GOING THE DISTANCE

LIFE’S A MARATHON,

NOT A SPRINT

by STEPHEN P. TROXEL

Going the Distance

Copyright © 2008 by Stephen P. Troxel. All rights reserved.

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Scripture quotations marked “AMP” are taken from The Amplified Bible, Old Testament ©1965, 1987 by Zondervan Corporation and The Amplified New Testament, Copyright ©1958, 1987 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked “NASB” are taken from The American Standard Bible ©, Copyright ©1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked “NKJV” are taken from The New King James Version, Thomas Nelson Publishers. Copyright ©1982. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked “NLT” are taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, Copyright ©1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked “MSG” are taken from The Message, Copyright ©1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing group. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked “JBP” are taken from The New Testament in Modern English, Copyright ©1958, 1959, 1960 J.B. Phillips and 1947, 1952, 1955, 1957 The Macmillian Company, New York. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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Published in the United States of America

ISBN: 978-1-60696-327-2

Christian Living: Spiritual Growth: General

Church & Ministry: Pastoral Helps: Pastoral Care

08.11.21

Acknowledgements

I am greatly indebted to several people for helping me get this project off the ground into the publisher. First of all, I am indebted to my grandson Derick Johnson, for taking time out of his busy schedule as an honor student at Texas A&M University, to format this book before it was sent to the publisher. I owe much to Derek, who is been a great source of joy and pride for his entire family. Thank you, Derek, for who you are and what you are capable of doing. We believe that the sky is the limit for you.

Many thanks also go to John Shields, attorney at law, for the colossal amount of work and energy he has put into making sure that our new ministry was operating within the law and the IRS guide lines for a 501c3 (Non-profit) organization when we started Shepherds’ Support, Inc. (SSI). John has been a ready legal mind to help in time of need. He also took the time to read this entire manuscript in its raw version and make invaluable suggestions, which were for the most part included in the final product. Thank you, John, for caring so much about the Lord’s work and paying attention to the details.

I also want to thank our entire Shepherds’ Support Board consisting of John and Marsha Shields, Doctors Keith and Beth Eyre, Lannie and Melba Green, and Dr. Glen and Marilyn Mott. They have been supportive of this project and have allowed me the time (which I totally underestimated) to see it through to completion. Thank you, my SSI colleagues, for caring so much about equipping and encouraging pastors and wives everywhere and allowing Connie and me the luxury of serving in this manner.

I also thank Diana Lowe, my administrative assistant, who has been a gift from God to our ministry. Her help in taking care of so many details has freed me up to spend more time in ministry and to accomplish projects such as this one. She and her husband Rick, missions and outreach Pastor at Wayside Chapel, both read the manuscript and made many helpful suggestions and corrections.

Next, I want to think two friends, both busy senior pastors of large churches and ministries, who took time to read the manuscript. First, I want to think Max Lucado, for writing an endorsement for this book. I have ministered with Max at two local men’s gatherings, and I have witnessed myself his love for the Word and for God’s people. The time constraints and demands upon Max are enormous. The fact that he was willing to take the time to read this manuscript (with many such requests that come his way) speaks volumes about his servant’s heart and humility. Thanks, Max, for all that you do for so many. I am humbled that the many includes me.

Next I want to thank my English friend Charles Price, now the senior pastor at the People’s Church in Toronto, Canada. I too have been privileged to minister alongside of him in a conference. I love to hear him open the Word. He blessed our church on many occasions during my time there. He is on TV in fifty-some countries and travels the world, presenting the indwelling life of Christ. I am honored that Charles would take the time and effort. Thanks Charles for the blessing that you are to the body of Christ throughout the world and for “remembering“ me.

Finally, I want to thank my wife, Connie, for allowing our computer/study room to remain in disarray (like a war zone in her eyes) while this project was being finished. She too was part of the final editing crew as she took the time to read the manuscript and make valuable suggestions. Thanks, “Dear”; you are the best.

Back Cover

Life is a marathon. Marriage is a marathon. Ministry is a marathon. They are not sprints. To run a marathon requires, among other things, patience, endurance, and encouragement. There are two instruments, which God has given to us that are eternal: His Word and His people. We need the encouragement that comes through passages from the Word and people of the Word to keep us in the race. Going the distance combines these instruments that God has provided to keep me running.

“It’s been my joy to serve in the same city with Steve Troxel for over two decades. God has established him as a fine leader, excellent teacher, and a conduit for encouragement. He has ministered worldwide and next-door, always with skill.

I’m so grateful that Steve has gone to the effort of compiling some of his best teachings into a book. I appreciate his practical, inspirational words. If you know Steve, then you know what I mean. If you don’t, then I’m honored to introduce him to you. Enjoy!”

-Max Lucado, Pastor and best-selling author

Author Stephen P. Troxel, M.Div., and his wife, Connie, have been married 46 years, have two daughters and six grandchildren. Steve was a senior pastor for 42 years, the last church being Wayside Chapel Evangelical Free Church in San Antonio, Texas, which he served as senior pastor for 34 years. Today they’re building on the world wide missions focus of Wayside Chapel, and they have a new ministry called Shepherds’ Support, Inc., Inc. The purpose of Shepherds’ Support is to equip, encourage and engage ministry leaders and their spouse in less resourced areas of the world so they can finish well in both their marriage and ministry. Find more information by going to their website at www.ShepherdsSupport.org

Table of Contents

Introduction: Keep on Running

Chapter One: Meet Maria, A Woman of Prayer

Chapter Two: Who Are You, Really?

Chapter Three: Meet David Allen - A Man of the Word

Chapter Four: Looking Unto Jesus

Chapter Five: Meet Ray Stedman - A Pastor To Pastors

Chapter Six: The Way Up Is Down …

Chapter Seven: Meet Russell Kelfer - “Not I, but Christ”

Chapter Eight: It’s All about Him

Chapter Nine: Meet Bill Cose - A Man of Fatih and Encouragement

Chapter Ten: We are at War

Chapter Eleven: Meet an Unknown Preacher in Northern Burma

Chapter Twelve: Giving Him All You Have…

Chapter Thirteen: Meet a Forgiving Translator in Romania

Chapter Fourteen: Abiding Christ

Chapter Fifteen: Meet a Banker, a Stewardess, and an Environmental Scientist

Chapter Sixteen: Motivation for Ministry

Epilogue - Transition

Bibliography

Introduction: Keep on Running

“You spent thirty four years in one pastorate! How did you do it?”

I hear that question over and over again wherever we go. How did we do it.? How did we stay in the race when at times we felt like dropping out? We know one thing: We did not do it alone. We had plenty of help along the way. I was a sprinter in high school, winning the 100 yard dash in our county during my last three years. I won the 220 yard dash the last two years of school. I liked to run fast, but I did not like to run far. When the coach had us run a mile, I began thinking it was “physical abuse.” I had an aversion to running far, but running fast I could handle.

Many approach the ministry as they would a sprint, but we need to think marathon. Whenever you run a marathon you discover that you need the help of others along the way to provide nourishment, refreshment, and just plain encouragement. “You can do it. Keep on running. Don’t give up.”

The purpose of this book is to provide encouragement to you for your marathon. You can finish the race that God has for you. My life verse has been Acts 20:24. Paul was on his way to Jerusalem. He met with the elders from the church at Ephesus. He knew that his immediate future was not very promising, to say the least. Verse 23 says “The Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me.” So much for positive thinking. He was thinking realistically. Yet, he could say, “But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” (New King James Version)

The older I get the more that verse has been central in my thinking. I want to finish the race God has for me. I want to do it with joy. I realized a long time ago that I could not do it on my own.

I owe so much to my dad and mom, Robert and Isabel Troxel, whose faith was simple, but firm to the very end. They both died early, mom in 1963 and dad in 1978. I John 5:13 is engraved on their tombstone: “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.” (New King JamesVersion) The imprint of their lives is written all over me. It is part of both my physical and spiritual DNA.

I have two daughters, Shelli and Kelli and one son- in- law, Don, (a man of integrity), along with 6 grandchildren, who have encouraged me along the way and nourished my soul.

I have a sister and brother-in-law, Dr. Dale and Rita Economan. In so many ways our lives have paralleled theirs. The medical profession and the ministry have many things in common. They too have encouraged me along the way. We have prayed together, cried together and laughed together, as close family members will and should, at times.

My brother Jed, and his wife Karen have also furnished some diversion and enjoyment along the way. He likes restoring old things like cars, trucks, tractors, boats, and, well, you name it, he does it well. There is a parallel to ministry in that as well. I have learned patience from him and a simple conviction that life is to be lived in the present, not worrying about the future. Thanks, Jed and Karen.

My in-laws Darrell and Beulah Hyde have been like my own parents for years. God took Darrell home in the spring of 2006. Mom and sweet Larry (who is mentally challenged) have lived with us since the fall of 2000. Larry teaches us patience and brings us to a much needed slower pace at times. I have learned much from mom. She is so generous, so joyful and full of life. At the age of 91 she is still a pleasure to be around. You will hear no complaints from her side of the house and no mother-in-law jokes from ours. She is one who is aging gracefully and finishing well.

And of course, my lovely bride Connie has been there since the day we pledged our love to one another, July 1, 1962. We have sung together all of these years. We have been privileged to minister side by side all over the world. I still love to hear her sweet, exquisite, solo voice. I find it very comforting and reassuring to hear her sing before I speak. One of the songs that we sang years ago is entitled “It’s not an easy road we are traveling to heaven, for many are the thorns on the way. It’s not an easy road, but the Savior is with us, His presence gives us joy every day.” The chorus goes, “No, no it’s not an easy road. No, no, it’s not an easy road; But Jesus walks beside me and brightens my journey, and lightens every heavy load.” Part of her testimony that she shares with the women in pastors-wives conferences in other countries is about how difficult the journey has been for us. It hasn’t been easy, but I would not have wanted it any other way, because she has been by my side. She is a woman of faith.

This book consists of two parts. Part one is People who have helped us run, some of them not even realizing the impact that they have had on our lives. I have limited them to people who have been my contemporaries, even those older than myself, who are finishing or have finished well. I could go back to the men and women of Biblical times and throughout church history, and there were many. But I limit myself to those who have had an impacted my life in my adult years. They will not be listed in any prioritized or chronological order.

The second part of the book will be Passages from the Word that have influenced me to keep running. People and the Word, these are the two things that are eternal. Funny, that they would be the two greatest influences in my life. How about yours?

With that said here goes. I hope you enjoy my introducing you to some remarkable people of influence.

Chapter One: Meet Maria, A Woman of Prayer

BURNOUT

Meet Maria, all three and one half feet of her. She is small in physical stature, deformed in appearance, but imposing in her spiritual stature. We first met Maria in October of 1997. Maria lives in Romania. I was just coming through one of the most difficult times for me personally in my life. Issues had just sucked the spiritual life right out of me. I had heard pastors and other Christian leaders speak about spiritual burnout, but tended to downplay it as something that could never happen to “real” Christians. And then, bam, I was smack dab in the middle of a spiritual paralysis.

I had lost my passion and my feelings were frayed. I was just going through the motions, and those closest to me knew that something was going on inside of me. Dr. Richard Swensen, who wrote the book called Margins¹, just happened to be attending Wayside (our home church of which I was senior pastor for 34 years) on the last weekend before I began a three month sabbatical. We, along with the local chapter of the Christian-Medical-Dental Society, (CMDS) hosted the good doctor for a Friday night-all day Saturday seminar. He spoke about burnout. I read in his book about burnout. All at once the lights came on and I realized that was me. I was in a pit. How could I get out?

I considered dropping out of the race. Thoughts of quitting went relentlessly through my mind. God had removed His hand of blessing. I was washed up. It was time to hang up my spikes and do something else.

I remember a funeral that I was having at the time. I was so distracted in my thoughts that I committed what seemed to be the unpardonable sin. Pastors almost always follow the lead car to the cemetery. Next comes the hearse and the family and the rest of the entourage. We were about half way to the cemetery when the thought came to me, “Why is this car in front of me going so slow?” I stepped on the accelerator, moved into the middle lane, (the funeral procession was in the far right lane), and proceeded to go around the lead car. As I approached the side of the lead car my wife brought me back to reality. She exclaimed “Dear, what are you doing?” I looked to my right to see the funeral director looking at me, with perhaps similar sentiments, “Man, what are you doing?” I braked and slipped back into line.

You have heard and seen the Southwest airline commercials where something stupid like that happens to someone followed by the line, “Do you want to get away?” That was me.

I knew that it was time for me to get away. God directed my thoughts to Psalm 40:1-3, which I had memorized many years ago. It reads:

I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me,

and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a

horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet

upon a rock, and established my steps. He has put a

new song in my mouth—Praise to our God;

Many will see it and fear, and will trust in the Lord.

Psalm 40:1-3 (NKJV)

I began to cry out daily for deliverance and a new song to be put in my mouth. It was slow in coming.

As we neared the latter half of our sabbatical we spent a month with our youngest daughter and son-in-law, Kelli and Don Johnson, who were living on the eastern side of Italy for 18 months. His company, at the time, had taken him there.

There was a memorable moment for me when we were standing on a mountain top outside of Ascoli Piceno, looking down at several different shepherds, tending their several flocks of sheep, while the sheep grazed on the hillsides. Something clicked inside of me. It was quiet. All we could hear was the blowing of the wind. This was the life of David. He had plenty of time to contemplate, to meditate and to commune with God. No wonder so many great Psalms came from the mind and pen of this ready writer.

My world had become too noisy, too busy and too crowded. There was very little room or time to communicate with the Creator.

And I was running out of time. It was decision time. My daughter asked me one day, “Dad, are you ready to start preaching again?” I remember my answer to her, “I am not sure.”

You see there was one small problem. We were scheduled to leave Italy, go on to Switzerland by train and then link up with our missionary friends Mike and Kathy Uno, and travel by car all the way across Austria, Hungary and then across most of Romania to the southeastern city of Braila. I was scheduled to be the keynote speaker for the Baptist association of pastors and missionaries in Romania. There were around 1200 scheduled to attend. It was almost panic time. What could I say? Could I really be honest? Could I just go through the motions? Nobody there really knew me. These men had suffered much for their faith under communism. I had suffered nothing for my faith. What in this world do I have to offer these men and women? Scattered and fearful thoughts ran through my mind.

MEETING MARIA

And then Maria entered our lives. We were staying at the home of Pastor Joseph and Mia Stefanutz. We had a long term relationship with them and our church had funded the building of a new state of the art church building for them. The people there had suffered much under Communism. This little lady, Maria, stayed almost lost in the wood work of the home. She was quietly serving in the kitchen, preparing delicious meals for us. I was intrigued by her size and her demeanor. I wanted to meet her. Pastor Joseph had her come out. She was the aunt of Mia. As she stood next to the table, with her chin nearly resting on the table, we communicated through translation with her. She began to pour out her heart to us. Tears filled her eyes as she spoke of her love for the Lord and her passion for all of Eastern Europe. She was 75 years of age at that time. She had lived under communism all of her adult years. But her concern now was that with all of the newly found freedom people would no longer see their need for God. She was worried that they would throw their lives into materialism.

I will never forget the essence or impact of what she said that day. She said “I want to live as long as I can so I can pray for the people of Eastern Europe. I live to pray. When I heard that you were coming to visit us I began to pray for you. I am praying for you everyday. I will pray for you everyday for the rest of my life. I will be praying for you as you go and speak at the conference.”

I will tell you later in the book what happened at the conference. But this moment was a turning point for me. I knew that I had a prayer warrior for the rest of her life. Where would I be without Maria? I shudder to think where.

OUR LAST MEETING WITH MARIA

In October of 2006, we conducted a pastors and wives seminar in Braila. Little Maria rode on a train, all night, over 12 hours to be there, mainly just to see us again, but also to be with her extended family. She was a breath of fresh air, a sweet aroma, a life-giving perfume.

In the process of our reunion she said that she had never missed a day praying for us since our first meeting in 1997. She also visits two or three families in her village every day, just to encourage them. I dread the day that God takes Maria home. I am fearful of a power drop in our lives.

She is 84 years old and still running the race. What is her secret? No doubt about it. It is her intimacy with the Lord. She lives to pray and lives to love her Lord and others. Our lives will never be the same because God brought Maria across out path when we most needed her.

Peter Deynaka, a Russian immigrant of many years ago, stayed in our home when I was a teenager. I remember his phrase, “Much prayer-much power-little prayer-little power.” Maria understood it. I am beginning to understand it. Prayer has been my Achilles-heel. Yet prayer is our lifeline. It is our oxygen. Trying to live without prayer is like a fish trying to live without water. It cannot be done.

I felt like I was at the 20th mile of my marathon. You know, the time when runners hit the wall. I am not speaking from experience. I have never run in a marathon. You do remember why. I liked running fast but not far. I was at the wall. My spiritual legs were crying out ‘enough already.’ My spiritual lungs were depleted. My mind was playing games with me. It was saying that I could not go on. The race was over for me. I was running up my last hill. And then when I came up over the hill there was little Maria like an oasis in my spiritual dessert, offering me a cup of water, a spiritual nutrition bar and some hearty words of encouragement, “You can do it, because you have me praying for you.”

As you go about your daily life, and when you get discouraged by your circumstances think of Maria. She lives to pray and she wants to live as long as she can so she can pray. She knows the secret to victorious living. “Rejoice always! Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks……” I Thessalonians 5:16-18. Rejoice always! Pray always! Give thanks always! That’s Maria. I am glad that you had a chance to meet her. Thanks Maria for allowing God to use you in our lives.

Oh, dear God, they fell asleep. What

more needs Scripture say?

These, his very closest friends, were

asked to “watch and pray.“

As wretched clouds of death and

doom their ugly shadows cast,

The next grade act of God‘s great love

would yet now come to pass.

But, these, his loved ones, fell asleep,

devoid of spiritual power.

They heard the Master whisper, “Could

you not watch one hour?

But do we have a stone to throw?

What have we to say?

Would we, in twilight’s garden scene,

been more alert than they?

Do you not, like Peter, James

and John we often fail to see

the depth of Jesus’ his call to prayer?

Oh, God, how can that be?

Dear Jesus, as we, by your side,

walk from day to day,

this one cry-we plead with thee:

“Teach us how to pray!”²

Chapter Two: Who Are You, Really?

ROMANS 6:1-14

            Who are you really? If asked that question right now, how would you answer it? You might respond, “I am Mark the mechanic, or Mike the medical doctor, or Nancy the nurse, or Connie the cook, or Pat the pastor or Pete the plumber.

            An older couple, empty nesters, had a parrot. The man never liked the parrot. It only said three words, “Who is it?” All day long it would keep repeating those same three words. He was hopeful that some day the cage door might get opened, the parrot get out and the cat would dispose of it quickly, with no remnants left over. 

            One day they needed to have a plumber come for some repair work. In the meantime the man had to run to the hardware store and his wife had a hair appointment. She wanted him to assure her that he would be back in time to open the door for the plumber. He assured her that he would only be gone for a few minutes.

            You guessed it, while he was gone the plumber showed up. He was an old gentleman in the twilight years of his plumbing. His heart was somewhat ailing. He brought his tools up on the porch, set them down, and proceeded to knock on the door. He heard this high pitched squeaky voice respond, “Who is it?” He responded rather loudly. “It’s the plumber!” He waited for a moment and no one responded, so he knocked rather vigorously one more time. Inside was heard that same shrill voice, “Who is it?” He shouted rather loudly this time, “It’s the plumber!” Again he waited for a half minute or so and this time he is getting rather anxious and loud. He bangs on the door loud enough for the neighbors to hear. Again this loud shrill high pitched voice, from inside, responds from inside, “Who is it?” The man shouts as loudly as he could, “It’s the plumber.” At this point the old man has a heart attack and ends up crumpled up in a pile in front of the door.

            The man of the house returns a moment afterwards and comes running up on the porch, trying to ascertain what needed to be done. At the same time his wife pulls up in the drive way, leaps from her car, and comes running up the steps to the porch screaming at the top of her lungs, “Who is it?”

            From inside comes this screeching but tiny voice, “It’s the plumber.”

WHO ARE YOU?

            So, I ask you again, who are you really? Knowing who you are and what is available to you is essential if you are to run a good race and finish strong.

            In knowing who you are it is also imperative in knowing whose you are. The great literary writer and evangelical thinker, G.K. Chesterton was one day standing on a London street corner when he was approached by a newspaper reporter. He said to Dr. Chesterton, “Sir, I understand that you recently became a Christian. May I ask you one question?”

            “Certainly,” replied this great writer.

            “If the risen Christ suddenly appeared at this very moment and stood behind you, what would you do?”

            Chesterton looked directly into the eyes of the reporter and said, “He is.”³

            Living in the present fully aware of His presence is essential for runners who wish to finish their race. Jesus is present. He is watching. He is cheering us on. He is for us. Nobody wants to see us finish the race well more than Him.

But we get so caught up with our present problems that we forget He is there present in our problems. His promise still holds. He promised to never leave us nor forsake us. (Matthew 28:20). “And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” That is not just a promise, but rather a statement of fact.

            The writer of Hebrews was writing to Jewish fellow believers who were being heavily persecuted for their faith. They had even lost everything in the way of material possessions according to Hebrews 10:34. But in Hebrews 13:5 we read “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.” In the Greek it is a double negative meaning I will never, never leave you.” It is an impossibility that He would ever leave or abandon us.

            The message translates this verse in this way: “Don’t be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have. Since God assured us, “Ill never let you down, never walk off and leave you,’ we can boldly quote, God is there, ready to help; I’m fearless no matter what. Who or what can get to me?”

OUR NEW IDENTITY IS IN HIM

His presence and person is what gives us our identity. We call it ID. You can hardly transact any business, or board or plane or even traverse our highways without eventually needing your ID.

  What is our ID? God has Christ written all over us. We have His image stamped upon us. We are His by way of the new birth.

            No section of scripture better addresses our new identity than does Romans 5 and 6. In Romans 1-3 Paul is writing to conclude that all are guilty of sin. There is not one person righteous in the eyes of God. Romans 3:10 “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” 3:23 Then in chapters 3:24 and following he shows how the righteousness of God is revealed apart from works or apart from the law, the righteousness which comes to us through Jesus Christ. Abraham and David were both the recipients of this undeserved righteousness purely by their faith.

            Now once we have received this righteousness by faith alone we become the recipients of everything that God wants to give us because we are now His children. We have peace with God. 5:1, and access to God in 5:2 and we can even rejoice in the most difficult trials in life because we are now His children and there is no evil that can harm us apart from His sovereign will. We can even take comfort in knowing that He makes everything work together for good to those who love Him. (Romans 8:28).

            But right here in the midst of all of these wonderful benefits we have as His children is the statement regarding our new identity. We were all born into the old Adam, the first Adam and we inherited his sin nature. This becomes evident the moment we pop out of our mother’s wombs. We are self centered, totally focused upon our own needs, with little thought about how our selfishness impacts and inconveniences the people around us who love us most. And we tend to live the rest of life the same way, apart from His indwelling life.

            Psalm 51:6 in the Amplified version reads “Behold, I was brought forth in (a state of) iniquity; my mother was sinful who conceived me (and I, too, am sinful).”   

Moving back into our text in Romans in 5:12 we read “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.”

            I have often stated at funerals that this is the only answer as to why we die. Science has no satisfying answer. We die because of our sin nature. It was handed down to us from Adam. In Adam we sin and die. But, the incredibly good news opposite of this is that in Christ we are all made righteous and live. That is the bottom line of Romans 5:12-21. The contrast between the two Adams, the first and the last, could not be more stark and vivid.

OUR NEW IDENTITY COMES FROM FAITH IN HIM

So, now through faith in Christ I have a whole new identity. I am in a new family. I have a new Father. He is forever and I am now in a forever family. I was born into a family that was kind of like the old “Ozzie and Harriet” and “Leave it to Beaver” families. As a child I thought that my dad and mom and two brothers and sister would be around forever. That was my sole identity. But now, my dad and mom are both gone, and my older brother is gone. I am now the oldest surviving member of my family. And I might add that my grandchildren already think that I am among the ancients. Our earthly family is very transitory. But, our Heavenly family is forever.

            In Romans 6 Paul wants us to understand this new position and identity. As I have said before, unless you understand rather well whose you are and who you are you will probably never accomplish what God wants you to do and will eventually stumble and fall and quit the race before you ever see the finish line.

            Another portion, a parallel passage to this one, is found in Ephesians 2. In the first 3 verses Paul speaks of how we are dead in our trespasses and sins. We were sucked into walking according to the wisdom of this present world. We were caught up in the fashions, fads, values and futility of this culture. We were controlled by our own lusts and desires. We were under God’s wrath and headed for a collision with God’s final wrath. But that is not the end of the story.

            I love each time the phrase “But God” occurs in Scripture. Here is one of them in Ephesians 2:

“But God, who is rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”  Ephesians 2:4-7 (NKJV)

This is who we are and this is where we are. Paul writes in Colossians 3:

“If [better “since] then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.  Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” Colossians 3:1-4 (NKJV)

The question then becomes one of appropriation. Why do we not live more like those who are so positioned before Him?

            We were in Uganda in the summer of 2005 for a large pastors and wives conference, teaming up with evangelist Sammy Tippit and his wife Tex, who have been greatly used of God throughout the third world and beyond. During the conference we had an afternoon free to tour the Rafiki homes for orphans not far from Kampala.

            We were taken by car to a local church. There we were asked to ride in an SUV with a young, attractive African woman and her equally attractive female friend. The driver had military fatigues on and a machine gun by his side. The man who climbed in behind us was dressed the same way, with the same kind of weapon by his side. At first I thought that they were there for our protection, which was a rather vain thought, but before long we discovered her friend, who was forbidden to tell us, that her friend in the front seat was the daughter-in-law of the president of Uganda. We had a lovely visit for several hours talking about spiritual matters, the country of Uganda, politics, the war in Iraq. You name it, we pretty much had the freedom to discuss it. It was a delightful time. Her family attends the church pastored by a young man, Gerald, who spent many years in the states, being discipled and educated here in San Antonio through Wayside Chapel and our dear friend, an African American Pastor, Rander Draper. He and his lovely wife Darlene, even had Gerald living with them for a period of time. We never know how God is going to use us and how far and wide our influence might reach.

            This young lady was different. She lived with confidence. She held her head high. She had what seemed like an endless smile on her face. This young lady stood out from the rest of the African women that we met. What was the reason for it? She knew who she was, the daughter-in-law of the President of Uganda. She might well be the next first lady of Uganda.

            We too have been raised up together and made to sit together with Christ in Heavenly places. We are “children of God, and if children, then heirs---heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him that we may also be glorified together.” Romans 8:16, 17 It just doesn’t get any better than that.

GETTING BEYOND GETTING PARDONED

One author pictures a king who decrees that a pardon would be extended to all prostitutes. Would that be good news for you if you were a prostitute? Of course, it would. You wouldn’t have to worry any more about avoiding the law, or about having a criminal record. The pardon would definitely be good news to you. But it wouldn’t necessarily give you the motivation to change your lifestyle.

            But suppose that in addition to extending the pardon, the king came to you personally and asked you to become his wife. Would that give you a reason to change the way you live? Absolutely! Who wouldn’t trade the life of a prostitute for that of a queen? Gaining a new identity as the king’s wife would be your motivation to abandon prostitution.⁴

            So many of us only thank God for the pardon extended. We are saved by grace and we sing His praises because we are bound for heaven. But, we never quite get to the point of living up to this new identity. Where is the power? I believe that the power comes from understanding who we are. Now let us look a little closer to the text here in Romans 6, which is so critical to our understanding.

THREE KEY WORDS IN ROMANS 6

            Three words summarize these first 14 verses of chapter 6. The first word is the word “KNOW.” It comes to us in v. 3 and again in v. 6. Paul puts it in the form of a question. I will state it as a fact. We must know that we were baptized into Christ. When He died we died, when He was buried we were buried, when He was raised to new life, we were raised to new life.

            Without arguing the case I do not believe that I am walking on thin ice when I state that baptism, in this passage is not referring to water baptism. I agree with John MacArthur Study Bible notes on this passage. He writes

“This does not refer to water baptism. Paul is actually using the word “baptized” in a metaphorical sense, as we might in saying someone was immersed in his work, or underwent his baptism of fire when experiencing some trouble. All Christians have, by placing saving faith in Him, been spiritually immersed into the person of Christ, that is, united and identified with Him.”⁵

            The word for ‘know’ here is experiential in nature. He wants us to come to know in experience what really is the truth about us. We were taken out of Adam and placed into Christ. We have a whole new identity.

            Marriage is a great illustration of this truth. Connie and I were married on July 1, 1962. At the moment her uncle, a pastor, pronounced us husband and wife, according to the laws of the state of Ohio, we were legally married. This was how the authorities now saw us, as husband and wife. Everything which I had, which was virtually nothing at the time, was now hers and vice versa. But, did we make the adjustment into this new identity all at once. Not at all! I had lived as a single farm boy. I had a lot to learn when it comes to keeping clothes and everything in the house neat and orderly. I had to learn to squeeze the tooth paste from the bottom side. I had never even considered such things before. But she did. I was making progress. Likewise there were certain things that she did which required some changing. One big one was her last name. It was no longer Hyde, but Troxel. Even today people still spell our last name wrong. After a few bank checks or introductions using her former last name, she accepted this new identity rather well.

            We probably all know of someone or have seen movies about someone who for one reason or another had to undergo an entire identity change. They changed their names, their social security number and every other identifying factor that would leave any tracks as to their whereabouts. Many end up in a witness protection program.  They have a whole new identity. God delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love. And the good new is that the prince of the power of darkness cannot get his hands on us ever again. He has no power over us.

            The old hymn expresses it well: “He breaks the power of cancelled sin. He sets the prisoner free. Tis music to the sinner’s ears and life and health and peace.”

            In Romans 6:10 that old man that I once was is no longer. The Amplified version brings this out best: “We know that our old (unrenewed) self was nailed to the cross with Him in order that our body, (which is the instrument) of sin, might be made ineffective and inactive for evil, that we might no longer be the slaves of sin.”

            I think of one of the scenes in the movie “What About Bob.” Bob, after being tied up and about to be blown up, by the psychiatrist, gets himself untied and jumps to his feet and yells to be heard throughout the woods, “Free! I’m Free” thinking that he was free of all his emotional dysfunctions. But of course, he wasn’t. He could shout it, but he wasn’t experiencing it. What was his problem? Why are we not experiencing this kind of victory over our own sin.

            That brings us to this second word in verse 11. It is the word RECKON in the NKJV. Some translations have the word consider. We use this word rather loosely in conversation today. My dad used it this way. I always, with amusement, remember my dad on the day of his second wedding, nine years after my mother died. It was 1972. He brought his fiancé south to San Antonio where I could have the privilege of marrying them. Our family and a few from out of state were there. It was a simple ceremony in what was then our church parsonage. I made it to the point in the ceremony where I asked my dad, “Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?” You can see it coming. He responded “I reckon.” I looked him in the eye. This was one time that the son trumped the father. I said “Dad, that isn’t good enough. Let me ask you again, Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?” He said, “I do.” Now I do not recommend that response as a way of scoring points with your new wife. I am not sure that she ever fully recovered from the trauma of that moment.

            But in reality dad was not too far from the truth, though he did not know it. This word comes from the same root word which gives us the word ‘recognize.’ You recognize it to be so or are considering it to be so. The Greek word was a banker’s term.

            Each month we get a statement from the bank that tells us how much we deposited and how much we withdrew and any fees or charges and then finally gives us the balance. I don’t know about you but there have been many times of the years that what I showed in my checkbook and what the bank stated I had in the account did not match. In fact, there have been a few times when we weren’t even in the same zip code. Every time, barring none, it was my problem. I failed to register a check or subtract a check or something else. You know the routine. The bank is fallible but yet has not made a mistake that I can remember.

            But God is infallible. God cannot lie. Titus 1:2  So, if He says that I died with Christ and I was buried with Christ and I was raised again with Christ and now have new life, then I must simply reckon my account with His. I am dead. I am not the man that I once was. I now have new life that has been given to me. As we begin to count on the twin truth that we are dead to sin but alive unto God in union with Christ our Lord then our position becomes more and more an experiential reality. We can know in experience what Paul meant when he said, “For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21 (NKJV) or

“I have been crucified with Christ---(in Him) I have shared His crucifixion; it is no longer I who live, but Christ, the Messiah, lives in me; and the life I now live in the body I live by faith---by adherence to and reliance on and (complete trust ---in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” Galatians 2:20 (AMP)

            I have over the years struggled with anxiety attacks, almost always in the middle of the night. Worry is wasted energy. My only hope is in allowing Christ to take over my body and live in me. When you are wronged you can either seek vengeance or allow Christ to live in you. When your spouse offends or hurts you, you can either strike back or allow Christ to control you. In other words, you have two choices, one is responding as the natural man and the other is responding as a spiritual man.

            Now that brings me to this third and final word in the text. The word is PRESENT in verses 13 and 14.

“And do not present your members as instruments (weapons) of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments (weapons) of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law, but under grace.” Romans 6:13-14 (NKJV)

            The word “present” is the same word that is used in Romans 12:1

“I appeal to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of all the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies—presenting all your members and faculties—as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship”   Romans 12:1 (NKJV)     

In the Greek it is a once for all presenting of your body and its members to God. As in marriage it is a once for all giving of yourself to your spouse. But, then there is the daily, even moment by moment presentation to our loved one as well.

            It has the meaning of placing before, or putting at one’s disposal. It was used in a military sense. It could also be used of tools given to the slave for daily use. Every morning the slave would present himself and his tools to his master for his use. Each morning the soldier arises and readies himself to present himself and his weaponry to his commanding officer. Tools and weapons were not to be given or to be used for selfish purposes and personal gratification.

            If I understand this rightly then each morning when I get up I need to present every part of my body to Him. These eyes belong to you Lord Jesus. Let them only look at the things that are pleasing to you. These hands belong to you Lord Jesus, Let them only do your work and nothing else today. These feet, they too belong to you Lord Jesus. Let them take me no place today where you do not feel at home.

A ONCE AND FOR ALL DAILY PRESENTATION TO HIM

            This once and for all gift, along with the daily presentation of our entire bodies is part of the secret of overcoming sin.

            There is another factor best illustrated by this following story. A pilot was flying his small plane one day when he heard a noise which he recognized as the gnawing of a rat. Wondering what its sharp teeth were cutting through, he suddenly realized with horror that it might be an electric wire. Then he remembered that rodents can’t survive at high altitudes. Immediately he put his oxygen mask on and begin climbing from 4,000 feet to 6,000 then 8,000 and 10,000 feet finally arriving at 12,000 feet. Soon the gnawing was less and less until finally it ceased altogether and when he landed he found the rat---- dead.

            This is how we must deal with sin. We must fly higher. This is the theme of Paul in Romans 6, 7 and 8, how to fly higher.

            Galatians 5:16 reads: “Walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” Galatians 5:16 (NKJV)

Fly higher!           

“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” Romans 13:14 (NKJV)

Fly higher and finish well. Pursue Christ until you cross that finish line.

My spirit, soul and body, Jesus I give to thee,

A consecrated offering, thine evermore to be.

Oh Jesus, mighty Savior, I trust in thy great name;

I look for those salvation, they promised now I claim.

Now, Lord, I yield my members, from sins domain free,

for warfare and for triumph, as weapons unto thee.

Oh, blissful self-surrender, to live, my Lord, to thee!

Now, son of God, my Savior, live out thy life in me.

I’m thine, O blessed Jesus!

Washed in the precious blood,

Sealed by the Holy Spirit, a sacrifice to God.⁶

Chapter Three: Meet David Allen - A Man of the Word

Meet Pastor David Allen. Pastor Allen was pastor of Calvary Baptist church in Hazel Park, a northern Suburb of Detroit, Michigan. Many of the college students from Detroit Bible College, later called William Tyndale College, attended there. I was busy trying to carry a full time load in college, work a full-time job and be a husband to Connie and a father to our new born daughter Shelli. I didn’t know the meaning of the word ‘stress’ at that time and not sure that it was even part of my vocabulary. But, that is what I was feeling.

I had very little time to sleep at night. This was during the booming years of the car manufacturers in Detroit. It was 1964. I was working at Chrysler, operating a fork lift, for 40 hours a week. Then it was increased to 44 hours a week, and eventually to 54 hours per week. They could not keep up with the demand for cars. On top of that I was carrying a full-time load at the college, first 15 hours, then I dropped a 3 hour course bringing it to 12 hours, and even considered dropping out of school all together.

A MAN OF THE WORD

Our one really bright spot in the week was going to hear this gifted expositor of the Scriptures speak. The Word was like a salve, soothing my wounded psyche each Sunday. I was amazed at his memory. He could stand for 45 minutes, speaking on a given topic, without notes, and quote verbatim 60 or so various passages of scripture, giving it word for word, book, chapter and verse, seldom misquoting or getting any part of it wrong. I know because I tried to catch his mistakes.

He could speak on the deity of Christ. He could give you 60 different quotes from Old and New Testaments on the deity of Christ. Each Sunday we would leave astounded at the authority of the Word of God. Anyone who had an argument with him really was having an argument with God’s Word.

He also used a great deal of humor. I remember hearing him preach on the book of Revelation. One Sunday he came to chapter 20 and the Great White Throne Judgment where John writes, “And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.” His comment was simple: “This is not to determine where they are going. These are all going to hell. This to see where in hell they go; North hell, south hell, east hell or west hell. South hell is probably hotter then North hell. It will be worse for some than others.”

HOW THE WORD WAS IMPACTING ME

God was building into my life two things during that year. First, He was confirming in me the absolute trustworthiness of His Word. If you remember the turbulent 60’s you will recall that liberalism and higher criticism were making great inroads into our academic institutions. This was the beginning of the “God is dead” movement. I had just assumed God to be alive and for His Word to be true. I was raised in a very conservative Bible believing church. Remember the old bumper sticker, “God said it. I believe it. Therefore it is true.” There was one glaring problem with that sticker. God’s Word is true whether I believe it or not. But, up to that time I had no reason to question the Word. And concerns that I might have had seemed to dissipate as we sat under his teaching week after week, experiencing first hand the power of the Word of God.

I mentioned two things that God was doing in me. The second thing was this: If I wanted to be used as David Allen and speak with the same authority as he, then I too must memorize and meditate on the Word of God. I had heard that he rose at 4 am each morning and reviewed 400 verses of Scripture. Whether or not that was true, it was obvious that he was mastering the Word and the Word was mastering him.

Years later, now an older man, back in the middle 1980’s, I invited him to come to Wayside and speak for a weekend of meetings. He was still mentally sharp and effective. Again, we left with that same sense of being influenced by the power of the Word. He ran well and the good news is that he finished well. I had a chance to thank him for the difference his example had made in my life. David Allen was one who encouraged me in the beginning, as I was just beginning my marathon, to be strong in the Word.

To do that I began to carry a little NT containing the Psalms and Proverbs with me, everywhere I went. We had 10 minute coffee breaks every two hours at Chrysler. I would get off in a corner somewhere and work on memorizing key verses. Then I began to memorize chapters and finally I turned to memorizing whole books.

Oh, I can’t tell you that I‘ve hidden as much of the Word in my life as David Allen did, but I can tell you that he challenged me to make it a life long discipline, and what I have put there has been quite useful to me over the years.

God’s Word in my heart and memory has done many wonderful things for me. It has kept my mind active (using the word ‘sharp’ might be questionable to my friends). I am amazed at how I can be preaching in large and small venues and the Word will come to me, sometimes passages which I haven’t reviewed or read in quite some time. I believe that this is the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Secondly, I cannot tell you how much sin that this practice might have kept me from over the years. I discovered decades ago that I could not be memorizing and meditating on the Word and sinning with my mind at the same time. It is virtually impossible.

Thirdly, there have been so many times over the years when the enemy has come at me like a flood, with one of his “flaming missiles.” (Ephesians 6:16). These flaming missiles are designed to hit their target and render it inoperable. It might be a fleeting (hopefully that’s all) thought involving another woman. Most men struggle with this. She is attractive. She is sexy. She is desirable. If you have no other restraints there to hold you back, what is to keep you, like David of old, from taking?

God’s Word has been like a hammer in my life. (Jeremiah 23:29). It reminds me of where the sin of adultery eventually leads. Passages like Proverbs 5, 6, 7 and 9 remind us of the high cost of this kind of sin. King David’s example is a reminder. That relationship can even lead to death and often does. Proverbs 9:17 and 18 reminds us that sin is costly: “Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. But he does not know that the dead are there, and that her guests are in the depths of sheol (the grave). Proverbs 7:27 says “Her house is the way to sheol, descending to the chambers of death.” Steve Farrar has written,

“In nautical history, there are three inescapable consequences to being shipwrecked that are true whether it’s inland on the Mississippi River or out on the open sea: shipwrecks will take you further then of ever wanted to go; shipwrecks can keep you longer than you wanted to stay; and shipwrecks can cost you more then you ever wanted to pay.”⁷

I have tweaked that just a bit for remembrance purposes: “sin will take you further then of ever wanted to go; keep you longer than you wanted to stay; and cost you more then you ever wanted to pay.” I saw this happen with my older brother. The other woman did cost him his life. He had been so badly deceived by the enemy that he chose to end his life at age forty-eight

A church sign read, “Forbidden fruit creates many jams.”⁸

As a pastor, even if your life is spared, your ministry and influence are greatly diminished.

Jesus used the Word when He encountered the devil at the beginning of His ministry. In Matthew 4, as He was tempted by the devil to compromise and listen to him, Jesus could say “It is written.”

How interesting that this incident would be right up front at the very beginning of Jesus’ public teaching. Of course He had to be tested before He began His ministry. But I believe that He was also showing us that we cannot survive the enemy’s onslaught without the Word. Having the Word written in our hearts, will in our moments of greatest temptation, sustain us. II Corinthians 3:16 and 17 reads in the Amplified version like this:

“Every Scripture is God-breathed—given by His inspiration—and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, and for training in righteousness (that is, in holy living, in conformity to God’s will in thought, purpose and action), so that the man of God may be complete and proficient, well-fitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.” II Corinthians 3:16-17 (AMP)

DAILY MEMORIZATION AND MEDITATION

Sometimes we mistakenly think that it is the college or seminary that prepare us for ministry. I'm not opposed to further studies and I even recommended then. But many pastors in the developing countries may have no opportunity to have further training. It is really the Word of God that gives us our authority. Formal study helps us in getting a better grasp on the Word and gives us tools to do so. But I believe that the man who daily meditates in the Word and memorizes it is promised to be faithful. Psalm 1:1-3 promises us just that.

The Word has corrected my thinking and brought distortions back into clear focus hundreds of times. The Word has also comforted me in countless ways. One of the first whole books I had memorized was the little book of Philippians. I was now in my second year of seminary. It was a disastrous year health wise. It began with our oldest daughter, then five, developing juvenile diabetes, and continued with my wife having to have one of her kidneys removed, and culminated with me developing Addison’s disease, which I will have the rest of my life.

Trying to stay in seminary, pastor a church and work part time was not easy to begin with. We were not prepared to have a daughter with this kind of a physical problem. We were in our mid twenties. What did the future hold for her and for us? Why us God? She was hospitalized 50 miles away in a children’s hospital. I would pick up our youngest daughter, Kelli, who was only a toddler at the time, from her grandma’s and head for home. Sleep was hard to come by. My mind was racing with fear as I looked to the future. Then one night in the darkness, this passage in Philippians 4:7 came to light. I was to rejoice, give thanks, not be anxious, and let the peace of God guard my heart and mind.

“And God’s peace (be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace) which transcends all understanding, shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7 (AMP)

I often challenge pastors, who have little or no opportunity to go for further Biblical, to memorize the Word. There are 7959 versus in the New Testament. If you memorize one verse per day, you can memorize the whole New Testament in 22 years, two verses per day, in 11 years and if three verses per day, you can do it all in seven years. If we have God’s Word in our mind, he can put the right words in our mouths.

This may seem a bit overwhelming, but we each need to start somewhere. I started with individual verses, paragraphs, chapters, and finally whole books. Begin with a book like Philippians, the epistle of joy. In chapter one Christ is our life, in chapter two our mind, in chapter three our goal, and in chapter four our strength. Thank you, David Allen, for motivating me to equip myself with the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17). You challenged me early in my run and gave me courage from the Word to both start and stay in the race.

His Word in my life

His Word in my life is my guide book

to keep me from straying away.

His word in my life is my soul food

that I need to partake of each day.

His Word in my life will convict me

demanding I alter direction.

His Word in my life will impact me

bringing much needed correction.

His Word in my life keeps me running,

not falling out of the race.

His Word in my life will sustain me

until we are face to face.

Pastor Steve

Chapter Four: Looking Unto Jesus

One of the portions of Scripture that has kept me running has been the Book of Hebrews. Years ago a friend David Player and I memorized the Book of Hebrews together. We went to Israel together and recited the book at different points, doing a couple of chapters as we crossed the Sea of Galilee in a boat.

The book was written to encourage Jewish believers in their faith. They were in danger of going back to Judaism. The writer of Hebrews writes of the supremacy and sufficiency of Christ in every area of life. He is greater than anything that their old way of life and tradition had to offer them. The same is true for each one of us. When we are in danger of wavering in our faith we need to take a good dose of the Book of Hebrews.

THOSE WHO LIVED BY FAITH BEFORE US

This group of early Christians had given up everything and even lost everything according to chapter 10. Life was difficult. They were being persecuted for their faith in Christ, just as some of you reading this chapter are experiencing at this very time. But in chapter 11 the writer encourages his readers to a life of faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God. 11:6. He then gives a sampling of the great characters of the Old Testament, men and women who walked by faith and kept their eyes focused on the Eternal One.

Moses was a great example.

“By faith Moses when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God that to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.” Hebrews 11:24-26 (NKJV)

The NLT renders the last part of verse 27, “He kept his eyes on the One who is invisible.” This expression was used of an artist or sculptor keeping his eyes focused on what he is reproducing. We have all seen these artists at work in tourist areas, intently fixed on the form and face of the object that they are reproducing. This is the idea in this passage.

What each of these great saints had in common was their faith in the Unseen Ruler of the universe.

IT IS NOT THE AMOUNT BUT THE OBJECT OF OUR FAITH

These Old Testament saints were resting in Him because the issue is never the amount of one's faith, but rather the object of that faith. Charles Price gives a great illustration of this from his own life. He tells of his first airplane ride from England to Zimbabwe, Africa. He found himself boarding a Boeing 707, which has rows of three seats on either side of the plane. He was in the middle seat. Next to the window was a very nervous, elderly woman whose knuckles were gripping the armrest tightly. This was her first time in an airplane. On the other side of him, in the seat next to the aisle, was a South African businessman. He had flown many times before. He showed little concerned about the flight. Price writes:

Presently we started to move toward the end of the runway and prepare for take off. The engines opened up the woman next to me seem to shrivel and fear. The noise of the engines got louder and she seemed to get smaller. Presently we began to move, and as we lifted off the ground her head was tucked into her lap, just waiting for something to go wrong. I was at the same time experiencing a combination of exhilaration on the one hand in fear of the other. The man on my right, in contrast to both of us, was completely relaxed and at ease. He just continue to read his book. It was a 16 hour journey to Zimbabwe with three stops en-route. During that time the women began to relax just a little, I relaxed much, much more, and the man on my right was completely relaxed as he eat, read, drank, or slept.⁹

His point was that each one had a different level of faith. Each had enough faith to get on the plane. Besides, they all arrive at the same time at the same destination. It was not the quality of the faith but the object of the faith that is all-important. Each of these Old Testament saints at different levels of faith, but in the same invisible, all-powerful God.

The writer of Hebrews goes from these Saints, who made it into Faith’s Hall of Fame chapter, to Christ Himself in Chapter 12 of Hebrews. Peterson’s “The Message” translation of these first three verses in chapter 12 is quite helpful:

“Do you see what this means---all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed---that exhilarating finish in and with God---he could put up with anything along the way: the cross, shame, whatever. And now He’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility He plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls.” Hebrews 12:1-3 (MSG)

One of the classic stories in sports history is of an athlete who ran the wrong way. I had a friend who did that during the opening tip off in a junior high basketball game. We watched in horror as he took the ball, unopposed down and laid it in the opponent’s basket. But, he recovered and became a better than average basketball player.

Wrong Way Riegels is a familiar one. On New Year’s Day, 1929, Georgia Tech played UCLA in the Rose Bowl. In that game a young man named Roy Riegels recovered a fumble for UCLA. Picking up the loose ball, he lost his direction and ran sixty-five yards toward the wrong goal line. One of his teammates, Benny Lom, ran him down and tackled him just before he scored for the opposing team. Several plays later, the Bruins had to punt. The technical team blocked the kick and scored a safety, demoralizing the UCLA team.

That strange play came in the first half. At half-time the UCLA players filed off the field and into the dressing room. As others sat down on the benches and the floor, Riegels put a blanket around his shoulders, sat down in a corner, and put his face in his hands.

A football coach usually has a great deal to say to his team during halftime. That day Coach Price was quiet. Not doubt he was trying to decide what to do with Riegels. When the timekeeper came in and announced that there were three minutes before playing time, Coach Price looked at the team and said, “Men, the same team that played the first half will start the second.” The players got up and started out, all but Riegels. He didn’t budge. The coach looked back and called to him. Riegels didn’t move. Coach Price went over to where Riegels sat and said, “Roy, didn’t you hear me? The same team that played the first half will start the second.”

Roy Riegels looked up, his cheeks were wet with tears and said, “Coach, I can’t do it. I’ve ruined the university’s reputation. I’ve ruined myself. I can’t face that crowd out there.” Coach Price reached out, put his hand on Riegel’s shoulder and said “Roy, get up and go on back. The game is only half over.”

All one needs’ to do is give a cursory glance to the men mentioned in chapter 11 to show that many of them, including the greatest patriarch, Abraham, and the greatest Old Testament prophet of them all, Moses, did not have a good first half. Of course the Apostles did not have a good beginning either. At the cross they all forsook him and fled. But as the old saying goes, it is not how well you do in the beginning of the race but how well you finish. Many of the horses running in the great horse races in America frequently come from the back of the pack to win the race. We do not remember how they start but rather how they finish.

If you are reading these words and discouraged about how well you are running, don’t give up. Keep your eyes on the Prize. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus.

I remember shortly after my mother died in 1963 that I heard a message on this passage depicting this great crowd of witnesses in Hebrews 12:1 as being in a coliseum or stadium and they are watching intently as we are running the race and they are cheering us on. It seemed comforting to know that my mother was now watching me run my race. Comforting that is, until I stumbled and fell along the way. And there have been many failures. I thought to myself that mother cannot be enjoying herself in heaven too much right now. Is this rally what the passage is teaching? Probably not! More likely he is picturing athletes in a foot race, running for the finish line and urged on by a crowd of spectators. He probably had in mind both witnesses and spectators. He may have had in mind a relay race where the baton is passed from one runner to another. Those who have completed their segment of the relay, ie, the Old Testament heroes of faith mentioned in ch. 11, stand to encourage their successors.

I don’t think that this passage is teaching us that our loved ones in heaven are watching each move we make and seeing us stumble and even fall flat on our faces at times. That would be painful for them and in the eternal state there is no more pain. (Revelation 21:4.)

THESE ARE ALL WITNESSES

What then were these Saints witnesses too? First they bear witness that God’s people do suffer. Our English word ‘martyr’ comes from the Greek word translated ‘witness.’ In Acts 14:22 we read that Paul and Barnabas returned again to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch of Pisidia, where they strengthened the believers. They encouraged them to continue in the faith, reminding them that they must enter into the Kingdom of God through many tribulations.” (NLT). Each of the other Saints mentioned in Chapter 11 suffered in one way or another because of their faith and yet it was their faith that kept them running right through the difficulties. Your faith can do that for you just as well.

Second, they bear witness to the fact that after the suffering comes the glory. This is a principle brought out throughout scripture. First there comes suffering and then comes the glory. First the hardship and then comes heaven. When Jesus revealed Himself to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus on the day of His resurrection he referred to them as foolish ones and slow of heart.

“They were slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded (explained) to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” Luke 24:25-26 (NKJV)

Every runner must not only prepare physically but mentally to run. We all know of excellent athletes who never made it to the top of their competition and win the ultimate prize, not because of lack of physical preparation, but rather a lack of mental preparedness. It is customary in professional athletics today, when a game is lost, for the losing athletes to confess that they just weren’t focused. They weren’t mentally prepared. They were distracted.

If you are going to run in a marathon you must first mentally prepare yourself that it is going to be a long and grueling race, and then begin to physically prepare for it. The mental preparation must come first and it must remain not only throughout the preparation but also throughout the race.

The mind must win out over the body. This is what Paul is saying in I Corinthians 9:24-27. He speaks of buffeting his body. He is not referring to going to the “all you can eat” places. It refers to bringing your body into subjection. You run and run and run. You run in good weather and in bad weather. Long distance runners will sometimes run a 100 miles or more per week preparing for that 26 mile and 385 yard run. It had its beginning back in 490 B.C. A legendary Greek runner ran from Marathon, Greece to Athens to proclaim victory over the Persians. It was a popular race in New Testament times and could have been what the writer of Hebrews had in mind here.

If we are going to run a great race and finish well what must we do?

THE PREPARATION FOR THE RACE

We must strip down… Hebrews 12:1 and “Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us.” The imagery is setting one free from that which would encumber us. Weights and sins are different. We know of people today who are deliberately seeking to keep their lives simple so they can be free to respond in their giving and going where God calls. In fact two of these couples are all four doctors. They all have their specialties. They are involved in lucrative professions. Yet they live very modestly and give very generously. They are in the race to win.

I love the story that Paul Harvey shared years ago about the Italian sailing team racing in the American Cup. The race that year was held in Australia. On one of their days off, the Italian team decided to rent a jeep and go into the outback to enjoy the scenery and see if they could get a glimpse of a kangaroo or two. The team had been completely outfitted by the Italian designer Gucci. They wore Gucci jackets, carried Gucci bags, and wore Gucci watches.

As they were driving through the Outback, a kangaroo hopped in front of them. Unable to stop the jeep in time, they hit the kangaroo and it fell on the road in front of them---apparently dead. The team members all jumped out to take a look. Someone suggested, “Lets at least take a picture!”

The driver suggested, “Before we take the picture, I’ll put my jacket on it so it looks like even kangaroos wear Gucci clothes!”

They put the jacket on the limp animal, and as they stepped back to take the picture the kangaroo suddenly revived and hopped into the brush—wearing the jacket. Unfortunately the driver’s keys and wallet and American Express card were in the jacket. One of these days all of our material possessions will be gone just that fast. Proverbs 23:4,5 read “Do not overwork to be rich: Because of your own understanding, cease. Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings: They fly away like an eagle toward heaven.”

I purposed years ago that I would never use the ministry to build great material wealth. And I can tell you that I have managed to succeed at fulfilling that purpose.

We all know that there is nothing wrong with having material possessions as long as those material possessions do not have us. But, as my dad used to say, “The more we have, the more we have to worry about.” As a runner, all of that weight will keep you from running and finishing your race.

Runners peel off all unnecessary clothes.

We are reminded of this every time we travel to a foreign country. Restrictions in airline travel have made it mandatory that we travel lightly. We have been without extra clothes for as long as 6 days. We wore the same clothes day after day. We did not have to take the time to choose what we were going to wear that next day. It made life quite simple. We also remember another couple who traveled with us to Europe years ago. They took an extremely large suitcase. We took two small ones. The one large one was much more difficult to maneuver in trains and buses as well as planes.

As a pastor, perhaps in one of the less affluent countries, there is so much wisdom in the Sermon on the Mount portion of Matthew Chapter 6 where Jesus said that just as God takes care of the birds and the lilies of the field so He is going to take care of you. You are so much more valuable then each of them. In many ways you are far more blessed then are we who are living in the midst of wealth. I think that Jesus would even say that you are blessed because of it. Wealth and material possessions can become a curse. Paul reminds us:

“Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world and it is certain that we can take nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.” I Timothy 6: 6-9 (NKJV)

The sins mentioned here that so easily ensnare us can be many things. Certainly sexual sin is one of them. And a person’s age is no guarantee of success in this area. Steve Farrar tells about a young pastor named John Bisagno who later became the senior pastor of the large First Baptist Church of Houston. When he was about to finish college, he was having dinner over at his fiancee’s house one night. After dinner, he was talking with his future father-in-law, Dr. Paul Beck, out on the porch. Dr. Beck had been in ministry for years, and that was inevitably the subject toward which the conversation turned. “John, as you get ready to enter the ministry, I want to give you some advice, Dr. Beck told the younger man. “Tay true to Jesus! Make sure that you keep your heart close to Jesus every day. It’s a long way from here to where you’re going to go, and Satan is in no hurry to get you. no hurry.”¹⁰

Or it can be the sin of anger, or revenge or bitterness. We all struggle with envy when others appear to be more successful than we are.

Even disappointment and discouragement, which are caused by losing our focus, can be sins that ensnare and cause us to drop out of the race.

PERSEVERANCE IN THE RACE

We must start running…The writer of Hebrews continues, “Let us run with patience (endurance) the race that is set before us. It is a race, a marathon, not a sprint. We must keep reminding ourselves of this truth. The Greek word for race is ‘agona.’ It gives us our English word ‘agonize.’ We all know what it means to agonize. We think of the agony of Christ in Gethsemane.

In the sporting world I think of Lance Armstrong, who is known the world over for winning the Tour De France seven years in a row. Racing through the mountains, when most men begin to falter, is where Lance appears to excel. He speaks of the agony, even to the point that you think that you are going to die. They average over 25 mph over the course of a day, up hill and down hill, wet roads, dry roads, day in and day out for nearly three weeks. I would imagine it is much more agonizing than a marathon. Lance can only do it by keeping his eyes on the yellow shirt. Most would believe that it is probably not that he has superior athletic skills, but rather it was his mental toughness that kept him riding.

Some of you are racing up some pretty steep mountains today. You have slowed almost to a halt. You are about to climb down off of your bike and give it up. Worse yet, you have stopped. You might even be standing by the side of the road just watching others go by. Or maybe you are flat on your back hardly aware that others are passing you by. Our world is filled with former runners and former racers. The agony did them in.

You have encountered an obstacle that has you sidelined. There is nothing that can keep you from finishing your race unless you allow it to. Even when your health is failing, you can still be used by God. It all depends on what we call mental toughness. Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade, recently went home to be with Lord. Several years ago he was diagnosed with pulmonary thrombosis. In a letter just before his home going he said that his last two years had been his most productive, writing, editing, producing teaching videos, and co-founding a global network aimed at starting 5 million house churches, even though he has been on oxygen most of the time.

Maybe you have gone through moral failure and you are misled by the devil into believing that you can never be used of God again. As devastating as the consequences can be, God has not given up on you. He wants to use you. If He was finished with you He would have taken you home.

Jesus prayed “I have glorified You on the earth, I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. And now O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.” John 17:4,5 NKJV

The only reason why God keeps us here is because He is not finished with us yet. So get up and keep running.

A wonderful allegory gives us great encouragement:

Once upon a time, a young donkey asked his grandpa, “How do I grow up to be just like you?”

“Oh, that really is quite simple,” Granda said. “all you have to do is shake it off and step up.”

“What does that mean?” asked the young donkey.

Grandpa said, “Let me tell you a story. When I was just about your age, I was out walking one day and I wasn’t paying much attention to where I was going and I fell into a deep, old, abandoned well. I started braying and braying. Finally an old farmer came by and heard my cry and saw me down in that deep well. I was scared to death. And then he left. I stayed in that well all night.

The next morning he came back with a whole group of people, and they looked down at me. Some of them even laughed. Then the old farmer said, ‘The well is abandoned and that donkey isn’t worth saving, so let’s get started.’ And would you believe it - they started to bury me alive!

Well, I panicked. I was going to be buried alive!

After the first shovel full of dirt came down on me, I realized something. Every time dirt landed on my back, I could shake it off and step up. They kept shoveling, and I kept shaking it off and stepping up. This went on for some time. ‘Shake it off and step up. Shake it off and set up.’ I kept repeating it to myself for encouragement. I fought the panic by shaking it off and stepping up. And it wasn’t long before I stepped out of the well, exhausted but triumphant.

“So, no matter how difficult the situation or no matter how bad things get, and no matter how much dirt gets dumped on you, just remember to shake it off and step up.”¹¹

Some of you are in a hole. Others are throwing dirt at you. Maybe you are throwing unnecessary dirt at yourself. If there has been true repentance, just shake it off, step up, and start running again.

OUR PROTOTYPE FOR THE RACE

Finally, we must keep our eyes on Jesus. We are to run “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2 (NKJV)

If you look closely at me, you will discover flaws. I will fail you. If I look long enough at you, you will fail me. We both will be disappointed in one another. But He is the victorious pioneer or pathfinder or trail-blazer of our faith. He is the One who takes the lead and furnished the supreme example of one who suffered, endured and finished and in the process perfected or completed our salvation. He accomplished His mission. His cross was not a failure, but rather a mighty victory. The word ‘perfecter’ or ‘finisher’ comes from the Greek word ‘teleios.’ It was the word that Jesus used when He cried out on the cross. “It is finished.”

In basketball we have a word for someone who is able to take it to the basket and then finish with a basket. We call him or her a finisher. In all the effort they do not allow themselves to come up empty handed. Jesus completed what He came for. Even in the midst of all of the hostility, adversity and opposition. He would not allow it to distract Him from His mission. The enemy threw every temptation in his arsenal at him in Matthew 4. But, He was not about to allow the temptations to lead to sinning.

How did He withstand all of that temptation? How did He finish well? The bottom line is that He looked beyond the present suffering to the glory that awaited Him. The text refers to the joy that was set before Him. Because of that, He endured the cross, despising the shame. The New Living Translation renders it: “He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterward.”

Paul finished well because of this great example. He emulated His Savior. In II Corinthians Chapter 4 Paul speaks of living in constant danger of death, hunted down like a wild animal, crushed by his circumstance, at times even to the point of despair, yet very much mindful of the resurrection of Christ and all that His life means.

“That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are quite small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us an immeasurable greater glory that will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see right now; rather, we look forward to what we have not yet seen. For the troubles we see will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever.” II Corinthians 4:16-18 (NLT)

That ought to get you back in the running. If it was good enough for Jesus and good enough for Paul it is good enough for me, and good enough for you.

John Fischer writes about a church in Old Greenwich, Connecticut, which has something highly unusual in it. It has a cross in it, not behind the platform or high up in the ceiling, but rather mounted straight in front of the pulpit, not more than three feet from where the preacher stands. It is a sturdy wooden cross standing 10 feet tall. It is set in concrete and bolted to the floor. It is never moved. While he preaches it is there. When the choir sings it is there. When a bride and groom get married it is there. When a baby is dedicated it is somewhere near the cross. When a casket is wheeled in for a funeral they have to deal with that cross.

It is a constant reminder that the pathway to glory is the pathway of suffering. Are you down, defeated and discouraged? Look to that cross. Pastor, don’t look at your numbers, look to the cross. Don’t look at others that appear to be more successful than you. Look to the cross. Don’t even look back at your sin. If repented of it is all covered by that cross.

The old song by Helen H. Lemmel states it so well: “O soul, are you weary and troubled, no light in your darkness can see. There is light for a look at the Savior, a life more abundant and free. (Chorus): Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.”

Finish Well

Are you looking down the road?

Can you see you around the bend?

Will the final gun still find you

are running at the end?

Satan knows you shed some weights;

He has seen you pick up speed;

He is also planted in your heart

Seeds of anger, seeds of greed.

His great goal, as life goes on,

Isn't what you're past can tell.

What he longs to do, dear friend

is see what you don't finish well!

His great goal, as life goes on,

As you're near heavens call,

Is before the final gun,

Just to see you slip and fall.

His desire, and mark it well,

Is for God on that great day,

Filled with grief, to have to cry,

"You became a castaway!"

May we rather, on that day,

As the devil rots in hell,

Hear the Master gently say,

“Child of mine, you finished well!”¹²

Chapter Five: Meet Ray Stedman - A Pastor To Pastors

FIRST MEETING WITH RAY

Enter Ray Stedman. The year was 1976. Our church was rapidly growing from a small church of less than 100 in 1972, to a church, which by 1976 numbered 600 or so in attendance. The foundation was one of Biblical exposition, teaching and preaching through both the Old and the New Testaments. We had been strongly influenced through many individuals who were a part of the Bible Study Fellowship movement with ministry headquarters here in San Antonio. Ray Stedman was on the board of BSF for many years.

We were a church that out of necessity was moving more towards an elder rule, with the congregation still having final authority. Most of us at the leadership level felt comfortable moving in that direction because the church was too big for congregational involvement in all issues to be practical. Just prior to that, we had a congregational meeting to decide on a sign for in front of the church. After two hours of frustrating debate, while most members there expressed their individual opinions, the only option left was to give it to a committee. We knew that changes were necessary.

I had heard about Peninsula Bible Church, Palo Alto, California and its well known teaching pastor Ray Stedman. Who hadn’t? The book Body Life was written by Ray and one of the most popular books in the Evangelical culture of the day. It was based on the body life of PBC. They hosted pastors-conferences for two weeks each year where pastors came from all over the world. I was fortunate to be one those pastors in 1976. It was the first time that I had ever been away from home, without my wife, for such an extended period of time. But the time went quickly and was jam packed with practical information on how to do church and how to preach and teach. Best of all was the quality time that was spent with the pastoral team including Ray. They were completely available to each one of us. As I remember there were less than 20 of us in attendance. We were even allowed to sit in on the elders meetings, just to see the inner workings of the leadership.

HIS MODEL FOR CHURCH LEADERSHIP

I came home with a number of convictions. First of all, it is His church and He will build it. There was a real trust in the Holy Spirit to bring unity and direction and to make things happen. You got the feeling that if the Spirit wasn’t in it, it wasn’t going to happen. Even the elders had to be unanimous in agreement if they were to move forward in any area of decision making. I was impressed with how the Spirit had led them.

Quoting from the biography on Ray, titled Portrait of Integrity, written by Mark S. Smith,

“He (Ray) believed the work of the ministry should be done by people in the pews rather than by the professionals and that the role of pastors is to equip the saints to use their spiritual gifts. In keeping with this conviction, Ray deplored all things ecclesiastical, even refusing to be called the senior pastor of PBC. He avoided anything that promoted hierarchical separation in the church, and he insisted that the church be led by servant-leaders (called elders) who were responsible to Christ, the Living Head of the body.”¹³

Ray modeled servant-leadership.

In a message entitled A Pastor’s Authority he sites passages from the book of Acts dealing with a plurality of elders in each church and then states this: “The point is: no one man is the sole expression of the mind of the Spirit: No individual has authority from God to direct the affairs of the church. A plurality of elders is necessary as a safeguard to the all-too--human tendency to play God over people.”¹⁴

This kind of thinking, greatly influenced the direction that we took in leadership at Wayside for decades that would follow. Secondly, they were not into the numbers game. In fact their desire was to start many other church plants throughout the Bay area. This they accomplished in that many churches were planted and have flourished in that area. This became a model for us in the San Antonio area. When I stepped down after 34 years at the helm at Wayside we had planted at least seven other churches in the area and we had just taken on another church planter who was in the process of starting another church on the far west side. Some of these church plants were more intentional than others. All had the blessing of the mother church. After all, it is His church and He can do as He pleases with it.

HIS MODEL FOR BIBLICAL EXPOSITION

Third, the area where Ray might have had the most profound impact upon me was in the area of Biblical exposition. He was a highly respected Bible expositor. He was able to put a spotlight on scripture and make it shine. I loved to hear him open the Word. I loved to read his written messages. They influenced me more than I will ever know.

I had always been committed to preaching the Word. I knew that I wasn’t smart enough to come up with good stuff week after week on my own. Whenever I get compliments on a message preached I will sometimes respond, “I have great material to work with.” As pastors we do have great material to work with. Shepherds are to be feeding their sheep.

One Sunday, towards the end of my tenure at Wayside I was really into my message, using the illustration of Jesus and His encountering Peter at the Sea side in John 21. I quoted the question of Jesus, “Simon, do you love me?” for the third time. Then I gave Peter’s response, “Lord, you know all things, You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my fish.” Now we know that it was sheep, but somehow the fishing, the sea, and the whole setting led me to say fish.

Stedman was good at feeding the sheep. My dad had large dairy farms in North Central Ohio. Prior to that, he had sheep. I remember going out to the barn and feeding and bedding down 600 sheep. I was only five or six at the time and probably more of a hindrance then a help. Of course I will never forget trying to tend to the needs of several hundred dairy cows. We had plenty of help to be sure. But my dad, a strong believer, who was pleased that I became a pastor, reminded me over and over again to feed the sheep. In fact some of his last words to me were “Son, feed the sheep.” He would say “if there is feed in the barn the cattle will come.” Ray’s ministry proved that axiom to be true. He modeled for us young bucks (I was only 33 at the time) a good shepherd feeding his sheep. You feed them, they will come.

My time there became a bench mark for me. It was a recommitment to preach the whole counsel of God.

In the latter years of his life Ray became concerned about the departure from strong, solid Bible exposition that he was seeing all over the country. So, he became the catalyst for the formation of a new ministry called the committee on Biblical Exposition (COBE). Many well known Bible expositors from both America and England were part of this short lived movement. I attended the COBE conference in Houston, Texas held in 1987. It was one of the finest and most encouraging conferences that I ever attended during all of my years in ministry.

“As the chairman for COBE, the last thing Ray wanted was just another conference on how to grow a church. He deplored church growth tactics. The whole purpose of COBE was to call churches back to what he believed was fundamental to their calling: the preaching of the Word of God, without which numerical growth was nothing but a fleeting and fleshly human endeavor.”¹⁵

Up until the year in which he died Ray continued to leave his marks on my life. When in the area he would call me for lunch. I had the joy of playing golf with him. I am not sure that one could describe his game as golf, but he played it with passion, and with competition I might add.

We had him in our home and I can remember some funny stories that he had on well known Christian leaders which happened in front of large audiences. He loved moments like that and loved to tell about them.

On his last visit with us he shared with a mutual friend, Larry Heppes, and me that some physical tests which the doctors had taken concerned them. He was to have follow-up tests when he returned to his home. God took him home less than a year later. At his memorial service many paid tribute to his life, including Chuck Swindol, Luis Palau and other notable evangelical leaders who were personally discipled by Ray.

HIS MODEL IN DEATH

Mark Mitchell reveals in his book some wonderful and intimate and touching moments at the very end of his life. “Ray had a love for his Savior. More than anything he wanted to see Jesus. When his daughter Linda, at his bedside reminded him that he would soon get to talk with Moses and Paul, Ray responded, “I just want to see my Jesus.”

His home-going was quite remarkable, but just what you might expect from this stalwart of a man.

“On October 7, Linda and Laurie (two of his four daughters) were at his bedside and Linda was reading from I Corinthians 15:50-55 (NASB). As she read those triumphant words, ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is you victory? O death, where is your sting?’ she and Laurie felt a holy presence in the room. And at that moment Ray Stedman took his last deep breath and slipped away to glory. It was a fitting home going for one who for so long had anticipated this day.”¹⁶

Ray, you helped me in my marathon. You were there to offer me the Word along the way and to encourage me to keep on preaching the Word. I haven’t finished yet, but with the encouragement of men like you I have a great chance of finishing well.

When Ray was asked how we as pastors can make a difference in the midst of a culture of decadence he had a two fold answer, First, we must give them “a model to follow and second, we must give them a message to preach.”¹⁷

Ray gave me and others like me a model to follow and a message to preach. That is what I want to leave to others. Thanks Ray.

THE RACE

Defeat! He lay there silently,

a tear dropped from his eye.

“There’s no sense running anymore-

three strikes, I’m out-why try?”

The will to rise had disappeared,

all hope had fled away; So far behind,

so error prone, closer all the way.

“I’ve lost, so what’s the use,” he thought.

“I live with my disgrace.”

But then he thought about his dad,

who soon he’d have to face.

“Get up“ an echo sounded low,

“Get up and take your place.

You were not meant for failure here,

so get up and win the race.”

With borrowed will, “Get up,” it said,

“You haven’t lost it all,

For winning is not more than this-

to you rise each time you fall.”

So he rose to win once more,

and with a new commitment,

He resolved that win or lose,

at least he wouldn’t quit.

So far behind the others now,

the most he’d ever been,

Still he gave it all he had

and ran is though to win.

Three times he’d fallen stumbling,

three times he rose again,

too far behind to hope to win,

he still ran to the end.

They cheered the winning runner

as he crossed, first place,

Head high and proud and happy;

no falling, no disgrace.

But when the fallen youngest

crossed the line, last place,

The crowd gave him the greater

cheer for finishing the race.

Even though he came in last,

with head bowed low, unproud;

you would have thought he won

the race, to listen to the crowd.

And to his dad he sadly said,

“I didn’t do so well.”

“To me, you won,” his father said.

“You rose each time you fell.”

Now when things seem dark

and hard and difficult to face,

the memory of that little boy

helps me in my race.

For all of life is like that race,

with ups and downs and all,

And all you have to do to win-

is rise each time you fall.

“Quit! Give up, you’re beaten,”

they still shout in my face.

But another voice within me says,

“Get up and win the race.”

Author Unknown.¹⁸

Chapter Six: The Way Up Is Down …

Philippians 2:4-11

There is a consistent principal found throughout Scripture, and it is this: God humbles the proud, but gives grace to the humble. He knows how to bring down the proud and how to exalt those of a lowly heart. Proverbs16:18 states it succinctly: “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before the fall” (NKJV). Proverbs 29:23 reads, “A man’s pride will bring him low, but the humble in spirit will retain honor” (NKJV). Pride sets us up for failure. If we run our races well and finish successfully, we will do so out of a humble spirit. Pride keeps us from listening to God and from listening to others who can keep us running in the right direction.

HUMBLING MOMENTS

One of my most humbling moments occurred just a couple of years ago. It seems that the older I get the more those moments come my way. Connie has suffered from back discomfort due to curvature in her spine. I had seen the inversion tables advertised in infomercials on TV. It seemed to me to be just what she needed.

I was on a mission to have her try out an inversion table. We have an Academy sports store a couple of miles away. So, it was near Christmas time, still quite warm here in San Antonio, and we went very casually dressed. I had on loose fitting cargo shorts. The reason for this is I love to fill my pockets with everything that I think I will need wherever I go. It is a sickness according to Connie.

We arrived at the store and as we entered there was an inversion table, no more than 20 feet from the main entrance. I took her over there and began to show her the features of the table, and how it worked, as though I knew. I asked her to get on and see how it fit her. She assured me that she was not about to climb into it. I must go first and show her how it is done.

So, acting as though I knew what I was doing I climbed up into the table, not realizing that the foot holders needed to be adjusted upward or downward according to one’s height. Evidently a little person had been in it before me. When I leaned back it flipped me over in a fraction of a second and I was hanging upside down suspended in the air, totally helpless. Worse yet, everything I had in my pockets began to empty out on the floor, keys, change, a knife and whatever else I had in them at the moment. There was no way that I could get up. Furthermore, Connie was of no help. Remember, her back is the reason that we were there. In that brief moment I was totally at the mercy of anybody that might help. My mind was racing with the question, “who knows me that might be witnessing this humiliating moment in my life?”

Finally a couple of young men came over and helped me in my plight. Have you ever done something stupid like that where the tables were turned so quickly?

Needless to say, it was a very humbling experience.

I have discovered that pride has been the underlying reason for nearly every problem I have encountered. Over the years I have tried to maintain a humble appearance. For many years I drove old pickup trucks. I was known and recognized for driving such machines. I loved to hear people talk about how humble I was. Here I was the pastor of a growing, thriving church and yet driving old trucks. It just sounded so good to me to hear my name associated with humility in conversation. To put it more clearly, I was proud of my humility. So back in 2002 I decided to buy a new pickup, a 2002 Ford Explorer Sportrac. I soon discovered that I still had not stomped out my pride.

Max Lucado, pastor and best selling author, known for his humility, tells of a similar moment of humbling in his own life. No on can say it quite like Max. Here is his story in his own words.

Deflating inflated egos is so important to God that he offers to help us. He helped me. I recently spent an autumn week on a book tour. We saw long lines and crowded stores. One person after another complimented me. For three days I bathed in the river of praise. I began to believe the accolades. All these people can’t be wrong. I must be God’s gift to readers. My chest puffed so much I could hardly see where to autograph the books. Why, Had I been born two thousand years earler, we might read the gospels of Matthew, Max, Luke and John. About the time I wondered if God needed another epistle, God shot an arrow of humility in my direction.

We were running late for an evening book signing, late because the afternoon signing had seen such long lines. We expected the same at the next store. Concerned, we phoned ahead. “We are running behind. Tell all the people we’ll arrive soon.”

“No need to hurry,” the store manager assured.

“What about the people?”

“Neither one seems to be in a hurry.”

Neither one?

By the time we reached the store, thankfully, the crowd of two people had tripped to six. We had scheduled two hours for the signing; I needed ten minutes.

Self-conscious about sitting alone at the table I peppered the last person with questions. We talked about her parents, school, Social Security number, favorite birthday party. Against my pleading, she had to go. So I sat alone at the table. Big stack of Lucado books, no one in line.

I asked the store manager, “Did you advertise?”

“We did. More than usual.” She walked off.

The next time she passed I asked, “Had any other signings?”

“Yes, usually we have a great response,” and kept walking.

I signed all the books at my table. I signed all the Lucado books on eat shelves. I signed Tom Clancy and John Grisham books. Finally a customer came to the table. “You write the books?” he asked, picking up the new one.

“I do. Want me to sign it?”

“No thanks,” he answered and left. God hit his target.¹⁹

He always does. It is not a matter of if, but when. It is a matter of time before the bottom falls out on us.

If humility is to be defined as not thinking less of ourselves, but rather thinking of ourselves less, then we can see that we all struggle with humility. Pride is reflected in the words “My will, not your will.”

THE HUMILITY OF CHRIST

The reason that I love this passage in Philippians so much is because there is no finer statement made in all of Scripture to summarize the earthly attitude and ministry of Christ then what we have in these verses. There are even those who believe that the literary style of this beautiful passage might have been an early Christian hymn that Paul incorporated into his letter.

Here we have a stark contrast between the attitude of Christ and that of Satan, or Lucifer, given back in Isaiah 14:13-14. In that passage we see Lucifer just before his fall. His attitude is reflected in the words “I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north, I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.” Satan boasted about what he would do in ascending upwards to be like the most High. At the peak of his pride God said to him, you are going down. “Instead of coming up you are going down. You shall be brought down to sheol, to the sides of the pit.”

Satan’s attitude was “I am going up. I will be like God.”

The attitude of Christ was “I am going down. I will empty myself of all of His glory.”

Stuart Briscoe once heard Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse speak at the Keswick convention in England. He surveyed the audience and then he said, “The way to up is down.”

He waited for the crowd to settle and then he said, “The way to down is up.” Briscoe looked at him and thought to himself, That American preacher is a nut.” He switched him off that night and said that he was later sorry. He wrote, “Because, if as a kid I could have learned that, I might have saved myself and others a lot of trouble.”²⁰

If we each had this attitude how much better would our lives work? If we exalt ourselves and prefer ourselves in marriage our marriages will not work. Relationships cannot survive. Why is it that most Hollywood marriages do not work? It is for this very reason. Pride, demanding one’s own way destroys those relationships. Pride cuts us off from God and it cuts us off from intimacy in all other relationships.

The scripture clearly teaches throughout this one great principle. “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Proverbs 3:34 The Lord mocks at mockers, but he shows favor to the humble.” (NLT)

James 4:6 “God sets himself against the proud, but he shows favor to the humble.” (NLT) That same wording occurs in

I Peter 5:5.

PRIDE PITS US AGAOINST GOD

This means that we cannot win. Life will not work. We are in opposition to God. We experience His stiff arming. Sooner or later we will go through some serious humbling. King Nebuchadnezzar comes to mind in Daniel Chapter 4. This was probably the greatest example of God’s humbling the proud, next to the passage on Satan. Nebuchadnezzar was the successful king in this vast empire of Babylon. His achievements had been unsurpassed in all of history. He was singing “I’ve got the world by a string, sitting on the rainbow, got the little string around my finger, what a world, what a life.” And then one day it all came crashing down on him.

It all came about through a dream. In the dream he saw himself as a great tree “growing very tall and strong, reaching high into the heavens for all the world to see. It had fresh green leaves, and it was loaded with fruit for all to eat. Wild animals lived in its shade, and birds nested in its branches. That tree, Your Majesty, is you,” Daniel said to him, “For you have grown strong and great; your greatness reaches up to heaven, and your rule to the ends of the earth.” Daniel proceeds, “Then you saw a messenger, a holy one coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Cut down the tree and destroy it. But leave the stump and the roots in the ground, bound with a band of iron and bronze and surrounded by tender grass. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven. Let him eat grass with the animals of the field for seven periods of time.” (Daniel 4: 20-23.)

The terrible interpretation followed which summarized is this: Nebuchadnezzar would be humbled in his pride. He would live in the fields with the wild animals. He would be drenched with the dew of heaven. He would live like an animal for seven years.

Talk about humiliation. Twelve months later, not changing his ways, he was taking a walk on the flat roof of the royal palace in Babylon. As he looked out across the city, he said, “just look at this great city of Babylon! I, by my own mighty power, have built this beautiful city as my royal residence and as an expression of my royal splendor.” (Daniel 4: 28-30 NLT)

That very same hour it happened. Just that quickly he was humbled. He lived this way until his hair was as long as eagles’ feathers and his nails were like birds’ claws. This great king was reduced to the appearance of a vulture for seven whole years.

Seven years later his sanity returned to him. He praises the King of the heaven. Then he makes this final observation, “All his acts are just and true, and he is able to humble those who are proud.” Daniel 4:37 (NLT)

As pastors, pride can become our greatest downfall. If we begin to experience success and the ministry is growing in numbers and peoples lives appear to be changing, we can begin to take the credit for it. We assume that there is something special about us. And like Nebuchadnezzar, many pastors have experienced this kind of humbling. It happens to all of us sooner or later. Like Nebuchadnezzar, we need to learn humility well. Don’t miss this, the king says at the end, “My advisers and officers sought me out, and I was reestablished as head of my kingdom, with even greater honor than before.” Daniel Chapter 4:36 (NLT)

God humbles the proud, but the reverse is also true, “He gives grace to the humble.” Grace can be defined as undeserved favor or undeserved power and enablement. If we want His grace and power and favor then we must humble ourselves.

Back in our text we see the greatest example of self humbling.

His humiliation….vs. 5-8 Think of this! Jesus was and is and always will be God. He was in the form. The Greek word for form is morphe. This word means the outward expression of the inward nature.

We have a saying, “What you see is what you get.” This is what we saw in Jesus. He was true to His nature. He was the real deal, the very God manifest in the flesh. As a pastor I have always desired to reflect on the outside whose I am on the inside. One of the greatest compliments that a wife can give regarding her husband is that what you see in the pulpit is what he is in private.

There was no doubt about His Eternality and oneness with God: “In the beginning the Word already existed. He was with God, and he was God.” ( John 1:1, NLT.)

And we cannot miss what John meant by the expression “the Word,” for in John 1:14 we read, “So the Word became human and lived here on earth among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father.” (NLT)

In John 10:30 Jesus declares, “The Father and I are one.” (NLT)

The great “I AM” statements in John’s Gospel are the claims of Jesus to His deity.

Paul gives a beautiful summary statement of what is being taught in Philippians 2, in I Timothy 3:16 “And great and important and weighty, we confess, is the hidden truth---the mystic secret—of godliness. He (God) was made visible in human flesh, justified and vindicated in the Holy Spirit, was seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world and taken up in glory.” (Amplified Bible)

We know that He had a glory with the Father before His incarnation. In John 17:4 He prayed “And now Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the word was.”

He gave up that glory temporarily as He came down in human flesh to this planet. He never stopped being God but He did stop exercising some of His privileges of being God. It was a huge step downward. When man set foot on the moon we heard astronaut Neil Armstrong proclaim, “one small step for man. one giant leap for mankind.” That might be a bit of an exaggeration as we look back over the past nearly four decades. But we do know that when Christ set foot on this planet it was one great step downward for One in order that many might take one huge leap upward.

During His sojourn here He did not hold on to who He was or cling to it. As the NLT renders the phrase in Philippians Chapter 2, verse 7, “He made Himself nothing.” The Greek word ‘kenoo’ appears only four times in the Greek New Testament and it refers to nullifying something, or making it of no account.

HIS OWN DID NOT RECOGNIZE HIM

He disguised Himself of His true identity. A recent book by Mike Yankoski entitled, Under the Overpass,²¹ gives the account of two young men who gave up their belongings, status, pride, relationships, influence, affluence, sense of well-being and even risked their health in order to live among the street people in cities such as Denver, Washington D.C., Portland, San Francisco, Phoenix, and San Diego. That gives us some feel for the idea that is here.

When we were ministering at a mission’s conference in Japan in 2006 I took on another identity one night. Missionaries love to have fun. They know how to cut loose and have fun. I had spoken to the group for several days. Now it was my turn to have some fun. That night I got up from the front and went back into the men’s room, and put on my Scottish hat which had long red hair hanging from the rim, my black-rimmed glasses with a long fake nose, and my Billy Bob teeth which needed some major dental repair. I came back in and set down towards the back. First the children were turning around looking at me and didn’t know what to say. They got the attention of their parents who in turn (casually) looked back and weren’t quite sure what they were seeing. They all concluded that there was one ugly man in their midst. I had been their speaker but they did not recognize me at first. Jesus was their Messiah and they did not recognize Him.

When you disguise yourself, you cannot change your real identity. I was still the same person. Jesus was the same. He was God. Yet He became the servant of humanity. The Sovereign One became the servant of all.

If we catch the full impact of this passage it will translate into our daily conduct in the home, the church and the marketplace. We have all encountered people at times who have been given a bit of authority and they flaunt it. They use it at every opportunity. They can make life miserable for the rest of us. It might be a supervisor who loves to lord it over those under him or her, or a policeman who goes too far with his authority, or even a pastor who uses his exalted position as a weapon over his home and over his congregation.

I was preaching at a pastors and wives conference in the Ukraine several years ago. I made the statement that if we offend our wives or treat them wrongfully we must ask their forgiveness. After the session one of the pastors wanted to see me privately. He challenged me that if he asked forgiveness of his wife it would diminish his authority. I said, “to the contrary. It will elevate your stature in her eyes.”

When we humble ourselves God exalts us. Jesus reminded the disciples that they were not to be like the Gentiles, “lording it over others.” Matthew 20:25-28

I often think that if I had the kind of power available to me that resided in Him I would have used it thousands of time over the years to get even when others wrong me. You know, when someone cuts you off in traffic. Have you ever had the urge to blow out all four of their tires to slow them down a little? That is our sin nature. Jesus could have abused His power but He did not do so.

One of the great problems in churches today is the attitude of senior pastors lording it over their staff and congregation. This lack of humility poisons the entire church and community. I often wonder what our homes, neighborhoods, cities, states, and countries would be like if we all had the attitude reflected in these verses.

Peter reminds his readers in I Peter 5:5-8 “You younger men, accept the authority of the elders. And all of you, serve each other in humility, for ‘God sets himself against the proud, but he shows favor to the humble.’ So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and in his good time he will honor you.” NLT

Clothing is one of the first things that we notice about one another, especially when it comes to ladies. Peter is reminding us that our humility needs to have that kind of visibility. In that atmosphere God can work and great things can happen in relationships and ministries. His Exaltation in vs. 9-11 follows His humiliation. This is always the way it goes. First, the humbling and then comes the exalting. The ‘therefore’ reminds us that because of his humbling Himself God exalted Him.

His name is above every name. One day every person will bow before Him and acknowledge with their tongues that Jesus Christ is Lord. That moment of inevitably is coming.

The very fact that men curse in the name of Jesus today bears witness to His name being the highest name. Can you imagine hearing someone curse in the name of Buddha, or Mohammed or some other familiar religious figure? Why Jesus? Because whether men who use His name in vain understand why they do it or not, they are authenticating His name to be above every other name.

Why is there such an all out effort today to discredit Scripture and undermine the deity of Christ? It is because His name is above every other name. He represents absolute truth. He is absolute truth (John 14:6). No matter how hard men may try they will not be able to change the truth. Truth always wins out.

One of the missionaries (whose identity needs to remain hidden) that our church supports in the Arab world sometime back made the comment about how the name “Christian” has such a negative connotation in many parts of the Christian world. It is because of all of the evil misdeeds often affixed to the Christian faith. The Middle age Crusades are often cited as the prime example. But even today, the smut and filth produced in Hollywood , and the break-up of American families, and drug culture which seems to be winning the battle for the minds of some of our choicest youth, all is packaged from this “Christian” nation. He said that they don’t want that. Too much baggage is associated with the name Christian. But, he said, “If you ask them if they would like to become a follower of Jesus, then the response is different.” Jesus is terribly attractive, but often his followers are not.

It is interesting that the word ‘disciple’ occurs 269 times in the NewTestament. The word ‘Christian’ only occurs 3 times.

Of course, to bow before Him now means salvation. To have to bow before Him at the Great White Throne Judgment in Revelation 20:11-15 means condemnation.

Years ago I memorized a poem which to my knowledge is anonymous. I wish I could give the person credit for it. It is a good one. It has been a motivator in keeping me in the race, running for the goal. It is entitled “The Judgment Seat of Christ” and it goes like this:

When I stand at the Judgment Seat of Christ

and He shows me His plan for me,

The plan of my life as it might have been,

had He had His way and I see

How I blocked Him here and I checked Him

there and I would not yield my will,

Will there be grief in my Savior’s eyes,

grief though he loves me still?

He would have me rich, but I stand here poor,

stripped of all but His grace,

While memory runs like a haunted thing

down pathways I cannot retrace.

Then my desolate heart will well nigh break

with tears that I cannot shed,

I will cover my face with empty hands,

I will there bow my own crowned head.

Lord, of the years that are left to me,

I give them to thy hand,

O take me and break me and mold me

to the pattern which thou has planned.”

Author Unknown²²

There is something special, both terrifying and comforting, about the name of Jesus. Are you allowing His mind to be in you?

Chapter Seven: Meet Russell Kelfer - “Not I, but Christ”

It was two years after arriving at Wayside when God brought Russell and Martha Kelfer into our lives. I had heard much about them and the ministry they had to single students and young adults. In fact, they had weekly meetings in their home where Russell and Martha hosted around 150 the last year or so. They were drawn together by Russell’s teaching and the warm atmosphere of Martha’s hospitality.

THE BEGINNING OF OUR MINISTRY TOGETHER

The Kelfers visited and started attending Wayside in 1974. We had added on to our sanctuary space in 1974, doubling the seating capacity to nearly 300. We averaged 100 or so in attendance at the time before its completion. That Easter Sunday of 1974 we had right at 250 in attendance. I was resigned to believe that we would never see that many again. Our denomination existed primarily of small churches, of 100 or less. By 1976 we were averaging 600 in attendance. Russell began teaching in 1977 and before long had several hundred in his Koinonia class.

I want to challenge all of you pastors reading this chapter. When you have someone like Russell coming to your church, you need to put him to work in the ministry. He was a unique writer and story teller. He had some training in journalism from the University of Texas (UT), but was just plain gifted in a way that few of us will ever be. He was able to bring the principles of scripture to light through practical application. He had a way of putting words together and structuring his thoughts that kept your attention focused even though he was reading his lessons from manuscripts and in later years the manuscripts were passed out to each member in his class for each person to follow along while he was reading it.

I recognized that giftedness and what Russell could bring to the ministry that I never could. I was not threatened by him, but I understood that teaming up with him and allowing him the freedom to exercise his gifts would only bless our ministry and make me look better. So for 23 years, from 1977 until 2000 we worked side by side, never getting in each other’s way, never crossing each other’s paths, but rather embracing and enhancing one another. It was amazing how many times, without consulting with one another that our messages merged and complimented each other. Both his ministry, Discipleship Tape Ministries (DTM) and our ministry at Wayside were blessed through this long term relationship.

Russell not only had his own taped messages going out around the world, but his ministry was also sending out my taped messages and those of others who sporadically preached from our pulpit.

HUMOR ALWAYS HELPS

One of the greatest practical jokes ever pulled on me was done by Russell Kelfer. One day Russell sent me a tape with the title “A Collection of Steve Troxels Greatest Jokes.” I have been known for my good and bad jokes. People at Wayside were very tolerant and understanding. I was complimented later in my ministry that as I got older my jokes were getting better. It’s great that something improves with age.

I thought to myself, this is so nice of my good friend to go back over the years and glean all of my best jokes and put them on a single tape for me and for my posterity. I could hardly wait to get out in my old pickup truck, and slip that tape into my tape deck (the good old days of tapes) and be amused by my best jokes. I remember slipping it in and turning it on and increasing the volume. I was driving down the freeway by the front of our church. But there was no sound. I fast forwarded it a little further, and still no sound.

I finally had it fast forwarded to the end of the tape and there was nothing. I thought to myself, it must be on the other side. I turned it over and started listening. Then I realized that he had pulled a really good joke on me. That is one that our people will never forget. I did get my payback at his retirement party from his car care center, but I will spare you the details of what I did to him. He loved to have fun. He could give it out and take it just as well.

MAKING THE MOST WITH WHAT HE HAD

Russell had a great sense of humor. Yet, he only had one eye. His other eye and one ear were damaged at birth. And then that same damaged eye was totally destroyed in a compulsory PE class in which he was assigned to handball. He was hit in that eye. Great pain ensued and never lessened. Doctors eventually removed the blind eye. But for some unknown reason, for the rest of his life he continued to have pain in his good eye. I remember the night when I was rooming with him at the UCLA campus, where three of us had attended a seminar. He took his glass eye out and sat it on the table between our beds as we retired. I felt like the eye of Texas was upon me all night long. He was a loyal UT fan as well. He had only one eye and only one good ear, but he made the most with what he had. And, he persevered in ministry through a life time of pain.

Every pastor should be so fortunate to have a Russell Kelfer ministering side by side with them for many years.

In recent years here in San Antonio, we have had two notable basketball players who are numbered among the top 50 all time greatest players in the NBA. Most of you know their names, David Robinson, (now retired) and Tim Duncan, in the midst of a very successful career. As good as David Robinson was he was never able to be successful in bringing home an NBA Championship. When the opportunity came along to have Tim Duncan as their number one draft pick in 1997 David welcomed the opportunity to play alongside of Tim. He even allowed Tim to overshadow him in many areas. What David was not able to do on his own in all the previous years, he was now able to do in 1999 and 2003. Now Tim Duncan is having equal success, but he is quick to compliment his supporting players without which he could not win NBA’s most prized trophy.

There is a great leadership lesson here: there is no limit to what we can accomplish if we surround ourselves with good people. In business all successful CEO’s understand that their success is largely determined by the staff that serves with them. Together they can reach the top. It is true in all areas of life and ministry. At the leadership level we looked for the three C’s, not original with us by any means. I am not even sure where I first heard it. The three C’s are character, competency and chemistry. For teams to get along together you need to have all three. Russell was that kind of a man. He had character. He was competent in so many ways, but like the Apostle Paul, he was quick to acknowledge his inadequacy and that his sufficiency was of God (II Corinthians 3:5). And He had good chemistry with the rest of the team.

HIS VALUE AS A TEAM PLAYER

Here are some reasons I valued Russell as a team player:

When I was facing tough decisions he was one to whom I would go for counsel. I can remember on two occasions, separated by years, when larger, more prestigious churches in other parts of the country were courting Connie and me to come to them. Most offers that came our way were easy to decline. But these two intrigued me. Maybe it was the timing, the issues that we were dealing with or the temptation to move on to something bigger and grander. I made my way to Russell. He would pray and then each time returned with the counsel, “not now. Your ministry is not finished at Wayside.” So I stayed the course. We each need someone like that who will give us some honest perspective and help us keep our feet on the ground and our necks in the yoke.

Russell understood the exchanged life, where it is “not I, but Christ,” (Galatians 2:20) living and working through me. It is not what we can do for God, but rather what He wants to do through us. I cannot say that I learned the concept through Russell, but it was certainly reinforced in his teaching. This emphasis permeated our church and every decision that we made including operating with a no debt policy. We wanted it to be so big and impossible that only God could accomplish it. Russell strongly challenged us in that vein.

Russell’s life was eternally focused. He led by example. He “waited for that city which has foundations whose builder and maker is God.” Hebrews 11:10 Russell challenged all of us to live for the eternal.

HIS IMPACT IN DEATH

God took Russell home quite suddenly in early 2000. He was hospitalized for what most of us thought would be a routine procedure on his heart. But God took him home while he was on the operating table.

On the night of his memorial the church was filled with people coming from all over the country to pay tribute to this unassuming and unpretentious man who used what God had given him for the glory of God.

The following Sunday I put aside what I as going to preach and gave a message on Russell’s life. It is not often that a pastor feels led to do this. This was the first and only time in 42 years of ministry that I did this for one of our own. His impact was great.

I spoke on the text from II Timothy 4:

“For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” II Timothy 4:6-8 (NKJV)

That was a fitting tribute to this humble servant. He was ready. He had fought. He had kept the faith. And he had finished his race.”

And while he was fighting and running he kept me in the fight and in the race as well. Thanks Russell. Your life made a difference in my life and in the lives of many around the world.

The story is told of many years ago, during the fighting of a battle, a certain captain did great things with his sword; he accounted for scores of the enemy and his deeds became known throughout the army and were reported to the king. At the end of the engagement the king sent for that sword. “Let me see this sword that has done so much. Bring it to me,” he said. They brought it to his majesty, and he gave it back with an air of disappointment. “It is an ordinary sword: I see nothing special in it,” and he returned it to the captain. They told the captain what he king had said, and he ventured to send back this message: He said, “You should have sent for the arm that wielded it”²³

It’s not the sword: it is the arm that wields it. Russell could not have agreed more.

Why God Chose Me

My talents? Is that what He saw long ago?

My talents? I see that the answer is, “No.”

My looks? Just a mirror dispels that thought.

If that’s why He called me, He called me for naught.

My wisdom? Not even a trace do I see.

Then why? Tell me why did my Saviour call me?

And just like the wind as it glides through the sky.

A voice, softly answers, “Yes, I’ll tell you why.

“Because, when I looked, you were nothing to see,

And when I shine through nothing, then me will see Me.

I call men of weakness, so I can be strong;

I call even the downcast and give them a song.

“I call out of nothing; so when something appears,

Me give ME the glory, and down through the years,

It has been so, though the world is appalled:

Not many noble nor wise have been called.”

The poor man, the weak man, though often despised,

Come alive at God’s touch, and the world is surprised.

The fruitless, the failures, the dregs of the earth,

Become princes and kings when God’s Son gives them birth.

And in spite of their past, or how they were raised,

God gives them life, and the world is amazed.

Your credentials for heaven? I’ll give you a clue:

They’re only that God has found Jesus in you.

In spite of your weakness, your failures, your health;

In spite of your lack of applause, praise or wealth;

He called, He equipped, He sent from above,

And made you His chosen, and bathed you in love.

“Twas only that God, in His Infinite power,

Gave us Himself in that marvelous hour,

When we said, “Yes,” to His gift of Grace,

And Jesus said, “Yes,” as He took our place.

What a trophy we are; what a victory indeed!

(But not for our value; but rather our need.)

Then let’s yield all we are, all we have, all we own,

Relinquish our pride, and come down from our throne,

And turning to Jesus, let’s worship and praise

That He will be Lord all the rest of our days.

My talents? My wisdom? No dear God, now I see,

It was grace, and grace only that you should choose me!²⁴

Chapter Eight: It’s All about Him

Isaiah Chapter 6 is one of those passages that has greatly influenced my life, both at the beginning of my ministry and more recently over the past several years. I have gradually come to the realization that life is not about me. I am not a quick study on some of these things.

This chapter is all about the year when Isaiah saw the Lord. Brennan Manning is the author of a book called Ruthless Trust. In it he shares from the movie “Waking Ned Devine. A ten year old boy asks the interim pastor of his church, “Do you ever see God?”

“Not directly,” says the young pastor, “though I get revelations.”

“Does your job pay well?” inquires the boy.

“No. The rewards of my work are mostly spiritual. Then the pastor asks the boy, “Have you ever thought about a life of service to the church?”

“Not really,” he says. “I don’t want to work for someone I never see and who doesn’t even pay minimum wage.”²⁵

How about you? Isn’t that something that we all struggle with? Life would be so much different if we could just see Him and hear from Him directly. His written Word is great, but we would love to hear His voice.

This is what the prophet Isaiah experienced. It came at the most difficult time in his life. For, it was “in the year that King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord sitting on a throne.” What Isaiah was about to see and hear touched him so deeply that he was never the same after that encounter. He was already a believer. He was a prophet. He knew God.

ISAIAH MADE READY FOR A DIVINE ENCOUNTER

Some background on Isaiah is helpful here. He was born of nobility, born Isaiah Ben Amoz. He was a recognized statesman, having access to the royal court of his day. He consorted with princes and kings. He was well educated. He was not some kind of a mentally insane person belonging to a mental institute, speaking about some hallucination that he had. We hear people today talking about revival, barking like dogs, hopping like frogs, laughing like hyenas, roaring like lions, and hooting like owls. But there was none of this with Isaiah. This was the real thing, genuine revival through a close encounter with the God of the universe.

I contend that all genuine revival follows this pattern, we see the Lord in His holiness and then we see ourselves in our sinfulness and finally we see others in their neediness.

King Uzziah was one of the better kings who ruled over Judah. He became king when he was only 16 years of age and reigned for the next 52 years. He brought great stability to the land of Judah. Contrast this with our own country. In the past 52 years we have had 10 presidents, from General Eisenhower to President George Walker Bush. A goodly number of the people of Judah were born and died under the reign of King Uzziah. He was all they knew.

Unfortunately he did not finish well. In the eyes of the people he had done no wrong. But, in God’s eyes he had committed a grievous sin involving his pride. After he acquired great wealth and power, like many in places of power he began to think that he was above the law. But in his case he violated the laws of God. He boldly entered the temple and arrogantly assumed priestly powers. When the priests tried to stop him he became enraged. In the midst of his rage leprosy broke out on his forehead. He ended his days living in a separate house, being a leper, cut off from the house of the Lord. (II Chronicles 26:21).

In spite of this, when he died it was a time of deep mourning. It was a time of great national uncertainty. It was the end of an era. What did the future hold? Isaiah probably went to the temple to get some answers. He wanted to hear something from God about the future. He received much more than he had hoped for.

Have you noticed how it is often in times of sorrow and tragedy that God meets with us in fresh, new and revitalizing ways? 1963 was a memorable year for me. God had called me into the ministry earlier. But, I must admit that I had thoughts about joining my dad and two brothers back on the farm. Connie and I had attended a Bible College in the south for the first year and a half after high school. When we returned home for the holidays at the end of 1962 we discovered that my mom had an advanced case of breast cancer. She had kept the information from us during the fall semester, but could not keep it hidden any longer. So, we decided to go back to college and finish the semester in early January and then come back home to care for my mom and my younger brother and sister and to try to help my dad where we could. Mom died on April the 7th, 1963 and it shook my world. I guess, even at that point in my life, I had never looked at the mortality of my parents let alone my own life. I was living in a state of illusion. Others were dying, but I never thought much about the death of those close to me. This forced me to think deeply about death and life after death. On top of that, a close friend of my parents, who did some carpentry work for my father, stopped in almost daily to check with my dad, but also to share the latest radio message from some of the Bible teachers on radio at the time. Suddenly he died of a heart attack. That, too, was another reminder to me of the brevity of this life.

Then the rally big one came on November the 22nd of that year when news spread quickly around the nation concerning the great tragedy that took place in Dallas, Texas. Our (youthful) president had been assassinated in the prime of his life. Though I was not a great fan of the president at the time, I could not help but feel deep sorrow for the Kennedy family and for the rest of the nation. We watched the events in Dallas unfold, along with the swearing in of President Johnson aboard Air Force One on his way back to Washington. It was a time of great uncertainty. Was this a conspiracy? Was there more to come? I don’t know about you, but for me it was one more reminder that year that life is very temporary at best.

My parents had a framed poem hanging over the stove in the kitchen. It went like this:  “Only one life, twill soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.” This was a wakeup call and for me. It was time to experience the Lord’s presence and call all over again.

Later, another saying also reminded me of the importance of seizing the moment. It goes like this: “The clock of life is wound but once, and no man has the power, to say just when the clock will stop, at late or early hour. Now is the only time you own to do his precious will. Do not wait until tomorrow for the hands may then be still.”

Yep, it was time for me to get back in the race. I transferred to Detroit Bible College, later becoming William Tyndale College, for the next semester beginning in January of 1964. And, I have never looked back.

So I can say that it was in the year that my mother died, and President Kennedy was assassinated that I had my encounter with and a renewed call from God.

This long time king Uzziah, the great king of Judah was dead. But when Isaiah entered the temple he encountered the real King. The real King was very much alive, and on His throne and about to make His presence real to Isaiah.

There are three things that Isaiah saw in that temple.

ISAIAH SAW THE LORD

First, he saw the Lord. The word for Lord is Adonai. The word means master, or Sovereign One. This was a title that was reserved for God alone. It was also the title that was given to Jesus in the New Testament. We have titles and names today. Over the years some would call me ‘Pastor’ and others would call me ‘Steve.’ And some have even called me less flattering names. And when my wife gets irritated with me, she refuses to use the term of endearment that we have used with each other over the years, ‘dear.’ It becomes Stephen, a very formal name. And on rare occasions I have heard “Stephen Phillip” with my middle name. I played a practical joke on a friend one day and he called me ‘maggot.” That was the only time that I can recall where I was blessed with that designation. One of Job’s counselors, Bildad, in Job 25:6 referred to man as a maggot and a worm. Steve is my name. Pastor is my title.

God has many different names. Jesus has many different names and titles. But ‘Lord” speaks of who He is in title. He is Sovereign Lord of the universe. He is the one who is controlling all things. He is reigning. He is the Real King. Kings and administrations will come and go but the Ral King lives forever and “of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end.” Isaiah 9:7 (NKJV)

The interesting truth behind this passage that is often overlooked is that the One whom Isaiah saw in this passage was none other than a pre-incarnate appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ. In John 12:38-40 John is quoting from this sixth chapter of Isaiah. Then in verse 41 we read: “These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.” There it is clear that He is speaking of Jesus.

The title “Lord” speaks more of His transcendence. The name ‘Yahweh” which meant the covenant-keeping God of Israel, speaks of His immanence. God is both transcendent, high and lifted up above us. At the same time He is immanent, very much interested in what is going on in our personal lives.

Years ago a popular song said it so well. The title of the song was ‘How Big is God?” The words were “How big is God, how big and wide His vast domain, to try to tell these lips can only start. He’s big enough to rule this mighty universe, yet small enough to live within the heart.”²⁶

Isaiah saw him “high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filling the temple. All of this speaks of his awesome transcendent power, his majesty and royalty. King Uzziah, in his finest hour, could not hold a candle to the real King who is seated upon the throne.

Several years ago we had a private tour of Air Force One, while Bill Clinton was still president. One of the young men from our congregation, Everett DeWolfe, son of the elder Everett and Ruth DeWolfe, was the navigator of Air Force One for three presidents, including Bush one, Bill Clinton and Bush two. I remember walking all through the plane  and even sitting down behind the desk in the flying oval office where the phone, hanging next to the desk, put him in immediate contact with all of the great world leaders. It was a brief feeling of power. But nothing can compare with the kind of power that Isaiah felt, being in the presence of the All Powerful One.  This was the real control room of the universe.

Isaiah was used to being in the presences of kings and other dignitaries, but he had never seen anything like this. He consorted with princes and kings. He knew what it was like to be surrounded by greatness and in the presence of greatness.

Back in 1994 we were invited to the inauguration of George W. Bush as governor of Texas. We attended a prayer breakfast where there were perhaps 250 to 300 invited guests, mainly pastors and spouses. Governor Bush stood to address those gathered and then said that there was somebody else that he wanted to introduce us to. Out from behind the curtain stepped his father. Needless to say, I was impressed with being in the presence of a governor and future president and former president, along with elected senators from Texas and other dignitaries. We were no more than 50 feet away from the platform. I would still be impressed today in the presence of such figures, but not nearly as much as in my younger days. Age does bring wisdom and puts things into much better perspective.

The “seraphim” were above the temple. The word ‘seraph’ means ‘burning ones.’ The two wings covering their faces were probably doing so in order that they would not be scorched by the blinding presence of God. The wings would act as a shield. Seeing the sun is a reminder of this Blazing One. The sun’s temperature is 27 million degrees Fahrenheit at its core and 10,600 degrees Fahrenheit at its surface. To look directly into the sun with the naked eye would scorch the retinas of your eyes. This is part of the reason why God has said that no one can look at Him and live. We talk about a scorched earth policy. If He did not keep his distance from us we would be disintegrated into ashes in a fraction of a second.

Often when God appeared in the Old Testament He did so in the form of fire. In Hebrews 12:28 we are to “serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.” Fire is one of the most destructive forces known to man. According to II Peter 3 God will destroy this present earth and heavens by fire. And He will create out of the ashes a new heaven and a new earth. New life will come from the old just as we have whenever a forest catches fire. 

The fact that the Seraph covered his feet probably speaks of self humiliation. How else could lesser beings respond in the presence of the Great One?

With two wings the Seraph also flew. This speaks of the mobility of the angels to move quickly to carry out the will of the Great One on His throne.

“And one cried to another and said, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!”

The repetition of the word ‘holy’ is for emphasis. The writer doesn’t want it to be missed. Holiness is what God is by nature. He alone is holy. Holiness is what separates Him from His creation. Holiness is perfection in all of His attributes. In fact the word holiness and wholeness come from the same root word. To become holy is to become whole. God is in the process of making us whole. I Peter 1:15-16 reminds us of this great truth: “But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be Holy, for I am holy.”

It is hard to define, but we know it when we see it for we melt in the presence of it. The “whole earth is full of His glory. The Hebrew word for ‘Glory’ is ‘kabod’ and is rich in it various shades of meaning. It was used in reference to one’s worth, his wealth, silver and gold. It was also used of one’s position, his eminence power and authority. A third meaning would be His divine and terrible radiance. In the words of an old Jewish epigram “God is not a kindly old uncle, he is an earthquake.”

That becomes clear in Isaiah 6:4 where the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. This ground was made holy by the presence of God.

This opened the eyes of Isaiah to something else.

ISAIAH SAW HIMSELF FOR WHAT HE WAS

Secondly, He saw himself. He became acutely aware of his own sinfulness. (Isaiah 6:5-7). An encounter with the holiness of God brings us to the end of self thinking and selfish praying. It is no longer about us. We discover that we are not the center of the universe. He is! Not only was the temple shaking, but Isaiah was shaken to very core of his being. His personal universe disintegrated. His feelings are verbalized in v. 5 “Woe is me, for I am undone (destroyed, cut off).”

We don’t use the word “woe” any more in conversation. It was frequently used n scripture. The Hebrew word is ‘Oi.” Remember the line from Fiddler on the Roof? At one point Tevya feels that he is losing control of his own daughters, wife and farm. He laments “Oi, yoi, yoi, yoi, yoi.” It was a pronouncement of doom. Isaiah saw himself as doomed. Petersons’s The Message translates it: “Doom! It’s doomsday! I’m as good as dead.”

The word ‘undone’ means to be coming apart, breaking up. It is similar to having an emotional break down. Today we would want to medicate him, or maybe even put him in a straight jacket and haul him away. Here was a man who once had it all together, but now sees it all coming apart.

He saw his own filthiness. He makes reference to his own unclean lips. He was broken up over his own uncleanness and the uncleanness of the people around him.

This was a moment for the reorienting of Isaiah’s moral compass. He was no longer comparing his own morality with the people around Him.

Isaiah was all too familiar with the sin of Uzziah. Perhaps he was comparing himself with the great king and he came out looking pretty good. There may have been some self righteousness that needed to be eradicated from his life. We evangelicals had a tendency to do that with President Clinton. We found the nature of his moral failures involving many other women to be revolting and disgusting. In contrast, we looked pretty good next to him, in our own eyes.

But, Isaiah now had the perfect standard of holiness before Him and he became vividly aware of his own sinfulness. Until we encounter God we will never weep over our own sins or the sins of society around us.

Why did Isaiah feel this way? He explains it in Isaiah 6:5, “For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”

Years ago our church choir had a party at a local country club. It was advertised, at least to Connie and me, as a 50’s party. So we did as we were told and dressed up like we did back in the 50’s. But there was a problem. Once we arrived there we discovered that we were the only ones told that it was a 50’s party. All others were black ties and evening gowns. It was a great practical joke on us. How did we feel? We felt very out of place. We were self conscious. We felt that those who were not part of our group but just coming and going from the club must have been looking at us and thinking to themselves, “Why would those people ever come to this country club dressed like that?”

This is how we feel when we are confronted by His awesome holiness. We are overwhelmed by our own sinfulness. We feel terribly out of place. Isaiah did not feel fit to be in His presence.

But one of the seraphim took care of the problem in v. 6. He flew over to Isaiah and touched his mouth with a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar.

God burned his uncleanness away, like using a gamma knife pointed toward the cancer within. We hear it expressed so many different ways, but the bottom line is that God must first work in a man before He can work through a man.

ISAIAH SAW OTHERS

Thirdly, Isaiah saw others… v. 8 You cannot see God in this way and see yourself in this way without seeing others in a whole new way. This is why revival among believers always results in a great tide of evangelism that brings countless multitudes to Christ.

A new burden for others brings with it a new boldness. If we could visualize the future of the countless numbers of people in eternal punishment, separated forever from the Great Giver of life, many of them our friends and next door neighbors, we would have a whole new burden and boldness.

Isaiah has a new sensitivity to the call of God saying “whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Isaiah 6:8 (NKJV).

Isaiah was quick to respond, “Here am I! Send me.” The New Living Translation renders it, “Lord, I’ll go! Send me.” Isaiah 6:8 (NKJV).

God cannot use us until we come clean and are broken before Him. In the movie The Horse Whisperer I recall the scene where the trainer, played by Robert Redford, breaks the horse down to its knees, in order that it might learn submission. I had a local rancher once tell me that if the horse is too difficult to break they will sometimes tie the legs of the horse together and take it down on the ground. Then they will throw a blanket over it and leave it alone for a time, all for the purpose of breaking it in order that it might be made into an animal that the rancher can use.

God must do the same with us. Are there times when you feel as though God has tied your arms and legs, allowed you to go down, and has just thrown a blanket over you and walked away from you? You might feel as though He has abandoned you and forgotten about you. But He could never turn His back on His own. It all has a divine purpose.

In Isaiah 57:15 we read: “For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” The New Living Translation reads: “I refresh the humble and give new courage to those with repentant hearts.”

I have come back to this passage many times over. It has kept me in the race. I realize that there must be the constant renewing through confession. When that happens I begin to see the needs of others around me.  

How about you? Where are you in the race? If you are broken, take heart. God is about to use you.

I thought I understood how holy God can be.

The very thought of holiness, I thought would set me free.

I thought by seeing God, as holier than I,

My bleak horizons, somehow, would broaden like the sky.

Until Isaiah six one day, began to sink within,

And I began to see my God in light of all my sin.

The angels gathered round His throne of holiness did sing;

Louder, louder, ‘Holy, Holy’ did their chorus ring.

And, as their music touched my heart, no matter how I tried,

I could barely say the words, “I am unclean’ I cried.

Deeper no, the Spirit went, until with heated coal,

He burned the concept ‘holiness’ into my very soul.

‘Now you see yourself, my child,’ My Jesus said to me,

‘You are a filthy sinner, now you can be free.’

With that, He placed upon my lips, that burning, fiery coal,

And said, ‘Now go in peace, My grace has made thee whole.’

‘Now I can send you, child of mine, into the battle’s din,

For you have seen a Holy God, and you have seen…..your sin.’²⁷

Chapter Nine: Meet Bill Cose - A Man of Fatih and Encouragement

Every man needs another man to run with him when it comes to long distances. When I first started running back in January of 1975 I needed a running buddy to motivate me. I had been to my doctor who told me that I needed to do something aerobically to keep myself in good health and to help control my weight. I read one of Dr. Ken Cooper’s books on aerobics. I had the motivation, but I needed someone to run with to keep me accountable. I ran with others for many years. Then running became a necessity for me. Today I still run, but alone.

Who do you have running along side of you? Bill Cose was that kind of a man with me. When I think of Bill two words come to mind-encouragement and faith. I first met Bill back in the summer of 1973 at our Free Church conference in Green Lake, Wisconsin. I remember the warm reception he gave me into the Free Church. He and his wife Mildred had been serving pastorates in the Free Church in the west.

THE BEGINNING OF OUR RELATIONSHIP TOGETHER

Several years later Bill and Mildred moved to San Antonio after hitting a bump in the road in a church in California. They had a couple of daughters and their families living here. It was to be a time of healing for them. What was California’s loss was our gain in Texas.

Our church warmly received them and it was only a matter of time before Bill was selected to become one of our elders. Since he was a pastor, 21 years my senior, and more seasoned then me, I was naturally drawn to Bill. Bill was honest with me and at the same time always encouraged me. Each one of us needs that kind of a father figure in our lives. More than once I referred to Bill and Mildred as a mom and dad to me. I really did feel that way about them.

Recently, at the beginning of 2007 God took Bill home after a long and fruitful life and ministry. He went home while still serving as a pastor on staff at Wayside Chapel.

Let me fill in some blanks for you. Bill began teaching in the public school system here in San Antonio, but he also had a great ministry at Wayside. As an elder he often would give needed insight at just the precise time needed.

AN EXAMPLE OF FAITH

For example, back in 1985 we were busting at the seams, having three services on Sunday mornings, and in need of a larger facility. At the same time John Hagee, pastor of Cornerstone was building a new facility, north of San Antonio, along 1604, known as the outer loop. They had outgrown their old facility, located along 410, the inner loop. They were offering it to us at a cost of $2,400,000. It had an auditorium that would seat somewhere between 1200 to 1400 people. It was just what we needed for a congregation that numbered around 800-1,000 at the time. But the cost of the facility seemed to be prohibitive for a congregation our size, back in 1985. There was another small problem. We had a “no debt” policy that was traced back to a couple of years after we arrived. A number of us at the leadership had come to that conviction. We agreed that it was not unbiblical to borrow money, but at the same time we were going to trust God to provide our needs beforehand rather than afterwards.

Cornerstone needed a buyer and we needed a larger facility. It seemed like a match. It was a huge step of faith for us. Here was the plan. We would put $100,000 in escrow. Cornerstone would give us two years, until October of 1987, which was about the time that their new facility would be completed. If we did not have all of the money in hand by October of 1987 then the deal was off and Cornerstone would walk away with the $100,000. But, for fiscal reasons, this was not what they wanted. They wanted to see us succeed. It was an exciting time for both churches. We were praying that the money would come in and they were praying that the money would come in.

Here is how it happened and where Bill Cose comes into the picture. We encouraged our congregation to make a faith pledge. We asked them to pray and consider what God would have each family unit give over and above their normal giving. We asked them to write the amount on a slip of paper, without the name, and put it in a little wooden box that would be kept locked until the day of reckoning. We did not want to jeopardize our giving to missions. We now had a sizable fulltime staff which required a larger portion of each year’s budget. If we were to raise enough funds to buy, God was going to have to move. As one of our members, a corporate executive said to me at the time, “I have put a pencil to this and there is no way that we can come up with the money.”

During one of our elder’s meetings one of the younger elder’s much newer in the faith, asked the question, “What is our back up plan if the money isn’t there on the date of closing?” Bill Cose whirled around, looked at him, and said, “Brother, we don’t have a backup plan. God will provide.”

And provide He did. Cornerstone took the old property off of our hands, so the amount of money to be raised was now closer to $2,000,0000. It was still a huge mountain to climb. The first year the giving was slow. During the second year the momentum began to build. Our people were giving checks large and small. During the Christmas Eve service of 1986 a man stuck an envelope in my pocket which contained a check for $50,000. Since it was written out to the Church I couldn’t cash it even if I was tempted too.

Just a word of encouragement for pastors here, I tried to stay as far away from the finances as I could. But, at times like this I found that it was extremely difficult because the givers wanted to make sure that I knew what they had given, as an encouragement to me, or whatever their motives may have been. One Sunday morning an older couple in the church placed a $100,000 check in the offering and our ushers nearly had a heart attack.

On another day a rancher, who had made significant amounts of money in the oil business, called and wanted to be sure that I was in the office. He wanted to stop by and give a donation to the relocation fund. It was another check for $100,000.

One day a man who had been blessed in the real estate business called and told me how God had led he and his wife to the figure of $100,000. They didn’t know how God was going to provide it, but they believed that he would. He was really excited when he discovered that a property that he had wanted to close on was now closing on the same day that we were to close on the church property. He wanted me to send him a deposit slip to the bank and he would make the deposit on that same day. We had an elders meeting and I notified them that the money was now in. But, they insisted that it is not in until it is in. That was wise counsel.

On the day of closing I had a phone call from another couple in the church. The wife asked me how much money we still needed. I said $14,000. She said that her husband’s secretary was on the way over with a check that would more than cover the shortfall. It was a check for $26,000. There was great rejoicing over God’s provision. And I want to add that it took everyone’s giving, both large and small gifts to get us there.

When the faith pledge box was opened we discovered that the total amount pledged was way short of what was needed, only $1,400,000. Of that amount one family had pledge $400,000. In the final analysis, by 1987 this family had filed chapter 11 and were able to help very little.

Now, remember the real estate couple? We still had not heard from them. A week went by and he called and quite apologetically said that he was sorry about the delay. A leeway issue had hung it up on closing day, but that the issue was now settled and closing was now finished and he was depositing the money promised in the church account that day. Another $50,000 plus came in. What was the reason for the delay? God knew that we would need $150,000 more to refurbish the facility. There was a need for renovation including new carpet and paint in this well-used facility.

And then, you might remember that later that same month the stock market crashed. As one man who made significant gifts towards the project said to me, “If closing had been a month later I would probably not have had the money to give.” God’s timing is perfect, always.

THE GREAT ENCOURAGER

Now, back to Bill Cose. He was so instrumental in keeping us on track and walking by faith. A couple of years later Bill retired from the public school system and moved back to California. We had a need for a pastor who would visit the hospitals and lead the seniors. We called them the OWLS, older, wiser, loving, saints. Bill responded to the call and for the next 16 years we ministered side by side. My office was only 20 feet from his office. During the darkest moments of my life Bill was there. When we went through moral failures at the pastoral level, Bill was there for me to lessen the pain. When the church finances were down and I was a bit discouraged, Bill would step into my office and say, “Look at the track record brother. God always provides.” And he was right.

While others might complain about the lack of pay in ministry and opt out for more lucrative careers, Bill would say, “Isn’t this great brother? I love what I am doing and even get a pay check for it. It doesn’t get any better than this.”

I was rooming with Bill at the Promise Keepers Pastors conference in Atlanta in 1996 when the phone call came that their precious daughter Vickie had cancer. We knelt together and prayed at our beds. His faith was unwavering.

We had many funny moments together as we ministered at dozens of funerals over the years. We saw just about everything go wrong that can go wrong at a funeral. In one particular funeral I was to simply speak. I had no part in the moments leading up to the sermon. I was not involved in the planning, which always makes me nervous. The funeral was for a young executive involved in a tragic accident in an Arab country. The funeral home was packed. It was a totally secular funeral, so bizarre I will not try to describe it to you. I had to speak following all of the frivolity. There was a spiritual wall that was there that day. It was very difficult to get up and bring some semblance of sanity back into the room.

Bill was in attendance but not part of the service. After the service he met me out in the parking lot to encourage me. He put his hands on my shoulders, and looked intently into my eyes and said “Brother” as he shook his head, fishing for words. Words didn’t come, but plenty of laughter did. We both started laughing so hard that we nearly collapsed on the pavement in front of the funeral home, hopefully oblivious to the mourners who were filing out to their cars to proceed to the cemetery.

There were plenty of moments like that with Bill. Every pastor needs an older seasoned pastor to encourage them along the way. Bill kept me running. He kept me laughing. He finished his race of 85 years. Well done Bill! He went home with his boots on. He passed on to better things with His faith firmly rooted in Christ.

Bill understood that God was doing His fighting for him.

The Battle Is Not Yours

Thousands and thousands of years ago,

God’s people prepared for a test,

As the Ammonites and the Moabites,

descended; destruction their quest.

But Jehoshaphat saw the problem,

And we read from God’s precious Word,

That “Jehoshaphat prepared a fast

And prepared to see the Lord.”

And all the people, young and old,

gathered together that day,

And humbled themselves before

the Lord as Jehoshaphat started to pray.

He lifted his voice in remembrance,

recalling the days of yore,

And promised that God would keep

His word as always He’d done before.

And finally, in utter abandonment

He spoke these words so true:

“We have no might against them,

Lord, Nor know we what to do!”

Then, from the very lips of God,

there came these words sublime:

“Fear not, my precious children,

the battle’s not yours. It’s mine.”

“No need to fight, beloved,

Here’s all you need to do:

Just take your place: Stand still and see,

Your God will fight for you.”

So they bowed their heads and worshipped,

and appointed men to sing;

Not to fight God’s battles,

but to let His praises ring.

Here comes the enemy, now sing!

Let every voice be raised.

God’s people start to shout and sing,

and lift their hearts in praise,

And when their lips in praises sang,

lo, then, the job was done.

God, at the sound of their voices fought,

and at once, the battle was won.

Now what about you, dear Christian,

in your heart have you seen the light?

Have yet you come to understand

the battle’s not yours to fight?

That all your precious Jesus is

longing for you to do,

Is to set yourself, stand still, and see,

that He can live through you.

The battle’s not ours, oh, shout it!

The battle’s not ours to win.

The battle belongs to Jesus,

and Jesus will reign from within.

Acknowledge that you cannot do it,

and begin to sing and praise,

And God will begin to fight for you

as you humbly acknowledge His ways.

No, the battle’s not ours, beloved.

The battle belongs to the Son.

The battle’s not ours, but the victory’s ours,

and the victory’s already won!²⁸

Chapter Ten: We are at War

Ephesians 6:10-20

We have used the metaphors of racing and running to describe the Christian life. But there is another metaphor that is also used quite frequently in the New Testament. It is warfare. We don’t run very long until we discover that we have an enemy. I believe that millions of times a day in millions of believers around the world Satan wins a victory and the Christian suffers a disastrous defeat, simply because they are unprepared for warfare.

Recently Connie and I were privileged to participate in the annual gathering and celebration of the Dolittle Tokyo Raiders, which was held here in San Antonio. Connie was asked to sing the National Anthem and I was asked to do the invocation. Many are unfamiliar with the Dolittle Tokyo Raiders and their part of history. Five B25’s took off from the SS Hornet aircraft carrier out in the Pacific, on April 18, 1942,  and headed towards Tokyo loaded with bombs. It was a one way mission. Each plane had 16 men aboard for a total of 80 troops. Of the original 80 only 14 are living and of the 14 only 7 were able to attend the convention here in San Antonio this year. The fate these men suffered is the subject of many books. Their mission did little to determine the outcome of the war. But, the Japanese were caught by surprise. They did not think that they were vulnerable to our attacks. It was somewhat demoralizing to their national pride and psyche.

Enemies in times of warfare always want to use the element of surprise on their opposition forces. It is extremely critical that we know the power available to us and the power of the enemy. Some of us are so beaten up while we are reading these words that we hardly know what happened and who is to be held responsible.

Let. General Romero Dallaire, Force Commander of the UN Assistance Mission to Rwanda during the horrific genocide in Rwanda during 1994, was an eye-witness to the horrendous massacre. He writes, “In just one hundred days over 800,000 innocent Rwandan men, women and children were brutally murdered while the developed world, impassive and apparently unperturbed, sat back and watched the unfolding apocalypse or simply changed channels.” He continues, “After one of my many presentations following my return from Rwanda, a Canadian Forces padre asked me how, after all I had seen and experienced, I could still believe in God. I answered that I know there is a God because in Rwanda I shook hands with the devil. I have seen him, I have smelled him and I have touched him. I know the devil exists, and therefore I know there is a God.”²⁹

We just recently (2007) had a pastors’ and wives’ conference in Rwanda’s that brought together 400 senior pastors and wives from six different countries and eighteen different denominations. What Satan sought to destroy, God is restoring and renewing.

WE DO HAVE AN ENEMY

We may not be able to see him with our physical eyes, but we are able to see, smell, and tough him as we experience his evil all around us. Perhaps the unseen forces of terrorism, lurking around the world, even pockets of cells right here in our own cities and neighborhoods are the best illustration of the unseen forces of evil that Paul mentions in v. 12 of this passage:

“For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood—contending only with physical opponents—but against the despotisms, against the powers, against the master spirits who are the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) sphere.” Ephesians 6:12 (AMP)

The enemy, the devil and his unseen forces of evil are constantly stirring up conflict within us and among us. He shows up in the home, in places of business, and in the church.

I think of the man at Halloween time who decided to masquerade as the devil and visit a local church during one of their services. As he entered the church people screamed and spread out trying to vacate the church as quickly as possible. They fanned out in various directions. But one little old lady down in the front never moved. He came and knelt down and blared out in front of her face, “Aren’t you afraid of me?” “No,” she shot back. “Why not?” he said, “I am the devil.”

Her response was classic, “I am not afraid of you because I have been married to your brother for the past 50 years. I know you and you do not scare me.”

We need not be scared of the devil if we understand who he is, and his subtle ways and tactics of attacking us.

When we are experiencing conflicts in these areas we must understand that the real enemy is not your wife, or husband, or child or parent, or supervisor, or employer, or colleague, or your pastor, or your elders, or your teacher or any one else in the body of Christ. It is with the enemy himself.

William Gurnall, the puritan commentator, has a wise and insightful word on this:

“When reproached and persecuted by others look beyond them. Send your wrath on Satan, who is your chief enemy. Men are only his puppets. They may be won to Christ’s side and so become your friends at last. Anslem explains it in the following manner: ‘When the enemy comes riding up in battle, the valiant soldier is not to get angry with the horse, but with the horseman. He works to kill the rider so that he may possess the horse for his own use. We must not bend our wrath against the deceived, but against Satan who rides them and spurs them on. Let us pray fervently, as Christ did on the cross, that the devil will be dismounted and these miserable souls delivered from him.”³⁰

We know from Matthew 16:21-23 that Satan can appear through the closest of friends. Jesus has just told the disciples of his coming suffering, death and resurrection.

“Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, ‘Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!’ But He turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” (NKJV)

Jesus pinpointed where that was coming from. It was not coming from Peter. Peter had no awareness that Satan was speaking through him. Sometimes our closest friends can say the most hurtful and harmful things, without even being aware of it. The enemy uses the comments to bring us down in discouragement.

The devil always does his dirty work behind the scenes. He never shows up physically, or visibly. He never announces his arrival on the scene. This is why his very existence is made light of and is fodder for jokes by standup comedians. But there is no other way to account for all of the evil that is in the world and the evil that touches our lives apart from the presence of an evil one.

He is always there lurking in the shadows. He is as “a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” (I Peter 5:8). Back in 1990 we visited a game park while we were ministering in South Africa. We went out on early morning and late evening safaris. We watched Lions stalking their prey. They were very patient and looked for the weakest and most vulnerable prey. Then at the opportune moment they would launch their full scale attack.

What must we do? How can we protect ourselves? Paul answers that question in these verses before us.

WE CAN DEFEAT OUR ENEMY

First, we must be strong in the Lord. (Ephesians 6:10). This is the first command, a present imperative verb. It means always be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. The New Living Translation renders it “A final word: Be strong with the Lord’s mighty power.” 

We must make sure that our relationship with Him is strong and intimate. Like sheep staying near the shepherd, the predatory animals will not attack. They are always safest nearest the shepherd. Up north in the winter time we had a game that we would play called “Fox and Geese.” We would clear paths in the snow that would form a wheel with spokes going out from the hub in the center. There was one fox, but everyone else was a goose. The geese were safe as long as they remained in the hub. When they wandered from the hub they were fair game for the fox. The idea was for the fox to catch all of the geese outside of the hub. Of course, to make the game fair none of the geese could remain in the hub indefinitely.

This also means that we must never trust our own strength. In the words of that great hymn by Martin Luther, “should we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing. Were not the right man on our side, the man of God’s own choosing.”³¹ We don’t have enough strength to fight him. We all know the story of David and Goliath. David said to Goliath:

“You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied…all of this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.” I Samuel 17:45-47 (NKJV)

It is imperative that we operate in His strength and not trust our own.

WE MUST PUT ON THE AMOR THAT HE HAS PROVIDED FOR US

We must operate in His strength and we must take up the armor that He has provided for us. “Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles (schemes) of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:11).

We must delay no longer. We must do it with haste. Most of us have ignored the armor far too long. We cannot afford to wait any longer. The days are becoming increasingly evil.

Remember the ridiculous story about a group of animals in the jungle who decided to have a football game. The problem was that no one could tackle the rhinoceros. Once he got up a head of steam, he was unstoppable. When he received the opening kick-off, he rambled for a touchdown. The score was seven to nothing almost immediately. Somehow, they managed to keep the ball away from him the remainder of the first quarter. At the beginning of the second quarter, the other team tied the score 7 to 7. The lion tried to warn the zebra on the kickoff not to kick it to the rhino. But the zebra ignored the warning. The rhino caught the ball and he was going for a touchdown. Suddenly from out of nowhere, he was brought down with a vicious tackle. When the animals unpiled, it was discovered that a centipede had made the tackle.

“That was fantastic,” roared the lion. “But, where were you on the opening kick-off?”

The centipede replied, “I was still putting on my shoes.”

Many of us are like the centipede. Only, we are still trying to decide if we need to put the armor on. We do not see the danger. In the meantime we are losing the war against him.

The command here in Ephesians 6:11 is in the aorist tense. It is a once for all putting on the armor. It is not something that we are to put on and then take off and put on and take off. Put it on and leave it on.

The same word occurs back in 4:20-24 where were are commanded to put off the old man, the former conduct, and “put on the new man which was created according to God, in righteousness and true holiness.”

We have the same idea in Romans 13:14 “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” The imagery is that of putting on clothes. One of my least favorite past times is purchasing clothes. It occurs only when I am in the mood, and that is seldom. I don’t like the effort of going in to the dressing room and taking off and putting on. It does require energy and effort. This is why so many of us have been slow to put on the armor. It requires effort and discipline.

To excel in the physical realm requires lots of discipline, effort and staying power. The same can be said in the area of academics. Most students, in order to excel must spend hours of disciplined study before taking the test. You cannot set down at your desk and pray “Please Father, give me complete recall of the things that I have never studied.” We quickly discover that those prayers will not be answered in a positive way.

The same can be said for the military. Some never survive basic training. To be a good soldier requires great discipline. Why is it that we expect things to just drop in our laps spiritually, and every day become more like Jesus, and experience greater victory over the enemy and yet we are not willing to discipline ourselves unto godliness?

WE MUST PUT ON THE FULL AMOR

The whole purpose of this equipping is that we “might be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Standing is always a posture of victory. One of my favorite scenes in the book of Revelation is in Chapter 5. There is one who is found worthy to claim the title deed to earth. He is the real possessor. In Revelation 5:6, John looks in and “behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders stood a lamb as though it had been slain.” The slain One is now standing, announcing His mighty victory over the evil one. When two boxers go at it oftentimes there is only one that is left standing. He is proclaimed the victor. To hold our ground against our foe, and still be standing, we must arm ourselves. I take great comfort in Paul’s words in II Corinthians 4:7-10

“But we have this treasure (the gospel) in earthen vessels (clay pots) that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but no forsaken, struck down, but not destroyed (we get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going NLT) always carrying about in our body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.” II Corinthians 4:7-10 (NKJV)

Verse 10 comes alive in The Message: “What they did to Jesus, they do to us—trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in us—he lives!”

The enemy wants to knock you down and keep you down. He will do everything in his power to keep you from standing. The “wiles of the devil” in Ephesians 6:11 refer to his scheming craftiness. The Greek word is “methodia.” We get the word ‘method’ from this word. He has many different methods.

First, he will do everything in his power to keep you from trusting Christ for salvation. II Corinthians 4:3,4 states, “But if our gospel is hidden or veiled it is veiled to those who are perishing whose minds the god of this age has blinded who do not believe, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” You might be reading this book and it occurs to you that you have never trusted Christ for salvation. The desire of the enemy is that you will continue to be blinded from the gloriousness of the gospel message.

Secondly, once we have trusted Christ for salvation, the enemy will try to keep us from trusting Christ for daily living. He would have us striving in our own strength. He knows that we are no match for him. When we are trusting in our selves to get it done we end up tripped up in sin and perhaps our testimony is ineffective.

HOW THE ENEMY ATTACKS US

Ephesians 6:16 speaks of the flaming missiles that he is always sending in our direction. The purpose of a missile is to hit and destroy its target.

I Timothy 3:7 and II Timothy 2:26 both refer to “the snare of the devil.” A snare was something that a trapper would use to catch a wild animal. Satan sets his traps, just like the coyote with the road runner, but unfortunately is far more successful. It might be an enticing business deal, too good to be true, or a beautiful woman who makes it clear that she is interested in you, or a handsome man who is understanding and attentive, or a drug that is promised to put you on a high  and make you feel better. It might be the temptation to strike back and get even, to destroy another person’s reputation. It can be sinful thoughts and actions from the past for which Christ has already forgiven you. But the enemy brings them to the surface again.

Good hunters always keep themselves hidden. It is amazing to me to see the way we outfit ourselves for hunting here in America. When we went hunting with one of our friends on his ranch years ago one of the first timers was awestruck by all of the arsenal, guns, dogs, vehicles, etc. available to us. He had a great sense of humor and quipped that we were better equipped then most third world armies.

But the number one issue in hunting is to keep yourself hidden. It’s amazing to see the way we outfit ourselves for hunting here in Texas. I have been on hunting trips where hunters equip themselves with all kinds of arsenal, weapons, dogs, vehicles and the latest gadgets in helping them find and shoot their game animals. A friend who once went with us quipped that we are as well equipped as some third world armies. But the number one issue in hunting is to keep yourself hidden. Camouflage clothes are designed for both hunters and the military. Satan does a masterful job in keeping himself hidden.

Fisherman, likewise, keep themselves from being seen. I have been down fishing in the Gulf of Mexico with friends. Chartered boats and professional fisherman will never drive over top of a school of fish. No, the professional fisherman will skirt around them. He stays a distance away, out of sight, and casts the line out to where they are.

Hunting, fishing, fighting in time of war all have the same urgency, to remain hidden. A hunter uses bait or will imitate the sound of his prey to bring them in. A fisherman will use a hook (covered of course) with a juicy looking worm on it. The purpose is deceive and catch what we are after.

Satan is the master deceiver in our lives. Jesus referred to him as the ultimate and consummate liar, “the father of lies.” John 8:44

He will come to us in our moment of greatest weakness. In the case of Jesus, Satan waited until after He had fasted for forty days and was hungry. His first temptation concerned food. He said to Him, “if you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” Matthew 4:4 Jesus knew what to say to remain standing, “It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”

Satan and his cohorts study our weakness just like a hunter or fisherman studies what will appeal to their prey. He will make appeals to us based upon what he finds. One of my weak tendencies has been to become discouraged. Sometimes when I have been in that condition over the years, I would get a critical letter or comment made that would pretty much flatten me. Satan knows that I am most vulnerable to criticism when I am discouraged and tired.

He will even get us to question the Word of God about what it has to say about the consequences of the sinful actions that we are about to engage in. Eve was fully aware that God said to her that she was not to eat of the tree in the midst of the garden or she would die. Satan responded, “You will not surely die. In fact, your eyes will be open and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:4-5 (NKJV)

Satan desires that we step out of our dependency upon God, so he appeals to our pride. And our pride sets us up for failure.

There is an old Native American Indian legend where each young brave, when coming of age, would have to do something that no other brave had ever done. This particular brave stepped out of his teepee one morning and looked around, scoping the landscape, contemplating what he might do to prove that he was a man. As he looked toward the tallest range of mountains, he realized that none of the other braves had ever climbed to the top. So he decided this was his moment. He took his warm buffalo hide and Indian blanket and began his way toward the mountains.

It took him days to reach the top, and when he finally scaled the last peak, he was swelling with pride. He was thinking to himself, I am finally a man. I have done what no other brave has ever done. All of a sudden, he heard some rustling at his feet. He looked down and before he could react he heard a voice saying, “Young man, would you please pick me up and take me back down to the bottom of the mountain? It is cold up here. This is no place for a snake.”

The young man looked at the beautiful creature and realized what he was dealing with. He responded, “Oh, no, you are a poisonous snake. You will bite me and your venom will kill me.”

The snake quickly responded, “Oh, no, young man, with you it will be different. We will have a special relationship. I will not hurt you.”

The more the young man listened and looked, the more he was persuaded. He picked up the creature, put it under his warm arm and proceeded to take it down the mountain to the green meadow below. When he arrived at the bottom, he gently lifted the snake down to the ground. At that moment, the snake coiled and flew into action, striking the young brave in the calf of his leg. The young brave cried out, “But you promised me!”

The snake responded, “But you knew what I was when you picked me up,” as it slithered off into the grass.³²

Might I ask you the questions: “What are the snakes in your life that are potentially lethal and deadly?”

Are you listening to the voice of the enemy without regard to the consequences of your own sin at the other end? James reminds us that lust leads to sin, and sin, when it is finished, brings death (James 1;13-15).

“Hath God Said?”

“Hath God said?” the serpent chirped, “Did He say….’Don’t touch’?

Or did He simply mean, ‘Now Eve, please, don’t eat too much.’ ”

“Hath God said”, the devil cried; ‘What right hath God to tell

any man or woman that they’ll be doomed to hell?”

“God hath not said”, said Satan (a lie man soon believed).

And when he did (And when we do) we’ve simply been….Deceived!”³³

Chapter Eleven: Meet an Unknown Preacher in Northern Burma

This chapter is written to pay tribute to an unknown pastor in Northern Burma, now Myanmar, who in one brief contact and in one sentence gave me a new perspective on the final leg of my marathon. But before speaking about him allow me to share with you what took me to Northern Burma in January of 2004.

OUR TRAVEL TO BURMA

In the mid 90’s our church begin to focus on missions in that area, concentrating in Thailand, which is the next door neighbor of Burma. We have had teams of doctors and dentists who have regularly gone to that area to train a group of men and women, whom we called the Barefoot Doctors, to go from village to village, dispensing medicine, pulling teeth and whatever else may be needed.

We also helped fund a medical clinic in the remote village of Patau in the north, including some expensive equipment needed for good medical practice. And in the process a couple of sawmills were built and many in our church, including the children, helped raise the money to purchase an elephant. You say, “why an elephant?” Logs were cut from the jungle and floated down the river to the location of the saw mills. The elephant was then needed to pull the logs from the river and drag them up the hill to the saw mills for the final leg of their journey

Over a period of time there were many houses that were built, along with church buildings, a Bible college and other buildings. The government wanted their percentage of use of time from the saw mills so they could build housing for their military and build bridges making these remote places more accessible. Because Wayside had contributed so much in these various endeavors the Government of Myanmar, through its top general who was then leading the country invited us to come and celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Barefoot Doctors ministry. Thirteen of us left the states and met up in Rangoon. It was once we arrived there that I was informed that I was the first preacher from the west to be invited to preach in N. Burma in 42 years. We were escorted quickly through customs and put on a military transport to Patau, with two other stops along the way. The Christians in Patau were praying that the rain would stop and the weather would clear. At the very time they were praying we were able to get in the air, make the flight and land. When we arrived safely the rains resumed. Their faith so greatly encouraged us.

We stayed in a military compound and were under the watchful eye of the military wherever we went. They were there for our protection, but also to observe. Persecution of Christians is intense in this part of our world. We had a couple of young ladies who served as government monitors, regularly sending updates on us back to the central government.

The celebration was to take place in a remote spot, across a fairly wide river, about 1 hour from where we were sleeping. To get there required a very rough ride in the back of trucks that were used to transport soldiers. This had all been arranged by the Christians with the government before our arrival. Some of the road was so muddy and rutty that tractors had to be used to pull the trucks through these places.

I will never forget as we popped up over the hill and saw the river. On the other side we could see crowds of Indians, both of the Rawang and Lisu tribes. Many had on their tribal dress and headgear. They had various instruments that they were playing. The only thing that separated us was a swinging bridge made with lumber from the saw mills. Some of the bridges along the way were made with lumber from the saw mills. The swinging bridge spanned a swollen river that was probably 100 yards across. When the rainy season would come the river would swell even more and sweep the bridge away. But for now it was ours to use.

We continued our way across the bridge and were treated like dignitaries by the great crowds as we made our way to a large field in the village where a bamboo structure, containing a thatch roof, but open on all sides, had been built. It was large enough to have around 3,000 people seated on the floor inside with lots of standing room on the outside for another couple of thousand people, or more. The crowd was estimated to be about 5,000 in attendance for the two days of meetings. The meetings started at 10 am and lasted until 4 pm or so. Since the emphasis of the conference was on reaching out I preached a couple of messages on our motivations for missions. I challenged them with the words that now that they had heard the gospel they were charged and responsible to work together in evangelizing the rest of the villages in their areas.

During those 6 hours each day, of which I only preached for an hour or so, I was amazed at the perseverance of the people. Very few moved or had to get up and use the outdoor facilities. They sat transfixed on what was being seen and heard from the front platform. They were hungry for the Word to say the least.

When the two days of conferences were over two moments really changed, challenged, and channeled my thinking. The first one occurred when we were walking back to the house where our final meal at the conference was being prepared to serve. A number of the pastors followed us. It was now dark. They had a fire burning in a court yard outside. We sat around the fire. There were a dozen or so pastors sitting around the fire just looking at me like I was from another planet. There was no translator through which we could communicate so we sort of smiled and nodded at one another. Then I asked someone to find a translator. I wanted to learn more about these men.

DESPERATE FOR THE WORD

The translator showed up and I began to my left, having them introduce themselves. Some of these men were quite small in stature, with their feet dangling from the benches on which they were sitting. The first man captured my attention, because he pulled his top up to show me where he had been mauled by a tiger. We were on the edge of the jungle. One other man in the group had been mauled by a tiger as well.

About half way around the circle another man was introduced. I will never forget the moment. It was a little dark where he was seated, so I do not remember his face. But, I well remember what he said. He gave his name and then said, “I am 80 years old and I walked for 21 days to get here. I do not want to see this conference end.”

He wanted more. I wanted to give him more. I thought to myself, we have pastors-wives conferences all over America. There is hardly a week that goes by that someone, somewhere is not having a conference on how to be successful, or how to build a mega-church. But these men are desperate for the Word. Who is going to encourage and feed them? This was probably the beginning point of our Shepherds’ Support ministry.

Another poignant moment came the following day when we were all back at the house where the former governor (a strong Christian) was hosting us. We saw two separate tribal leaders come and disappear into the house. As we were sitting outside at the tables, the head of Frontier Labors for Christ came out and said something like this, “It is unbelievable what is going on in there. These two tribes who have not come together before and cooperated are now coming together and pastor Troxel, they wanted you to know that they have heard your challenge and accepted it. They will take the Gospel to the surrounding villages which have yet to hear.”

Obedience to our Lord’s great commission is of the most importance. Consider the words of Jesus at the end of his Sermon on the Mount:

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” Matthew 7:14-27 (NKJV)

The only difference between the wise and the foolish was not in what they heard but rather in how they responded.

That unknown 80 year old pastor and the leaders of the two different tribes challenged me with their thinking. I must keep on running until my race is finished.

Reaching Out Together

Reaching out together,

God’s message the Body heeds:

Together finding where people hurt,

Together meeting their needs.

Together touching each others’ lives,

showing the love of Christ;

Together caring, together sharing,

and together paying the price.

Reaching out together,

declaring the love of God’s Son,

By reaching down and meeting needs

and moving together as one.

Beloved, lets’ go together,

touching lives day by day.

The Body of Christ, together -

Giving Itself away!³⁴

Chapter Twelve: Giving Him All You Have…

HEARING HIS CALL

Romans Chapter 12 got me started running (spiritually speaking) and it has kept me running all of these years. Let me take you back in time to when I was still a boy. I had trusted Christ as my savior when I was 6 or maybe 7, but it wasn’t until I was a teenager that I was impacted in a transforming kind of way by God’s Word. My dad was a dairy farmer. But He was a spiritual man who wanted us to have experiences such as a week at camp or the Youth for Christ Convention, held annually in Winona Lake, Indiana. It was 1957, at the age of 14, that I took another week away from the grind of working in the fields, baling hay, cultivating corn and numerous other summer duties to attend this annual convention. Estimates were that as many as 10,000 teenagers gathered from all over the U.S. and Canada to hear gifted musicians and powerful speakers. Dr. Bob Pierce, founder and president of World Vision was one of the guest speakers on the program that year. I don’t remember much about him or even much of what he said, (14 year olds are kind of like that), but I do remember his text. It was Romans 12:1,2. God really came through in the text that night. It was as though He was speaking to me. At the invitation I could not resist walking down that long sawdust trail at the Billy Sunday tabernacle, which since has been demolished. I was positioned close to the back. I gripped the pew in front of me during the invitation song and agonized making that long walk. But the Spirit won out. I can still remember the feeling that overwhelmed me when I ‘presented myself ’ to Him. I felt so fresh and free and new. I found out that the feeling doesn’t last forever, but it was long enough for me to remember it.

When the week was finished I went back to my routine, but life seemed anything but routine for the next several weeks. My dad had me out cultivating corn in the middle of July. I was on an old tractor with two rows of cultivators just below me. As I watched those ears of corn, one by one, going through the cultivators, I began to see what a waste it was for me to spend the rest of my life cultivating corn, only to see it plowed back underground after the corn was harvested in late fall. Then I began to see people and the words of Jesus regarding the harvest being great as in John Chapter 4 and the sowing and the reaping and the rewards that would follow for both, became very vivid to me.

My dad just happened to be driving by when I reached the end of the field. He was waiting at the fence. He was always checking on us to see how it was going. As I drew closer to him he could see tears in my eyes. He asked me what was wrong. I shared with him my feelings and how I was sensing that maybe God was calling me into some kind of ministry. It was one of those defining moments for me when my dad responded, “Steve, if God is calling you to preach, don’t you stoop to be president.” I am not sure where he heard it, but I know where I heard it and it defined the future for me.

CONSIDER ALL THAT HE HAS DONE FOR US

It all began in my life through Romans 12:1,2 Everything in these two verses is predicated upon all that has been written in the first eleven chapters. The connecting word again is “therefore.” Paul gives us this wonderful portrait of a God who has created all things, a vivid picture of the awfulness of mans’ sin, the greatness of our Redeemer, the incredible benefits of our redemption, the Holy Spirit as our guide, the temporary rejection of Israel and their future acceptance of the gospel. Then he summarizes his thoughts with the great mystery that surrounds God’s wisdom and knowledge at the end of chapter 11. and the question comes to mind, how can we ever thank Him?

I don’t know about you, but in the ministry we have had so many people do so much for us over the years that there is no way that we can adequately thank them. Words just don’t seem to be enough. But sometimes words are about the only means we have of expressing our gratitude to those who have done so much. They really don’t need or want anything else, just our gratefulness.

Think of the incredible wealth and resources of our God. There is nothing that we can give to Him that He doesn’t already possess. Hebrews 11:33 reads in the New Living Translation “For everything comes from him; everything exists by his power and is intended for his glory.”

How can we say thanks to God for all that he has done for us? Paul says that there is one thing we can do. There is only one proper response to such greatness. The best way to give thanks is to present our bodies to Him. Again Peterson’s paraphrase “The Message” gets to the heart of the matter:

“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life---your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walkng-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.” Romans 12:1,2 (MSG)

There are two central ideas here in the text both in the form of commands. First, present your body to Him, and secondly let Him transform your mind. It sounds simple and logical to me. How about you?

AN APPROPRIATE RESPONSE TO HIM

First, present your body to Him. The word present, as we saw in Romans Chapter 6 is a once for all presentation. As in marriage, it is a once for all commitment. But it is also a daily commitment. It was used in a military context. Over the years as plane loads of GI’S have left for Iraq or Afghanistan or other dangerous places I have wondered how each of them have felt. Certainly they were feeling fear and loneliness and any other number of emotions. But were they thinking, “This is what I signed up for?” Or were they thinking, “Man, I had no idea when I signed up that it was for this.”

One thing that each one knows was that the moment they signed their lives on the dotted line they were no longer the ones in control of their lives from that moment onward.

The Greek word here for ‘present’ is paristimi. It was also a technical term for “presenting a sacrifice, to place beside for an offering.”³⁵ There is the old story about three pastors who got together for coffee one morning. Much to their surprise they discovered that all of their churches had problems with bats infesting their belfries. The bats were making a terrible mess. “I got so mad,” the first pastor said, “that I took a shotgun and fired at them. It made holes in the ceiling, but did nothing to the bats.”

“I tried trapping them alive,” said the second pastor. “Then I drove 50 miles before releasing them, but they beat me back to the church.”

The third pastor said, “I haven’t had any more problems. They asked him what he had done to get rid of them. He said, “I simply baptized and confirmed them and brought them into the church membership. And I haven’t seen them since.”

We are so prone to commit ourselves to something or present ourselves to something or maybe even someone, and then just disappear. We take back the commitment and then go on as though nothing happened.

We have all seen the poster of Uncle Sam pointing his finger straight at us. Beneath is the caption “Uncle Sam wants you!”

I am not comparing Uncle Sam with God. Heaven forbid! But God wants us. He wants our bodies and our minds. Why the bodies? The body is the instrument through which we serve Him. When someone says to me “I was there in spirit,” or “I will be with you in spirit,” it doesn’t mean anything. Just think, if you are about to get married and invite 500 people to your wedding and everyone of them RSVP’S that they cannot make it, but that they “will be with you in spirit,” how is that going to make you feel? It doesn’t mean a thing.

I think of the old story about the chicken and pig. They were talking. The chicken said that it would be nice if they provide the farmer and his wife a nice breakfast of ham an eggs. The pig answered, “for you it might be a bit of a sacrifice, but for me it represents total commitment.” That’s it! That’s what God wants from us. He is worthy of nothing less. This is the logic of Paul’s argument.

Our bodies belong to Him. He fashioned them. He has claimed them for his own. In I Corinthians Paul asks the question, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

What would you think if I were to confiscate your keys and claim your house as mine? And if, then I began to move in and to occupy each of your rooms. I fill them with my own furniture. I make myself at home. You would take me to court or to a mental hospital. Such logic is irrational. Isn’t that what Paul is saying here?

I heard the story of a woman who had finished shopping and returned to her car. She found four men inside the car. She dropped her shopping bags, drew a handgun, and screamed, ‘I have a gun, and I know how to use it! Get out of the car.” Those men did not wait for a second invitation as they jumped out and ran like crazy.

The woman, somewhat shaken, loaded her shopping bags and then got into the car. But no matter how hard she tried, she could not get her key into the ignition. Then it dawned on her; Her car was parked four or five spaces away! She loaded her grocery bags into her own car and then drove to the police station to turn herself in. The desk sergeant to whom she told the story nearly fell off of his chair laughing. He pointed to the other end of the counter, where four men were reporting a carjacking by an old woman with thick glasses and curly white hair, less than five feet tall, and carrying a large handgun. No charges were filed.

She thought it was her car, but it really belonged to someone else.

We can hijack our own bodies, but they don’t belong to us. They belong to God.

God says, “I made you, I purchased you and now I want to live in you.” That sounds reasonable to me. The NLT reads “I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice---the kind he will accept. When you think of what He has done for you, is this too much to ask?” Good question!

God has no physical body. This is why He desires your body to serve Him. Your heart becomes His heart to show compassion to others. Your hands become His hands to touch others. Your feet become His feet to take the gospel to others. Each member of your body now belongs to Him. This is your reasonable act of worship.

THE BATTLE IS IN THE MIND

We must also present our minds to Him (Romans 12:2). The mind and body go together. The Phillips version on this verse is so familiar that many of you know it by heart: “Don’t let the world squeeze you into its own mold, but let God remold your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all His demands and moves toward the goal of true maturity.”

There are two words that stand out here. First is the word “mold.” Back on the farm we went through a period of time where we put water tanks out in the field for our dairy cows. We had molds that we would form and then we would pour cement into those molds. The cement would conform to the image of the mold.

We get our English word “scheme” from this Greek word. The devil is behind all of the scheming around us. He uses the world and the flesh to bring us down and take us out of the race. In fact the only other time this word is used is in I Peter1:14 where Peter is encouraging his readers to go on and pursue living by the Spirit. He writes: “Obey God because you are his children. Don’t slip back into ways of doing evil; you didn’t know any better then.” (NLT). That idea behind the two words ‘slip back’ is to say, don’t let the world squeeze you back into its mold. There is a never ending pressure to conform to this world.

Satan is “like a roaring lion, walking about seeking whom he may devour.”( I Peter 5:8). As a kid my favorite cartoon series was the roadrunner and the coyote. The coyote was forever conniving how he might trap the roadrunner. His plans always ended in futility. Unfortunately our enemy is far more successful in his deceitful scheming.

For example, the world is forever bombarding us with false messages. It is all based upon an erroneous set of values, such as your self-worth is based upon how beautiful you are, or how athletic you are, or how much money you make, or where you live, or the kind of clothes you wear, or the perfume you buy. If we are not careful we can buy into all of its lies.

As Paul describes the armor that we must put on in Ephesians 6:10-20 he mentions faith in verse 16 “Above all taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts (flaming missiles) of the wicked one.”

The whole purpose of the car bombings and rocket launchers and other forms of weaponry used by terrorists today is to destroy and demoralize the peoples that are targeted. Satan’s methodology is the same. He is on a ‘seek and destroy’ mission.

How can we defeat him? First of all, we must have a war-time mentality. We have been lulled into this false sense of peace. Secondly, we must guard what we allow to come into our minds. We are often much more selective about what we allow to come into our mouths then what we allow into our minds. Yet the food passes through the body in a short period of time. But what we allow into our minds lingers indefinitely. It fashions and molds us in ways that we do not understand.

One of the great hindrances to spiritual growth today is the internet and TV. While there is much good that can benefit one there is also much evil that can defeat one. This is to say nothing of the time that is wasted. As Christians we are to be “redeeming the time because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:15). Pornography might well be the greatest curse on men’s minds today. It controls and weakens and cuts off our spiritual power. We have a transformer between our neighbor’s house and ours. It has malfunctioned several times over the years we have lived here. It usually occurs in the middle of the night. When it happens there is no power. There are no lights, air conditioning, refrigeration or anything else depending on electricity. It is a helpless feeling. Why? We are cut off from the power source. This is the result of pornography in our churches today. We have no power. The enemy is having a field day. Wherein is the answer?

Paul gives us the answer right here. “Don’t be conformed, but rather be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” The word “transformed” comes from the Greek word which gives us our English word ‘Metamorphosis.’ This word is used sparingly in the New Testament. It was used of Jesus at His transfiguration. He was transformed before their very eyes. Of course when we think of this process of metamorphosis we think of the lowly caterpillar. One day it is an ugly little worm that is so earthbound that it crawls on the ground. But one day soon it will be a beautiful butterfly unlimited in its mobility.

In II Corinthians 3:18 Paul uses the word to describe the change that is taking place in each one of us as we are beholding Christ: “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

By beholding Him and becoming intimate with Him we become like Him. As we feed on His Word and allow Him to speak to us we become like Him. My wife and I have been married for 45 years. We are amazed at how much we have become one in terms of our likes and dislikes. We have in that sense become like one another through intimacy in relationship. I have taken on the likeness of my dad. Why shouldn’t I? He had a profound impact on my development in those early years. We take on the likeness of those we spend time with, whether for good or for bad. This is why the Proverbs warn us about the kind of friends we keep.

This is how we renew the mind, through the life long pursuit of intimacy with our Creator. As the New Living Translation reminds us “then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.” (Romans 12:2). As I look back over my life I can trace nearly every blessed experience back to that defining moment as a 14 year old boy. Had I pursued my own course and tried to hold on to my life I would have, in the words of Jesus, ‘lost it.’ I would have missed out on so much. We have met so many wonderful people, ministered in far away places, to audiences large and small, and seen so much of God’s beautiful creation, that if I tried to describe them to you it would take many books. All of this, traced back to that decisive moment in my life when I said, “I belong to you Lord Jesus. What there is of me, you can have it.”

ALLOWING HIM TO POSSESS US

“Years ago, in the south of Europe one morning, a tall, slender, boyish faced fellow, with a Jewish cast of feature, entered one of the old cathedrals. The cathedral was famous for its organ, and was yet more famous for the organist who brought the music from its pipes. But the years had gone and the strength had gone, and a young man was appointed to do the heavy work. And the old man was appointed the custodian of the keys. And he spent most of his waking hours in the cathedral with the old organ that he loved as a mother loves her babe.

The young fellow who entered the cathedral that morning seemed to know the story. He sought out the old man, and said, ‘I hear you have a wonderful organ here.’ That was enough: the old man’s eyes danced and gleamed.

‘It’s the finest in the Fatherland,’ he said.

‘I have heard so’ said the young fellow ‘and I thought I would like to try it. Will you loan me the key?’ And the old man drew himself back.

‘I could not do that,’ he said, with the continental politeness, ‘you will pardon me, sir, but you know it is a very wonderful organ, and we are very careful who touches it; I could not give you the keys.’

But the young fellow persisted. He said, ‘I love music. I have traveled a good many miles to see this organ of yours: I play a little. Please loan me the key.’ So he persisted, and persistence always wins.

There are no exceptions to that law. And by and by he had the key and opened the manual, and drew out some stops, and turned on the power, while the old man stood back there against the pillar, wondering how that key got out of his fingers.

Then the music began, and he forgot everything else. He found himself saying, ‘I thought I knew all the music our organ had in it. I did not know it had such exquisite music in it as this man is bringing out. Who can he be?’ And he stood spellbound, with his eyes big, listening. The music began very softly, just like the sighing of the zephr breeze in the tree tops, then it rose up and rolled out, Then the storm broke, the thunder roared, and the lightning nearly blinded him, the old man. And the rain? He was wet. It was all so real to him. Then the storm passed, and birds were singing. Then the music grew soft, just like a baby breathing in its sleep in its mother’s arms. At last the music stopped, and the young fellow locked up the organ, and brought back the key, and said, ‘Thank you. It is a wonderful organ. I am very grateful to you.’

But the old man, not taking the key said, ‘Who are you? What is your name?’

And the young fellow modestly dropped his eyes and said, ‘My name is Felix Mendelssohn, sir.’

And the old man’s eyes filled up, and he said, ‘to think the master was here and I refused him the keys.”³⁶

The Master is here. And He asks for the keys to you. You will never regret turning those keys over to Him.

Back on the farm we had an expression that we frequently hear in one form or another today. It is this, ‘you must drive a stake into the ground.’ It comes from building a fence around a field. When we would get to the end of the field and we were about to turn in a different direction we would drive a stake into the ground to anchor the corner post. We would then use a number 9 wire to secure the fence post to the stake in the ground. This would give the necessary support for both lines of the fence.

Driving a stake in the ground becomes a turning point in your life. This is what I did back in 1957. This is what you can do right now. Let this become the moment that you turn from your sin, (repentance-self control) and turn to Christ, (faith-His control) and give it all to Him. You will be amazed at what He can do with your life that you never could.

This moment will keep you running right into eternity.

May Christ Be Seen in Me

Oh Lord, I give myself to thee and all that I possess.

I lay aside my sinful self, and claim thy righteousness.

My will lies shattered at they feet; I pray they will be done.

They only plea to live for thy and magnify thy Son.

O humbly may I serve the Lord, as in they will I tread.

And may I live a new in Christ, as risen from the dead.

Then closely walking by their side, may love flow out

through me, that those whom thou shalt lead my way,

may too find life in thee.

Chorus: May Christ be seen in me, O Lord.

Here thou, my earnest plea.

O take me, fill me, use me, Lord,

till Christ to be seen in me.³⁷

Chapter Thirteen: Meet a Forgiving Translator in Romania

PSALM 40 TO MY RESCUE

I mentioned earlier that I had gone through burnout back in 1997. I lost my passion for God and my passion for people. I was simply going through the motions of ministry and did not know where to go for help. Help often comes from the most unlikely sources. This time it was a translator in Romania who was there for me and he encouraged me to keep on running. His name was Tetee.

But before I get to him let me tell you a little more about where I was. In Psalm 40:1-5 the Psalmist found himself in a horrible pit. It was a deep roaring chasm. It is a noisy place where you feel disoriented. It is a lonely place. You feel cut off from the people around you. No one understands. No one seems to care. No one might even recognize that you are in the pit. Pits cause you to disappear. You are below the radar screen. You are stuck down in the miry clay. The picture is of one who could not find his foothold, but slips and sinks further and further into the darkness and abyss. Have you ever been there? Perhaps you are there right now as you are reading this. My prayer is that my story might give you hope.

Here I was in this condition, with Connie and I leaving our daughter, her husband and four grandchildren in Italy and heading off to Romania where I was to be the featured speaker for 1200 pastors and missionaries at the Romanian Baptist Conference. We linked up with missionaries Mike and Kathy Uno in Zurich, Switzerland and after vacationing for several days in that area we began our drive eastward towards Romania. It seemed that the further east we went the more depressing were the circumstances. We went down through Austria on to Hungary and through most of Romania until we arrived in Bucharest. For us, it was a journey into the past when life was far more simple. Horse and ox drawn carts were common place out on the roads and in the fields. God knew that I needed this time for healing.

However, at that time, because of the rainy, cold, dreary weather conditions Bucharest seemed to be a pit in itself. We were staying in an apartment above a store front on a very busy street corner where the electric trolley cars came by every minute or so and literally caused the apartment to shake. Yes, it was a noisy pit. The only time when they ceased operating was between 2:00 and 4:00 in the morning.

It was too dangerous for me to do my usual running. This was my means of releasing tension and dealing with stress since 1975. The reason for not running may seem strange. Packs of wild dogs roamed the streets back then and still do to this day. At that time they estimated 600,000 wild dogs were in Bucharest alone. They were the victims of the tyrannical reign of Ceaushecu the mad man who caused so much suffering during the latter years of communism in that country. Before the revolution in December of 1989 he tried to systematize the people, taking away their farms, and their private dwellings and putting them in masses of high rise, inefficient and dark, apartments. They could not take their dogs with them. The dogs were left to fend for themselves. Walking didn’t make them curious, but running did. I found out that running was not a wise thing to do during our two weeks of ministry there. I thought that this would be two of the longest weeks of my life.

HOSPITALITY IN ROMANIA

During the first several days with our wonderful hosts and hostess, I had time to read some good books on Romania, its people and history. It would help me to better relate to these Christian leaders to whom I would be ministering. And somehow as I read these secular books I was able to get a better grasp on what I was going through personally. It gave me a different perspective. It gave me a burden for the people of Romania and Hungary. My passion was beginning to return. I would need this passion the following week.

We took a train from Bucharest to Braila, about a three hour ride. Two other couples from our church joined us for the ride, Acie and Marilyn Johnson and Lannie and Melba Green. Upon arrival in Braila Connie and I stayed with the pastor and his wife. We had no heat and most of the time no hot water. There were times when we were without water all together. One morning as Connie and I were laying in bed together trying to keep warm I said to her, “You know dear, we are going to have to make some changes in our lives when we get back to the States. The first change that we must make is that we will need to start bathing again.”

In spite of these inconveniences Pastor Joseph and Maria were so warm and hospitable that it made up for the lack of warmth in other areas. They did not have a lot of anything at that time in Romania in the way of conveniences. One day I asked Pastor Joseph out of curiosity, “How many people are in your congregation?” He said, “About 500.” I asked him how many of them had cars. He thought for a moment and said, “ten.” Then he added with a twinkle in his eye, “Only 6 of them work.” I came close to kissing my old 84 Mazda pickup when I returned back to San Antonio.

This is when we met the Maria (Chapter 1). Maria assured us of her prayers as we were leaving Braila and beginning a 12 hour ride by car to Clug, in the western part of Romania. When we arrived at the conference we felt as though we were being a bit stiff armed by the leadership. We assumed that they were wondering why we were asked to come and be the featured speakers. Connie was singing for the conference.

As I was about to address the conference for the first time we had another one of those moments that is forever in my memory. It is frozen in our memory banks. Connie was singing behind a huge pulpit. Several others of us were sitting right behind the pulpit. Teetee, whom I had not met until that moment, was a gifted translator. He had translated for Billy Graham when he had been there before the fall of communism. As Connie began to sing he turned to me and said, “What are you going to speak on?” That is probably a fair question for a translator at that moment.

I shared how I was going to speak on the three great motivations for missions found in Acts 1:1-11. First, the Resurrection of Christ in v 1-3. “He proved Himself to be after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” Secondly, the Sending of His Holy Spirit in v 4-8. The Spirit would come and “you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8 (NKJV). And finally, the Second Coming of Christ.

“As He was taken up from them and the disciples were gazing up into the heavens two angels stood by them who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” Acts 1:9-11 (NKJV)

By the time I had given him this synopsis of my message Connie was nearing the end of her song. He then said to me, “Now listen, don’t offend the intelligence and spiritual depth of these men. They are well read and well grounded in the Word. These people know what it is to suffer for their faith. Too many speakers come in from the west and preach on John 3:16 and tell them that God loves them. These men know that. They need more than that. They need meat and not milk.”

Any of you who have spoken know how devastating a moment and a thought like this can be. This is not what I needed to bring me out of the pit. I thought, do I have meat or do I only bring them milk?” Then I sent up an arrow prayer, “Lord, you turned the water into wine in Cana of Galilee. If this is milk please, now, turn it into meat.”

A RENEWED PASSION

We approached the pulpit and I immediately started out with a joke. ( I couldn’t break with tradition, not even in a foreign country!) A man was walking around in a pet store one day when all at once he heard a squeaky voice on the other side of the room “Hey you!” (I did it in high falsetto and amazingly my translator followed suit). The man said, “Who me?” The bird said “Yea, you, come on over here.” The man did as the bird told him. He looked down into the cage and said, “What do you want?” The bird looked intently at him and said, “You’re ugly.”

The man was taken aback by the bird’s analysis of his physical attractiveness, but the man proceeded to walk around the store. The same thing happened again. It then happened again and again until the man’s self image was nearly crushed. He could stand it no longer. He went to the proprietor of the store and asked him if he had heard what his bird was saying to him. The man assured him that he did. He came around the counter, went over to the bird cage, opened the door, grabbed the bird, pulled him out and slapped him along the head several times and said, “Now don’t you ever say anything like that ever again to any of my customers.”

A few minutes later the customer is walking around the store again when the same high pitched squeaky voice is heard from the other side of the room. You remember the scenario, “Hey you.” “Who Me” “Yea you, come on over here.’ He does as requested, and looks down into the beady little eyes of the bird and says, “Yea, what do you want?” The bird hesitated for a moment and then said, “You know!”

The place was already fully engaged as they listened carefully to the translation. When the punch line was given the church erupted with laughter. I sensed that I had them with me from that moment on. I then said “I am not going to tell you anything that you do not already know. I only want to bring to your remembrance and encourage you by the things that we already know.”

For one hour I sensed God’s Spirit speaking powerfully through me. When I finally brought it to a conclusion, my translator turned to me in front of everyone and embraced me and said, “Please forgive me. Please forgive me!” Of course I forgave him. The moderator came to the pulpit and asked the crowd to break up in small groups and pray and recommit themselves to the great historical truths of which they were reminded.

The good news was that I was back. I was out of the pit. Maybe I wasn’t washed up yet. Maybe God could still use me. A year later, while back in San Antonio, I received a phone call. It was from Teetee. I told him that my time there was a turning point in my life and ministry. I shared how I thought that I was finished, all washed up. He said, “Now why would you think something like that?” I thought to myself, “I don’t know. Why did I?” Time does change things.

The Keswick Convention in 1931 included a message on Psalm 40 by A. Lindsay Glegg. He has a five fold outline on the chapter:

Brought up! “out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay.”

Set up! “He set my feet upon a rock.”

Held up! He “established my steps.”

Tuned up! “He has put a new song in my mouth, praise to our God…”

Caught up! V. 40 “You are my help and my deliverer. Do not delay, O my God.”³⁸

He takes this verse out of context by his own admission and applies this to the day when we are taken up in to glory.

I can say that I remember in my running a time when I fell into a horrible pit from which I could not get out. God used this translator and these Romanian pastors and missionaries to encourage me to get up and to keep on running. Thanks, Tetee. I am still running today because of men and women like you.

Yes He Did!

He took my feet from the miry clay,

yes he did, and yes he did,

And placed them on that rock to stay,

yes he did, yes he did.

I can tell the world about this,

I can tell the nations I am blessed,

Tell them that Jesus made me whole,

and he brought joy, joy to my soul.³⁹

Chapter Fourteen: Abiding Christ

John 15

In a trial in a small town a prosecuting attorney called his first witness to the stand: a grandmother, an elderly woman.

            He approached her and asked, “Mrs. Jones, do you know me?”

            She responded, “Why yes, I do know you, Mr. Williams. I’ve known you since you were a young boy. And frankly, you’ve been a big disappointment to me. You lie, you cheat on your wife, you manipulate people and talk about them behind their backs. You think you’re a big shot when you haven’t the brains to realize you never will amount to anything more than a two-bit paper pusher. Yes, I know you.”

            The lawyer was stunned. Not knowing what else to do, he pointed across the room and asked, “Mrs. Jones, do you know the defense attorney?’

            She replied, “Why yes, I do. I’ve known Mr. Bradley since he was a youngster, too. He’s lazy, bigoted, he has a drinking problem. He can’t build a normal relationship with anyone and his law practice is one of the worst in the entire state. Not to mention he cheated on his wife with three different women. Yes, I know him.”

            The defense attorney almost died at this point. The judge brought the courtroom to silence, called both counselors to the bench, and in a very quiet voice said, “if either of you low-lifes asks her if she knows me, you’ll be jailed for contempt.

            The truth is that apart from Christ none of us will ever amount to anything. We are all sinners and in desperate need of Him for salvation. There is none righteous, no not one. Romans 3:10

            But once we have experienced His redeeming grace, we go on needing His grace and power. We cannot do it on our own. He never designed us to live independently of Him. I shudder when I think of how much of my ministry has been done in the flesh, depending upon my own abilities.

TRYING TO LIVE WITHOUT HIM

            A couple of years ago, at Christmas time we had a knock on the door. I answered and discovered that the caregiver for my next door neighbor, a woman now over one hundred years of age, needed my help to transfer my neighbor from her wheel chair to her big soft chair. She had been hospitalized earlier in the week and was somewhat semi-conscious, not fully aware that I was there. Her caregiver informed me that she, herself, had a bad back and could not help me. I saw that as no problem. I was a big strong farm boy. I knew what it was to throw around 60-75 pounds of baled hay (45 years ago). I could do this. I didn’t need any help. I put one arm under her legs, another behind her back and began to lift her instructing her caregiver to pull the wheel chair out from under her. She folded up like an accordion, giving no resistance. I was tenuously balancing her on my knees. I was in deep trouble. I was about to lose her. The caregiver (a little Hispanic catholic lady) was cheering me on with the expression, “Jesus, Help him. Help him Jesus!”  Finally, when I was exhausted I began to say, “Jesus, I really do need your help. And if you will help me I promise to never do this again.” Somehow we managed to get her maneuvered into her seat. I breathed a big sigh of relief and wrote that down as one of those things that I would never do again.

            How much of what you are doing is being done in dependence upon Him? All through John’s Gospel John is writing to prove that Jesus is the Son of God. He follows him carefully and more than the other gospels shows us how Jesus modeled total dependency upon the Father.

In John 5:19 “Then Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.”

In John 5:30 He even said, “I can of Myself do nothing.”

Even prior to His raising of Lazarus in John 11:41 He lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.”

He was simply showing to others that He was not acting on His own, independent of the Father.

And now in John Chapter 15 as He is preparing His disciples for His departure He wants them to come to the same understanding, that without Him they could do nothing. (John 15: 5).

This teaching was a turning point. According to John 14:31 they were just leaving the upper room. He invited them to follow Him. He wound His way from the western side of the old city, and down across the Tyropeon Valley, which separated the Temple from the rest of the city, around the wall, skirting the Temple area, down into the Kidron Valley, across the brook, and then up the slopes of the Mount of Olives.

There were vineyards terraced around the hillsides of the old city. He might have even stopped in one of them and pointed out the grapes, the branches, and the vines. Of course today vineyards are even commonplace in many parts of our own country. And still today there is no loss for vineyards in Israel. They dot the landscape in many parts of that tiny country.

It could be that they might have been positioned to be able to see the great golden vine, the national symbol of Israel, perched high on the front of the temple. Even today a clump of grapes from the vine is a symbol seen in Israel.

That symbolism took them back to numerous Old Testament passages such as Psalm 80:8, 9 We read the words of Asaph: “You have brought a vine out of Egypt; You have cast out the nations and planted it. You prepared room for it and caused it to take deep root, and it filled the land.”

Or in Isaiah 5:1-7 where Israel is spoken of as the beloved vineyard of God:

“My well-beloved has a vineyard, on a very fruitful hill. He dug it up and cleared out its stones, and planted it with the choicest vine. He built a tower in its midst, and also made a winepress in it; So He expected it to bring forth good grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes.” Isaiah 5:1-2 (NKJV)

Because of this God said, regarding Israel, “I will take away its hedge, and it shall be burned; and break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. I will lay it waste;’ Of course, history bears this prophecy to be true.

Now we know that God is not finished with Israel yet. His plans for them will yet be fulfilled. At the end of the seven years of tribulation there will be a recognition of the Messiah and a national day of repentance. Zechariah 12:10 reads: “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication: then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.”

Again in Revelation 1:7 we read: “Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen”

With Israel’s unbelief and rejection they were no longer a fruitful vineyard.

JESUS IS THE TRUE VINE, WE ARE THE BRANCHES

Jesus uses the vine metaphor to teach some wonderful spiritual truths about Himself and His followers. He refers to Himself in this way, “I am the True Vine.” (John 15:1 NKJV) This is one of the seven great “I AM” statements in John’s Gospel. Jesus is the true vine. He is the real deal. He is not just a mere copy or symbol of something, as Israel was. Israel was only a copy of the true Vine. Jesus is the original, the one and only. All life is in Him.

All of this is so critical and basic to our understanding of the Christian life. He is the Vine, we are the branches. It is His life that is to reside in us and flow through us and the end result is fruit. This is the natural process.

Do not miss the Father in the metaphor. He is the vinedresser, or the caretaker. He takes good care of the Vine, His Son. He also gives tender care to the branches. He wants to see fruit.

Notice several key words in this metaphor:

First is the word branch.  (John 15:2). He takes away every branch that does not bear fruit. I don’t know what the wording is in your translation, but some include a side note with the rendering, “He lifts up.” Many translators have missed  the basic meaning of this Greek word ‘airo.’ It can be translated as ‘takes away’ or ‘cuts off.” But in this context it seems more appropriate to render it ‘lifts up.” This is precisely what the vinedresser will do. There are many fruits and vegetables that do not do well when they are lying on the ground. Grapes are one of them. They do best up away from the ground, hanging freely in the air.

I remember the first time this came to life for me was in 1978 when a group of us were taken on a five week tour of Israel by Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum. This was our first time in Israel. Since then we have taken many groups and have made the same observation. At one point we stopped along the road and Arnold showed us a vine with the branches. Some of the tendrils were propped up from the ground. They were supported by wires and poles. This is in order that they might become more fruitful. They are more exposed to the sun. They are drawn closer to the vinedresser. God uses circumstances in our lives and creates inner desires to move us closer to Him. And the whole purpose is that we might become more fruitful.

There is a second part of the process mentioned here in John 15:2. Our translations use the word “prunes.” It comes from the Greek word ‘katharizo.’ We get our English word ‘catharsis’ from this word. It means to cleanse or purge. The vinedresser strips away all that is harmful, the insects, the dead growth, and whatever else is collecting on the vine and harming the branches. 

Maybe you are undergoing the stripping process right now in your life. You might have been stripped of your job, or a relationship, or have had a loss of income, or lost your health, or even your ministry. Why does He allow this? The purpose is to draw our hearts to Him that we might find our life and significance in Him alone.

Next, we have the word fruit. We have ‘fruit.’ ‘more fruit’, (John 15: 2) and ‘much fruit’ (John 15:5). What is the fruit? What does that look like in our lives? I used to think that it meant strictly winning others to Christ. That is important and an essential focus of our mission. But I think that the fruit referred to here must be the fruit of the Spirit, mentioned in Galatians 5:22, 23 Amplified version : “But the fruit of the (Holy) Spirit, (the work which His presence within accomplishes) ---is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence, faithfulness; (meekness, humility) gentleness, self-control (self-restraint, continence), Against such things there is no law (that can bring a charge).”

How does your character measure up against this list coming from His Spirit dwelling with us?  

HE WANTS US TO BEAR FRUIT

His Word is the key in this whole process. We cannot expect to bear this kind of fruit apart from the cleaning agent of the Word. This is the instrument that the Holy Spirit uses in our lives. It was the agent that Jesus used to set His own disciples apart. One of the first passages that I learned as a young man was Psalm 119:9-11. “How can a young person stay pure? By obeying your word and following its rules. I have tried my best to find you—don’t let me wander from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”

God reminded Joshua in Joshua 1:8, 9 “Study this Book of the law continually. Meditate on it day and night so you may be sure to obey all that is written it. Only then will you succeed. I command you—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” ( NLT).

“Oh the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with scoffers. But they delight in doing everything the Lord wants; day and night they think about his law. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season without fail.” Psalm 1:1-3 (NLT)

Years ago my father had a large poplar tree on the back of one of his properties. In fact it was the largest poplar tree in the state of Ohio. It took five grown men to stand against the trunk of the tree with arms extended wide to reach around the tree at arm height. It stood by itself, buffeted by the winds, with no protection from the other trees. This probably caused its root system to become massive. More importantly there was a little stream of water that ran right by the tree, which gave it the constant water the tree needed for its growth.

There have been so many times over the years that I have found myself in some deep valleys, feeling overwhelmed in discouragement, absorbed in self pity. The last thing I wanted to do was to spend time in the Word and prayer. But this is what I needed the most. And preaching weekly gives a structure for discipline in this area. You cannot function effectively in preaching for very long if you are not feasting on His word and responding in prayer and thanksgiving.

A number of years ago as I began a series through the book of I Peter, I challenged our congregation to memorize I Peter when I began the series. Two ladies accepted the challenge and at last count they had memorized six books together. One of these ladies said to me just weeks before I stepped down from Wayside that she could not put into words what this discipline or memorization has meant to her. Nothing cleanses and prunes us better than the word. It will hold us up and sustain us and give us hope in the darkest hours of our lives. The reason for this is that this book is truth. In your times of greatest temptations this Word will keep you from falling if you heed its advice.

Are you in the midst of a pruning process right now in your life? Is God using the sharp circumstances of life to cut off some old growth that is hindering you? It might be some old ways of thinking, some habits, or some addictions, as He confronts you with the Word of Truth. Even churches go through periods of pruning. During my 34 years at Wayside we experienced the ebb and flow of greater numbers and lesser numbers. Pastor, don’t get discouraged by what you see. Consider it to be part of His pruning process that there might be even greater growth. Pruning is a necessary thing and a good thing for growth to continue. As you follow the process through there will be fruit, more fruit, and much fruit.

What is our responsibility in all of this?

THE KEY TO FRUIT BEARING IS ABIDING

The final word is abide. (John 15:4,5). Actively we must abide in Him. Passively we must allow Him to abide in us. Both relationships are essential.

Ray Stedman writes: “When our Lord says, abide in me he is talking about the will, about the choices, the decisions we make. We must decide to do things which expose ourselves to him and keep ourselves in contact with him. That is what it means to abide in him.”

This is what Bible Study and prayer are all about. When we read His Word He speaks to us. When we pray we speak to Him. It needs to be an ongoing dialogue, just as you have in any relationship. It cannot be all one sided. It means to keep the love relationship, the intimacy with Him alive.

This was the problem with the church at Ephesus in Revelation Chapter 2. They were doing many commendable things, just as we might be doing. But the Lord challenges them in verse 4: “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” Love is something that we can choose to leave. It was the same word used in Matthew 4:20 regarding the disciples: “They (Peter and Andrew his brother) immediately left their nets and followed Him.

When partners begin to stray from one another they might make reference to the fact that just as they fell into love they have now fallen out of love, as though they were helpless to do anything about it. That is not Biblical love. Love is a choice, an act of the will. We choose to abide in Him. Or we can run the other way and try to make life work without Him. But it cannot work that way. Life was not set up any other way than to work through His abiding presence.

One of my great fears for the church today is that we have become so dependent upon the world’s method on how to build a large organization. We have become slick at using technology. We use almost any means to pack people into our churches. We have entertainment that is second to none. We look so successful on the outside. But what does the Lord really think? Is it coming from Him?

Ray Stedman was the first one that I ever heard use the glove as an illustration. He would hold up a glove and speak about all of its wonderful qualities, its fine craftsmanship, the materials of which it was made, the form in which it was put together. It was fashioned to fit around a human hand. But that glove by itself could do absolutely nothing. All it can do is lie there and look like a glove. It is helpless. Then he would stick his hand in the glove and watch it come to life. It was full of life and now capable of doing anything that the human hand can do. That is what His life will do in us.

Are you presently abiding in Him?

Teach Me to Abide

“Oh, dear Father, precious Friend; Teach me to abide.

Take me in your tender arms, there to safely hide.

Let your heart flow into mine, Let my will subside.

May your every joy be mine, Teach me to abide.

‘Till our hearts but beat as one, Purge me all pride.

Oh, dear God, I’ve but one prayer: Teach me to abide.”⁴⁰

Chapter Fifteen: Meet a Banker, a Stewardess, and an Environmental Scientist

It is funny what keeps us running at times when we might be wavering a bit in our commitment to stay in the race. I had an unforgettable plane ride that introduced me to several people whom I would like to introduce to you in this chapter.

Here is the setting: I was traveling to the Philadelphia area in the fall of 2005 to speak at a missions’ conference in an old historic church. The flight up and back was quite eventful and unplanned.

It began in San Antonio. I was traveling alone, a a family matter kept Connie from being able to accompany me.

A HINDU BANKER

Traveling on Southwest airlines where there were no assigned seats I found myself on a very full flight, seated next to the aisle. The man next to me was a small man, of Indian descent. He was a very successful banker up in the New Jersey area. He was also Hindu in his faith.

I introduced myself to him and this began a conversation that soon turned to spiritual matters. As I recall I asked him about India, because up to that point we had not been there. Soon we will be returning for our second visit there. I was interested in finding out more about his homeland and what the people believed. Of course Hinduism is the prominent religion. I asked him what he believed as a Hindu. He proceeded to tell me what he knew about his religion. It became quite apparent rather rapidly that he did not know much about the long held religious beliefs of his ancestors. Two things became quite clear regarding his beliefs. First, it is a system of works like all other religions. Secondly, you can never really know for sure anything about the after life and where you will end up.

I started talking with him about the uniqueness of Christ and therefore of Christianity. It was less than one hour until we were landing in Houston. The plane was to stop and allow passengers to get off and to allow other passengers to come on who were flying to Philadelphia.

I wanted to get a bulkhead seat and stated so to Raul. He asked if he could join me. That was a pretty good hint that he wasn’t turned off by my boldness in presenting the gospel to him. We took our seats and continued our conversation.

I continued speaking about the uniqueness of Christ and Christianity. Every other religion is based upon what man can do for God and you never know if what you’ve done is enough. But in Christianity, salvation comes through what God has done for us and it is more than enough. It is a finished work.

I spoke of our sin problem and how God provided the answer to sin Himself. He came down and took upon Himself flesh and blood in order that He might die for us and the problem of sin be once and forever removed so that we can have a personal relationship with Him. I showed him several verses in the book of Romans dealing with our sin and where it ultimately leads us. I had him read the verses out loud. It was a long conversation that led us up to this point. He was listening intently and asking good questions. I felt led, by the Spirit I believe, to take him further and tell him based upon many verses, “Raul, you can trust Christ right now, 36,000 feet up in the air, in this plane. (I love these captive audiences, full planes, with no place to go and opening the door to leave is not an option) Raul, you can know right now that you sins are forgiven and when you die you will go to heaven. You can settle that once and for all by trusting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. You can do it right now.”

I will never forget that moment. I saw a man struggle as few struggle in their decision. Tears began to form in his eyes, and began running down his cheeks. There was a battle that was being waged for his soul. He was, no doubt, considering the cost. This successful banker was in the midst of a life and death struggle.

I waited for his answer. Finally, it came, “Not yet,” he could barely get out. I told him that I understood the struggle and I admired his intellectual honestly. I asked if I could pray for him. He nodded affirmatively, not quite sure what I was about to do. He had the look of a man who was about to undergo some life threatening surgery. I prayed, only loud enough that Raul could hear, I thought, that Jesus Christ would become so real to him that he would hesitate no longer and that all of his concerns would be fully dealt with soon. When I finished praying for him I gave him a copy of Andy Stanley’s little book entitled How Good is Good Enough.⁴¹ He assured me that he would read it.

A STEWARDESS UNDER CONVICTION

We were approaching the end of our flight, but final preparations for landing had not taken place yet. I stood to my feet and stretched my legs. As I did so I heard the voice of the stewardess who asked me if she could talk to me. She had been seated right around the bulkhead for the last part of the flight (no meals to serve anymore). She introduced herself and said, “I heard everything that you were saying to that young Indian businessman. I am a Christian but I have not been living like one. I never share my faith in Christ with others. Would you pray for me that I will begin to live for Christ and speak freely of Him? Just around the bulkhead, with my back to the passengers I began to pray specifically for this young lady in these two areas. Her countenance seemed to change at that very moment.

I said goodbye to her and to Raul, as we deplaned, and went on my way. I spoke at the missions’ conference and five days later I was headed back home. I was standing in line at the Southwest gate for my flight to San Antonio when an older couple came walking up to me and said, “We remember you from the last flight.” I was surprised and asked them why. They said, “We are Christians and we were sitting right behind you as you were sharing Christ with that young Indian businessman. We heard most of what you were saying to him. We were praying for you and for him.”

I want to believe that when we are gathered in glory and singing praises to the Lamb with that innumerable throng in Revelation 5 that Raul and his family will be among them.

I was reenergized in my boldness to share the gospel and to trust in the power of the Holy Spirit to work in ways that we cannot comprehend.

A SECULAR ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENTIST

I boarded the plane, getting a bulkhead seat and curled up next to the window with a Southwest flight blanket. I was not feeling good. I was running a fever, had a very sore throat, and really didn’t care about conversation with anybody. I wanted to be left alone. That was enough witnessing for one trip. But, God had other plans.

In came Phil and sat next to the aisle with a vacant seat in between the two of us. So I had some space. We introduced ourselves. He was a great conversationalist. I asked him what he did by way of profession. He told me that he was an environmental scientist. I discovered that he had degrees from Penn State and USC. He was not a fluke. He was a well educated man. I asked him one question which led to about a 30 minute answer. The question was this, “Phil, what do you believe about the future of this planet?” (Good question for anyone, especially an environmental scientist) This was right up his alley. He was well prepared to answer. It was obvious that he had some very strong and well thought out opinions. He and a number of his colleagues believe that we are living at the end of life as we know it. He sighted the heating up of the core of the earth, global warming, the melting of the ice caps, the rising sea waters and numerous signals that tell these scientists that we are on a collision course that unless reversed will lead to a catastrophe. He mentioned the “geophysical switch” that he and others believe may happen within our lifetimes. I had never heard of this before and admitted this to him. He explained that it is when the North Pole and the South Pole switch places. It supposedly happens every 30-50,000 years and is about to happen again. He had no hope for the planet. This scientist was almost overwhelmed by despair and intent on doing what he could do to reverse the problem of global warming.

He then asked me what I thought about the future of this planet ( I would have asked him to ask me if he hadn’t). Even though I was not feeling good I was feeling good about the question and good about the answers that I had to give to him.

I took him back to the beginning of time and how after God had finished His creative work He took one look at it and in Genesis 1:31 we read “Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.” After each act of creation He pronounced it good, but now collectively He looked at it all and concluded that it was not just good, but “very good.”

I then went on and explained that when God created man He created him with a free will. And that free will of man led to the problems that we now face on this planet. In Genesis three Adam and Eve chose to disobey God and in their rebellion brought upon mankind a curse. Every man’s life goes through the same endless cycles of birth, sin, suffering and death. It is all because of the curse. And even the woman travails in the moment leading up to the birth, all because of sin and the curse.

I went further and explained how God provided a cure for sin and how He removes the curse of sin and how through Christ we can experience righteousness and life. (Romans 5:12-21).

I spoke of the crucifixion of Christ and how God placed upon Him the sin of each and every one of us. (Isaiah 53:5-7). Three days later He was raised from the dead. Forty days later He ascended into the heavens and He is coming again in power and glory to rescue us from this sin cursed planet at the end of this present age.

I had not forgotten his point about how the inner core of the earth is heating up and will make life unbearable on this planet. I brought out II Peter 3 and how God promised that he would never again destroy the earth by a flood (water) but rather by fire. The core of the earth is like a liquid lake of fire and a burning caldron. I quoted II Peter 3:8 to him, “But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” And then I quoted verse 10 where Peter writes: “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with a fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.”

At this point this academician looked at me and startled me with these words, “By golly, I believe that you are on to something.” Isn’t that great? Phil never trusted Christ on that flight, but he heard the gospel. He was encouraged by the hopefulness in the message. He promised me that he would read Andy Stanley’s little book. He even said that he would have his wife read it. He said that she was a catholic, but not practicing her faith. He also promised that he would begin reading the Bible.

As we touched down in Houston and were about to deplane, I stood to my feet. He stood to his and put a hand on my shoulder and said, “You just keep right on doing what you are doing, because by golly, I believe that you are on to something.”

OLDER AND BOLDER

It is amazing that God would use a banker from India and a secular scholar from the halls of academia to encourage me to keep on running and keep on sharing Christ. There is no power like the power of the Gospel message. This is why Paul wrote “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.” (Romans 1:16).

As I get older I want to get bolder. Paul wrote several books while in prison. Ephesians was one of them. At the end of this little letter He asks them to pray for him in a way that might have been surprising. He asks not for a prayer of deliverance, but rather a prayer for clarity and boldness. He wanted the boldness to speak up for Christ and the clarity to make the gospel clear to those who would hear. Older and bolder, may that be the theme for each one of us.

Pastor, you hold in your grip the most powerful weapon available to man. It is the power of the Gospel. Don’t get discouraged. You just keep on preaching that word. Keep on doing what you are doing. Keep on running. Crossing that finish line and seeing the Savior will make it all worth while.

There Hath Not Failed One Word

There has not failed one word.

This is God’s promise to you.

Not a single word of the Word of

God will ever be found untrue.

There will not fail one word.

It cannot happened, my friend.

Not one single syllable God has said

will be less than “yea, and amen.”

You can bank your life upon it,

though the winds of affliction assail.

Your life is secure in the hands of a God

whose word simply cannot fail!⁴²

Chapter Sixteen: Motivation for Ministry

Acts 1:1-11

            We live in the hometown of the San Antonio Spurs, the National Basketball Champions for four of the last nine years. I am an avid follower. When the finals were finished this year I found myself going through withdrawal. Basketball has always been my favorite sport. I like the Spurs. I like their character. I like their team work. They are a no nonsense team.

            One of the key words in sports these days is the word motivation. The reason for losses is usually summed up in this way: a lack of focus, determination, or motivation. You can have all of the credentials, but without motivation you will not come out on top. In fact without motivation you will not be able to finish well. We all know of men and women with exceptional gifts who lacked motivation and never lived up to their potential.

            Quite frankly there are some days when I just do not feel motivated. As I sit at my computer and try to write this book there are days when I am more motivated then others. Motivation is something with which we all struggle.

            We see a major difference with the disciples between the Gospels and the book of Acts. The major difference is in their courage and motivation. Before His crucifixion they were no where to be seen around Him. Following His resurrection and the sending of His Spirit they were willing to die for Him. What was the difference? Motivation.  

            What are the motivating factors behind all ministry? I submit to you that the threefold answer is right here in the opening verses of the book of Acts. Our problem is not that we do not know them but rather that we often forget them.

            Paul, the seasoned pastor, was writing to a young pastor named Timothy. In II Timothy he encourages Timothy to be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. He then speaks of the Christian life as being like that of a soldier, an athlete, and a farmer. Each one of these occupations requires discipline, hard work, and motivation in order to succeed. But then he writes: “Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel.”

            Is it possible to forget that we serve a risen Savior? Evidently it is or Paul would  not have challenged Timothy to remember the facts.

            Two elderly women were together one day. They had been life long friends. But at that particular moment the one lady said to the other, “You know, we have been friends since childhood. We have done many things together. We have traveled together and eaten together and had many experiences together. But, for the life of me, I cannot remember your name.”

            Her elderly friend gave her a rather blank stare for a moment and responded, “Well, do you have to know right now, or can you give me a moment?”

            Memory does begin to wane as we get older. If we are not careful the very things that motivated us in our earlier years of ministry might no longer be in our memory bank.

            Luke is writing to set the record straight concerning the facts of the life and ministry of Jesus. He makes reference to the former account in v. 1 which was the book of Luke. He is writing to an individual named Theophilus. We know little about this man. We do know that Luke traveled with Paul in his missionary journeys. Theophilus was probably a young Greek and perhaps a new convert to Christianity, whom Luke had met along the way and is now explaining the facts concerning the Christian faith.

            Someone suggested years ago that another man by this name got his name at the moment of his birth. When his father first laid eyes on him he lamented, “That’s the-awful-lest looking baby I have ever seen.” So they called him “Theophilus.”

            That has nothing to do with the origin of his name. His name comes from a compound Greek word Theos and philos, meaning God-lover. He was a lover of God. This man had great potential to impact many with the Gospel. But, he needed to know the facts.

            Luke himself was a very careful historian who was also a doctor. He kept detailed records. He gives more insight in the gospel of Luke regarding the birth of Christ, the crucifixion, and His resurrection then the other three Gospel writers.

            What are the facts that should motivate us?

THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS

Our first motivation for ministry is the resurrection of the Lord Jesus (Acts 1:1-3). The civil and religious authorities counted Jesus down and out. His own followers considered him to be history. But three days later the tomb was empty. Jesus Christ was alive. During the 40 days that intervened between his resurrection and his ascension, according to v. 3, He “proved Himself to be alive by many infallible proofs,” and then He was gone.

            But, He could not leave them until they were fully convinced that He was alive. He suffered and died but then presented Himself to be alive. He did so by many infallible proofs. One Greek authority renders this “In logic demonstrative proof. In medical language “demonstrative evidence.”⁴³ 

Any medical doctor who is to be trusted will not diagnose a problem solely by the way a patient feels. He or she will not give a clear diagnosis until all of the tests have been run. Some x-rays, CT scans, blood tests and any number of other modern day diagnostic procedures may be ordered. Luke, the physician, would have referred to these as demonstrative evidences.

What were some of these demonstrative evidences? In John Chapter 20 Jesus appeared to the disciples, with Thomas present this time, and spoke to Thomas these words… “Reach your finger here, and look at my hands; and reach your hand here and put it into my side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”

Another case in point sighted by Luke, probably of the same account, comes in Luke 24:

“Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, ‘Peace to you.” But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. And He said to them, ‘Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.” (“Don’t be upset, and don’t let all these doubting questions take over. Look at my hands; look at my feet—it’s really me. Touch me. Look me over from head to toe. A ghost doesn’t have muscle and bone like this.” The Message) When He had said this He showed them His hands and His feet. But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, ‘Have you any food here?’ So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb. And He took it and ate in their presence.” Luke 24:36-37 (NKJV)

  Jesus appealed to all of there physical senses: hearing, sight, touch, taste and even their smell.

Christianity is based upon solid historical facts, and not mere feelings. He wanted no lingering doubts among them. He wanted them to be fully convinced that He was alive through each of these encounters during the forty days.

He was “being seen by Him.” (Acts 1:3). Literally they “eyeballed” Him. We get our word ophthalmology from this Greek word. They eyeballed Him for the forty days.

Back during my seminary days I began to feel a weakness that grew progressively worse until eventually I was diagnosed with Addison’s disease. It severely impaired my metabolism. The doctor who diagnosed it had been a student at Georgetown University Medical School during the time that John F. Kennedy was president. Students and doctors in the Washington area were all familiar with Kennedy’s Addison’s disease in case they needed to treat him. He asked me a few questions, looked at my discolored skin, checked my vital signs and wrote down his diagnosis as Addison’s disease, or adrenal insufficiency. They put me in the hospital to further test me and confirm that this was the proper diagnosis. This was followed by the prognosis, I would live a normal life, but I would have to take hydrocortisone the rest of my life.

We were just poor seminary students, with no way to pay our medical bills which could have been substantial with three major hospitalizations within a year. My doctor had mercy on me and told me that he would dismiss the bill if I would come to their monthly meeting, in which they examine rare diseases, and allow nearly 40 doctors to go over my body from head to toe. They eyeballed me for 40 minutes or so.

Not only did He prove himself to be alive but He also spoke of matters concerning the Kingdom of God.

There is no way to understand the book of Acts apart from the Resurrection of Christ. There is the analogy of the space shuttle. It is launched from a platform. It is empowered by fuel, and it has a mission to complete. The disciples are launched out on to a mission in the book of Acts. Their platform was the resurrection of Christ. They are empowered on their mission by the Holy Spirit.

Paul hits the nail on the head in Romans 1:4 where he speaks of Christ and states that he was “declared (which gives us our English word ‘Horizon) to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” The horizon is a clear boundary. The resurrection of Christ establishes a clear boundary between Christ and all others.

The English scholar John Stott has made reference to the fact that the greatest singular evidence for the Resurrection of Christ is the changed lives of His followers.

THE SENDING OF HIS HOLY SPIRIT

His resurrection serves as incredible motivation for ministry. But there is a second motivation and that is the sending of His Holy Spirit. Acts 1:4-8 They were commanded to remain in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came. In Luke 24:49 Jesus commissioned them, “Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”

No matter how much we know, or how many degrees we may have or whatever other resources we might have at our disposal, we are not equipped to go and share such a wonderful message without the power that the Holy Spirit provides us. No amount of preparation and programming can take the place of the Holy Spirit.

You remember the joke about the college student who bought a chain saw and used if for several days before he took it back to the dealer. He complained that he could only saw a half of a cord of wood per day. But the dealer had promised him far more in his sales pitch.

The dealer took the saw in his hands, made a couple of adjustments, pulled the  chord and the engine roared into action. The excited college graduate shouted out “what’s that noise?”

Towards the end of his life my father in law, who like all of us was becoming more forgetful with each passing year, experienced something similar with an electric chain saw. He was about to give up on the chain saw when I checked up on him. I saw his frustration. I followed the electric cord back to its power source and discovered that it wasn’t plugged in. Everything was a go with one important, overlooked exception. All the frustration can be spared if there is connection with the power source.

So many Christians are frustrated and intimidated in trying to share the gospel with nonbelievers, often because they are trying to do it in their own strength, rather than relying upon the Spirit to give clarity and boldness in witness.  

Lights will not do what they were intended to do if there is no power. Christians cannot be what God intended us to be apart from His divine power, the indwelling and enabling power of His Spirit.

In the Upper Room discourse in John 14, Jesus said:

“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper that He may abide with you forever, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him, nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.” John 14:16-18 (NKJV)

Reportedly, Dr. Harry Ironside would illustrate the difference between having the Spirit with them verses in them. He would use a big delicious steak to illustrate his point. He would picture it in front of his audience as they were about to cut into this mouth watering piece of meat. He would then ask them if they would rather have the steak with them or in them.

Jesus was saying to them in the words of the American Express advertisement, “Don’t leave home without it.” Don’t leave Jerusalem without His Spirit’s presence dwelling in them. The baptism of John was only a ritual, a picture of that which Christ was to do when the Spirit came. We have been to Israel six different times and each time we have baptized people. For many it is the highlight of the trip. But, I will frequently remind them that the greater baptism is not by water but rather being baptized in His Spirit, being placed into Christ and Christ taking up residence within us. To be immersed in water is one thing. To be immersed in His Spirit is another. You may never make it to the Jordan River to be baptized, but you can enjoy the Spirit’s presence wherever you are and wherever you go.

Notice in Acts 1:6 that the disciples are anticipating that this might be the time when God will restore the Kingdom to Israel. God isn’t finished with Israel yet. God has a plan for His people, the chosen descendants of Abraham. But this was not the time. They wanted the glory days under David and Solomon to return. Jesus answered them in a very gentle way in Acts 1: 7. He tells them that this is none of their business. It was not for them to know all of the chronological details (times) and the character or circumstances of the times (seasons). Those are in the jurisdiction of the Father.

But rather, as stated in Acts 1: 8, they would receive power and become witnesses unto the uttermost part of the earth. As many have observed, this becomes the outline of the book of Acts.

They were not to be preoccupied with His coming, but rather occupied with their going. And as they go they will go in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. I find myself becoming more and more aware of my own inadequacy in representing Him well to others. Yet, at the same time I am discovering a “holy” boldness as I have opportunity to speak of Him wherever I might be. As mentioned, some of my most productive times of sharing Christ are one on one in airplanes. Most of the time I am simply sowing the seed. But every now and then I get to reap the harvest from someone else’s seed that was sown. But remember, according to John 4:36, both the sower and the reaper will rejoice together in heaven.

History bears out that the early followers blanketed the Roman Empire with the Gospel. Tertullian, an African apologist and theologian between 160-215 A.D., could write “the outcry is that the state is filled with Christians, that they are in the fields; in the cities, people of both sexes, every age and status, even those of high rank, are passing over to the profession of the Christian faith.”

THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS CHRIST

The final motivation is the second coming of Jesus Christ. Acts 1: 9-11. Notice that He was taken up before them into a cloud. He had a cloud waiting for Him. When He came into this world He was wrapped in swaddling clothes. When He exited this world He was enveloped in a cloud of Glory, the Shekinah glory, perhaps the same cloud that stood above the people of Israel in the wilderness, and rested over the tabernacle and later the temple.

The eleven were straining to keep Him in focus until He was out of sight. It was probably a troubled look of bewilderment as they were trying to grasp the meaning of all of this.

“And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” Acts 1:10-11 (NKJV)

He will return someday in the same manner that He departed on that day. He will descend just as he ascended. He went to heaven and He shall return from heaven. He ascended bodily and He will return bodily. He was caught up in a cloud and He will return in the clouds.

In Matthew 24, we hear Jesus say:

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” Matthew 24:29-30 (NKJV)

In Matthew 26:63, 64, as Jesus was tried before the Sanhedrin the high priest demanded, “Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!”

“Jesus said to him, ‘It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

Of course the theme of the Book of Revelation is the unveiling (apokalupsis) of Jesus Christ. In Revelation 1:7 we read, “Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen!”

It might be debated whether Christians are caught up before the tribulation, (which I personally believe) or at the end of the tribulation, but one thing is crystal clear and we can all agree on it: His coming at the end of the tribulation period will be in the clouds and all will see Him. 

I am fearful that in this modern age we have lost sight of the fact that Jesus Christ is coming again in power and great glory. We can take that hope to the bank. We should live each day with the realization that it might be our last, this might be the day of His coming.

Joseph Stowell, in His book “Eternity” tells about a friend of his by the name of Bud Wood who has a home for the mentally handicapped children in Union Grove, Wisconsin. Many of these children have Down’s syndrome and other mental and physical deficiencies. The staff is constantly sharing with the children about this incredible hope in Christ. One of the major problems that they have is dirty windows. Why is that? Joe’s friend, Bud Wood shared, “You can walk through the hallways and corridors any hour of the day and you will see our precious children standing with noses and faces and hands pressed against the windows looking to see if Christ might be coming back that day to take them home and make them whole.”⁴⁴

Dear Pastor and wife, Christian leader, “Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” Galatians 6:9

Mission Accomplished!

Mission Accomplished! Dear Lord, may you say

Those beautiful words on that wonderful day,

When into Thy presence in Heavenly skies,

By grace we behold the love in your eyes.

And listen intently to hear from the Son,

Those priceless of words, ‘My child, twas well done.”

Oh, the great joy to behold Thy dear face

And know in our hearts that we finished the race.

To come to the end and feel no remorse;

To have never looked back to question the course.

To know that the temple our Lord had refined

Was fit for the King for whom it was designed.

To know that tho’ oft’times was bitter the cup,

The call of the Master was, “Child, don’t give up.”

To know at the root of the Saviour’s dear heart

Were the words, “Child just finish whatever you start.”

We were to complete the course He had drawn

Though our spirits grew tired, we were to go on;

Faithful and steadfast, consistent and true,

Remaining devoted till all life was through.

Oh, God, may we hear from Your lips on that day

Those words of rejoicing none other can say,

As we flee to Thine arms and fall at Thy feet:

“Mission Accomplished! Journey Complete!”⁴⁵

Epilogue - Transition

My transition from senior pastor at Wayside Chapel to our present ministry with Shepherds’ Support, Inc. began back in the fall of 2002. I sense that God was leading me to begin the transition process. I had seen other churches do it poorly. We wanted our transition to be a model to follow for churches everywhere. So I wrote a letter to our board of elders, giving some time-lines. I thought that it would be good if we could have somebody in place by 2005 who could eventually replace me. Once he arrived, for the next two or three years I would still be preaching, less each year. And he would preach more, until I eventually phased out and went full-time into encouraging pastors and wives everywhere.

But at the same time, we had personnel issues involving other pastors on staff that took them away from Wayside, and we put the announcing of my departure on hold until January 2005. We prepared the congregation by simply stating that we were beginning the search for a new senior pastor. We also told them that we were not going anywhere. We would continue to minister there and be involved with the people. We had been there 33 years at that point. We did not give any definite date for departure.

Then, in January 2006, in my state of the church address, I gave the date to be the first of June, 2006. That was when the church honored Connie and me with a weekend of celebration. I wanted Pastor Rander Draper and his wife, Darlene, of Maranatha Bible church, our dear friends, to be the one sharing that weekend with us. Pastor Rander spoke in all three weekends services. We have ministered together in many different countries since the early 1990s, as well as exchanged pulpits each year.

Meanwhile, the church had a search committee in place, and they were beginning to narrow their search in the middle of that summer. They ended up selecting Dr. Roger Poupart and his wife, Kim. He had been an excellent choice as my replacement. He has honored us on a regular basis by referring to our legacy of the past 34 years, and he has made it much easier for us to be there and even be involved. So Wayside Chapel continues to be our home church and supports us in its monthly missions budget. We could not have asked for a better situation. I’ve also tried to remain low-key so as to not take away from Roger and Kim as they put their roots down here. We pray for a long and productive ministry for them, just as we enjoyed.

Sometime in the early part of my transition, I read Bob Buford‘s latest book, “Finishing Well.“⁴⁶ It was very helpful and encouraging to me personally. In the book he interviews a number of successful people who had changed course around the age of 60, which was my age in 2003, and transitioned into causes that they were passionate about. He built his premise around the perspective that you spend the first 40 years of your adult life doing the things that you have to do in order to spend the last 20 or 30 years doing the things that you really enjoy doing. I love to preach and teach and disciple and encourage others. But I increasingly found the administrative and personnel issues to be a burden to me. These kept me from doing well what I do best and what God created and gifted me to do.

God was building a passion in my life for developing Christian leaders around the world. I had already spoken at a number of conferences from east to west. Our missions pastor, Marvin Smith, and others, kept hearing reports about how much these leaders receive through our ministry. This confirmed in us the calling that we felt God was giving to us. We owe much to Marvin’s encouragement and strategic thinking. He went to be with the Lord in January 2006, following a long battle with cancer. It was fitting that Connie and I were ministering in northern India at the time, to 1,600 church planters and pastors, serving alongside evangelist Sammy and Tex Tippit. Georgette, Marvin’s wife, and the rest of the family waited for us to return so I could speak at his memorial service. God greatly used him during his 10 years on our staff as well as his wisdom given to us during our transition.

At our retirement celebration, many colleagues said some nice things about us, including Max Lucado. Max, at that time, gave me his latest book, but he signed entitled “Cure for the Common Life.“ In chapter 1, entitled “Your Sweet Spot (You Have One!),“ he writes:

“Sweet spot.” Golfers understand the term. So do tennis players. Ever swung a baseball bat or paddled a Ping-Pong ball? If so, you know the oh-so-nice feel of the sweet spot. Connect with these prime inches of real estate in kapow! The collective technologies of the universe afterburn the ball into orbit, leaving you Frisbee-eyed and strutting. Your arm doesn’t tingle, and the ball doesn’t ricochet. Your boyfriend remembers birthdays, the tax refund comes early, and the flight attendant bumps you up to first class. Life in the sweet spot rolls like the downhill side of a downwind bike ride.⁴⁷

He then goes on to state that God has given each of us a sweet spot and life makes more sense when we are operating within it.

We feel that we have found our sweet spot in which we can function as long as God calls us to do it and provide for our needs.

I would be remiss if I did not mention another very important part of our transition. We have a team without which we could not do what we are doing. In the fall of 2005, we put together a team consisting of four other couples, John and Marsha Shields, Dr. Keith and Beth Eyre, Lannie and Melba Green, and Dr. Glen and Marilyn Mott. They have furnished much needed encouragement, wisdom, and accountability. We have been blessed and helped immensely by each one of these board members. We regularly think and praise God for them. We are excited about what God has for us in the future.

Since stepping down from Wayside Chapel in June 2006, we have ministered in pastors and wives conferences is in Uganda, Romania, Northern India, Zambia, Rwanda, Croatia, South Africa, Nigeria, and Malawi. We already have six more conferences scheduled for 2009 and 2010, with others in the process. (Added note: As of 2018, Shepherds’ Support has hosted 40 conferences in 22 countries and continues to host 4-5 additional conferences each year.)

Paul’s passion in ministry and life are an encouragement to me. Romans 1:10-12 have become the theme versus in our ministry. Paul is writing to the Romans, whom he had not yet visited. He writes of his desire to visit them:

One of the things I always pray for is the opportunity, God willing, to come at last to see you. For I long to visit you so I can bring you some spiritual gift that will help you grow strong in the Lord. When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours. Romans 1:10-12 (NLT)

Paul’s outlook on death also encourages me:

For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand.  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing. II Timothy 4:6-8 (NKJV)

But Buford gives us two great questions that He might ask us on that day when we each stand before Him. He writes:

I’m convinced that when I get to heaven and come face-to-face with my Creator, there’s going to be a final exam, and as I visualize it, two questions will sum up the part of my life lived on earth: (1) “What did you do about Jesus?“ and (2) “What did you do with what I gave you to work with?“ One question about belief and one question about action - not action in lieu of belief (the old word is “works“) but action that grows out of belief. It’s a both/and not either/or.⁴⁸

These two questions go well with those asked by Saul of Tarsus (the apostle Paul) on the road to Damascus when he first met the risen Lord Jesus Christ. He was asked, “Who are you, Lord?“ and then he continues, “Lord, what do you want me to do?“ (Acts 9:5-6“, NKJV). How about you asking Him the same two questions and see what He has to say to you?

Bibliography

Briscoe, Stuart. Bound for Joy: A Bible Commentary for Laymen. Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 1975.

Buford, Bob. Finishing Well. Mobile, AL: Integrity Publishers, 2004.

Cody, Iron Eyes. Lecture to high schools students regarding the danger of drugs.

Dallaire, Lt. Gen. Romeo. Shake Hands with the Devil. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2003.

Dehoff, Lois and Evelyn Baer. “May Christ Be Seen in Me.” Sacred Songs. Waco, TX: 1965.

Farrar, Steve. Finishing Strong. Portland, OR: Multnomah Books, 1995.

George, Bob. Classic Christianity. Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publications, 1989.

Glegg, Lindsay. “The Autobiography of a Christian.” The Keswick Convention, 1931.

Gordon, S.D. “Christ’s Promise of Rest.” The Keswick Convention, 1931.

Gurnall, William. The Christian in Complete Armor. Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1986.

Kelfer, Russell. Follow Me. San Antonio, TX: Discipleship Tape Ministries, 1995.

Kelfer, Russell. “Reaching Out Together.” San Antonio, TX: Discipleship Tape Ministries, 2001.

Kelfer, Russell. Until He Comes Again. San Antonio, TX: Discipleship Tape Ministries, 2001.

Lucado, Max. Cure for the Common Life: Living in Your Sweet Spot. Nashville, TN: W Publishing Group 2005.

Luther, Martin. “A Mighty Fortress is our God.”

MacArthur, John. The MacArthur Study Bible. Dallas, TX: Word Publishing, 199.

Manning, Brennan. Abba’s Child: The Cry of the Heart for Intimate Belonging. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 1994.

Manning, Brennan. Ruthless Trust. New York: Harper San Francisco, 2000.

Martin, W.W. “The Wilderness Offerings.” The Keswick Convention, 1930.

Mitchell, Mark S. Portrait of Integrity: The Life of Ray C. Stedman. Grand Rapids, MI: Discovery House Publishers, 2014.

Price, Charles W. Christ For Real. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1995.

Rienecker, Fritz and Cleon Rogers. Linguistic Key to the Greek New Testament. New York: Zondervan, 1976.

Sproul, R.C. The Holiness of God. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale Publishers, 1985.

Stanley, Andy. How God s Good Enough? Portland, OR: Multnomah Books, 2003.

Stowell, Joseph. Eternity: Reclaiming a Passion for What Endures. Chicago: Moody Press, 1995.

Stowell, Joseph. “Strength for the Journey.” Not Quite Dead. Podcast, 12 June 2007.

Swenson, Richard A. M.D. “The Pain of Stress,” in Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress Publishing Group, 1992.

Unkown Author, “Donkey Legend.”

Author Unkonw, “The Judgment Seat of Christ.”

White Sisters, The. “Yes He Did!” Singspiration, 1954.

Yankoski, Mike. Under the Overpass. Portland, OR: Multnomah Books, 2005.

ENDNOTES

Chapter One: Meet Maria - A Woman of Prayer

¹ Richard A. Swenson, M.D. “The Pain of Stress,” in Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress Publishing Group, 1992), 57-71.

² Russell Keller, “Follow Me (San Antonio, TX: Discipleship Tape Ministries, 1995), 105.

Chapter Two: Who Are You, Really?

³ Brennan Manning, Abba’s Child: The Cry of the Heart for Intimate Belonging, (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 1994), 99.

⁴ Bob George, Classic Christianity (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publications, 1989), 77-78,

⁵ John MacArthur, The MacArthur Study Bible (Dallas, TX: Word Publishing, 1997), 1702.

⁶ W.W. Martin, “The Wilderness Offerings,” The Keswick Convention (1930), 172.

Chapter Three: Meet David Allen - A Man of the Word

⁷ Steve Farrar, Finishing Strong (Portland, OR: Multnomah Books, 1995), 71.

⁸ Church Signs 2008 Calendar (Riverside, NJ: Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC, 2008), January.

Chapter Four: Looking Unto Jesus

⁹ Charles W. Price, Christ For Real (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1995), 111-112.

¹⁰ Steve Farrar, Finishing Strong, 6-7.

¹¹ Unkown Author, “Donkey Legend."

¹² Russell Keller, “Finish Well, (San Antonio, TX: Discipleship Tape Ministries, 2001).

Chapter Five: Meet Ray Stedman - A Pastor to Pastors

¹³ Mark S. Mitchell, Portrait of Integrity: The Life of Ray C. Stedman (Grand Rapids, MI: Discovery House Publishers, 2014), 15.

¹⁴ Ibid. 199-200.

¹⁵ Ibid, 153.

¹⁶ Ibid. 168.

¹⁷ Ibid. 154.

¹⁸ Steve Farrar, Finishing Strong, 13.

Chapter Six: The Way Up is Down

¹⁹ Max Lucado, Cure for the Common Life: Living in Your Sweet Spot (Nashville, TN: W Publishing Group 2005), 87-88.

²⁰ Stuart Briscoe, Bound for Joy: A Bible Commentary for Laymen (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 1975), 73.

²¹ Mike Yankoski, Under the Overpass (Portland, OR: Multnomah Books, 2005).

²² Author Unkonw, “The Judgment Seat of Christ.”

Chapter Seven: Meet Russell Keller - “Not I, But Christ”

²³ The Keswick Convention (1931), 168.

²⁴ Russell Kelfer, Follow Me, 58-59.

Chapter Eight: It’s All About Him

²⁵ Brennan Manning, Ruthless Trust (New York: Harper San Francisco, 2000), 49.

²⁶ Ray Price, “How Big Is Your God.”

²⁷ Russell Kelfer, “Until He Comes.”

Chapter Nine: Meet Bill Cose - A Man of Faith and Encouragement

²⁸ Russell Keller, “The Battle is Not Yours.” Follow Me, 40-41.

Chapter Ten: We Are At War

²⁹ Lt. Gen. Romeo Dallaire, Shake Hands with the Devil (New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2003), 24-25.

³⁰ William Gurnall, The Christian in Complete Armor (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1986), I:I 40-41.

³¹ Martin Luther, “A Mighty Fortress is our God,” Stanza I

³² Chief Iron Eyes Cody, in a lecture he would give to high schools students regarding the danger of drugs.

³³ Russell Kelfer, “Hath God Said?” Until He Comes Again, 109

Chapter Eleven: Meet an Unknown Preacher in Northern Burma

³⁴ Russell Keller, “Reaching Out Together” (San Antonio, TX: Discipleship Tape Ministries, 2001).

Chapter Twelve: Giving Him All You Have

³⁵ Fritz Rienecker and Cleon Rogers, Linguistic Key to the Greek New Testament, (New York: Zondervan, 1976), 175.

³⁶ S.D. Gordon, “Christ’s Promise of Rest,” The Keswick Convention (1931), 135-136.

³⁷ Lois Dehoff and Evelyn Baer, “May Christ Be Seen in Me.” Sacred Songs (Waco, TX: 1965).

Chapter Thirteen: Meet a Forgiving Translator in Romania

³⁸ Lindsay Glegg, “The Autobiography of a Christian,” The Keswick Convention (1931), 69-74.

³⁹ The White Sisters, “Yes He Did!” (Singspiration, 1954).

Chapter Fourteen: Abiding in Christ

⁴⁰ Russel Keller, “Teach Me to Abide,” Until He Comes Again, 9.

Chapter Fifteen: Meet a Banker, A Stewardess, and an Environmental Scientist

⁴¹ Andy Stanley, How God s Good Enough? (Portland, OR: Multnomah Books, 2003).

⁴² Russel Keller, “There Hath Not Failed One Word,” Until He Comes Again, 119.

Chapter Sixteen: Motivation for Ministry

⁴³ Fritz Rienecker and Cleon Rogers, Linguistic Key to the Greek New Testament, Zondervan,  263.

⁴⁴ Joseph Stowell, Eternity: Reclaiming a Passion for What Endures (Chicago: Moody Press, 1995), 122.

⁴⁵ Russell Kelfer, “Mission Accomplished,” Until He Comes Again, 156-157.

Epilogue - Transitions

⁴⁶ Bob Buford, Finishing Well (Mobile, AL: Integrity Publishers, 2004).

⁴⁷ Max Lucado, Cure for the Common Life, I.

⁴⁸ Bob Buford, Finishing Well, 171.