Oak Chapel United Methodist Church

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"For we are not peddlers of God's word like so many; but in Christ we speak as persons of sincerity, as persons sent from God and standing in His presence. Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Surely we do not need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you or from you, do we? You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all; and you show that you are a letter of Christ, prepared by us, written not with ink but with the spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts."

HE PREFERRED TO BE CALLED "BROTHER STANLEY". MARIE AND I MET ELI STANLEY JONES TWICE. THE FIRST TIME WAS IN THE 1960'S WHEN THE WORLD-FAMOUS EVANGELIST SPENT A WEEKEND TEACHING AND PREACHING AT OUR CHURCH. IN MY ROLE OF SONG-LEADER, I ASKED "BROTHER STANLEY" IF HE HAD A FAVORITE HYMN. HIS ANSWER WAS THAT HIS THEME SONG, AND INDEED THE THEME SONG OF ALL WHO FOLLOW CHRIST, SHOULD BE THE FIRST VERSE OF CHARLES WESLEY'S GREAT HYMN THAT TRADITIONALLY APPEARS AS THE FIRST HYMN IN METHODIST HYMNALS..."O FOR A THOUSAND TONGUES TO SING MY GREAT REDEEMER'S PRAISE; THE GLORIES OF MY GOD AND KING, THE TRIUMPHS OF HIS GRACE!" I SANG IT THAT DAY WITH A NEW INSIGHT!

MANY TIMES, I HAD HEARD THE PHRASE, "WHAT YOU ARE SPEAKS SO LOUD I CAN'T HEAR WHAT YOU SAY." AS WE SAT UNDER BROTHER STANLEY'S TEACHING, IT ALMOST SEEMED THAT HIS FACE FADED, AND THAT THE FACE OF JESUS BECAME VISIBLE. WHAT HE WAS AND WHO HE REPRESENTED SPOKE LOUDER THAN HIS VOICE! LOOKING BACK, I KNOW THAT WE WERE READING A LETTER OF CHRIST. ....... OF ALL THAT HE TAUGHT AND PREACHED THAT WEEKEND, I REMEMBER ONLY ONE STATEMENT. HE SAID, "THE CROSS IS THE CENTER OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH. GOD CHOSE NOT TO SAVE JESUS FROM THE CROSS, BUT TO SAVE OTHERS THROUGH JESUS BY THE CROSS." I DIDN'T REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT HE MEANT UNTIL A FEW YEARS LATER, WHEN I ACCEPTED JESUS AS MY SAVIOR AND LORD.

IN DECEMBER OF 1971, STANLEY JONES SUFFERED A MASSIVE STROKE. WITH MUCH RELUCTANCE, HIS DOCTORS TOLD HIM THAT HE WOULD NEVER WRITE AGAIN, WALK AGAIN, OR SPEAK AGAIN. AS HE LAY IN HIS HOSPITAL BED, HE ASKED HIMSELF WHAT REALLY HAD HAPPENED. HIS CONCLUSION WAS THAT NOTHING HAD HAPPENED...ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! HE STILL WAS PART OF THE UNSHAKABLE KINGDOM AND HE STILL BELONGED TO THE UNCHANGING PERSON!! WHAT A TESTIMONY! WHAT A LETTER OF CHRIST!

OUR SECOND MEETING WITH BROTHER STANLEY CAME JUST SIX MONTHS LATER, IN JUNE OF 1972, IN JERUSALEM. WE HAVE A PHOTOGRAPH OF HIM AUTOGRAPHING HIS LATEST BOOK...SO MUCH FOR NOT WRITING AGAIN! HE WAS BROUGHT IN HIS WHEELCHAIR TO THE STAGE OF THE INTERNATIONAL Y.M.C.A. WHERE HE STOOD BY HIMSELF AND TOOK A FEW STEPS...SO MUCH FOR NOT WALKING AGAIN! ALTHOUGH HIS VOICE WAS DIFFICULT TO CONTROL, HE ADDRESSED THE MORE THAN 300 PERSONS FROM 15 COUNTRIES ...SO MUCH FOR NOT SPEAKING AGAIN! WHAT A TESTIMONY! WHAT A LETTER OF CHRIST! OH YES...THE TITLE OF THE BOOK THAT HE AUTOGRAPHED? "THE UNSHAKABLE KINGDOM AND THE UNCHANGING PERSON"!!

E. STANLEY JONES ALWAYS PROCLAIMED THE CENTRALITY OF CHRIST. HIS LIFE WAS A LIVING LETTER, WRITTEN BY CHRIST, AND READ BY MILLIONS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. AMONG THE MANY CHURCHES FOUNDED BY PAUL, NONE HAD MORE DIFFICULTIES THAN THE CHURCH AT CORINTH. HIS FIRST LETTER TO THEM ADDRESSES SOME VERY SERIOUS PROBLEMS AND DISORDERS THAT HAD ARISEN IN THE DEVELOPING CHURCH. IN LOVING FIRMNESS, HE WARNS THEM THAT THE CHURCH MUST HOLD UP, ABOVE ALL ELSE, THE CENTRALITY OF CHRIST. HE CONSTANTLY EMPHASIZES TO THEM WHAT WE HERE AT OAK CHAPEL ALSO MUST REMEMBER AT ALL TIMES, ESPECIALLY AS WE UNDERTAKE OUR BUILDING PROGRAM FOR GOD'S WORK..."UNLESS THE LORD BUILD THE HOUSE, THOSE WHO BUILD IT LABOR IN VAIN." (PSALM 127:1, NRSV).

THEN, IN HIS SECOND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS, WHICH PROVIDES OUR TEXT, HE SAYS THAT THEY ARE OPEN LETTERS....ADVERTISEMENTS FOR CHRIST AND HIS CHURCH, AND THAT THIS HAS COME ABOUT ONLY THROUGH THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT OF THE LIVING GOD. HOW'S YOUR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN GOING?

NOBODY HAS TO TELL YOU THAT THERE'S AN AWFUL LOT OF JUNK MAIL COMING TO OUR HOMES AND BUSINESSES DAY IN AND DAY OUT, AND MUCH OF IT IS DESIGNED TO COVER UP SOME SCHEME OR OTHER. I HEARD RECENTLY OF SOMEONE WHO WAS THINKING OF INSTALLING TWO LETTER SLOTS IN HIS HOUSE, ONE MARKED "FIRST-CLASS MAIL", AND THE OTHER MARKED "JUNK MAIL". THE FIRST-CLASS MAIL WOULD DROP WHERE IT COULD BE PICKED UP EASILY. THE JUNK MAIL WOULD GO STRAIGHT INTO A SHREDDER!! BUT, WHAT ABOUT THE EXAMPLES THAT YOU AND I SET BY OUR LIVES? DOES THE LIGHT OF CHRIST SHINE FORTH THROUGH OUR LIVES SO THAT OTHERS MAY GIVE GLORY TO GOD? ARE WE FIRST-CLASS LETTERS THAT COMMUNICATE THE SAVING GRACE OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST TO A WORLD FULL OF COVERUP AND DECEPTIVE JUNK MAIL? ...OR ARE WE WILLING TO BE PART OF THAT SAME WORLD OF COVERUP AND DECEPTION?

JEWISH LAW TAUGHT THAT TOMBS WERE UNCLEAN AND THAT ANY PERSON TOUCHING ONE BECAME UNCLEAN. TO AVOID THIS, PARTICULARLY AT NIGHT, THE PRACTICE WAS TO WHITEWASH THE OUTSIDE. IN JERUSALEM, WE SAW MANY TOMBS THAT WERE BRIGHTLY WHITEWASHED. IN MATTHEW 23:27, JESUS SPEAKS VERY STRONGLY TO THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES, CALLING THEM HYPOCRITES. HE SAYS THAT THEY ARE LIKE WHITEWASHED TOMBS (the King James version reads, "whited sepulchres") WHICH ON THE OUTSIDE LOOK BEAUTIFUL, BUT INSIDE ARE FULL OF BONES OF THE DEAD AND OF ALL KINDS OF FILTH.

WHAT IS THERE ABOUT US WHO CALL OURSELVES "CHRISTIANS" THAT IS REALLY DIFFERENT FROM THOSE OUTSIDE THE CHURCH FAMILY? WE HEAR A GREAT DEAL ABOUT CHARGES BEING BROUGHT AND PEOPLE BEING PUT ON TRIAL FOR ONE THING AND ANOTHER. IF YOU WERE CHARGED TODAY FOR BEING A CHRISTIAN WOULD THERE BE ENOUGH EVIDENCE TO CONVICT YOU?

FOLKS, IT'S A HURTING, TROUBLED, AND DARK WORLD OUT THERE. IT IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO HELP BRIGHTEN THAT DARK WORLD AND THE ONLY FULL, AND COMPLETE, AND ENDURING CURE FOR THE PAIN AND TROUBLE AND DARKNESS OF THIS WORLD IS JESUS CHRIST, THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD! HE TOLD HIS FOLLOWERS, "IN THIS WORLD YOU YOU WILL HAVE TRIBULATION, BUT BE OF GOOD CHEER...I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD." (Matt. 16:33, KJV)

PAUL WROTE TO THE CHURCH AT ROME, "EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED. BUT HOW ARE THEY TO CALL ON ONE IN WHOM THEY HAVE NOT BELIEVED? AND HOW ARE THEY TO BELIEVE IN ONE OF WHOM THEY HAVE NOT HEARD? AND HOW ARE THEY TO HEAR WITHOUT SOMEONE TO PROCLAIM HIM? AND HOW ARE THEY TO PROCLAIM HIM UNLESS THEY ARE SENT?" (Romans 10:13-15a). SOME PEOPLE, BUT NOT ALL, CAN READ THE GOSPEL. SOME PEOPLE, BUT NOT ALL, CAN HEAR THE GOSPEL PREACHED. AS MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH, WE HAVE A GREAT RESPONSIBILITY. TO BE PROFESSING CHRISTIANS IS TO OFFER OUR LIVES FOR OTHERS TO READ IN THEM THE MESSAGE OF THE GOSPEL. THE LIFE OF EVERY CHRISTIAN OUGHT TO BE A VISIBLE TRANSLATION OF THE GOSPEL...A LETTER OF CHRIST TO BE READ.

THERE IS NO OTHER WAY IN WHICH MULTITUDES OF THOSE AROUND US WILL READ AND KNOW THE GOOD NEWS. BUT IF THIS IS TO HAPPEN, IT MUST FIRST BE WRITTEN IN OUR HEARTS. PEOPLE NEED THE LORD! PEOPLE NEED TO BE ABLE TO READ SOME REALLY FIRST-CLASS MAIL! IS YOUR LIFE AN EXAMPLE OF GOD'S AMAZING GRACE THROUGH JESUS CHRIST?

THIS IS THE FINAL DAY OF THE 213TH. ANNUAL MEETING OF THE BALTIMORE - WASHINGTON CONFERENCE OF THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH. OUR BISHOP HAS ESTABLISHED THE THEME "HOLY BOLDNESS"! LET'S NOT HIDE THE LIGHT OF CHRIST UNDER A BASKET, BUT BOLDLY DISPLAY IT ON THE LAMPSTANDS OF OUR LIVES!

SO, WHERE DOES THAT LEAVE US THIS MORNING? REALLY, IT ALL COMES DOWN TO YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. JUST AS THERE ARE PHYSICAL LAWS THAT GOVERN THE PHYSICAL UNIVERSE, SO THERE ARE SPIRITUAL LAWS THAT GOVERN YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. YOU MAY HAVE HEARD THIS MANY TIMES BEFORE, BUT IT NEEDS TO BE SAID OVER AND OVER AGAIN---GOD LOVES YOU AND HAS A WONDERFUL PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE.

THE BIBLE SAYS THAT GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, THAT WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH, BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE. (John 3:16) JESUS SAID THAT HE CAME THAT WE MIGHT HAVE LIFE, AND HAVE IT MORE ABUNDANTLY. ARE YOU EXPERIENCING THE ABUNDANT LIFE? THE BIBLE SAYS THAT ALL HAVE SINNED AND FALL SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD. (Romans 3:23) SO, OUR SIN SEPARATES US SPIRITUALLY FROM GOD. FRIENDS, GOD'S WORD SAYS IT VERY SIMPLY...JESUS CHRIST IS GOD'S ONLY PROVISION FOR OUR SIN. IT IS ONLY THROUGH HIM THAT WE CAN KNOW AND EXPERIENCE GOD'S LOVE AND PLAN FOR OUR LIVES. JESUS SAID, "I AM THE WAY, AND THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE; NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER BUT THROUGH ME." (John 14:6) SO, WE MUST INDIVIDUALLY RECEIVE JESUS CHRIST AS SAVIOR AND LORD. WE MUST RECEIVE CHRIST.

"BUT AS MANY AS RECEIVED HIM, TO THEM HE GAVE THE RIGHT TO BECOME CHILDREN OF GOD, EVEN TO THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN HIS NAME." (John 1:12) WE RECEIVE CHRIST BY FAITH. "FOR BY GRACE YOU HAVE BEEN SAVED THROUGH FAITH; AND THAT NOT OF YOURSELVES, IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD; NOT AS A RESULT OF WORKS, IN CASE ANYONE SHOULD BOAST. (Ephesians 2:8-9) AND WHEN WE RECEIVE CHRIST, WE EXPERIENCE A NEW BIRTH...OLD THINGS ARE PASSED AWAY AND EVERYTHING IN OUR LIVES BECOMES NEW!

DO YOU HAVE A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST? ARE YOU ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN THAT IF YOU WERE DIE TODAY YOU'D GO TO HEAVEN? IS YOUR LIFE A TESTIMONY TO YOUR WALK WITH JESUS? ARE YOU A LETTER OF CHRIST TO BE KNOW AND READ BY ALL?

IF YOU'RE NOT REALLY POSITIVE OF YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST, WHY NOT MAKE CERTAIN ONCE AND FOR ALL BEFORE YOU LEAVE HERE THIS MORNING? OR...IF YOU REALLY KNOW THAT JESUS IS THE LORD OF YOUR LIFE, MAYBE YOU FEEL THE NEED FOR A CLOSER WALK WITH HIM.

IN JUST A MOMENT, WE'LL CONCLUDE THIS SERVICE BY SINGING OUR CLOSING HYMN. I WANT TO INVITE YOU TO ENTER INTO A NEW, OR A DEEPER RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST. YOU CAN CERTAINLY DO THAT RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE ...BUT IF THE HOLY SPIRIT LEADS YOU TO DO SO, I INVITE YOU TO COME FORWARD AND STAND HERE AT THE ALTAR RAIL. GOD WILL MEET YOU WHEREVER YOU'RE WILLING TO MEET HIM. THEN, GO FROM THIS PLACE TO BE A LIVING LETTER OF CHRIST!