MythBusters: Can we really change the world?
Part II

I Corinthians 2:1-5

Some of you have returned tonight because in Oklahoma that’s what your supposed to do on Sunday nights you gather your family in from tv, napping, playing, golfing whatever it is and you go to church and that’s okay. I’m glad you’re here tonight, because God has a Word for you that I pray will have you seeing things in a different light.

But there are some of you that came back tonight, because you are hungry for change and you are hungry for the change that only God can bring. And God has a Word for you tonight that will not only change your life, but He will show you how you can be a people changer, so that you can be on your way to becoming world changer.

This morning we looked at the myth of whether or not we can really change the world. And we said that if we wanted to be world changers we had to come to a place where we care more about those around us. We have to become givers instead of takers. We have to build 100-100 relationships instead of 50-50.

But some of you went away this morning saying that’s easy for you to say brother from behind a pulpit. And I say to you that no the message that was brought to you this morning was one of the hardest things that God has dealt with me and is still dealing with me over the last several months.

Right now we could find ourselves just like the people that told Jesus what a hard teaching it was when He taught them about eating His flesh and drinking His blood if they wanted to have eternal life. This was just a day after they experienced Him feed the 5,000 men with just five loaves of bread and a couple of fish.

The disciples, after hearing what Jesus had told the crowd, said this is a diffi-cult statement, who can listen to this?

Meaning how can we eat your flesh and how can we drink your blood? Was this what you left thinking this morning. How can I be a giver 100% all of the time? This is a hard statement, who can listen to this?

Well let me relieve a little pressure – you can’t! There is no way in the world you can be a giver 100% of the time. It’s not humanly possible. But the Bible tells us in Matthew 19 verse 26 that with God all things are possible. Amen!

Let’s look tonight to see what has to happen to us in order for us to be world changers. In order to be world changers we have to be depositors. We have to make deposits in people. We have to be influencers. But how can I influence others?

Let me first start by sharing a story with you:

Have you heard of Derek Redman? Very few people have. But I want to share with you a story about a very courageous man, but I want you to see the man behind the man.

Unlike Carl Lewis and Daley Thompson, Derek Redmond is not a name that conjures up memories of Olympic gold medals. But it is Redmond who defines the essence of the human spirit.

Redmond arrived at the 1992 Olympic Summer Games in Barcelona deter-mined to win a medal in the 400-meter dash. The color of the medal was meaningless; he just wanted to win one. Just one.

He had been forced to withdraw from the 400 at the 1988 Games in Seoul, only 10 minutes before the race, because of an Achilles tendon injury. He then underwent five surgeries over the next year. This was the same runner who had shattered the British 400-meter record at age 19. So when the 1992 Games arrived, this was his time, his moment, his stage, to show the world who he was and just how good he was Derek's father Jim had accompanied him to Barcelona, just as he did for all world competitions. They were as close as a father and son could be. Inseparable, really. The best of friends. When Derek ran, it was as if his father were running right next to him.

The day of the race arrived. Father and son reminisce about what it took for Derek to get to this point. They talk about ignoring past heartbreaks, past failures. They agree that if anything bad happens, no matter what it is, Derek has to finish the race, period.

The top four finishers in each of the two semifinal heats qualify for the Olympic final. As race time approaches for the semifinal 400 heat, Jim heads up to his seat at the top of Olympic Stadium, not far from where the Olympic torch was lit just a few days earlier. He is wearing a T-shirt that reads, "Have you hugged your foot today?"

The stadium is packed with 65,000 fans, bracing themselves for one of sport's greatest and most exciting spectacles. The race begins and Redmond breaks from the pack and quickly seizes the lead. "Keep it up, keep it up," Jim says to himself.

Let’s honor God with the rest of the time that we have here tonight and we’ll finish our story in just a little bit.

The Bible says that all things are possible with God. With God we can have influence on others. Why is that? Because all power lies with God. God is all powerful. He is the Ultimate Source of Power. So if all things are possible, because God is and has power, we’ve got to find out how to tap into that power source?

Turn with me if you will to I Corinthians chapter two and we’ll start in verse one – please stand with me as we honor the reading of God’s Word. It says in I Corinthians beginning in verse one . . .

Paul tells us the power is in the cross.

Today we have forgotten the true meaning of the cross. In today’s society the cross is a plain gold charm for your necklace. Sometimes they are very ornate with gemstones attached to them. The cross has become little more than a fashionable decoration.

But to be an influencer you have to invest in people, and you have to care about people. Why? Because God invested in you and He cared about you. And He has invested in others and He cares about others as well.

You see to people changers we have to go to the cross. Everyone has to have a personal encounter with the Savior Jesus Christ. Everybody has to be taken to the cross at some point in their life.

Look at 2 Timothy chapter 2 verse 1

He is telling Timothy throughout chapter two about how to be a people changer. And the first thing he calls him is his son. He was part of the family. What family. God’s family. How does one become a member of God’s family – the Cross.

Some of you might be asking what’s the big deal about the cross. Well that’s where it all went down. You know if you’ve ever heard about drug deals on TV cop shows or something like that. They are always asking where’s it going down?

Well at the Cross is where the celestial deal of all deals went down. It’ was at the Cross where Satan thought he had won the victory, but it was at the Cross where the God of all that is and is to come ultimately defeated the liar. It all went down at the Cross.

You remember the old hymn:

Alas, and did my Savior bleed,
And did my Sov'reign die?
Would He devote that sacred head
For such a worm as I?

At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light and the burden of my heart rolled away. It was there by faith I received my sight and now I am happy all the day.

You see at the Cross of Christ is where the penalty of your sin was paid.

The Book of Romans tells us that the wages of sin is death. God is a just God and because man sinned against Him that forced His hand of justice, which led to the penalty of death – it came both physically and spiritually. You and I deserve death. PERIOD end of conversation.

There’s so much detail here that we don’t have time for, but let me share with you that is was no wonder that Jesus came when He did.

See he came during a time when the land was ruled by Romans and people had to follow Roman law for the most part. We don’t have time to go into a deep study of Roman law, but unlike American law where the one that does the crime has to do the time, in Rome there were times where someone could step in and pay the penalty for the offender even though they did not commit the crime.

Jesus stepped in and took my place. And Jesus stepped in and took your place. And Jesus stepped in and took the place of the people around you, yea the people of the world. If we want to be people changers and we want to be world changers we have to take people to the cross.

The final cry of Jesus from the Cross was It is finished! Most people think that He was saying my work on earth is done. And while that may well be part of what He was saying.

He cried out a term that was a Roman legal term. You see even in Rome they had the double jeopardy law – you can’t be tried twice for the same crime – and so if you stole a $1,000 from your neighbor once your punishment was completed you got a certificate with the stamp that included it is finished. So when you were traveling down the road and Joe Blow Roman Solider said hey wait a minute I’ve seen your Wanted Posters hanging around, aren’t you the guy – and you could say yes I am, but look at this – It is Finished the solider would read – he would hand you back your paper and wish you well along your way.

Hey man your debts have been paid for. It is finished – you are covered by the blood of the Lamb – PERIOD – Man it’s over – don’t let anyone tell you that you can lose your salvation – don’t let satan deceive you into thinking that if you do something wrong that you’re going to hell – I’m I telling you to go out and steal or kill or sleep around or get drunk – no – but I am telling you that if you mess up that it’s taken care of – fess up – ask for forgiveness – learn from your mistake and move on. God’s got a plan for you life and it doesn’t include rolling around in your past mud.

Now you are asking well what does that have to do with Paul calling Timothy his son. Well Christ’s death on the cross allowed God to move out of justice mode and into grace and mercy mode – Since He has dealt with His justice now He can dish out mercy and grace and not conflict with Himself. And He wants to show you grace and mercy by adopting you into His family. He wants to save you.

He has saved me, he has saved many of you and if you are hear tonight and you haven’t come to the place where you have accepted Jesus’ payment for your sin and asked God to forgive you and repented of your sin, you need to do that tonight. Don’t wait any longer – right now where you sit you don’t need to bow your head or close your eyes – because God knows your heart – just within yourself with all conviction and faith ask God to forgive you of your sin. Tell Him you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior as the payment for your sin. Tell Him that you repent of your sin and ask Him to save you. If you did that you are now a part of the family. You have just been adopted. You are now a son or a daughter in the family of God.

If we want to be people changers we have to share that truth with the people around us – the people that God has placed in our paths.

Here’s the problem though. People have been taught for some many years that after you are saved you are saved and it’s just a waiting game until death. Oh dear brother and sister how wrong that teaching is.

I’ve said for a long time now that Baptists have done a terrific job of taking the Gospel across this land, but not only across this land but to the furtherest reaches of the world. Oh we do a great job of sharing the Gospel, but we have missed an integral step in the process. See salvation is a three stage process, again we don’t have the time to do a full-fledged study tonight. But there is regeneration, sanctification and glorification. Regeneration is coming to the cross – getting adopted into the family. And as Baptists we have skipped right to the glorification process. Yeah your saved and just hang on until you get to heaven.

Oh man no – there is a middle ground – there is another step. It’s the sanctification process. It’s the process that starts with regeneration, but it doesn’t end until glorification. See we’ve been selling fire insurance policies for way to many years. Some of you sitting here tonight have your fire insurance policy tucked away in your coats or your Bibles. Hey man I’ve been saved. Glory Glory Hallelujah I’ll see you in heaven one day. And you come to church every Sunday and every Wednesday and you give glory to God because He’s your savior. You come to the cross and there you find Jesus and the payment for your sin. I’ve got news for you man Jesus isn’t on the cross anymore Amen!

Jesus has been resurrected. Jesus is alive. You’ve got to come to the point that you take Jesus down off the cross and let him be more than a Savior. You’ve got to let Him come down and be Lord of your life. He’s got to be your boss. He’s got to be your coach. He’s got to be your mentor. He’s got to be your Father.

Do we need to come to Jesus as Savior. Yes. When we have sinned we need a savior. We need to seek that forgiveness and it is given because Jesus died on the cross. But man you’ve got to let Him come down after that and be so much more than that.

See we’ve got to take people to the cross, but once they’re in the family, we have to disciple them. And we do that by being disciples ourselves. We have to be the hands, the feet, the mouth of Jesus in the lives of others. We have to let go and let God.

What do you mean.

The Bible says unless a man deny himself and take up his cross daily he can not be a follower of Jesus. What does that mean. The ancient people knew what it meant when they heard that phrase. You see carrying your cross doesn’t mean that you sacrifice some of your time and your money. It doesn’t mean that you spend 30 minutes a day reading your Bible. It doesn’t mean you pray for 15 minutes a day and before every meal. Are all those things good. Yes. Do we need to do those things. Yes.

But the ancients knew when Jesus said you have to take up your cross daily to follow me, man they knew they were going to have to die. Not physically but they had to die every day to their own agenda. No longer where their lives their own. They had a new master and it wasn’t themselves it was God.

If you are sitting here tonight and you have been saved. You are no longer the master of your universe man. You have a new Master. You have THE Master and He needs to be in charge of your life. But He doesn’t force Himself on you and He won’t lead you and guide you unless you ask Him to, unless you deny yourself, unless you die to what it is that you want to do, where you want to live, what occupation you want to have, what music you want to listen to, what movies you want to watch, what you put into your body.

Some of you hear have a Savior, but you don’t have a Father. Paul tells Timothy it’s all about relationships man. Let God be more than your savior. Let Him be your Father, Coach, Mentor, Teacher, Maestro.

You want to be people changers you have to invest that way in the lives of others around you. You have to be someone’s father even if you don’t have children. You have to be someone’s coach even if it’s not basketball or football. You have to be someone’s teacher even if it’s not math or science or history. You have to be someone’s Maestro even if you don’t know how to play a piano.

You want to be people changers, start depositing what God has given you into the lives of other people. God doesn’t ask us to do this He commands us to do this. Go ye therefore into all nations making disciples . . .

See God didn’t give us a fire insurance policy when He saved our behinds from the depths of hell. He saved us to be workers in His kingdom. We’ve got a job to do. Once again we can’t do it, we are just a vessel to be worked through, but He can’t work through us unless we give Him permission.

Down the backstretch they came, only 175 meters away from finishing, Redmond is a shoo-in to make the finals. Suddenly, he hears a pop. In his right hamstring. He pulls up lame, as if he had been shot.

"Oh, no," Jim says to himself. His face pales. His leg quivering, Redmond begins hopping on one leg, then slows down and falls to the track. As he lays on the track, clutching his right hamstring, a medical personnel unit runs toward him. At the same time, Jim Redmond, seeing his son in trouble, races down from the top row of the stands, sidestepping people, bumping into others. He has no credential to be on the track, but all he thinks about is getting to his son, to help him up. "I wasn't going to be stopped by anyone," he later tells the media.

On the track, Redmond realizes his dream of an Olympic medal is gone. Tears run down his face. "All I could think was, 'I'm out of the Olympics -- again,'" he would say.

As the medical crew arrives with a stretcher, Redmond tells them, "No, there's no way I'm getting on that stretcher. I'm going to finish my race."
Then, in a moment that will live forever in the minds of millions, Redmond lifts himself to his feet, ever so slowly, and starts hobbling down the track. The other runners have finished the race, with Steve Lewis of the U.S. winning the contest in 44.50. Suddenly, everyone realizes that Redmond isn't dropping out of the race by hobbling off to the side of the track. No, he is actually contin-uing on one leg. He's going to attempt to hobble his way to the finish line. All by himself. All in the name of pride and heart.

Slowly, the crowd, in total disbelief, rises and begins to roar. The roar gets louder and louder. Through the searing pain, Redmond hears the cheers, but "I wasn't doing it for the crowd," he would later say. "I was doing it for me. Whether people thought I was an idiot or a hero, I wanted to finish the race. I'm the one who has to live with it."

One painful step at a time, each one a little slower and more painful than the one before, his face twisted with pain and tears, Redmond limps onward, and the crowd, many in tears, cheer him on.

Suddenly, Jim Redmond finally gets to the bottom of the stands, leaps over the railing, avoids a security guard, and runs out to his son, with two security people chasing after him. "That's my son out there," he yells back to security, "and I'm going to help him."

Finally, with Derek refusing to surrender and painfully limping along the track, Jim reaches his son at the final curve, about 120 meters from the finish, and wraps his arm around his waist.

"I'm here, son," Jim says softly, hugging his boy. "We'll finish together." Derek puts his arms around his father's shoulders and sobs.

Together, arm in arm, father and son, with 65,000 people cheering, clapping and crying, finish the race, just as they vowed they would. A couple steps from the finish line, and with the crowd in an absolute frenzy, Jim releases the grip he has on his son, so Derek could cross the finish line by himself. Then he throws his arms around Derek again, both crying, along with everyone in the stands and on TV.

"I'm the proudest father alive," he tells the press afterwards, tears in his eyes. "I'm prouder of him than I would have been if he had won the gold medal. It took a lot of guts for him to do what he did."

Jim had invested almost his entire life into his son. He was with him every step of the way. If we want to be world changers we have to invest our lives into the life of others. We have to pass on what God has given us because freely we have been given and freely we are to give.

Let me close with the following story:

A pastor was speaking to a group of college students in his congregation one day. He said “Children you’re going to die!” He said, “one of these days they are going to take you out to the cemetery and put you in a hole, throw some dirt on your face and then head back to the church and eat some potato salad.

Obviously he had a sense of humor as well.

But the point of the story was that he told this group of college students “when you were born you were crying and all alone and everyone else around you was smiling and happy.” The important question I want to ask you is when you die are you going to be all alone and leave everyone crying?

They looked at him with a puzzled look as if what do you mean.

He said it all depends on whether you live to gain title or testimonies. When you lay there in your casket are people going to stand up and recite all the degrees you earned and all the fancy titles you collected or are they going to stand over you and give testimony about all the good things you did for them? Will you leave behind a just a newspaper article that tells people how important you were, or will people by crying over you because they just lost the best friend they ever had?

There’s nothing wrong with titles . . . titles are good to have. But if you ever have to choose between a title and a testimony . . . which one will you choose?

To be world changers we have to give up our focus on titles for titles sake and start focusing on people.