James 5:19-20 God’s Rescue Missions!
July
8th 1973 was a memorable day in my life.
A) I was 10 yrs old and my
dad took me to Chavez Ravine – Home of the LA Dodgers … baseball game
B) It was a Sunday afternoon
game – we had seats in the rightfield bleacher seats
1) Dodgers
vs the Pirates { Pittsburgh roots
2) It was a hot July day – Ice cream cone melted!
C) It was a great game – A
Pitchers Battle –
Tommy John was pitching for the Dodgers
Dock Ellis for the
Pirates
D) Game was tied 2-2 went
into extra innings
1)
Then it happened – bottom of the 12th Dodger outfielder Willie
Crawford hits a game winning home run over the centerfield fence.
Result:
Impact: That day I became a diehard Dodger fan – Love affair that would last
many years
Also that day my love for
the game and my desire to play at that level – increased Dramatically!
Another memorable
event that happened in my life was in 1988 Joey Buran
& myself were on staff here together.
Joey took me to the
legendary surf spot Trestles to catch waves.
Trestles
is an awesome wave – Long rights
seemingly ride forever.
A) I was always intimidated
to go there because – I didn’t surf – { Balance thing} lack of patience
GOOD AT BODY BOARDING
CUSTOM BOARD -
Pat Caldwell
TRICKS
B) I knew in those days I
would never make it at Trestles – hard enough to catch a wave in that crowd as
a surfer – never as a body boarder
C) Joey
was aggressive – MY WAVE – RESPECT
D) Joey had me position
myself – 20yrds from Peak
He would take off – see me
paddle …..
Result:
Impact – I became a Lover of trestles,
any time that Joey wanted to go I was there.
Also that day – a deeper
friendship was forged – that has lasted: 20 yrs/ Pro surfer accepts – body
boarder
A
few years ago My wife surprised me – It was a
Sunday we were done with Church – She said come ride with me – I want to take
you somewhere
Usually that meant lunch
- Driving further
Romantic get away – Julian
Planned everything{ My
truck - changed appts
As we were
driving she said – I want you to know I have never done anything like this
before
She
Booked it on line! – and she said it was kind of expensive - Ok – I was just excited
The place was supposed to be
a little cottage – It ended up being a converted Shed in someone’s back yard –
Quaint and Beautiful on the inside
Looked like this on the
outside. { Metal Shed
But you know what, I didn’t
care I was so touched that she even thought to plan a Romantic get away
Result:
Value: Impact – Those Romantic get aways
have become a regular part of our marriage – Once or twice a year we try to get
away – take turns planning and surprising one another.
One more
event: 1989 Pastor Brian takes myself and 5 others on my first overseas mission
trip – Yugo / Hungary
On that trip I saw God do
some amazing things – Two Churches were birthed
Result:
Value: Impact: Passion for Church Planting
14 Churches in last 11 yrs –
Heart for missions
Desire to take pp on those
kind of trips
Now
there is a common thread that runs thru
all those stories / the
reason I shared was not to get all nostalgic on you.
The Common
thread is this – In each one of those
events that influenced my life in a certain way – I was brought to a place by
someone.
And By far the most
impacting event in my life where I was brought some place by someone was when
my Parents took me to Church – I met Christ
PT:
God Chooses pp to reach pp.{His
plan His RM’S
We see a perfect illustration of that in Acts Ch.10
A) Living in the city of
Ceaserea is a Roman Centurion named – Cornelius – { Over 100 men
B) He is from a Pagan
background –He has tired of the Roman lifestyle – starts seeking God
1) Seems to embrace Judiasm
– Praying fasting
He is very religious but he is not saved
YET!
C) He
gets a visit from an Angel – but the Angel doesn’t share Christ with Him
1) The Angel could have –
real simple
D) Instead he tells him to
send for A MAN!
1) Because most of the time
when talking about God’s rescue missions – it involves pp sharing w/ pp.
2) SEND
FOR PETER 30 miles south in Joppa
Peter
is in Joppa, goes on a roof top to pray.
A) Vision on food –unclean
animals –animals that the Jews were not supposed to eat
B) God says to Peter, kill
and eat ! Peter responds
NO LORD!
1) Oxymoron – Two phrases
that don’t go together
NO AND LORD – IF HE IS LORD
IT IS YES!
C) God says to Peter: Don’t
call unclean what I have cleansed –
The
vision was an illustration for Peter God was doing something new – as God would
later instruct him to go with the Gentile men who were coming after him.
A) The Law of Moses was a
wall between Jews and Gentiles and that wall had now been broken down by the
Cross of Christ
B) This event would become
the Catalyst for the early Church’s mission to take the gospel to not just the
Jews but also the Gentiles – ALL NATIONS
My Pt. Is this instead of
having an Angel share with Cornelius – He has him send for a man – for Peter!
WHY PETER?
–
1. Break thru the Prejudice – Jew to Gentile
2. Giving Peter the blessing of being used
3. Use Peter’s experience as a Precedence for establishing that
the gospel would be sent to the Gentiles
God
has chosen to use pp to reach lost and struggling pp that is where James goes in finishing his letter
Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone
turns him back, 20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of
his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.
A) These two verses form a
fitting conclusion to the book of James.
B) James has been telling us
what the real Christian looks like!
* Real Christians are doers of the
word and not hearers only.
*
Real Christians don’t show Partiality
*Real
Christians have an active faith
Faith
evidenced by their actions!
C) Here – reminds us that
the real Christian is interested in People.
1)
Saving a soul from death and covering a multitude of sins is supposed to
interest us
Jesus
loves LOST People!
A) His missions statement{
Luke 19:10 “I have come to seek and to save the
lost!”
B) James is reminding us of
the Mission – the heart 1) Now who are the
individuals that James is referring to here that need to be rescued?
The
phrase if anyone among you wanders makes
it clear - among you those in the house
of faith
A) He is talking about those
who have backslidden
B) Wander speaks of a
gradual straying for the truth
1)
Backsliding is always gradual – little compromise here and there leads to apathy – complacency –
C) Enticed by the allurement
of the world – pretty soon you are way over here – no idea how you got there.
D) In every church there are
those who’s faith gets Shipwrecked.
1)
2 Timothy 4:10 Paul talked about Demas who had served with Paul forsaking the faith because he loved this
present world.
E)
There have been many in the Church who have followed in the foot steps of Demas
1)
Never happens over night! {Always Gradual
And
the thing that is amazing to me about most pp that I know who have backslidden.
A) It is not that they no
longer believe the truth about Christ or the Bible – if you asked, they do
B) They just don’t want to
walk with God right now
1) No urgency for walking
with God right now.
C) Danger is the longer they
rebel – the harder their heart gets to the voice of the Holy Spirit.
Now
when this subject comes up –of someone backsliding – no longer walking with God
A) There is a debate in the
Church over whether those who walked away were real believers or merely
professors of the faith – not real faith
B) They hung out with the
Church – around the Church – maybe looked saved – but it wasn’t real.
C) John in his epistle makes
a statement in his epistle that seems to favor that latter view.
1) Speaking in the context
of those who were Anti Christ – Adamantly opposed to Christ
1 John 2:19
"They
went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us,
they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown
that they all are not of us."
D) John says the reason why they left is
because they were never saved to begin with.
1) I think that is true of
many
E) However James seems to be
describing those who were really believers who have wandered.
[Here
is the thing though] it doesn’t really matter
where you think that person WAS really at spiritually
The warning
and the need is still the same!
If
you say well they left us proving that they really weren’t saved – the message
is clear
A) Their soul is in Jeopardy
and we need to go after them!
B) If you say: well – I know
they were saved at one time and I saw real fruit in their life – now they are
severely backslidden –
C) The message is still the
same – their soul is in Jeopardy of being eternally lost and we are called to
go after them.
If
we take seriously what James is saying:
A) This is what we cannot
say:
Well
I know they are saved and right now they are just going thru a phase and they
will come back
B) James gives no such
assurance – neither does God’s word
Hebrews 10:26-28
For if we sin
willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer
remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment,
and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.
C)
Realizing the terrible fate that awaits unrepentant sinners should motivate
true believers to pursue those who for one reason or another have departed from
the faith.
Both Zechariah
3:2 and Jude 23 picture the soul winner as a fireman, rescuing people out of
the burning fire!
God
wants that picture etched in our hearts
Rescue
Missions
A) We’ve all seen a “rescue
mission” before.
B) They’re exciting, in real
life & on the silver screen. - They make heroes of people. –
Policemen
who rescue the hostage
The Soldier
who rescues the captives
The
coastguard who rescues the shipwrecked boaters
The Life guard
who rescues the swimmer caught in heavy surf.
We
have all seen that – we cheer and applaud – We love rescues
A) Guess what, so does God
B) He orchestrated the biggest
rescue mission of all!
C) Mankind was lost and
drowning in a sea of sin
1)
Being held captive – bondage to addictions and vices
D) He sent His Son JC to
rescue us – Pull us out of the pit –
1)
Set us free from Bondage – Gave His us
life
Illustrate
it this way: A man found himself trapped in quicksand –
A) Along came Confuscious
who looked at the man in his situation and said – Man
ought to avoid quicksand at all cost
Great, a lot of Good that does me Now!
Then
Buddha came by : Saw the man and said “whether this is good or bad who can say for bad is good
and good is bad – Ying Yang went on his way”
Man again cried out – That
doesn’t help me
Krishna – Better luck next
time – In Hinduism
Reincarnation is the Key
Jesus
comes by and reaches out and grabs the man pulls him out – that is what Jesus
does
A) Pulls us out of the pit
and sets our feet upon a rock
B)
Frees us from our Guilt!
C)
Lauren Cleri – Moment of truth 8.9 million viewers
1)
Stole from her work – lied to mom / Cheated on Husband - / wished she married
old boyfriend
D)
Are you are good person - Plagued by
inner guilt
E)
PP Plagued by guilt need to be rescued – need sins forgiven cleansed / covered
James
is telling us that God wants us to be a part of His Rescue mission.
A) He wants us to be
passionate for lost souls because He loves them so much.
B) Going after souls that
have never given their life to Christ – still in bondage / still blinded by sin
1) Living in guilt –
condemnation
E) God says I want you to
join my rescue mission and help them.
Rescue them
How?
Turn to Acts 10 learn from Peter’s experience
1. Pray: Acts 10:9
The next day,
as they went on their journey and drew near the city, Peter went up on the
housetop to pray, about the sixth hour.
V.9-16 Reveal that it is
during this time of prayer that Peter is going to get a vision from God that reshaped his view of people.
Amazing what Prayer does: I can have
an opinion about someone –
Feelings about someone or
some group
But when I go to the Lord in
Prayer – so often he reveals what I am missing
Start seeing pp the way that
He does!{ Sheep w/out..
2. Follow the
leading of the Holy Spirit Acts 10:19-20
“While Peter thought about the vision, the Spirit said to
him, "Behold, three men are seeking you. 20 Arise therefore, go down and
go with them, doubting nothing; for I have sent them."
You Have to
respond to the leading of the HS
A) Holy Spirit will speak to
your heart – call that person – go over their house
B) Your mind will tell you
that is stupid – you shouldn’t do that – doubt
1) That is not God that is
the Pizza you had last night
C) You can come up with a
host of reasons to talk yourself out of it –
1) Exciting when you follow
thru especially when you find out you were right!
D) That really was God !
3.
Share the truth V.34-43 Peter shares the
gospel
Acts 10:34
Then
Peter opened his mouth and said:"In truth I perceive that God shows no
partiality. 35 But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is
accepted by Him.
Goes on to share Christ – He shares the truth!
Here is the thing though, we
need to learn to share the truth in Love.
Galatians 6:1
“Brothers,
if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him
gently.”
We don’t always do that – in
fact sometimes we do the opposite – I was blown away by the incredible accuracy
of this observation from Spurgeon this week.
I
have seen a person who has erred hunted down like a Wolf. He was wrong to some
degree, but that wrong has been aggravated and dwelt upon till the man has been
worried into defiance; the fault has been exaggerated into a double wrong by
ferocious attacks upon it.
The
manhood of the man has taken sides with his error because he has been so
severely handled.
The
man has been compelled, sinfully I admit, to take up an extreme position, and
to go further into mischief, because he could not brook to be denounced instead
of being reasoned with.
And
when a man has been blameworthy in his life it will often happen that his fault
has been blazed abroad, retailed from mouth to mouth, and magnified, until the
poor erring one has felt degraded, and having lost all self-respect, has given
way to far more dreadful sins.
The
object of some professors seems to be to amputate the limb rather than to heal
it.
Spurgeon is right if we
don’t handle a situation the right way we can do more damage than good.
Remember
James says when we restore: Cover a Multitude of sins –
love
covers all sins” (Proverbs 10:12, NKJV)
That doesn’t mean that we
make excuses for pp’s sin or sweep it under the rug – No, we have to share the
truth – but we need some bed side manner.
Remembering what it was like
to be lost – to be deceived
Sorry
to say: I have met too many pp who have had this comment to say about CC –
Harsh
A) We love the truth – We
are into truth – we study the Bible – We love apologetics { Defenders
B) But
we often forget who the enemy is: The enemy is Satan { Not the Muslim /
Newager / Mormon
1) Psychologist – they are
just pp dealing with error -
C) Most pp we run in contact
with are just Deceived
Here
is what we do, We get loaded up with our ammunition – truth{
A) We come across someone
who is into something else Psychology Philosophy – some other religion
B) We blast them with the
truth
Greg Laurie – “Guys we are
becoming the group that has problems with everyone.”
I
find it interesting that Jesus doesn’t blast the Philosophers of His day
A) You know who He blasts –
the religious leaders
The hypocrites – those
claiming to represent God
B) Paul didn’t blast the
Philosophers of his day –
1) Athens – doesn’t seek to
tear apart their philosophies and
C) He shared the truth in
Love
You know Whom He attacked –
those who were seeking to bring those false teachings into the Church
Attack the
SOURCE and seek to Rescue those who are
deceived {Friend into the emergent Church – don’t
blast in love seek to rescue – show truth
1. Pray
2. Follow the leading of the
HS
3. Share the truth
4. Trust God for the results
Acts 10:44-48
“While Peter
was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard
the word.”
Listen here today wandered –
God loves you / forgive cleanse, remove guilt – restore: open your heart