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GO PREACH CHRIST

#1 · June 23, 2006, 10:06 am

Quote from Forum Archives on June 23, 2006, 10:06 am
Posted by: henkf <henkf@...>

250 Biblical Prophecies and their fulfillment

A free E-Book to download for you. Go to http://www.worldoutreach.ca/prophecy/

*******************************************************************************

GO PREACH CHRIST

II Corinthians 4:3-6

     There once was a young man from a rural area who was convinced that he was called to preach. So he joined a Seminary and began studying. Before too long, though, he came to realize that he was totally unsuited for the ministry of his particular denomination. So he went to see his faculty advisor with his doubts. "I was so sure that God had called me to the ministry," he said. "One day I was out working in the field, and I looked up. And the clouds seemed to be spelling out GPC. Immediately I new what that meant: `Go preach Christ.' The faculty advisor thought for a moment and said, "Son, are you sure those clouds weren't telling you, `Go plant corn?'"

     For most of us it is much easier to plant corn than to preach Christ. Of course, the word "preach" has taken on a rather unfortunate shade of meaning. We tend to think of preaching in the terms that the unfortunate pastor was reminded of upon receiving a note during Sunday morning service. There was a young lady in that small town church whose husband was an usher. During the service, she had become terribly worried that she had left the roast cooking in the oven. So she wrote a note to her husband and passed it to him by way of another usher. Unfortunately, her husband thought it was for the pastor, so he hurried down the aisle and laid it on the pulpit. Stopping abruptly in the middle of his sermon, the astonished pastor read this earnest plea: "Please go home and turn off the gas."

     How often have you heard young people say to their parents angrily, "Don't preach to me"--as if preaching is supposed to be angry, condemning, and moralistic. The negative connotations that this word has taken on is truly regrettable.

     But if I and my colleagues in the ministry are responsible for that, please try and remember that we are only human beings. A long time ago, if you can remember the chain-letter craze, Ann Landers printed one chain letter which describes the perfect pastor from the congregation's viewpoint:

     "Results of a computerized survey indicate that the perfect pastor preaches exactly 15 minutes. He condemns sin, but never embarrasses anyone. He works from 8 a.m. until midnight and is also the janitor.

     "He makes $60 a week, wears good clothes, drives a new car, and gives $50 a week to the poor. He is 28 years old, has been preaching for 25 years, is wonderfully gentle and handsome, loves to work with teenagers and spends countless hours with senior citizens.

     "He makes 15 calls daily on parish family shut-ins and hospital patients, and is always in his office when needed.

     "If your pastor does not measure up, simply send this letter to six other parishes that are tired of their pastors, too. Then bundle up your pastor and send him to the church at the top of the list. In one week you will receive 1,643 pastors.

     "One of them should be perfect."

     "Go preach Christ." As a pastor, I have had the splendid privilege to stand in the pulpit each Sunday and to declare Christ's unsearchable riches. But the telling of the good news is not the pastor's job alone. It is the business of the whole church. St. Paul tells us that ". . .we preach not ourselves but Christ Jesus the Lord. . . For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts. . ."

     We have experienced the light of God's love shining into our hearts, and now we must let our light shine out in return.

     But how? How do we preach Christ to a world that seems to prefer darkness? There are right ways and wrong ways. One woman told about her husband who had been converted and was all fired up to tell everyone about his experience. "We lost most of our friends that first year," she said.

     Most likely her statement reflects the over-zealousness of her husband more than it does the receptivity of their friends. There are better ways and worse ways to "preach" Christ. But nevertheless, we still need to deal with the fact that most people do not want to be confronted about their faith. It has always been so.

     St. Paul writes about the gospel being hidden from those who seek after the gods of this world, and the point is clear that that is the way those people want it!

     So how do we preach Christ in such a world?

     We begin by acknowledging that THIS IS OUR TASK. This is what we are supposed to do. But many people within the church today simply do not feel any responsibility to reach others for Christ.

     Donald Grey Barnhouse tells about a postman in Tauranga, New Zealand, who was fined $56 after repairmen found 1,200 Christmas letters hidden under the floor boards of the post office. The postman had hidden them there when he realized that he did not have time to deliver the mail and attend a Christmas Eve party as well.

     Barnhouse draws an obvious parallel between this and those of us who have been entrusted with good tidings to give to the world, but have hidden those tidings because we are busy with our own little affairs.

     Here is how we need to look at our task. The Duke of Wellington once attended a lecture where an articulate theologian was denouncing missions. He contended that missions were an economic drain on the churches, and that missionaries often caused chaos and strife as primitive native cultures submitted to the changes brought by the gospel. He concluded that it would be better to allow those cultures to continue in their unconverted ways.

     After he had finished his speech, the general asked him, "What were the final orders our Master left?"

     "Well," stammered the speaker, "He said to go into all the world and make disciples."

     "That's the way I've always understood it," returned the Duke. "I'm no theologian. I'm a soldier, and as a soldier I know that my first duty is to carry out my commander's orders. When my commander gives me marching orders, I march. All I can say to you, Sir, is look to your marching orders!"

     We need to recognize that truth as well. We have our marching orders before us. We are called to make disciples. We have no alternative but to preach Christ. So we begin by acknowledging that this is our task.

     Once we have done this, we must next realize that

THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO WILL RESPOND TO OUR MESSAGE.

Salesmen often talk about the law of averages. If you see enough prospects, you will eventually make your sales.

     Zig Ziglar says that when he was a young salesman, he was told that you could take an order pad, tie it to a dog's tail, and if he ran around town long enough somebody would stop him and sign the order!

     Allowing for some exaggeration, there is some truth there. If we would do our part, there are people who will respond. But it is more than simply the "law of averages." God is already at work in the hearts of those people. They are merely waiting for a preacher, not necessarily a professional clergyman, but anyone who will take the time to share with them the good news of Jesus Christ.

     Theodore Parker Ferris tells a story of a young Presbyterian minister of a city church. One of his most active members was a woman who was both generous and gracious. Her husband was prominent, wealthy, and a man of great status and power in that city. But he never came to church with her, and never showed any interest.

     One day the young pastor got the idea stuck in his head that he had to do something about that man. So he made an appointment to visit the gentleman in his office, on his turf, where he would be the most comfortable. After greeting the man, and a after moment of pleasantries, he told him why he came and gave him an outline of the story of Jesus, Christ's claim on each of us, and what following him can mean in our lives. He concluded with the words, "I think you ought to do something about this one way or the other."

     Across the desk during his whole narration was dead deafening silence! The man never spoke, never moved. He just sat there like an intimidating stone. The young pastor was suddenly wishing that he had never come; he knew that we were called to be fools for Christ's sake, but he felt that this was excessive! He collected his wits, and not knowing what else to do, he shared again the possibility for human life. Again there was no response, not a sound. Now the pastor was wishing for a convenient and inconspicuous exit. But suddenly the man reached for a notepad, wrote something on it, and slid the pad across the desk to the young pastor, who picked up the pad and read these words: "I am so deeply moved that I cannot speak." Ferris reports that it was the first time that an adult, in a frank, straightforward way, had ever set the Christian gospel before that man, and from that experience he became a member of the church and one of the great Christian leaders in that city. (George G. Hunter, III, AND EVERY TONGUE CONFESS, (Nashville: Discipleship Resources, 1983). )

     It can happen. It does happen. There are people out there right now who are just waiting for someone to share the good news of Jesus Christ with them.

     Here is one more thing that we have to be conscious of, however.

WE CANNOT SHARE WHAT WE DO NOT HAVE.

How did the old evangelist put it? "You can't give away what you don't have, anymore than you can come back from where you've never been."

     Way back when, in the early days of the Montana gold rush, a small party of prospectors struck it rich. After months of hardship and difficulty they had finally located a rich vein, but they needed more equipment for mining. Before returning to town for equipment, each prospector swore with his life that he would carefully guard their valuable secret. Thus they went into the town and assembled the equipment. But when they set out on the return journey, they found over 300 gold seekers following them. When they confronted the townsfolk and asked which one of them had broken his vow, the townspeople informed them that no one had. Their beaming faces had told them all they needed to know. What they were thinking about showed clearly on their faces.

     And that is the secret of preaching Christ. You must let the truth of what you are saying shine forth on your face.

     It's just the opposite of a chaplain who had been talking to a sergeant for weeks about his relationship to God, without making much headway. One day the chaplain, the sergeant, and some others got together for a volleyball game. When the sergeant stripped to his waist for the game, the chaplain saw that the Lord's Prayer was tattooed on his chest--every line of it. The chaplain was stunned. There was the Lord's Prayer, but it was all on the outside. Its message had obviously not sunk in! (Roy O. McClain, THIS WAY PLEASE, (Westwood, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Co, 1957).)

     St. Paul says that the light has shone into our hearts. There are too many of us, though, for whom religion is only a tattoo on the surface. It's only a show that we put on. We have no commitment for reaching others because our relationship with Christ is such a low priority in our own lives that we have nothing to give others. Alexander MacLaren was right when he said that Christianity has fallen into the hands of a church that does not half believe its own gospel.

     And that is the biggest obstacle of our ministry to the world. The light must shine into our hearts before we can reflect that light to others.

     I was thrilled to read how the great Japanese Christian, Kagawa, first came to Christ back in 1903. As a young student, Kagawa lay sick in the city of Kobe when he heard a knock at his door. "Do not enter," he said to the visitor, Dr. C. A. Logan, "because I have a contagious disease." The missionary visitor nevertheless entered and said, "I have something more contagious than disease. I bring you the love of God."

     We need to catch some of that same contagious kind of faith.

     Go preach Christ. That is our task. That has always been our primary responsibility as Christians. There are people out there who are waiting, watching, and wanting to know in very real terms that God loves them. But before we can go to the world, we must come to grips with our own faith in Jesus Christ. Does the light shine in our hearts? Then let us make sure that it comes to shine all over the world.

http://www.worldoutreach.ca/DearGod/

…

Posted by: henkf <henkf@...>

250 Biblical Prophecies and their fulfillment

A free E-Book to download for you. Go to http://www.worldoutreach.ca/prophecy/

*******************************************************************************

GO PREACH CHRIST

II Corinthians 4:3-6

There once was a young man from a rural area who was convinced that he was called to preach. So he joined a Seminary and began studying. Before too long, though, he came to realize that he was totally unsuited for the ministry of his particular denomination. So he went to see his faculty advisor with his doubts. "I was so sure that God had called me to the ministry," he said. "One day I was out working in the field, and I looked up. And the clouds seemed to be spelling out GPC. Immediately I new what that meant: `Go preach Christ.' The faculty advisor thought for a moment and said, "Son, are you sure those clouds weren't telling you, `Go plant corn?'"

For most of us it is much easier to plant corn than to preach Christ. Of course, the word "preach" has taken on a rather unfortunate shade of meaning. We tend to think of preaching in the terms that the unfortunate pastor was reminded of upon receiving a note during Sunday morning service. There was a young lady in that small town church whose husband was an usher. During the service, she had become terribly worried that she had left the roast cooking in the oven. So she wrote a note to her husband and passed it to him by way of another usher. Unfortunately, her husband thought it was for the pastor, so he hurried down the aisle and laid it on the pulpit. Stopping abruptly in the middle of his sermon, the astonished pastor read this earnest plea: "Please go home and turn off the gas."

How often have you heard young people say to their parents angrily, "Don't preach to me"--as if preaching is supposed to be angry, condemning, and moralistic. The negative connotations that this word has taken on is truly regrettable.

But if I and my colleagues in the ministry are responsible for that, please try and remember that we are only human beings. A long time ago, if you can remember the chain-letter craze, Ann Landers printed one chain letter which describes the perfect pastor from the congregation's viewpoint:

"Results of a computerized survey indicate that the perfect pastor preaches exactly 15 minutes. He condemns sin, but never embarrasses anyone. He works from 8 a.m. until midnight and is also the janitor.

"He makes $60 a week, wears good clothes, drives a new car, and gives $50 a week to the poor. He is 28 years old, has been preaching for 25 years, is wonderfully gentle and handsome, loves to work with teenagers and spends countless hours with senior citizens.

"He makes 15 calls daily on parish family shut-ins and hospital patients, and is always in his office when needed.

"If your pastor does not measure up, simply send this letter to six other parishes that are tired of their pastors, too. Then bundle up your pastor and send him to the church at the top of the list. In one week you will receive 1,643 pastors.

"One of them should be perfect."

"Go preach Christ." As a pastor, I have had the splendid privilege to stand in the pulpit each Sunday and to declare Christ's unsearchable riches. But the telling of the good news is not the pastor's job alone. It is the business of the whole church. St. Paul tells us that ". . .we preach not ourselves but Christ Jesus the Lord. . . For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts. . ."

We have experienced the light of God's love shining into our hearts, and now we must let our light shine out in return.

But how? How do we preach Christ to a world that seems to prefer darkness? There are right ways and wrong ways. One woman told about her husband who had been converted and was all fired up to tell everyone about his experience. "We lost most of our friends that first year," she said.

Most likely her statement reflects the over-zealousness of her husband more than it does the receptivity of their friends. There are better ways and worse ways to "preach" Christ. But nevertheless, we still need to deal with the fact that most people do not want to be confronted about their faith. It has always been so.

St. Paul writes about the gospel being hidden from those who seek after the gods of this world, and the point is clear that that is the way those people want it!

So how do we preach Christ in such a world?

We begin by acknowledging that THIS IS OUR TASK. This is what we are supposed to do. But many people within the church today simply do not feel any responsibility to reach others for Christ.

Donald Grey Barnhouse tells about a postman in Tauranga, New Zealand, who was fined $56 after repairmen found 1,200 Christmas letters hidden under the floor boards of the post office. The postman had hidden them there when he realized that he did not have time to deliver the mail and attend a Christmas Eve party as well.

Barnhouse draws an obvious parallel between this and those of us who have been entrusted with good tidings to give to the world, but have hidden those tidings because we are busy with our own little affairs.

Here is how we need to look at our task. The Duke of Wellington once attended a lecture where an articulate theologian was denouncing missions. He contended that missions were an economic drain on the churches, and that missionaries often caused chaos and strife as primitive native cultures submitted to the changes brought by the gospel. He concluded that it would be better to allow those cultures to continue in their unconverted ways.

After he had finished his speech, the general asked him, "What were the final orders our Master left?"

"Well," stammered the speaker, "He said to go into all the world and make disciples."

"That's the way I've always understood it," returned the Duke. "I'm no theologian. I'm a soldier, and as a soldier I know that my first duty is to carry out my commander's orders. When my commander gives me marching orders, I march. All I can say to you, Sir, is look to your marching orders!"

We need to recognize that truth as well. We have our marching orders before us. We are called to make disciples. We have no alternative but to preach Christ. So we begin by acknowledging that this is our task.

Once we have done this, we must next realize that

THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO WILL RESPOND TO OUR MESSAGE.

Salesmen often talk about the law of averages. If you see enough prospects, you will eventually make your sales.

Zig Ziglar says that when he was a young salesman, he was told that you could take an order pad, tie it to a dog's tail, and if he ran around town long enough somebody would stop him and sign the order!

Allowing for some exaggeration, there is some truth there. If we would do our part, there are people who will respond. But it is more than simply the "law of averages." God is already at work in the hearts of those people. They are merely waiting for a preacher, not necessarily a professional clergyman, but anyone who will take the time to share with them the good news of Jesus Christ.

Theodore Parker Ferris tells a story of a young Presbyterian minister of a city church. One of his most active members was a woman who was both generous and gracious. Her husband was prominent, wealthy, and a man of great status and power in that city. But he never came to church with her, and never showed any interest.

One day the young pastor got the idea stuck in his head that he had to do something about that man. So he made an appointment to visit the gentleman in his office, on his turf, where he would be the most comfortable. After greeting the man, and a after moment of pleasantries, he told him why he came and gave him an outline of the story of Jesus, Christ's claim on each of us, and what following him can mean in our lives. He concluded with the words, "I think you ought to do something about this one way or the other."

Across the desk during his whole narration was dead deafening silence! The man never spoke, never moved. He just sat there like an intimidating stone. The young pastor was suddenly wishing that he had never come; he knew that we were called to be fools for Christ's sake, but he felt that this was excessive! He collected his wits, and not knowing what else to do, he shared again the possibility for human life. Again there was no response, not a sound. Now the pastor was wishing for a convenient and inconspicuous exit. But suddenly the man reached for a notepad, wrote something on it, and slid the pad across the desk to the young pastor, who picked up the pad and read these words: "I am so deeply moved that I cannot speak." Ferris reports that it was the first time that an adult, in a frank, straightforward way, had ever set the Christian gospel before that man, and from that experience he became a member of the church and one of the great Christian leaders in that city. (George G. Hunter, III, AND EVERY TONGUE CONFESS, (Nashville: Discipleship Resources, 1983). )

It can happen. It does happen. There are people out there right now who are just waiting for someone to share the good news of Jesus Christ with them.

Here is one more thing that we have to be conscious of, however.

WE CANNOT SHARE WHAT WE DO NOT HAVE.

How did the old evangelist put it? "You can't give away what you don't have, anymore than you can come back from where you've never been."

Way back when, in the early days of the Montana gold rush, a small party of prospectors struck it rich. After months of hardship and difficulty they had finally located a rich vein, but they needed more equipment for mining. Before returning to town for equipment, each prospector swore with his life that he would carefully guard their valuable secret. Thus they went into the town and assembled the equipment. But when they set out on the return journey, they found over 300 gold seekers following them. When they confronted the townsfolk and asked which one of them had broken his vow, the townspeople informed them that no one had. Their beaming faces had told them all they needed to know. What they were thinking about showed clearly on their faces.

And that is the secret of preaching Christ. You must let the truth of what you are saying shine forth on your face.

It's just the opposite of a chaplain who had been talking to a sergeant for weeks about his relationship to God, without making much headway. One day the chaplain, the sergeant, and some others got together for a volleyball game. When the sergeant stripped to his waist for the game, the chaplain saw that the Lord's Prayer was tattooed on his chest--every line of it. The chaplain was stunned. There was the Lord's Prayer, but it was all on the outside. Its message had obviously not sunk in! (Roy O. McClain, THIS WAY PLEASE, (Westwood, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Co, 1957).)

St. Paul says that the light has shone into our hearts. There are too many of us, though, for whom religion is only a tattoo on the surface. It's only a show that we put on. We have no commitment for reaching others because our relationship with Christ is such a low priority in our own lives that we have nothing to give others. Alexander MacLaren was right when he said that Christianity has fallen into the hands of a church that does not half believe its own gospel.

And that is the biggest obstacle of our ministry to the world. The light must shine into our hearts before we can reflect that light to others.

I was thrilled to read how the great Japanese Christian, Kagawa, first came to Christ back in 1903. As a young student, Kagawa lay sick in the city of Kobe when he heard a knock at his door. "Do not enter," he said to the visitor, Dr. C. A. Logan, "because I have a contagious disease." The missionary visitor nevertheless entered and said, "I have something more contagious than disease. I bring you the love of God."

We need to catch some of that same contagious kind of faith.

Go preach Christ. That is our task. That has always been our primary responsibility as Christians. There are people out there who are waiting, watching, and wanting to know in very real terms that God loves them. But before we can go to the world, we must come to grips with our own faith in Jesus Christ. Does the light shine in our hearts? Then let us make sure that it comes to shine all over the world.

http://www.worldoutreach.ca/DearGod/

…