March 18, 2007
Morning Worship
Text: John 7:12-13; 25-44
Subject: The Inner Conflict of a Lost Soul
Title: Ripples on the Water – Part 1 in the Conflict Series
I remember now how it all began. A pebble was thrown into the pond of life of a seven-year-old boy. The occasion: Vacation Bible School at an old stucco Church of Christ one block off of South Florissant Road in Ferguson Missouri. The recipient: me! The pebble; the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Little did I know then that a seed had been planted. That had to be the beginning because I never heard the name of Jesus Christ at home except as a curse word. It wasn’t long after that I remember waking early one morning and hearing what I now realize must have been the voice of God Himself speaking three words, “Welcome my son.” I know it was God because the voice was so rich and so loving and so real. And the ripple effect began.
As a young teen I had been invited to many churches. I went to a United Pentecostal Church where they had musical instruments – guitars, drums, trumpets – and remember thinking, “How cool is this?” I went to the Methodist youth group for a while, but there was nothing there to keep me coming. I used to go but never really understood what was happening or why I was even going. One young Korean pastor at a small Presbyterian congregation used to pick a bunch of us boys up in a 52 Chevy. He was so short that he could hardly see over the steering wheel. I know he had a real heart for young people but my time there ended when he ran off the road and down an embankment and back onto the road with a car full of kids. I wasn’t quite ready to go to heaven at that point. But the ripples continued.
In my later teen years I spent a whole summer with my sister Ruby. Her husband had deserted her with four kids (thank God she met Fred) and I spent the summer helping her and watching the kids while she worked. I’m not sure how much help I was. It was then that I became familiar with the whole concept of being born again. I remember one Wednesday night going to the altar to be saved but no one ever even explained what was happening to me so it didn’t really take. But the ripples began to swell in my life.
I could go on but I want to jump about 20 years into the future. The little pebble that had been thrown into the life pond of a seven year old finally reaches a crescendo as a thirty-six year old husband and father of three girls gives in to the ripples turned tsunami and relinquishes control over his life by asking Jesus Christ into his heart.
My story is probably the life story of most Christians. The time frame and the order may vary but it all begins with a little pebble thrown into a life that causes a ripple and disrupts the norm of a life living in the world.
I want to look today at the stages of inner conflict that take place in the life of a pre-Christian that takes them to the point of decision.
Walk through the scriptures with me as we determine the stages of inner conflict as the Holy Spirit draws people to Christ.
I. MANY ARE NOT WILLING TO STIR THE POT. (12-13) 12Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, “He is a good man.”
Others replied, “No, he deceives the people.” 13But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the Jews. Do you know that God has placed an inner witness to Himself inside every one who has ever been born? Romans 1:18-20, “18The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
That inner witness is stirred whenever the gospel message is repeated. The gospel message is the “Power of God for salvation for those who believe…” Look at what has been happening in the life of Jesus up to this point. 1) He overturned the tables in the Temple. 2) He turned water into wine at a Jewish wedding in Cana. 3) He had a conversation with Nicodemus, a Jewish teacher. 4) He went out of His way to speak the word of life to a Samaritan woman. 5) He healed a Roman official’s son in Galilee. 6) He healed a man by the Pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem. 7) He fed five thousand with five loaves of bread and two fish. 8) He walked on water. Then he begins to teach that He is the true bread of life that has come down from heaven. Notice that in Jesus ministry thus far He has made contact with every segment of the population in every area of Israel. His message is for all people. The pebble is cast into the water and the ripples are disrupting the lives of everyone. People are starting to talk about Jesus. But notice that it says there was widespread “whispering”. People are talking but not too loudly. Somebody might hear them and think they are zealots. Needs are being met, lives are being changed, bodies are being healed, yet no one wants to talk openly about it. The evidence points to the reality of who Jesus is but the world resists the message. However the first pebble has been tossed and the change has begun.
II. MANY ARE NOT WANTING TO ADMIT THE TRUTH. (25-32) 25At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? 26Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Christ? As I related the story of my journey at the beginning I intentionally skip over part of it. I left out the part about how I had gotten “religion”. Somewhere between my teen years and my first years of marriage my brothers and sisters had all come to Christ. We took a vacation to Florida back in 1981. Our youngest, Tricia, was just a year old and we left her with family. But we thought of her and bought her a Tee shirt that said, “They went to Florida and all I got was this lousy tee shirt.” During that time in my life I should have been saying, “They came to Jesus and all I got was this lousy “religion”. My brothers and sisters were continually witnessing to me, but I knew better. I knew that I was a pretty good person. I knew that I went to church every Sunday. I knew that I stood up for the underdog. I was a good person. Did you ever wonder why the religious authorities weren’t saying anything to Jesus? They didn’t know what to say. How do you respond to spiritual questions and arguments while in the flesh? Verses 28-29, “28Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, 29but I know him because I am from him and he sent me.” Jesus could have been speaking to me. I knew that what others were telling me about Christ was true. I had that inner witness confirming it. But in order for me to admit that they were right, I would have to admit that I was wrong and I just wasn’t geared for that. You see I really enjoyed a religion that allowed you to try to save yourself. I enjoyed being in control of my own life. I appreciated the fact that others looked at me as a nice guy. There was a conflict that was intensifying inside of me. A great struggle between self-righteousness and the tremendous need I had for a Savior. At some point, I don’t remember when, I began to hear the stories of how people were being healed of diseases and of God’s supernatural provision in the lives of “believers”. Verse 31, “ many in the crowd put their faith in him. They said, “When the Christ comes, will he do more miraculous signs than this man?” You all know what the purpose of signs and wonders are don’t you? Mark 16:20, “20Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.”
32The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.” I was hearing but not listening. I was determined to put an end to the struggle going on inside of me. I was attempting to arrest what Jesus was doing in my life. I resisted the truth. That’s what the world is doing today. They know that there is a historical Jesus. They know that He is the Son of God. They know He died on a cross. They just have a hard time admitting that they can’t save themselves. 2 Corinthians 4:3, “3And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.” Romans 10:17-18, “17Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. 18But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did:
“Their voice has gone out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.”
And the ripples continue.
III. MANY ARE NOT WASTING THE OPPORTUNITY. 37On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38Whoever believes in me, as£ the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” One thing that I notice looking back on my life, and I’m not sure of the order, but the closer I came to salvation the louder the voice of Christ became inside of me. On that cold February night in 1988 the voice of God became so loud inside that I could no longer refuse the salvation that He had offered me. I never realized just how thirsty I had become and I could no longer ignore the invitation that had been offered to me. During my life of religion I knew who Jesus claimed to be and I accepted the facts, but had refused to allow Him to be a personal Savior. Today many around the world are responding to the gospel message. But what are they doing in Palmyra? What is happening in this church?
What happens when you throw something into a pond? It depends on a couple of things. 1) the size of the object. How weighty is the gospel message that is going forth from this church. Are you making a wave or a tiny ripple? In the case of the object being tossed out – the gospel – it should be making a great splash around town. The effect doesn’t come by how hard we throw it but on the object itself because the power is in the gospel. 2) it depends on what is in the path of the ripple. If you’re throwing the word out to those who have been frozen over by church tradition there won’t be a ripple. But throw it in the path of those who have never had their water disturbed before and see what happens. 40On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.”
41Others said, “He is the Christ.”
43Thus the people were divided because of Jesus.
When you throw a stone into the water you know that the further away from the impact it goes, the less ripple there is. I wonder what would have happened if I had not accepted Christ when I did. Would I have hardened my heart and never received Him? Would my kids be faithful believers? The splash of the gospel caused such great conflict in my life that I had to make a decision.
Two hunters came across a bear so big that they dropped their rifles and ran for cover. One man climbed a tree while the other hid in a nearby cave. The bear was in no hurry to eat, so he sat down between the tree and the cave to reflect upon his good fortune. Suddenly, and for no apparent reason, the hunter in the cave came rushing out, almost ran into the waiting bear, hesitated, and then dashed back in again. The same thing happened a second time. When he emerged for the third time, his companion in the tree frantically called out, "Woody, are you crazy? Stay in the cave till he leaves!" "Can’t," panted Woody, "there’s another bear in there."
Woody came to a place of decision but struggled in making up his mind. As I reflect on my own life I have to think that for many of you I was telling your story too. Not in the specifics but in the way that God has moved upon you to accept Him as Lord and Savior.
I’m glad someone took the time to throw that first stone into the pond of my life. I’m glad that somehow God let the ripples increase to the point that they washed me closer and closer to Him. I’m glad that the Holy Spirit gently nudged me to make the commitment to a life long relationship with God through Jesus Christ .
The inner conflict is over for me. I know in whom I have believed. But there is a town full of people in conflict today who so desperately need Jesus Christ in their lives.
Would you be willing to be a pebble caster today?
