THE SEVEN COVENANTS OF A DISCIPLE OF JESUS CHRIST: PART VII
Several weeks ago my wife and I were driving in downtown Pittsburgh on our way to pick up our daughter at college. As we approached a stop light, there was one of those airport shuttles in front of us that – when it stopped at the light – was completely blocking the crosswalk. Trying to cross the street at that crosswalk was a blind man. We knew he was blind because of the distinctive white cane he was carrying.
The man seemed confused. He sensed there was something in front of him…and it was as if he did not know what to do. Suddenly a young woman, who’d been leaning against the side of a building waiting for the bus, sprung to his aid. She took his arm, whispered something in his ear, and led him around the bus to the other side of the street. Then she scurried back across the street to her post against the building.
When the light turned green and we began to proceed through the intersection, my wife caught that woman’s eye. She gave her the thumbs up sign. The woman just smiled. It was an absolutely beautiful picture of human compassion. When you witness an event like that, you’ve just got to tell everyone you see all about it. A good story like that simply begs to be told, does it not?
So does a bad one. Listen to this. As you know, before my mother died, she wanted to see me one more time. So I flew down to Phoenix, Arizona to see her. Now since my brother is going blind and has no business driving, my father gets confused on the road at night, and my sister is busy with her own life, I decided to rent a car. I rented a mid-sized car because I don’t really fit in a small car and a big car costs so much more. Yet when I went to the garage to pick up my car they didn’t have any mid-sized cars. The man in charge told me I could take a car from the second or the third row. The second row was full of little bitty cars. The third row was full of Chevy Malibus and Ford Crown Victorias. I found a key in a Chevy Malibu and drove off the lot. I ended up getting a full-sized car at a mid-sized price.
Two weeks later, my wife and I flew down to Phoenix for my mother’s funeral. I again rented a car for the same reasons I expressed earlier, and I rented it from the same place I had rented the last time. I told the man behind the counter about how I’d gotten a full-sized car at a mid-sized price and asked if it was going to be the same this time. He said, “No. We’ve got a full complement of mid-sized cars.” Then he told me that for a mere $55.00 more, I could have a full-sized car. So I agreed to pay the extra money, which with the local taxes on rental cars ended up being $75.00 instead of $55.00, and went to the garage to pick up my car. And wouldn’t you know it? The second row was full of little bitty cars and the third row was full of Malibus and Crown Victorias, just like it was the last time. The good news is, I drove out of there in a brand new Crown Victoria. The bad news is…that guy snookered me out of 75 bucks.
Good stories just beg to be told, do they not? Yet so do bad ones. When we see or hear something spectacular we can’t wait to tell everyone all about it. The same is true when we see or hear something bad. We simply cannot wait to express our sense of injustice or indignation.
Case in point, my family and I moved to Meadville a little more than eight years ago. I still remember how everyone told us that we’ve got to eat at…where? Eddie’s Footlongs. And for dessert we’ve got to try what? Hank’s Frozen Custard. Of course, I later discovered that there are Hank’s people and there are Casey’s people, but that’s another story. People simply could not wait to tell us all about Eddie’s and Hank’s. I honestly don’t think Eddie’s or Hank’s even have to advertize. They get all the publicity they need by word of mouth.
Perhaps the question now is: How good of a job do we do at publicizing the church by word of mouth? Or, perhaps even more important, how good of a job do we do at publicizing Christianity by word of mouth? Listen to this. Many years ago, two men moved into houses next door to one another. One Sunday morning, the two men walked out their front doors at the very same time. The first man said to the second, “Hey, I’m going golfing. You wanna come along?” To which the second man replied with a hint of indignation, “No. I’m going to church.”
The very next week the two men walked out their front doors at the very same time again. The first man said to the second, “Hey, I’m going golfing. You wanna come along?” To which the second man replied with a bit more indignation, “No. I’m going to church.”
Now believe it or not, this went on for twenty years. Yet another Sunday morning, the two men walked out their front doors at the very same time. The first man said to the second, “Hey, I’m going golfing. You wanna come along?” To which the second man replied, “No! I’m going to church!” Then he added, “You know, it would do you a lot of good to go to church sometime as well.” The first man looked at his neighbor and said, “You know, for twenty years I’ve been inviting you to go golfing with me. And in all that time…you’ve never once invited me to go to church with you.”
How good of a job do we do at publicizing the church by word of mouth? Or, perhaps even more important, how good of a job do we do at publicizing Christianity by word of mouth? A few years ago at a presbytery meeting, our General Presbyter said that the average Presbyterian invites someone to worship with them once every 17 years. On the plus side, at least that was better than the Methodists. The average Methodist invites someone to worship with them once every 24 years. Ladies and gentlemen, that has got to change. Keep that thought in mind as we move on.
A number of weeks ago we began a sermon series entitled, The Seven Covenants of a Disciple of Jesus Christ. I began the first sermon by making the case the Christ’s Great Commission, as recorded in the gospel of Matthew, is the reason for the church’s existence in the first place. The church is called to make disciples. Yet if the church is ever going to make disciples, then the people who habituate the church…must first become disciples themselves. That’s what the seven covenants of a disciple of Jesus Christ are all about.
The seven covenants of a disciple of Jesus Christ are as follows: worship regularly, pray daily, study diligently, live faithfully, serve joyously, give generously, and witness boldly. The first sermon delved a little more deeply into the first covenant: worship regularly. We said in essence that it was Jesus’ custom to worship, and it should be ours, as well. Yet we should come to worship expecting God to speak, to move, and to act. That’s what keeps our faith from being a mile wide and an inch deep.
Then we examined the second covenant: pray daily. There we saw that we are called to share our hurts, our sorrows, and our joys with God. God listens to us in compassion and love…much like we do when our children come to us. And when we do that what we discover is that by praying, we learn how to pray.
Then we examined the third covenant: study diligently. We learned that God is responsible for the Scriptures in a revelatory way, not just in an informational way. The Bible is how God reveals himself to us. It’s something we absolutely, positively never could have come up with on our own. What’s more, we learned that you’ve got to read the textbook…if you’re going to take the course.
Then we examined the fourth covenant: live faithfully. We learned about orthopraxis, or, right practice. People tend to pass judgment on Christianity by the way they see Christians living their lives. It is absolutely imperative that we set a good example.
Then we examined the fifth covenant: serve joyously. We learned that God calls each of us to ministry. God calls each of us to an occupation or to a task that God believes we are uniquely qualified to do. Just don’t forget that how you serve is every bit as important as who you serve. Attitude is everything.
Finally, we examined the sixth covenant: give generously. We learned that it’s our responsibility to form the foundation and framework of a world that is the unique dwelling place of the Immortal God. Thus, Christians in important secular environments have a responsibility to see to it that what’s done with the goods of the world is done as God would have it done. We must never take that charge lightly.
Today we examine the seventh and final covenant: witness boldly. In his Great Commission, Christ challenged his disciples to make disciples of all nations. To make disciples of all nations, we must spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. We begin by sharing our faith and values with family, friends and neighbors. We aspire to fearlessly encounter situations where we have the courage to speak, and our Christian witness can truly make a difference.
I think that is exactly what Jesus was getting at in the passage we read from the gospel according to Matthew. “You are the light of the world,” he said. “You are the light of the world.” In other words, your life and witness as Christian disciples is meant to brighten an ever-darkening world. We can have all the faith in the world; we can possess the most profound theological knowledge in the world; we can have a perfect church attendance record for a decade…but if we don’t let our light shine in the world, what good is it? Listen to this.
Many years ago, a great legal battle was fought over a terrible automobile accident that involved a train near Blue Mountain, Georgia. The accident happened on a dark and rainy night as a fast-moving car flew down a mountain road and ran head-first into a train. Several people lost their lives in that accident.
In a fiercely contested courtroom battle, the railroad flagman told precisely how he had gotten off the train before it reached the railroad crossing. He then stood on the highway, swinging his lantern back and forth, to signal any approaching vehicle. It was a notoriously bad intersection, and on this particular night he had done precisely as he had been instructed, and has he had done on many occasions before.
Under determined cross-examination, he consistently answered each question regarding his procedure that fateful night. Yes, he got off the train ahead of the crossing. Yes, he swung his lantern back and forth. He even noted how he had had to jump out of the way of the speeding automobile just before it hit the train. The jury deliberated and in the end, the railroad won the case, primarily because of the unwavering testimony of the flagman.
About a year later, that flagman was fishing on a nearby lake. The attorney who represented the family who died in the crash just happened to be there as well. The attorney approached the flagman and said, “Hey, you were a witness at that railroad crash last year. You know, that was the best-fought trial I ever had. I should have won that case. You were the best witness I ever cross-examined. I lost that case because of your magnificent performance.”
The humble flagman squirmed a little and said, “Oh, man, I was scared that day! I have never been so frightened in all my life!” The lawyer replied, “Well, it didn’t show. You were great the way you handled me.” “Oh, I was scared,” the flagman said. “I was afraid you were going to ask the question.” “What question is that?” the attorney asked. “You know,” the flagman replied, “I was afraid you were going to ask, ‘Did you have your lantern lit that night?’”
Jesus says to us, “You are the light of the world.” But if our lanterns are not lit – if our lights do not shine – the world will remain forever dark. Listen, I see churches all across the country advertizing for ministers all the time. The ads are often quite similar. They want some young, dynamic minister to come in and inspire them to grow. They’re missing the point. It’s a different age. The church is not going to grow because of some young, dynamic minister. The church is going to grow when people in the congregation intentionally invite others to worship with them. Mass evangelism doesn’t work anymore. Relational evangelism is what works today. Relational evangelism has to do with forming relationships with people, and then letting them walk with you in your life of faith. If a church is going to grow, the people who populate that church must take an active, intentional role.
Now I could go on for another hour about this. So I’m just going to give you step one today. I don’t think the problem with the church today is that people aren’t witnessing boldly. People today are witnessing boldly. But what is that about which they are witnessing? They are witnessing about their own dissatisfaction. There is far too much complaining going on. One person says the music is too slow. Another says the preaching is boring. Someone else says that all they talk about at church is money. Yet another says the people aren’t friendly. Who would ever want to go to a church where all the people do is complain? Why, it’s a lot like waving a lantern that isn’t lit. Step one to witnessing boldly is to stop complaining.
Listen, that’s the secret that a lot of these mega-churches today have uncovered. No, their music is not for everyone. And yes, their theology tends to be a bit shallow. But they brag about their programs. They brag about their staff. They’re proud of their church and they want everyone to enjoy it with them. Where would you rather go on a Sunday morning? Ladies and gentlemen, you are the light of the world. Witness boldly…and let your light shine. Amen.
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