“More than Just a Good Cause” By Chris Urich March 24th,
2013 We had a radio program, years ago, and
it was called, “Steps to Reality.”
What’s interesting is that, years and years ago,
before I became a
Christian, I used to think that Christians really didn’t have a grasp
of
reality. When God
started dealing with
me, and drawing me into His truth, (I’m not here to be the judge of the
world,
God is the judge) but, as Christians, we actually have a better grasp
of
reality, as Christ said to be aware of the signs of the times (Matthew
16:1-3). Despite
the deterioration of morals,
ethics, and just general good conduct, there are a lot of good causes
out
there. I know that
sounds like a
contradiction but hear me out on this one.
Oh, I’m not trying to say that the condition of this
world is improving,
although I wish I could stand here and tell you that’s the case. There’s times of war,
there’s times of peace,
there’s times when it seems like there’s improvement in some
ways, but, overall, you look at the turmoil, not just in the
Middle East, but, you look at history, and, as it gradually led up to
World War
I and World War II… You
look at the
number of fatalities that happened during those conflicts, and there
had never
been any world wars, at least, not to that extent, prior to this past
century. So, when
you think about it, the
Bible talks about how in the last days iniquity would abound and the
love of
many waxing cold (Matthew 24:12).
How
that perilous times would come in those days, unspeakable crimes,
lawlessness,
great conflict, and on and on and on.
But
there are good causes out there.
And
for a minute I want to highlight some of those good causes to make a
point. I’m not
talking about just in
church—I mean, obviously that’s our focal point, but think about: There are programs to get
people to work,
programs to help our senior citizens, our children, and our disabled. There are charities that
are sincerely
looking to help in the aftermath of tragedy and catastrophe. I remember after we had a
fire in our house
over thirty years ago (and we won’t talk about whose fault that was). It was pretty major. We had a lot of damage. We had to move out of the
house for a
time. Thank God we
had insurance, and
there were no fatalities. We
received donations
from the Red Cross and I have never forgotten that (things like
toothbrushes,
washcloths, and towels—things that you don’t think you need that much
until the
time comes when you don’t have them).
The
stuff in the basement was protected (there was a barrier that led to
the
downstairs), but, as far as the main part of the house, all that was
left was
the dishes in the dishwasher. At
least
we had dishes. We
have rehabilitation
facilities to help people recover from substance abuse just to name a
few. And there’s
nothing wrong with any of those
things, in fact, that’s part of what’s right.
And there’s nothing wrong with our involvement with
any of those things,
that’s also part of what’s right.
But
we’re going to look at something today that’s more than just a good
cause. Proverbs
4:10-18 … as the
shining light, that
shineth more and more unto the perfect day. This
month’s theme (at Christian
Fellowship) has been the path of Christ.
There’s a couple of point that I really want to
highlight: In verse
11, where it talks about “I have
taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths.” That’s the understanding
we can only get from
God. In the last
verse of that segment,
it says that the path of the just is as the shining light, that shines
more and
more unto the perfect day. That’s
what
we have to look forward to: We
have
eternal life, but we also have a hope in God in this life. I was thinking earlier
this morning, and, how
many here have ever heard of Murphy’s Law?
“Anything which can go wrong, will go wrong.” Here’s what I’ve got to
say: What’s the
opposite of Murphy’s law? God’s
Law:
“Anything that could go right, will go right.” There are plenty of things
that go wrong,
don’t get me wrong; don’t let me paint a picture where everything is
going to
come up smelling like roses. We’re
going
to fight battles; we’re going to have challenges; we’re going to face
difficulties. We
also have something to
look forward to: We
have a hope in God
that’s real, that’s tangible, that’s undeniable, that’s permanent. Parrish
and Bob both gave sermons
earlier this month about the path Jesus walked. Parrish expounded on
the early
years of the life of Christ, from the promise of his arrival through
the
visions of the prophets of the Old Testament, to the miraculous and
tumultuous
times of the birth of Jesus, to the times of his discussions in the
temple with
the religious leaders. Bob
took us
through the baptism of Jesus and its importance, several of the
parables, and
mentioned that seeking God can’t be our last resort—it needs to be our
first
option. The
path of the just is as the shining
light, that shines more and more unto the perfect day.
There are a lot of good causes out there but
there’s only one Lord, one faith, and one baptism (Ephesians 4:5). There are a lot of good
ways to live, but
there’s only one good way to die.
There
are still a lot of good people in this world but strait is the gate and
narrow
is the way that leads to life and few there be that find it (Matthew
7:13-14). It’s not
like we’re the judges, God’s going
to be the One that judge us ultimately.
Christ talks about judging righteous judgment, but
it is a matter of
knowing that there are a lot of good causes, charities, American Cancer
Society, Mothers Against Drunk Drivers… Whatever it happens to be, I
was
watching TV a couple of weeks ago, and there was this woman who used to
be on
TV years ago, and she was talking about this diet plan that she had put
her
kids on, and it was her passion. I’m
not
negating that, I’m not taking and trying to criticize that, but, what
is our
passion? We’re
going to have hobbies and
interests in the lifetime; God didn’t give us the world to live in and
just go
through life like a bunch of robots and not enjoy it, but there is an
expectation that God has. There’s
a lot
of good philosophies and belief systems out there, but Jesus said, I am
the
way, the truth, and the life, no man can come unto the Father but by me
(John
14:6). Jesus’
Path and the Path We Take Mark
1:1-3 … Prepare ye
the way of the Lord, make his
paths straight. That
was talking about John that
preceded Christ. John’s
whole life was
to talk about the coming of the Lord, to talk about this man, Christ,
and
talking about what you talked about Malcolm, as far as hanging on the
cross,
taking on the sins of the world—that’s a strong thing.
I don’t know if everybody here has seen the
Passion of the Christ. I
did, years ago,
when it first came out, and I actually bought it recently. To me, that’s one of the
best representations
of the emotion... It
didn’t really get
into doctrine—it didn’t have to—it wasn’t about that, it really more
served to
convey the emotion, the power of Him taking on those sins. It broke me down a couple
of times, and
that’s good. That’s
appropriate. There
are a lot of career choices we can
make—that’s something that the world really drives: you can be a
criminal
investigator, or you can be a professional athlete, or whatever, that’s
fine. We all have a
career path to take,
but that’s not really what this is about.
There’s a lot of people we can choose to associate
with, a lot of places
we can look to live, and a lot of beliefs we can choose to have. Think about how many
religions there are just
under the umbrella of Christianity.
When
it says in Ephesians, “One Lord, one faith, one baptism,” there’s going
to be
different churches around, but we should all be speaking the same thing. It’s not like everybody
has to act exactly
alike—our characters develop through our relationship with God as we go. With all those doctrines
to choose from, it’s
no wonder there is so much confusion and misunderstanding and
disagreement in
this world. Who’s
right and who’s
wrong? Everybody
thinks that they’re
right. There’s a
verse in Proverbs which
says all the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes, but the Lord
weigheth the
spirits (Proverbs 16:2). We
have to go
back and just look at what the Word of God teaches.
I wasn’t raised going to church at all, and I
didn’t have any knowledge as far as what version of the Bible is right,
whether
we should get baptized, what song should we sing…
When I first heard this message and I knew
that it was undeniable, and unforgettable.
I’m not going to argue with that.
I realized that, for my own soul’s sake, this is a
lifetime—I hesitate
to say ‘commitment,’ because I know that some people are going to say,
“Oh, no,
no, no; I don’t want to make a lifetime commitment to God.” I would say, “Yes, you
do,” but I would also
say that, extending my hand out, that it’s the best thing. Not in a forceful way,
like, “You better do
it,” you know, what am I going to do, come flying after you? It
would be foolish for me to think I
can just stand here and in one instance or in a few short sentences
explain
everything we need to do to have a walk with God.
I’m not trying to make it any harder or
easier than it really is, but like Kenneth Ray has said on more than
one
occasion, we need to be watchful for anyone that tells us, “All we need
to do
is… and then we’ll be OK.” Just
say this
great prayer; just read five chapters a day; just make sure you get
down on
your hands and knees like this… It’s true that the Bible does say that
we need
to repent of our sins, believe and be baptized in Jesus’ name (that’s a
start,
that’s the beginning of it, but there’s a during…), and it’s true that
we need
to live a holy life, and it’s true that we need to endure to the end. We’re not just going to
take one aspect and
say, “That’s it! All
you’ve got to do is
just believe, or just say this particular prayer, One thing is for
sure,
though, and that is we need to follow the path that Jesus took. I’m not talking about we
need to go to
Israel, become carpenters, and try to redo everything he did. I’m talking about hearing
the voice of God
now in this present day guide us and direct us in the paths we need to
take. I’m
going to ask Brother Parrish to
share something. He
and I had talked
this past week, but I want to introduce this to really do it justice. It has to do with a dream
that he had, maybe
twenty-five years ago, and, I would say, well, there’s plenty of dreams
that
I’ve had that meant nothing at all.
Let
me just come right out and say that.
But
there are times when we know good and well that God is speaking to us
and
dealing with us about a certain matter, and a lot of times those dreams
are for
us. There are times
when it could be for
other people, but I would say, that, unless you are high leadership in
God,
that it is really rare to have a dream that really is for everybody,
like the visions
that John had in the book of Revelation.
I don’t want to beat this too much, but I just want
to point out that,
when Parrish shared this with me, several years ago, it really stood
out. When preparing
this sermon, I felt it was very
relevant. A lot of
times, getting back
to the point of having different career paths, and not just different
careers,
as far as professions, but, “I want to go be a cowboy,” “I want to go
live out
in the wilderness,” “I want to go join the Merchant Marines,” “I want to be a musician
and just strum the
guitar at Starbucks,” or whatever…
Parrish, I’d just like for you to come share,
because I felt that it was
something pertinent.
First
of all, I would just like to say that I am not an advocate to get up and start
talking about a lot of dreams, but Brother Chris saw something that would be
beneficial to the congregation, so, therein, I share. Many
years ago, that was before I moved up here, God gave me a dream. In this dream, it started off, that I was at
the beginning of a city block. There was
nothing but darkness behind me, and it looked like nighttime, but it was a
darkness like the darkness of Egypt.
Walking along this city block, you could go into these shops, but,
instead of going into the shop to buy something, it was like you were waking
into somebody’s life. The first shop was
my ex-fiancée. I went in there and I had
my friend with me, and we went in, and there she was. She was wearing a beautiful wedding gown, and
she was all happy and laughing.
Everybody was rejoicing with her.
Her groom was right there beside her, and he had no face. After
seeing that, I walked out, and walked into the next shop, and that shop was a
family member. That shop had a bunch of
antiques, but it was cold, and quiet, and dusty, and it had cobwebs, and it had
absolutely no life in that particular shop.
The
next place on the block was like a big movie house; it had a big old awning,
but, if you walked in, it was this humongous mall. It went in every direction; there were floors
up, and floors down, and I never could see the end of it, but, instead of going
in there to buy something, you would go in there and choose a life. If you were excited about sci-fi, you could
go in there and choose that. If you were
into Country-Western, you could go and choose that. If you wanted rap, or dancing, or sports…
anything you wanted to choose, there was a shop that you could choose
that. Those were the things that you
could give your life to. I turned to
talk to my friend who had gone in with me, and they had gone into one of the
shops. I walked out of the entrance to the
mall the same way I came in. There were
all these people that were going into it.
As I got to the street, there were no cabs, no buses, no cars, there was
no transportation of any type. It was
just one city block, and the darkness at either end was complete. I just sat on the curb, and I cried. It bothered me for a long time. I asked the pastor, a bunch of us bros were
fellowshipping, and I asked the pastor, I had this dream, and I went on to tell
him. He said, “Brother, that’s not even
hard to figure out. The first shop, your
ex-fiancée, she was really wrapped up into being married, it really didn’t even
so much matter who. The next shop, was a life without the Lord;
some of your family members don’t have the Lord. It’s got antiques, but there’s no life
inside. As far as the street that you
saw, you’re one of those people that, if you were to choose something outside
of God, to leave God; to choose something else, you’re not going to find your
way back. You’re going to be one of
those people that’s just out there in the darkness. Dedicating
our life to God isn’t a
matter of thinking we’ll never get anything for ourselves and that it’s
nothing
but blood, sweat, toil, and tears.
That,
by the way, is an excerpt from a famous speech given by Winston
Churchill, the
leader in England, on the eve of World War II.
That was his promise to the British people, about
the threat that they
faced from Nazi Germany. Look
back at
the annihilation of that war. Elmira
and
Aleks, you came here from Russia.
Russia
lost twenty million people. We’re
taking
about a hope in God, but we’re also talking about a reality that we are
living
in a brutal world. We’re
living in a
world where iniquities shall abound, and, of course, Satan’s always
there to
try to teeter on the one extreme to get us to think everything’s great,
or just
to think that everything’s rotten and terrible, and there’s no balance
in
between. God wants
us to be aware of
what’s going on, but He also wants us to look at it like, “Yes, we do
have a
hope.” Your hope in
God is
permanent. So
I’ll say it like this. I
really don’t know what God has in store for
you. Christ aid,
“I’ll never leave you
nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5) You
might face some of the toughest challenges imaginable—I read this first
about a
month after I got baptized, and I was like, “Oh, no.”
I’m just being honest.
It’s in Acts 9:16, God is talking to Apostle
Paul, and He said, “For I will shew him how great things he must suffer
for my
name's sake.” I was like, “No, come on!”
But, at the same time, I was encouraged by that. I felt, “I’ve got the
strength in God,
knowing the truth, being born again, to be able to face whatever
adversity
comes along.” We’re
going to have
challenges, but on the other hand you might have a prosperity that far
surpasses your wildest expectations.
I
will say that, in the years that I’ve known God, yes, there’s been some
persecution. I’m
not going to make it
sound like Murphy’s Law. I’ve
faced some
persecution; we all do, but there’s times when there’s no question
about it
that God got me through that. I
believe
that I’m talking to a group of people that feel the same way. If
we seek God with all our heart, we’re
going to find Him. Whatever
background
you come from, whether you’re from this area, whether you’re from another part of the country,
whether you’re in
the military, if you’re seeking God, and you really want to know what
God’s
truth is, then you’re going to find Him.
Be prepared for that, because it’s a good thing. It’s not like you have all
these promises of
problems and trouble; that’s not the case at all.
There’s going to be challenges whether we
accept God or not; that’s one thing that I want to pass along more than
anything. The Bible
even says that the
ways of a transgressor are hard (Proverbs 13:15).
Looking at it from that standpoint; Jesus
even said, “Take my yoke upon
you, and learn of me; for
I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For my
yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:2-30) Or, we talked about, in
First John where it
says, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and
his
commandments are not grievous.” (1
John 5:3) Again,,
there’s going to be challenges; our
goal is not to make it so that God is expecting us to do something—God
is
expecting us to put legs on our faith.
We’ve heard that expression before.
It’s
easier to make decisions about what
we’ll do when we know what will happen next, but how many remembers an
event
you’ve experienced, perhaps a book you’ve read, maybe a trip you’ve
taken, or a
movie you saw for the first time and how you reacted when it was over? Surprised, happy,
saddened, angry,
motivated? People
reminisce about where
they were when 9/11 happened, or the Kennedy assassination, or when we
landed
men on the moon. Nobody
talks about
where they were when Jesus came walking down the streets of Jerusalem
because
none of us were there. But
how many remembers
the first time God spoke to you in such a tangible and undeniable and
unforgettable way? How
many remembers
Jesus knocking at your hearts’ door and personally taking time for you? How many knows that God is
alive in 2013 and
that he loves each and every one of us? Mark
11:1-10 …spread
their garments in the
way: and others cut down branches off the trees... We
have a room full of people with
different backgrounds, different careers, different aspirations and
expectations of things in this world and there’s nothing wrong with
that. God made us
differently for a reason and he
made it so that we wouldn’t all be a bunch of clones.
He made us with a free will to do as we
please but he also has an expectation for us that is not unreasonable. God isn’t forcing us to
follow his path, but
he also offers us guidance and direction which is for our benefit and
not to
our disadvantage, so he does want us to follow his path. Ultimately, we’re the ones
who decide what
way we’re going to go. But
one thing is
for sure and that is that having a personal walk with God is more than
just a
good cause. It’s
the decision that lasts
a lifetime and beyond. And
it’s what is
going to save our souls.
Sermon notes by Pete Shepherd |
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