1 Corinthians 1:14-17 - 14 I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so no one can say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
We talked tonight about our fundamental role here on earth...something we've talked about before with the kids, but felt could not be talked about too much. Last week we touched on the Great Commission and our role in spreading the gospel to the ends of the earth. It's not about church or youth group or VBS, though those things are certainly important in equipping us for the job we have. But it's about the Word and getting it out there to people God puts in our lives every single day.
Moody Radio's Chris Fabry talked last week about a tragedy that happened in California. A 57-year-old man named Zack Raymond walked out into the San Francisco Bay up to his neck where he stayed for about an hour before finally drowning. We asked the kids why they thought he might have felt the need to end his life this way. Maybe he was on drugs, had lost all of his money, his wife left him, he was sick or maybe even dying, he was in trouble with the law. We may never know the reasons, but that was not our point.
Behind Raymond on the shore were 75 people just watching. Every now and then, Raymond would turn and look back to see if anyone was following him or maybe even coming to his rescue. And not until Raymond was already dead did one woman swim out to pull his body back to shore. We asked the kids why they thought no one went into the water to rescue him sooner and what would keep them from trying to save him if they were there. We got lots of different answers.
- "Maybe the man would try to hurt me for saving him. Maybe he had a weapon on him."
- "I'd be too scared."
- "I can't swim."
- "He wanted to die."
- "I don't know the man."
- "The water might be too cold."
- "What if the man got scared when I was trying to help him and he accidentally pulled me under water with him? Then I'd drown too."
- "I'm not a good swimmer."
- "Someone else will save him."
- Throw him a rope and pull him in.
- Use a raft to swim out to him and help him.
- Use a megaphone to talk to him and try to get him to change his mind and come back.
- Fly a helicopter over him that had a long ladder.
Proverbs 24:11 - 11 Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter.
Jude 1:23a - 23 save others by snatching them from the fire...
We asked the kids if they would have rescued the man if he was their brother, friend from school or church, neighbor down the road, or kid they'd seen on the school bus. Some of them admitted that would change how they felt and whether or not they were willing to go in after the person.
That's when we told the kids that their neighbor down the street, their friend at school (or even the one that bullied them), the nice lady at the grocery store, the homeless man on the corner, and others they saw every single day were drowning just like Raymond Zack. They weren't standing in the middle of the ocean, but they were drowning in their sin. And they were looking around them every so often to see if anyone cared enough to share the Good News with them and save them.
We asked the kids if they'd ever heard of the Titanic, the cruise liner that sank and resulted in thousands of people drowning in the cold ocean water one night long ago. Their friends and family back on dry land were waiting to see if their loved ones survived the accident or not. There were two boards on the wall they could check to see if their loved ones' names were on them. One was called "Those Known To Be Saved" and the other was called "Those Known To Be Lost".
We told the kids that everyone on earth has one of two invisible signs around their necks. One sign reads, "Future Inhabitants of Heaven", while the other reads, "Future Inhabitants of Hell". We told the kids that, since none of us really knows what someone else's sign says, it's our job to talk to them about Jesus and His Good News whenever we get the chance.
We talked with the kids about why they sometimes don't talk to their friends, neighbors, or others about Jesus and what some of the things are that stop them or scare them from sharing their faith. We went back to the excuses we made for not rescuing the drowning man and talked about what happened because no one helped him.
Then we told the kids what Jesus had to say about helping/saving others.
Matthew 25:35-40 - 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
Finally, we talked about the firefighters and police officers who risk their lives everyday to save people. They aren't afraid of what will happen to them while trying to save someone from a burning building or a man with a gun. They are only afraid of what will happen to the person they are trying to save if they don't get to them in time to rescue them. In the same way, we shouldn't be afraid of what may or may not happen to us while talking to others about Jesus. We should be afraid of what will happen to those lost people if we don't talk to them.
Revelation 20:15 - 15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
We made sure the kids understood that it wasn't up to them whether or not a person went to heaven or hell. Only God can make that determination. He asks us to plant the seeds though; to obey Him in telling people His Good News and then He'll do the rest. Jesus didn't have Facebook or Twitter, e-mail or a cell phone. He didn't have a DVD or YouTube video. He was simply God in a man's body going from town to town, door to door, person to person...telling them how they could have salvation from their sins and eternal life with His Father in heaven. We have to do the same!
Isaiah 55:11 - 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
