Sermon for Sunday August 17th, 2008

TWO HATS by Bruce Ball

Matthew 28:19-28:20


Someone once asked, ‘What good are cowboys?’ I replied that without cowboys, there would be no cowboy songs or western movies or cowgirls.

Have you ever noticed how cowboys seem to have pretty good judgment? Of course, a lot of good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of experience comes from bad judgment. That moral is to learn from your mistakes so you don’t keep repeating them.

Here is some good cowboy wisdom that all of us would benefit from following.

If you’re riding ahead of the heard, look around every now and then to make sure it is still there. When you get to thinking that you are a person who has considerable influence, try ordering somebody else’s dog around.

Of course, we can all take a lesson from the mountain lion. After eating a whole bull, he felt so good he stood tall and roared for hours. Finally the rancher came along and shot it. The moral there is; when you’re full of bull, keep your mouth shut.

And always remember that there are two theories about arguing with a woman. Neither one work. The quickest way to double your money is to fold it in half and put it back in your pocket.

And finally, when you get all upset and feel like going out and kicking something, be very careful to follow these two rules. Never kick a sleeping dog, and never kick a cow chip, especially on a real hot day.

Today is Cowboy Sunday here at CrossRoads. Why? For a couple of reasons. First, it is something different from our norm, and that always adds a little flavor and excitement to whatever you are doing, and secondly, some of you actually have the cowboy heart and it needs spoken to, also.

For those of you who do not know what a ‘cowboy heart’ is. This story might explain it.

There was a cowboy named Joe, and he had just returned to the bunkhouse from going to church for the very first time. The rest of the cowhands wanted to hear what it was like, so Joe poured himself a cup of leftover coffee, sat down in the old wooden chair, and began to tell them.

He said, ‘When I got there, I parked my pick-up in the corral.’ Charlie, a worldly cowboy who had been to church twice in his life corrected Joe; ‘That would be the parking lot, Joe.’

Joe continued, ‘I walked up the trail to the door.’ Charlie said, ‘That would be the sidewalk.’

Joe said, ‘Inside the door was this dude in a fancy suit.’ Charlie explained to the other cowpokes, ‘That would be the usher.’

Joe said, ‘This dude led me to the chute.’ Charlie said, ‘He means the pew.’

Joe said, ‘Yeah ….. that’s exactly what that pretty young lady said when I sat down next to her.’

Cowboys are often made fun of, but they have always been there to do the work most of us could not, or would not do. They are a distinct group of people. Whether it be the cowboys from Arizona or from here in Oklahoma, these men and women have helped forge and mold this country like no others could have done. And they had courage to say what needed to be said when it needed to be said.

There was a man in the Old Testament who had the heart of a cowboy before there were cowboys. His name was Amos. Now Amos was a shepherd in Israel. During this period of time, Israel had experienced peace and prosperity. In fact, they had been blessed so much by God that they started focusing on how much they wanted the blessings instead of how much they needed God.

I prefer to think of Amos as a cowboy preacher. He had courage to stand up and say what he thought and he preached about God’s justice and righteousness. And he condemned those who made themselves powerful at the expense of others.

His main message can be found in AMOS 4:12 –

‘Prepare to meet your God, O Israel.’

That wouldn’t be a bad message to start spreading around America today, would it? Just like Amos did then, we find ourselves today living in a corrupt society. We refuse to let God take His rightful place in the public square. We do all the things that Israel got punished for in their time. And just like ancient Israel, we are too stiff-necked to see it coming.

Look at it from this perspective. We begin our lives with God, even though we do not realize it. We grow up and live our lives with God, even though we do not acknowledge it. And we end our lives with God, even though some people try to deny it.

There is a saying that I have heard all my life; ‘History repeats itself.’ If that is true, why can’t we learn from it? We know how to read, so we should read the Old Testament and see how closely we resemble ancient Israel. And while we are reading, we could start paying attention to how God punished them over and over again for committing the same sins we commit today.

Our whole life on this earth is nothing more than a time of personal preparation to meet our God in person! It is a time for us to become as righteous as possible for that meeting.

HEBREWS 9:27 tells us,

‘… man is destined to die once, and after that- to face judgment.’

The people of America need to prepare to meet our God. This is why we are called to preach the truth about God. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life and no one approaches the Father except through Him!

The name ‘cowboy’ is just another name for ‘caretaker’. Let’s see how a cowboy takes care of his cattle.


1. THE COWBOY RIDES OUT TO FIND THE CATTLE

One man told his friend about his first experience riding a horse. He said that it started out okay, but soon the horse started bouncing out of control and started going faster and faster. He said that is when his foot got caught in the stirrup. Finally, he lost his balance and got thrown off the horse and was being dragged by the wayward horse.

He said he thought he was going to die being pulled along by the horse, but finally, the manager of Wal-Mart came out and unplugged it.

There are real cowboys and then there are wanna-be cowboys. And there are real Christians who do what God says, and then there are wanna-be Christians who do what they want. And most of the time, they don’t want to do very much.

In MATTHEW 28:19, it says,

‘Therefore, go …’

Cowboys have to get up and go, but for most of us, that is one of the biggest problems we have. We do not get up and go anymore. Jesus said for us to “go”, but all too often, we say “WHOA”.

I had a conversation once with a long-time friend of mine. In this conversation, like so many before, I tried to get him to go to church with me. He had been raised in church, and at one time had even felt called to go into the ministry, but as time dwindled away from inaction on his part, that calling got more and more distant until he could no longer see it.

He agreed that we all need God in our lives, and he saw the necessity of Christians being in church every Sunday, but that is as far as he could go. His wife and children go to church regularly, but he doesn’t. In fact, he told me he hadn’t been in church in over 20 years!

He said that he was so disillusioned years ago that he just cannot get over it. I asked him what had disillusioned him so badly, and he said that when he was a young man, he gone into a church desperately seeking guidance of some kind. He said he was told to sit in the pew until the minister had time to talk to him.

He said the pew was beautiful. It was hand-carved wood, lined with expensive velvet. He said he sat there quite a while and noticed the sunbeams coming in through the largest stained glass windows he had ever seen. He said the pipe organ covered the entire front wall.

After a while, the minister came in wearing flowing gowns of silk trailing behind him and walked over to a beautiful ornate wooden pulpit. He opened this big leather bound Bible and marked a spot in it with a silken marker.

I asked him how this had hurt him so badly, and he said to him, the man was living a lie. He said the minister read,

’If any man will be my disciple, said Jesus, let him deny himself, take up his cross, sell what he has, give it to the poor, and follow me.’

He said the man preached to him that if he really wanted to follow Jesus, he had to be willing to leave all worldly things behind as one follows the steps of our Lord!

This man was spiritually crushed by seeing a man who claimed to be of God, talking about focusing on the rewards in Heaven, while living in all the earthly trappings of wealth and splendor here on earth. He said it was obvious that this man was living in total contradiction to what he was preaching.

As Christians, we must be sure that we actually follow Jesus, and not just go through the motions. If we go through the motions, just trying to ’appear’ like a devoted Christian, we could do as much damage to someone who is seeking Christ as that minister did to my friend.

When is the last time you talked to anyone about the necessity of having Christ in their life? If you have never done so, what excuse are you planning to give God on the day you bow before Him to be accountable for your life?

We need to ride out of our comfort zones and start doing what Amos did; sharing God’s truth with others. But to properly share it, we need to fully understand it, and that means we must be fairly familiar with the Bible before we can go talk about it and do any good.

Too many people are just like that minister in long flowing robes. They do all the things one would expect, but do them in such a way as to look ridiculous to those who are really seeking God. See, it isn’t about the things we do, it is about what affects those things have on others for the glory of Jesus.

It is easy to see a fire. It ignites everything it meets. Any fire that does not spread will eventually go out. It is easy to see a real church, too; it spreads the Word of God through evangelism. A church without evangelism is not a church, just as a fire that doesn’t burn is not a fire. And likewise, a Christian who is really on fire for the Lord will leave a trail of God’s glory everywhere they go, while others will only leave an empty trail because what they did was only for their own glory.

Martin Luther once said, ‘A religion that gives nothing, costs nothing, and suffers nothing … is worth nothing.’


2. THE COWBOY ROPES THEM

MATTHEW 28:19, it tells us –

‘Therefore go and make disciples of all nations…’

Cowboys are known for going out into the far reaches of the ranch and rounding up cattle. When they find them, they rope them so the cattle will not run away. Christians are called to do the same thing.

We are called to go into the far reaches of our world, rounding up the unsaved and the unchurched. We are to throw the rope of God’s Word to them so they will be brought nearer.

In JOHN 12:32, Jesus says it better –

‘… if I be lifted up, I will draw all men to Me.’

It is our duty to lift up the name of Jesus so that people will be drawn to Him. The best way of doing this is to keep yourself in the Bible, becoming familiar with what it says so you will be ready in season and out of season to share it with others.

Now, keep in mind that we are not told to go out and save people, because we offer nothing that could save anyone, but we are commanded to go out and make ’disciples’. We need to ‘get up and go’ so that we can encourage others to become lovers and followers of Jesus, too. May I ask you a question? Have you ever helped anyone become a follower of Jesus? Let me ask you another question; If not, why haven’t you?

The young salesman was disappointed about losing a big sale, and as he talked with his sales manager he complained, ‘I guess it just proves you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.’ The manager replied, ‘Your job is not to make him drink. Your job is to make him thirsty.’

So it is with evangelism. Our lives should be so filled with the passion of Christ that we create a thirst in others for what we have.

It seems that all my life, people have tried to get me to follow whatever is important to ‘them’. Some people have tried their best to get me into all kinds of scams, and others have tried to get me into playing golf or poker with them. In Arizona, some of my friends would try their best to get me to go camping up in the mountains, or go fishing, or hunting with them.

Now, let me say that I have no use in my life for moneymaking scams. As far as I am concerned, one dish soap is as good as another, and I have no desire whatsoever to play cards while betting money I don’t have on the outcome of a losing game of chance.

As far as hunting, camping, and fishing goes, I was raised in the back hills of the Appalachian Mountains and these are not alien to my life. My dad and brother and I spent half our time back up in the Appalachians hunting, fishing, and just camping out. My dad said we did it to give my mom a break from us, but I think it was because he liked it so much.

But for the last 20 years or so, I have all but lost interest in these activities, too. I have come to love spending my time in the pursuit of Christ more than in the pursuit of other things. My main interest in this physical life is now the church and you. I think that comes with the territory of being called to pastor.

What do all those people who have tried to get me involved in their passion have in common with each other? They have their passion in common. They are excited. They are focused because of that excitement.

Christians who are not excited about their Jesus will not be able to help anyone see their Jesus. We must be very careful as to where our hearts really are, because if we talk about Jesus because we want the glory of being looked at as a Christian, we could do more harm that good.

Too many Christians settle for having the attitude of a follower. We are followers of Christ, but like Christ, we are to live our lives with a believer’s attitude, not a follower’s attitude. The difference is the passion; the excitement; and the boldness one has for Christ.

Look how Jesus called the first disciples. In each case, the Bible tells us that Jesus ‘went’. He did not wait until they came to Him. He did not wait until some mysterious day in the future when everything would be convenient to do so. He went on purpose to find disciples.

That is our responsibility today, too. We must bring others to Jesus, and if we don’t, we will someday have to explain why we chose not to.


3. COWBOY BRANDS THE CATTLE

Cowboys round up stray cattle that are lost. They rope these cattle so they will not run away, and they apply the branding iron to their backsides to make sure everyone will recognize who they belong to.

Going back once more to MATTHEW 28:19, Jesus said,

’Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.’

When a person gets baptized without the proper feelings in their heart, it becomes nothing more than a quick dip in the water. But, when a person yearns to have a relationship with Jesus as Savior, their baptism becomes a sort of brand. It signifies that they are now set apart from their old life and are now obedient to Jesus. It shows they now belong to another.

You are told by Jesus to go and make disciples. You make them by offering them your true Christian friendship. You take them under your wing and you tell them about Jesus. Then, you are commanded to baptize them into the kingdom of God.

Peter told us in ACTS 2:38, to –

‘Repent and be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’

ACTS 22:16 also tells us not to wait.

‘And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, and wash your sins away, calling on His name.’



4. THE COWBOY CORRALS THE CATTLE

After a cowboy has roped his livestock, and branded them, then he needs to corral ‘em. He needs to herd them into the corral where they will be together in one group and be safe from the enemy. And we need to do the same thing with new Christians.

The corral that I am talking about this morning, however, is the local church. When people choose to follow Jesus, they need to be brought into the local church. This is where they will be taught, discipled, and grow.

Some people don’t want to join a local church because they will feel responsible to attend that church and support that church in service and in giving. And you know what? HALLELUJAH! THEY SHOULD!

Many people look at church as an entertainment arena. They will shop around for the right church. Their decision will not be based upon where the most meaningful teaching is, but on who has the most entertaining service. This is not what the church is all about.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Church should be enjoyable to the Christian, but church should also teach the Christian – and I will go one step further; the Christian is supposed to pursue information about God through the teachings of the local church and not just alone. And they should never go to a church that doesn’t preach from the Bible or that has easy-listening sermons that do not convict of sin.

Church attendance in America has been dwindling over the last several years. Something is wrong when we have to beg and cajole people to come in and listen to the message we are preaching. Maybe the problem is the message the church is preaching today.

The people in church are referred to as the church body. And, like each of us, a body is held up by bones. And there are four main bones in every church.

First, we have the wishbones: These people wish somebody else would do something about the problem because they are never willing to.

Secondly, we have the jawbones: Jawbones do all the talking but take very little action. And certainly, we have all seen people like that in church, haven’t we?

Next we have the knucklebones: They knock everything no matter what it is, but never come up with any solutions themselves.

Finally, we have the backbones: These are the ones who carry the brunt of the load, and do most of the work. These are the core of every church. The ones who actually make it happen. What type of bone are you?

And I’ve always heard it said that in any organization, 20% of the people carry 80% percent of the load. BUT THAT’S NOT THE WAY IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE! Instead of 20% of the people doing 80% of the work, God wants 100% of the people to help in any way they can. Some can do more than others, but everybody can do something.

If every body who believed in Christ, joined the church and got involved in service, JUST THINK WHAT COULD BE ACCOMPLISHED FOR THE LORD!

Those outside the church need to get into church, and those inside the church need to get involved in some area of service. There are many ways that each one of us can become involved.

A lady called the police and said she had a skunk in her basement and she needed help getting it out of her house. The police said to lay a trail of bread crumbs from the basement to outside in the yard and then leave her doors open. Sure enough, the skunk followed the breadcrumbs and left. Two days later, however, she noticed two skunks in her basement, looking for more breadcrumbs.

That is exactly how people come to Christ. We give them the Gospel and pretty soon, they get someone else to come and listen to it, too.

One church in Kansas City has these words as its motto:

‘We will sing up, preach up, and pray up; but we will never give up, let up, or back up, until the cause of Christ is built up.’

I believe every believer should live those words in all they do, wherever they go.

All of you are familiar with the children’s game called ‘Simon Says’. That is where one kid stands in front of the others and says ‘Simon says ……’ and all the kids try to do it very fast. Well, the world is Simon. There are too many Christians doing what Simon says without doing what Jesus says. They put on a fine show, but that is all it is – a show.

Here are two of my western hats. See, this one is nice and clean. It has a pretty band on it, and this is the one I use when I dress up.

This other hat is rather worn and is very dirty. It has long since lost its original shape. The band is gone, and it isn’t very good looking, is it? This is the hat I use when I work out in the sun.

Both hats were made for the same purpose; to protect my head from the sun. One hat is my work hat and the other is my ‘see how nice I look’ hat. One hat actually does its job, and the other only looks like it does its job.

Too many Christians are wearing their ‘see how nice I look’ hats. They are not doing their jobs as Christians, but they want it to look like they are, so they wear their dress hats instead of their work hats. They try to act like they are spiritual, but down deep, they have no clue what being spiritual is all about.

If God were to come down here right now and ask you which hat you are wearing, what would you tell Him? One hat will be hung on a hat rack inside Heaven, and the other will not even make it past the judgment.

If you need to change the hat you are wearing, can I get you to just walk up here with me this morning?