Pastor Leon Seaton

Four Crazy Friends

For the past few weeks I have been seeking God’s insight on what He would like us to be doing as a church. We have a wonderful organization, but I sense that the Lord wants us to make some changes… and those changes start with your pastor! Hopefully you will seek the Lord to see how He wants you to change. My assignment is to challenge you… your responsibility is to apply the challenge to your life and situation.

John Maxwell is one of America’s experts on leadership. He states that there is a difference between management and leadership. “Managers determine the direction a company or organization wants to go and he or she makes it happen.”

Leaders, on the other hand, find out what needs to be done to make the organization grow, gets everyone on the same page and begins the process. He illustrates the point by telling how a small boy leads a large dog. First the boy finds out which way the dog wants to go, then the boy leads the dog that direction.

When I became your pastor I did my best to determine what you wanted to accomplish and I’ve done my best to help us get there. I believe that things have gone well. We are a very homogeneous group, spiritually strong, and we minister to people outside the four walls of this church. Certainly nothing wrong with that.

Unfortunately as we have done that we have not assimilated very many new people into our church. Fifteen years ago our average attendance was in the upper 30s; now it is in the mid twenties.  

This needs to change. The Bible tells that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. We still have a work to do! We call ourselves an Evangelical Church, so its time to evangelize!

Change is always a process. For the Christian that starts with prayer. As we draw closer to the Lord, change will happen. And as we change, we will upset the enemy of our soul and more and more trials will come our way. We can limit these trials two different ways:

1.      Walk in loving obedience to the Lord. ALWAYS OBEY GOD!

2.      Resist the devil! Take authority over him! James 4:7 “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

In his book, The Spirit of Faith, Mark Hankins makes an amazing challenge. He challenges us to “Swing out over hell on a cornstalk and spit in the devil’s face.”

You heard me! “Swing out over hell on a cornstalk and spit in the devil’s face.” My wife challenged me to make that the title of this message, but I just couldn’t figure out how to do that. (The Spirit of Faith by Mark Hankins; MHM Publications, PO Box 12863, Alexandria, LA 71315)

Hankins also challenges us to change the way we do things. In his discussion on Luke 5:16-26 he calls the men “Four Crazy Friends.” This is where I got the title for this message.

“Four crazy friends!” What does Hankins mean by that?  Jesus was in a room where He was surrounded by unbelief. The room was filled with Pharisees and the teachers of the law (KJV “doctors of the law”). They did not believe Jesus was God in the flesh and they hated His doctrine. They hated Jesus!

Here they were in the presence of Jesus; perhaps some of them were ill. They could have been healed, but they received nothing from the Lord because of their unbelief.

The man with palsy had faith, but he could not get to Jesus. But God saw his need. God blessed him with four crazy friends. They loved the man and they knew that Jesus could heal him. So they parked their pride, picked him up on a mat (a rough stretcher) and headed for Jesus.

Unfortunately they were crowded out by unbelievers.

Ordinary people would say, “Well, we did our best.” Not these guys!

Imagine the scene. The man has palsy. Palsy is the paralysis of a body part, often accompanied by loss of sensation and by uncontrolled body movements, such as shaking.  He was probably never comfortable and often in pain. Imagine what he was thinking as his friends carried him up the stairs on his mat. Then they dug through the roof… and lowered him in front of the crowd of unbelievers, but right in front of Jesus Christ!

Take a look at Jesus! He had been having a vigorous discussion with the opposition, but Jesus was not stressed out. (He knew He was right!) With love in His eyes and a smile on His face, the man was warmed with more love and acceptance than he had ever felt in your life!

Jesus then looked up through the roof at the expectant smiles of his friends. This is faith in action!

In tender compassion – and knowing how the Pharisees and scribes would react – said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”

Let me tell you, I love it when I find faith in the midst of unbelief!  I see this a lot as a chaplain.  A dying patient is lying quietly in bed enjoying his/her relationship with the Lord. The family is pacing in and out of the house, drinking their beer and cussing about the way life is while Grandma is looking forward to seeing Jesus and her loved ones that have gone on to glory!

Jesus knew what they were thinking… Let me paraphrase: “Why are you fretting about My forgiving his sins? Which is easier? Forgiving sins or saying ‘get up and walk?’ Let me show you: I tell you, get up, take up our mat and go home.’”

Now the paralytic has a choice… think it through or take action. He took action and picked up his mat and headed toward the door. The crowd was thrilled and the religious leaders got a new ulcer!   

We need each other. The paralytic could not have gone to Jesus had his friends not taken him. Jesus started His ministry all by Himself. But then He recruited 12 disciples. He poured His life into them for three years. As they matured in their walk with God He recruited 70 more and sent them out to minister. They were as successful as the twelve.

                                                              Near Loyal, August 2008

The constitution and bylaws of the Loyal Evangelical Church states:

Duties:

It is the duty of all members to take an active part in all functions of the church for the glory of God and the uplift of mankind.  This includes:  regular attendance at divine worship and study services; fervent prayer for the welfare of the church; a family altar and daily devotions in the home; careful attention to the religious training of youths; liberal financial and moral support towards the maintenance and benevolent undertakings of the church; obedience to her established law and authorities; untiring zeal in bringing the unchurched under her influence; a spirit of Christian fellowship toward all members; and membership in the organizations of the congregation wherever possible.

If you are thinking, “I can’t do that!” you may be right… except the Bible states, “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13) If that won’t work, then “Swing out over hell on a cornstalk and spit in the devil’s face” and do it any way.

Many people that live around Loyal attend church in Kingfisher and Watonga. However ,I believe that many that live around here are not active in a church – I have met a few that drive clear to Oklahoma City. We need to minister to them and we need them to help us with our ministries.

Our goal is not to make everyone in town to be like us. Rather, our goal is to reach people for Jesus Christ and help them become what God called them to be.  

As I said earlier, Jesus started by Himself, added 12, and then added 70. This grew to 120… and after Pentecost the church grew by the thousands. In fact people were being added daily to the church. Two years after Pentecost they were accused of turning the world upside down.

Quite frankly, we are running behind schedule!

Last week’s service changed me. It changed my prayer life. Hopefully it will change yours as well. Starting next week Roberta and I will be having a one-hour Bible study and prayer time on Wednesday evening here at the church. We hope you will join us. The book we will be using is “E. M. BOUNDS ON PRAYER.” During these sessions we will focus on personal prayer, intercessory prayer, and praise. As a result you and God will draw very close to each other!

We should learn to live so close to God that if we sin we are surprised. If that is not your goal then your prayer life will be ineffective.  

As Christians we face many battles. We have been deceived into believing that we should keep quiet about religion and politics. Get real! No one else is quiet on these two subjects. We need to speak the truth in love, but we do need to speak the truth!

To be told to keep my opinions to myself offends me!

The Kansas City Star is a liberal newspaper. Currently one of their writers is conducting a vendetta against a conservative Southern Baptist Church. Why? The church has a very charismatic pastor, and the church is vocal about their conservative beliefs – especially gay marriages and abortions.

The newspaper has been unfair. Fortunately some of the conservative writers are starting to take the newspaper to task for its unfairness.

But do not get upset. That church’s Easter attendance was the highest ever.

As believers we need not walk in fear. 2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV), “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

We do not give altar calls here – and I think that is a weakness. However, I am going to ask you to make a commitment to God this morning. Let’s follow the teaching of Romans 12:1,2: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--His good, pleasing and perfect will.”

As we prepare for Communion let’s make a new commitment and consecration to the Lord!

May 3, 2009