"Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5
tons."
-- Popular Mechanics, 1949
"I think there is a world market for maybe five
computers."
-- Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943
"I have traveled the length and breadth of this country
and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a
fad that won't last out the year."
-- The editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall,
1957
"But what ... is it good for?"
-- Engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of
IBM, 1968, commenting on the microchip.
"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in
their home."
-- Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital
Equipment Corp., 1977
It’s funny to look back at some remarks and predictions that
were so far off from being correct. It’s just another reminder that the
only thing that is constant is change. Well, almost everything
changes. What is the one thing that the Bible tells us does not
change? In Malachi 3:6 God says, “I, the Lord, do not change!”
Now this is a problem. How do we as the church; as the
light of the world; as the hope of the world make the never-changing God
relevant to an always-changing world? Because the world is changing so
fast, how can we possibly keep up? Because the world is changing so fast,
how can we be true disciples in this world of change?
I think about how easy the Old Testament prophets had
it. Guys like Jeremiah; what was he crying about? All he had to say
was, “Repent!” Think about Jonah. When he finally went to Nineveh,
all he had to say was one sentence and the whole country turned to God.
Seriously, he basically told them to check their calendars and then he
left. All Isaiah and Amos had to say was, “Judgment is coming!” and that
was enough.
Then in the New Testament, they had it pretty easy as
well. That John the Baptist had it made, right? What an easy job!
“Repent and be baptized! Repent and be baptized!” That’s all
he had to say and people from all over came out to the desert…where he
lived. Even Jesus said basically the same thing. They all had it
sooo easy.
But times have changed and so I have some options for us as
true disciples in this real world. Because the world is changing we are
going to have to change and so here are our options as I see them. To
accomplish our goal of doing whatever it takes to lead people to have a
life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ (that is our goal, right?) we can
do one of three things.
The first option we have is to soften up the Gospel a
little. You know, not talk about Hell so much or sin or repentance
because those things might offend people and we don’t want to offend
anybody. Now, I’m not talking about lying. I just mean maybe we
should soft-pedal the difficult points until after we get them in here.
Wait until they are members and good tithers to tell them about all
stuff. No? Ok then how about option #2?
The second option we have, if you don’t want to change the
Gospel, is to change our goal. We can change our goal from “Doing
whatever it takes to lead people to have a life-changing relationship with
Jesus” to something like, “Doing whatever it takes to lead people to feeling
better about themselves.” That should be pretty popular. I think it
works pretty well for Joel Osteen. What do you think? No?
How about “Doing whatever it takes to lead people to
religion”? …to lead people to angels? …to lead people to have fun
in church? No? Really? Some of those are pretty good and
might really increase the number of people we have here at Christ
Fellowship. No? So, what you are telling me is you don’t want to
change the Gospel and you don’t want to change the goal.
Well then, as I see it, that only leaves us one
option. We preach the same Gospel; the Gospel that Jesus Christ is the
Way, the Truth and the Life as it says in John 14:6 and that no man
comes to the Father except through Him. The same Gospel that says that
that same Jesus lived, died, was buried and resurrected to pay the price for
our sins that we couldn’t pay. Romans 3:23 says we have all sinned
and Romans 6:23 says that the wages of that sin – what we get for it –
is eternal death in Hell but that same Gospel says in John 3:16 that God
loved us so much that He sent His only Son to die in our place and all we have
to do is believe and we will have eternal life in Heaven.
Ok, so we keep the same Gospel and we keep the same goal of
doing whatever it takes to lead people to have a life-changing relationship
with Jesus Christ. If we are going to keep those two things the same then
if we are going to be relevant in a changing world and to people who are all
different then we will have to present that Gospel in a way that is not only
interesting but also meets the needs of whoever God puts in our path.
That’s going to be a tough one but I think we can do it and I think I know
right where to start.
The Apostle Paul was in this same position and he gave some
good advice to the church in Corinth about meeting the same challenge we have
today. I have to warn you, though, that Paul’s way is not the
easiest. The easiest would be to change either the Gospel or the goal but
since you made it clear you didn’t want to do that let’s look at 1
Corinthians chapter 9 verses 19-27.
Paul is writing to the church in Corinth that he started a
few years earlier but since then that church has struggled with living as true
disciples of Jesus in the really nasty and perverted world of Corinth which was
a city known world-wide to be sin-sick and God-starved. There was a lot
of religion in Corinth. There was a lot of devotion to little g gods but
a life-changing relationship with Jesus? Not so much.
So, here is what Paul did and it is his advice to that
church and to our church as well. 1 Corinthians 9:19-27.
Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a
slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I
became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one
under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under
the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not
having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law),
so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became
weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all
possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake
of the gospel that I may share in its blessings. 24 Do you not
know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in
such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the
games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last,
but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore
I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer
beating the air. 27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it
my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be
disqualified for the prize.
I warned you that this wasn’t going to be easy. See,
the question here is how badly do you want it? Will you REALLY do
whatever it takes to lead people to Jesus? Will you really give up
something that you have every right to have? Will you take on something
that you absolutely don’t have to? We like to quote the goal of doing
whatever it takes to lead people to a life-changing relationship with
Jesus. Paul says, “This is what I have done!”
How badly do you want it? Or Paul might even be asking
the question, “How much do you really love people?” During the 17th
century, Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England, sentenced a soldier to be
shot for his crimes. The execution was to take place at the ringing of the
evening curfew bell. However, the bell did not sound. The soldier's fiancé had
climbed into the belfry and clung to the great clapper of the bell to prevent
it from striking. When she was summoned by Cromwell to account for her actions,
she wept as she showed him her bruised and bleeding hands. Cromwell's heart was
touched and he said, "The one you love shall live because of your
sacrifice. Curfew shall not ring tonight!" Our Daily Bread.
The one you love shall live because of your sacrifice.
That’s what Paul is doing here. He is giving up his rights and taking on
problems because he loves people enough to do whatever it takes to lead them to
Jesus. Let’s look closer at what exactly he is doing.
When Paul says he becomes all things to all people, this
does not mean that he is hypocritical. He is not saying one thing and
doing another. He is not giving one type of Gospel to a person over here
and another Gospel over there. It’s the same Gospel. The difference
is the presentation. Paul’s method of presenting the Gospel changed
depending on who he was with and what opportunities he had.
To the Jews he became like a Jew, following their traditions
and rituals so that he might come alongside them and gain an audience. To
those under the law he ate what they ate and worked when they worked even
though he didn’t have to just so he could meet them where they were physically
and spiritually. To those not under the law he didn’t impose the law on
them. He just loved them as they were for the purpose of becoming their
friend and leading them to Jesus.
To the spiritually weak, he didn’t brag about how strong he
was. He didn’t engage in high-handed theological discourses on
dispensationalism or why he was pre-millennial and they were wrong not to
be. That wasn’t Paul’s method of ministry. His method of ministry
was to preach the Gospel. As we studied a few weeks ago, Paul was
constantly preaching, “Christ, and Him crucified.”
This doesn’t mean that Paul could only say those words or
that he wasn’t very smart. In fact, it was because Paul was smart that he
knew how to talk to just about anybody but his purpose for talking to them was
to lead them to Jesus. He was always going to get around to, “Christ, and
Him crucified.”
For us, this might sound almost impossible. How can we
become all things to all people? I’m not smart enough to be able to talk
to everybody I meet? How do I get to be Paul’s kind of smart? A
young boy once approached his father to ask, "Dad, why does the wind
blow?” to which the father responded, "I don't know, son." "Dad,
where do the clouds come from?" "I'm not sure, son." "Dad,
what makes a rainbow?" "No idea, son." "Dad, do you mind me
asking you all these questions?" "Not at all, son. How else are you
going to learn?" Source Unknown.
If you want to be Paul’s kind of smart, you can either ask
your dad about such things…or you can ask the Father. Do you remember
what Jesus’ last words were to His disciples just before He ascended back to
Heaven? He gave them the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) that
said, “.go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching
them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always,
to the very end of the age.”
“And surely I am with you” when you are talking to the
educated man. “And surely I am with you” when you are talking to the
uneducated man. “And surely I am with you” when you are talking to the
Jehovah’s Witness or to the Mormon or the atheist. Your job is mainly
just to be willing. Your job is to love people enough that you are
intentional about going to the grocery store or to the car wash or the football
game so that you can strike up a conversation about whatever might lead you to
lead them to Jesus.
I hate to tell you this but that might include learning some
Veggie Tale songs so you can talk to some little ones about Jesus. It
might include listening to some music that is too loud and too repetitive for
your taste so that you can lead some youth to Jesus. Maybe you should go
to the local football or baseball games even though you don’t have kids playing
so that you can talk sports to someone in the hopes of coming alongside them
for the purpose of being who they need you to be so that soon they will listen
to you preach Christ, and Him crucified.
“Todd, that sounds like it might be a lot of trouble.
It might require me to do something I don’t really want to do or have time to
do.” Well, like it or not, as a true disciple living in the real world of
Wise County and beyond, you are running a race. Did you know that?
That’s what Paul says here. All the runners run but Paul says he wants to
win the prize.
Now, if there were only one prize, then I’m pretty sure Paul
has won it. But there is a prize for all of us if we run the race in such
a way as to get that prize. There is a crown waiting for us in Heaven for
those who are soul-winners and I don’t have any idea what that crown is going
to be like. But I do know that there are rewards here as well.
Those rewards include knowing that you have done your part to keep one more
soul out of Hell.
What’s that worth? Is that worth some time, effort and
money? Paul also says in Galatians 6:9, “Let us not become weary
in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give
up.”
For God so loved the world, not just a few,
The wise and great, the noble and the true,
Or those of favored class or rank or hue.
God loved the world. Do you? (Source Unknown)
The wise and great, the noble and the true,
Or those of favored class or rank or hue.
God loved the world. Do you? (Source Unknown)
Do you love people enough to bring the never-changing Gospel
to an ever-changing world?
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