Young Mr. Jones, Meet The Master

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.