1998 Sermons
What Does God Require of You? 8/16/98
Micah 6:8
Page 1366 Come Alive Bible
“He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8).
Jesus Christ spoke of “justice, mercy, and faith” and of them said we “ought to” do these things. That means it is to our advantage to live with these three attributes as our character traits.
Visitors to our nation’s capital enjoy the beauty of the Library of Congress Building. In it are beautifully decorated alcoves providing reading rooms. The various alcoves are dedicated to different disciplines: art, history, science, philosophy, and religion. Each alcove has a distinctive design and motto. The committee responsible for choosing the motto for the religious alcove requested prominent ministers to make suggestions. The one chosen: “What does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”
When President Jimmy Carter took the oath of office as our nation’s leader he quoted the prophet Micah: “He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8).
The prophet Micah, our Great High Priest Jesus Christ, and our former President Jimmy Carter all appeal for us to make these traits our habitual lifestyle. In our current carnal culture these attributes need to be modeled.
At a time in the life of ancient Israel when moral depravity and religious decadence corrupted the people, God sent forth four prophets simultaneously to preach to His people.
Amos and Hosea were His heralds in the North.
Isaiah and Micah sounded forth the truth in the South.
Amos preached justice.
Hosea struck the note of love.
Isaiah called for reverent, humble fellowship with God.
Micah gathered the gist of all three and summarily said, “What does the Lord require of you but to do justly, To love mercy, and walk humble with your God?” (6:8).
Three virtues are mentioned in our text that are described by God as “good.” It should also be noted they are required of us by God. Jesus confirmed this when He said of them we “ought to” do them. They are:
I. MORALITY “TO DO JUSTLY”
“To do justly” refers to our ethical response to other people. To “do justly” there must be a standard for what is just and what is unjust. Some conduct is right and some isn’t.
A new virile virus has been loosed in our culture under the guise of a new virtue. Because of its rapidly increasing influence it needs to be reexamined. It is called tolerance.
For generations people have espoused tolerance. The definition normally given is: “the disposition to be patient toward those whose opinions or practices differ from our own…”
That is now called “negative tolerance.”
Positive tolerance is defined as: “every single individuals beliefs, values, lifestyle, and truth claims are equal.” That’s positive tolerance. It is broadly advocated.
If that is true then the door to the jail cell of the Uni-Bomber, Ted Kazinski, should be opened and he set free. Timothy McVey, your beliefs that prompted a lifestyle that blew up the building in Oklahoma is acceptable. You can go free.
If positive tolerance is correct Rudolph should be invited to come out of the North Carolina mountains to visit Centennial Park.
Positive tolerance has replaced the virtue of justice. Positive tolerance and justice cannot co- exist. They are mutually exclusive.
An advocate of positive tolerance defines for him or her self truth. One opinion is as good as another. Likewise one statement is as good as another. Such a person can state as true what facts reveal as not being true and still say, “I did not lie.” If there are no absolutes there is no truth and no falsehood. In the mind of such a person what ever they say is true.
This time in history is now being called the postmodern era. It is reshaping cultures concept of truth. Lying is impossible since it presupposes objective reality. To the postmodern mind there is no objective truth. Truth is subject. That is, what I as the subject define it as. Such a person can say, “I did not tell him to lie” becomes a “true” statement because lies don’t exist. To such a mentality words don’t have a fixed meaning. They mean what the user wants them to mean at the moment. An interpretation may be different from an interpretation tomorrow.
God has expressed His desire for us: “Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom” (Psalm 51:6).
Our value-free, morally neutral, education opens the door for sources in Hollywood, Madison Avenue, and yes, Nashville to bombard young minds with thousands of hours of sounds and images that glamorize immorality and mock Biblical values.
Often parents begin to teach their little children that “what is good” is optional without knowing it. How often have you heard a parent of a young child say to a child, “Stop doing that and come here, O.K.?” Or, “Get out of the pool, O.K.?” Or, “Put that bag of cookies back on the shelf, O.K.?” That “O.K.” makes it appear to the child the choice of right or wrong is his. If it isn’t don’t say “O.K.” That solicits a choice in response.
God doesn’t say, “Thou shalt not bear false witness, O.K.?” Or, “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain, O.K.?”
That brings to mind the lady who wanted a pet parrot. Upon visiting the pet shop she found one on sale at a remarkably low price. When she offered to buy it the shop keeper advised her not to. When ask why she was told it cursed a lot.
Confident she could break the parrot of this habit she bought it.
Soon after getting the bird home it started cursing. She put it in the freezer for 15 minutes. When it came out it is was shivering. Soon it warmed up and started cursing all over again. This time he was sentenced to 30 minutes in the freezer. When it came out it was coated with ice crystals. Upon warming up it started all over cursing.
This time he drew 45 minutes to an hour in the freezer. He came out stiff and ice coated. When it thawed out his owner asked, “Are you going to curse any more?” It shook its head “No.” “Are you through cursing?” A nod of the head indicated “Yes.”
Then the parrot spoke, “I have a question for you. What did that turkey in the freezer say to you?”
Advocates of positive tolerance are tolerant of anything but Christian virtues and Bible based morals. To them there are no absolutes of right or wrong. Everything is relative. Ask them if they are sure there are no absolutes and they will respond “Absolutely!”
To do as God requires and act justly there must be a standard for what is just.
Micah said, “He has shown you … what is good.” If there is a good there is a bad. If there is a right there is a wrong.
What is good and what is bad is defined for Christians by Scripture. Therein God “shows” what is good.
“To do justly” is to do God’s will. It means to act toward God and man according to the divine standard of God. Dante wrote, “In His will is our peace.”
The second virtue Micah states is:
II. MERCY “TO LOVE MERCY”
“To love mercy” is to freely and willingly show kindness to others.
As with all virtues we can learn from God what is meant by it. Grace is God’s favor shown spiritual rebels who repent. Mercy is God’s favor shown those in distress. In His mercy He protects us from harm or punishment what we might well deserve.
Our Lord is spoken of as “the Father of mercies” (II Cor. 1:3).
A close synonym for “mercy” is compassion. As followers of the Lord we are to show compassion toward others. “Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like minded” (Philippians 2:1, 2).
In general mercy means to feel sympathy with the miseries of others. God has such mercy toward us and we should show it to others.
Some persons comply with this first requirement but neglect the second. Such persons are as upright as a marble column and as cold and hard.
We should even have mercy on ourselves. When we do we overcome inferiority complexes. Many have done so.
Steinmetz, one of the greatest scientist of all times, came to believe he could be useful in spite of the fact his body was terribly deformed.
Milton was blind, but eventually he believed that, in spite of his blindness, he could write poetry that would make life sing — and he did.
Robert Louis Stevenson was sickly. He suffered chronic pain, but during his sickest years, he wrote some of his greatest masterpieces.
Beethoven reached the point at which he believed he could give to the world a composition like the Ninth Symphony, even though he was deaf and could not hear it himself.
Louis Pasteur made his greatest contribution after he had a stroke.
In showing mercy toward themselves these make of their adversities springboards rather than letting them be stumbling blocks.
On the beautiful Hawaiian Island of Molokai was a colony to which persons inflicted with the dreaded disease of leprosy were sent to live out their lives in misery.
A simple noble priest, Father Damien, went there to minister to them. He did so for months addressing them as: “You lepers.” He met with no response.
One day he spoke to them as, “My fellow lepers.”
He had so identified with them as to have contracted leprosy. Thereafter, his ministry met with positive response. His mercy was their hearts. It so won the admiration of our nation that a statue of Father Damien stands as the only religious figure under the rotunda of our nation’s capital.
These persons stand in admirable contrast to the character depicted by George Bernard Shaw as: “a selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making him or her happy.”
With justice and mercy so closely linked in the text some persons often confuse the two.
When a person commits a crime and thereafter expresses an apology or gives a self-excusing explanation we often say the person should be forgiven even if a crime was involved.
There are conditions for forgiveness. Contrition, confession, repentance, and a request for forgiveness precedes forgiveness. Some Christians become confused at this point and think that under these circumstances even the crime should be forgiven. There is a distinct difference in forgiveness of a wrong and acquittal of a crime.
There are times when justice and mercy can be compatible.
When Fiorello La Guardia was mayor of New York City he liked to keep in touch with all departments of government. He would even substitute for various heads. Once he sat in for the Night Court judge. It was a cold night and a trembling man was brought in charged with stealing a loaf of bread. He said he did it because his family was starving.
“I have to punish you nevertheless,” said La Guardia. “There is no exception to the law. The fine is $10.00.” As he said this he reached for his wallet, took out $10.00 put it in his famous hat and said, “Here is the $10.00 to pay the fine.”
“Furthermore,” he continued, “I’m going to fine everybody in this courtroom .50 cents for living in a city where a man has to steal bread in order to eat. Mr. Bailiff, collect the fines and give them to the defendant.” The total was $47.50.
In effect that is what our Heavenly Father did for us. We sin and He has found us guilty. In the person of His only begotten Son He paid the fine and remitted our sin.
Because of that we are to live out Micah’s third virtue.
III. MEEKNESS “TO WALK HUMBLY WITH YOUR GOD”
“To walk humbly with your God” means to live in conscious fellowship with God.
It is to recognize God’s absolute holiness and submit to His will.
In Scripture the term “walk” often refers to a lifestyle. To be humble means to be respectfully obedient.
When Elizabeth married the ultimately to be famous poet Robert Browning her parents disowned her. She and Robert moved far away to Florence, Italy. She loved her parents and sought reconciliation. Several times a month she would write telling them of her love. After 10 years there came a response. She received a package from her parents which she opened with excitement. Elizabeth’s happy moment rapidly faded when she found inside all of her letters to her parents — unopened.
Elizabeth, like Robert, was a poet. Her letters of reconciliation have been called “some of the most beautiful and expressive in the English language.” Unfortunately her parents never read them.
Like Elizabeth, our Lord went to extreme measures to achieve reconciliation. Have you left His love letters unread. As Micah said God has shown us, it is right here in the Book, what is good. To find what is “good” read and obey His love letters. Accept His offer of reconciliation.
Come to the cross. It is an exhortation to “do justly.” it was sin, human kinds injustice, that put Him there.
Come to the cross. It is an appeal to love mercy because of the mercy manifested there.
Come to the cross. It empowers one, enabling a walk with God.
Levi Matthew
“As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him” (Matthew 9:9).
Jesus Christ often kept bad company for a good reason. When He encountered Levi Matthew, the tax collector, He was in bad company. Jewish rabbis considered them unclean for three reasons:
Ceremonially they were unclean because their job constantly brought them into contact with Gentiles.
Politically they were unclean because they were employees of the occupying Roman government.
Morally they were unclean because they were dishonest extortioners who exploited the people for personal gain.
Matthew, like most of the others who were Christ’s apostles, was a most unlikely candidate for apostleship. He was a bad dude. Understandably critics asked others, “Why does your Master eat with tax collectors and sinners?
Jesus overheard the question and answered Himself. “When Jesus heard that, He said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick'” (Matthew 9:12).
The Great Physician had found a chronicle sick sinner.
Matthew was known as Levi. Jesus evidently gave him the name Matthew. It means “gift of God.”
Matthew was the brother of James the Lesser, cousin of James and John, as well as cousin of Jesus Christ.
To the public he was the man everyone loved to hate. He was looked upon about like a drug dealer who is a child abuser would be looked upon today. The term “scum bag” could have been coined for him.
Romans sold the right to be tax collectors. The tax collector collected the tax prescribed by the Romans plus all else they thought they could get out of the people. There were two basic types of taxes: statutory and customs.
Statutory taxes were one tenth of the grain, one fifth of the wine, one percent of annual income, and a poll tax equal to one day’s pay.
They often collected custom taxes, tolls, and tariffs as high as 12% of the worth of the goods. They were legal extortioners. People hated them.
Cicero (146-43 BC) listed trades most unbecoming of a gentleman. Number one was a tax collector.
Of tax collectors Christ said, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you” (Matthew 21:31). He grouped them in pretty sorry company. In recent times there have been horror stories about how IRS agents have treated some persons. Such would be considered acts of kindness compared to the extortion people like Matthew imposed.
Matthew was one of the most educated of the apostles. He had to be in order to deal with the Romans and manage the book keeping. His writing skill became a blessing when the Holy Spirit guided him to write our first gospel: “Matthew.”
Matthew wrote his gospel in his native language of Hebrew. There are more of Christ’s words in Matthew than any gospel. He wrote of Christ as the Messiah King of the Jews. It was the gospel directed primarily to the Jewish mentality.
Augustine chose the lion as a symbol for Matthew for it is the Lion of Judah, the Messiah, about which he wrote.
Not all of the apostles were illiterate poor people. Fishermen and tax collectors did very well financially.
Jesus was just beginning to get a hearing from the public. His “movement” was gaining popularity. For Him to take into His inner circle a tax collector was a risky thing to do. It would have caused Romans and Jews alike to have increased suspicion regarding what Christ was trying to do.
It was risky also because Simon the Zealot was also a member of the apostle band. This insurgent had just as soon put a knife in the back of a tax collector as in the belly of a Roman soldier. For Matthew and Simon to get along was a miracle. It is an example to all opposites in the church to the fact we are to co-exist in love with Christ.
Both of the men needed forgiveness and needed to forgive. Two little boys were taught the Lord’s prayer using the phrases, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” They visited another church where they used the verbs “debts” and “debtors.” When they got home they told their parents that church had a different Lord’s prayers which went like this: “Forgive us our debts as we forgive those who are dead set against us.” That we must do.
Matthew was not respected by the Romans for he had sold out his own people and was in effect robbing them for the Romans. The Jews detested and feared him as a collaborator with the enemy. His word was worthless in the court of law. He was shunned by his fellow citizens and unwelcome at all social functions. He was even unwanted at the synagogue. He was an outcast from society. When he heard Jesus speak it must have touched a responsive cord in his life. He was a lonely man when invited by Jesus to follow Him.
Not only was he a lonely man he was a guilty man. The message of repentance being preached by John the Baptist was well known in the region. Matthew would have heard of it. “Repent” he could do and needed to do. But how?
Then Jesus came to Capernaum to preach. Envision Matthew along the fringe of the crowd listening to the message of hope preached by Jesus. For the first time in his life, he began to have qualms about his work. It was what he, a hopeless man, needed to hear.
Almost immediately after Jesus healed a paralyzed man at Peter’s house in Capernaum Matthew encountered Him. Jesus spoke to him, “Follow Me!” He did.
Luke described the first thing Matthew did. He gave a big fish fry: “Then Levi gave Him a great feast in his own house. And there were a great number of tax collectors and others who sat down with them. And their scribes and the Pharisees complained against His disciples, saying, ‘Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?’ Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance'” (Luke 5: 29-32).
The first instinct of a convert was acted upon by Matthew. It is inherent to a new life to want to tell others and he did.
Observe the emotion in the text, “Jesus…saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax office” (Matthew 9:9).
Others saw him and despised him for what he was.
Jesus saw him and loved him for what he could be.
That is the way Jesus looks at all of us. We need to look at ourselves like Jesus does. We need to recognize the potential the Lord has put within us and ask Him to develop it as we surrender it.
A Commandment That Gives Life to Living 5/17/98
Proverbs 7:1-27
Page 939 Come Alive Bible
JESUS CHRIST was tempted three times by Satan personally. The threefold appeal dramatically struck at basic needs we all have. Jesus was in all points tempted like us. He resisted and was victorious. Believe it or not, many modern Christians are both tempted like you and victorious. What is now shared is done so in love with the prayer that it might be used of the Lord to enable others to gain and enjoy more spiritual victories over temptation.
TEMPTATION can be a physical object you encounter.
It can be the body of another person with which you become so preoccupied that you grow to conceive of the person not as a person but as an object. Expressions such as, “What a hunk,” and “Look at that body,” reveal such an attitude.
Temptation can be a beautiful piece of pie that makes the mouth water when you are trying to lose weight.
It can be a pornographic magazine.
It might even be too much change accidentally returned by the cashier of which you are aware but the cashier isn’t.
TEMPTATION is a pressure situation, when everybody kids you and urges you to do something you really don’t want to.
TEMPTATION is a challenge to prove what you are or can do by being other than what you ought to be.
TEMPTATION is anything which, if we follow it, causes us to do something contrary to God’s will.
James 1:14, “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own desires.”
I Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to beat it.”
Every passion, desire, and appetite of everyone of us has a tempter lying in wait for it which desires to misuse it. Even vices often wear the robes of virtue.
Many young males and mothers have urged me to speak more directly about how young men can avoid the advances of an aggressive female and help avoid improper allurement. Females today are depicted in an aggressive role in all of the media. TV, ads, movies, and novels represent the female as the aggressor. Some think this is new. It isn’t according to Solomon. Let’s do a case study of one young woman and man.
Note:
I. CONDITIONS OF TEMPTATION
A. Company. He was among “the simple.” The term means the silly frivolous idle.
B. Intellectual. “A young man devoid of understanding.”
He may have been brilliant, but he lacked something. The term “understanding” means “common sense satisfied by purity.”
It is unfortunate that the age which needs most advice deplores it most. Talk to youth when passion is high and pleasures are glittering and you will be looked upon with more contempt than a case of leprosy.
Who are those without understanding?
1. Those who reject the good counsel of loving parents.
2. Those who seek wrong companions.
3. Those who rebel against spiritual principles.
4. Those who yield to sensual gratification.
C. Geographical. “Passing along the street near her corner, and he took the path to her house” (vs. 8).
If you are not going in the house, stay off the front porch. Avoid temptation. Don’t flirt with it. Doubtless, he thought he could handle such a stroll.
If you don’t want to eat the bitter fruit of sin stay out of the devil’s orchard.
D. Time. “In the black and dark night” (vs. 9).
E. Attire. “With the attire of a harlot” (vs. 10).
F. A Spirit of Rebellion. She was “rebellious” (vs. 11).
G. Fantasizing. “Lurking at every corner” (vs. 12).
You can’t keep the birds from flying over your head but you can keep them from building their nest in your hair. You can’t avoid certain improper thoughts but you can keep them from being consented to as your will.
H. Physical Stimulation. “She caught him and kissed him” (vs.13). Note also verses 16 – 18.
I. Shamelessness. “With an impudent (shameless) face” (vs. 13).
J. Religious facade. “Today I paid my vows” (vs. 14).
K. Flattery. “I came out to meet you” (vs. 15). Read also verse 21.
II. CONSEQUENCE OF TEMPTATION (WHEN YIELDED TO)
The cover story of the May issue of “Sports Illustrated” related to children of NBA players who gave birth to children without fathering them. Promiscuity is a norm around the league. One young man stands out among them. A.C. Green, who has played on two NBA championship teams, recently became the “Iron Man” of the NBA, having played in more consecutive games than any player in NBA history. A.C. has started an organization known as “Athletes for Abstinence.” Regarding temptation A.C. said, “Temptation is just a part of life. … the opportunity is always there. The Bible says that when Jesus was tempted by the devil, the devil then went away and waited for another opportune time to come back and temp Him again. There’s always going to be temptation, and there’s always going to be a struggle within us between right and wrong. So, it is always there, but having fellowship with guys on the team and guys that you can talk to on the phone—that always helps.”
A. Physical. When he started down the street by her house according to verse 22, he was like an ox on its way to a slaughter house. An ox on its way to the slaughter house has no idea what is about to happen. He likely thinks he is going to a field of clover where all day long he can revel in herbaceous luxuriance. Soon he finds himself walking down a narrow shoot that funnels him into an even more narrow pen where a sudden death-dealing shock is instantly delivered.
Many a person has been driven on by what they thought would be paradisiacal enjoyment; suddenly he finds that instead of walking in an enticing garden, he has been driven “as an ox to the slaughter.”
The physical consequence also involves public shame. He becomes like “a fool to the correction stocks.”
B. Emotional. “Till an arrow struck his liver (vs. 23). As the “heart” is today often used to speak of emotions, so the liver was considered to be such in previous ages. It still is by the Chinese. The liver was spoken of as “black bile.” Psychologically it was a term which spoke of depression. The graphic term of an arrow striking the liver speaks of guilt and resulting depression.
C. Spiritual. “Her house is the way to hell…” (vs. 27). When he started down her street, he was on the path to hell.
Consider this comment by A.C. Green, the NBA “Iron Man,” “Every decision has a consequence. That’s the bottom line. You have to be accountable for your actions, no matter who you are.”
What can be done to avoid this downward trend? Consider:
III. CURBS TO TEMPTATION
The Bible instructs us to “Flee temptation.” When you do be sure you don’t leave a forwarding address.
The term “flee” means to get away so fast you kick up dust. If you have an improper friendship here is sage advise. That is, a relationship you know the Lord does not approve of. Break it off permanently immediately.
When you encounter temptation always turn to the right.
“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (I Corinthians 10:13).
What ever you know about yourself, know this, you are dreadfully like everyone else.
Corinth was a sea port. The term translated “way of escape” was a nautical expression. It referred to a ship in peril in a storm. The only way it can survive and ride out the storm is to lighten it load. Therefore, certain of the cargo has to be thrown overboard. To avoid being overcome by certain temptations we might well have to throw overboard certain things in our life. Get certain things out of your life and your life out of certain things.
First consider a special capacity and then a concept,
A. Know your limits. Do you think a submarine can go as deep as it wants to? No! There is a limit to its capacity. Do you think a plane can fly as high as it desires? No! Likewise there is also a limit to our capacity to resist temptation.
Even subs that have crashed through the ice at the North Pole have a maximum depth. A submarine named the Thresher exceeded that depth some years ago and was crushed. When the pressure outside became too great it crushed the sub.
There are explorer subs designed to take only one person deeper. They have inches of protective metal and thick glass for protection. At crushing depths, they find many odd little fish swimming around freely. Are these fish shaped like a sub, and do they have thick protective shells? No! How can they survive under pressure. They have a secret. They have an equal and opposite pressure inside themselves. They have internal strength.
We like they can withstand the pressure of life only by having the internal strength of Christ. Romans 12:2, “Don’t be squeezed into the mold of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Let Christ renew your mind regarding the temptation that does so easily catch you off guard. Renew your mind regarding your concept of love and sex.
B. Talk openly and often with a mature Christian friend. You don’t have to talk about every evil thought, but do speak openly about areas needing to be strengthened.
C. Spend time each day alone with the Lord. Let the first part of the time be reading the Bible in order to minister to yourself. Read and make self- application. As you read keep asking yourself, “What application has this to me?”
Let the last part of your time with the Lord be prayer time.
D. Ask the Lord to keep you on a short leash. Pray for a tender conscience. If you start to rationalize in your thoughts ask the Lord to stop you.
E. Christ taught us in the Model Prayer to pray, “Lead us not into temptation.” From this we learn we should pray daily, “Lord, keep me from the assaults of Satan. Keep me from being blind sided.
James the Lesser
Matthew 15:40 and Luke 6:15
James the son of Alphaeus is the most obscure of the apostles. He is the Don Rickles of the band. His is a life in the shadows. He is the unknown apostle, BUT he was an apostle. If you heard a certain person was an astronaut that went to the moon, but you knew nothing else about him you would still know a lot. Much would be known by the standards used to choose them, by their role and responsibilities. So it is with James II.
The two references to him in Scripture simply note who his mother and father were. That’s it!
Family relations are a bit challenging but from cross referencing names it appears this James was a brother of Matthew, a cousin to James and John, and likewise a cousin of Jesus. He and Matthew would be two of the three sets of brothers who were apostles. The other brothers who were apostles were Peter and Andrew.
Alfred Adler, one of the founding fathers of modern psychiatry, says that the desire to be significant is the strongest impulse in human nature. Adler put it ahead of the sex drive which Sigmund Freud put first. The drive to be somebody is a dominant desire.
James is proof there is room for us nobodies to serve Jesus.
The “fit” of James among the apostles is evidence you can’t have anything large without something small.
You can’t have anything great without something less.
You can’t have a book without chapters. You can’t have chapters without paragraphs. You can’t have paragraphs without sentences. You can’t have sentences without words. You can’t have words without letters of the alphabet. The greater consists of the lesser.
You can’t have a universe without a planet. You can’t have a planet without soil and\or sea. You can’t have soil without grains of earth and drops of water. You can’t have earth and water without molecules. You can’t have molecules without atoms. You can’t have the greater without the lesser.
The age defying, continent spanning, globe engulfing ministry of Jesus Christ exists because of the “James the Lessers” live and serve.
“Little James” walked in company with giants. He was a companion of Jesus Christ. That gave him unusual insight. As He chose the others so Jesus chose him because —
HE WAS CHOSEN TO SEE.
“Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, ‘Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it'” (Luke 10:23,24).
He walked with the great of his era on the greatest mission ever assigned.
HE WAS CHOSEN TO SPEAK.
“After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves” (Luke 10:1-3).
HE WAS CHOSEN TO STAND.
“I send you out as lambs among wolves.” He was brave and courageous. He went.
HE WAS CHOSEN TO SHARE.
After being sent out the apostles came back saying, “Even the devils are subject to us through your name.” Christ replied: “Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name. And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:17, 18, 20).
Most persons are familiar with the great literary works of John Gresham, Eugenia Price, Max Lucado, etc. Who knows who first devised an alphabet, designed rules of grammar, or set the type for their books? Yet without the work of the unknowns they would not be known.
Millions enjoy the music of Mozart, Bach, Beethoven and Verdi. Who knows who devised notes, scales, and rests, the building blocks of music? Without the works of these unknowns the works of the known would not be known.
Many who may be consider “lesser” have impacted our lives. The name of Guido of Arezzo isn’t a household name. The result of his work fills our lives daily. He devised a system of writing music in around 1025 AD. He was a monk who devised a system of noting music. From his thoughtful creativity came bars, clefs, notes, and all needed to record musical sounds.
Some lesser form of recording music may well have been around since the time of Christ. It was Guido who opened the door to written music.
Using his system of recording music on paper the first printed collection of music was the work of Ottaviano de’Petrucci on Venice in 1501. These two who lived 500 years apart were lesser lights who have illumined our worlds with music.
Think of great churches and great preachers and try to recall one renown worker in these churches. Yet, without the many unknowns they would not be known.
Simon, the “unknown celebrity” is typical of the legion of unknown nameless heros of the cross. Service, any service, rendered in Christ’s name is as unto the Lord and may well never be noted. Don’t let a lack of recognition dampen your zeal for the Lord.
Remember: “His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches over me.”
Unknown achievers are many. I’ll give a new gold Cadillac or a mess of collard greens to the person who can tell me who John Walters was. He was a math teacher. He had a young student whose interest in math he kindled. His student was Albert Einstein.
Likely no one has heard of an eleven-year-old who loved to swim named Austin Gallagher. He saved his little eight year old friend from drowning. He struggled to get his little friend to the shore. History would have been different if he had not rescued his little friend Abraham Lincoln.
Most people know the name Sam Walton, but who knows the name, Author Neebler. Walton revolutionized merchandising but not as radically as Author Neebler. The first third of this century most people, men and women, wore “long handles” or as they were known “long John’s.” In the early 1930’s many houses got running water and heat. As a result people started bathing more than once a week. It became inconvenient to struggle with a thin man every time you wanted to bathe. Neebler cut off the legs and arms of “long John’s” to make them more comfortable.
He noticed a picture of a French bathing suit with a unique design. He made a pair and experimented with them in a swimming pool. They were bikini like and were held up by braces. He found they came off easily so he put an elastic band around the waste and called them “jockey shorts.” They gained popularity. However, the shirts were awkward to wear with them so he designed a new shirt called a “T-shirt.” Was it ever popular.
He then set about to sell these new designs. Up until this time merchandise was kept in drawers behind the counter. If you went in to purchase underwear the merchant would go through the drawer and find your size and put it on the counter for you. Neebler came up with the idea of wrapping these underwear in cellophane and putting them out on a table for persons to pick their own. Unpopular at first, the idea caught on and led to today’s style of marketing. The unknown, Author Neebler, revolutionized marketing. He is “James the lesser” of marketing.
The cause of Christ has been carried forth by the myriads of privates in His army.
James may not have performed any great work or made any great speeches by which he could be remembered, but Jesus saw something of worth and value in him which caused Him to select James to be an apostle and thus to be among the inner circle of Christ’s closest associates.
One of God’s biggest challenges with average Christians is helping them to get over thinking they are nobodies. Nobodies? There stands the cross of Christ proving you are somebody.
James the unknown was known by name to God.
He courageously went forth. Historian Hegesippus (169 AD) tells of Annas condemning James. He was taken to the battlement of the Temple and given opportunity to save his life by recanting. Instead he shouted of Christ as the Son of God seated at the Father’s right hand and that He would come in the clouds to judge the world. He was cast down. Surviving the fall James struggled to his knees in prayer. Bypassers stoned him while he prayed for the Father to forgive them. Finally a man standing by with a club struck a blow to his head killing him. The symbol of James in Christian art is a carpenters saw. Why? Because tradition says his body was sawed apart and discarded.
James the Unknown made known Christ.
Your Link to 3000+ Missionaries 11/29/98
II Kings 7:1-9
Page 559 Come Alive Bible
Matthew 28:18-20
Page 1460 Come Alive Bible
JESUS CHRIST is the Bread of Life sufficient to satisfy the spiritual hunger of the world. Jesus Christ is the Water of Life adequate to quench the spiritual thirst of anyone. Evidences abound indicating our society is a spiritually hungry and thirsty culture eating and drinking at all the wrong places.
The growth of the New Age movement reveals a spiritual appetite. The aggression of Secular Humanism indicates spiritual starvation. The mushrooming of the occult and cults shows a thirst for the spiritual meaning of life.
While the world drinks from these and other salty fountains, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ seems to be willing to sit at ease in Zion. Contentment should never be confused as being complacency. While cult and occult members evangelize America, the church sits on its apathy. By that I mean we individual Christians aren’t doing a very good job of obeying Christ by going into all the world to make disciples.
We laugh at Moonies standing on street corners in the rain selling flowers. Let me ask you, when was the last time you stood in the rain to tell somebody about Jesus? Satanists stand outside theaters showing occult films to recruit prospects as they come out. When was the last time you approached somebody for Christ or His beloved bride, the church?
One cultic group requires its members to spend a minimum of ten hours a month sharing with others, five hours a week attending meetings, and several hours in study. Their religion isn’t mere formality. They go door-to-door witnessing.
A child came into the room and said, “Mom, you know that vase in the living room that has been handed down from generation to generation in our family? Well this generation just dropped it.” That speaks of the lineage of the Christian faith.
There is a historical account in the Old Testament which illustrates the position and condition of the church today.
This isn’t a sermon in the traditional sense; it is a narrative designed to dramatize the church in modern America and what can be done to reverse conditions. It is your story.
In II Kings 6 and 7, the story is told of the invasion of Samaria by the massive Syrian army of King Ben-hadad. His well-equipped army brought bountiful supplies. They were prepared to live comfortably and eat well for months. All Samaria didn’t have, they did have. The siege of Samaria resulted in such a famine that the people even resorted to eating dove’s dung. Formerly strong persons walked the streets as shadows of their former selves. Famine had made of them virtual walking skeletons peering through gaunt eyes, crying out for food through parched lips.
Enter Elisha the prophet at a moment when conditions were bleakest and conditions most impossible. Let’s pick up the story at II Kings 7: 1 and let it speak to and exhort us to action.
Verse 1, conditions were deplorable and deteriorating fast. God’s prophet, Elisha, said, “Tomorrow” grain will be so abundant in this town that it will sell cheap.
Verse 2, one of the elite officers mocked and used sarcasm to deplore the prophecy as impossible unless God opened the windows of heaven and poured it out. He represents those within any church who say the Christian community can’t do what Christ has mandated.
Elisha said, it is going to happen, but you aren’t going to be around to see it happen and enjoy the feast.
Any church that doesn’t take the Lord at His word and seek to share Christ with the community isn’t going to be around for long. Every believer – children, youth, and adults – can impact their sphere of friends for Christ. We are each accountable.
Verse 3 describes four poor lepers sitting at the gate of Samaria. They decided they would –
I. DARE TO TRY VERSE 4
Verse 4, they mused over the fact that if they sat there they would starve. If they went into the camp of the Syrians, they might well be killed. However, if they venture, there might be a chance the Syrians would have pity on them and give them food. Either way they might well die. They determined that if they were to die, they would die trying, not crying “Poor little ole me.”
Verse 5, they ventured to go at sundown. IT’S WORTH THE RISK!
Verse 6, God intervened. By some means of nature at His disposal, perhaps a rumbling earthquake or roaring wind, He confused the Syrians. They thought the Samarians had hired other armies to join them in an attempt to repel them. The Syrians, thinking themselves to be outnumbered, panicked and fled in the night.
Verse 7, they left everything just as it was; food, clothing, arms, animals, and valuables. They even dropped items as they fled for their lives.
Verse 8, when the lepers came they were astonished. Just these four starving lepers had the wealth of Syria to themselves. Now what? They ate and drank until they could eat and drink no more. They took valuable possessions and hid them.
Then reason struck. They realized they should —
II. CARE FOR OTHERS Vs. 9a
“We are not doing what is right” We are called to be fishers of men, not keepers of the aquarium.
Eighty-five persons are added to the world’s population every minute.
5,000 an hour, 130,000 every day, 4,000,000 a month.
If the gospel were preached in 8 villages a day where the gospel is unknown it would take 250 to reach all of them at the present rate.
3,000 were saved on the Day of Pentecost. If a Pentecost occurred every day in China it would take 640 years at the present rate to reach every one.
Do we care?
One of the major reasons God has blessed America is the country has been a loyal base for helping evangelize the world. With our decreasing faithfulness to the task our blessings have diminished. God is raising up others to help evangelize the world. Even France has 200 missionaries in 30 countries. South Korea now has over 5,500 missionaries in 100 countries.
The lepers resolved to —
III. SHARE TOGETHER IN HELPING OTHERS Vs. 9b
“Let us…”
William Carey is regarded as the father of modern missions. As a youth he had a veracious appetite for reading. Science, history, and travel were his special interests. He was a cobbler by trade. After his conversion he would say, “My work is to preach the gospel. I cobble shoes to pay expenses.” His attention to missions was first sparked by reading “The Last Voyage of Captain Cook.”
He attended a ministers meeting in North Hampton. After the evening session a group of young ministers were sitting around talking. Dr. Ryland, an imminent older minister entered the room. To engage the younger ministers in conversation he asked that they suggest a topic for conversation. After a pause, Carey rose with some hesitation, and suggested they discuss, “whether the command given the Apostles to teach all nations was obligatory on all succeeding minsters to the end of the world, seeing that the accompanying promise was of equal extent.”
Dr. Ryland dismissed the thought as being absurd saying, “Young man, when God pleases to convert the heathen, He will do it without your aid or mine.”
Carey wasn’t discouraged. On October 2, 1792, in Keetering, England, the Baptist Mission Society was established. India was envisioned as the first foreign mission field. Andrew Fuller said, “we saw that there was a great gold mine in India, but it seemed almost as deep as the center of the earth. Now, who will venture to explore it?”
Carey responded, “I am willing to go down into the deep shaft, but you my brethren, must hold the ropes.” Carey believed it was WORTH THE RISK.
Carey went. The responsibility of the “rope holders” was two fold:
a. support him with prayer and
b. to provide the financial means to do the job.
Rope holders are needed today for the 3000+ missionaries we have in foreign lands.
The tenuous position of the one on the rope being held is one of dependence. In their faithfulness they are dependent upon the rope holders. Simply put, our missionaries are dependent upon us for spiritual and financial support. Faithfulness is found on their end of the rope. They await our response. Will we be found faithful?
The dedication of those who go down in the shaft is inspiring. I had a friend, Marion Sanders, who wrote the following inscription in her Bible on January 6, 1945, the day she committed her life to serve our Lord as a missionary.
“Lord, I give up my own purposes and plans, all my own desires, hopes and ambitions, and accept Thy will for my life. I give myself, my life, my all utterly to Thee, to be Thine forever. I hand over to Thy keeping all my friendships. All the people I love are to take second place in my heart. Fill me and seal me with Thy Holy Spirit. Work out Thy whole will in my life at any cost, now and forever. ‘To me to live is Christ.’” Marion Sanders.
We who are rope holders need the same dedication.
IV. BARE GOOD NEWS Vs. 9c “go and tell”
Too many of us Christians are like an Arctic River, frozen at the mouth.
There are people only you can reach for Christ. Always use tact. A newly saved barber could hardly wait to share his new faith. His first customer wanted a shave. As he stood by the chair sharpening his straight razor on the leather strap, he could think of no better way to begin than by asking. “Are you ready to die?” Remember, “If you don’t use tact, you may lose contact.”
The lepers decided they would wait no longer to tell others the good news. In the Orient, new Christian converts are expected to begin at once sharing their faith. A pastor asked a convert how many persons he had shared with during the three months of his salvation. The convert answered, “I am a learner.” The pastor asked, “When does a candle begin to shine? Is it when it is half burned up?” Came the reply, “No, as soon as it is lit.” The pastor said, “That is right, so let your light shine right away.”
The lepers came back to tell the starving city the good news. Cautiously at first and then with great glee the city responded. They rushed out to enjoy the bounty left by the retreating Syrians.
The next day grain was so abundant in the city it was selling cheap. The cynic who scoffed at the idea wasn’t around to eat any of it. Notice what happened to him as he tried to keep the people from rushing out in response to the good news —
Vss. 19 and 20; “…the people trampled him in the gate, and he died.” Prophecy fulfilled.
V. COMPARE
Consider the options. What is the church to do? Dare we sit on our apathy while the world around perishes? Dare we extend ourselves in a loving effort to feed the spiritually hungry?
The person who feels his need the most is the most likely to act. They had no option but to look for grace. Inaction is often as bad as positive wrong-doing; “We sit here and die.” Salvation comes only through definite action; “Let us go.” A feast awaits. IT’S WORTH THE RISK!
VI. WILL YOU BECOME AN HEIR
Will you become an heir?
That which we offer to the world we profess here and now.
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life” (John 5:24).
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2: 8, 9).
This results in you becoming an heir of all earthly benefits and the treasures of Heaven because we become “…heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.” (Rom 8:17)
IT’S RISK FREE!