Getting Used To The Dark

   Vance Havner told of visiting a dimly lit restaurant with a friend.  Vance commented to him, "It is so dark in here I can't read the menu."  The friend replied, "You will get use to the dark."
     Something like that has happened all across our country, we have got used to the dark.  We have become accustomed to the ever changing society that we live in.  We watch things on television that thirty years ago we would have blushed if we had seen the same thing while in mixed company.  The decency standard has been lowered to the point that it often is embarrassing.  You now can see more cleavage in church than you once could see on television.  And that is just one thing we have grown accustomed to seeing.  Divorce at one time was an embarrassment to a family, it is the accepted norm now.
     Do you remember the emotion that was aroused over the Roe vs Wade decision.  It was unthinkable that a woman could end a baby's life.  Now it is done thousands of time each year.  So becoming accustomed to that thought, we precede to having the baby be partially born and then we kill it.  That is acceptable with many.  Read the reports of the votes of Obama when he was first in politics and you will readily see that not only is he in favor of partial-birth abortions but in favor of killing one that accidentally survives the botched abortion.
     Under no circumstance am I in favor of abortion except when the mother's life is in danger, but I almost wish we could back up things just a little and have the mother of all of these abortionists have the same believe as they have and then they would have been aborted and the world would be a much better place.
     Something like that happens in our churches on a regular basis.  A person gets saved during the revival with large crowds present, sees the same good attendance on Sunday Morning and then looks around on Wednesday night and asks where are the people who have been Christian a long, long time.  What would you tell him, "Don't worry you will get over it, too?"
     God, have mercy on us.

Alibi, Lullaby, By-and-by

   Often preachers do their best to persuade people to follow a prescribed series of things to do to assure them to succeed and not fail, often to no avail.  Allow me the opportunity to take a different approach, which I guarantee to have results.  My prescription that will guarantee you to fail follows three options: alibi, lullaby, and by-and-by.
     I would suggest that the first thing you do is be ready to provide yourself with an alibi  Someone has suggested that the definition of an alibi is an antiseptic a coward administers to himself in the face of duty.  The use of the alibi has been around since the beginning of time.  Adam said, "The woman you gave to be gave me and I ate.  Eve said, "The serpent gave to me and I ate."  Moses said in so many words that he could not speak.
     Today one says, I don't go to church because there are too many hypocrites in the church.  Another says he does not like the preacher.  Another says they always ask for money.  I wonder why they continue to go to the stores to shop because there are always many hypocrites there and they always ask for money.  Some do not take an active roll because they are too young yet, Samuel was only eight years old when he became a prophet.  Others are too old yet Moses was eighty when he began the task of leading the children of Israel into the promised land.  If you want a recipe to fail begin by providing yourself an excuse.
     Next, surround yourself with a lullaby.  A lullaby is usually considered to be a tune that will lull babies to sleep.  I think that is what has happened to millions in America today.  We have allowed the modernistic movement that destroys morals and the initiative to succeed to lull us to sleep.  If you had told me when I graduated from high school that I would live to hear the cry across America to "Kill the babies and save the owl", I would have told you that you were crazy.  If you want to be a failure allow the world to lull you to sleep.
     Finally, develop a by-and-by attitude.  Don't do anything today that can be put off until tomorrow.  Always plan to do what is needed tomorrow, next week or sometime by-and-by.  Tomorrow is only found on the fools calendar.  Tomorrow the addict will reform.  Tomorrow the shiftless and lazy will get a job.  But they fail to understand that the today is the tomorrow they looked for yesterday.
     It is a guaranteed prescription--follow these and you are sure to be a failure.

Looking For God In All The Wrong Places

     The atheist said to the young boy, "Son, I'll give you an apple if you will tell me where God is."  To which the boy said, "Sir, I will give you a bushel of apples if you will tell me where God is not."
     Oh, the wisdom of a child!  Did not Christ say unless you become as a little child you will in no wise enter into the Kingdom of God?  Paul said thjat  God has used the simple things to confound the wise.
     Does it not seem strange to you that the greatest minds today have put forth their theories and their conjectures as to how this world came into existence and continue to look for the missing force?  They call it the Higgs particle, and some have even labeled it as "the God particle".  Word spread rapidly that they had found it or, at least, a particle that they had  not previously been able to detect.
     They have been looking for God in all the wrong places.  You will never be able to see him in a microscope nor with one of the great telescopes that scan the far reaches of the universe.  Those type of instruments are not needed, since he is not very far from every one of us.  You see, I discovered the "Force" they are looking for over sixty years ago.  You can never know him by your intellectual pursuits; you find him only by faith.  Faith gives you the ability to see the invisible and to know the unknowable.
     Without faith man continues to grope about becoming wiser with each passing day, but farther and farther from finding  their most sought after goal--the force that started it all.  Try Genesis 1: "In the beginning God...."

When I and Is Go Together!!!!!

     The teacher was teaching the third grade class on the use of pronouns and verbs.  She said, "Susie, make me a sentence using the word I."  Susie began, "I is...."  She was quickly interrupted by the teacher who said, "No, Susie, you always use, am with I."  So little Susie began again, and said, "I am the ninth letter of the alphabet."
     Many a so-called intellectual has stumbled at the word is.  I refer at the moment not to our past president who so articulately raised the question, "What does is mean.?"  I am thinking of the scripture that proclaims, "The fool has said in his heart there is no God."  To deny the existence of God is to assume that something can come from nothing.  Could there be a correlation between the millions of people in the United States who think that the hand-outs they get for nothing, actually came from nothing.
     A recent letter to the editor of a state newspaper, written by a gentleman whose religious holiday is April 1, made several remarks about the invisible man that controlled things.  I do not need to meet the gentleman to understand his line of thinking.  He has not seen him, therefore, God does not exist.  I wonder if he believes in the existence of atoms in science.  By his rationale, obviously, he does not, for he has never seen one.  Years ago a college teacher said, "I do not believe in anything that I cannot  put in a test tube and analyze."  A quick thinking student said, "Pour me up a test tube full of love."
     One may stagger before the simple truth, "God is,"  all he will, but it will never change anything of the existence of God or the mortality of the individual.
     The sum total of all of the unbelievers rambling can be summed up in an imaginary conversation between a horned toad and a lizard beside the Union Pacific railroad in the desert.  The horned toad said to the lizard , "They say somebody one day built this huge railroad." 
     "Nonsense," replied the lizard, "It has always been here.  Why my grandpappy said when he was a boy this railroad was here then."
     "Not only do they say that somebody built it, but there is a president of this railroad that oversees the activity that takes place on these tracks."
     The lizard said, "Why that is ridiculous.  I have been here all my life and I have never seen a president of this railroad.  Beside that, if he is overseeing what is happening on this railroad, why did my daddy get run over by a train last year?"
     The horned toad then said, "If the president had come along and stopped your daddy from getting on the railroad track that day it would have made your daddy mad."
     "To let you know how firmly, I believe there is no president of this railroad, if there is one I invite him to come down here and kill me.  See nothing happened," said the lizard, as death in the form of the rattlesnake lashed out to destroy him.
     ...and one thing befalleth all living things. DEATH.

Homecoming County Line Baptist Church--2012

     Homecoming is always a very special time.  An unknown author said, “Homecoming means coming home to what is in your heart."  It is so great because it unites the past and the present.  Those dear men and women who came together and organized this church had no idea of how long it would stand, how many lives would be changed by the church nor that we would be gathered together today in this capacity.
      It makes no difference if it is a family oriented homecoming, school homecoming or church homecoming; it is always special.  Homecoming always brings to our minds memories of days gone by, never again to return.  Going home!  What a thought! John Ed Pearce said  “Home is a place you grow up wanting to leave, and grow old wanting to get back to.”  But once you are older, it is good to get back home, even from a vacation, regardless of how wonderful the vacation may have been.

     My mind went back to a song that was written during the Civil War, When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again...  The first verse you may remember:

When Johnny comes marching home again, Hurray, Hurrah!

We’ll give him a hearty welcome then, Hurrah, Hurrah!

The men will cheer, the boys will shout,

The ladies, they will all turn out,

And we’ll all feel gay when Johnny comes marching home.

But perhaps the fourth verse would be more appropriate for our homecoming today:

Let love and friendship on that day, Hurrah, Hurrah!

Their choicest treasures then display, Hurrah, Hurrah!

And let each one perform some part,

To fill with joy the warrior’s heart,

And we’ll all feel gay when Johnny comes marching home.

     Permit me this morning to point out to you a few occasions mentioned in the Word of God of those who looked forward to returning to the security of the home.  You are all familiar with the story of the prodigal son in the 15^th chapter of Luke.  The circumstances of his life mirror the happenings in millions of people across America.  He did not know how well he had things at home, but there was another lifestyle that beckoned him to come.  He asked his father to divide his inheritance with him, then took his part and left to eat, drink and make merry.  He had an abundance of friends as long as the money held out, but soon the money was gone and so were the friends.

     When things go bad, outside of the will of God, it really goes bad.  Soon, he was feeding the hogs and was so hungry that he would have filled his belly with the corn shucks.  Satan never will have a famine of shucks and there will be plenty of people willing to eat them.

     The scripture says, “…and when he came to himself,”  Any person willing to feast at the table that Satan offers, needs to come to himself.  He is out of his head.  When Satan gets control of a person’s life they will argue against the very things they once held dear.  This young man had been taught that a hog was an unclean animal, now he is tending the hogs.  The young man said, here I am starving and my father’s hired servants have enough to eat and then to spare.  I will arise and go to my father and say, “I have sinned take me back as a hired servant.   But, the father was in no mood for that.  He said bring a new robe; put the family ring on his finger and new shoes on his feet.  Kill the fatted calf and let’s make this the best homecoming ever.  What a day, this my son was lost and is found, was dead and is alive.  How sweet it was!

     That homecoming was a little different than the one when Jacob was returning to meet Esau.  Remember, he had stolen his brother Esau’s birthright and also his father’s blessing.  Under normal circumstances he had reason to be apprehensive about this homecoming.

     When Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming with four hundred men, no doubt he thought I am going to get paid back in full today.  He divided all his children up with Leah and her children, along with the handmaidens and their children up front then he placed Rachel and Joseph behind them.  I suppose he thought there was some type of protection afforded them in this manner.  Then he went out to meet Esau.  He bowed himself seven times to the ground.  Esau ran to meet him. Embraced him, fell on his neck, kissed him and they wept.  Oh glory of all glories, what a homecoming they had.

      I cannot think of homecomings without thinking of the story of the old missionary and his wife who were returning home after a life on the mission field.  On the same trip was President Theodore Roosevelt returning from a hunting trip in Africa.  There was a band and a group of people there to meet the president.  No one was there to greet the old missionary and his wife. 

     They finally found a hotel and got settled into their room.  After a while the wife asked the missionary if he wanted to go get something to eat.  The old missionary said, “You go ahead and I will come on later.”

     After his wife had left the old missionary got down beside the bed and began to pray, “Father I don’t quite understand, me and the missus have spent our lives serving you on the mission field.  I noticed that the president had a large group to meet him when he returned home from the hunting trip, but there was no one to meet us when we got home.”

     There was no thunder or lightening, no audible voice, but an inner voice with a clear message than could not have been more plain if it had been proclaimed with amplifiers, “Son, you are not home yet.”

     When things don’t go your way down here and folks who do nothing for God, seemingly are getting by a lot better, remember, this old world is not your friend, it is your enemy.  Don’t you know the old song says, “This world is not my home, I am just passing through, my treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue, the angels beckon me from Heaven’s open door, and I can’t feel at home in this world any more.”  You are not home yet, but we are all going that way.  Some of us are a lot closer than others, but we travel the same way.  Ralph Waldo Emerson, the great poet, said upon his approaching death, “Good bye, proud world! I'm going home; Thou art not my friend, and I'm not thine.”  Far too many are trying to put down permanent roots in a temporary world.

     We are going to move out of this old world down here and move into a new home over there.  It is going to be a great home; Jesus has been working on it for 2000 years. Moving day necessitates a lot of changes.  There are things to be packed ready for the move.  How are you doing in your packing?  Do you have any treasurers laid up in store?  Are you caught up on your praying?  How about your church attendance record, ready to present it to the Lord?  And don’t forget while you are packing there are some things you won’t need over there so you might as well start unpacking those things now.

     Back when many of the women folk often dipped snuff a lady inquired of the preacher about dipping snuff.  They would dip that little black gum stick into the snuff and insert it into their mouth.  I remember very well my grandmother doing that.  This dear sister asked the great Presbyterian preacher, Billy Sunday, “Bro. Sunday will there be any snuff in heaven?”  He answered, “If there is a person will have to go to hell to spit.”  There are a lot of things we have down here we can unpack before going over there. 

     One of the more uplifting statements about a person’s life was made about Enoch.  The Bible says, “Enoch walked with God, and was not because God took him.”  I prefer to think that in his walk with God, that one day he and Jesus were out walking, enjoying their visit so much that before they knew it is was getting dark.  Enoch said, “Jesus it is getting late we better head back to the house.”  Jesus said, “We can’t get to your house before dark, you just come and go home with me.”  Something like that happens in the life of every Christian when he approaches the moment we call death.  To be biblically correct we probably are escorted by angels into the abode of God.  At least that is what happened to the beggar, Lazarus, when it came time for him to go home.

     It becomes even more dramatic when you consider the first Christian martyr, Stephen.  As they were stoning him to death he said, “I see heaven opened and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God.” This is the only time in the bible in which Jesus is standing by the throne.  Almost as if he was rising to greet Stephen when he crossed over the unseen line that divides us from this low land of sin and sorrow from that glorious place we call heaven.

     One of the great Indian chiefs, Tecumseh said, “When your time comes to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song, and die like a hero going home. “

     In closing my thoughts of this homecoming today, my mind is drawn to a homecoming over there.   That home coming is our going to the home of the soul.  Daniel S Warner wrote a song entitled, The Home of the Soul.  It is a beautiful worded song and I close with three verses from that song.

We are only at home in the bosom of God,
On earth or in heaven above;
Everyone who would enter must pass through the blood,
And reign in the kingdom of love.

Do not venture the hope that is waiting for death
To waft you to comfort and peace;
There’s no rest for a soul, in this world or above,
Not saved in the Father’s embrace.

We will enter no door that is opened by men
Who promise a home for the soul;
For in Christ we abide in the church that will stand
While ages eternally roll.

God's Gift of Individuality

They say in the world of snowflakes that there are no two that are identical.  I have no way of knowing whether that is true or not however, they all look alike to me as they graciously fall to the earth to beautify their surroundings.  I do know that in much of the creation of God he has set in place the gift of individuality.
     In His church he has assigned many a different task in order for the church to grow and function to the fullness desired of God.  In his use of a body as a comparison with the church it was mentioned that there were eyes, ears, feet, etc.  It is not desirable for everyone to be an eye or an ear.  It is necessary that each of us discover the purpose that God has for us in His church and then function to the best of our ability.
     Our government would destroy any concept of individuality if it is possible.  It seems as if the goal of those in power at this moment is to make each and every person a ward of the state, totally dependable on the handouts that the government gives to them. I have no idea where the money to fund all the social give away programs will come from once we all have become dependent upon the state.
     There is no better example to be found than in the directives of the government handed down to the public school system of America.  If you are not familiar with what is going on in the public schools perhaps you should look around.  Many a program is designed to destroy initiatives of those who would strive to better themselves and lead more productive lives. 
     The No Child Left Behind concept could just as easily be called No Child Advances Ahead.  Is that not saying everyone is to learn at the same rate, progress at the same rate and graduate at the same rate.  Sure it is!  Even a the idea of providing education for those with special needs has been so destroyed until it is no longer recognizable as the original concept.  Now students are placed in special ed whose parents can not or in most of the cases will not provide them with the home life and the study assistance to advance with the others.  The student can be taking Algebra in high school (called algebra) and the course load is not equivalent to what a 5th grade student would have no problem.  They are given a grade and eventually a diploma and do not know their multiplication tables, what a predicate nominative is or any idea about how our government works.  These students can receive a diploma even if they miss fifty or sixty days a year at the same time a student with A's and B's will receive a failing grade if he misses too many days.  His or her diploma in most states is the same as your honor graduates.
     There once was a day in which students entered school, attended for twelve years, walked the aisle at commencement time and received either a diploma or a certificate of attendance if their grades were not satisfactory.  No attempt was made to label them as special need students; there was no embarrassment; and they maintained their own individuality and then went out into life and became productive citizens in the group that put a man on the moon and brought him back.  The group we are graduating today can't even find the post office.

The Price is Right!!

     The lady approached the man in the meat market of a family owned grocery store with, "How much are your eggs for a dozen?"  He answered, $2.00 per dozen."  She then said the store down the street only charges $1.50."  To which the grocer asked, "Then why didn't you buy your eggs there?"  She responded, "They are out of eggs today."  With which the grocer said, "Oh, we only charge $1.50 when we are out, too."
      There is much to be said about the value of that which we do not have.  Many a Christian would gladly give a million dollars to the Lord, when they don't have a million.  There is a tremendous value placed upon the gift of eternal life.  In order to provide eternal life for any who would receive it, it broke the bank of Heaven.  There can never again be a payment for the sin debt of lost humanity.
     The scripture places the proper value on the soul and eternal life when it says, "What would it profit a man to get the wealth of the whole world and lose his soul."  Or what will you give in exchange for your soul.
     A wealthy business man in Tennessee gave millions of dollars to various Christian causes.  He had a reversal of fortunes and lost everything.  A friend asked him if he ever thought of the millions that he gave away.  He responded,  "Every day, that's all I have left."
     Life is so short, at it's longest span--a vapor that appears and is suddenly gone.  Eternity is such a long period of time to enjoy.  Why would one exchange the brevity of life for the length of eternity.  There is a value to the hope of the Christian.  If you don't think so, ask any Christian who is in a backslidden condition what he would take for that which he is not using.