"The Fork in the Road" By Chris Ulrich August 14th,
2016
Amen. It’s good to see everybody this morning. I know our theme this month has been the Book
of Colossians; we’re going to be going through the entire Book of Colossians,
but, before we do, I’m going to ask Brother Jose to come up and lead us in
prayer for the service this morning. Jose:
Heavenly Father, God, we have been blessed by You, Lord. And there is none here that can say that You
are not great, Lord. Lord, You have
reached us, Lord God, from the depths of the sins that we were in, Lord, and
the traps, Lord, God, that we could not get out of, Lord. And, we look to You, Lord, and we look,
earnestly, Lord Jesus, to Your Holy Word, Lord, the Word that You have prepared
for God’s messenger to use, and You have prepared him, Lord. God, now, Lord, we will listen to You, Lord,
and not let Your Word fall to the ground, Lord.
Not one single word will we let go, Lord Jesus. Lord, give us the fear of You, so that we
could tremble, Lord God, throughout the week, Lord God, before we step out and
do the things that we should not be doing or thinking. Jesus, we love You, and thank You for the
encouragement and the power of Your Word.
In Jesus’ name, amen. Thank you, Jose. So, our theme verse is from the Book of
Colossians: Colossians 1:10-12 That ye
might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good
work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Strengthened with all might,
according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with
joyfulness; Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be
partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: So, this morning, there’s going to
be a few points that I want to cover, and they’re very simple points. If you’re taking notes, they’re one-word
points. • Deception • Faithfulness • Choice
(and that’s going to tie in, a little bit, to the title) 1st Point –
Deception I think, a lot of times, we thank
about, sometimes, I guess, we’d call, like, the big sins. I think we’ve all heard that expression, as
far as, like, something more along the lines of murder, or adulatory, or armed
robbery. You could just think of those
that would come to mind, and just think about those as, well, I know our news
is, our media is filled with these kinds of events, and, I actually read
something, myself and Rob S. were out riding yesterday, and, there just
happened to be this table that we sat at; there was a Sun-Times. And, I looked at one of the articles, just
briefly, it just talked about, not just an increase in crime in Chicago, but a
massive increase in violent crimes. And
we’re talking about the rape, the armed robbery, the murder, the car theft, the
car-jacking, and things like this. And
it was kind of alarming, I suppose, and I’m not going to politicize it; it
would be easy to point the finger. But,
I would say that’s not our place. But,
to look at it like the Bible talks about—a verse that a lot of us have heard—in
Matthew twenty-four, “And because iniquity shall
abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” (Matthew 24:12) It talks about, in Genesis, that violence was
throughout all the earth (Genesis 6:11), and that was one of the reasons that
God brought the flood, because He saw this happening, and He realized, “This is
not My will. It isn’t supposed to end up
like this. This isn’t what I created
Earth to do. This isn’t what I created
people to live like.” But, I want to start with the Book
of Colossians. We’re going to jump right
into this. Colossians 2:1-4 For I
would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at
Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh; That their
hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of
the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of
God, and of the Father, and of Christ; In whom are hid all the treasures of
wisdom and knowledge. And this I say,
lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. I don’t normally do this, but I
want to read some definitions, here, there’s going to be a few of them that I’m
going to use this morning. And there
will be some terms that I’m sure all of us are already familiar with, and there
might be some that we’re not as acquainted with. And I’m not talking about trying to, like,
trick anybody, or trying to, like, catch somebody off guard, or talk over
anybody; I don’t think that’s our goal, ever.
But, I want to give you a definition, and this is the on-line
Meriam-Webster, it’s just the dictionary definition of the word, ‘beguile:’ Beguile: To trick or deceive, to attract or interest
someone, to lead by deception, to charm or enchant. I know a lot of us that travel,
and you look at license plates from other states, and, the state of New Mexico,
happens to be, if you’ve ever noticed it, it’s “The Land of Enchantment.” And I remember seeing that, especially,
growing up, kind of intriguing, you know, you see all these license plates,
especially when we travel out west. And,
I guess, on the surface, that sounds like, “Oh, wow, that sounds like a real
fun place to be.” That sounds like
something that I’d want to go visit there.
And this isn’t an indictment against—actually, that’s one of my favorite
states. I have enjoyed visiting
there. I’ve been there on a number of
occasions, travelling through. But,
enchantment, I mean, if you look at the Biblical definition of that, it’s not
something that we want to partake in, it’s not something that we want to seek,
enchantment. But, getting back to the
term, ‘beguile.’ This is not a common
Biblical term, there’s only 7 times in the Bible that it’s actually written,
but it just so happens to be twice in the Book of Colossians chapter two. And I want to read from the Book of Genesis,
because this one other place, this one other key point in humanity where the
word, ‘beguile’ is actually used: Genesis 3:13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What
is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I
did eat. So,
that was the very first transgression, when god told Adam and Eve, “Don’t eat
of the tree which is in the midst of the Garden of Eden.” And I know we’re in a day and age where it
just seems like things have gotten so far away from Biblical teaching. I know, last month, we talked about our Godly
heritage, as far as, in America, but, yet, sometimes, we talk with people, and,
it’s just like, they give you the deer in the headlights look. They can’t even believe that you believe the
Bible, much less any of the accounts of the events that actually occurred. I was on the weather channel, the weather
channel, weather.com, you know, a pretty harmless website, right? And, it’s important for us to read between
the lines, but, this one particular headline—this is on weather.com—it was
written in such a way that, “Oh, it might actually not be a myth that the great flood occurred,” as if to say, “Most
people think it’s a myth, but now we have scientific proof that, maybe, this
actually happened.” I got to thinking,
“What‽
When did that happen in society?
When did that get to a point where everybody just said, “Nah,
that’s not true. It didn’t happen. The parting of the Red Sea didn’t
happen. There’s no such thing as a
country of Israel, and all these things that are talked about in the Bible are
just myth, or just fiction, or just fables; cleverly designed fables.’?” That’s not the case. That’s not the case, but we have to have
faith, still, to believe it. And, I want
to talk about that word, beguile, because no matter how we look at it, there’s
not really an easy way to word this, but “guile,” which is the root word of the
word beguile, isn’t a trait we should possess of ourselves, neither is it
something that we should be on the receiving end. In other words, to be beguiled, it’s going to
be affecting us that badly, just as much as if we have guile, and try to be
deceptive to people. One biblical exception, and I want to share this, because
there is one place in the Bible where the Apostle Paul—and we’re going to read
it, in case anybody is thinking, “Well, there’s one place in the Bible…” Well, there is one place in the Bible, and it
used in different context, but I do want to read it. It’s a very simple verse. This is Apostle Paul talking to the Corinthians: 2 Corinthians 12:16 But be it so,
I did not burden you: nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you with guile. Now, if you read that entire
chapter, which I’m not saying you need to, but I read it a couple of times, to
try to get the exact gist of it. Let’s
just say that he was talking them into something that they didn’t want to do,
but Paul knew that it would be spiritually beneficial to them. So, he says, “I caught you with guile, to get
you to do something that you, yourselves, wouldn’t have done otherwise, but I
used guile, I was crafty, and deceptive, but not in a sinful way.” That is a difference. We’re going to continue through
the Book of Colossians, but I’ve split it up in a distinct way, because of the
separation of the points. Colossians 2:8 Beware lest any man
spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after
the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. So, here’s the definition of,
‘philosophy.’ Again, I know, some of
these terms, you might just be thinking, “I already know what that means.” Okay, but there might be somebody here that
doesn’t, or, to get a little bit more in-depth of a definition, but: Philosophy: The study of general and fundamental
problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind,
and language, a set of ideas about how to do something or how to live. I wanted to use Colossians 2:1-4
and Colossians 2:8 side by side to help highlight the similarities between the
terms ‘beguile’ and ‘philosophy.’
Because, again, getting back to—it doesn’t sound very sinful. It doesn’t sound like it’s something that’s
spiritually affecting, but it is. On the one hand, ‘philosophy’ doesn’t sound
quite as harmful as ‘beguiling’ but Apostle Paul is still warning the church
that this is something that, it’s a reason that people quit the gospel. And, having said that, it almost seems that
this verb and this noun, which is what they are, wouldn’t really be considered
flagrant or egregious sins. But we’re
going to be talking about what causes us to be deceived, today. What is it?
And it’s something that we might think, “Well, I’ve heard that
before.” I’ve heard it before, but it’s
still important enough to revisit it.
There’s certain things that we’re going to go through in our walk with
God that are worth revisiting. Worship,
for example; fellowship, prayer, there’s certain things… I’m going to ask for participation, here, in
a little bit, too, about getting some input, and everybody hearing each other’s
answers. About, what are some of things that will take people out of the faith? Colossians 2:16-19 Let no man
therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of
the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. Let no man beguile you of your reward in a
voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which
he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, And not holding the
Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment
ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God. So, there’s that word again: “Let no man beguile you of your reward…” That’s not something that occurred to me
until preparing this message, that it’s not really a common term, but, twice in
this chapter—it’s there for a reason, and it’s there for us to highlight for a
reason. So, I’m going to ask a
question: What is it that derails people
from continuing in the faith? I suppose
we could sum in up quite nicely by just saying, “Sin,” but the Bible teaches us
in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” But, if that’s the case, and here I’m not
trying to trick anybody, but if we’ve all sinned and fallen short of the glory
of God, and we’re still here, that means that it’s not just in that completely
takes us off track. Now, I will say
this: Sin that’s not repented of, now
we’re getting somewhere. Now, I know
it’s relatively early in the message but I want to take time to get some
people’s responses. If you have a
one-word response or a short sentence—I’m not looking for a testimony, I’m not
asking for a lengthy dissertation, I’m just asking for, hat are some things
that derail people? What are some things
that take people out of the race? You don’t
have to stand if you don’t want to, but, if you could raise your hands… Donna?
Pride of life. Ed H? Distractions.
Mike K? Lust. Matt G?
Marrying outside the faith. Maria
M? Lack of knowledge. Ken?
The world’s wisdom. Jesse? Cares of this life. Ashley?
Not doing the work at home. Ed
K? Not having a made-up mind. Terry?
Laziness. Ken? Not forgiving. Alex?
Despising the fellowship.
Lena? Your environment. I was going to say slothfulness, but somebody
already said laziness. Daniel? Self-centeredness. Ed H again?
Lack of prayer. Okay, is there
anybody that hasn’t raised their hand have something that they want to
add? Malcolm? Weariness in well-doing. There’s a lot of them, and, you know, Mike
H? Hanging around the wrong people. Environment; similar to what Lena was talking
about. I know I’ve got a couple, and I
want to add to this, because there’s one I want to revisit a little later
on. Now, how many here’s ever gotten
bored, I mean, since you became a Christian?
How many’s never gotten bored, ever, not one bit? That’ good, that’s good, because, we’re
talking about boredom in this world, not in God. Because, I would have to say, I don’t know
how I could ever get bored in God.
There’s a verse in Romans, it says, “O the depth of the riches both of
the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his
ways past finding out!” (Romans 11:33) I
don’t think a person that’s really a Christian—I can never get bored in God,
but I can get bored in the world. We can
get bored in the world; that’s a fact. Tragedy
– overcome with extreme sadness. I would
have to say that I’ve had things in my life, but I wouldn’t say that I’ve had a
tragic life. I mean, I’m not asking for
it, either. I’m not thinking, “Well, I
just want to have the absolute most hardship, the most tragedy…” To prove what? What’s that going to prove? To say, “Oh, I had the absolute hardest
upbringing of anybody, so it gives me street cred?” I don’t think. I mean, after a while, it’s like, you just
keep going, “No, I had it harder…” “No,
I had it harder…” “No, I had it
harder…” “No, I had it harder…” I think I was kind of in the middle. We had some rough times, but we had a few
good times. But, ultimately, God’s not
saying, “Oh, if you had the hardest hardship of anybody that’s ever existed,
I’m going to let you into Heaven.”
That’s not how it works. And
there’s one last point, and I’m going to revisit this a little bit later, it’s pettiness. I know that’s no something that sounds like
it’s—pettiness? But, there’s something
that God dealt with me a few weeks ago, maybe a month ago, about somebody that
I remember from way back, and, maybe some of you will remember this person,
too, but, they talked about the pettiness in their life, and it was something
that they felt like it kept them from fulfilling—and this had nothing to do
with Christianity, but it does have to do with what could deceive us, what
could take us out of the faith, what could derail us. 2nd Point – Faithfulness Colossians 2:5-7 For
though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and
beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ. As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus
the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and
built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding
therein with thanksgiving. So, here’s one more; here’s one
more definition of a word, steadfastness.
Again, I think probably a lot of people know what it means. Okay, just bear with me. Steadfastness: Adherence to
something to which one is bound by a pledge or duty. Resolutely or dutifully firm and unwavering. Now, you her the difference, as
far as, that’s a Godly, strong, personal trait, as opposed to, like, guile, as
opposed to, even, philosophy. I know the
world has its views on philosophy, because that’s what it’s built on. I mean, look at enough Bible, and you’ll see
that, on the outside of Christianity, the whole world is just built on
philosophy, and astrology, and astronomy, and all that other things, and, it’s
like where are you getting your answers from?
I mean, to me, it’s like—I’m just going to share something: Sometimes we hear, like, it seems like every
few years, the amount of time that the universe has existed seems to have lengthened. When I was a kid, it was like, “The Earth has
been around fifty million years.” Then I
got older, and it’s fifty billion, then I got older and it’s like fifty
trillion, and it’s like, “What? Who’s
proving this stuff? I mean, what
geologist, which is what they are, is studying these rock formations, or
whatever it is they’re studying?” But,
the honest-to-God truth is, I don’t really care. I don’t care how long the Earth has been
around, because I have a walk with God, and I know Judgment Day is coming. What
do I care if the Earth has been around fifty quadrillion years, as opposed to,
like ten-thousand or a hundred-thousand?
What difference does it make?
That’s not something we’re going to be asked at Judgment by God. “Nope, you have the wrong answer; it’s been
around a hundred and twenty-eight million years.” You know, you’re gone. It’s not going to work
like that. Our steadfastness in God is
priceless and will keep us when the going gets tough. It’s an extremely valuable character trait
and is a huge part of our faithfulness to God.
It’s what gets us in, it’s what gets us back, and it’s what keeps us
going. It’s not flashy, but it gets the
job done. Can I say that again? That steadfastness, it’s not flashy, and, by
the way, there’s not a lot of flashiness in Christianity. I mean, it’s not about, “What have you done
for Me now? What have you done for Me
lately?” It’s not. I mean, we’re not out here to try to
entertain, as far as, like, music, or testimonies, it’s like, I tell you what,
Rebekkah, are you here—you know, I appreciated hearing some of the ladies pray
the other night. Because, you know, we
have prayer meetings; we have men and women prayer meetings, so, you get
accustomed to, like, hearing the guys—and I’m not knocking that at all, but it
was nice hearing some of the ladies pray.
That’s good, that’s good. Colossians 2:9-15 For in him
dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and
power: In whom also ye are circumcised
with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins
of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through
the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the
uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having
forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that
was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing
it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew
of them openly, triumphing over them in it. And I appreciate, Brother Ken,
what you mentioned about being baptized, and Terry’s helped you, mentored you
in a lot of ways, but that’s one big thing.
That’s part of being born again.
That’s something that gets us in the faith. But, the triumph. This is my last definition of a term: Triumph: A great victory or achievement. A great and notable success. But, do you believe that your life
is complete in Jesus? Do you believe
that Jesus is enough for you? Is He
enough or is there something else? I’m
not asking if you think that the car that you drive, or the house that you
have, or the job that you have, or even if you think you’re living in the right
generation, is enough. I remember a song
years ago, and this was a pretty, kind of heart-wrenching, but, there was this
guy, the writer was lamenting that he lived in this generation, just because of
all the evils that surrounded him. And
he talked about, “I wish I was born a thousand years ago, and sailed the dark seas
on a great big clipper ship.” And, yet,
there was things around back then. There
were evils around back then. There was
the bubonic plague, or there was—there’s always been sin and iniquity, but
there’s always been an escape. That
escape is in Jesus Christ. And, the
truth is, the good old days weren’t always quite so good. We can’t change the time we’re living
in. Maybe not even be able to change the
job that we have very easily, or the house that we live in, or the car that we
drive. I’m not telling you I want to end
up homeless, or jobless, or penniless, because I don’t, and I do whatever I can
to try to prevent that. But we have
people here today who, at one point or another, have been in one of those boats,
in one of those situations. But, we can
still have a victorious life in Jesus Christ, regardless of how bad our own
situation, or the world around us gets. And
I’m not wishing that upon myself, or upon anybody else, I’m just saying,
sometimes these things happen, the way the economy falls out, or misfortune, or
one bad decision leads to another bad decision, and, the next thing you know,
there you are. I want to read—this is going to be
our last verse before we get into the next point: Revelation 2:7-10 He that
hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that
overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the
paradise of God. And unto the angel of
the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which
was dead, and is alive; I know thy
works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the
blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue
of Satan. Fear none of those things
which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison,
that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful
unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. So, now I want to ask: What are some things that keep us in the
faith? And I’m going to ask the same
way, the same platform that we had earlier.
What are some things that actually keep us in the faith? Donna?
Fellowship. Vince? Being thankful. Ed K?
Prayer. Laygoze? Prayer.
Brent? Just knowing how good God
can be. Mike A? Reading the Bible. Mike K?
Obedience. Ashley? Humility.
Parrish? The love of God. Andy?
Having a made-up mind.
Beverly? Faith. Rebekkah?
Surrendering to God. Jesse? Patience.
Jose? Patience. Malcolm?
Tithes and Offerings. Ed H? Trusting in the Lord. Mike H?
Walking in the Spirit, instead of in the flesh. Lena?
Praying. Greg? Encouraging others. Daniel?
Having God’s love. Anybody else
that has not raised their hand? 3rd Point – Our
Choice Our last point today is on our
choice, and it’s about the choice that we’re all given. I know that “The Fork in the Road” isn’t what
I would call a fancy title, but there is a certain rhythm to Colossians chapter
two, some parts warning, some parts dwelling on being faithful, and isn’t life
just like that? There’s a kind of rhythm
to it, where it’s like you get highs and lows of emotion. You get highs and lows—you get warnings, you
get blessings from God, and, each day, the Bible says that the path of the righteous
is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day
(Proverbs 4:18). It should be getting
brighter. It should be something where
we see that light at the end of the tunnel getting closer. And I get that God expects more; the Bible
talks about He just increase, but I must decrease (John 3:30). That doesn’t mean that we forget who we are,
or we forget all our memories, and just throw everything out the window, and,
like, “No, I don’t have a favorite anything.
I don’t have a favorite ice cream I like.” This is—I know, “The Simpsons,” the TV show,
maybe not everybody likes, but, they sort of portray the religious guy, Ned
Flanders, in such a way, it’s like, “What’s your favorite ice cream, Ned?” “Plain!”
Not chocolate, not strawberry, not pistachio, not rocky road, not black
raspberry, nothing; plain! It’s like—And
they give his character some credence, I mean, they respect him, too. I’m not getting too sidetracked, here. But, you know, part of that fork in the road
down God’s path is Him asking us to do things that we don’t always want to
do. That was one of the highlights, Parrish,
from last week. I like what you said,
also, about, like, not giving just a “drive-by” thanks to God. We need to meditate upon the things that
God’s done for us, including studying and knowing His word. It’s not just a matter of something that’s
cheap or… But, you know, it did remind me of
something that, when I was a kid—and I’ve shared many times that we weren’t
realty that religious, at all. As a kid,
I actually prayed, for a period of time, but, this was, maybe, from the ages of
8-10; this was it: “Now I lay me down to
sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, if I should die before I wake, I pray
the Lord my soul to take… Bless everybody in the world, thank you God for
everything, and God bless America, Amen!”
It was always just, like a race, you know, so that I could get to
sleep. And it was all so that I would
know, “I did the will of God. I
prayed.” It was like, that was all
prayed at, you know, two hundred miles an hour, every night, but, you know
what? This is to my chagrin: it got to a
point I just stopped doing it. And, I
don’t know, there wasn’t any point where I said, “Oh, well, I’m just not going
to do it,” it just happened. It just
happened. You know, it was fewer and
fewer times, and I don’t say that, like, to be overly judgmental, but I say
that to say, I should have kept praying.
It doesn’t matter how old we are, as evidenced by all the youth that
were up here earlier. I appreciated
that. I mean, it was good to see, you
know, some of them kind of walking around, you know, real little ones… That’s—I wasn’t doing that, when I was that
age, I can tell you that for sure. I’m going to share something here,
and I don’t know exactly what triggered this particular memory; this was,
maybe, about a month or so ago: have you
ever had something that came back to remembrance, like, maybe twenty years
later, or, twenty-five, or however much time, it’s like you just know that you
hadn’t thought about it in a long time?
It could be a song, it could be a memory, it could be somebody’s
name. Well, there was a guy from our
home state, Massachusetts, that I remember, as a kid, just hearing his
name. He didn’t have, really, I mean,
his name wasn’t Mike Smith; I mean, it was Paul Tsongas, which, I guess he was
of Greek descent. So, not a real common
name. Anyway, it wasn’t like I followed
his career, or anything like that. It
just happened to be a name that—you know, I was talking to Bob H, and I hadn’t
thought about that name in a long time.
Has anybody ever herd that name before.
Okay, quite a few people. He did
make a run for president in 1992, but, anyway, for some reason, I just decided
to look up some information about him, because I was just curious as to what
his ultimate fate was. This was just a
short segment of the obituary I read. He
actually had passed in 1997. This is
actually what he had shared, while he was still alive, with the interviewer. 'Pre-cancer, I was one of the
pettiest people you've ever run into,'' Mr. Tsongas said in an interview in
1992. ''I would get angry at my wife for leaving the top off the toothpaste.
I'd get angry at my kids for the dumbest things. Looking back on it I feel
mortified. I was a fool.'' This was a guy who was, maybe, in
his forties. So, why was he such a
perfectionist? I don’t know, maybe he
was just striving to get ahead, like everybody else, I suppose. And, this is the point that I wanted to
expound on a little bit earlier, but wanted to save it until now because I
believe it ties into my first and last point.
We shouldn’t have to wait until we
have a serious illness to make corrections in our life or make the choice to
live for God. And we shouldn’t let petty
differences or conflicts derail us from doing God’s will. Jesus knocks at the door of our heart every
day, even many years after we’ve been baptized, and He seeks to come in and sup
with us. He wants us to get over
whatever it is that fuels our anger, or causes us not to forgive, or makes us
judgmental. I found one thing that has
kept me, and I’m going to share one thing about a brother, Tom Hansen, he was
here for many years, he’s our fellowship leader in Everett, Washington, but, he
had a brother that was a few years younger than him, his name was Billy, and,
some of you may remember him. Billy
actually got baptized, sometime in the early nineties. He ended up—and I hope I’m not sharing
anything really out of line—I know that Billy, he kind of went back to
Minnesota; he kind of struggled with some problems in life, but, he had passed
away last summer, and I remember Tom Hansen shared with me, he said, “You know,
in his last few months,” Tom went up to
do the eulogy, and to visit with the people he was with, and the family. He said, “Billy had really made a turn back
to God. He’d really been reading the
Bible, and he’d just been sharing with people.
And, you know, from kind of an ugly situation,” and Tom shared, “That’s
all I can hope for.” It would be easy to
sit here and say, “Oh, no, he didn’t move down here. He didn’t do this, he wasn’t preaching on the
street, he wasn’t right with God!’ How
do I know that? I mean, if I’m more and
more judgmental as time goes by, and pummeling everybody, and beating
everybody, and thinking that they’ve got to live up to my expectations, I’m
going to fall. Something’s going to come
along, and I’m going to fall. And I
appreciate him sharing that, because, I thought, “You know what, Tom? I believe he made it. God’s mercy’s that great, and it extends that
far.” And I’m getting ready to close. So, what about that choice of
ours; that choice to be deceived or the choice to be faithful? I think most of us have heard the expression
that we write our epitaphs every day by the way we live. And if you ever look at the actual
inscription on tombstones, some of the most common terms are “Beloved” and
“Faithful.” I have one last story I want
to share with you, here: when I was a
young kid, probably five or six years old, or so, we lived about a mile from
this package store called Harper’s. You
know, a little convenience store. So, my
grandmother and I—now, this was in the summertime, we’d walk down there; she’d
get her cigarettes and I’d get my Slim Jims, so, that’s the fact. But, there was an old cemetery that was kind
of back, a little bit, along the road, and, a lot of the tombstones were like,
dark, like that material, I don’t even know, like some kind of slate? That was a lot more common back then. I mean, today, you see all these fancy, like,
mausoleums and so on… But, we went in
there a couple of times, just to, you know, I don’t know what triggered that;
we went in there, and looked at some of the dates. Now, where I’m from, there’s, like, 1786-1837
and, some of those dates, it was like—I remember writing them down. I mean, it was sort of fascinating, in a way;
it was like a piece of history, right there.
But, I also remember, when I was there last summer, I just stopped by
there. I hadn’t been in there—just to look
at it, you know, just to see it again, just for, you know, a couple of minutes. I just kind of walked around, and, looked at
it. But that was one of the common
things, was, beloved and faithful. You
know, it might read something like, beloved father; beloved mother; beloved
child; faithful husband; or faithful wife.
Those are all goods ways to be remembered by our loved ones, that’s for
sure. But are we thinking in those same
terms, “beloved” and “faithful,” and wanting God to remember us the same
way? We should be. Thank you very much. God bless you.
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