“Working You”

Part of a Sermon by Pastor John, February 18, 2012

I got an email from Brother Ron today.  He was excited about Bob and Ellen visiting down there with him.  He’d been telling some of his friends about his visit with us, and they said, “Boy, they’re really working you hard.”  Do you know why they said that?  Because if they were visiting somebody, they would be working them hard.  They would be working them hard to get more members, to get more money, to get more status, to increase the congregation’s status in the community.  I wrote him back and I said, “Working you hard to get you to . . . what?”  He offered to start paying his tithes and offerings the last time I was there, and I said, “No, not yet.  I want you to make sure you know what you are getting into when you get involved in my work.”  So, it’s not money.  As far as I know, there’s nothing for Ron to do here but enjoy it.  His friends obviously do not understand fellowship!

There’s not a single one of Ron’s friends that would fly to Australia to visit a man and his wife because God had opened their minds, as some of us did with Brother Damien and his family, or pay for them twice to fly to the US from over there.  Not a single one of them would do that because that is not how you “work people hard”.  Oh, we worked you hard, didn’t we, Damien?  It is so sad that Christians don’t understand that depth of love and joy for others, and here we are, living in it!  Thanks be to God, we live in it!  And we live in that love and joy and  fellowship, and excitement of seeing God opening up a heart and mind because we rejoice in the truth.  That’s our joy!  That’s our purpose.  I flew to Australia with Gary, Song and Barbara because Damien was me over there.  We had been made one in Christ, and I wanted to go visit me!  Christianity doesn’t have that kind of fellowship.  It doesn’t exist anywhere except in the sweet light of God.