquarium. Now those of you who have read these messages for a while know,
I sometimes reach a little to draw in characters to make a point, but letÕs get
real. The point I am trying to make is that these things really are not
reality, from GodÕs perspective, What condescending arrogance to talk to a
redeemed child of the living God as some sort of stupid fish in a fish bowl,
unable to understand or be of use in this life. I have to admit that I didnÕt
get the guyÕs name, even though it flashed across the screen once briefly. But
that was only briefly, so that the toll free number for tapes and merchandise
would continuously be displayed.
I suppose that the first step in my guidance would be for
people to get up and flee from such an establishment. But the reason for using
Abe, Martin, and John is to see from their lives a type of application that we
could all utilize to continue our sanctification as we all press toward the goal for the prize of
the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Now most of the presentations I watched were of merit, in
living a successful life in this world. The question is really, is the true
function of Sunday ÒworshipÓ to learn about how to be a worldly success, or how
to be a disciple of Jesus Christ?
See I know I have this strange concept that if people truly have an
appreciation of who God is, and who they are in Christ, then all the rest of
this worldly junk will take care of itself.
Now I fully recognize that this is not something that you
understand when you are bathing in an aquarium of tepid milk. While continuing
in that pool might give you a great skin, it really will not allow you to grow
into the likeness of Abraham, Martin, and John, little lone Jesus Christ. So
the first step is to say, IÕm going to get out of this situation and go and do
something great for God. If you look at the Bible, well except for John, most
of the Bible characters got started proceeding on that premise. So if you want
to do something great for God, as I said last week, just go do it.
Perhaps, youÕve read the Book and see that just doing
something gets you into trouble. What is so cool about Abraham, Martin, and
John is that over time, they went from trying to do something great for God,
into persons able to do something great in God, or stated more correctly,
something great in Christ. How were they able to develop that faith? There is
this old, old saying that even the longest journey begins with the first step.
The first step is the hardest and God is the one that pulls you along, many
times alone, from first, one failure to the next, but in Christ that failure
will one day be changed into glory. From Glory to Glory in God. That is the
true promise that God has chosen for His people and His people do not have that
because they are afraid to make that first step in faith. To truly believe that
Jesus can take them to the end of the journey.
The one thing that both sets of Abrahams, Martins and
Johns do posses is that all had died. Three were remembered in song, three were
remembered by God and their spiritual descendants until the end of time, and
throughout eternity. Those three were truly dead to themselves, even though
their bodies continued to live. For Jesus Christ was born, lived, suffered,
died, was buried and resurrected throughout their journey of doing something
for God into doing something great in God.
One of the messages I heard on the radio the preacher
talked at length about our need to have a personal relationship with Jesus.
That type of message is also quite prevalent in our churches today. It does not
seem to convey the same type of message as Jonathan Edwards preached in ÒSinners
in the Hand of an Angry God!Ó But because of our familiarity with this type of
Jesus as our best friend, IÕm sure all of us feel comfortable with our one day
face to face meeting with the Lord. That is not a bad thing, for we will one
day truly understand just what we have been given in Jesus Christ and we will
all be made aware of the opportunities that we have lost, forsaken, and abused.
Perhaps, one of the ways our shortcomings will be
illuminated is that after our meeting with the Lord, we will have to have lunch
and fellowship with Abraham, Martin, and John. While we in this generation are
familiar with the God of Love and His Son Jesus, we have very little contact
with men and women of true, tried, and tested faith. It is one thing to know we
have no answer to give to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords for our sins,
even though he was tempted in the same ways we were. It would be quite another
thing to have to sit and be questioned by a trio of men born without a divine
character. But a divine character achieved through a life of learning to live
and work in Christ Jesus. My challenge to you this week is to summon up all
your courage and imagination and see just what you would have to talk about, or
what you might have in common, with Abraham, Martin and John. Begin by taking
that first step toward that future lunch, by cherishing that opportunity. Amen.
That we as the family of God, spread throughout the
world, would again understand the nature of the abundant life found in Jesus
Christ. How those exceeding riches pale in comparison to what the world has to
offer. Those riches in Christ are what John is speaking about in the above
passage from Revelation.
Refining is not a pleasant experience and I am learning
myself a new lesson these last few weeks. Always an organizer, planner and a
developer of contingencies, I have done ran out in a way I have never done ran
out before. It is now all beyond my comprehension and abilities. Please
intercede for finances and other provisions for the journey ahead.