What Will It Take? (1 Of 2)

I want to show you by asking a question, “WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO GET YOU TO LOVE GOD AND SERVE HIM AS YOU SHOULD?”

Illus: When I think of this question, I think of the atheist school teacher who was thinking, “WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO CONVERT THIS CLASS OF YOUNG BOYS AND GIRLS OVER TO ATHEISM?”

She decided she would do this by stating that she was an atheist, and asking her class how many of them were atheists. She knew they were very young, and they really did not know what an atheist was. The young students, wanting to be like their teacher, all raised their hands indicating they were atheists also.

There was, however, one exception. One beautiful young girl did not go along with her class mates. She was the only one who did not raise her hand.

The teacher asked her why she decided to be different from all her classmates. She said, "Because I'm not an atheist.”

“Then,” asked the teacher, “What are you? She said, "I'm a Christian.”

The teacher was a little perturbed, her face slightly red. She asked her why she was a Christian.

She said, "Well, I was brought up knowing and loving Jesus. My dad and mom are Christians, so I am a Christian also.”

The teacher was now angry. '”That's no reason. What if your Dad and Mom were morons, what would you be then?" She paused, and smiled. “Then”, Lucy said, "I'd be an atheist.”

Today we are not going to talk about WHAT IT WOULD TAKE TO MAKE YOU AN ATHEIST, that is simple, all you would have to do is become a moron. What I want to ask you is, “WHAT WOULD IT TAKE TO MAKE YOU LOVE THE LORD LIKE YOU SHOULD?”

The goodness of God should be all that it takes. One of the reasons God is so good to us is that He hopes His goodness will lead us to repentance.

Look at Romans 2:4, we read, “…despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?”

God is so GOOD TO PEOPLE, you would think that people would recognize His goodness and would want to serve Him. The goodness of God has led many to Christ, but sometimes it takes other things for some folks.

Illus: For example, anyone who knows anything about horses knows this about them:

• There are some horses that are so easy to lead, all you have to do is place the leather reins of the bridle on the horse’s neck and they can be led. This is called “Ring” necking.

• But there are others that you have to pull the leather strap so tight that the horse’s head is pulled back before you can make the horse turn.

That may seem cruel, but it takes that to lead some of these stubborn critters. The same thing is true with some people, God has to use drastic measures to get the attention of some people.

Illus: This reminds us of the farmer who sold a mule to another farmer. The man took the mule to his farm and hooked him up to plow, and the mule just stood there. Nothing he tried would make the mule plow. He got in touch with the farmer who sold him the mule, and said, “This mule won’t plow, I want my money back.” The man said, “Oh, I forgot to tell you something you must do before that mule will plow.” He said, “I will come to your farm in a few minutes and show you.” When he got there, sure enough the mule was hooked up to the plow but was standing there and refusing to move. He saw a two by four laying on the ground, and he reached down and picked it up, and walked up to the mule and swung the board and caught the mule on the side of his head. The mule was so dazed, he almost fell to the ground. He said to the farmer, “I forgot to tell you about that, NOW HE WILL PLOW!” Sure enough that mule plowed all day long.

God has to do this with many folks before they will serve Him. He has to use drastic measures to get their attention. He doesn’t do this because HE IS A CRUEL GOD, He does this because HE IS A LOVING GOD. He knows this is the only way He can get their attention and get them to serve Him.

I want to ask you again, “WHAT WILL IT TAKE for God to get YOUR ATTENTION and get you to the place where you are willing to serve Him?” Sometimes He has to use drastic means-