Sermon Select
Priscilla and Aquila: Co-Plodders 9/12/99
Acts 18:1-3
Jesus Christ spoke of the reward awaiting those who “endure” (Matthew 24: 13). Endurance is a trait of a plodder who consistently obeys Christ.
Giving one’s life to Christ introduces that person to a race. It is a life long marathon not a brief sprint. The Christian experience should not consist of fits of starts and stops. It is typified by the African runner who prayed, “Dear God, if you will pick my feet up I will put them down.”
With Christ as our companion we become co- plodders. That is, with Him we don’t quit, cop-out, or compromise. Plodders are people who pursue and produce.
From the world of business comes a peerless example of an entrepreneur who succeeded by plodding ahead against obstacles. John left his lovely home and executive position with a Fortune 500 company and moved from beautiful Hilton Head, South Carolina to pursue his dream in Orlando, Florida. He was nutty enough to think his road to financial independence would be paved with sugar-and-cinnamon coated nuts.
With a single mobile cart and the clever name of “The Nutty Bavarian” he let folks smell and watch as he roasted and glazed almonds and pecans. Competitors and established concessionaires kept him out of the more productive locations and the big companies wouldn’t let him in. Universal Studios wanted $100,000 and for him to supply all products.
John appealed to the vice president of Universal Studios for an interview. He never heard back. Finally, he wrote the VP saying he would call every day until given an appointment. The appointment was granted.
John brought his roaster into the boardroom and started preparing a batch of savory cinnamon-glazed pecans. The aroma wafted through the office suites and attracted uninvited executives.
Everyone was treated to a taste of the hot roasted glazed-nuts. The executives demurred saying they needed more time. John countered that if they would give him a thirty day trial he would personally operate his pushcart every day for twelve hours and give Universal 25% of the sales. All he wanted was a chance to prove himself. Agreed. Thirty days later his single cart had grossed $40,000. After the thirty days John added a second cart and signed a two year deal. At the end of the first year sales reached $1 million.
The Nutty Bavarian now licenses carts in 150 domestic locations and three foreign countries. Annual sales exceed $10 million. John Mautnere was a plodder.
From the battle field and playing field comes a sterling example of a plodder. The war in Vietnam was at its worst. In close quarter fighting the platoon was cut off. Rocky had speed but it was no match for the bullet that tore thorough his left thigh. Before he even felt the pain he was down. A grenade exploded nearby and ripped into both legs, shattering bones in his right foot. He passed out trying to crawl to safety.
When he awoke Rocky lay severely wounded on a stretcher having been miraculously rescued from the battle field. “What did you do before the war, son?” asked the doctor. “I played football for the Pittsburgh Steelers.” The doctor winced and said, “I’m afraid your football playing days are over.”
The war was over and soon he was discharged, an ex-football player with a 40% disability. Rocky was a dreamer and extended himself in a recovery attempt. Futility stared him in the face. Always slow his sprints were even slower now. He tried a comeback with the Steelers but was cut almost immediately. He was five- feet-nine, too small, and too slow. Everyone said it’s time to give it up. His heart said no. Coach Noll advised him to stick with the insurance business.
Mostly out of sympathy for a veteran he was allowed to travel with the Steelers to Green Bay. He thought it would be a good opportunity to visit home in Appleton, Wisconsin and have a talk with his pastor. His compassionate pastor had the capacity of asking the right questions. He said, “I guess it’s time to decide whether you’ve tried long enough, Rocky. How do you feel about it?”
Rocky was silent for the longest then he replied, “I made a promise back in Vietnam. When I was lying there wounded, I prayed that if I survived I’d do the best I could with my life… I promised I’d keep trying.”
His pastor smiled and replied, “I guess you‘re learning something about life now. Rocky a lot of things require two wills —- yours and God’s. We used to talk about how the Lord must have His hand on your shoulder, because of how well you played in high school and at Notre Dame, remember? Well, the hand’s still there, Rocky, but do you feel it? Or are you just trying to make it on your own?”
Rocky returned with renewed determination. Each day that passed and he went injury free he thanked God. He was used sparingly as a blocker. He lived with restraints and setbacks, but he plodded on.
In 1975 Rocky Bleier made the starting lineup as the primary blocker for Franco Harris. That was the year of their first Super Bowl. The Steelers were playing the Vikings in New Orleans.
Rocky tells how he arrived early. He walked to the mouth of the tunnel leading to the field and paused. “Lord,” he said, “I can hardly believe you put me here. The Super Bowl. I couldn’t do it on my own. A lot of the players are out here today because they’re fast or strong or naturally great athletes. I am not any of those things. And now I realize —- that’s the gift You gave me. In your will, my will worked.”
A key play occurred in the fourth quarter as Terry Bradshaw handed off to Bleier the blocking broke down and he fought his way to a first down keeping the winning drive alive.
As he walked back to the huddle a big lineman slapped his hand on his helmet and said, “Attaboy, Rocky. Never give up. If we can’t do it for you, do it on your own.”
Rocky smiled behind his face mask knowing he could never have done it on his own.
Never quit, never give up. Frame that in the words of his pastor, “It takes two wills —- yours and God’s. Find God’s will and find your joy in conforming your will to it.”
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, the French Jesuit and paleontologist, has written: “Our duty as men is to proceed as if limits to our ability don’t exist. We are collaborators in creation.”
Cautious friends offer this council. “Don’t overreach yourself. Don’t shoot too high; establish goals well within your capacities to reach.”
Most people fall short of their ultimate goal, but in doing so they reach farther than life would have otherwise have permitted them.
Should you reach beyond your capacity?
You will never know your capacity until you reach.
Plodders always go further and achieve more than those who quit, copout, drop out, compromise, or capitulate.
Now consider a husband and wife duo who were plodders.
Aquila and Priscilla, Aquila the husband, Priscilla the wife.
Aquila meant “eagle.”
Priscilla came from the prominent elegant royal Roman name Prisca meaning “simplicity.”
By the fortuitous grace of God Paul and Aquila and Priscilla were brought together. God is at work even in what we call coincidences. Observe the circuitous circumstances that brought them together. A company of thieves in Judea had robbed Stephanus, a servant of the emperor, and killed the soldiers who were his companions.
Hearing of this back in Rome Emperor Claudius issued an edict ordering all Jews out of Rome. Aquila was a Jew from Pontus living with his wife in Rome. They were forced to leave and in their new home met Paul in Corinth. Wasn’t that odd! No that was God. He is no less at work in our lives.
Paul used the common denominator to identify with them. They, like Paul, were tent makers. Joining them in this labor gave plenty of time to share faith in Christ and disciple them. Being fellow-workers in tent making they became fellow- workers in Christ Jesus.
These plodders set for all worthy examples. They were —-
I. EARTH SHAKERS
They were workers not shirkers. Paul had no more loyal supporters at any time than they. He complimented them with the title, “my fellow-workers in Christ” (Romans 16:3).
They were known for spreading the good news every where they went.
Their love for Christ was known because it was shown. It was not known because they had a warm fuzzy feeling about Jesus, nor because they could repeat all the popular Christian slogans. It was known by their faithful service.
The term “fellow-workers” means co-workers, or workers together. It is this team effort among believers that commends itself to the world.
After a long list of persons to be greeted a caution flag is raised in the text. Not all things are always peaceful and beautiful within churches. The Scripture notes this: “Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses…and avoid them” (Romans 16: 17).
Two forces restrict the effectiveness of a church. The hurricane forces of evil from without that assail it and the rumbling volcanic force of division within. Often the hurricane force brings people together in the church for shelter. Such opposition can be a blessing. It is the volcanic disruptions within that cause the most difficulty. To be an earth shaking church the body must be together. I have seen the destructive force of division and the developing faith of cohesiveness. Lost persons are attracted to harmonious churches as musicians are by beautiful music. It arrests attention.
II. THEY WERE RISK TAKERS
A modern translation by Moule renders Romans 16: 3,4: “For my life’s sake submitted their own throat to the knife.”
This likely happened when they were in Ephesus when a violent riot broke out involving Paul (Acts 19: 28-31).
“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15:13). Here is an example of this principle. They were defenders of Paul. Today, Christians need the defense of one another in our hostile society. Do you dare speak up for Christ and risk your reputation for His reputation?
If a minister is set for the defense of the faith he is deserving of faithful defense and support. I want to publicly acknowledge I have been the beneficiary of such loving support. There are those who have come to my defense even without my knowledge. Their love for their Lord and devotion to His church has motivated such defense. I have plodded with some of the best.
That is friendship at its best.
III. THEY WERE STANDARD MAKERS
In a time when Christians were persecuted the young emerging church had many challenges. The collective body of Christ had not yet begun to build church buildings as they were soon to do. Therefore, home-churches were the norm. More than one reference is made to “the church that is in their house.” They opened their residence to the Christian community and made it a place of worship.
Our society doesn’t need home-churches. The church has outgrown that stage. It does need homes wherein the family lives for and serves the Lord. I know a number of families who have made their home open for use by the church. Thus, these gracious members are expanding the circumference of influence to include their community.
IV. THEY WERE TRADITION BREAKERS
They encountered the brilliant Alexandrian Apollos, a gifted orator. As a prophet Apollos had a large and devoted following. He had one major liability. He knew only the “baptism of John” (Acts 18:25, 26). He knew nothing of salvation through the cross.
Aquila and Priscilla followed his crowds and listened to his message. He preached no negative error and did not deny essential faith. What he preached was good as far as it went, but he was not yet aware of the grace of God as expressed by Christ on the cross. Quietly and lovingly they invited him to their home and privately with consummate tact shared with him the further revelation of Jesus Christ.
“They expounded unto him the way of God more carefully” (Acts 18: 26).
Apollos receptively responded positively. The result was dramatic. He became one of the most dynamic evangelist of the era. Some in Corinth considered him an equal to Paul and Peter. By breaking with tradition a new and effective herald of the good news emerged.
The last biblical reference to these two is II Timothy 4:19.
This was about the year 66 A.D. Extra biblical tradition says that on July 8, of that year, Aquila and Priscilla were martyred for their faith and faithfulness. If, as history indicates, this was their fate they faced their future with faith. They were ready for their voyage to their heavenly home and the fellowship that awaited with Peter, Paul, Apollos, and a legion of others they had helped introduce to Jesus Christ. They kept plodding until they started trodding the streets of gold.
These tent makers not had a mansion in glory.
The Scripture refers to the human body as a “tabernacle.” The Greek word so translated would today more accurately be translated “pup-tent.” A pup-tent is not intended to be a permanent residence. It is temporary housing.
Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:1 – 3).
Death is thus profiled as moving from the pup- tent into the palace.
Is There Something Peculiar About You? 6/13/99
I Peter 2:9 – 10
JESUS CHRIST has called us unto Himself. This high and holy calling is expanded upon in I Peter 2: 9, 10. To understand our role let’s review this inspired description of believers.
God in His Word calls us “His own special people” (I Peter 2: 9b). What a compliment!
The word translated people is “ethnos.” It is used 143 times in the Greek New Testament and four times in this text. As used here it describes a special relationship between God and believers. It implies the idea of belonging.
The early church spoke with pride of itself as “a people for Himself” (Acts 15: 14).
Paul reminds us of a beautiful fact in Romans 9:25 by quoting Hosea 2: 23, “I will call them My people, who were not My people, and her beloved, who was not beloved.”
In the very next verse Paul quotes from Hosea 1:10: “And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said of them, ‘You are not My people.’ There they shall be called the sons of the living God.”
It is a wonderful feeling when you have been overseas and return home to be among people with whom you belong.
Now note the characteristics of “His people.”
I. A CHOSEN GENERATION
“You” in the Greek is emphatic meaning “but as for you.”
“Generation” is a reference to a body with a common life and descent.
Being chosen is with purpose:
1. It is a privilege. It offers a new intimate relationship with the Father. This privilege is born of salvation. Salvation through Christ’s blood is sufficient for all BUT it is efficient only for those who trust Him as personal Savior.
Missionary Watkin Roberts tried without success to help the Hmar people of India understand salvation. One day he heard of the process for making peace between warring tribes. Early in the morning the side desiring peace goes to a mountain top and beats a large war drum three times. If the other side responds before sundown by beating their drum, that means, “Come to the boundary separating us and let’s talk.”
The Chief who wants peace kills an animal and lets its blood flow along the boundary. Then he and his enemy place their hands on the animal and negotiate. When they agree, they embrace.
Calvary is God’s invitation to you by God to come to the boundary separating you and accept His sacrifice for peace.
2. It demands obedience. Privilege brings responsibility. When there is faithful obedience then one can summarily speak of life as did Bill Borden in this one of the final entries in his diary: “No reserve, no retreat, no regret.”
3. It requires service. He desires to use us to achieve His purpose. In verse 16c we are described as “servants of God.”
The noun servant and the verb serve are found about 500 times in the Bible. Such extensive use emphasizes its importance.
Albert Schweitzer, a man with a servant’s temperament, said, “The only ones among us who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve.”
II. A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD
In I Peter 2: 5 believers are called “a holy priesthood.” Here we are called a “royal priesthood.”
“Royal” translates the Greek BASILEION, meaning “Kingly.”
In Exodus 19: 5, 6 God stated the requirements for Israel to become a kingdom of priests:
a. Keep God’s covenants,
b. Obey His Word, and
c. Articulate His law.
Within the first covenant, the priesthood belonged to the sons of Aaron from the tribe of Levi.
They had three distinctives:
a. They had direct access to God.
b. They represented the people of Israel to God.
c. They brought offerings to God from the people.
It should be noted that during the era there were other priestly orders also. There were the priests of Baal, of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, and Canaanites. Being a priest did not mean you could believe anything you wanted to believe. You had to subscribe to the beliefs and practices of the order.
Doctors are allowed to believe anything they want to BUT they can’t teach or practice anything they want to indiscriminately. Physicists are allowed to believe anything they want, even that the world is flat. However, they can’t advocate a space policy based on this belief.
Every discipline has order. Christianity does also. Within Christianity you have various orders based on various beliefs. If you are going to be a Methodist, you should believe in baptism by sprinkling. If you are going to be a Presbyterian, believe in predestination. If you believe in soul sleep, be a Jehovah’s Witness. If you believe in praying through saints, be a Catholic. The point is, if you are going to be part of an order, adhere to their basic beliefs.
Certain of the Levites sought to do things their own way and God further narrowed the order of priests to include only the sons of Aaron. God confirmed this by making Aaron’s rod to bud and those of the Levitical princes remained sterile.
In the time of Ezekiel many of the priests went astray and the Zadokite priest who remained faithful became dominant. God has always had His faithful remnant.
When Israel failed to function as a nation of priests, God instituted the order of Aaron. When the Aaronic order failed, a new order of priests emerged. On the morning of the resurrection the ripping of the veil of the temple from top to bottom symbolized the coming forth of a new order of priests, the old order ended. Every believer is now a priest. We are to:
a. Offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (I Peter 2: 5c).
b. Offer our body (Romans 12: 1).
Christ is in the life changing business. Recently my wife recounted our encounter with Deon Sanders. We sat by him at a Hawks game. She was next to him. Not as a fan but as a human being she tried to make comments she thought might interest him. She summed up the evening by saying he was the most arrogant man I have ever seen.
Last week we heard the new Deon give his testimony at the Billy Graham Crusade in Indianapolis. As he stepped to the mike his first well delivered words were, “I was the most arrogant man who ever lived…”
He went on to describe his emptiness and loneliness. He told of his attempt of suicide by driving off a cliff into a lake. He then related how that in a hotel room in Cincinnati he reflected on Romans 10: 9, 10: “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
That night he called on the name of the Lord and was saved. You too can experience such an exchanged and changed life.
Christ can do the same for you.
He is the Peerless Pilot for the sand-bound soul.
He is the Way for the wayward.
He is the Enabler for the unable.
He is the Timeless Truth for the ignoble ignorant.
He is the Life for the listless, lustful, lawless.
Institutions as well as individuals should be committed to Him. The New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary has an admirable history. It was established to equip students to be transformers of their culture. The charter granted by the state of Louisiana for the founding of what is now New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in October 1918 states:
“This institution shall center around the study of the Bible as God’s Word…”
The program of instruction is to be Biblical in orientation and relevant in application.
Confessional commitments of the Seminary are centered in Jesus Christ as Savior of believers and Lord of life, through His death and life, and in the Bible as the inspired Word of God.”
That is a worthy confessional for each of us.
c. Offer the sacrifice of praise (Heb. 13: 15), “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.”
Praise is natural and essential to full enjoyment of an event, thing, or person. Watch an exciting, game-winning play by a super athlete and try to keep quiet. It would be frustrating to see a spectacular mountain or ocean sunset and not compliment it. To hear a good joke and not be able to share it would be exasperating.
A super pious pastor responded to a compliment on one of his sermons by saying, “Don’t thank me, thank the Lord.”
The lady responded, “I thought about that, but it wasn’t quite that good.”
III. A HOLY NATION
The word translated “nation” was LAOS meaning “people,” or “a multitude of people of the same nature.”
We are to be “holy”. HAGIOS is the Greek word which means “different” or “saintly” or “set apart for service” or “belonging to God”.
Charles Wesley said: “What is our calling, our glorious hope, but inward holiness?”
Holiness is a two-edged sword meaning separated from sin and separated to God for His use.
Christians in the young emerging church understood this, as evidenced by this quote from Tertullian: “We engage in these conflicts as men whose very lives are not their own.”
In Galatians 2: 20, Paul described what it means to be holy. It means to have a “no longer I” sign posted on the wall of your heart.
Those who are holy are not people with a halo and an aura of ethereal remoteness. They are easily lovable people with a sparkle in their eyes, a spring in their steps, and a note of joy in their voice. They are not gaunt, reclusive, unapproachable, condemning, solitary persons who sit around in a fetal position eating lettuce leaves and birdseed while contemplating either infinity or their navel.
Howard Hedricks observed: “It is foolish to build a chicken coop on the foundation of a skyscraper.” To fail to live a separated life is to fail to build on the spiritual foundation of Christ and Him crucified.
How little understanding people have who think holiness is dull. When you see the real thing it is irresistible. It is a dramatically and radically changed life.
A Cajun went into New Orleans for the first time and saw his first elevator.” He stood dar in do sto and cas a eye on dat alley gator. A little ol’ lady all bent over wit a cane pass herself inside dat ting. A light flash, de do closed and she disappear. Pretty soon de do open and out step de prettiest femme, girl, woman he ever saw. As he walk away he say, “how you like dat? Me I shoulda brought ma ol’ lady to put in dat alley gator, I gar-on-tee.”
Jesus makes an even greater change in a life.
IV. A PECULIAR PEOPLE
We are God’s people.
The word “peculiar” comes from a word which means “to make around.” It speaks of making something an surrounding it with ownership. Every believer is God’s unique, private, personal property.
U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonini Scalia made remarkable comments to the Christian Legal Society at the Mississippi School of Law. He said, “Being a Christian means holding values the world will count as foolish.”
Did you notice who said it? A member of the U.S. Supreme Court, Justice Scalia. Did you notice what he said? He didn’t say Christian values are foolish. To the contrary, he thinks they are correct. He said the world will count them as foolish.
Did you notice who said it? A member of the U.S. Supreme Court, Justice Scalia. Did you notice what he said? He didn’t say Christian values are foolish. To the contrary, he thinks they are correct. He said the world will count them as foolish.
Scalia warned that those who believe in the transcendent moral order and power of God that raised Jesus from the dead, must be prepared for derision. Often an item is valuable not because of its own worth but because of who owned it. My wife has a simple pair of agate earrings set in silver. If you could find a pair they would cost only a few dollars. However, they are very valuable to us because they were the personal property of and given to us by former Prime Minister of Israel Golda Mier.
Museums are filled with ordinary things made valuable by ownership and use. Likewise, we are valuable because of Whose we are. We are to be God’s museum pieces to – – –
“Sew forth,” that is “proclaim the praise” of Him.
“Praise” is a reference to His “gracious dealings and glorious attributes.”
We are to advertise the noble acts of God in history and make known His grace in dealing with us personally. We are to announce abroad the fame of the One who has called us to life. Jesus said it slightly differently: we are to confess Him before men. How can we do this?
By bearing the character of aliens from another world; invaders from above.
By being so careless of our own life, and so careful of conscience, so prodigal of our own blood, so confident of the overcoming blood of the Lamb, so unsubdued by the customs of the country in which we sojourn, so mindful of the manners of the country to which we are going.
Paul: A Conquering Plodder 10/3/99
II Corinthians 11:23-28
JESUS CHRIST said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23).
As tea permeates all the water in which it is placed so the word “daily” pervades this statement. It calls for continuation, it demands devotion, and requires regimentation. There are no “off days.”
The modern American lifestyle does little to encourage longevity in anything. “Channels” magazine notes the average adult male (who wins the gender and age battle over possession of the TV remote in most American households) changes stations every 19 minutes.
The short interest span of the public has changed the nature of TV. In the 1950’s a typical camera shot lasted 35 – 50 seconds. Today it last 5 seconds. Commercials are even more frantic. Therein images are often changed every second. Sound bites formerly lasted 25 seconds. Now three words are preferred.
It is projected that persons entering the work force today will have an average of 17 major employments in their life time.
Those who head volunteer organizations say it is increasingly difficult to get people to make long term commitments.
Enter stage left: the plodder.
Longevity is the price tag on many worthwhile things. I heard it said of an older person consistency is the talisman of your life.
Persons with an elementary knowledge of the era of Queen Victoria know it to have been a period of vitality and virtue in England. One of the primary reasons was the stable of stable ministers in Great Britain, plodders all.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon was the dynamic herald at the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London.
F. B. Meyer was a flame of faith to all who heard him.
C.H. Liddon was the powerful pulpiteer who faithfully shared at St. Paul’s.
Alexander MacLaren, a peerless expositor, fed his flock faithfully.
Joseph Parker devotedly declared the good news at the City Temple.
Seldom has an era been so dynamically impacted by loyalist who by their longevity and legendary preaching influenced a culture. They all were plodders who would not be deterred from their task.
Athletes often set admirable examples as overcomers who achieve. The 1999 World Cup is a tournament few who viewed it will ever forget. Michelle Akers, considered the best female soccer player in the world, helped propel the U.S. team to the championship. Her life’s pilgrimage to the center field of celebration was a bumpy one.
She grew up as a tomboy wearing jersey number 75 as worn by her hero “Mean” Joe Green of the Pittsburgh Steelers. She was a fierce competitor who even became furious if she lost at Monopoly.
When her mom signed her up for soccer at age eight she was on a losing team and begged to quit. Besides, she said the uniforms were pink and yellow.
Her parents divorce caused her confusion resulting in her rebellion: skipping school, dating older guys, experimenting with drugs, and lying.
Her high school soccer coach, Mr. Kovats, was a consistent Christian. Michelle says she hated what she was becoming. She was a bewildered sad, confused, and angry young girl. Having little understanding of what she was asking she asked the right question. She asked Mr. Kovats how she could have what he had. When he explained how to have a personal relationship with God she hesitated thinking this is a lot to risk. Nevertheless her desperate condition resulted in her praying to receive Christ. Her life was immediately impacted.
She received a scholarship to college and was four-times a soccer All-American. She got married, traveled the world and became the first female athlete to have paid endorsements.
Then her health began to fail. She experienced extreme fatigue to the point she couldn’t even get out of bed or brush her teeth. Migraine headaches and fever racked her body. She was diagnosed as having Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS). Her husband left her when she was at rock bottom. Alone and disillusioned she realized she had gradually left God out of her life and failed to give Him her all. At this point she was willing to give Him anything He wanted and prayed, “You can have this stuff. You can have this body. You can have this life. You can have me. Because I have made a mess of everything.”
In retrospect she said she came to realize God was tapping her on the shoulder and calling her back to Himself. When everything caved in on her she realized it wasn’t punishment but God giving her a wake-up call by hitting her with a sledgehammer.
Michelle said things changed. Things were then missing in her life: fear, loneliness, and frustration.
In the World Cup finals Michelle exhausted herself and had to be helped from the field. When Brandi Chastain scored the winning goal she demanded the IV’s be taken from her arms and she staggered on the field to be with her team mates.
She humbly says “I hold steady to what is most important and crucial in my life: my relationship with God and the privilege of being His kid.”
Michelle Akers, the best female soccer player in the world plodded to a world championship.
A plodder with a challenging path was Thomas Bramwell Welch (1825-1903). He changed his residence 15 times in his first 35 years and careers almost as often. Born in Glastonbury, England, his family moved to North America when he was age 6. The Welches landed in Montreal but moved an indirect route to Watertown, New York.
At age 19 he became a Wesleyan Methodist minister who fought for the abolition of slavery and helped smuggle slaves through the Underground Railroad to Canada. After three years of preaching he developed an incapacitating vocal problem that forced him from the ministry.
This plodder turned to the practice of medicine. Lucy, his wife, supported their seven children while he went to medical school. After a brief practice, Dr. Tom, as he was called became restless and turned to dentistry.
In 1868 he moved to Vineland, New Jersey, a fruit growing community. His dental patients often paid him in grapes.
He advertised “painless extractions…. under gas.” Another line: “Good chews or no pay.”
He developed and marketed various alloys during his 22 years as a dentist. This business boomed and he became independently wealthy and retired from dentistry to enjoy growing a variety of fruit.
Vineland had laws restricting the sale of alcoholic beverages which were largely ignored. He helped organize a temperance league in Vineland and also became Communion steward in his Wesleyan Methodist Church. As a tee-totaler he did not allow alcohol in his home and the idea of using it in the communion service bothered him. He began experimenting using only scientific methods common in the Biblical era. His desire was to produce a grape juice that would stay fresh for a long time.
In 1869 he employed the technique of Louis Pasteur called pasteurizing.
Using grapes he picked from his own vineyard he boiled them a few minutes, strained the juice through a cloth, poured the near boiling juice into serialized jars, sealed them with a cork and wax and boiled the bottles a few minutes longer. It worked. He produced Dr. Welch’s Unfermented Wine. The product created for use in the Lord’s Supper had its name changed in 1890 to Welch’s Grape Juice, as it is known today.
Churches that use unfermented wine for the Lord’s Supper owe this plodder a debt of gratitude. His beliefs resulted in a commitment with consequences of dedication.
Now note an admirable conquering plodder: Paul.
Paul is a dramatic example that the will of a plodder on the wrong course remains just as strong when directed on the right path. There are good and bad plodders. Prisons are full of plodders who were misdirected. Zeal can be for a good or bad thing.
Of Paul’s background his education is well known. Plodding requires more than routine regimentation and perpetual preparation. Paul had been schooled with the best. One of his instructors was the great philosopher Gamaliel. One part of his mentoring was to instruct his students in Greek poetry. Memorizing poetry is a marvelous mental exercise as well as a refreshing way to absorb truth. It later became a most meaningful part of his education.
The first time we meet Paul he is standing by holding the cloaks of those stoning Stephen. What a moment that must have been. “And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not charge them with this sin.’ And when he had said this, he fell asleep” (Acts 7:59,60).
There was no escaping the impact of such fidelity. In the spirit of Christ who prayed, “Father forgive them for they know not what they are doing,” the first persons to be martyred for the cause of Christ dies with a similar spirit.
Paul’s initial reaction to the deaths of these two was outrage. His ultimate reaction is yet to be observed.
“Saul consented to his death …. he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison” (Acts 8: 1 & 3).
“Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem” (Acts 9:1, 2).
It was in that process the ruthless plodder became the redeemed plodder. His dramatic encounter with Christ on the Damascus road resulting with Ananias sharing with him in Damascus changed his life. Christ changed his life but did not rob him of his personality, assuage his intellect, or diminish his zeal. These and all other personal assets were merely converted, changed for a new and higher use.
Plodders pay the price for preparation. He spent ten years in Arabia, Damascus, Syria, Cilicia, and Jerusalem preparing for his new life-time commitment. The academician had much to learn about the Lord. There is no need of the orchestra playing unless it first tunes up. Paul is a template of tenacity in the process of preparation. Little did he know the Lord had begun his preparation long before his conversion. God is constantly working in our lives to prepare us at times we are unsuspecting.
The single minded Paul was now set on a new course. His travels resulted in three missionary journeys to take the good news to Europe.
His knowledge of Scripture was vital in preaching in Jerusalem in that his audience was familiar with Scripture. He could speak of what the prophets had said of the coming Messiah and they knew the references. All that regiment of preparation equipped him for this moment.
Then however he went to Athens where the people had no knowledge of Scripture. They were a prophecy desert. Remember Gamaliel? He insisted that his students read Greek poetry. At the Acropolis Paul saw the statues to many gods and one to an “unknown god.” Such a statue had been erected just in case they omitted one unintentionally.
To reach the Greek mind Paul reached back in his memory and quoted from one of their poets: “for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring'” (Acts 17:28).
Paul had learned well and from the files of his brilliant mind he pulls quotes the Greeks knew. He first quoted the Cretian poet Epimenides from his poem “Cretica” in which the character Minos speaks. Then he quoted from the Cilician poets Aratus and Cleanthes. He knew how to relate. He was willing to begin where they were in order to get them to where they needed to be. Using that same technique Michelle Akers and Dr. Thomas Welch have been sited.
Paul knew that in Christ we “live and move and have our being,” just as we know the crew of a submarine lives within their vessel dependent upon it for life.
Paul became the herald of the distilled truth that has changed individuals and societies.
Years lapsed and the church in Europe lapsed into error. A young monk named Martin Luther read Paul’s writing as recorded in Romans 1:17, “The just shall live by faith.” This was so contrary to what the church was advocating it became revolutionary and the Reformation was given birth in Europe. The word “revealed” means “to take off the veil.” This was a grand unveiling.
In the Convent Library at Erfurt is a renown painting depicting Martin Luther as a young monk. At the age of 24 he is shown reading a portion of Scripture in the early morning light. On the page from which he is reading can be seen the words, “The just shall live by faith.”
Centuries before the prophet Habakkuk had penned these words and the Apostle Paul had set them like a jewel in his writings to the church at Rome.
In the library of Rudolstadt is a handwritten letter penned by Paul Luther, the son of Martin. In it he shares this insight from his family.
“In the year 1544, my late dearest father journeyed to Rome. He acknowledged with great joy that, in that city, through the Spirit of Jesus Christ, he had come to the knowledge of the truth of the everlasting Gospel.”
That coming to the knowledge occurred in the Cathedral Church of St. John of Lateran in Rome. Therein are three parallel staircases. People walk up the stairs to the left and right but those in the middle are considered special. On some of the steps of the center stair case are coverings of plate glass through which stains can be seen. A late tradition says these were the stairs in Pilate’s Hall in Jerusalem and the stains are the blood of Jesus Christ.
As a devoted young monk Luther like many before and since climbed these steps on his knees seeking to gain God’s favor. There the text he is depicted as having read by the dawns early light comes to mind. At a moment in which he was by his own virtue and effort seeking to earn God’s favor it dawned on him, “The just shall live by faith.” That excluded works as a means of appropriating God’s forgiveness and grace. His mind illumined, he jumped to his feet and went on his way rejoicing.
Now back to the Library at Rudolstadt and the hand written letter by the son of Martin Luther: “Thereupon, he ceased his prayers, returned to Wittenberg, and took this as the chief foundation of his doctrine.”
THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.
“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).
That is the foundation of Christianity.
Summarily Paul wrote of the path he had plod for Christ:
“Are they ministers of Christ?; I speak as a fool; I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness; besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches” (II Cor 11: 23-28).
As Paul plodded on he paused near the end of his life in Caesarea. A prophet named Agabus came to meet him there.
“When he had come to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’ Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, ‘What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus’” (Acts 21: 11 – 13).
All of Paul’s plodding had prepared him for what was to come. He who wrote of living by faith not only lived by faith he died with faith.
If legend is true his adversaries led him out of Rome on the Appian Way where they severed his head from his frail body. He like Stephen died for his Lord. In that flash of time he experienced the second part of his depiction of the Christian experience of which he wrote: “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).
Paul, justified by grace not works, gained eternity.
The Third Noel 12/26/99
Luke 2:29-32
JESUS CHRIST’s birth resulted in polyphony of praise offered by angels and earthlings alike. Mary offered the first Noel, “The Magnificat.”
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit rejoiced in God my Savior.”
The first expression refers to letting God’s sufficiency be observable in her life in a broader sphere. Are you willing to let God demonstrate His sufficiency to guard, guide, and govern in your life? Will you live in such a way that others may see Jesus in you and be attracted to Him. That is how we magnify God. It is by letting Him be seen more clearly through us.
In her second expression she revealed her elation in that a Savior was being provided for her and all human kind. Have you joyfully responded to Christ acknowledging with great gladness Him as Savior? If not do it now.
The angels shared the second Noel, “Gloria in Excelsis Deo.”
“Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, good will toward men!”
Now the third Noel. Forty days after Christ’s birth Mary and Joseph left Bethlehem and journeyed about ten miles to neighboring Jerusalem and the Temple for a special service of consecration. There lived in the Bible land at that time a group known as “the Quiet in the Land.” They had no dreams of powerful marching armies with banners, no aspirations for violence. They believed in lives of quiet watchfulness and constant prayer. Among them was an old man named Simeon.
Forty days after the birth of Jesus, Mary and Joseph came to the temple to comply with a Jewish religious right. They came to make a sacrifice to God. The normal sacrifice was a lamb. Provisions were made for the poor, those who couldn’t afford a lamb. They could offer a pair of turtle doves. The poverty of Mary and Joseph is revealed in their offering of doves.
In the temple Mary and Joseph encountered the elderly Simeon who voiced the third Noel: “Nunc Dimittis,” which in Latin means “Now let Thy servant depart.”
“Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation. Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel” (Luke 2: 29 – 32).
The summary of Simeon’s message is one of hope. For centuries Israel had hoped for the coming of Messiah. Simeon himself had kept a long vigil in the temple in anticipation of His coming. He lived by hope. Do you? Keep it alive. It energizes life and empowers effort. Hope for tomorrow enables us to bear the burdens of today.
Hope is good for our health. Dr. Harold G. Wolff wrote: “Hope, like faith and a purpose in life, is medicinal. This is not merely a statement of belief, but a conclusion proved by meticulously controlled scientific experiments.” (“What Hope Does For Man,” The Saturday Evening Post, 1\5\57)
Right now turn in your Bible to Romans 15:13 and mark it resolving to make it a life long project. Let it be your code for life.
“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).
Couple that with the realization that “The hope set before us …. is like an anchor for our lives, and anchor safe and sure” (Hebrews 6:19).
That hope is in Christ. He is our anchor.
In Simeon’s statement he reveals Christ to be:
I. HE IS A STANDARD (Luke 2: 30 – 32)
He is God the Father’s standard for ALL PEOPLE. He is as obtrusive and fixed as the stars in the solar system. His coming resulted in the “taking off from the Gentiles the veil.” His coming was intended to be the crowning glory of Israel.
The artist, Rossetti, has painted a humble oriental house with Jesus looking out a window. There, as of then unrepentant Mary Magdalene, is frolicking down the street with a rowdy group. She turns her head and their gazes meet. On her face is an expression of horror and dismay. In His face she sees herself as she is and is filled with self- loathing, self-disgust. Jesus reveals to each of us what we think of our self = humble or arrogant, AND of God = skeptical or submissive.
Christ is the standard established by the Tri-Unity before the dawn of creation. People portend to judge Him but in reality we and all persons are judged by Him. We judge ourselves by how we judge Him. If when confronted with His love for Him we respond positively it results in our salvation. Thus, many will rise. If we respond negatively it consequents in our condemnation. Thus, many will fall.
Some denominations set standards called by various titles as the means of measuring spirituality. They require a person to do good works to earn, merit, or deserve God’s favor. Persons living under this system of beliefs are always in suspense. Repeatedly they must ask themselves, “Have I done enough good to compensate for the bad I’ve done?” When is enough —- enough? We can always find someone we are better than. However, there is always someone better than we. Suppose God graded on the curve. We simply score ourselves on the basis of how well others score.
First, question: What’s a passing grade?
Then along came Jesus and He aced the test. He lived a perfect sinless life. None can compare: “For all have sinned and come short of the grace of God.” “There is none righteous, no not one.”
The Lord wants to make it perfectly clear Jesus is the standard.
“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).
By this Standard, established by Heaven, Christ, many rise and fall. Within eighty years of His death a governor of a Roman province wrote: “People are deserting pagan temples, and are gathering in illegal conventicles to worship somebody who it was always understood, had a name of infamy – one Christus, who had been put to an ignominious death years before.”
Within 300 years a Christian occupied the throne of Caesar and was guarded by soldiers bearing scars from persecution resulting from them being Christians.
Faith in the Living God had broken the bonds of nationalism and exclusiveness. The “salvation” offered is for “all people.”
This was a shocker to people who were expecting a restrictive deliverer. YOU are in included in the statement in Verse 30. Christ came to die for you.
With a new millennium many persons are seeking spiritual cleansing and guidance. In searching the Bible be logical and don’t hesitate to ask for help in understanding.
In Lansing, Michigan three sisters were arrested for riding around in a stolen van naked coated with mustard. They had read the account of Adam and Eve in their naked state so they thought it to be proper to be naked before God. They had read the passage regarding having faith the size of a mustard seed so they coated themselves with mustard. I don’t know what symbolism the stolen van had. In this way they were seeking to earn God’s favor.
II. HE IS A SWORD (Luke 2:35)
A sword? Yes, a sword. A sword pierces and divides. This He does. A stand for Him divides those who follow Him from the world.
Ask a teenage girl left out of all the party invitations because she will not forfeit her virtue what is meant by the sword. She has been cut off by her faith and stand for Christ.
Ask a young male who will not drink and use drugs what it means for the sword to fall. He is cut out of the gang.
Ask a business executive who will not cheat or compromise because of faith in Christ what it means for the sword to be applied.
Ask a young homemaker who will not give in to the “soap society” what the sword principle means.
Neutrality accomplishes nothing positive. It is an evasion of responsibility. In ancient Athenian democracy a citizen was stripped of all rights of citizenship if he refused to take sides in moral and political issues.
Webster defines “neutrality” as “not being engaged on either side.” Edmund Burke pointed out this vice in his often quoted statement: “All that is necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good men to do nothing.”
In the Revelation neutrality is described as being neither “hot nor cold,” and is graphically represented as the sin that nauseates God. Christ said of the Laodicean church, which He described as neither hot nor cold, that He would “spew them out” of His mouth. That is, literally, to vomit them up.
Dante vividly got specific: “The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in a time of great moral crisis, maintained their neutrality.”
A “certain Samaritan” received Christ’s commendation because he got involved when a priest and a Levite were neutral.
Dean W.R. Inge pointed his index finger of accusation at the uninvolved segment of Christianity when he wrote: “Christianity is a creed for heroes and we are harmless, good-natured little people who want everybody to have a good time.”
Get involved in what you believe. Happiness is a by-product of a job well done. One reason for so many unhappy Christians is they are uninvolved.
III. HE IS A SIGN (Luke 2:34c)
“Darkness” represents sins.
“Light” represents righteous living.
Simeon took Jesus in his arms. Have you taken a grip on Jesus?
Simeon’s life climaxed upon seeing the Christ child and he exclaimed: “Lord, now let your servant depart in peace” (Luke 2: 29).
In this climatic time in history with a millennium ending and a new one about to be birthed does the old one’s passing find you conditioned to depart in peace. If not take Christ unto yourself and be prepared for the new millennium with new life.
As the year 1900 approached many leading secular thinkers including George Bernard Shaw and H.G. Wells, argued that the dawning of the 20th century would mark the close of history’s religious phase. That is, that mankind would no longer need religion.
Futurist, Faith Popcorn, in an interview on December 9, 1999, said the new millennium would be one focusing on spiritual values. People will be trying to gain a better understanding of spiritual values.
Now will you prepare to enter the new millennium with a commitment to Christ that will make the new era one in which He is your guide?
The Second Noel 12/19/99
Luke 2:9-14
JESUS CHRIST’s birth was attested to by citizens of Heaven and attended by citizens of earth. In it two worlds merged: the world of the spiritual and the world of the physical. For that reason His name was called Emmanuel, which means, “God with us.”
In that act God honored the role of mother and favored the process of birth. Neither should be taken lightly. The first should be avoided if there is any thought of the second having to be aborted. We, male and female, should respect what God has honored.
Christmas, the celebration of His birth, does many things for all of society. One thing it does is rekindle HOPE. In a culture where there appears to be so little hope, I rejoice over its being available to all.
The song writer Oscar Hammerstein in talking about his personal philosophy once said: “I cannot write anything without hope in it…when people point out that the world has evil and ugliness in it…I merely point out I know about all of those things, but I choose to align myself to the hope of side of life.”
My heart sings with Mary Martin those lines given her by Hammerstein: “I’m stuck like a dope in a thing called hope and I can’t get it out of my heart.”
I can’t! I just can’t, because Christ is my heart.
Hope is more than just a feeling—it is a vision, a way of looking at our world, a way of understanding the things that happen to us.
The Christmas story does not deny the presence of darkness, it just proclaims the presence of light.
It doesn’t ignore the reality of bitterness and hate, it just declares the dominance of love. It shouts of hope.
Christmas is a pencil sharpener for the emotions making them sharper and more sensitive.
Imagine the hope that must have sprung to life in the hearts of those astonished shepherds just outside Bethlehem on that eventful night when the angels came to them proclaiming Messiah’s birth. Consider —
I. WHAT THEY SAID: “GLORY TO GOD….PEACE…. GOOD WILL….”
A plethora of diversions tend to minimize the Christ whose birth we celebrate.
It was Christmas 1939 that the then department store giant Montgomery Ward came up with an advertising campaign featuring a character called “Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer.” Today this reindeer with a “nose so bright” is better known by many American children than the One whose birth we celebrate.
In 1949, songwriter Johnny Marks put the ad-gimmick to music, and we have sung it “every foggy Christmas Eve” since.
Long before this guiding light Zacharias prophesied of another who would offer guidance:
“The rising sun (Jesus) will come to us from heaven… to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
We pragmatic people tend to think of there being no other state of being other than those we can see and prove. In doing so, we overlook the existence of the angelic band.
The Hebrew word for angel is the same as the name of the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi. It literally means “my angel.” I have a Malachi and so do you. They are at work today as in the day of Christ’s birth. They are also called “ministering spirits.”
The text says there was a “heavenly host.” The word “host” actually means “army.” There was a large force of angels involved.
Daniel (7:10) said of angels “ten thousand times ten thousand attend unto God.”
The writer of the Revelation (5:11) spoke of “a world of angels.”
Hebrews 12:22 lost count and referred to an “innumerable company of angels.” They are without number.
There are 108 references to angels in the Old Testament and 165 in the New Testament. They are referenced in the Garden of Eden and depicted as active in the Book of the Revelation.
Together this army of angels spoke in praise to God.
The angels were the heralds of the one of which it was said, “His name shall be called Wonderful…”
Audrey Mieir was absorbed in what was happening in her little church. They were having a Christmas presentation of the birth of Jesus. Mary was a teenage girl. The angels were young boys. The baby was a doll. Bathrobes revealed rolled up jeans under them. This simple setting provided for an electrifying moment. Audrey looked at the little children in the audience sitting open mouthed and expectant. Elderly friends wiped away tears remembering Christmases long past.
The pastor stood, raised his hands and said, “His name is Wonderful.” The words gripped Audrey. Immediately she began to write in the back of her Bible. She remembered that as she wrote it seemed to her God had something He wanted said. That night she sang the simple chorus around the piano with a group of youth. The words were simple and they picked it up right away. She wrote:
“His name is Wonderful, His name is Wonderful…
Jesus my Lord.
He is the mighty king, Master of everything.
His name is Wonderful, Jesus my Lord.
He’s the great Shepherd,
The Rock of all ages. Almighty God is He;
Bow down before Him, Love and adore Him,
His name is Wonderful, Jesus my Lord.”
Though they said it, choirs and congregations have appropriately sung it through the years. There is victory in that pronouncement. In Latin it is “Gloria in Excelsus Deo!”
Under divine inspiration the Apostle Paul wrote: “All the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.”
The angels said:
GLORY TO GOD
Jesus taught us to pray: “…Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory…” He already has the glory we are blessed to be vessels through which His glory is seen and by whom it is acknowledged.
Christ’s coming focuses on the glory of God because in Him the attributes and attitudes of God are pleasantly revealed.
In the act of Christ coming, God revealed a bit more of His glory which had been concealed.
The fundamental way we can accent the glory of God is by giving ourselves in trust to Him as our Savior and yielding to Him in service as our Lord.
Next we can so love and live as to try to bring others to a saving knowledge of Him. There are those around us we are responsible for influencing. There are those beyond our sphere of influence. Many are in foreign lands. To them we can and must send missionaries. Missionaries become our proxies when we give financially to help them minister. Some people flinch when giving is mentioned.
A verse, long-lurking in my memory, goes:
“Go break to the hungry sweet charities bread,
For giving is living the angel said.
But must I keep giving again and again,
The weary worn question came.
No said the angel, piercing me through.
Just stop giving when God stops giving to you.”
An old man on the city bus sat across from a little girl who was apparently from a poor family. As he sat holding a beautiful bouquet of flowers he noticed they had captured the attention of the little girl. Every time he looked at her she was looking admiringly at the flowers but quickly looked away.
When the bus stopped at his place of getting off he reached out and gave the flowers to her saying, “I bought these for my wife, but I know she would want you to have them.”
The bus stop was a bit longer than usual and the little girl watched as the old man got off the bus and entered through an old gate into a little cemetery.
Give your best to the Master before it is too late to give.
PEACE ON EARTH
Peace is both an event and a process. On September 2, 1945, representatives of Japan and America, the two powers that had been locked in World War II, met on the deck of the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay and a peace treaty was signed. On that day peace was an event. Since that time it has been a process enjoyed by both parties to the treaty.
People want peace in their lives as a process. It is not possible without it first being an event. The event involves you signing a treaty with Christ. He has already signed it with His blood. Now by faith it is your turn to sign.
“Once on the eve of Christmas
when all strange things may hap,
I saw Mary the Mother
with her baby upon her lap.
I saw the Mother, Mary,
holding God’s little son.
She said to him, Small one, tell me
When shall man’s war be done?
Then the child spake and answered:
These wars shall end, said he,
when no man shall wound another
for fear of wounding me.”
Many persons misunderstand this angelic statement to refer to the absence of war and hostility, and feel that it is unfulfilled. Cynics scoff at the very idea of “Peace on earth…” They ask when and how. Longfellow wrote a poem that speaks to this.
“I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men.
And in despair I bowed my head:
‘There is no peace on earth,’ I said,
‘For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth good-will to men.’
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
‘God is not dead, nor does He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men.”
The angelic statement was not a prophecy of peace but rather a prescription for peace.
GOOD WILL
In this supernatural act God was showing His strong desire for our “good will.” His will toward us is good. He designed, devised, and desires our good will. Only we can prevent it.
II. WHAT THEY SAW “A STAR”
In announcing the birth of Christ the world’s first communication satellite was put in orbit above Bethlehem. All of nature was at the Father’s disposal and He used a star to mark the locale of Christ’s birth.
III. WHAT THEY SOUGHT
THE WISE MEN
These were not “wise guys”, that is, smart alecks. These were sun-crowned intellects. Let’s give them the dignity of their Bible identity, “wise men.” They were wise men not “rich dudes.”
They were magi not magicians, astronomers not astrologists, scientists not wizards.
Their presence reveals that though Christianity is for the masses of poor it is also for the wealthy intellects. It is applicable for the “whosoever” of John 3: 16.
There is a bit of wit circulating that notes what a difference it would have made if these had been three wise women rather than wise men. They would have stopped and asked directions, and arrived on time. They would have helped deliver the baby, clean the stable, make a casserole, and brought disposable diapers as gifts.
Every December, as I take out the Christmas decorations, I also take out the memory of a Christmas 20 years ago in a small town in central Maine and the gift that one little girl gave to another. In a world where Christmas is ever more glittery and commercialized, it reminds me that the true spirit of the season lies in giving, and receiving, from the heart.
Winters seemed to be colder back then, and school days dragged slowly by. At my small school, we had two classes for each grade. My class was for the children who got good grades. Most of us wore nice clothes and our parents were in the PTA. Those in the “slower” class didn’t get good report cards. Most of the kids were poor. We attended the same school year after year, and by fourth grade we all knew who belonged in which class. The one exception was the girl I shall call Marlene Crocker.
I still remember the day when Marlene was transferred to the “smarter” class. She stood by the teacher’s desk that morning in a wool skirt that hung down below her knees. Her sweater was patched, but her face was wide and hopeful.
She was not at all pretty except for her intelligent-looking brown eyes. I had heard Marlene was a good student, though, and I wondered why she hadn’t been in the “smarter” class all along. As she stood waiting for the teacher to assign her a seat, for a moment I imagined that I might become her friend and we would talk together at recess. Then the whispers began. “She’s not sitting beside me!” someone sneered.
“That will be enough,” the teacher said firmly, and the class turned silent. No one would laugh at Marlene again—at least not when the teacher was in the room. Marlene and I never talked together at recess as I’d first imagined. The boundaries that separated us were too firmly drawn.
One late autumn day, Mom and I happened to be out driving along a wooded back road. It was one that we seldom took because Mom said it wasted gas. I was busy chattering away when suddenly, out the window, I saw a tar-paper shack so tiny that it would have fit inside our bathroom. The shack was set far back in a big field littered with rusted car parts. Across the yard stretched a long clothesline, beneath which stood a little girl who looked at us as we sped past. It was Marlene. I raised my hand to wave, but our car had already passed her. “That poor little girl,” my mother said, “hanging out clothes and it’s going to rain.”
Once the snow came that winter, it seemed as though it would never stop. As Christmas drew near, my spirits were as high as the snowdrifts as I watched the pile of presents grow beneath our Christmas tree. At school, a few days before our school Christmas party, we passed around a hat in class to pick the name of a classmate for whom we’d buy a gift. The hat went around, and the names were drawn. Finally, the hat came to Marlene. One boy leaned forward, closer than anyone had ever been to Marlene, and hooted as he read her slip of paper. “Marlene got Jenna’s name.”
I began to blush furiously as I heard my name. Marlene looked down at her desk, but the teasing went on until our teacher stopped it. “I don’t care,” I vowed haughtily, but I felt cheated.
The day of the party, I marched to the bus reluctantly, carrying a nice gift of Magic Markers for the person whose name I had drawn. At school, we ate the Christmas cookies our mothers had baked and drank our grape drink. Then the presents were handed out, and the wrapping paper went flying as everyone tore into them.
The moment I had been dreading had arrived. Suddenly it seemed as though everyone was crowding around. Sitting on my desk was a small package wrapped neatly in tissue paper. I looked over at Marlene. She was sitting alone. Suddenly overcome by the need to protect Marlene from the mocking of my classmates, I seized Marlene’s gift, unwrapped it and sat there, holding it hidden in my hand.
“What is it?” a boy hollered, when he could stand it no longer.
“It’s a wallet,” I finally answered.
The bell rang and the buses came and someone said to Marlene, “Did your old man make it from the deer he shot?”
Marlene nodded and said, “And my ma.”
“Thank you, Marlene,” I said.
“You’re welcome,” she said. We smiled at each other. Marlene was not my friend but I never teased her. Maybe when I got bigger, I would ride my bike over there and we could talk and play. I thought about that as I rode the bus home. I tried not to think of what Marlene’s Christmas would be like.
Years went by. I went to high school and college, and lost contact with most of my childhood schoolmates. Whenever I struggled with math problems, I recalled the rumors that Marlene had dropped out of school to help her mother with the younger children at home. Then I heard that she had married young and stated having babies of her own.
One day, I came across the white doeskin wallet I had received at that Christmas party long ago. Funny how, of all the gifts, I’d kept this one through the years. I took it out and studied its intricate craftsmanship. Beneath the top flap, I noticed a small slit holding a tiny piece of paper that I had never seen before. Sitting in my comfortable home, I read the words that Marlene had written to me years before. “To my best friend,” they said. Those words pierced by heart. I wished I could go back, to have the courage to be the kind of friend I’d wanted to be. Belatedly, I understood the love that had been wrapped inside that gift.
There are a few things I unpack every year at Christmastime – an old wooden creche, shiny balls for the tree and a Santa figurine. I take the wallet out, too. Last year, I told my small son the story of the girl who had given it to me. He thought about it and then he said, “Of all the gifts, that was the goodest gift, wasn’t it?”
And I smiled, grateful for the wisdom that let him see that it was.
They were wise not because of their learning but because of their seeking for wisdom and truth. In Christ they found both.
Even the dumb animals in the manger in Bethlehem knew more about the Christ child’s birth than the pious religious leaders in Jerusalem. We must be certain that we don’t simply know a lot about Him but fail to know Him personally.
THE SHEPHERDS
They came seeking the One Who came to “seek and to save” them.
In contrast to the wise men, the shepherds represent one of the lowest classes of the society of the era. They were desert dwellers of low esteem. As Christianity is for the wealthy intellects so it is also for the poor and uneducated. It is for the “as many as will.”
When the angels spoke to the shepherds they responded: “Let us go…” (Vs. 15).
Now that you have heard what they heard will you not respond as they and say, “I am going…” “I am going to receive Christ.” “I am going to respond openly as did the shepherds.”