E-25 1948 © Project Winsome International, 1999

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One evening a young grammar school boy approached his father who was reading the newspaper, pushed it aside, and said, "Dad, I want to know about life!" His father was surprised at this inquiry coming at so young an age, but nevertheless, he laid his paper down and as simply as he could, he told his little boy the wonderful story of life from conception to birth. His son listened with wide-opened eyes and, when his father was finished said, "That is very interesting, daddy. But I want to know about Life. Are we going to subscribe to it this year?"

Well, we all want to know about life because we have one. We also want to know about life because we have one and we want to make the most of it. I have discovered there are several ways to spell life.

IF

One way is to spell life with a small "l"-- a capital "I"-- a capital "F"-- and a small "e"-- spelling "IF." This turns life into a question mark.

Perhaps you know someone like that. Someone whose life is symbolized by uncertainty and anxiety, both of which are typical of our times. That kind of questioning is understandable, even predictable.

The instability I'm talking about goes deeper. It has to do with something Jesus described in Matthew 7 when he told the parable of the two houses. One house was built on sand and, when the storm of life came, it was destroyed. The other house was built on rock and, when the storms came, it stood fast.

Jesus was emphasizing the need to build life on the solid rock of a mature faith. To get our head on straight, so after life's high moment when we first come to Christ in faith, we are able to stand securely in the down times.

My personal move toward a mature faith is built upon four bedrock essentials which have helped me determine the meaning of life and discover God's will for my life. Let me outline them for you.

One: God Is Love.

Whatever else may be said of him, the inescapable reality is, as 1 Jn. 4:19 makes clear, God is love.

A farmer built a new barn and on the roof, just above the door, he placed a weather vane upon which were printed the words: God is love. A neighbor observed this and said, "That's a strange message to put on a weather vane which is constantly shifting with the wind." "You don't understand, "the farmer said, "that's exactly why I put it there. It reminds me that, any way the wind blows, God is love!"

Two: God Was in Christ.

Whatever else God is like he is not less than Jesus. He is not less loving. He is not less kind. He is not less patient. He is not less gracious.

A famous theologian was asked if it was possible to put the essentials of the Christian faith into one sentence. He nodded and quoted 2 Cor. 5:19, "God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself." Then he added, "Hang loose on everything else."

Three: Christ in me, the Hope of Glory.

Col. 1:27 actually says, "Christ in you, the hope of glory." I like to personalize the promises of God. So, I read it, "Christ in me, the hope of glory."

It's impossible for any of us to live the Christian life on our own. All we can do is invite Christ to live his life through us. In that regard, I love Matthew 11:28 where we're told Jesus said to his disciples, "Come unto me all ye that labor" (all of you who are trying so hard to be like me) "and are heavy ladened" (are finding it impossible to do, and are feeling defeated) "and I will give you rest." How does he do that? By coming, at our invitation, into our situation and living his life through us.

Suppose you were digging a ditch. It was hard work and you were struggling mightily and growing more and more weary with each shovelful. How could someone give you rest? By standing above you and shouting instructions? By exhorting you to "keep on keeping on?" No! If that person really wanted to give you rest he would say, "Vacate the ditch and let me occupy." And then, using his superior strength and skill, he would do in his sufficiency what you were unable to do in your insufficiency.

That's how the Christian life works. In each of the many situations, blind alleys, trials and tribulations we meet throughout a day, Jesus says, "Vacate and let me occupy." "Vacate and let me occupy." "Vacate and let me occupy." It's one vacation after another! And what do vacations supply? That's right. Rest!

God is love. God was in Christ. Christ is in me. With that kind of empowerment, it's possible to deal with the next essential.

Four: Meet the Nearest Need.

Folks are always struggling to know God's will for their life. Actually, it's very simple. Meet the nearest need. That's it!

For me, at this moment, meeting the nearest need means sharing with you. Earlier today, as I flew here from California, the nearest need meant writing out these few pages of notes, as God revealed what he wants me to share with you tonight. Earlier this morning, it meant writing some letters. After that while I was waiting at the airport, it meant making some phone calls relating to the ministry needs of people.

Sometimes meeting the nearest need meant picking up a piece of trash which was cluttering God's beautiful creation and putting it in a trash basket. Sometimes it has meant hugging a child. Or telling my wife I love her. Or doing a good job where I work so I can have a steady income stream with which to support my family.

The will of God is no mystery. It means meeting the nearest need. And, as you go about doing that, there comes a time when, looking back, you see how, in a kind of serpentine way, God has been leading you, throughout the days and weeks and years, helping you to be to your world what Christ would be if he were here himself. And that's what the Christian life comes down to - being to your little world what Christ would be if he were here himself.

That doesn't mean there will be no more questions. It doesn't mean there will be no more doubts. But it does mean you can work out your faith "with fear and trembling." You can strive for higher skepticism. The skepticism which is skeptical of your skepticism.

You learn to doubt your doubts and believe your beliefs, instead of doubting your beliefs and believing your doubts. In the process, you learn to deal successfully with the problems inherent in spelling life with the emphasis on the "I" and the "F" spelling "IF." You turn the question mark into an exclamation point!

LIE

A second way to spell life is with a capital "L" -- a capital "I" -- a small f -- and a capital "E." Here you see life is spelled: "LIE."

Jesus talked about a person like that when he told the parable of the empty house. It's recorded for us in Mt.12:43-45 where we read how Christ drove an evil spirit out of a man. The evil spirit went around trying to find a place to dwell. Not finding one, it returned to the man from whom it had been driven out and found the man was, "swept clean and empty." So the evil spirit got seven other spirits, "more wicked than he," and they entered the man and Jesus said, "The latter state of the man was worse than the first."

He was saved, that's the meaning of the phrase "swept clean," but instead of growing in his faith, instead of dealing with his question marks, he remained empty and his life became a lie.

Perhaps you know someone like that. A bully who is constantly throwing his weight around. A braggart who is constantly boasting about himself. A critic who is always finding fault with others. All of these are engaged in what I call "Operation Cover Up." And, when you see such lying behavior, you can be sure there are flaws somewhere which are being compensated for.

There are two ways to correct inequities. One is to whittle the other fellow down until he or she is more comfortable to live with. In psychology we call that "justification by condemnation."

The better way is to change, grow and improve yourself. In theology we call that "conversion." Or, in the case of a Christian -- "sanctification" -- a ten-dollar word meaning spiritual growth.

Someone has said there is a God-shaped blank in everyone. People try and fill that blank in a variety of ways without success. It's like trying to put a round peg in a square hole or a square peg in a round hole. It can't be done.

Some people try to fill this God-shaped blank with money. And, like John D. Rockefeller, discovered it won't work. Someone once asked Mr. Rockefeller, "How much money does it take to be happy?" John D. replied, "Just a little bit more."

Some people try to fill this God-shaped blank with fame. But, like some of the stars I met at the Hollywood Christian Group, who had seen their names in newspaper headlines and on theater marquees, have discovered fame does not satisfy.

Others try to fill this God-shaped blank with power. But, like Alexander the Great, discover to their chagrin, "There are no more worlds to conquer."

Some try to do it through alcohol and drugs which is really a dead-end.

Finally, the young man who was blessed with inherited wealth, sold his hot rod and bought a European sports car capable of going one hundred and fifty miles an hour. He climbed in his new car and cruised down the highway at about seventy miles an hour, past the signboard where this motorcycle cop liked to hide. Sure enough he was there and took after the speeding car.

When the cop caught up, the young man increased his speed to eighty miles an hour and the cop slowly caught up. Then he increased to ninety miles an hour and the cop slowly caught up. Finally, the kid put the pedal to the metal and sped down the highway at one hundred and fifty miles an hour leaving the cop in his dust.

About a mile or so down the road he pulled over, stopped and waited for the cop to catch up. He knew he was going to get a ticket, but this one would be worth it! He waited and waited but the motorcycle officer didn't appear.

So the young man turned his powerful European-made car around, went back up the highway and about a mile or so later found the officer wandering around in a daze. His uniform was all scuffed up. His motorcycle was upside down. The wheels were still spinning. It was a mess.

"What on earth happened?" the young man asked. In a daze the cop replied, "You remember how you'd speed up and I'd slowly catch you, then you'd speed up and I'd slowly catch you?" "Yes." "Well, the last time you sped up, you pulled away so fast I thought I was standing still and got off to see what the trouble was!" There's a place for fun in life. The Bible is quite clear in teaching nothing is evil in and of itself. It is our misuse of things which makes them evil.

Only God can fill the God-shaped plank in every human heart and here's where we come back to that series of essentials I mentioned earlier: God is love. God was in Christ. Christ is in me. In that way, the void is filled!

I

There's a third way to spell life and that's with a small "l" -- a capital "I" -- a small "f" and a small "e." Here you see life is spelled "I."

Perhaps you know someone like that, and maybe it's the person who's sitting where you're sitting right now. And, if you were to be honest, you'd have to admit your main problem is you.

Take heart! The apostle Paul had the same problem. In Romans 7:15-25, Paul says, "The things I want to do I don't do . . . the things I don't want to do I do . . . oh, wretched man that I am!"

If you count them, you'll discover that in those ten verses, Paul uses the pronoun "I" twenty-four times. He had "I" trouble. Not eye trouble, "I" trouble, and so do we. In fact, I would go so far as to say, "I" trouble is the most common disease afflicting Christians today.

It's the struggle between our human spirit -- with a small "h" and small "s" -- which wars against God's Holy Spirit with a capital "H" and capital "S" -- and we are constantly battling between the two. Paul, who had this problem, provides the solution. In Gal. 2:20 he says, "I am crucified with Christ (the old I is dying) and Christ (who is shaping the new me) is living (italics mine) in me."

(Note from Dr. Lavender) In later years, as my understanding of the human struggle grew, I added the following insight --

Satan has two game plans. One is to retain you for eternity. All that is required for him to succeed is for you to do nothing. To remain as you were when you came into this world, "dead in trespasses in sin." When you come to Christ, Satan is defeated in game plan A, and he immediately switches to game plan B which is to neutralize you in time. If he can't keep you for eternity, he will settle for neutralizing you in time. He does this through egocentricity, a wretched disease, in which you are constantly focusing on "me" and "mine" rather than upon Christ who dwells in you.

But God has two game plans. One is to redeem you for eternity. That happens when you accept Jesus as your savior and are born again. At that point, God switches to game plan B which is to maximize you in time. He does this through the empowering gift of his Holy Spirit, who is to you what Christ would be, in your situation, if he were here himself.

I have a friend, Bob Hartley, whom I had the joy of leading to Christ. Once he got hold of the concept of Satan's two game plans and God's two game plans, Bob said to me, "I know there will be times when I'll fall flat on my face. But now I'll know what's wrong. Better yet, I'll know what to do! Confess my sin. Repent of my sin. Rejoice in God's forgiveness. Receive a fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit. Get up, and go on!" (End of later insight.)

If you take that capital "I" which is such a problem for all of us and scratch it out, you'll discover it forms a cross. That's what Paul was getting at when he wrote, "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ in me the hope of glory" (Gal. 2:20).

LIFE

That's where life with a capital "L-I-F and E" begins: At the cross. It's there we meet Christ and are "turned on." We are like a light bulb which has been disconnected from the source of power. All of its capacities are there, but there is no light.

We are, or may be, "enlightened souls" in the sense of being informed about the Christ life. But we are not "quickened spirits" in the sense of being made alive in Christ. That's why someone has said, "Many now living are already dead." These are people who have the capacity for life abundant and eternal, but they are not "connected up" with Christ, who is the source of life spelled with a capital "L-I-F and E." Most of us here tonight are Christians, so I want to point out that --

After Birth Comes Growth

At our physical birth we are given all the potential we're ever going to get. We may develop that potential. We may gain wisdom, but we will not be given more intelligence. We may develop our coordination, but we will not be given more muscles.

This was made clear to me in a homely way by Jodi, our first-born. Lucille and I were in New Jersey conducting a six-week long crusade involving several hundred Baptist Churches. We spent one week in six different centers. The American Baptist Churches surrounding those six centers brought their pre-Christian friends and neighbors to a central church where Lucille sang and I preached. It was a great experience.

One afternoon, Jodi, who was about eight-months-old at the time, was sitting on the floor. We had her propped up with a couple of pillows and she was looking around. All of a sudden, for the first time she saw her hand. She wiggled it and it moved and she laughed. She was absolutely fascinated with this strange appendage. Because her coordination was poor, her hand drifted off to the side, she looked around for it, couldn't see it and began to cry. Well, no daddy likes to see his baby cry, so I grabbed her hand, pulled it in front of her, she saw it, wiggled it and began to laugh again.

Now she had had that hand from the moment she was born. It was part of the natural equipment she received at birth. At eight months of age she was beginning to learn how to use it. The same is true of all the other gifts and qualities she was given at birth. If she is going to grow up and be a beautiful, talented singer like her mother, those qualities are already in her. If she is going to grow up and be wise, handsome and intelligent like her father . . . Well, you get the point. At birth she received all the potential she's ever going to get. After birth has come growth, and, throughout her lifetime, she has continued to develop the talents and gifts and characteristics with which she was born.

Your Basic Equipment

What basic equipment did God give you at your new birth? There are many, but let me mention four.

First -- Prayer.

The incredible privilege of approaching almighty God, knowing that what you ask in Jesus' name will be granted. When I was learning to preach I noticed there were times when a wonderful outpouring of power occurred, and other occasions when everything about the service was a struggle. I mentioned this to a wonderful, grey-haired preacher out in California. He said, "John, have you ever tried to breathe out three times while only breathing in once?" "No." "Try it." I did, and found it was impossible. "It can't be done," I said. He replied, "There's your answer. You can't go on giving out, unless you spend time taking in. In the future there will always be a direct correlation between the power you experience in preaching, and the time you spend alone with God in prayer."

In a completely different setting, the same will be true of you. Much prayer will mean much power. Little prayer will mean little power. No prayer will mean no power. And you ought always to pray. You ought to pray when you feel like it, because it would be a sin to miss such an opportunity. You ought to pray when you don't feel like it, because it's dangerous to be in such a state.

Second -- God's Written Word.

And, while it is wonderful to read the Bible from "kiver to kiver" as my untutored father would say, I've discovered there's not nearly as much help when I read the Bible for distance (so many chapters a day), as when I read the Bible for meaning.

When I do the latter, God always speaks to me. Sometimes in the first verse I read. Sometimes in the tenth or fiftieth verse I read. But when I read for meaning, it not only helps me while I'm reading, it also gives the Holy Spirit Biblical truths which he can bring to my remembrance in moments of need. You see, it's not so important how many times you've been through the Bible, but it's terribly important how many times the Bible has been through you.

Third -- The Church

Jesus began a movement which Paul later called "the body of Christ." It was dynamic and exciting. That's what I have in mind when I say to you that among the gifts you receive at your new birth is the church. You are privileged to be a part of the body of Christ.

You may be a hand. A foot. An eye. An ear. But whatever your function in the body, it will make your life relevant and significant and full of meaning. And, in the same way that Christ

"loved it and gave himself for it," you must love the body of Christ and do everything you can to build it up, and turn away from anything that might tear it down.

(Note from Dr. Lavender) As I came to understand the equipment God gives to us at our new birth, I added reference to the armor of God, and to "rhema," the specific word of scripture God reveals to a specific person at a specific time for a specific situation. I also gave great emphasis to the ministry of the Holy Spirit. I pointed out that while God becomes clearest in the person of Jesus, he becomes nearest in the person of the Holy Spirit. I encouraged people to seek the Giver (with a capital "G") and to discover, develop and exercise whatever spiritual gifts (with a small "g") the Spirit gives "as he wills."

I also focused on the fruit of the spiri, love in its constituent parts spelled out in Gal 5:22,23. I pointed out the absence of the spirit's fruit is a twenty-four-hour a day signal that we have allowed our human spirit to usurp the Holy Spirit's place in a particular situation or circumstance,. And, that we must confess that sin, repent of that sin, and then move aside so the Spirit (with a capital "S") to take control again (end of added teaching).

One day a young man was walking along a dusty the road in ancient Greece. He was searching for the key to success in making a life . As he walked along he came upon a statute. It was a very strange statue. Unlike any he had seen before. It had wings on its feet. A lock of hair on its forehead. The back of its head was shaven bare.

The young man studied the statue for all long time trying to make out who it was. After a bit he spoke to the statue and said, "Statue, who are you and who made you?" According to the parable the statue responded by saying, "God made me." "But why did God make you in such a strange way? Why did he make you in such a funny fashion? Why did he put wings on your feet, a lock of hair on your forehead, and leave the back of your head shaven bare?"

The statue studied the young man for a moment and then responded, "My name is opportunity. I have wings on my feet for I am always ready to take flight. I have a lock of hair on my forehead so people can reach out, grasp me and make me their own. The back of my head the shaven bare, because once I am gone, they can never call me back again."

How are you spelling life?

Are you spelling it with the emphasis on the "I" and the "F" -- reducing life to a question mark?

Are you spelling it with the emphasis on the "L" and the "I" and the "E" -- reducing life to risky self-deception?

Are you spelling it with the emphasis on the "I" reducing life to an egocentric solo flight?

Or, are you on a day by day, situation by situation, basis saying with Paul "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ living in me."

If so, you will seek and find life at its best, and, you will be able to sing, "I love life and I want to live!"

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