Grace Church
257 Kendall Street
Burlington, WI 53105

(262) 763-3021

PASTOR'S PENS 2008

Grace Church of Burlington April 13, 2008 “A religion that gives nothing, costs nothing, and suffers nothing, is worth nothing.”                                                                                                                         Martin Luther             What's in it for ME? Though we don’t usually say it quite so bluntly, that’s the question most of us have in the back of our minds with nearly every choice and decision. And we often come to faith in Christ and discipleship with that same underlying question. So how should we respond to that?             Let's say this next week you're sharing the gospel with a lost friend at work who asks, "Why should I follow Jesus?" You tell him, "Because Jesus said, 'I have come that you might have life, and have it more abundantly.' Jesus will give you an abundant life. Not only that, He will give you peace with God. He will give you new purpose and meaning. He'll help you overcome the temptations that would destroy your life. Being a Christian is the greatest life in this world!" You then encourage him to join you at a Christian concert. He enjoys the music, even if he can't catch all the words. He sees others who look similar to him and figures, "Maybe not all Christians look weird." When the invitation is given, he sees others going forward and he feels good about the whole evening. When the speaker gives an emotional appeal to come forward and accept Jesus now, your friend decides to try it. He goes down front and a counselor goes over the basics of the gospel and leads him in the sinner's prayer. He assures him that he is now one of God's children and encourages him to read the Bible and go to church. In subsequent weeks, he's out late on Saturday nights, so he struggles with getting out of bed early enough to get to church on Sunday mornings but he starts dragging himself out. He likes the feeling of the worship time and meets a lot of nice people, including some cute girls. Life seems to be going well for him. He likes being a Christian. Then, bad news hits. He learns that his mom is dying of cancer. He asks everyone to pray but she doesn't get better. He watches as she slowly, painfully sinks lower and lower until she dies. He doesn't understand why God didn't answer his prayers. About this time, he runs into an old friend who offers him a joint. He smokes it and feels mellow all over. Soon after, he meets a beautiful girl and she willingly gives herself to him. Being with her is a lot of fun and she makes him forget the pain of his mother's death. His Christian experience fades into the background as she moves into the center of his life. When you talk to him about his faith, he says, "I tried Jesus and it helped me for a while. If it works for you, that's great. But right now, it's just not where I'm at." So why did that young man fall away from the faith? What was behind his spiritual defection? At least two faulty assumptions:             He saw spiritual truth as personal and subjective, not as absolute and objective. If it makes you feel better or works for you, it must be true. But if something else works better, then try it. The test for spiritual truth becomes: Does it feel good and does it work. If your thing is "trusting in Jesus," that's cool. That works for many people, but if it doesn't work for me, and if smoking dope and having sex with my girlfriend makes me feel good, then I'll try that. Spiritual truth is defined in personal and subjective terms.                         He believed that personal happiness is the most important thing in life. God, if He is there, exists to make me happy. If Jesus makes me feel good, I'll give Him a try. If following Jesus doesn't or if it seems too hard, I'll try something else. Man and his happiness, not God and His glory, are what matter the most. So why should you follow Jesus?             a) Jesus gave His life for you. We're not good people...we're not even nice. But Jesus, the perfect Son of God, came to this earth and died on the Cross for us. He took our Hell so we could have Heaven. That's the bottom line of John 3:16. Why should you follow Jesus? Because without Him you and I would die…forever.             b) Jesus Christ is Lord. Philippians 2:9-11 says, "Therefore God exalted Him (Jesus) to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Jesus Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He’s sovereign even over all of the evil things happening in the world. He will work all these things together for His glory and for the ultimate good of His saints. He willingly laid down His life for His sheep on His own initiative. The first time that He came to this earth, He came as Savior. When He returns, He will come as Lord. My friend, if you don’t bow before Him in this life, you will bow before Him in the next.             When former Defense Secretary, Caspar Weinberger, was in the army in World War II, he was pulled out of an infantry and assigned to intelligence on the staff on General Douglas MacArthur's staff. But Weinberger didn't want to leave the infantry. He wanted to stay with his division. So he appealed to a General who was running operations but he had a very short hearing. Weinberger was told, "Young man, you go where you're sent in the Army." It's the same in God's army. Jesus Christ is Lord and we are to do what we're commanded to do.             Why must we be disciples? His love overwhelms us and He is truly Lord!