BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE
MIKE CUNNINGHAM
FEBRUARY 21, 2010
It was nice leaving last week’s service
knowing God had definitely spoken to a couple of people through my message,
and that they planned on publicly sharing some of their thoughts concerning
it in my web page guest-book. Thanks to those two people I knew my prayers
asking God for His help with that message had been answered. That knowledge
is beneficial because, as I have shared many times in the past; Satan and
his cohorts constantly try their hardest to distract me in hopes of making
my sermons ineffectual. Allow me to share some excerpts from their comments.
The first read in part: “I found this to be a very helpful, thought-provoking
sermon. I really could relate to it. It has been on my mind all week and I
know it will help me in my walk of faith.
To refresh your memory, the following
are my concluding remarks from last week’s message that Agnes was referring
to concerning personal evangelism. “I know you folks continue to sow seeds
as you have the opportunity. However, unless I’m greatly mistaken, most of
you are primarily engaged in the often long arduous seemingly never ending
work of cultivation. Continue pleading with God to give you the strength of
Christ within you to enable you to endure and not get discouraged. Ask God
to constantly remind you that as long as there is life there is reason for
you to have hope, and that you should never give up! And ask Him to help you
to remember that you have brothers and sisters in Christ who are also pleading
with God on your behalf. And don’t let Satan or anyone else con you into
believing you’re a failure and not actively engaged in evangelism. Lord
willing, next week….”
Well, seeing that the Lord was willing
and we’re here again today, I’m going to attempt to put all of us back on
the hook. I won’t be reminding anyone of some of the horrors of dying apart
from Christ. If I haven’t already accomplished that in previous messages,
I probably never will. Instead, I would like to focus on our responsibility
of being used as instruments in God’s hands as we do our part in attempting
to help folks escape suffering eternal torment. If we don’t take this command
seriously we’re sinning against Him. Although it won’t be in the next world
because no one will be punished in Heaven; in one way or another, we will
pay a price for our disobedience, and it will happen before we leave this
world. Allow me to explain by using the following command Jesus gave to
His beloved disciples.
Matthew
28:16-20 (ESV)
16 Now the eleven disciples went to
17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and
on earth has been given to me.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold,
I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Although “The Great Commission” was
originally given to those eleven men, it certainly applies to all Christian’s
including you and me. Jesus is telling us through His written Word what His
will is concerning being obedient to all His commands, and not only
those concerning evangelizing the lost. We
know what He wants us to do because He has made it perfectly clear in the
Bible. We are without excuse. For instance, consider the following.
Luke 12:41-48 (ESV) 41 Peter
said, "Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for all?" 42
And the Lord said, "Who then is the faithful and wise manager,
whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of
food at the proper time? 43 Blessed is that servant whom his master
will find so doing when he comes. 44 Truly, I say to you, he will
set him over all his possessions.
45
But if that servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed
in coming,' and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and
drink and get drunk, 46 the master of that servant will come on
a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will
cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. 47 And that
servant who knew his master's will but did not get ready or act
according to his will will receive a severe beating. 48 But
the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a
light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required,
and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.
“And that servant who knew his master's
will but did not get ready or act according to his [revealed] will,
will receive a severe beating.”
I’m
not suggesting that you and I will receive a severe beating if we don’t seize
every opportunity to share our faith. I’m very grateful our Father is very
patient with us. However, if we persist in shirking our responsibility, in
one way or another, Jesus says that we will pay a price. He had also previously
demonstrated to those men how to conduct themselves at all times. I believe
this is something which is especially important whenever we are attempting
to lead a poor lost sinner to Him, or in cultivating the soil in which the
Gospel seed has previously been planted. For instance, consider the following
account of an incident which took place in what we refer to as being “The
Upper Room” during “The Last Supper.”
John
13:1-17 (ESV)
1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his
hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his
own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
2 During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart
of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him,
3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his
hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God,
4 rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking
a towel, tied it around his waist.
5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’
feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my
feet?”
7 Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now,
but afterward you will understand.”
8 Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered
him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.”
9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my
hands and my head!”
10 Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to
wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but
not every one of you.”
11 For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not
all of you are clean.”
12 When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments
and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done
to you?
13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am.
14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you
also ought to wash one another’s feet.
15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do
just as I have done to you.
16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his
master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.
17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.
Commenting on these verses, William Barclay wrote: “Few incidents in the
gospel story so reveal the character of Jesus and so perfectly show his love.
When we think of what he might have been and of what he might have done the
supreme wonder of what he was and did comes home to us.”
“(i) Jesus knew all things had been given into his hands. He knew that
his hour of humiliation was near, but he knew that his hour of glory was also
near. Such a consciousness might well have filled him with pride; and yet,
with the knowledge of the power and the glory that were his, he washed his
disciples' feet. At that moment when he might have had supreme pride, he had
supreme humility. Love is always like that. When, for example, someone falls
ill, the person who loves him will perform the most menial services and delight
to do them, because love is like that. Sometimes men feel that they are too
distinguished to do the humble things, too important to do some menial task.
Jesus was not so. He knew that he was Lord of all, and yet he washed his
disciples' feet.”
“(ii) Jesus knew that he had come from God and that he was going to God. He
might well have had a certain contempt for men and for the things of this
world. He might well have thought that he was finished with the world now,
for he was on the way to God. It was just at that time when God was nearest
to him that Jesus went to the depths and the limits of his service of men.
To wash the feet of the guests at a feast was the office of a slave. The disciples
of the Rabbis were supposed to render their masters personal service, but
a service like this would never have been dreamed of. The wonderful thing
about Jesus was that his nearness to God, so far from separating him from
men, brought him nearer than ever to them.”
“It is always true that there is no one closer to men than the man who
is close to God. T. R. Glover said of certain clever intellectuals: "They
thought they were being religious when they were merely being fastidious."
There is a legend of St. Francis of Assisi. In his early days he was very
wealthy; nothing but the best was good enough for him; he was an aristocrat
of the aristocrats. But he was ill at ease and there was no peace in his soul.
One day he was riding alone outside the city when he saw a leper, a mass of
sores, a horrible sight. Ordinarily the fastidious Francis would have recoiled
in horror from this hideous wreck of humanity. But something moved within
him; he dismounted from his horse and flung his arms around the leper; and
as he embraced him the leper turned into the figure of Jesus. The nearer
we are to suffering humanity, the nearer we are to God.”
(iii) “Jesus knew this also. He was well aware that he was about to be betrayed.
Such knowledge might so easily have turned him to bitterness and hatred; but
it made his heart run out in greater love than ever. The astounding thing
was that the more men hurt him, the more Jesus loved them. It is so easy and
so natural to resent wrong and to grow bitter under insult and injury; but
Jesus met the greatest injury and the supreme disloyalty, with the greatest
humility and the supreme love.”
“There is more in the background of this passage than even John tells us.
If we turn to Luke's account of the last meal together, we find the tragic
sentence: "A dispute also arose among them, which of them was to be regarded
as greatest"(Luke. 22-24). Even within sight of the Cross, the disciples
were still arguing about matters of precedence and prestige.”
“It may well be that this very argument produced the situation which made
Jesus act as he did. The roads of Palestine were unsurfaced and uncleaned.
In dry weather they were inches deep in dust and in wet they were liquid mud.
The shoes ordinary people wore were sandals, which were simply soles held
on to the foot by a few straps. They gave little protection against the dust
or the mud of the roads. For that reason there were always great waterpots
at the door of a house; and a servant was there with a ewer [basin] and a
towel to wash the soiled feet of the guests as they came in. Jesus' little
company of friends had no servants. The duties which servants would carry
out in wealthier circles they must have shared among each other. It may well
be that on the night of this last meal together they had got themselves into
such a state of competitive pride that not one of them would accept the duty
of seeing that the water and the towels were there to wash the feet of the
company as they came in; and Jesus mended their omission in the most vivid
and dramatic way.”
“He himself did what none of them was prepared to do. Then he said: "You
see what I have done. You call me your master and your Lord; and you are quite
right; for so I am; and yet I am prepared to do this for you. Surely you don't
think that a pupil deserves more honour than a teacher, or a servant than
a master. Surely if I do this, you ought to be prepared to do it. I am giving
you an example of how you ought to behave towards each other." (A)
In case anyone hasn’t been able to connect the dots and is wondering what
I just shared has to do with what I described last week as being “the often
long arduous seemingly never ending work of cultivating the seeds that have
already been sown;” I have to say it has just about everything. For instance,
in addition to not practicing what we preach or walking the talk; do any of
the following words coming out of the mouth of a condescending, self-righteous,
finger-pointing professed Christian sound familiar? Listen to the following
sampling: “Mark my words. The day will come when you will wish you listened
to me. It won’t be my fault that you didn’t. God knows I’ve been knocking
myself out for years trying to get through to you.” Or in total exasperation
with the person, saying something such as: “How many times do I have to tell
you what the Bible has to say about people like you? You think every road
leads to heaven and all you have to do to get in there is a lot of good deeds.
I
don’t care about all your good deeds. I’ve news for you; neither does God!
They won’t get you anywhere. Listen to me while I tell you again
what Jesus and the Apostle Paul have to say about the matter. Then let me
know if someone has to be a rocket scientist to understand these verses:”
John
14:6 (ESV)
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
Acts
4:12 (ESV)
12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other
name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
John
10:9 (ESV)
9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved.
Some Christian’s adopt a holier than thou accusing attitude when they are
witnessing to a non-Christian, or cultivating the ground in which the gospel
seed has already been planted but appears to have a long germination period.
The person’s whole life may seem to be falling apart. For instance, the professed
Christian may say something such as: “Duh! Has it ever occurred to you that
God might be trying to get through to you? How many times do I have to tell
you that you need Jesus and you should be in church every Sunday like me?
You should be reading the Bible I gave you instead of spending so much time
with your eyes glued to the TV, or your nose stuck in a book, or playing those
idiotic video games. You already know what happened in the Garden of Eden
because I told you. A lot of times! You know all about Adam and Eve falling
and what happened because of what they did. You have to remember me telling
you what the Bible says. Listen to this:
Romans
5:12 (ESV)
12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man,
and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—
Now listen to what Jesus says about someone like you.
John
8:44 (ESV)
44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to
do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing
to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks
out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
The devil is your father and
unless you make a decision to invite Jesus into your life, you’re going to
wind up Hell with him. It won’t be my fault. God knows I did my best. I have
a clear conscience. What did I ever do to deserve having someone like you
in my life? How many times do I have to remind you that the wages of sin
is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord?,
Romans 6:23.
Now
contrast this method with that of Jesus, the Humble Servant.
John 13:15 (ESV) Likewise: “you also ought to
wash one another's feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that
you also should do just as I have done to you.
I
assure you that we will know with absolute certainty those times when we could
and should have shared the Gospel, but didn’t. Consider again the consequences
we can expect.
Luke 12:47 (ESV) “And that servant who knew his master's will
but did not get ready or act according to his [revealed] will,
will receive a severe beating,”
Once
again Jesus told them what the right thing to do was. He clearly communicated
to them God’s desire. As we have seen, it isn’t just certain things that we do which are sinful, but also
those which we don’t do.
I sometimes wonder which is worse. The Apostle James recap’s this command.
James 4:17 (ESV) 17 So whoever knows
the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
I’m ashamed to admit that in my early walk with the
Lord I have made similar heartless caustic remarks to a fellow sinner. Of
course, none of you folks ever acted as I once did, have you? Whenever I behaved
in such a contemptible manner Satan and his cohorts must have been silently
cheering me on. Although I had Christ’s words in my head and spoke them
out of my mouth, I obviously didn’t have His love for sinners in my heart.
None of us know when someone living apart from Christ
will leave this world. If it happens while I’m still alive, I sure don’t want
to attend his or her wake, and have to look into the coffin and gaze at the
persons face, and then be plagued by a guilty conscience for the rest of my
life because I didn’t seize every opportunity to do my very best to lead that
poor lost soul to the Risen Savior. I don’t think any of you folks would either.
We must not behave like many wild animals who, when they are running in a
pack and one of them falls and gets hurt, never turn around and go back to help. We are
not wild animals but human beings who have been created in the image and likeness
of God. At every divinely ordained, easily recognizable opportunity, we must
strive to lead unbelievers to Him, and we must do so in a spirit of obvious
humility “before it’s too late.”
Lord willing, soon….
--------------------------------------
(A)
Excerpt’s from the excellent “WORDsearch 9”
software version of the Gospel of John in Barclay's Daily New Testament Study
Series. (Emphasis added)
|| Additional
Sermons || Leave Feedback ||