Whether it is one family saved from a deluge in a makeshift boat, granting a baby to an
old man and his barren wife, sending a favored son to prison in Egypt, placing a baby in a basket of reeds and setting him afloat on the Nile, dividing a sea, diverting the spear of a wicked king thrown at a young psalmist who would replace for serving the Messiah’s line from an evil queen when only one male descendant remained on earth, watching over an exiled people and bringing them home again, moving and entire empire to hold a census in order to bring one unknown carpenter to his home town in Bethlehem, whether it involved sending his Son and having him offered up on the cross by the hands of the wicked men, whether it involves resurrecting him from the dead and gathering a people to be his bride, every detail is worked out. And not one thing is left to chance.
I fear for some of the young people who are here tonight. Listen. There is absolutely
nothing more important than Jesus Christ. If you sense boredom, fight against that
boredom and pay attention because your life depends on everything you hear when a
Bible is opened. Seek with all your heart to know him. Hate the fact that you don’t care
to know him. Do whatever is within your means to seek him and to hear his Word.
I always say this. Missions... there is only two ministries in missions. You either go
down in the well or you hold the rope for those who are going down. Either way there
will be scars on your hands. Stand up. Show me your scars. What has it cost you to be a
Christian? What has it cost you to follow him? What has it cost you to take the gospel to the nations? What have you given up?
I know a dear brother and if you walk up to him he is an old man. And you say, “Brother,
tell me something about Jesus.”
He will turn around with his face glowing and tears just flowing down his face. “Let me
tell you about the Lamb.”
I wish we would see him as that precious.
I don’t need to psych you up for missions. I don’t need to get you like some football player riled up to go do some good deed. What we need is a vision of Christ. And that will compel you.
That is what we need. That is what we need in evangelicalism. That is what we need in
reformed movement and sovereign grace movements and every other kind of movement.We need an exalted vision of the beauty and power and the unique dignity of the person
of Jesus Christ.
But notice, when he directs John, he does not direct John to himself. He points away from himself and he directs John to the person of Jesus Christ. That is such a good word for those of us who are preachers.
There are two things in which men must be trained. One is to know their God. And the
other is to understand the gospel.
The greatest, most splendid creatures in all of heaven acknowledge him to be front and
center in all things and yet you and I are so quick to forget him and to neglect him. What foolish creatures we are. It is for this reason God has given us the Word of God to renew our mind. It is for this reason God has given us a Church, that we might sharpen each other constantly, constantly prod one another, constantly be moving, motivating, stimulating one another to forget these vain distractions, this Vanity Fair called our world and to focus on everything that is the focus of heaven and that is Jesus Christ.
He is not some
little accessory to your already wonderful life. He is everything or he is
nothing.
You know, these people moping about us living in a post Christian America. That gives
us an opportunity to live it like first century Christians. We may even get to suffer for
him before we get out of here. What a privilege. What a privilege.
Men hate the cross and if they don’t hate you, you are not preaching the cross.
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