(In introducing this sermon give everyone a piece of rope.) State: a rope is such a common ordinary item. Yet, a rope can fulfill a worthy task. Today we are going to look at a passage where a rope played a significant role in an act of service. The text is found in Acts 9:25. “Then the disciples took him by night and let him down through the wall in a large basket.” You might be thinking, where is a rope mentioned in this passage? It is listed between the “o’s” in the word took. Ha! Ha! Obviously a rope is not mentioned in this passage. However, the disciples used a rope, chain, sheet, or something to lower Paul down the wall. That task was a worthy significant act of service. With that in mind I want to take a principle from this passage and highlight it. The title of the message is “Hold The Rope.”
Consider the context. Paul, the greatest leader of the New Testament church, had recently come to faith in Christ. He was in Damascus. He was filled with passion and zeal. He was preaching the gosple of Jesus Christ. However, at the same time there were Jews plotting to kill him. They were opposed to his message. That conflict escalated to the point that Paul was forced to escape for his life. A group of Jesus’ disciples came to Paul’s rescue. They lowered him to the ground in a basket. They held the rope. What a service! Yet such service often goes unnoticed. We read this passage and quickly pass over this significant act of service. We might notice Paul’s being lowered over the wall. But the act of holding the rope is quickly overlooked.
Today I want to recognize the rope holders. I want to recognize the unrecognized. Notice three encouraging applications.
1. Hold the rope: there is an important person at the other end. It would be easy to label people according to their stature. The reasoning is that a future president is more important than a homeless person. The truth is, every person is important and should be treated accordingly.
These disciples had no idea who they held in their basket. They knew he was a preacher. They knew he had recently been converted to faith in Christ. There was no way, in their wildest dreams, that they could imagine the impact this man would have on the world and the Christian faith. He would become the first missionary of the New Testament church. He would shake the Roman Empire with his preaching. He would write one third of the New Testament. He was a tremendous man of God.
You never know who you will have in your basket. That idea is incentive to be faithful. That idea is incentive to do your best. Over the years I have heard many stories that illustrate this point.
Illustration: The name Rick Warren has become a household name among religious people in recent years. He wrote the “Purpose Driven Church” and the “Purpose Driven Life” books. He is the pastor of Saddleback Community Church in Orange County, Ca. Rick Warren tells an encouraging story from his seminary days. He was a student at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He and a friend went to hear Dr. W.A. Criswell speak. Dr. Criswell died a couple of years back. He was one of the great preachers in Southern Baptist life. He was the pastor of First Baptist Church Dallas. At one time it was one of the largest churches in America. The day that Rick and the friend went to hear Dr. Criswell, something interesting happened. At the end of the service they stood in line to greet Dr. Criswell. Dr. Criswell laid his hand on Rick Warren’s shoulder and prayed a somewhat prophetic prayer. He prayed that Rick Warren would someday pastor a church that would be twice the size of First Baptist Dallas. You never know!
Illustration: Some years ago the University of Alabama offered a scholarship to a young man that very few schools were recruiting. He was not highly touted as a football player. He was not a five star player. Yet, he led Alabama to their last national championship. His name was Jay Barker. You never know!
Illustration: I remember reading a similar story about Michael Jordan. When he was in junior high school or middle school he was cut from the school basketball team. At that point in his career he was not very good. Yet, he went on to become one of the greatest college and NBA players of all time. His coach must have felt pretty foolish when he saw Michael Jordan’s accomplishments.
Let’s get back to our text. Paul needed several things.
1. Paul needed assistance. He was a great man of God but he needed assistance. His escape would have been impossible without the aid of the men at the end of the rope.
2. Paul needed support and protection. The Godliest person needs support and protection.
Let me use this to remind you that we have a responsibility to those around us. On several occasions I have mentioned our “one another” ministry. There are a number of “one another” passages in the New Testament. We are to “love one another”. We are to “encourage one another.” We are to “pray for one another.”
Let me add a commercial at this point. Our Sunday school classes (small groups) are designed to be life support groups. Teachers, care leaders, deacons, and class members. Our church is designed so that our small groups are a life support mechanism. Our task is not limited to showing up on Sunday and studying the Bible. We are here to hold the rope for the people in our class.
Some people get so pre-occupied with their own needs that they cannot see the needs of others. Some people are filled with self serving thoughts instead of serving others. God has created us with a desire and a capacity to be servants. Service is not a draining enterprise. It is a life giving activity. Serving others should be a privilege.
- Parents you may have a Paul on the end of your rope.
- Teachers you may have a Paul on the end of your rope.
- AWANA workers you may have a Paul on the end of your rope.
- Youth workers you may have a Paul on the end of your rope.
2. Hold the rope: menial tasks have eternal value.
What a menial task, lowering a man through a window in a basket at the end of a rope. I looked up the word “menial” in Webster. The word menial refers to “work that requires little skill or training, is not interesting, and confers low social status on somebody doing it.” Another definition states that it is “suitable for, done by, or relating to a servant or servants.”
This reminds me of the television show “America’s Dirtiest Jobs.” The Discovery Channel has a show, with Mike Rowe that goes in search of America’s dirtiest jobs. As I watched this show I have seen Mike: move snakes, catch alligators, go inside a bridge pylon, work in a mushroom growing barn, pick up manure, and the list goes on.
I remember one of my most menial jobs, cleaning up the holding pen at a dairy. This is the pen where they hold the cows while waiting to be milked. You can imagine the outcome of 50 or 60 cows standing idly waiting for one to two hours before they are milked. That is menial. Remember the definition, “work that requires little skills or training and is not interesting.” My job was a pooper scooper.
The church has jobs that may seem menial. Notice I said “may seem.” This is not my opinion. What about picking up and putting down chairs? What about working in the nursery? What about cleaning up after a church dinner? What about cutting the grass in the ditch out front? What about installing a new roof on someone’s home? What about participating in a prayer chain and sitting in a room for 30-60 minutes and praying?
There is an encouraging thought that comes from this passage. Jesus honors efforts that may seem menial and insignificant. There is a familiar passage in John 6 when Jesus fed a multitude. We refer to this as the feeding of the 5,000. Actually there were 5,000 men, not counting women and children. There could have been as many as 15,000-20,000 people fed that day. Jesus asked “where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” Jesus knew what He was about to do but He wanted to test His disciples. Jesus took five loaves of bread and two fish from the hands of a small boy and fed that multitude. What a miracle! This huge miracle originated from a small beginning. There is an old song that says “little is much when God is in it.”
Illustration: While walking home from school, Mark noticed the boy ahead of him had stumbled to the ground and dropped everything he was carrying. Mark hurried to the boy’s side and helped him collect his belongings. Surprisingly, the boy was carrying an especially hefty load. There was a baseball glove and bat, a couple of sweaters, a small tape recorder, and an armful of books. Mark helped him carry the things home and his new friend, Bill, was most appreciative of his compassion. During the walk home, Mark discovered Bill was struggling in school and had just broken up with his girlfriend. When they arrived at Bill’s house, he invited Mark in for a Coke and they spent the rest of the afternoon talking, laughing, and watching TV. Although the two boys never became real close friends, they kept up with each other throughout the rest of junior high and high school. Several weeks before graduation, Bill approached Mark and asked him if he remembered that day they met when Mark helped him with all of his stuff. Mark nodded as he remembered. Bill then asked, “Did you ever wonder why I was carrying so many things that day?” Without pausing for an answer, Bill explained he had cleaned out his locker and was going home to take his life. He had been storing away sleeping pills and was headed home to end it all when Mark happened along to help him out. Bill told Mark how that simple act of compassion inspired him to go on living. He said, “Mark, when you picked up my books that day, you saved my life!” Imagine how many times our small, seemingly insignificant gestures of concern may reignite the flame of life and inspire someone to continue on. Thankfully, compassion has a way of doing that. (Chicken Soup for the Soul, Jack Canfield and Mark Hansen, 1993, p. 35)
3. Hold the rope: there is a cost!
In our text Paul is being lowered over the wall of the city of Damascus. The reason being the Jewish leaders were plotting to kill him. In helping Paul, the disciples could face persecution or death. We need to understand that holding the rope sometimes carries a cost. Serving Jesus Christ ought to be a joy. It ought to bring assurance into our lives. It ought to instill joy into our hearts. When we talk about our faith we should speak of the joy, peace, assurance, and fullness we receive from Jesus Christ. However, when speaking of our faith we must be honest, it carries a cost. When we go to buy a car the first question is, what is the cost? When we go to buy furniture the first question is, what is the cost? Following Jesus Christ and serving Him has a cost. The cost is worth the effort.
Flip Wilson was a popular comedian several years ago, and one of his characters was a Preacher at the “What’s Happening Now Church.” Flip did a Skit where he told about this preacher. He’d shout out: "IF THIS CHURCH IS GOING TO SERVE GOD IT’S GOT TO GET DOWN ON ITS KNEES AND CRAWL!!!" And the audience yelled back "Make it crawl preacher, make it crawl! "AND ONCE THIS CHURCH HAS LEARNED TO CRAWL, IT’S GOT TO GET UP ON ITS FEET AND WALK!!!" "Make it walk preacher, make it walk" the audience moaned. AND ONCE THIS CHURCH HAS LEARNED TO WALK ITS GOT BEGIN TO LEARN TO RUN!!!" "Make it run, preacher, make it run!" "AND IN ORDER TO RUN, ITS GOT REACH DEEP DOWN INTO POCKETS AND LEARN TO GIVE!!!" (pause) "Make it crawl preacher, make it crawl." A Church can’t grow if it doesn’t give. And if it doesn’t give… it’ll crawl.
(Contributed to Sermon Central by Jeff Strite)
People who participate in sports know this language. You pay the cost in discipline and training in order to participate in the sport. When you participate in the sport you receive the joy of winning.
People who hold a job know the language. You pay the cost of time and effort in order to get a good job so that you may earn an income. You earn an income so that you may provide for the needs of life and the enjoyment of life.
Martin Luther said “A religion that does nothing, that saves nothing, that gives nothing, that cost nothing, that suffers nothing, is worth nothing.”
(Contributed to Sermon Central by Denn Guptill)
“When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” SOURCE: The Cost of Discipleship Dietrich Bonhoeffer
I hope you will determine to be faithful, no matter the cost. In his book, When God Whispers Your Name, Max Lucado tells the story of John Egglen. John had never preached a sermon in his life until one Sunday morning when it snowed and the pastor wasn’t able to make it to church. In fact, he was the only deacon to show up. He was not a preacher, but he was faithful and that meant on that particular Sunday morning he preached. God rewarded his faithfulness, and at the end of his hesitant sermon, one young man invited God into his heart. No one there could appreciate the significance of what had taken place that morning. The young man who accepted Christ that snowy Sunday morning was non other than Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the man who has often been called, the "prince of preachers." God blessed his preaching and when he was still less than 30 years old he became the pastor of London’s Metropolitan Tabernacle. His sermons were so powerful that although the building could hold 5000 people, the crowds who came to hear him were so thick that they would line up outside trying to hear his sermons. That amazing life of faith all started on a cold Sunday morning with the faithfulness of a deacon who had never preached a sermon. Giving the sermon to a handful of people on a Sunday morning when almost no one shows up doesn’t seem all that significant, but it demanded faithfulness & God blessed John Egglin’s faithfulness.
(Contributed to Sermon Central by Tim Richards)
Have you come to the place in your spiritual life where you are willing to count the cost and faithfully serve Jesus Christ, no matter the cost?
