A Man And His Witness

Take a moment to introduce yourself to the others at your table and put on a name tag. You’re going to be working together in a few minutes, so at least introduce yourself and say “hello.”

[Scene from Forrest Gump – Forrest Rescues Bubba – Begin with “I gotta’ save Bubba!” End with Bubba saying, “I want to go home.” Forrest narrates, “Bubba was my best good friend, and even I know that’s not something you can find just around the corner.” (2 minutes)][i]

This scene from the movie Forrest Gump has been, and is today, repeated often in fields of combat. During this current war in Iraq, Sergeant Kirk Straseski, from Beaver Dam, drowned near Al Hillah, Iraq, when he attempted to rescue the crewmembers of a Marine CH-46 helicopter that went down in a canal. He was not on the chopper, and he could have stayed in safety on the shore of the canal, but he risked, and indeed sacrificed his life to attempt to save the lives of others.

On a web site that honors fallen men and women from the war, I read this tribute to “Ski” from one of his comrades:

I'll never forget the last time we hung out. You came out to the bars with us after a paddle party for one the BLT Recon Marines. We tried to talk you into taking the Recon screening but you said that you weren't a good enough swimmer. When we heard from Lt Rod that you had died jumping into the river to go after the men in the down chopper, we all thought back to our last conversation. You were one of the best and brightest Marines I ever had the honor of knowing.[ii]

Here was a young man who knew he wasn’t a great swimmer, yet he jumped into a canal to try to rescue others! We call people like that heroes. I am certain Sergeant Straseski would have said, “I’m no hero, I’m a Marine, and that’s what we do.”

During these days at Gateway Community Church, we are directing our discussion times to the men of the church, and we are asking the question, “Do you have what it takes to be God’s man?” I realize that there are some people who are not real thrilled with the militaristic overtones in what we have been talking about over these weeks, but I have a hard time apologizing for it – in fact, I can’t apologize for it because these are the same images that the Bible uses over and over again to describe the life of a follower of Jesus Christ.

Yes, Jesus spoke of loving our neighbors as ourselves, but he also spoke venomous words to the people who were leading the people away from God. Yes, He told His disciples in Matthew 10, to be as ”gentle as doves,” but He had preceded that statement with a charge to “be as wise as serpents.” He called His followers to a life of conflict – He said, in that same chapter “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth, I did not come to bring peace but a sword.” If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, then you are enlisted in the army of God that is engaged in a life-and-death struggle for the hearts and souls of humanity against a powerful, determined, entrenched enemy.

Our enemy holds millions of people prisoner – they are the young girl who checks you out at Piggly Wiggly, your co-workers, your neighbors, your friends and even members of your own family. Just as certainly as the men on that helicopter in the canal in Iraq were slipping slowly into a watery grave, people all around us are being dragged off into an eternity with out Christ – to unbearable torment and eternal pain in a very real place called hell. But far too many of us are willing to stand on the shore and watch.

[Clip from Seinfeld Episode –Elaine is dating a guy she has just found out is a Christian – He is not concerned that she is going to hell – in fact, he is content to let her commit a theft on his behalf, since she’s “going to hell anyway.”][iii]

Around your table, discuss what you have just seen. In particular, how would you describe the attitude of Lorraine’s boyfriend? (3 minutes)

Have we gotten so comfortable with the fact that some of the people we know are going to hell that it has just become a fact of life that we’re willing to live with? That should lead us to some disturbing personal reflection – “If I don’t care about the people around me who are going to hell – is God really in charge of my life?” If God loved the world so much that he was willing to take on human flesh and die a terrible death to rescue the worst person on earth, then what does it say about my relationship with God if I am not concerned with them at all?

Folks, we have gotten our priorities all screwed up! We have somehow gotten the idea that our primary purpose as a Christian is our own comfort, our defense, our financial stability or our well-being. We have likewise distorted the mission of the church. We have placed nearly total emphasis on the comfort, communion and correction of the current “believers,’ and virtually no effort at all on making “new disciples.” Jesus orders were in reverse order –

His orders to his followers is found in His last commandment – “Go therefore and make disciples of every nation, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you…”

“Make the disciples! Then baptize them, then teach them.” All the church’s efforts at sound teaching, great fellowship and wonderful programs MISS THE MARK COMPLETELY if we are not FIRST and FOREMOST reaching the lost! All the great teaching in the world will do nothing to fulfill our mission if it stays within the walls of the church!

We have an excellent trauma center in Milwaukee – one of the best in the nation. But having that center available, with all it’s highly educated doctors, skilled nurses, state-of-the-art equipment and training programs mean nothing to the people in need if there wasn’t a person, probably with no more than a high school diploma and some training, who is willing to drive a modified Ford Van out to where the sick and injured are and rescue them long enough to get them to that center. For far too long we have been waiting for the injured to somehow crawl through the doors so we can minister to them – we need to go and reach them!

“But Pastor Bob,” you may say, “I don’t have the gift of evangelism to go out and preach on street corners and call people to Jesus!” That’s OK – neither do I! But that’s not what I’m talking about. Let me show you what I am talking about: turn to John chapter 1, verses 35 – 42. Please follow along as I read these verses:

35 Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. 36 And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God!" 37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, "What do you seek?" They said to Him, "Rabbi" (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), "where are You staying?" 39 He said to them, "Come and see." They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour). 40 One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, "You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas" (which is translated, A Stone).[iv]

Is there anything in this story that stands out to you in particular? I find it interesting that there is no great big scary formula for bringing someone to Jesus. John simply pointed to the Lord, and said – “There’s the Man, He’s the One!” Andrew did nothing more than tell his brother what he had found, and invite him to come and check it out for himself.

Folks, I am here to tell you that the most effective plan for reaching our lost community is just that simple. I know, I know – there will be critics who will want to load on a whole pile of verses to quote, questions to ask and prayers to say – but the fact is, all we need to do is point people to Jesus, let them know what we have found, and then invite them to check it out for themselves. How difficult can that be?

I guarantee you that you’ve done it before…You have! You found this dynamite new restaurant, and you told a friend about it! You saw the newest Spielberg movie and took a friend to see it! You heard a hilarious comedian and loaned the DVD to a friend! Folks, you are already an witness – but what are you witnessing about?

I hear stories from some of you who are doing this already – you’re simply sharing with your friends what God is doing in your life – but far too many of us are not. It is time we see the situation for what it is – how can we tell our friends about the new Batman movie, even said, “Oh, Man, You’ve gotta go and check it out!” – and be willing to let them go on for days, weeks, months and years without once inviting them to check out Jesus Christ?

In that clip from Forrest Gump that we saw earlier, Forrest said, “If I had known it was the last time we was going to talk, I would have thought of something better to say.” The fact is, none of us knows when it will be the last time we are going to talk to a friend…they could be gone, or we could be gone in an instant – If you knew it was the last time, wouldn’t you want it to be something important – even the most important?

Guys! This has to change! We are derelict in our duty! We are ignoring our orders and failing in our mission! It’s high time we got around to the work we are called to do, don’t you think?

Today I want to issue a challenge to every person in this church to be a hero in the army of Christ. To prayerfully consider the people we know, and to begin to point them to Jesus. To share with them the difference He has made in our lives, and invite them to come and check him out.

Six months ago today, this church stood in the shocking, stark reality that we faced extinction – I stood on that January day and said, “I can’t guarantee you that this church will be here next January.” We embarked that day on a 52 day campaign of prayer for this church – and God has done amazing things! We have seen a remarkable turnaround in virtually every area – the wheels of momentum are moving, and picking up speed – new faces have joined us, new believers have been welcomed into the Kingdom, financially, the turnaround has been miraculous – because we prayed, and sought God for our survival.

I believe that now that we have stopped the sinking of the ship, it’s time to get it back on course, and our orders are to advance against the gates of Hell. So today, I am calling us to a new and vital focus: 26/206/2006

On the table by the door you will find a calendar with the next 26 days outlined on it. Each day shows three meals. I would like us to each take a day, or a part of a day, and sign up to fast. You can take a day, or just a part, but I would love to see each of us take some part in this effort.

This is a God-sized vision. It means we will effectively double our attendance in 6 months. But it’s not about attendance at church – the number of people who are here is nothing more than an indicator of how well we are accomplishing our mission. It will not be accomplished unless every one of us begins to understand the reality of the situation, and respond by rescuing our friends, neighbors, co-workers and family members.

In that episode of Seinfeld, Elaine said, “I am not going to hell and if you think I'm going to hell, you should care that I'm going to hell!” Do you care enough about the people in your life to rescue them, or will you sit by, allow them to perish, and not let it bother you? Will we resond, like her boyfriend, “It doesn’t bother me, I’m not the one going to hell!” Or will we risk our own lives to rescue them?

This table represents what it’s all about. Jesus Christ risked it all – sacrificed His life to rescue you and me. By his life He gave us the right to become children of God. He gave us an invitation to this table to have communion with Him…How can NOT extend that invitation to others?

As you take this bread, and this cup today, I want you to be thinking about, and praying for, the people in your life who do not know Jesus. He died for them just as He died for you – someone shared that truth with you, pointed you to Jesus – invited you check him out – won’t you do the same for them?

As you feel led, come and take the cup and the bread, as Gateway Praise comes and sings.

[ii] http://www.fallenheroesmemorial.com/oif/profiles/straseskiekirkallen.html

[iii] Seinfeld Episode 172 - The Burning; season 9, episode 16; Broadcast date: March 19, 1998; Written by Jennifer Crittenden; Directed by Andy Ackerman.