SHOULDER TO SHOULDER #49 ---- 12/21/98
Posted by: lifeunlimited <lifeunlimited@...>
As We fight The Good Fight
TITLE:; "Tending Sheep In A Hostile World"
Dear Co-Laborer with Christ:
This is a strange Christmas season indeed for those of us living in the
United States. Our president has just been impeached, we have just seen
four days of military attack on various installations of another country,
a speaker of the House of Representatives has resigned his position
before he was even sworn in, and we are being swamped again with a
message of Christmas that is about as far from the real story as you can
get. It's like a story rewritten by Hollywood.
And, while it appears Satan has released myriads of "grinches" to again
steal Christmas, the circumstances graphically mirror all too clearly
the real purpose of Christmas in the first place ---- "to save His people
from their sins".
And, yet, in the midst of these unimaginable events, there is great hope.
I do not remember an occasion in my lifetime that I believe more clearly
could be described as a time of decision for our nation. Whatever else
you may feel about the events of the past year pertaining to our
president, one thing is certain ---- the line has once again been drawn
in the sand between absolutes and relativism. I wonder how many more
times it must be drawn.
Having once again been exposed to the stark contrast between the two
(even though apparently most of the citizenry is either so naive or so
calloused that they don't see it), our nation is facing an ominous time
in its history. For, as you recall, "unto whomsoever much has been
given, much is required".
Now that the frightening contrast between right and wrong, between truth
and preference, has once again been laid bare, we now face a momentous
time of decision ---- "Choose you this day whom you will serve!"
The choices that are made in the next several months by our congressional
representatives, by our White House personnel, and by the average man and
woman on the street, are going to have a monumental effect on the future
of our nation.
The choices we in ministry will also make as to our ministry and our
message will likewise affect the course and destiny of our nation. You
may feel you are an insignificant piece in the mechanism of society and
that you have little or no influence ---- but I tell you, my friend, that
is not true!
You are crucial to our nation's future!
I say it again ---- You Are Crucial!
How will you respond?
THE REASON FOR THE SEASON:
The reason for Christ's coming, no matter how many ways it may be
articulated, was and still is to re-establish and define again the basic
absolutes of life so necessary for peace, stability, and purpose ---- and
again offer redemption.
Without a single doubt, I believe all these events of this past year have
again exposed the stark difference between absolute truth and situational
ethics. If there had not begun a creeping but sinister trend in the
1940's and 1950's to propagate relativism and situational ethics, both of
which erode the facts of truth and absolutes, into the flow of our
educational, moral, and political systems, we would not be in the place
we are as a nation today.
I was not particularly "glued" to the television to watch all the events
pertaining to this past year. However, as I listened to the arguments
shouted in the House of Representatives, the House Judiciary Committee
Impeachments Hearings, and the media, an undeniable reality became
vividly clear in my mind ---- "they're battling for the soul of America,
and the battle is raging over the issue of absolutes and situationalism."
I watched the debate in the House and the defense by the White House
Friday evening and Saturday with intense sadness. There was the struggle
to define the Constitution, on one hand, as a rule of law that is
absolute, and, on the other hand, as a guide with flexibility and
compromise without any serious consequence.
As I watched, I suddenly was reminded ---- "This isn't anything new."
It's been going on for years ---- for centuries ---- for two millennia.
In fact ---- This is THE Reason for this Season.
When man first tasted of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good
and Evil back in the Garden of Eden (interestingly in the very area where
our military sights were focused this past week-end), a toxic disease
more deadly than anything Saddam Hussein can ever create was unleashed
into the atmosphere of humanity, and man began to die ---- on the spot.
He has continued to die ---- and will continue to do so until the end of
time.
The only hope is the cleansing and healing blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ.
That's why He came!
I'm sure you agree that Jesus Christ is the One and Only True Absolute
---- THE Way ---- THE Truth ---- THE Life. When you deny that ---- or
begin to ever so slightly Compromise that, ---- the end is inevitable
---- and drawing near.
YOUR ROLE AND MINE:
I have never felt such an urgency in all my years of ministry as I do
today. There is no time left, my friend, to be swallowed up by religious
systems that smother ministry and the message! There is no time left to
be pre-occupied with religious activities that do nothing more than
maintain the status quo! There is not time left to waste on debate and
bickering over secondary issues or differing preferences.
It's time to get to work! ---- Daylight is fading!
It is not just happenstance that all these things have converged ---- no,
Collided! ---- at this point in time.
Oh, my friend! How urgent are the days before us! How desperately
ministers are needed in this hour who have conviction, courage, and a
willingness to be fully spent!
Just as God spoke to the shepherds in the field the night of Jesus'
birth, He longs to speak to us again.
Just one year ago this week, God mercifully opened His Word ---- yes,
perhaps even His Heart ---- to me, and blessed me with some words of
encouragement, based on the story of the shepherds, which I sent to about
thirty friends. The response was so overwhelming ---- and God used that
experience to birth in my heart the "Shoulder To Shoulder" ministry.
With that in mind, and because the vast majority who now read these
letters have never read that first one, I am sending it again as part of
this mini-series on "secondary" characters in the Christmas story.
I believe God wants to speak to our hearts through it again, in light of
the desperate need for courageous shepherds to lead us in these days of
crisis.
Be blessed, my friend.
SHEPHERDS IN THE SAME COUNTRY:
December 23, 1997
For several weeks my mind has been challenged by the story of the
shepherds at the birth of our Lord Jesus.
"And there were shepherds in the same country" ---- an unassuming phrase,
but impregnated with profound truths.
I. "And there were SHEPHERDS": Two thoughts capture my heart. First,
the declaration of shepherds. Second, the duties of a shepherd.
A. The Declaration of Shepherds: Three simple words declare an
undeniable reality ---- "and there WERE" shepherds included in the most
amazing event of history ---- the introduction and incarnation of deity
into the human scene. Shepherds were there! Shepherds were ---- and ARE
---- indispensable to the incarnation and proclamation of the Redeemer.
Are you one of the shepherds?
B. The Duties of a Shepherd: Our image of that incredible night is a
group of guys lounging around a warm campfire, chatting, dozing,
snacking, keeping a mildly alert eye out for wolves in the night.
That's not an adequate picture. A shepherd had an arduous job. He
lived, slept, breathed, and sweat sheep. He was responsible for feeding,
healing, leading, counting, correcting, protecting, rescuing, and
shearing sheep. Their safety, health, and welfare were dependent on the
faithfulness and effectiveness of their shepherd.
If you're a shepherd, the same is true for you and your sheep.
II. IN THE SAME COUNTRY: What a profound thought! The incarnation of
the Redeemer and the presence of shepherds nearby taking place in the
same locale. That tells us something of the significance of shepherds in
relation to the Divine Invasion into human affairs.
That relationship remains today. God intended the Reality of Christ and
the reality of shepherds to exist in the same country.
III. KEEPING WATCH OVER THEIR FLOCK: What else should we expect? That
they would be off at some social occasion? Or out playing golf or bird
hunting?
No, they did what shepherds do ---- they were tending their flock.
IV. BY NIGHT: A short but profoundly significant fact. Sheep are the
most vulnerable when they are in the night. And, shepherds are crucial
to the welfare and safety of the sheep especially in the night.
Good shepherds are not only faithful in keeping watch, but also to be
with the sheep during the night seasons of life.
When the angels were revealed, even the shepherds were caught off guard.
V. THEY WERE (EXTREMELY) AFRAID: Sometimes shepherds become so numbed
by the "dailiness of life" that even they are not prepared for the
revelation of the supernatural. And, if they are not spiritually and
mentally prepared and alert, they will react the same way ---- with
skepticism, uncertainty, insecurity, hesitancy, unbelief, and even fear.
It's essential for shepherds to keep themselves in the position of
immediate expectancy.
To their credit, once the wonderful news that "Jesus is here!" had been
announced and was apparently believed, they took the necessary action to
get to the place where He was.
VI. THEY CAME WITH HASTE: Who really knows the motivation that drove
them so quickly to the presence of The Redeemer ---- unbelief?
curiosity? embarrassed need to redeem themselves from earlier conduct?
unabated joy over the fulfillment of the prophecy? the fear of being the
one who decided to stay by the comfort of the fire? the stubborn
commitment to "duty" over "divine visitation"?
Whatever the true reason in the heart, there is the undeniable and
desperate need for shepherds to make fast tracks into the presence of the
Shepherd of their own souls.
When they got there, they found what they had been promised.
Interestingly, there is no mention as to whether or not the shepherds
worshipped the Christ. We have assumed they did, but it doesn't say. If
they didn't, they should have.
So should every shepherd.
It isn't accidental that such information is withheld. Such absence
simply reminds us of how easy it is to be in the very presence of our God
and still fail to worship Him. It's easy to be so pre-occupied with the
needs back with the sheep or the uniqueness of the surroundings and
circumstances that a shepherd can stand in the very presence of Divine
Incarnation and fail to worship Him.
VII. WHEN THEY HAD SEEN THIS THEY MADE KNOWN ABROAD . . . : Two
important thoughts arrest my mind.
A. When they had seen THIS.
THIS?
THIS!
You would have thought they would have seen HIM ---- not THIS!
What would cause a shepherd to be more captured by "this" than by "Him"?
The same things that cause shepherds today to focus on the "This's"
rather than on Him.
Nonetheless . . . .
B. " . . . They made known abroad the saying which was told them
concerning the child." Perhaps the most important thing we read in this
story is this great truth ---- they didn't keep it to themselves.
Regardless of the many possible dynamics surrounding this entire episode,
they came through at the end ---- they told others about Jesus.
And they didn't tell it just to each other, or to perhaps others in the
immediate proximity to the field in which their sheep were bedded down.
They told it "abroad".
I've been curious about "what" they told. It says they told what they
had been told. That's what good preaching is.
D. T. Niles said good preaching is simply "one beggar telling another
beggar where to find bread". We can assume that Mary and Joseph probably
told them the story of what all had happened over the past nine or ten
months. That would certainly be exciting to tell. "We talked personally
with Mary and Joseph, and they told us that . . . "
One thing is certain about what they said. We have a record of at least
what the angels told them, and I suspect this was included in what they
told others ---- "Unto YOU is born this day in the city of David a
Saviour, which is Christ the Lord . . . "
The message of the angels alone contains more than enough to keep excited
shepherds busy for a year or more "making known abroad".
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS:
Shepherds are some of the most privileged people in the world. They get
to care for sheep. They can be surprised by periodic angelic appearances
that interrupt the mundane. They are invited for a personal visitation
before the Christ. They are allowed opportunities to confront their own
mortality and human weaknesses, and work through them.
Most important, they are provided extraordinary opportunities to make
this news known to others who are not yet sheep.
Have a wonderful 1999 tending the sheep, seeing and hearing an occasional
angel, and making regular visits before the Christ.
Just don't forget to make known abroad the things you know about Him.
FINALLY:
I hope the above will bless you ---- comfort you ---- and give you
persevering courage.
In conclusion, let me just tell you how very deeply I hope that God will
bless you with more than you can absorb, that Jesus Christ will carry you
higher than you ever dreamed, and the Holy Spirit will empower you beyond
anything you ever imagined.
And pray! Pray that God will heal our nation ---- and that He will
enable us all to aid in returning it to the absolutes of The Truth, our
Lord Jesus Christ.
ONE FINAL NOTE:
I cannot let this Christmas season go by without sharing the following
story with you. I received it about three weeks ago (and several times
since from others). It is one of the most touching Christmas stories I
have ever read, and is especially meaningful to Jo Ann and me since we
have three grand children (Misha, Katia, and Seriozha) who are adopted
from Russia. All three of them grew up in circumstances that could have
put them right in the middle of the following story.
So, be blessed again as you read.
TWO BABIES IN THE MANGER:
In 1994, two Americans answered an invitation from the Russian Department
of Education to teach morals and ethics (based on biblical principles) in
the public schools. They were invited to teach at prisons, businesses,
the fire and police departments and a large orphanage. About 100 boys and
girls who had been abandoned, abused, and left in the care of a
government-run program were in the orphanage. They relate the following
story in their own words:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"It was nearing the holiday season, 1994, time for our orphans to hear,
for the first time, the traditional story of Christmas. We told them
about Mary and Joseph arriving in Bethlehem. Finding no room in the inn,
the couple went to a stable, where the baby Jesus was born and placed in
a manger.
"Throughout the story, the children and orphanage staff sat in amazement
as they listened. Some sat on the edges of their stools, trying to grasp
every word. Completing the story, we gave the children three small pieces
of cardboard to make a crude manger. Each child was given a small paper
square, cut from yellow napkins I had brought with me. No colored paper
was available in the city.
"Following instructions, the children tore the paper and carefully laid
strips in the manger for straw. Small squares of flannel, cut from a
worn-out nightgown an American lady was throwing away as she left Russia,
were used for the baby's blanket. A doll-like baby was cut from tan felt
we had brought from the United States.
"The orphans were busy assembling their manger as I walked among them to
see if they needed any help. All went well until I got to one table where
little Misha sat. He looked to be about 6 years old and had finished his
project. As I looked at the little boy's manger, I was startled to see
not one, but two babies in the manger.
"Quickly, I called for the translator to ask the lad why there were two
babies in the manger. Crossing his arms in front of him and looking at
this completed manger scene, the child began to repeat the story very
seriously.
"For such a young boy, who had only heard the Christmas story once, he
related the happenings accurately--until he came to the part where Mary
put the baby Jesus in the manger.
"Then Misha started to ad-lib. He made up his own ending to the story as
he said, 'And when Maria laid the baby in the manger, Jesus looked at me
and asked me if I had a place to stay. I told him I have no mamma and I
have no papa, so I don't have any place to stay. Then Jesus told me I
could stay with him. But I told him I couldn't, because I didn't have a
gift to give him like everybody else did.
"'But I wanted to stay with Jesus so much, so I thought about what I had
that maybe I could use for a gift. I thought maybe if I kept him warm,
that would be a good gift.
"'So I asked Jesus, "If I keep you warm, will that be a good enough
gift?" And Jesus told me, "If you keep me warm, that will be the best
gift anybody ever gave me." 'So I got into the manger, and then Jesus
looked at me and he told me I could stay with him---for always.'
"As little Misha finished his story, his eyes brimmed full of tears that
splashed down his little cheeks. Putting his hand over his face, his head
dropped to the table and his shoulders shook as he sobbed and sobbed.
The little orphan had found someone who would never abandon nor abuse
him, someone who would stay with him ---- FOR ALWAYS.
"I've learned that it's not what you have in your life, but who you have
in your life that counts!"
In Christ's Bond,
Bob Tolliver ---- (Rom 1:11-12)
Copyright December, 1998. All rights reserved.
If this letter has blessed you and you know of someone else who needs to
be encouraged, feel free to forward it in its entirety to all such people
you know.
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Hang in there! I'm with you!
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