It's Ok To Give Props To The Good Guys

Pastor Mike Mizell mentioned as part of his message tonight that sometimes we give too much attention to those who were saved out of some wretched background versus someone saved from a good background. Indeed, you can do the national speaking circuit if you were the high priestess of a coven, a warlock, a pimp, drug lord or gang leader. In fact, if you communed with aliens or cast spells on people you can also write a book about your conversion and maybe retire off the royalties.

However, if you were born into a saved family and grew up in the church being basically a goodie-two-shoes in the eyes of the world and the Church, it is highly unlikely that your testimony would gain much of an audience or that your book would sell more than some copies bought by relatives to encourage you. It would be too blase for the folks that are like those on Mars Hill that wanted to hear new things that were exciting or different.

I had a conversation with my then pastor, Frank Morse, when I was saved only a few months. He had grown up the saved kid that never got into anything, but what might be seen as the boring sins. Maybe he pulled his sister's hair or ate a cookie before dinner or said the vulgar version of manure. All in all a blah testimony for the tabloid age. He said that he wished he had a testimony like mine. I told him if I were not a Christian right then, I would smack him in the nose. I said I would give up an arm to have his testimony. While he was still a sinner who needed to be saved by grace, he did not have the pain, scars and guilt that I had. I told him that his testimony of God keeping him out of the gutter was just as powerful, if not more so, than mine of how God saved me out of the gutter.

When I ministered at the Dallas County Jail with my dear brother, Mike Zapata, he was always careful to say that he did not what to give props to the devil so he only told what had to be told to share his testimony. He spared us from hearing many gory details. I had to follow that tract of reasoning as well. In the many sessions I have been involved with when speaking to strangers and saints I often heard far more than I needed to hear. At times, while they did not mean it to be so it would sound like some of the saints missed the "good ol' days" when they were participating in various sins.

Yes, God does show us the failures of many of the people He saved and used in the kingdom. We all know Samson's issues and David's. Paul called himself the Chief of Sinners and I often feel like the Assistant Chief of Sinners. Yet, He also mentions the righteous men like Job and Noah. John was the disciple Jesus loved and he seems flawless in the Word though we know that he had some sins.

Mat 19:18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,

19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?

This lad did do all he knew how to keep the Law, which would have included obeying and honoring his parents. He felt like he had kept all the ones Jesus mentioned so all in all, he was a good kid. Had he come to Jesus very little would have changed in his outward life, but his heart would have dramatically changed because he had a strong love of money, which is the root of all evil. He was materialistic, much like many folks we have today. No murder or theft in their life, but a bad cast of covetousness, which is idolatry.

Luk 1:5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

A wonderful couple and as good as Jews as they came. They were given a son, called John, but would be known as John the Baptizer or John the Baptist. They were given quite an honor as Jesus said about their son they raised that he was greatest prophet.