Johnny Come Lately Much? Luke 1:46-56

I hear the bells are ringing loud and clear You

can't help but love this time of year It's Christmas

time and something in the air There's a little

bit of heaven everywhere Thank you. Thank you.

So also, because I can only hear about 60 % of

my saying, I may speak about 40 % longer today

to make sure I get it all in. I'm not going to

do that. Who buzzed me? Somebody buzzed me? Okay.

Anyway. All right. So have you heard of the saying,

Johnny, come lately? The original saying, by

the way, was Johnny newcom. The combination word

newcom. And it's an old English saying. from

over 200 years ago, became extremely popular

just over 200 years ago. It's kind of controversial.

It first appeared in 1808 in a series of satirical,

politicized cartoons. So newspaper was huge then,

all over Europe, really, and even the world.

And these cartoons were published in the newspaper,

and then they were so contentious. of sailors

in the West Indies that the cartoonist was later

convicted of libel. Now that probably wouldn't

happen today, but the cartoons were so impactful

and they were so rude about sailors who were

Johnny Newcomb, meaning they had come to the

regions that they were in and they were not part

of winning. The war, they were not part of the

military victory, and they would come in there,

and they were basically just partying all the

time, drinking it up, and not being very good

sailors. So after the libel case, other satirists

took up the torch and made follow -up pieces

to kind of vindicate the guy who was being persecuted

for his cartoons. And in 1812, a man named William

Elms, which you don't need to remember that name,

but some people do, obviously, created the etchings.

which was just that, cartoons following the same

idea of sailors who were not responsible for

past victories but were getting all kind of credit

for it and authority because of it. So the term

rose in popularity in continued publications,

but the cartoons then changed from political

to just comical, and they poked a lot of fun

at youthful sailors in general, specifically

the ones spending more time carousing and drinking

than doing their duty. for crown and country.

Some notable ones include Thomas Rowlandson's

The Military Adventures of Johnny Newcomb, there's

that saying, which was published in 1815, and

a poem by Alfred Burton in 1818, and John Milford's

illustrated poem The Adventures of Johnny Newcomb,

which came out in 1819, which actually satirized

the original stuff. In 1839 then, so now we're

less than 200 years ago, in a novel, The Adventures

of Harry Franco, which is a pretty famous novel,

a character says, but it's Johnny come lately,

ain't it you? Thus changing the idiom for all

history. And now in England and the United States

of America, it's no longer Johnny Newcomb, that's

gone. It's been gone since 1840, 41, and everybody

says Johnny come lately. So a Johnny come lately

person then is a person who gets the benefits,

of those who went before, shows up on the scene,

thinks they know a lot, maybe thinks that they're

better even than the other people, and then sort

of turns out to be not that. They don't really

have the knowledge or don't really have what

they're pretending to have. So I want you to

bear that in mind then as we look at this text

today, and we're going to look at the text specifically

as it relates to us and Christianity and new

Christians in particular. And so grab your Bibles,

if you would, maybe give a little hoot or holler,

amen. Got to be about 40 % louder today than

normal. As we go to Luke chapter one. Amen. Thank

you. I heard you. I did. I heard you. Okay. Good

stuff. All right. So Luke chapter one, beginning

in verse 46, it's just 11 verses. It'll go by

fairly quickly. And I think the sermon will go

by a little quickly today, but the points are

poignant. They really affected me. And so I pray

that they will affect you too. Verse 46, it says

this, And Mary said, My soul exalts the Lord.

So this is the occasion. Mary is now visiting

Elizabeth. Now you remember from last week's

sermon, we heard the angel Gabriel, and he kind

of like said that she could know that God was

going to, in part, know that God was going to

do what he was saying he was going to do because

of what God was already doing in Elizabeth's

life. And so by this time, Elizabeth is six months

pregnant after having been and she was probably

not necessarily completely past child -rearing

age, but her husband was past child -producing

age, generally speaking, as was acceptable at

that time. And so they were both pretty old.

It was old for her to be having a baby, but not

impossible. But it was pretty unheard of for

him to be having a son. And so Mary goes to visit

her, and Mary said, after Elizabeth says, the

baby jumped in my womb, wow, you're the mother

of the Son of God, and she's just like... dotes

on Mary how awesome it is that God's doing what

he's doing through Mary. Mary said, my soul exalts

the Lord. To exalt something is to put up the

Lord. To put the Lord up in the air as he is

the only God. He is sovereign. He is powerful.

He is mighty. He's the only one able. I submit

to only God. When I was at Pizza Hut many years

ago, during my last semester there, my last six

months there, the manager came in and she pulled

me in the walk -in because I had done something.

that she considered to be an atrocity. And she

was cussing me out in the walk -in. Our walk

-in had glass doors on it, which faced the kitchen.

And so if you can imagine working in the kitchen

that day, it was like this. It was quiet. And

then you open the walk -in and there's the manager

going, spewing cuss words at the area manager,

spewing cuss words at me. And then they quickly

shut the door. They get what they need, quickly

shut the door. It would go away from it. And

then they open the door again, right? And so

it wasn't done privately. It was done very publicly,

even though it was done in the walk -in. And

ultimately, I just kind of stood there and I

was a Christian at that time. And she said, you

know what your problem is? And I said, well,

no, not actually, because I'm trying to figure

out why you're yelling at me over something that

I felt was the right thing to do. I said, but

I suppose you're going to tell me. And she said,

your problem is you're not afraid of me. And

in that moment, I discovered something about

myself as a young Christian. And that was that

I had lost my fear of people and the things that

people do. Now, I'm not saying that's necessarily

a good thing. And I have been afraid at times

since then. It was not necessarily a permanent

thing. But in that moment, she was right. I was

not afraid. And Mary is saying, my soul exalts

the Lord. Only God. Only God could do this. Only

God is the one. And that's what it means to exalt

the Lord. To lose touch, if you will, with the

ramifications of the events of your life in light

of God's love. That he is what he is. And my

spirit has rejoiced, she says, in God my Savior.

The word there, Savior, is awesome because she

realizes that the baby that is being born in

her, that has been conceived in her, that she

will get birth to, is her Savior. That is an

incredible thought to realize that you're carrying

the baby who will save your soul. And it's present

tense. Verse 48. For he has had regard for the

humble state of his bond slave. God had regard.

for the state of Mary. And a bond slave, as I

mentioned last week, is somebody who had committed

themselves. They could be free, but they choose

not to be free. And she chose to be a servant

of God, and God has had regard for her state.

For behold, from this time on, all generations

will count me blessed. And is that not true?

Every generation since the generation of Mary

has known this name without fail. And we know

it, and we propagate it throughout the earth.

Not that she is part of the Trinity or not that

she saves people or not that she is a priest

or priestess or anything like that, but that

she was the human being that God used to bring

the Son of God into the world. Verse 48 then

says, I want you to see those two words there.

They are huge little words. Sometimes you're

reading a scripture and you run into a word and

you kind of might, that's like in another book,

you might just kind of glance over it. But I

want you to see these words. They are two small

little words that are huge. Has done, past tense,

has done. The mighty one has done great things

for me. Would God yet do great things for her?

Sure, but he had already done great things. And

she said, and holy. is his name. And when you

see that word holy in scripture, I want you to

think of like completely different in a way that

only God is different. And so when we say we

want to be holy, we want to be different from

the world around us. You cannot be holy if you

are the same as the world around you, because

holy means different, okay? So if you're the

same as the world around you, you cannot be holy.

We want to be different from the world around

us, but in a way that God is different. So you

can be different. There are people that go, I'm

going to be different, right? I noticed this

some years back when people started kind of joining

the goth movement. I'm going to be different.

I'm going to be goth so I can be different, right?

And then somebody said, well, there's 12 million

goth in America. Well, that's not very different,

right? You're not really being different. You're

trying to insult the people around you a little

bit by being different and kind of make friction

or whatever. But the reality is you're not different.

You're joining a very large group. God is not

like that. God is one. He is three in one, but

he is one. And when we join him and become holy,

it makes us different from the world. And we

become different like other Christians are different

if they're also doing the same thing. So it said,

for the mighty one has done great things for

me and holy is his name. And his mercy is upon

generation and generation toward those who fear

him. See, God had already been doing this. The

fact that Jesus is coming then is not a new thing.

It seems like a new thing, right? But the truth

is God had been giving prophecy, teaching the

salvation would be through a way that God would

make. All the way back. This is not really a

new thing in that regards. It's new in their

day because they finally get to see it, but it's

been waited for. God has already been doing this.

His mercy, God's mercy has already been upon

generation and generation toward those who fear

him. He has done mighty deeds. There it is. There's

those two words again. Has done. He has done

mighty deeds with his arm. He has, now we've

shrinked it down to one, has, there it is, past

tense. He has scattered those who were proud

in the thoughts of their heart. So she's saying,

when people think they're all that in a bag of

chips, God busts their bag of chips wide open.

And so you'd be aware that when you start to

think that you're arriving and you're somehow

getting up, even in your family, if you're a

husband, you're getting up over your wife or

your kids, you're going to be in charge, or you're

a mother, you're over top of your kids, your

grandkids, right? Or you're in your ministry

and it's going well, or you're called to be a

pastor or a deacon or a Sunday school teacher.

You'd be aware that if you start to think of

yourself as all that in a bag of chips, God's

going to scatter your chips. Because God has

always been a one who scattered those who were

proud in the thoughts of their heart. 52, he

has brought down rulers from their thrones. See,

it progressed like this throughout history, that

the kings who ruled in their day had absolute

authority. Absolute authority. And now you can

watch, you can see this really well in the book

of Daniel, where Daniel has the vision of the

great statue. You watch as the authority of kings

dissolved away. And the truth is, in the United

States of America, we don't have a king, per

se. We have a president. And the president has

limited authority. And so even his executive

orders, which are enacted on basically immediately,

can be then challenged in court, can be dismissed

by the Congress. So there aren't any kings like

the kings once were. It used to be in feudal

Europe that if a duke had a subject in their

kingdom and a man and a woman wanted to get married,

this is near and true. near and dear to some

of us, right? If a man and a woman wanted to

get married, that the Duke had first right to

sleep with the woman before she could get married.

That was the law. And so if he didn't want to,

he didn't have to. But if a man and woman petitioned

to be married, they had to petition to be married.

If they petitioned to be married and they wanted

to get married, then the Duke had first right

to sleep with the woman before she could marry

and sleep with her husband. That's the kind of

authority that used to exist in monarchical reign.

Now, the reason that was like that was because

supposedly they were ordained of God to be the

duke, right? That is messed up Christianity.

That's not godly Christianity. That's not anything

that's in the Bible. But that's what people sometimes

do when the thoughts of their own minds start

to think they know how they want it to go. God

scattered those who were proud in their thoughts,

and he brought down rulers from their thrones,

and he has exalted those who are humble. And

so if you're willing to recognize you need God

to do something for you, if you need God and

you need Jesus Christ, then you'd better humbly

come for that, because what if God decides to

say no? You say, well, God never says no. They

said he doesn't say no. God never says no when

the question is genuinely asked. When the question

is humbly entreating him for salvation, if you

ask God genuinely for salvation through Jesus

Christ, he will not fail to spare you. He will

not fail to send you to heaven instead of hell.

That will happen. For God doesn't send anyone

to hell. He allows people to go to hell who either

A, don't want to go to heaven, or B, who will

not humbly come to him and receive the free gift

of salvation that he has already willingly paid

for. God exalted, past tense, he has exalted

those who were humble. He has filled the hungry

with good things. He has sent away the rich empty

-handed. Notice these are all past tense. And

the tense that's used here is in the past and

ongoing through the present into the future.

So it's continuing to happen this way today.

A couple of verses left. He was given help. He

has given help. Has given, past tense, help.

Given help to Israel, his servant. in remembrance

of his mercy. God did not help Israel, his servant,

because they were good. You look at the Old Testament,

they did all kinds of wrong things, right? They

do things right for a while and then drift into

the wrong. And yet God continued to give them

help. We looked at that a lot in the book of

Judges where they would sin against God and then

they would be oppressed because of the sin that

they had. And then they would cry out to God,

like, God, we can't survive if you don't help

us. We humbly come to you. Please, God, we beg

you, help us. And then God would help them, not

because they deserved it, but because he was

God. And that's what she's saying. He has given

help to Israel, his servant, in remembrance of

his mercy. And then 55 says, as he spoke to our

fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever,

it has always been that way. And God has always

been making it clear. The effort is not new.

56 simply says, and Mary stayed with her for

about three months and then returned to her home.

So this song, if you will, this teaching. is

packed with, we could literally spend six months

of breaking down each one of those little phrases.

But there were a few things in here in particular

that God really brought to mind to me to bring

today. And the first one you already kind of

got a hint of, and that is that God is already

working. God is already working. Faith is this,

the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction

of things not seen. That's Hebrews 11, 1 and

2. 2 actually says, for by it the men of God.

gained approval. See, we believe God, we trust

God, we know God, and we can do so willingly

because God has already been doing. If you arrive

in the moment in time and you begin to say to

yourself, I don't know if God's doing anything,

that's called doubt and you really shouldn't

think that you have anything. Because God is

always working. We'll get to that in a second.

God is always working. God is already working

on the plan. So the moment at which I walk forward

down the aisle of East Toledo Baptist Church

and stood in front of a room of people, which

I could never do, and profess the name of Christ

and request baptism and ask to join the church,

all of which I could never have done in my flesh.

If somebody had come to me and said, I'll give

you a million dollars if you stand in front of

East Toledo Baptist Church, I would have worked

up to it and probably got there, but it would

have taken a lot. That is not something I could

have done. This sermon that I'm preaching to

you now is not something I could have done as

an unsaved person. The first sermon I ever preached

was written out word for word, text, every word

written out on the front and back of note cards.

And I stood up and read those note cards, not

preaching like I'm preaching now, not able to

look anybody in the eye, not believing barely

what I was saying, right? God is already working.

And when I did those early steps of faith, God

had been working on me getting saved, me transforming

into who he was making me into for decades. The

faint memories I have of going to Sunday school

for five months when I was five years old. The

young man who was 12 years old in my neighborhood

who shared the gospel with me and I mocked him

and persecuted him. When I went to the Lucas

County Fair and a Lutheran man shared the gospel

with me and I was ready to accept Christ and

maybe I even did. But they thought you had to

kneel to pray, that you're not allowed to stand

to pray, the people at that tent did. And so

he was trying to lead me back into the tent and

kneel on cardboard so I could pray to accept

Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. And he said,

you've got to do this right now. You've got to

do it right now or you might lose it. And my

brother was trying to drag me out to go with

my parents who were saying if I didn't come right

now, I was in trouble. And I gave in to my brother

and left there and left that prayer and left

that man who was sharing Christ and either never

became a Christian or never grew at all. Because

I was responding. I did believe in faith, but

I wasn't doing anything. God is working already.

So the hardship that you're currently facing

today, God foresaw the hardship. The blessing

that you're currently receiving today, God foresaw

the blessing. And he was already at work on the

resolution before you ever became aware of the

problem or before you ever became aware of the

need. And so really it's about us. submitting

to the work that God's already doing. And we

join him in doing that work. That's the key.

So when life gets really hard and difficult all

of a sudden, you don't stop going to worship.

You don't stop praising God. You don't stop sharing

the gospel. All of a sudden, wow, I can't believe

God let this happen. I'm going to stick a pin

in my faith and walk away for a couple of weeks.

No, that's not how it works. Instead, in that

moment, you have to say, God is already working.

I am going to join God in the work that he's

doing. I do that by praise. I do it by service.

I do it by sharing the gospel. This is the great

work of God, that souls are still getting saved

today. God yearns for one thing, and that is

a right relationship with mankind. He already

paid the tab. It's like if you showed up at the

restaurant and you're debating, you're looking

at the menu and you're debating, like, I think

I'll have a salad today. I've been trying to

eat healthy. But I got to get about a pound of

meat on the salad because that's what really

makes it taste good. But that's not really healthy.

But it does sound good. It's $13 .99. And if

you walked up to the table and the waitress said,

what would you like to eat? And you said, I'll

take the $13 .99 salad that's full of meat because

I'm trying to eat healthy. And she said, okay.

And she did a little spin around and set it down

on the table in front of you. There it is. Like

as if she already knew what you were going to

order. God already knows what you're going to

order. God's already in the kitchen cooking it

up. He's got it all planned. You're debating

on what to pick off the menu and the cook is

already prepared and it's already on the way

to the table. And as long as you stay there and

debate, the arrival of the food remains because

he's waiting for you to say, I'll take the salad.

He's waiting for you to humbly become part of

the team. Faith is this. It's the channel that

we open to be saved. We believe in things that

we don't yet have, and yet we know that God wants

them for us, has promised them for us, and therefore

we get them. You open the channel. It's like

a giant straw the size of your head, and you

slip it over your head, and it goes all the way

to the throne of God, and there is the Holy Spirit

poured down into you every day, and more than

you can possibly ever hope for. Faith is the

assurance of things hoped for, the conviction

of things not seen. For by it, the men of old

gained approval. And then a little later in that

chapter, just a few verses later, it says, and

without faith, it is impossible to please God.

It is impossible to please him. For he who comes

to God must believe that he is, that God is,

and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him.

God is already at work. And every time you black

him out, every time you redact him from the file

that tells the story of your current conviction,

Every time you do that, you're trying to cut

off the channel between you and God. That's how

your sin throws up a barrier. And as a saved

person, that should not be possible. We lie sometimes,

but we don't become a liar. The truth is we should

never lie because God is already at work. And

the moment that we lie, we're not doing the work

of God. We're doing the opposite of what God

would have us to do. So we're declining the good

things that God is offering us. Are you ready

today to stop declining? The work that God is

already doing in your life. God is already working,

Mary is basically saying. So God's sovereignty

is unquestionable. God is in control. He is completely

in control. He made it all from the beginning.

You know who knows how to read DNA? Well, God

does because he's the one who wrote it, right?

I might go try to read Spanish and I'm like,

you know, 8 % proficient or something. But if

I wrote the DNA myself from scratch, made up

the characters and put it all together, then

I would be able to read it. And mankind is struggling

to adapt to the science that God built into creation.

And he was there. In fact, Jesus was there and

nothing was made except that which was made through

him. Why? Because God's sovereignty is unquestionable.

He's got it under control. When I was at Great

Lakes and toward the very end, I had about, I

had really about a year worth of college left

to finish my Bible college degree, and that was

at 12 to 15 hours a semester. And that was going

to be hard because God had moved us back to Perrysburg.

We were living down here in Perrysburg. And let

me tell you, that 126 miles sometimes became

like a trip to the dentist, like an hour and

a half, two hour long trip to the dentist. It

was hard. There were times where I would get

out of the car and I would go in the living room.

Sherry was already in bed sleeping. I was getting

home at two o 'clock in the morning or whatever.

And I would put the key in a lock, would open

the door. Sometimes I would leave my keys in

the door and I would literally crawl into the

apartment and fall asleep on the floor just inside

the door. But I believed that God was already

doing the work. He was preparing me for the ministry.

He was preparing me for what he was going to

do. And it was only a couple of times. A couple

of times at 4 or 5 o 'clock in the morning, she

would get up and she'd go looking for me, find

me sleeping on the floor, and she would help

me get up off the floor and get me to bed. because

I had driven the two hours after sitting in the

three -hour class, after driving the two hours,

after working an eight -hour day, and I was done.

I was spent, but I was trusting in God to do

something. And you're like, well, that doesn't

make any sense. And the truth is, it probably

doesn't make any sense. And then when I realized

that God was doing it, I began to trust him.

I shifted my life around, and I made a priority

of the Bible college, as I had done at the first,

and it became God's work. At which time they

came on and they said, well, we know you're going

to have to be here sometimes until really late,

so we'll give you a free dorm room for a year.

So if you're here late, you can just sleep here,

get up and go to class in the morning, and then

drive home. Now, I didn't really want to do that

because I didn't want to be away from home, and

so I never put anything in there. I never even

left my toothbrush there. There was a blanket,

which was left from the person before me, and

a half a roll of toilet paper, which I used up

in two semesters. That tells you how many times

I went to the bathroom there. But they gave me

a free dorm room. And then they never gave me

a key. And then I broke into the dorm because

they told me I could because they couldn't find

the key. And so then I proceeded to, every time

I went to stay in my dorm room, break into the

dorm room. And in a year, they never gave me

a key. But that's one of the nice things about

being an apartment complex maintenance guy from

way back is you can break into places. And so

I did that. I remember the first night, 3 o 'clock

in the morning, looking at my trunk going, how

am I going to break into this dorm room? And

finding pieces. And I found a little gap gauge

set, which I probably had. I actually got it.

Ron's not here today, probably not feeling well.

But anyway, I got it from Ron's house because

we renovated Ron's house, and there was a little

gap gauge set there, and I just spin it open

with little metal gap gauges, and I used that

to pop the lock on the window and reach inside

and open the door, and that's how I got in. The

point is, God already foresaw all that, and God

is in charge. When it come to the end of that

semester, of that first semester, I really had

two semesters left. and they gave me the dorm

room, and they said, I don't know how you're

going to get your degree from here. So you have

a class. You have to take Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,

Thursday, 9 a .m. You have to be there every

time, 9 a .m. I'm like, I can't be here four

days a week. I'll be away from my family. I can't

do that. I have a new son. I can't do that. And

they said, well, if you can't take that class,

you can't get your degree. And I said, well,

I know God's going to make a way. Somehow God's

going to make a way. He said, search every college.

I searched every Christian college, probably.

You know, because I was looking at those early

days of online classes. I was thinking I might

take it online. I probably searched a thousand

Christian colleges, and nobody offered the class

that was necessary. And I'm praying, and God

was telling me, I'm going to make it work. I'm

going to make it work. And I was, okay. So I

went back on campus the next, and I didn't sign

up for the class. It was four days a week. And

I go back on campus the next time on that. It

was the beginning of the semester with the other

classes I had signed up for, and the professor

came and got me, and he said, I owe you an apology.

You told me God was going to work it out. I said,

what are you talking about? First he pulled me

in his office. I thought I was in trouble. Then

I got in there and he said, I owe you an apology.

I said, what are you talking about? And he said,

when the professors came together, so 23 professors

teach that class, and about 19 of them showed

up for the meeting, and he said two -thirds of

them came in with one thought on their mind that

they were going to restructure the class and

get it down to two days a week. And you told

me that God was going to take care of it, and

I didn't believe you. God is sovereign. If he

gives you a job to do, he'll see you through.

He'll provide the resources. He'll make it work

out. And you say, but I look back at my life,

and it hasn't always worked out. It hasn't always

been. The truth is, it has always worked out.

You're still here. You have an opportunity if

you haven't already. Except Jesus Christ is your

Lord and Savior. You're hearing the gospel clearly

preached. It's being explained to you. You're

getting the word of God. You are exactly where

God wants you to be right now in this moment.

It has worked out. God is sovereign. His sovereignty

is unquestionable. And then that brings us to

the third point. And it is a pair of D's. It's

one danger and one diligence. One danger and

one diligence. I don't often alliterate. I almost

did this one because I just like that so much.

One danger and one diligence. So here's what

happens. You become a Christian, a follower of

God, or maybe a churchgoer. Some people become

a churchgoer and they don't actually accept Jesus

Christ as Lord and Savior. And you begin to think

a certain sort of way, enjoying the blessings

of that. You've come on the scene. Just so you

know, just side note, the chairs that you're

sitting in here were provided by a miracle of

God. The carpet in this room was provided by

a miracle of God. I'll tell you the story if

you want it, but there's no less than a miracle.

This building, a miracle of God. The electricity

that's running the lights right now, a miracle

of God. The water that's in the bathroom for

you to wash your hands or flush the urinal or

whatever, a miracle. So you're coming into this

after all of those miracles were already done.

The fact that I'm standing here preaching today,

a miracle of God. There are people in this room

today that say that their being here, they know

for a fact. A miracle of God, okay? So we're

coming on the scene after God has already been

working, doing some amazing things, all the things

that he's done in your life to bring you to this

moment, right? So we get there and we start to

think that we know the answer to certain difficult

questions. I know how this is going to turn out.

I know what God's going to do. I know what that

verse means. I know what scripture says about

this topic. Maybe even we're a little baffled

when we see others who don't quite get it, when

there's something they don't understand. They

don't know how to forgive. Holly and I had a

conversation with a member of the youth group

on Tuesday, and he was explaining to me how he

was working on forgiving, and Holly and I were

trying to explain to him that's not how that

actually works. And at the end of the conversation,

he walked away, and he was sure in himself that

he understood how it works, and we know how it

works as a survival. We weren't able to convince

him. That's fine. Can't do anything about it.

But he's a Johnny -come -lately. He's on the

scene thinking he knows how that works, and it's

not. The Bible says, and the Bible is right.

Maybe even we're behind a little bit, baffled

why someone else doesn't understand what we clearly

know. We've decided, essentially, that we are

suddenly qualified. And that is problematic,

because you are not qualified. Because you are

not qualified, it is problematic for you to decide

that you are qualified. In 1 Corinthians 4, 7,

really the chapter 4 there, I won't go there

and read it right now for the interest of time,

but basically Paul is reminding the Corinthians

that they did not do it. You didn't do it. If

you got everything that you got from God, why

do you act as if you didn't get it from God?

If your salvation was provided to you by a Savior

who died on a cross, why would you act today

as if yesterday you saved yourself somehow? Or

that you did something right or good and that

you deserve something? Why would you look at

God and say, I did what I was supposed to do,

God. Now you do what you're supposed to do, God.

How did you shake your finger at the God of the

universe? How could you do that? It was because

you start to think that you did something. And

the truth is you are doing things. God makes

you able to miraculously intervene, to share

the gospel, to be kind, to be gracious, to serve,

to give. You are doing things. But the things

that you are doing, first two points of the sermon,

right? They are part of the work that God was

already doing. I came home from work and from

the office and I was running a little late and

my beautiful wife was in the kitchen and she

also had worked a hard day and she was making

me dinner. And I went and I put my coat up and

I put my bag up and I put my gloves where I hoped

I would find them again later and all those kinds

of things. And I went in the kitchen and I started

helping out however I could. Now, there were

things about the way that she was making dinner

would not have been the way I would have made

the dinner. We don't cook the same. We're not

the same person when it comes to cooking in the

kitchen. We do use a lot of the same spices and

have a lot of the same flavors, but there are

things that were different. Do you think that

I went over there and took over the stove and

said, okay, now you're cooking these, but you're

cooking them different than I would cook them.

So we're just going to pitch these out and put

on some more. Or we're going to back this down

to a low heat, cook it for another 15 minutes.

You can go rest. I'll take care of it. I'll make

dinner because you're not making it the way I

want to make it. Is that how we would do it?

No, that's not what you do. When you join the

effort that's already underway, you think of

how you can be useful, how you can plug in and

just make it the way it's going, right? You're

taking care of this. Let me help you take care

of this, right? Or if you can't plug into making

dinner, then you get your butt out of the way

and let them do it and go take the garbage out.

or wash a few dishes, or pick up the living room

or something, some other useful thing that's

part of the overall process while the other person

is there doing the work that they're doing. You

don't go in and take over the work that's being

done. If I walked over there right now and took

Josh's crochet and started crocheting for him,

you know how many stitches I could put in? Zero.

If Josh taught me four or five hours, I would

still never deign to go over and take over his

crochet and do it for him because he's awesome

at that, and I'll probably never be like that.

Right? And you're sitting in this room thinking

you've got gifts. And you do. You've got abilities.

And you do. You spend time in spiritual disciplines.

And that's true. But you ain't God. I'm not God.

God has been working at this since he said, let

there be. And we're going to show up now at this

late date as a Johnny come lately and say, well,

God, let me tell you how it should be. You don't

know how it should be. You won't know. If God

shows you his mind, and that's what it says,

1 Corinthians 2, that we learn the mind of Christ

and you begin to follow him, when you do, you

will begin to get a window into a complicated

existence that is so much more than you can even

begin to fathom. You're going to go, as Ergen

Kanner used to say in his class down at Liberty,

he used to say, the more I know, the more I know

that I don't know anything. And that's what God

is going to show you. He is at work. He is sovereign.

And the fact is, you didn't do it. And then at

the same time, and this is a great blessing,

in Psalms 127 it says this, it is vain for you

to rise up early, to retire late, to eat the

bread of painful labors, for he gives to his

beloved even in his sleep. And this is the truth.

If you are a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ,

and if you stop working, Stop serving, stop doing,

stop giving anything in the kingdom. And you

just keep recognizing him as God and Jesus as

your Lord and Savior, but don't do anything.

You will still inherit heaven. Now you're going

to miss out on a lot of great opportunities to

be part of the work. You may not see it, your

family, loved ones, souls in your neighborhood,

whatever, saved. You may not be able to share

the gospel and have that great feeling that,

hey, that person just became a celestial being.

It's going to heaven for an eternity because

God used me. But don't say because I shared,

because it isn't. Right? There's nobody on this

earth who ever got saved by another person sharing

that God couldn't use somebody else. You've already

missed, if you're a Christian, you've probably

already missed more opportunities to save the

guy that's saying, what must I do to be saved?

Then you know. God is saving people. It's vain

for us to think that our efforts, if we just

try a little harder, if we just do a little better,

if we push a little more, that we're going to

make the kingdom of God collectively all that

much better. God is in charge. The cook is already

cooking. The order is already in. It's already

on the way. Jesus is coming again. And when He

comes again, our main job... is to be grateful,

to be welcoming, to be humble. And if you become

a Johnny -come -lately and think that you've

got it all together, you're the better looking,

better, stronger, more capable, you know, you

can tell. Let me answer that for you. If that

becomes you, then when Jesus comes again, what

if he comes in a form of somebody who doesn't

quite seem to have it all together on the surface?

And you're going to walk up to Jesus and say,

let me tell you, Jesus, clearly you need to fix

this, this, and this about you. I can see that

right now. And how many preachers will stand

up and do that? How many Sunday school teachers

are trying to fix everybody? How many mothers

and fathers and brothers and cousins and sons

want to tell their family how they should live?

The reality is you may be preaching what the

Bible says to somebody who's already saved and

they're not getting it. They're in the midst

of their struggle. They're still kind of sloppy,

kind of bearing the smoke of their past life.

But they're saved. And you've become a Johnny

-come -lately telling them what they must do

and what they must be as if you had saved them.

Or you had saved yourself or you had somehow

arrived by some grand choice of your own. No,

those things are not fact. The fact is God did

it. And when you go to them, you go to them in

love and kindness and mercy and show grace. And

yes, I am not saying that we should overlook

sin where the Bible says it's sin. But what I

am saying is you have joined a mission that is

already underway. Jesus was healing on the Sabbath

and they began to persecute him for that reason.

It says in John. Don't hold me to that one because

I didn't put the reference down. For this reason,

the Jews were persecuting Jesus because he was

doing these things on a Sabbath and he answered

them and said, my father is working until now

and I myself am working. Boy, if you could say

that, if I could say that, we would be getting

it right. My father has been working until now.

So you will find me working. I may not get it

always right. I do have to rest. I have to manage

my nutrition. I have to take care of my body.

I have to cleanse my mind, focus on the pure.

I have to do the right things to be used of God

the way I want to be. But the bottom line is,

my father is working until now, and I myself

am working as part of that effort. You joined

a mission already underway. You have become one

very important but very small part. Let's be

realistic about who we are. The greatest evangelist

who's out there right now, who every city they

go to draws a crowd of 20 ,000, is a tiny part

of the effort of what God is doing. At best.

And the reality is, may not be part at all. Depends

on the message. I know some that preach what

sounds like an evangelistic message. It sounds

like the gospel, but if you listen closely, it

isn't the gospel. And they draw 20 ,000 people.

And some of the people that are in the audience

that are listening to them are getting saved

because they're getting it from the Bible, getting

it from the Holy Spirit. God is saving them,

using that person to save them. And at the end

of the road, they will find themselves wanting

because they're not preaching the gospel. They're

not preaching what the Bible says. They have

not preached the sovereignty of God. So we have

become one very important but very small part

of his effort. We have no greater importance

nor lesser importance than another. Assuming

you are found faithful with that which God has

given you to do. Ephesians 4 says this, Therefore

I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk

in a manner worthy of the calling with which

you have been called. This is Ephesians 4, verse

Ephesians 4:1

1. Now too, with all humility and gentleness,

with patience, showing tolerance for one another

in love. What are we supposed to be doing in

the church? What kind of church are we supposed

to be doing? That's what we're supposed to be

showing, tolerance for one another and love.

Being diligent to preserve the unity. Here's

what's most important, that we are unified in

the Lord. If I am with God, you may not like

a lot of things about me, but you can't be against

me. Because if you are against me, you will be

against God, because I am with God. That's the

math of it. Verse 4 says, There is one body,

one spirit, just as also you were called in one

hope of your calling. down to six, says, one

God, one Father, who is over all and through

all and in all. But to each one of us, grace

was given according to the measure of Christ's

gift. Verse eight now, therefore it says, when

he ascended on high, he led captive, a host of

captives, and he gave gifts to men. See, God's

been doing this all along. Verse 11 says, and

he gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some

as evangelists, some as pastors and teachers

for the equipping of the saints, for the work

of the service. to build the building up of the

body of Christ until we all attain to the unity

of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of

God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature

which belongs to the fullness of Christ. Notice,

it's a process we're working to attain that place.

As a result, we are no longer to be like children

tossed here and there by waves and carried about

by every wind of doctrine. Let me be real clear.

You know what a wind of doctrine is? It's an

idea that you think is right. You read the scripture.

You think you got it. I nailed this now. I know

this now. And then you go and act on it. Now,

sometimes it's right. And you should. When it's

clear in scripture and God is convicting you

of it, you should do that. But sometimes people

pick one out. I had a guy in my room at Super

Summer when I went two summers ago. And he had

a doctrine that he was hammering home. And he

kept talking to me about it here and there and

whatever. And it was just wrong. It was the wrong

doctrine. He wasn't right. Now, he wasn't. He

wasn't wrong because the words didn't say it,

but he was wrong because he found one place where

the words said it, and there were five other

places that refined that to make us understand

what it actually meant. And he was just on that

one. He was on that one wind of doctrine. He

was following it, and he was pushing on me and

everybody else who would listen. And we could

be like that if we were a Johnny -come -lately.

As a result, we are no longer children tossed

here and there by waves and carried about by

every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of man,

by craftiness and deceitful scheming. No, just

no. 15, but speaking the truth in love, we are

to grow up in all aspects into him who is the

head. Submit yourself to Jesus Christ is what

he's saying. He says, even Christ. And verse

16 then says, from whom the whole body being

fitted and held together by what every joint

supplies. In other words, each one of us doing

what we're called to, which is different probably

from each other one of us. according to the proper

working of each individual part, causing the

growth of the body for the building up of itself

in love. The thing that God is doing is too mighty.

It is too much to be contained in the life of

one individual, even for a moment, even at the

moment of your salvation. Do you know that it

is highly likely that at the exact same moment,

to the minute that you got saved, somebody else

somewhere got saved? It's almost certain because

people are getting saved across the world and

there are billions of people in the world. The

odds are good that somebody got saved at the

same exact moment that you did. But if it was,

if the gospel, if kingdom work could be contained

in one moment, it would surely be in that moment

when your soul was saved, made eternal, and you

became a celestial being who are given a calling

and work to do in the kingdom. Surely that would

be enough. But then somewhere else at the same

moment, surely that would be enough. And if there

were five people, if there was ever a moment

where a thousand got saved all in the same moment,

well, there was, wasn't there? It was Pentecost.

That was thousands. All got saved. That would

surely be enough, right? That was all the work

of what God was doing at that time, right? No.

The work of God is far too much to be contained

in the lives of one person. And when you look

down on others or distance yourself because you

think, quote, you know better or you know enough

or because they won't listen anyway, then you

have assumed the role of God. And let us not

kid ourselves. When we play God, we have actually

taken on the tactics of Satan, who from the beginning

thought he could be like God and tempted man

to do the same thing. Your eyes should not be

looking at somebody else and saying, I don't

think they're quite there. Here's the reality.

If they're still on earth, they're not quite

there. If you want to find weaknesses, you'll

find them. You can find them in me. I've got

plenty. If you want, I'll list some of them for

you. Then you can save yourself the trouble.

But if you want to be a Johnny -come -lately

looking at me and saying, as long as I'm better

than Pastor Dan, I'll make it in, guess what?

That's not the way it works. You're not going

to make it in or do better, have a better life,

more prosperous, more success, or save more people

because you're better than me. That's not how

that works. Jesus Christ is Lord. Jesus is the

one who died, created it all, and then when there

was no mediator, came. And now we get saved by

the name of Jesus because there is no other name

given among men under heaven by which we must

be saved. His is the holy and mighty name. He

is the holy and mighty God. And we are at best

allowed, if we come humbly, allowed to join in

what he is trying to do. By no means am I suggesting

that we should look the other way, ignoring actions

in the lives of believers that are clearly sin,

according to scripture and according to conviction.

Just the opposite. Hauling back these believers

from the brink of disaster is part of the great

work of God that we are called to as the church.

And there are processes by which we do that.

But one of those processes is not sitting back

and kind of chuckling to yourself and seeing

how they're paying for the price of their sin.

Oh, see, I knew that was sin if they did that.

God, yeah, God's sovereign and he's punishing

them for what he did. That's not part of the

process. That's not part of that. I'm going to

go over here and talk to Bob about what Sally

did because I need to be comforted in my feelings

because, you know, Sally hurt me. So I'm going

to make her pay. That's not part of the process.

I'm going to walk away, not talk to anybody.

I'm not going to say a word. Nobody knows like

I know. I know better than anybody else how this

should be done. I'm the only one. And I'm not

going to help anybody learn it. And I'm just

going to sit back and let them all struggle and

fail. That's not part of the process. God didn't

do it, and God has the rights. He knows he is

sovereign. He has the power. And when there was

nobody who could clean up their own mess, when

there was nobody who could stop their mouth from

spewing venom, when there was nobody who could

stop their will from deciding to try to be like

him outside the gospel, he came in the flesh.

He took on flesh, lived a sinless life, and then

died a sinner's death. And he was crucified.

And in the midst of his crucifixion, for crying

out loud, while he was literally suffocating

and bleeding out at the same time, he cried,

forgive them for they know not what they do.

But a Johnny come lately will say, well, I'm

in. God did this in me. What God's doing in me

is mighty. I've got the right things to say.

I'm going to say, I'm going to tell you. I'm

going to know better than you. And if you won't

listen to me, I'm just going to let you go. You'll

figure it out. You'll find out as you start to

pay for your mistakes. That's not it. That is

not what God has called us to. But when we became

part of the kingdom, all old things passed away.

Your history. That's a tough one. How do I let

my history go in favor of following the Lord?

Your family culture. That's a tough one. This

is the way we do things. This is how we think.

This is how we act. This is how we make the potatoes

around here. Right? Whatever. That all passed

away. It says all old things passed away. Personal

opinions, pet peeves. Oh, I hate it when he does

that. I hate it when they do that. All old things

passed. Bad habits. Irritation over the habits

of others that we do not agree with. Feelings

about music choices, hobbies, sports, customs

of dress, and more. These things were meant to

be set aside so that we could be fixated on the

mission, so that we can love one another. Can't

we see that allowing our differences to divide

us makes us less? And to accomplish the mission

that God has given us, we cannot allow our differences

to make us less. Rather, whatever difference

that God has woven into the tapestry that He

has chosen to use, those things should be opportunities

to unite us. And if they can't be, then they

should go away. If you have a hobby, a recreation,

a talent, a skill, an acting experience, and

it cannot be used for the glory of God, then

you should let it go. There is no time for that

because our God is already working and we are

joining him in the work that he is doing and

we don't have time to be busy doing some other

form of work. That brings us to our conclusion.

Fear the Lord. Fear the Lord and be found faithful.

But never become today's expert. Never become

the only one speaking. Or the one who's speaking

loudest? Because if you're the only one speaking

and the one who's speaking loudest, you're just

wrong. You say, no, that can't be because I'll

be talking about being honest or I'll be talking

about being good or I'll be talking about working

hard. And that's a message that God is delivering,

right? You think God is like 24 hours a day convicting

people to do the specific things that you want

them to do? Or to not do the specific things

that you don't want them to do? All conviction

about sin has a purpose, right? What is the purpose?

To lead to Jesus Christ. And so God says, you've

sinned. They feel like they need to confess.

They feel a burden. I'm convicted. The Holy Spirit

convicts all men of their sin. That's true. And

then... While they're being convicted and what

they need to hear is about the love of Jesus

and the salvation that's available. They're being

convicted of their sin. Like, I really need to

do something. What can I do? I'm stuck in a place

where I don't feel like there's anything I can

do to get past the wrongs that I have done. What

can I do? And you come right in there and say,

yeah, you're such a liar. You lied to me. You

lied to me five times. I know you lied to me.

And they're going, what can I do? What can I

do? And you're going, you're just a liar. You're

stuck a liar. You've got to stop lying. Stop

lying. That's what you've got to do. And they're

like, but I tried that. It doesn't work. What

can I do? And you're like, oh, and by the way,

you didn't show up on time. That's my pet peeve.

I hate it when you don't show up on time. That

drives me. I can't control my schedule. I don't

know what to do. I'm hopeless. I'm stuck. I can't

break out. How can I be a better person? I tried.

I tried self -help. I went to the groups. I watched

the videos. I called the people who know. I did

all of these things. What can I do? And you're

like, you're no good. You're late. You're dirty.

You're scummy. You're wrong. Did Johnny come

lately? You were all those things. And the truth

is, you are all those things in your flesh. You're

only better now because you encountered the living

Christ and he lifted you up out of the pit of

muck. And if that's how you got better, then

when you come into somebody's life and they're

screwing it up, the very first thing out of your

mouth is there is a name. There is a name given

among heaven, among men, under heaven, by which

we must be saved. And it is Jesus Christ. Start

there. Don't start by telling them how to be

better or do better, not in the church or in

the world. Start with Jesus. Because if by some

chance they're at that moment of conviction and

they're ready to latch on and in their heart

is a question, what must I do to be saved? You

telling them how screwed up they are is not going

to solve that problem. You pointing them to a

self -help group or counselor, not going to solve

that problem. You bringing them to Jesus. solves

the problem, even though they may still continue

to do some of the things that they shouldn't

do. Weeks, years, or their whole life. But ultimately,

the work that God has always been doing will

get done. Try to be blunt but kind, practical

but humble, speaking the gospel in the context

that they can understand it. but not in your

own creativity or for your own purposes. God

has been at this forever, and we are blessed

to join him in it. We join in the effort to invite

a world that is lost and dying and going to hell

to a Savior who has been resurrected and now

stands at the right hand of the Father. It is

said that we will do even greater things than

Jesus did in his lifetime. And looking at the

condition of our world, plagued in its own sin,

enraptured by temptation, we can see that the

work of the gospel of freeing souls is perhaps

a much greater work. When you share that Jesus,

that person, ask them to get saved, you will

be literally going to war against their social

media experience, against their family breaking,

against their lost loved ones experience, against

their lost jobs experience. You will literally

be bringing Jesus into the battle that he is

going to win. against everything that they've

been through. That's a pretty big work. But it's

not a work that you're going to do. It's a work

that Jesus is going to do. The enemy had two

millennia, that's 2 ,000 years, to perfect his

tactics. This is yet another reason why if we

come into this effort hoping for more modern

tactics, we can do it better, use electronics

better, get the word out better with electronics,

we're hoping that they're going to win the day,

we will be outmatched. Because when someone was

thinking about inventing the internet, there's

a very good chance they were consulting the devil

on how to do it. This is yet another reason why

if we come into the effort... hoping for modern

tactics to win the day, we will be outmatched.

At the same time, traditional tactics were equally

effective or ineffective in the primary day of

their application. We say, well, we're going

to sing only from the hymnal or only certain

kinds of music, right? Or we're not going to

text. We're not going to have a social media

presence. I'm not saying you have to do those

things. What I'm saying is... You can't rebel

against the modern tactics nor adopt the modern

tactics solely because the tactics themselves,

outside application by God, the Father, and his

Son, Jesus Christ, are worthless. They mean nothing.

And so if you are a rebel against modern tactics

and talking about the old ways, you're missing

the boat. And if you are a rebel against the

old ways and say, we've got to adapt, we've got

to become new, you're also missing the abode.

The answer is not going back to the old ways

or better application of the new ways. The answer

is joining God in what he is doing, however he

has led us to do it. You say this, who? Me? No,

not me.