"Get In, Sit Down, Shut Up, and Hang On"

By Gobel Brockman

     One of the things I find interesting about being in ministry is that you tend to look for sermon illustrations and object lessons in everything. While others are simply enjoying their surroundings, you're looking for life lessons. Sometimes it's at major events, but sometimes it's in the simplest of situations. I once was driving behind a car that had one of those bumper stickers that says:

"Get In, Sit Down, Shut Up, & Hang On!"

     As soon as I read it I thought, "What a great description of the Christian life!" What do I mean?

1) "Get In"
     I would say that John 3:16 is probably the most familiar verse in the Bible: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life." That verse is God saying to you and me, "Get in!" Regardless of how bad you've been, or how far you've fallen, God has room for you. He was willing to let His son die that we might live. The offer is to all: this life is a journey and He has room for us to join Him, but He will be the driver.

2) "Sit Down"
     It's not a good idea to stand up in a moving vehicle. Once you're in a car you need to decide you're staying there for the duration of the trip. If you decide that you no longer want to follow where God's leading, you're going to have to abandon the trip while He's still moving. Jesus made a hard statement in Luke 9:62: "If anyone has their hand on the plough and looks back, he is not fit for the kingdom of God." Before we get in, we need to make up our minds that we're going to STAY in.

3) "Shut Up"
     Speaking of bumper stickers, you know the one that says, "God Is My Co-Pilot"? IT’S WRONG. God doesn't allow backseat drivers. Many times we seem to think that we know what's better for our lives than God does. In those times, we're wrong. Looking back, some of the best answers to prayer I've ever received is when God said "No" because He knew what was ahead. He sees everything - every turn, every obstacle, every potential disaster - and He knows the best route to take. So when we think we have better ideas as to what we should be doing next, here's what we should do: SHUT UP.

4) "Hang On"
     I've occasionally heard people say that Christianity seems boring to them. Those who would say that have never stepped out in faith and let God take them where He wants them to go. God has opened some doors for me over the years that I never would have opened for myself, and I've seen some pretty incredible things in the process. For awhile in the early 90's God opened a door for me to do a weekly short-wave radio program, and I received responses from places like Scotland, Trinidad, and Nigeria. He's opened opportunities to minister in places I never would have imagined, and I've seen Him do some amazing things in people. I could go on, but the point is that it's been an incredible trip so far - and it's not over yet. As long as I have relatively good health and half a mind (although some might say I'm flattering myself there) I desire to let God take me wherever He wants me to go. The trip's not over yet, and I'm interested to see where it's going from here.

     

     “Get in, sit down, shut up, & hang on." The car's pulled over, the door's open, the destination's out of your control, and it's going to be a wild ride.

     Are you in?

McChristians

By Gobel Brockman

     You pull up to the speaker, place your order, pull around to the first (or second) window, give them your money, and get your food. It's all over in a matter of minutes. Say what you will about McDonald's, but they have created a customer-friendly business model that allows them to remain profitable even when economic times are bad. They offer relatively easy-in easy-out access, food that is within the budget of most, and quick service for a world in a hurry. Brilliant.

     Running a business like that makes sense. The problem is I think it's helped create a mindset in some that that's the way God should do things. We pull in and place our order, expect it to cost us little or nothing, and expect the product delivered in a matter of moments. I refer to it as having a "McChristian" mindset. There's one huge problem with that way of thinking, however:

     

     God is not like McDonald's.

     Think of it this way:
McDonald's: Easy-in access.
God: There's only one way. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me."

McDonald's: Place your order. If you want to special order something, no problem.
God: He's not a fast food place. You cannot "have it your way." (Different burger joint, but you get the idea.) If Jesus had to say to the Father in the Garden of Gethsemene, "Not my will, but Thine be done” what makes us think we can do any less?

McDonald's: Their prices fit almost anyone's budget.
God: We're told that if we want to be His disciples, we have to take up our cross and follow Him. That's a price most won't pay.

McDonald's: The whole process takes only a few moments.
God: We're told in the Book of Isaiah that "those who WAIT upon the Lord shall renew their strength." (Emphasis mine.)

     

     I want to focus on that last one for a moment. We've lost the ability (or the patience) to wait on God's timing. The thing is, people waiting on God is found throughout the Bible. Israel had to wait 430 years to be delivered from Egyptian bondage. David had to wait several years and endure many battles before being given the kingdom he was promised. The disciples were told by Jesus after His resurrection to go to Jerusalem and "Wait for the promise of the Father." You see, God's interested in more than quickly filling an order - He's interested in developing men and women of character who'll have faith that God has everything under control no matter how long the answer takes. He wants to have a people that see life as a journey of faith, daily growing in our knowledge of Him. I look at it this way: McDonald's is interested in getting you in and getting you out ASAP. God's interested in you sticking around with Him - for eternity.

     So just let Him do it His way.

That I May Know Him

By Gobel Brockman

     You may have heard the story about three blind men who were asked to describe an elephant. One grabbed the tail and said an elephant is like a rope; one grabbed a leg and said an elephant is like a tree trunk; the third touched his belly and said an elephant is like a wall. The same animal got three different reactions based on their limited perceptions.

     

     We see that in the church today. Ask people who Jesus is and you'll get a variety of answers. To some He's the one who'll cast you into Hell the moment you step out of line. To another He is someone who doesn't really care how you live as long as you're feeding the poor and caring for the homeless while you're doing it. To another He died on the cross to make sure the right people win elections, and to the next His love totally ignores all sin, so “anything goes.” Which brings me to a sad conclusion:

     

     Perhaps we really don't really know Him as well as we think we do.

     

     Yes, we know about Him. We can tell the story of His miraculous birth. We know how He died on the cross for our sin. We can quote a few Scriptures - especially the ones that seem to back up our preconceived ideas. But we don't know Him. The Apostle Paul, perhaps the best example of Christianity that has ever lived, said this in Philippians 3:10:

“That I may know HIM and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, becoming like him in his death.” (Emphasis mine)

     

     This man had seen people healed, the dead raised, enemies blinded, and yet said 'I want to know HIM...'

     

     Yes, Jesus wants us to care for the poor. He does want us to pray for Godly leadership. He wants sinners to know there is hope, but He also wants them to know just how vile sin really is. And yes, even though we rarely hear it anymore, Hell is still real, and people are still going there. But Jesus is so much more than all of that. God gave a promise through the prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 29:13:

“You will seek Me and find Me, when you seek me with all your heart.”

     

     I'm calling on all of us to begin to search for His heart, His ideas, His plans, and His will. May we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. May we put aside our preconceived ideas, open up our Bibles, fall on our knees and our faces before Him, and say with the apostle Paul, “That I may know HIM.” Why? It’s simple:

     

     Perhaps we really don't know Him as well as we think we do.

Leave Your Sacrifice Where it Belongs

By Gobel Brockman


     I’m sure that for many people, hearing the phrase “praise and worship” causes them to immediately think of music. I can easily understand that mindset. When I was eight years old I was standing on church platforms playing dobro with my Dad’s Bluegrass Gospel bands. I have been involved with some sort of “church music” for the vast majority of my life. I understand (at least to an extent) the power of music in our praise and worship of God. But we must understand that “praise and worship” goes MUCH deeper than the songs we sing. There are many points I could make with this, but for today I will focus on one. We read this in Hebrews 13:15:

“Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.” 

     “A sacrifice of praise.” I imagine that we rarely think of praise in terms of it being a sacrifice, but it would do us well to understand this truth. Let me explain what I mean. In the Old Testament temple worship, a person would bring an animal to be sacrificed to the Lord. I know this is obvious, but I still need to point it out:

     When the person left the temple, they didn’t get to bring the animal back home with them. It was SACRIFICED.

     When the Bible speaks of offering “a sacrifice of praise” to the Lord, may we understand that part of that process is that we don’t bring any of the praise back for ourselves. We have no praise left over to offer to anyone or anything else because we have sacrificed it ALL to the Lord - which is the only place it truly belongs. A person who has truly given “a sacrifice of praise” to Jesus has no need of the praise of man, for they have already sacrificed all of their praise to Christ alone. They don’t need recognition, compliments, or adulation, for they have left those things on the altar of worship to the one true God. Allow me to be blunt: a person who constantly needs recognized and thanked for what they do for the Lord needs a better understanding of what “a sacrifice of praise” is really about.

     My desire is to continually grow in my praise and worship of Jesus, for He ALONE is worthy of praise! As we gather in worship today (and in the days to come) may we do more than just sing songs about Jesus. May we fulfill what Paul spoke of in Romans 12:1 and offer ourselves as “a living sacrifice” to Him.

     And may we then not try to keep any of the sacrifice for ourselves.