All we have to do is look at His creation to see this is true. However, this is not always true among mankind. Often men try as hard as they can to make things similar..
Illus: Many people visit fast food restaurants from time to time. Have you ever noticed that no matter where you go across America, several of the different franchises look alike. Sometimes it seems that even the employees look alike. The point I am trying to make is, whoever owns those restaurants does not believe in variety, that's for sure!
This is not the case with God. He is a God of variety! That is evidenced in things we so clearly see every day. For example:
• Every mountain is different from all other mountains.
• Every river, pond, and creek is different from all other rivers, ponds, or creeks.
• Every tree and shrub is different from all other trees and shrubs.
• We are told that no two flowers are exactly the same.
• We are told no snowflakes are the same.
• We are told that no two fingerprints are alike.
• We are told that no two "voice" prints are the same.
And if you want further proof of the fact that God is a God of variety, just look at each other. Every person is CREATED in his own UNIQUE way. God made every one of us different.
Let us look further at-
I. THE UNIQUENESS IN OUR CREATION.
Man is God's masterpiece in creation. The scripture reveals that. Look at Psalm 8:3-9 you see the psalmist recognized the UNIQUENESS in the creation of mankind. Everything God created in this whole universe is marvelous, but man is His masterpiece. Although He created every man with certain like physical characteristics, when we look closely, the fact that God is a God of variety becomes obvious again. Every person is UNIQUE in his own way. In every family you will find certain similarities, in fact, we often wish our children would not be so much like us.
Illus: One dad, who had a hard time in English when he was in school, had a son who was just like him.
The little fellow told his teacher, "I aint got no pencil."
The teacher corrected him, "It's 'I don't have a pencil.'"
The little fellow, dismayed, said, "You don't got one and I don't too."
Again the teacher corrected him, "It's 'We don't have a pencil.'"
The little fellow said, "What happened to all them pencils!"
Illus: One day a little boy came home and told his dad, "Dad, a kid at school told me that I look just like you." The proud father asked, "And what did you say?" The son said, "Nothing, he was bigger than I was."
Seriously, yes you will find similarities among family members, yet each individual is different in many ways. Even identical twins are not truly identical. Every person is UNIQUE in his own way. Some may look so much like others that it is hard to see any difference, but no two people are exactly alike. You will never find anyone exactly like you. We also find a...
II. UNIQUENESS IN OUR CULTURE.
Because of our uniqueness in our creation and because of the uniqueness in our culture, people have to be evangelized in a way that is acceptable to them. If we are going to be effective at soul winning we have to have respect for the individual's UNIQUENESS in creation, and the UNIQUENESS of each individual's CULTURE.
If we try to throw everyone into a mold we have devised, and expect them to conform to that mold, we will not be effective.
Illus: That would be as foolish as going to a shoe store to buy a pair of shoes and finding the store owner only stocked one size shoe.
Illus: That would be like a restaruant owner who liked spinach only offering spinach on his menu every day.
Illus: Every good fisherman will have a tackle box full of different kinds of bait and sizes of hooks etc., because he KNOWS that just one thing will not work on all kinds of fish.
Every individual is UNIQUE in his own way and we have to respect the UNIQUENESS and THE CULTURE of every individual if we are going to be effective soul winners. Paul told the Colossians, (4:6), "Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man." To illustrate his point, Paul used a substance everyone of that day was familiar with.
Illus: The housewife knows that food is not very tasty without being seasoned with salt. Paul knew, if a person ate anything that had not been seasoned, he would not like the way it tasted and would reject it.
The same goes for the gospel. Paul wanted to illustrate that we need to have our conversation "properly seasoned" if we expect people to "partake" of it. We have to recognize the uniqueness of everyone if we are going to be effective for Christ.
In I Corin. 9:19-23, Paul said, "For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you." Jesus reached all kinds of people because He met them on their own "turf." For example:
• The woman at the well, He spoke to her about water because she could relate to thirst.
• The fishermen, He talked to them about becoming "fishers of men" because they could relate to that.
Jesus was a master at finding out what caused a man to tick and then dealing with him on that level. Because He did this, the people understood. He learned their language. Sometimes we are not as good at this as He was.
Illus: For example, while you and I may sing about the fact that we have been "washed in the precious blood" of Jesus, sinners, who have never heard about Jesus' coming and shedding His blood that we might be saved, do not know what we are talking about. They could think this sounds quite violent, or at least, strange.
• Because some do not understand this, many are trying to figure out, to this day, why they witness to sinners and the sinners reject what they have to say. Well, suppose you had not been raised to go to church every Sunday and you did not know "church language," as we know it. Suppose you were a sinner and someone told you that you needed to be saved. Since you perceived your sin as a lifestyle, instead of sin, you would be trying to figure out what you were supposed to be "saved" from.
• Suppose you had never heard the gospel and some Christian came along and told you that you need to "come to Christ and let Him crucify your old flesh," would you want to "come to Christ"? Of course not!
Jesus knew the language of the people and He used it when He talked to them. He recognized the uniqueness of every individual. He invited people to come to Him just the way they were. He invites people today to come to Him just the way they are!
Illus: The old invitation hymn, "Just As I Am," has been effectively used through the years to draw people to Jesus because its message to the sinner is that Christ will receive him just the way he is. It is important the sinner know that, because if he waits to try to help himself become "good enough," he will never be saved. The words to that beautiful old hymn are:
"Just as I am, without one plea. But that Thy blood was shed for me. And that Thou bidd'st me come to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come! I come!"
-Charlotte Elliott
It does not matter who you are or what you are, you can come to God the way you are because He accepts you the way you are.
Illus: Many missionaries have fallen flat on their faces on the mission field because they thought God had called them to go there to change the culture instead of changing their hearts. American missionaries often act as if they think God is an American God and everyone else should look to us and become like us.
When are we going to learn that the only difference between Americans and foreign heathen is that most of us live in better homes, wear better clothes, drive nicer cars, and have more to eat. Other than that, there is no difference. God has not called us to spread our culture. He has called us to recognize the uniqueness of CREATION and the uniqueness of people's CULTURE and go and present the gospel to them in such a way, if possible, that they will not reject it.
III. UNIQUENESS IN OUR CONVERSIONS.
Jesus won many, but He respected the uniqueness of every one of them and dealt with them on that basis.
The Scripture tells us about:
A. The conversion of Nicodemus.
Nicodemus was an intellectual of his day. John 3:1-2a tells us these things about him - "There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night..."
How would the Lord convert Him?
Jesus knew there was one thing his POSITION could not get him.
In John 3:3, We read, "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
This is the only place we have a record of Jesus saying these words to anyone. His approach to lead this man to be converted was different than He used on anyone else.
B. The conversion of the rich young ruler.
This young man's wealth had become his god.
What method would the Lord use to witness to him?
In Matthew 19:21 We read, "Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me." That young man refused. He had been converted to idolatry and would not give it up. We do not have a record of the Lord using this invitation when dealing with anyone else. His attempt to lead that young man to be converted was different than any He used on anyone else.
C. The conversation of the woman at the well.
This was a very sinful woman. She had been married four times and was, at that time, living with a man she was not married to.
What would the Lord say to a woman like this?
In John 8:11,We read "...And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin to more."
We do not have a record of the Lord saying those words to anyone else. The Lord designed His approach to fit the uniqueness of each individual He witnessed to. For example:
• He told Nicodemus, who was a man of high position and intellect, that he needed to be "born again."
• He told the young man who trusted in his riches, that he must sell those things that were his gods.
• He told the woman who was in sin that He forgave her, but she was to "...go and sin no more!"
Jesus tailored the invitation to serve Him to fit the person He was dealing with.
Illus: Did you know that you can "pick fruit" before it is "ripe"? When fruit is still green on the tree, that doesn't mean it will not be picked one day. It simply means that a little more time has to elapse, and a little more love and care should be given, then one day it will be ready to be picked. Galatians 6:9 says, "And let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."
Every person is different. What one may respond to, the other might not.
Illus: We are not all converted like the apostle Paul. If you remember, Paul was on the Damascus road when God knocked him off a donkey and converted him. But just because Paul was saved like that does not mean that everyone else, or anyone else, will be saved like that.
Some people say, "When I got saved I had cold chills run up and down my spine," and, bless God, when anyone gets saved is it more than enough to send cold chills up and down his spine! If you had such an experience, good! However, the Bible does not say you have to experience that when you get saved, or in order to be saved. Jesus dealt with each individual. He did not use the same approach on everyone. Today we have many who mean well. They have developed a series of questions and advocate your using those on everyone.
Illus: They remind me of the story of how the Jehovah's Witnesses used to carry a gramophone from house to house and would ask people to listen to it as they turned the crank. Today they have gotten a little more sophisticated and they train people to memorize what to say before they send them out.
If a uniform message could reach all sinners, all the church would need to do is put a robot in every neighborhood and we could reach the whole world for Christ in no time. But, everyone is UNIQUE. Every person has to be dealt with in his own UNIQUE way.
Conclusion/Summary: As we spread the gospel, let's follow the example Christ set before us and remember the,
I. UNIQUENESS IN OUR CREATION.
II. UNIQUENESS IN OUR CULTURE.
III. UNIQUENESS IN OUR CONVERSION.
