YOUNG MR. JONES, MEET THE MASTER
A young minister was asked to make patriotic address at banquet hosted by school club. Young Mr. Jones, national president of the organization, sat immediately to minister’s left.
"Hottest babes I’ve ever seen!" he said. "Maybe I can get some tonight."
Suddenly realizing the young minister was sitting beside him, he turned with somewhat reddened face and stammered, "Uh...sorry Rev. But surely you, as a young man yourself, must see and feel what I do. After all, it is a natural urge to want sex, isn’t it?"
The minister smiled, "It might take me a few minutes to answer you fully. Are you asking out of curiosity, or just to make conversation...or because you really want to know?"
Young Mr. Jones appeared somewhat startled by the young minister’s candid reply. Rev, you have my curiosity aroused now. I’m asking because I’d really like to know. What objection could you possibly have to a little fun?"
The young minister finished buttering his roll before answering...
"I have a steady stream of young people who need help coming to my study in the church. Their lives are messed up because of illicit sex. They’re from every walk of life and nationality. They look across my desk at me and tell me stories that would shock most adults. I hear stories of pre-marital sex, unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, sexual abuse, rape, and AIDs. I hear these stories, until I come to the place where, watching passing teens, I wonder if anywhere today there are any real, decent, honest, and pure teenagers walking around on two legs in America. I believe sexual temptation is one of the most potent weapons the Devil uses on teenagers in America today."
He paused..."Are you quite sure you want to hear all of this?"
Young Mr. Jones nodded, Of course I do. But what does all of this have to do with you lusting after a girl?"
"Well, to continue...It seems to me that behind every sin is a lack of self-discipline...of God’s discipline. In a democracy, citizens have to be self-disciplined, or the country goes down defeated from within by moral rot. That’s why the Roman empire fell, why France fell.
"I am beginning to see that if I, and others like me, are to help people, really help, we, too, are going to have to be disciplined. There’s going to have to be a total lack of compromise of our moral principles.
Unless I keep myself pure and absolutely refuse to compromise, I cannot speak with authority on this issue."
Young Mr. Jones replied, "I see your point. I’ve never been much for religion, or how it could affect my life one way or the other. But, if you really think things in this country are that bad, what’s the answer?"
"There’s only one answer that I know of – God. People like you and me becoming personally acquainted with Him. When a person cultivates a personal relationship with Christ, there’s no life too much of a mess for Him to straighten out – and keep straightened out, no problem He can’t handle."
"Rev...uh, pastor...I’d like to know more. How about meeting with me tonight after the banquet?"
"After the banquet it is," replied the young minister.
So began a friendship that led young Mr. Jones to Christ – and utterly changed his life forever.
All of us have problems of one kind or another. "All God’s chillun’ got trouble these days."
To put the question bluntly:
Can you and I really have fellowship with Christ as we would with earthly friends? Can we know personally that same Jesus whose words are recorded in the N. T., who walked the dusty trails of Galilee 2000 yrs. ago?
I mean, is He really alive? Can we actually meet Him, fellowship with Him, ask His help for our every day affairs?
The Gospel writers say "yes." A host of men & women down the ages say "yes." The church says "yes."
Anyone...the housewife, the policeman, the teacher, the student...can be in direct fellowship with God. That is exactly what faith involves. That is significant because no single event in your life will ever have to be faced alone. He will be there for help and guidance in making decisions.
The Gospel writers say Christ chose 12 men "that they might be with Him." They were ordinary men, but Christ saw what they could become. He created a close fellowship with them. For 3 years they saw with their eyes, heard with their ears. He told them that when they had seen Him, they had seen the Father.
Then came the cross. Was their fellowship to end with His death? Their testimony is that it did not – that the fellowship survived – and became stronger.
Mary saw Him at the tomb – then He was gone.
2 on way to Emmaus recognize Him – He is gone.
The 12 in the upper room, a word of peace – He is gone.
They began to expect Him around every corner. He made them aware of His presence with them. He reminded them of His promise: "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
If this same fellowship is also available to us, how may we go about finding it?
Now let us be honest – do we really want to find Him?
God says in Jeremiah 29:13:
"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
We say we want to find Him, and come into His presence. Suppose God were to reveal Himself to us – here – now! Suppose you reached out your hand and felt Him, and lifted your eyes to see Him looking at you. What would you do?
Do we really want to find Him? Are there some things we love better than Him – our compromises we have made, whereby religion does not interfere with our lives and our relationships...our secret sins which we indulge and keep hidden – do we love them more than we love Him?
You may be going through that terrible conflict.
You want Him, you don’t want Him.
You want His ways, you want your way.
You pray "Thy will be done," but you mean your will.
We want to be clean inside, and still do the things that make us unclean.
We want to play both sides, so we have compromised ourselves. We will argue for the doctrinal position of the church, and then express the right to live as we please.
Then we wonder why we cannot have a real, thrilling, satisfying fellowship with God.
Jeremiah 29:13 is still true today.
God is not hiding – but we are!
God is not pretending – look at the cross!
But we are pretending – look at your own heart and see.
It is possible for us to live in this world as sure that the Lord is with us as we can be sure of anything. But there is a price to be paid. We must be ready to give up some things, and that is always hard to do. It may require spiritual surgery, and that’ not pleasant. And your heart may ask: "Is it worth all that?" YES, IT IS WORTH ANY PRICE!
We have been thinking all along that God was somewhere far away...unapproachable...difficult to access...only to find that all the while He is standing beside us. I know that He is here at this moment – interested in each one of us.
Young Mr. Jones can meet Christ, and you can too. Wherever you go, you will not leave Him behind, for He will go with you.
Won’t you think now of His presence and test it by an act of faith, so that you too will know that He is near?
YOU HAVE TIME!
Won’t you close your eyes now, and with all the faith you have, even though it be very little, tell Him that you believe? Tell Him that you want Him to guide your life and to keep it.
If you are willing to let Him take control of your life completely, bowing to His will for you, you will find the glorious joy, indescribable peace, and escape from bondage that the New Testament promises.
Then you will never doubt again that fellowship with this living Lord is possible, but you will discover that it is the most glorious fact in our whole world.
