Presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army, 15 Sept. 2013
By Captain Michael Ramsay
I mentioned last Sunday how my former head pastor was Promoted to Glory (passed away) last Saturday. His daughter –whom I haven’t seen in two decades or more – ‘facebooked’ me to let me know. I didn’t grow up in The Salvation Army. I didn’t grow up in a small church. I don’t think that there is a church in this community as large as the one I grew up in and it wasn’t even the biggest church in my hometown. We could have over 500 people in a Sunday service and there were 3 services each Sunday. The evening service was small though not as small as our good little group here but small nonetheless.
I am not sure how many pastors were on staff: Senior pastor, youth pastor, seniors’ pastor, children’s pastor, music pastor… In a church that large you don’t necessarily get to know the pastors as well as many of you know me here. The pastors were great. In all the years that we were there, I think the only time Pastor Jake came to my parents’ home though was when my little sister was caught smoking behind the church with his youngest daughter. I remember my parents let me hover around the kitchen when they came to visit and in typical Mike-fashion of those days during the conversation about how to help and what to do about the girls caught smoking behind the church, I lit up a cigarette. (Not the classiest manoeuvre!) I did get to know the pastor a little bit as I did go over to his house a couple of times growing up: I was friends with his daughters, particularly his older daughter. She is a good person. His wife is a great lady as well. I do remember some very encouraging conversations I had with her a quarter century ago or more.
I have a lot of respect for the church that I grew up in – of which Jake was the Head Pastor. From my old youth or young adult group, of the people that I know of personally, 6 or 7 of us now are clergy working for the Lord in anything from large Baptist churches to Alliance churches to Youth for Christ Ministries to hospital chaplaincies to The Salvation Army and that is not including our spouses - some of whom went to church with us - and that is also not including people of whom I no longer have any knowledge of their lives.
Now we could have up to 100 people at to a youth event when I was young. My Sunday school classes were often larger than our group gathered here today. I had great Sunday school teachers from the time that I was a teenager through university especially. We would discuss and debate everything.
Then as now I read my Bible a lot. We would often have theological debates about our lives. A common topic then was smoking as more than half of Canadians in those days smoked. I was one of those smokers as a teenager. Whenever -in those days- someone would say that I was defiling my body as the Temple of God through my bad habit of having a cigarette, I would quickly respond from scripture that it is not what goes into a body that defiles it but what comes out of it (Mark 7:20-23) and I would often point to this part of today’s scripture. “Like you” I would say, Matthew 11:18, “…John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say ‘He has a demon.’ [Like me, Jesus], The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they say he is a drunkard, a friend of …sinners”.
These days, I no longer smoke or drink, of course. Some of those there who didn’t drink then, now do but they still have very powerful ministries. I remember one person (now a pastor friend of mine) sought me out a year ago or so and credited me with opening up his eyes about drinking and how he now enjoys a pint every week – to which I responded that I, of course, went the other direction and I no longer imbibe alcohol at all. Smoking and drinking are well in my rear-view mirror. Things change.
Things do change but here is the thing: There are some people who will hear the gospel whether they hear it from someone like a younger me - maybe even while I was sinning and having too many beers - and they will still repent and follow Jesus. There are some who will see the seemingly purer lives of my old friends or myself now and still repent. But there are those also who won’t repent no matter what. Matthew 11:18: “For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say ‘He has a demon.’ [Jesus], The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they say he is a drunkard, a friend of …sinners.” And Matthew 11:17: “We played the flute for you and you did not dance; we sang dirge [a funeral hymn], and you did not mourn.”
And you know what? No matter what you do, no matter who you are, no matter how God speaks through you, some people will reject the beautiful boundless salvation (TSA SB 298) that God provided through Jesus’ death and the resurrection for the whole world so that whosever believes in Him need not perish but can have everlasting life (John 3:16-17).
Did you know that breaks my heart? I think of people that I love and know who as far as I know still reject Jesus and I still pray for them - especially those that the enemy may have used my own failings to lead them towards hell. It breaks my heart. I have been at different times in my life like each of Jesus and John the Baptist of our pericope today with some people. As recorded in Matthew 11:17: “We played the flute for you and you did not dance; we sang dirge [a funeral hymn], and you did not mourn.” Even though I know that there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus, Romans 8:1, I can be plagued some days by so much regret from those old days and on the other hand, at other times I long to escape to the simplicity of those times. I can’t tell you the number of times I sat on a beach decades ago watching the sun come up after a night of socializing and drinking that eventually led to talking with fellow teenagers and students about Jesus and praying with them. We didn’t all make it out of that time and place. Sometimes I was so tired even though I was proclaiming the gospel in the midst of my old life and all the problems that came with it that I almost couldn’t take it anymore.
Sometimes today, it is even worse as I sit at meetings even with other clergy and they dole out 1 to 1000 reasons not to share their faith with the next person. Sometimes today, I talk to clergy who extol the virtues of what I would call hiding their light under a bushel (Matthew 5:14-16). Sometimes today, being clean and sober for many years now, I see my new friends struggle even with their faith as they struggle with their addiction. It hurts. Sometimes today, I am so tired even in the midst of proclaiming the gospel in my now life that I almost can’t take it anymore. Sometimes today, I feel that I am wasting my breath. Sometimes I feel like no matter how many people are led in the sinner’s prayer, more are being led to sin even by the churches; sometimes I feel like no matter how many people I tell about Jesus there are even more so-called ‘Christians’ who refuse to tell people about Jesus and then actually teach other Christians so as they may become ashamed of the Gospel (cf. Romans 1:16, Mark 8:38, Luke 9:26). Sometimes I feel like my new non-imbibing self can draw all kinds of criticisms of hypocrisy and self-righteousness that some will use it as an excuse to go to hell and that hurts (cf. TSA doc. 11). I have been in my life both like Christ and John the Baptist of this pericope with some people and still - Matthew 11:17 - “We played the flute for you and you did not dance; we sang dirge [a funeral hymn], and you did not mourn.”
This is the life of many a Christian. As Christians, we don’t want anyone to go to hell and a true Christian will try anything to help others avoid eternal separation from God but the reality is Matthew 11:18: “For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say ‘He has a demon.’ [Jesus], The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they say he is a drunkard, a friend of …sinners.” And Matthew 11:17: “We played the flute for you and you did not dance; we sang dirge [a funeral hymn], and you did not mourn.” And even more, Matthew 10: 34-39, Jesus says:
“Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.
“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn: “‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’
“Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
As Christians, we tell people about Jesus, no matter who we are: Dennis you can reach people who I can’t; Ron you can reach people who I can’t; Lloyd you can reach people who I can’t and Larry some of those people you reach will turn against you; Richard it might be someone in your own family; Cheryl it may cost you a job; Elaine it may cost you a friend or a loved one but we still keep telling those in our lives about Salvation (cf. Matthew 28:16-20). That is what we do.
As we know that an eschatological disaster is coming; Christians, we naturally warn all of our neighbours about it just as we would if a tornado was coming in this direction.[1] What it means when the Scriptures say that the Prince of Peace, Jesus, will bring a sword to the earth is that people will turn on you when you warn them of the eschatological storm. When you stand up for Christ, you will be set upon by the enemy; some people won’t accept the Good News no matter what but we must remain faithful. I can’t save anyone. You can’t save anyone. I can’t send anyone to hell. You can’t send anyone to hell. You can’t save anyone from hell (Acts 4:12).
Salvation comes from Christ alone (Acts 4:12) but Jesus is quite clear that we have a very strong responsibility to share the Gospel (Matthew 28:16-20). Even if people spit in our face or call us names or make sport of us, we have a very real responsibility to tell people about the Salvation that is available for everyone but here is the thing: there will be persecution, people will discriminate against you for being a Christian, people will hate you for Christ (cf. Matthew 10:17-39). People will avoid you for pointing them and others to safety and salvation but we must do it. Can you imagine if a fire-fighter didn’t run into a building to save people because she might get burned? Can you imagine if the police officer didn’t stop a crime because he might get hurt? Can you imagine if your doctor wouldn’t operate to save your life because he was too embarrassed to see you on the table? Can you imagine if the radio didn’t tell you a flood was coming in time for you to be saved from drowning because the announcer thought you might not believe him? Can you imagine if your co-worker never told you about eternal salvation because he was afraid he would get fired? Can you imagine if your neighbour wound up in hell and you were too embarrassed to tell her how she could be saved?
So here is the thing: some will reject Salvation. Some will hate you for pointing them and others to Salvation. Some of us will be falsely accused and some of us will lose everything for standing up for Christ but even if we lose everything in this world but gain Christ, we lose nothing and gain everything (cf. Philippians 1:12-25).[2] Realizing that most of Jesus’ twelve disciples will ultimately be tortured and killed for pointing others to Salvation, Jesus says that cost won’t actually be a significant burden to bear.[3] Even the cost of our own lives will be easy.[4] If we rest in Christ, we will find peace. Jesus says of our Christian responsibilities, Matthew 11:28-30: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Whatever the cost is for following Christ – and it may be our lives, or worse for some people, a little embarrassment – whatever the cost is for following Christ, it is worth it because Jesus paid the price for our sins many years ago and as we cast all our cares upon Him, He promises that even as it costs our whole life to follow Him, His yoke is easy (TSA SB 483). His yoke is comfortable and His burden is light.
This is an encouragement today to keep on keeping on. This is my encouragement today that if there are any here who have not yet given their lives to the Lord, today would be the perfect time because God promises that no matter how difficult life gets, He will never leave us nor forsake us and God promises that no matter how difficult life is… He calls to us, Matthew 11:28-30: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Let us pray.
[1] Cf. Captain Michael Ramsay, ‘Romans 1:16-17: I am not ashamed of the Gospel!’ Presented to Swift Current Corps, (Sheapspeak.com: Swift Current:05 July 2009). Available on-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2009/07/romans-116-i-am-not-ashamed-of-gospel.html
[2] R. T. France, Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985 (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries 1), S. 204
[3] Cf Martin Percy, Expository Times 119, no. 9 (June 2008): 441-443
[4] Cf. H.D. Betz, “The Logion of the Easy Yoke and of Rest [Matt 11:28-30],” Journal of Biblical Literature 86 (1967): 10-24.
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