VICTORIOUS CHRISTIAN LIFE: MAKING THE GOSPEL OUR MAIN MISSION
Rick Burdette, a Church of Christ Minister, was burned badly when he was ten years old. His third-degree burns required skin graft surgery, a lengthy hospital stay and, as he put it, having to “endure” visits of folks from the church of which his family were members.
Rick remembers folks coming to visit him, and some of them, well meaning, saying, “We love you Ricky, we know how you feel” - or words to that effect. Rick says, even at his young age he thought to himself, “You have no idea how it feels”. Then one day Mr. Bryant came to visit.
Mr. Bryant brought an old crumpled letter he had written to his fiancé when he was stationed at Pearl Harbor where he was burned horribly when oil exploded in the attack. He’d even told his fiancé to find someone else. But, Rick says, Mr. Bryant looked okay, even though he had scars; and when Mr. Bryant got ready to leave he asked, “Can I pray for you”?
Rick doesn’t remember the prayer, but he remembers that, after the prayer, Mr. Bryant said to him, “I know how you feel” - and, when Mr. Bryant said that, Rick’s heart was touched as he felt a comfort beyond words. For the first time during his ordeal, Rick thought to himself, “Yes. You. Do.” Furthermore, Rick said to himself, “If he made it, I can too.” Yes, you can!
The Victorious Christian Life for many of us began when we came face to face with someone – either a real live person, or, vicariously, a biblical person – one who had “walked in our shoes . . . sat where we sat . . . been where we had been . . . gone through what we went through . . . suffered like we suffered . . . been lost like we were lost . . . been ‘found’ like we needed to be found.”
Personal testimonies of Christians who have risen above undesirable circumstances in their lives serve as powerful motivators to those of us who may be suffering from a weakness and are therefore in need of being ministered to by someone who understands our weakness and our sorrow.
The Apostle Paul was one who could look you in the eyes and say, “I know how you feel” - and then, based on personal experience, communicate to you the gospel of Jesus Christ – solely and purely out of love for his fellowman.
Not always had this been the case with Paul. He subscribed to the doctrine of salvation through sinless perfection; then he met the risen Christ face to face– and that transformational encounter changed him from persecutor to propagator of the gospel of Christ. Now . . .
Saved by the blood of Jesus, set apart to serve Him as Lord, Paul realized, at long last: What the law could not do, God’s grace could do – grant salvation to all who truly believe. Furthermore, Paul now knew that, whereas the “law” could never communicate the grace of God, “those saved by grace” – freed from the “law” with its impossible demand for perfection - could do – I Corinthians 9:19-23 . . .
Paul had always been a Jew, but when he met and received the gospel in the person of Jesus Christ, he became a new man in Christ. Q: What had you always been before you became a new person in Christ? Yet, Paul continued to practice Jewish laws to a certain degree, but not without limits.
Paul drew a line at the point where observance of a Jewish ritual hindered the sharing the gospel of Christ. Q: At what point do you draw the line?
Paul was willing to cooperate to the extent that he could for one reason, and one reason only – that, by cooperating up to a certain point he might win some to Christ.
Sharing the gospel was Paul’s main mission – ours too!
Paul would not have been a good candidate for “political correctness”!
Nor would he be a good fit for the “in crowd” - those who tend toward moral and ethical disregard - “go along to get along”. Nor should we!
That said, it needs to be said that Paul was not wishy-washy. He held to his Christian convictions - purity, morality, love for people, compassion, willing to share himself and his possessions to minister to “the least of these” – but, neither was Paul going to live in isolation from the world as if he did not care. Rather, Paul positioned himself to gain, then maintain, open channels of communication. And, so must we!
Paul himself could not “save some” . . . was not the Savior and fortunately, he knew it! But, what could he do? He could tell about the One who saves!
By whatever reasonable means available to him, Paul sought to “win some”! Are you a “winsome” Christian? To be “winsome”, sometimes we must step outside our “comfort zone” and “walk a mile in another’s moccasins”! Q: Did you ever step outside your comfort zone for the sake of the gospel?
Someone might object: “Does my sharing the gospel really matter that much?” Paul addressed the issue by asking: “Does winning a race (whatever we get excited about) matter enough that the participants are willing to subject themselves to uncomfortable strategies for the sake of winning?” --- I Corinthians 9:23-27 . . .
Serious participants in contests have one thing in common: commitment. Paul was driven by a commitment to the Good News because of its BIGNESS - its eternal significance.
Nothing could be greater than convincing persons to participate in something BIG, with eternal significance! Nothing could better accomplish the goal than: dedicating oneself to the task, disciplining oneself for the task, and doing the task! How?
“To Be 1 Ask 1” is how one seeks to be a Mason. “To Win 1 Tell 1” is how Christians seek to win someone to Christ. In the first instance, would-be Mason must take the initiative to ask. In the latter, a non-Christian may ask, but we who belong to Christ do not wait for them to ask; we take the initiative; we tell them about Jesus; we invite them to join us in running the race!
What a privilege - to participate in the contest of all contests! What a challenge - to win some by telling the Story to everyone! What a blessing - to see some come to know Him whom to know is life eternal!
Whatever our ministry, sharing the gospel of Christ must be our mission! We may be involved in multiple ministries - but are we “in it to win it” - to the extent that our main mission is to share the gospel?
Q: “Am I all in?”
What that question means to me is: “Am I doing the best I can, with what I have, for the sake of the gospel?” If not, I probably need to cultivate temperance (moderation) in lifestyle - so that I can be my best, do my best, and give of my best.
Interpret this reference to temperance (moderation) however you will but, for me, it serves as a reminder to stay physically fit, mentally alert, spend thrifty, spiritually disciplined - for making the gospel of Christ my main mission!
Folks, the conclusion of our series on “The Victorious Christian Life” comes down to this: Our identity with Christ means that we are “all in” – and that we are “in it” for the long haul – no looking back as if we could, or wanted to, go back to the past . . . but, seeing where we are right now, making the most of life in the present, living for Jesus day by day – yet, with “the end” in view, and our Lord beckoning us: “Come Home. Receive your Prize”! Now folks, I’m in favor of that, aren’t you?
When we meet our Master face to face, methinks that, as it was with Paul, we ought to be able to say, “I met you once before!”
So apropos is yet another poem by the popular poet Anonymous:
“I had walked life’s way with an easy tread, had followed where comforts and pleasures led, until one day in a quiet place, I met thee, Master, face to face.
“With station and rank and wealth for my goal, much thought for my body but not much for my soul, I had entered to win, in life’s mad race, when I met thee, Master, face to face.
“I had built my castles and built them high, even if only in my mind’s eye - with their domes I had pierced the sky, and I had sworn to rule, even if it meant going to outer space, when I met thee, Master, face to face.
“I met thee, and knew thee, and blushed to see, that your eyes full of sorrow were fixed on me, and I faltered and fell at your feet that day, while my castles melted and vanished away.
“Melted and vanished, and in their place, naught else did I see but thy face, and I cried aloud, ‘Oh, Master, make me meek, to follow the steps of thy wounded feet.’
“Since then, O Lord, my thoughts have been for the souls of men, for I lost my life to find it again, ever since that day in a quiet place, I met thee, Master, face to face.” Amen.
