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.

Not Just to Enter but to Finish – Part Fifteen

“Know you not that they which run in a race run all, but one receives the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that strives for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.  I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beats the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”  (I Corinthians 9: 24 – 27)

In the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City John Stephen Akhwari, a Tanzanian Olympian, became an Olympic icon as an entrant in the marathon. The sun and insufferable heat caused many participants to drop out because of exhaustion, dehydration, cramps, and fatigue. Out of 74 entrants 17 did not finish the grueling race. 

In an entanglement with other competitors he suffered a fall injuring his shoulder, leg and head. Spectators along the race route urged him to stop and seek medical assistance. Instead he, at great effort, got up, personally worked his dislocated knee joint into place, and bandaged his significant wounds.

Darkness fell over the stadium, the awards ceremony was over, and most of the spectators had long left the stadium. Only a few hundred remained when out of the darkness of the Mexican night, Akhwari emerged in agony. Those who remained were rewarded by seeing one of the most glorious moments in Olympic history. Spectators rose and applauded him as he crossed the finish line last in the competition, but first in their hearts.  

When interviewed and asked about his never-say-die attitude, he responded:  “My country did not send me 5,000 miles just to start the race; they sent me to finish the race.”

Akhwari is an example of the loyal Christian in the spiritual race. We have a divine exemplar, Jesus Christ, who experienced suffering and knew pain, yet He remained faithful and finished well. He knows your losses and crosses and offers to sustain you.

As a follower of Jesus you can expect injuries and insults. The goal is to keep the objective in mind. He who faithfully ran His race awaits at the finish line to extend His nail scarred hand and say, “Well done.” Focus on this fact and be encouraged by it.

God’s word appeals: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and LET US RUN WITH ENDURANCE THE RACE THAT IS SET BEFORE US, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Often this passage is interpreted as meaning we are all in the stadium of life with the faithful who have gone before us in the heavenly stadium watching to see if we will be faithful.

It rather depicts those who have gone before us not as spectators watching us, but rather as experienced witnesses testifying to God’s sufficiency in their lives. As He was with them, so He is with us. It is as though they are saying He is able to make you a winner, fight on. They struggled and became victorious. In your struggles, fight on, you, too, can be victorious. Finish strong.

Perseverance Pays Off – Part Fourteen

Wilma Rudolph was born in a poor family at four and a half pounds.

At age four she contracted polio, Scarlet fever, and pneumonia. Her doctor said she would never walk. Over long months of struggle she learned to hobble with a brace. Still her left leg limited that. Her caring mother lovingly urged her on. With courage and perseverance she learned to run, not only to run, but to run fast.

Her mother had a deep Christian faith and taught her that God had a purpose in her life saying, “Honey, you have to believe in God and never give up hope.”

At age 16 she made the Olympic team. Folks in her hometown made up money for her to go to Melbourn, Australia. She lost her first race, the 200 meter, but her relay team won the bronze, her first Olympic medal. 

Four years later, Wilma was back. At the 1969 Olympics in Rome, Italy, her speed was legendary. People would say, “Don’t blink or you will miss her.”

During the 100 meter race, the crowd began screaming. Wilma looked behind her. She was way ahead of everyone. When the race ended Willma had won her first gold medal.

The relay race wasn’t so easy. Wilma dropped the baton as it was handed to her. She saw runners race ahead of her. With a great burst of speed, Wilma caught up with all of them and sped by them. Wilma had won her third gold medal.

Wilma died on November 12, 1994, but she still inspires people today. Each year the Women’s Sports Foundation gives the Wilma Rudolph Courage Award to a woman athlete who shows the kind of strength Wilma had.

Wilma was an avid reader of the Bible and a follower of Jesus to whom she gave praise. Of her struggles and successes she said, “Believe me, the reward is not so great without the struggle.”

As you struggle, and we all do, consider it a part being used by the Lord to make you stronger spiritually.

“But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40: 31)

Winning the Greatest Race – Part Thirteen

“Know you not that they which run in a race run all, but one receives the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that strives for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.  I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beats the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”  (I Corinthians 9: 24 – 27)

Carl Lewis’ name is etched into Olympic history. In the toughest of Olympic sports, track and field, few have dominated for so long. The record speaks for itself: Lewis’ first Olympic Games was Los Angeles 1984. His career lasted until the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. During this time, he won 10 Olympic medals, including 9 gold. Outside the Olympics, he won 10 World Championship medals, including eight gold. He set world records in the 100m, 4 x 100 m and 4 x 200 m relays.

The result of these performances was a host of awards and recognition. In 1999, Lewis was voted “Sportsman of the Century” by the International Olympic Committee, elected “World Athlete of the Century” by the International Association of Athletics Federations and named “Olympian of the Century” by Sports Illustrated.

Lewis spoke of the importance of his faith. “Knowing I have the Lord with me, I feel that there is no greater strength that I could have going into a competition. To inherit the kingdom of God, it didn’t matter that I had accomplished a feat that day only accomplished once before, and that by the legendary Jesse Owens. I had to do what everyone must do: avail myself of what Jesus Christ’s death on the cross made possible; salvation for anyone who calls on the name of Jesus Christ.”

Carl postures himself as having done what he said everyone needs to do, avail Himself of what Jesus Christ’s death on the cross made possible.

Faith in Jesus is essential resulting from Jesus’ death on the cross. Salvation has been defined as follows. “You walk up to a bridge in the woods and you consider whether or not it will hold you up.  You investigate the piers anchored to the ground. You look underneath it to see if you notice any damage. Finally, you are convinced the bridge will hold you up.

But saving faith isn’t just looking at the bridge and believing it will hold you up. Saving faith is crossing the bridge. The bridge is Christ. He alone is the object of saving faith. You must not merely study Christ and have a sound understanding of who He is and what He has done.”

It entails a faith commitment resulting from believing in Jesus’ substitution death on the cross with the result being the removal of the sins of the one who trusts Him. It furthermore involves Jesus’ righteousness being credited to your spiritual account.

Carl said, “I had to do what everyone must do….” If you have never done it, now is a good time to do so.

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!