Open- PRAY!
Lido Anthony Iacocca was born October 15, 1924 in Allentown, Pennsylvania to Italian immigrants. His family had settled in Allentown and ran a small restaurant called Yocco’s Hot Dogs. He grew up and graduated from Allentown High School in 1942 and later he attended LeHigh University and earned a degree in industrial engineering. After some time at Princeton University, he began his career at Ford Motor Company as an engineer. But as time passed, he realized he was dissatisfied with his job, so he switched career paths at Ford. Lee moved into the company’s sales force where he quickly moved up through the ranks and ultimately into product development. Iacocca then gained national recognition in 1956 for his “56 for 56” campaign offering a 1956 model automobile for 56 dollars a month. He became involved more and more with product development. His idea was a sporty yet economical car that would cover all of the areas of customers from grocery getters to speed demons all at an affordable price- let’s say less than 3000 dollar in the mid 60’s. Now remember, Ford still had not recovered from the Edsel failures of the late 1950’s and just was not going to spend millions of dollars in design and marketing. The Ford Edsel had lost 350 Million Dollars, which is 1.55 Billion Dollars in today’s dollars. It flopped despite 400 Million Dollars invested in development. So, they were not in any mood for something else new. Yet, undeterred, Iacocca pushed forward with the new Ford “T-5.” It was introduced at the 64 World’s Fair in New York City and would go on to be one of the world’s greatest successes in auto world history. What? You have never heard it? OK, I forgot to tell you that the T-5 name was already being used in Germany and that the name had to be changed. It was changed to the new 1965 Ford Mustang. And the rest, as they say, is history! Iacocca had restored Ford to prominence after a terrible failure.
Body
It’s kind of like God does with us. We fail terribly and yet God restores us to prominence. So what do we need to do to be restored? First, we will talk about bodily restoration. There are many instances in the Bible of people being restored. One is in the book of Mark Chapter 3. In the chapter, Jesus had gone into the synagogue and a man with a shriveled hand was there. The Pharisees were looking for a reason to accuse Christ, so they watched him to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. Jesus then asked the man to stand up in front of everyone and asked, in verse four, which was lawful on the Sabbath: to do good of to do evil? To save a life, or to kill? But they remained silent, and Jesus looked at them in anger and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched out his hand and it was completely restored. Then, later on, in Chapter 8 verse 25 says, “Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, and his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.” The faith of these men in Christ restored them to prominence. Are we like the Pharisees, looking for a reason to accuse Christ, or do we have faith the size of a mustard seed to believe we can truly be restored? These are instances of a restored body. Jesus said in Matthew 11:5, “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. It is our jobs as Christians to preach the good news of Jesus to all nations. You know that we pray to heal others or ourselves bodily needs, which is what we need to do, but God’s word in Jeremiah 15:19 says, “Therefore, this is what the Lord says: If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me. If you utter worthy, not useless words, you will be my spokesman.” We are restored to serve him.
For those of you who know me, or even if you don’t, one of my hobbies is the old Ford Mustang. The same ol’ Mustang that Lee Iacocca had pushed for to restore Ford, I wanted one to restore back to prominence. So, I bought a 1965 convertible that you could literally stand on the ground inside the car. A true Fred Flintstone-Mobile. The proverbial piece of junk- a bucket of bolts. Everyone that saw the car simply giggled and laughed and said, “You will never finish this project.” But I began to find pieces and parts here and there to start this major undertaking. Everything had to be changed. I once said that I liked the driveshaft so well that I built a car around it. Little by little, it started to come together. The interior was recovered, the engine revived, the chrome redone, and the body repainted. The restoration was over and the fun was about to begin! The restored Mustang before me became a symbol to me. If I could breathe new life into a bucket of rust, just think of what God can do with me with all of the parts at his disposal! This Mustang, like the Bible stories before was a bodily restoration. We can change everything but it is a major undertaking and not without suffering. I had many cuts and bruises, and came close to giving up several times. Sometimes, the parts did not fit correctly, or were for the wrong side, and sometimes I had the temptation to make it fit anyway. But patience finally overcame it all, and I didn’t give up. For in Romans 5:3, it says, “Not only do we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character, and hope. And hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” Yes, God can restore us if we will repent and serve him! Our body is the temple of God. Restore it carefully.
Mind
So now we know that we change our outward appearance and actions and things look or seem to look good to those looking at us. It was once said, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.” But sometimes, we think negative thoughts and fill our minds with many other things that do not include serving God. Our minds are very tricky. It leads us with temptation and is Satan’s easiest path to us. If a person were asked to walk across an 8” wide board only 6” off the ground, he would probably have no problem with it. But if the same board were 50’ off the ground, the chances of falling are much greater. The only difference is fear. Satan will do his part to change your perspective. He wants us to experience fear. We begin to think, “What if?” What if I’m not good enough to make the team? What if they don’t like me? Or, he wants us to plagued with the fear of doubt, like what if there is really no God? Or, what if God doesn’t care? Or even, the fear of the unknown, like what if the future is painful? What if death is lonely? What if there is nothing on the other side? Satan tempts us to be paralyzed by fear. We must remember that written in God’s word, 2 Timothy 1:7 reads, “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline. Isaiah 12:2 says, “Surely God is my salvation. I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord is my strength and my song. He has become my salvation.” Our minds play tricks on us in hopes that we will forget our ultimate goal. An old saying is, “You only see the obstacles when you take your eyes off the goal.” Our mind tells us that obstacles are there and to look for them. But few things are more inspirational than a Christian who responds faithfully and creatively in spite of obstacles. Fanny Crosby was blind from birth, but instead of wallowing in self pity, she wrote hymns sung for many years, like “To God Be the Glory,” “Jesus is Calling,” “Blessed Assurance,” and many others. When she was very old someone told her that if she had been born in a different time in history an operation could have given her sight. She simply responded that she would not change a thing. She said, “Do you not realize that the first thing I will see is the face of Jesus?” 1 Corinthians 27-29 says, “God chose the foolish things of this world to shame the wise. God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things to nullify the things that are so that no one may boast before him. But be ever mindful when you are at your lowest, weakest point, that may be the time God uses you to make the greatest impact.” The restoring of the mind is very hard. It is like putting a transmission in a car when you have never done it before! Clear your mind with thoughts and ways to serve him better. Roman 8:6-8 reads, “The mind of a sinful man is death but the mind controlled by the spirit is life, and peace. The sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by a sinful nature cannot please God.” Just like the Mustang, success often rises out of the ashes of failure. I, being a former basketball player, remember a cheer that said, “You can do it, you can do it, if you put your mind to it!” Put your mind on Jesus Christ!
Soul
Now we talked about bodily restoration and the restoring of our minds. What does that leave for us to work on? Our heart and soul! My father died a couple of days before Christmas on December 19. A lot of things I had always known were changed. I went through some times of deep depression. I had many friends that asked me if there was anything that they could do, or said, “If you need anything…” Well I did! Several weeks before, I had met with Rich Anderson to check on me but I still had the chip on my shoulder that “I can do this myself.” I could not. Everything began to crumble down around me. There is a song by Casting Crowns called “Slow Fade.” The song explains that people don’t change in a day and that it’s a slow fade away.
TREASURES
One by one he took them from me,
All the things I valued most,
‘Til I was empty-handed,
Every glittering toy was lost.
As I walked Earth’s highway grieving,
In my rags and poverty,
Then I heard his voice inviting,
“Lift your empty hands to me.”
So I turned my hands towards Heaven,
And He filled them with a store,
Of his own transcendent riches,
‘Til they could contain no more.
As last I comprehended,
With my simple mind so dull,
That God could not pour riches,
Into hands already full.
My faith was struck very hard. I began to struggle with doubt in many areas. If it had not been for Gwen, I am not sure what would have happened. My life was being controlled by outside forces and my focus was on the obstacles instead of Jesus. Satan had entered my life while I was not paying attention. My father had just passed away and my wife and kids were taking the punishment for me. I began to take things out on them and was angry most of the time. Gwen then asked me to call Tracy. Tracy that has been one of my best friends since we were five years old. We grew up ΒΌ of a mile apart and were inseparable for many years. We were close throughout school and were in each other’s weddings. But we lost touch somewhat. So I called him out of the blue. He had spent the entire visitation evening just sitting, waiting for me. He was a true friend in every meaning of the word. He came to my home and listened to my problems and offered advice that I will ever be thankful for. A Christian friend is worth more than anything. He told me to get right with God and that the rest would fall into place. Sounds easy right? Not so much. You see, Satan has gotten to my mind, and I felt sick, which meant he had gotten to my body. I had doubts from fear, and he had gotten to my soul. Deuteronomy 6:5 says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your strength.” Kind of a tall order right now. I had become very weary. Matthew 11:28-29 reads, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am humble of heart and you will find rest for your soul. Soul is defined in the spiritual part of a person; the part of a person that does not die! What? My soul I not dead! So I began the P.U.S.H. method. Pray Until Something Happens! Slowly, little by little, a piece of my soul was being restored. God was taking all of the pieces at his disposal and restoring my soul. One of my grandmother’s favorite scriptures was the 23rd Psalm: “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He guides me in the path of righteousness for his names’ sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Pretty powerful stuff, huh? He looked after my mind, he looked after my body, he took care of my hurt and he restored my soul. In the immortal words of Charlie Daniels, “The Devil went down to Georgia; he was looking for a soul to steal. He was in a bind and he was way behind and he was willing to make a deal.” Many of us waver each and every day, but as Mark 8:36 reads, “What good is man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” Your soul is your very being! Restore it carefully as well. Give it to God to help you with. I am living proof of that. Surround yourself with Christian friends and truly ask for help. Men really love that part. I know because I thought I was tough enough, mean enough, and stupid enough to do anything by myself. I was wrong. It was only through the glory and grace of God that I stand here delivering this message today. Adolph Rupp once said that “Enthusiasm is contagious.” If we can become enthusiastic about being a restoration project it will become evident to us all and contagious to others to want to be restored as well. In 1982, Ronald Reagan appointed Lee Iacocca to head the Statue Of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation for the renovation, restoration, and preservation of the Statue of Liberty. He still serves on the board but is most known for the first auto bailout in 1979. Lee had been fired by Ford after posting a nearly 2 Billion Dollar profit in 1978 and after a clash with Henry Ford II. Chrysler was losing millions of dollars due to recalls and other problems. Iacocca decided to build the company from the ground up. He made the unpopular decisions, laying off people, selling off assets, and doing whatever it took to succeed. His plan was similar to that of the T-5 Mustang to create a vehicle to cover everyone’s needs. Out comes the mini-max project. Again he pushed the idea forward and it would be the auto that would lead sales for the next 25 years. What? You have not heard of the mini-max either? Oh yes, the name was changed to the Dodge Minivan. Another restoration had begun. The sayings of the Ford Edsel were “the aim was right but the target moved!” Satan is not going to stay in one spot for long. We can fix areas of our lives, but be careful where you think you stand the firmest, lest ye fall. Be on guard, for he will devour you. If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you always got. Be real. Be honest with yourself and be willing to change. Is a restoration project painful? You bet! But there is satisfaction in knowing the project was completed. I have since sold the convertible, and am looking for another project to work on with my kids as the restoration goes on and on. In closing, I use a poem by Mother Theresa. I use it in a lot of my sermons and you may have heard it before, but as the restoration begins within yourself many questions and problems sometimes arise. This poem hits the mark most of the time and is special to me.
People are often unreasonable and self-centered.
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind,
People may accuse you of ulterior motives.
Be kind anyway.
If you are honest,
People may cheat you.
Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness,
People may be jealous.
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today
May be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have
And it may never be enough.
Give your best anyway.
For you see in the end,
It is between you and God,
It was never between you and them, anyway.
THANK YOU.
LET US PRAY.
