Illus: Two cowboy friends, Joe and Bob, each bought a horse one summer. They enjoyed riding around and doing the things that cowboys do.
When winter came, however, they did not want to pay to have their horses stabled for the winter. Instead, they decided to release them in a pasture and get them in the spring.
Joe noticed a problem however, and he asked Bob, "How will we know which horse is which when we pick them up in the spring?"
Bob responded, "Well, I guess we will know which horse is ours, because your horse is white and mine is black.”
Cowboy movies are not mind straining to watch. Cowboys live in a world of their own.
Illus: Cowboy Joe was telling his fellow cowboys back on the ranch about his first visit to a big-city church.
• "When I got there, they had me park my old truck in the corral," Joe began. "You mean the parking lot," interrupted Charlie, a worldly fellow.
• "I walked up the trail to the door," Joe continued. "The sidewalk to the door," Charlie corrected him.
• "Inside the door, I was met by this dude," Joe went on. "That would be the usher," Charlie explained.
• "Well, the usher led me down the chute," Joe said. "You mean the aisle," Charlie said.
• "Then, he led me to a stall and told me to sit there," Joe continued. "Pew," Charlie retorted.
• "Yeah," recalled Joe. "That’s what that pretty lady said when I sat down beside her…PEW!"
The cowboy is known for his attire. He wears practically the same thing wherever he goes.
Illus: One Sunday morning, an old cowboy entered a church just before services were to begin.
Although the old man and his clothes were spotlessly clean, he wore jeans, a denim shirt and boots that were very worn and ragged. In his hand he carried a worn out old hat and an equally worn out bible.
The Church he entered was in a very upscale and exclusive part of the city. It was the largest and most beautiful church the old cowboy had ever seen. The people of the congregation were all dressed with expensive clothes and accessories.
As the cowboy took a seat, the others moved away from him. No one greeted, spoke to, or welcomed him. They were all appalled at his appearance and did not attempt to hide it.
The preacher gave a long sermon about Hellfire and brimstone and a stern lecture on how much money the church needed to do God’s work.
As the old cowboy was leaving the church, the preacher approached him and asked the cowboy to do him a favor. "Before you come back in here again, have a talk with God and ask him what He thinks would be appropriate attire for worship." The old cowboy assured the preacher he would.
The next Sunday, he showed up for the services wearing the same ragged jeans, shirt, boots, and hat. Once again he was completely shunned and ignored.
The preacher approached the man and said, "I thought I asked you to speak to God before you came back to our church."
"I did," replied the old cowboy.
"If you spoke to God, what did He tell you the proper attire should be for worshipping in here?" asked the preacher.
"Well, sir, God told me that He didn’t have a clue what I should wear. He says He’s never been in this church!”
Since cowboy lifestyle is so important, you might be wondering why is it that God’s Word does not talk about cowboys. Well, actually it does. For example the Bible says Amos was a HERDSMAN!
Now I am not saying he was the Old Testament John Wayne, but he certainly could be classified as a cowboy. You might say every one of us is a cowboy spiritually!
In this so-called “Cowboy sermon,” I want to consider some things that a cowboy does and apply these to the Christian life. Here is what he does.
1. He rides ’em
2. He ropes ’em
3. He brands ’em
4. He corrals ’em
I. RIDE ’EM
Look at Matthew 28:19, we read, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”
Any cowboy knows that to round up the strays, he has to get on his horse and ride his horse.
Illus: ____________, (Choose someone in the congregation) said she had a near death experience that has changed her forever. She said, “The other day I went horseback riding. Everything was going fine until the horse started bouncing out of control.” She said, “I tried with all my might to hang on, but was thrown off. Just when things could not possibly get worse, my foot got caught in the stirrup. When this happened, I fell head first to the ground. My head continued to bounce harder as the horse did not stop or even slow down. Just as I was giving up hope and losing consciousness, the Walmart manager came and unplugged the machine.”
All cowboys use their horses to round up the strays. Notice, God’s Word says we are to “go!” Another way of saying this is that God’s Word says we are to “Giddy-up and Go” where the strays are.
Many Christians have a lot of GET UP AND GO. They:
• Get up and go shopping
• Get up and go play golf, fish or hunt
• Get up and go make a buck
But they have no GET UP AND GO FOR reaching the lost.
Matthew 28:19 is one of the simplest verses in the scriptures, but you would be surprised how many Christians sit in the church pew week after week and have never gotten up to win the lost. They ride all over town doing all kinds of thing, but never once have they ridden to someone’s house to win them to the Lord.
NO WONDER THEY HAVE NEVER WON ANYONE TO THE LORD!
That would be like a fellow saying I never caught a fish in my life. The reason he never caught a fish was because he never would GO where the fish were to catch them.
Every cowboy knows that to reach the strays you need to “Ride ’em!”
God expects us to RIDE ’EM and -
II. ROPE ’EM
Look again at Matthew 28:19, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”
Cowboys round up cows and rope ‘em. We need to do the same when reaching the lost. We need to “round ’em up” and “rope ’em” by teaching them what God’s Word says.
Illus: Many churches have what they call “Round Up Sunday” each year. It is during this time they round up strays that have drifted from the herd.
We are to encourage others to follow Him just as Andrew found his brother Simon and brought him to Jesus.
Look at John 1:41, we read, “He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.”
THIS IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY AS HIS DISCIPLES, HIS FOLLOWERS.
We are to rope ’em by convincing them that God has what is best for them. But some Christians appear to be at a loss for words when it come to convincing people.
Every Christian is a salesman. Every day we are out trying to sell the Lord Jesus to a lost world. We all need to sharpen our skills in selling.
Illus: Airman Jones was assigned to the induction center where he was to advise new recruits about their government benefits, especially their GI insurance.
It wasn't long before Captain Smith noticed that Airman Jones had almost a 100% record for insurance sales, which had never happened before.
Rather than ask about this, the Captain stood in the back of the room and listened to Jones's sales pitch. Jones explained the basics of the GI Insurance to the new recruits, and then said:
• "If you have GI Insurance and go into battle and are killed, the government has to pay $200,000 to your beneficiaries.”
• “If you don't have GI insurance, and you go into battle and get killed, the government has to pay only a maximum of $6000."
• "Now," he concluded, "which bunch do you think they are going to send into battle first?”
Most Christians are not persuasive enough in their witnessing. If we are going to “rope ’em” we have got to be persuasive. Why? Because Satan is very persuasive and he is our competition.
Illus: Satan can take nothing and make it seem like something. For example, in May of 2006 every time you turned on the television they were promoting the “American Idiots” (American Idols). All over this nation they did such a big job of promoting this show that you could hear people talk about wanting to make sure that they saw the show. The devil and the devil’s crowd know how to get people worked up.
Illus: Another example is so called professional wrestling. Everybody knows it is not real, but look how that crowd gets worked up!
The point I want to make is this; if Christians are going to “rope” the lost for Christ, they must learn how to persuade or convince people that HELL IS REAL and HELL IS FOREVER!
Illus: Have you ever thought about how Jonah won a whole city to the Lord? Let me tell you how. When God brought him out of that whale’s belly, he was convinced that God meant business, that God was going to destroy this place. He convinced the people God meant business.
Have you convinced anyone that Christ is the way to go in life? Have you even talked to anyone about Christ?
God expects us to RIDE ’EM, ROPE ’EM and -
III. BRAND ’EM
Look again at Matthew 28:19, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”
During the days the Lord Jesus was here on earth, it took a lot of courage to be a Christian. Listen, today it has become popular to say you are a Christian.
Illus: Some believe the reason that President Jimmy Carter was elected to be president was because he made it clear he was born again.
When Christ was here, it took RAW COURAGE to let people know you were a Christian.
The Lord does not want secret disciples. He said, in Mark 8:38, “Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
To keep His disciples from being secret disciples, He instituted “Believer’s Baptism.” Once a person came to know the Lord, they publicly follow in “Believer’s Baptism.” It was not done secretly but publicly. Often there would be lost people on the shore line making fun of them as they were baptized. If they were not sincere, they would not follow the Lord in “Believer’s Baptism.”
The first thing God commands new converts to do after they receive Christ is to follow the Lord in Believer’s Baptism.
BAPTISM WILL NOT SAVE US! But baptism is branding us, and the person that is getting baptized is saying to everyone:
• I have died to sin through Christ
• I have been buried with Christ
• I have risen with Christ
• I am a new creature in Christ
Our baptism is our BRANDING that shows we belong to Christ.
Illus: It is similar to a wedding ring. A wedding ring does not make us married, but when I wear my ring I am telling everyone that I belong to someone.
Cowboys round up the strays and then they BRAND THEM! Baptism is not an option, it is a COMMAND. Baptism is an act of obedience that all people who believe in Jesus need to comply with. This does not “complete” our obedience to Jesus, but it’s a step of obedience in the right direction.
In Acts 2:38, we read, "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”
God expects us to RIDE ’EM, ROPE ’EM, BRAND ’EM and -
IV. CORRAL ’EM
Matthew 28:19-20, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
After a cowboy has ridden hard, roped his livestock, and branded them, then he needs to corral ’em. He needs to herd them into the corral and keep them there.
They are not supposed to be grazing in someone else’s pasture. Christians have their own church and that is where they belong.
God put the church here for two reasons:
1. It is where the Christian can be taught God’s Word
2. Once they learn it, they are to go and teach others what they have been taught
If everyone who believed in Christ joined the church and got involved in service, JUST THINK WHAT COULD BE ACCOMPLISHED FOR THE LORD!
Conclusion:
Illus: One church in Kansas City has these words as its motto: “We will -
• “wake up,
• sing up,
• preach up,
• pray up,
• pay up,
• BUT NEVER give up,
• let up,
• back up,
• shut up,
• Until the cause of Christ in this church and in the world is built up.”
Cowboys of old were committed to their job of riding herd and taking care of that herd. Likewise, we, as God’s people, God’s herdsmen, have been called to do nothing less than our best to reach people for Christ, to lead them to Him, to baptize them, and to get them in the church and continue teaching them the ways of Christ.
God expects us to
I. RIDE ’EM
II. ROPE ’EM
III. BRAND ’EM
IV. CORRAL ’EM
