Chosen To Tell | Max Lucado | Hope Under Pressure | Oak Hills Church

47:47 It's by God's grace and the power of Sudafed that I'm here today. Has anyone else been battling with this or just me? Okay, thank you. I thought maybe I was being punished or something. But I know I sound like I'm going through puberty. That happened decades ago. So this is chalk it up to nasal stuff. Hey, Easter is just three weeks away. Three weeks away. Can you believe it? It's going to be a phenomenal, phenomenal Sunday. Your entire family will be blessed, so bring them all. All of your neighbors will be blessed, so invite them all. Many are planning to be baptized on Easter Sunday. Would you like to be one of them? You can. The details are in the handout that you received as you came in. Let's pray, and we'll get right to work.

48:45 to think, O King, that our songs have just been heard by your ears. that our words matter to you. that our lyrics just interwove with the praise of angels and the saints who have gone before. thank you Father we confess that we do take it for granted but we want to know you and worship you more forgive our speaker his sins are many and help us to see Christ just Christ through Christ we pray and all the church said Behind him a trail of tracks.

49:52 Beneath him a pounding stallion. Before him miles and miles of trail to cover, and within him a flint rock reserve. squinty-eyed, square-jawed, raw-boned. Pony Express riders had one assignment, to deliver the message safely and quickly. So they seized every advantage. They took the shortest route, the fastest horse, the lightest saddle. Did you know they even required the thinnest stationery? Thank you. only the sturdy were hired. Could he handle the horse? Could he handle the heat?

50:44 Could he outrun the robbers and outlast the blizzards? The young and the orphans were preferred. They who were selected were given $125 a month, a pretty good salary in 1860. They were given a Colt revolver, a lightweight rifle, a bright red shirt, some blue trousers, eight hours to cover 80 miles each day, six days a week. Hard work, high pay, but the message was worth it.

51:22 The Apostle Peter would have never heard the phrase Pony Express. But I can't help but think that he would have appreciated their mission. As we find ourselves in lesson number three of a four-part series, surveying the first epistle, we turn our attention to the words of Peter as he talks to us about the importance of delivering the message. The text reads like this, and when you see words that are highlighted, would you please read them out loud?

52:00 You are a chosen people, royal priests, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession. You were chosen to tell about the wonderful acts of God who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. At one time you were not a people, but now you are God's people. And in the past you had never received mercy, but now you have received God's mercy. Dear friends, you're like foreigners and strangers in this world.

52:47 I beg you to avoid the evil things your bodies want to do that fight against your soul, people who do not believe are living all around you and might say that you are doing wrong. Live such good lives that they will see the good things you do and will give glory to God on the day when Christ comes again. chosen to tell. Not only is that the title of this message is truly the theme of our lives, we have been chosen to speak, to be an ambassador on behalf of God. Chosen to tell, anointed, appointed.

53:45 We exist to do for Jesus what the moon does for the sun. What does the moon do? Simple. The moon reflects a greater light. How many of you know that the moon generates no light of its own? But the moon only reflects the light. And contrary to the lyrics of the song, this harvest moon cannot shine on.

54:18 Apart from the sun, the moon is nothing more than a pitch black rock, but properly positioned the moon beams. I thought that was a clever sentence, but you didn't. The moon beams. Let her do what she was made to do, and this clod of dirt becomes a rock of inspiration. Yea, verily, romance. And the moon never complains. Raise your hand if you've ever heard the moon complain. I haven't either. She makes no waves about making waves. Boy, you're a rough audience today. Let a cow jump over her, or astronauts step on her. she never objects. And even though sunning is accepted while mooning... is the butt of bad jokes.

55:19 You're never going to hear cheese face grumble because the moon is at peace in her place. And because she is, soft light touches a dark earth. what would happen if we accepted our places as sun reflectors?

55:45 We've been chosen to tell. Chosen to tell our kids. Chosen to tell our kin. Chosen to tell our cul-de-sac. Chosen to tell our culture. We've been chosen to tell. Chosen to tell the immigrants, the illiterates, the indigence. We have been chosen to tell the affluent, the accomplished, the successful. God has a white-hot passion to harvest children from every culture, every nation, every neighborhood, every village, every slum. His vision for the end of the age reads like this. People for God, from every tribe, language, people, and nation. God longs to have the greatness of God proclaimed in the heart language of the 6,909 languages that exist in the world today.

56:47 He loves subcultures. He loves the gypsies of Turkey, the hippies of California, the cowboys and the rednecks of West Texas. He loves bikers. He loves hikers. He loves tree huggers. And he commissions all of us to speak. We have been chosen to tell the greatness of God. He loves all people groups and commissions common Galileans, Nebraskans, San Antonians, Koreans, Brazilians to speak the languages of the peoples of the world He teaches us the vocabulary of distant lands or lonely next-door neighbors, of people who are far away or kids who are right next door. He equips each one of us with the unique ability and proclivity to speak the language of someone who needs something.

57:53 God outfits his followers to cross cultures. and touch hearts. let's accept our role as people who are chosen to tell. How do we do this? I suggest we start. We share our master's burden.

58:15 God feels a burden for people. How often do we read words like this about Jesus? When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion. You know, when I see crowds, I tend to have aggravation.

58:44 But when Jesus saw crowds, he had compassion on them. And as our hearts become more and more like the heart of Christ, we will find ourselves seeing crowds and feeling a heaviness, a healthy, godly heaviness. That throng of people at the TSA line, each one of them is a child of God.

59:12 That long line of people at HEB who are keeping you from checking out, each one of them could use a prayer or a blessing. those throngs of populated nations like Korea and like India, like China, their languages are different than ours. Their culture is different than ours. But friend, their concerns are the same. excuse me I'm so sorry it's been dogging me all week I made it through two services without that happening you must be really special I'm so sorry We cannot ignore the people.

1:00:11 We cannot dismiss the people. We cannot categorize or pigeonhole the people. We've been chosen to help the people. what if we ask God to give us his vision of the world? You see, his vision is so simple. From his perspective, every single person on the planet is either entering through the small gate or the wide gate. is on the narrow road or the wide road. It's building on rock or sand, is wise or foolish, prepared or unprepared, fruitful or fruitless, heaven-called or hell-bound.

1:01:08 At the sinking of the RMS Titanic, more than 2,200 people were cast into the frigid waters of the Atlantic Ocean. You remember the story. Some of the most famous and storied and affluent people of their generation were on this voyage of the Titanic. And there they were thrown into the cold waters. Yet on the shore, the names of the passengers were posted in just one of two columns.

1:01:45 Saved or lost. No reference to net worth. No reference to accumulation. No reference to promotion. Just saved or lost. Our ledger gets more confused. We create so many different lists, don't we? Is he rich? Is she pretty? What work does he do? What color is her skin? Does he have a college degree? These matters are irrelevant to God as he shapes us to be more and more like Christ. He changes our way of seeing human beings. Our knowledge of men can no longer be based on their outward lives.

1:02:42 We see people differently. To have a heart like his is to look at the faces of the saved and rejoice because they're only a grave away from heaven. To have a heart like Christ is to look at the faces of the lost and pray, because they're only a grave away from torment. During World War II, the most common voice on the radio was that of Winston Churchill. but second to him was a common voice on the radio with weekly broadcasts that originated in Oxford from an Oxford dawn by the name of C.S.

1:03:41 Lewis we read his books today and of all his paragraphs this I think is the most dramatic. He said, it is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses. To remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship or else a horror and a corruption such as now you meet only in a nightmare all day long we are in some degree helping each other to one or the other of these destinations the next time you stand in a Starbucks line and you look at the person who's taking your order, think to yourself, a hundred years from now, she will either be with Christ or away from Christ.

1:04:49 The next time somebody wants to cut in front of you in traffic and you're not wanting to let them in, it might be good to remember 500 years from now there's a person who will the appearance of an angel or a demon. we have been chosen to tell because every person is headed to one or two of the destinations.

1:05:24 Some years back, a reporter covering the conflict in Sarajevo heard the crack of a rifle and looked down from his room in a hotel and saw a little girl who had caught a bullet in the back of her head. He ran down to the sidewalk, and by the time he got there, there was another man already there. The reporter said, I have a car. Put her in the back seat. And so the man scooped her up, and he climbed in the back seat with the girl. As the reporter drove in the direction of the hospital, the man said, hurry, hurry, my daughter is still breathing.

1:06:13 And then a few minutes later, he said, hurry, hurry, my daughter is very still. then hurry, hurry. Her body is still warm. And then a few moments later, hurry, sir, hurry. Her body is growing cold. by the time they reached the hospital the girl had passed away The two men stepped into a laboratory and washed the blood off of their hands and their clothes.

1:06:55 And the man who had been holding the girl said to the reporter, I have a terrible task. I must now go find the girl's father and tell him that his daughter is dead. The reporter was surprised. he said from the way you spoke I assumed you were the father and that she was your daughter and he said no she's not my daughter But aren't they all? there is a sense dear church in which all the suffering people in the world belong to us because we belong to Christ and since our father has a heart for those who hurt as we grow our heart for the hurting will grow as well those people who can't get a visa they belong to us those people who can't catch a break they belong to us those people who can't get a good meal they belong to us Those people who are stressed out and done out and done in, they belong to us.

1:08:23 Aren't they all? Aren't we all in this together? We have been chosen to tell, chosen to reflect the goodness of God around the world that is watching us and that needs us. Again, the challenge of Peter reads, Dear friends, you're like foreigners and strangers in this world. I beg you to avoid the evil things your bodies want to do that fight against your soul. People who do not believe are living all around you and might say that you're doing wrong. Live such good lives that they will see the good things you do and will give glory to God on the day when Christ comes again. That paragraph makes me think of Roosevelt and Patricia Adams.

1:09:21 Not only do they serve as a pastoral couple in our church, they have a heart for the people on their street. I know because I witnessed it firsthand. It's been over a decade now, but there was a time that we lived in the same neighborhood with Roosevelt and Patricia.

1:09:43 And they lived next door to a single mom. And on a particular occasion, this single mom was cited by the Homeowners Association for an unkempt lawn. It was a jungle. Bushes overgrown. Trees that needed to be treamed. leaves that needed to be raked. And so she was sighted. She got a letter saying that her house might even be a health hazard. And it was certainly an embarrassment to the neighborhood. Well, Roosevelt took a different approach. he went over to her house and he knocked on the door. How many of you know that there's a story behind every door?

1:10:37 and as he got to know his neighbor, he came to find out that, yes, she was a single mom, recently divorced, but she was also undergoing chemotherapy, and she was also working at the hospital the night shift and then taking in extra hours on the weekend just to make ends meet. She was in survival mode. She was exhausted. She was depleted. She was lonely.

1:11:17 Lawn care? That was the least of her concerns. So Roosevelt recruited some neighbors. He set it up. And those neighbors spent the better part of a Saturday getting that lawn in order, raking those leaves, trimming those bushes, shaping those trees. Thank you. Soon thereafter, she sent this message to the board of the Homeowners Association. Dear Sirs, I'm hoping that you can let the neighborhood be aware of what a great group of neighbors I have. Their actions encouraged me to realize that there are still some compassionate people residing here, and these residents are to be commended.

1:12:13 I cannot adequately express how grateful I am for their hard work, positive attitude, and enthusiasm. Thank you. Again, the words of Peter. Live such good lives that they will see the good things you do and will give glory to God on the day when Christ comes again. Roosevelt's response was a response to that challenge, as was the response of Joe and Liz Page. as you exit the property today. Perhaps you've never noticed that there is a building on the southwest corner of our acreage. Every Tuesday, that building is occupied by wonderful, talented seamstresses who are there to sew clothing for premature infants.

1:13:15 the need for doll sized wardrobes never occurred to me but then again my children were not born weighing three pounds Joe and Liz have a heart for premature babies and so they created a ministry threads of love and they want to make sure that these babies have something to wear that fits them, even if they have to wear it to their own funeral. Some years ago, health issues led Joe and Liz to turn the reins of the ministry over to a younger team. That team is doing a wonderful job.

1:14:09 They have been chosen to tell. What about us? Roosevelt and Patricia and Joe and Liz are just regular folks. I know because I know them. They don't levitate when they walk. if they see angels when they pray, they've never told me. They're just regular folk. They don't have a seat at the United Nations. They don't have a solution for the crisis in the Mideast. But they have embraced this conviction, and that is God never calls the qualified. He chooses to qualify the called.

1:15:03 don't let Satan convince you otherwise. And boy, he's going to try. You know his voice. Oh, you're not strong enough to do that. Oh, you're not smart enough to do that. Oh, you're not rich enough to do that. Oh, you're not talented enough to do that. That assignment is for people who have this or that or the other. Hogwash. When Satan whispers such lies, You tell him the truth and that is God changes the world with folks like us. live such good lives that they will see the good things you do and give glory to God on the day when Christ comes again. Look what Peter does.

1:15:58 He lifts up our eyes and points in the direction of the return of Christ. He said those people will know Christ. because of the way you lived. Can you imagine what it would feel like upon the return of Christ for you to see not only Christ, but to see someone who sees him, at least in part because of you? Can you imagine what that would be like to be in the presence of the King of Kings and somebody touches you on the shoulder and says, you know, I'm here because of you, because you were kind to me. because you cared about me. Oscar Schindler was a scoundrel, no doubt about it.

1:16:59 A womanizer, a heavy drinker, a cheater, and a member of Hitler's Nazi party. but inside what appeared to be a very dark heart,

1:17:22 there was a flame, a light, that burned on behalf of the Jewish people, specifically the Polish Jewish people of Krakow. and as Schindler saw train load after train load of Jews being taken away to death camps he resolved to do something about it he owned a factory and he understood that if a Jew was employed then the Jewish person was safe and so he began hiring them hiring them for jobs he didn't need just to give them a place. And what had been a factory for profit became a safe haven for the Jews.

1:18:17 And if they had a job in the factory, their name went on a list, Schindler's List. If you saw the movie, you remember the turn of events. You remember how at the end of the war,

1:18:41 Schindler went from being one aligned with the oppressors to being one who needed to run for his life. and so he did. The Jews were released, and as far as he knew, they were going to come after him.

1:19:01 So in the dark chill of a Polish night, he found his way to his car, and as he started the car and turned on the headlights, he saw lining the road all of his Jewish employees, over 800 of them. they were lining both sides they were not there. They were not there to arrest him. They were there to thank him.

1:19:35 He got out of the car. And the foreman of the factory, a man by the name of Isaac Stern, handed Schindler a letter, a letter of gratitude, a letter that bore the signatures of each of the people. Someone else gave Schindler a ring, a ring that had been formed out of the gold filling of a worker's tooth. And into the ring had been inscribed a statement from the Talmud that he who saves one person saves the world entire. and for a few moments Schindler just stood there looking into the faces of the husbands the wives, the children that we're safe because of him.

1:20:48 How do you suppose he felt in that moment? You're going to find out. you're going to find out. I'm here to tell you that someday a day is going to find you standing before the King of Kings, Jesus Christ, in a glorified body, in a perfected world. I don't think I'm allowing my imagination to go too crazy when I say somebody's going to come up and say thank you. Thank you. thank you that Sunday when I came forward for prayer you came up and put your hand on my shoulder I never forgot thank you that when I moved into the neighborhood, you came over and shook my hand.

1:21:46 Thank you that when I entered into the cafeteria and nobody else sat next to me, you stood up and you walked over and ate your lunch so I wouldn't be alone sitting next to me. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Grandpa, because you prayed for me every night. Thank you, Mom. How many nights did I keep you awake? thank you and friend in that moment do you think it will be worth it I would say you would do it again in a heartbeat.

1:22:31 It's what Schindler said. Full of emotion, he said something so low that they couldn't discern what he said. And so the foreman asked him to repeat it. And he said louder, he said, I could have done more. And he pointed at his automobile. He said, I could have sold my car and bribed more officials. And then he had a gold pin on his lapel. He said, I could have sold this and perhaps employed two more people. What matters is that in that moment, all that mattered to him. we're people we're people someday when you stand before Christ and someone says thank you it's going to all be worth it I don't think we will look back and say oh I could have done more our heavenly father is too gracious to let us live with regrets I really don't think we'll have those but I do think he'll let us see the opportunities that we seized that time we took the initiative that time we cleaned the yard that time we extended a hand of kindness that time we invited someone to Easter that time we told somebody our favorite Bible verse kindness people who are watching the way we live will give glory to God on the day Christ comes again.

1:24:18 We're chosen to tell. May we do exactly that. Thank you, Lord, that you have chosen us. Please help us to receive this commissioning. Yet again, we tend to forget and we pray, Heavenly Father, we can this week live in such a way that people will glorify your name on the day you come again. Through Christ we pray. Amen. Amen. Thank you for being so attentive.

1:24:54 Did you know that there is a amen? Amen. Thank you, Lord. Remember that list after the Titanic, lost and saved? Where would your name go? Not on the Titanic's list, but God's list. Are you sure you'd be right there under the saved column?

1:25:22 If not, make sure. Make sure you can do that today. we're going to offer a prayer of salvation and at the end of the prayer if today's your day to see your name placed on that list we'll ask you to stand up and give you a round of applause follow me please in this prayer as we all pray together Jesus I'm not perfect for I have sinned but I believe in you save me change me forgive me I give you my life. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen.

1:26:05 Who's saying yes to Christ today? Stand up so we can applaud your decision. Who's saying yes to Christ? All right, here. God bless you, young lady. Way to go. That's great. Right down here, George. Who else? Let's keep the applause going to encourage the people. Who else is standing up? Young lady, can you raise your hand real high so Mr. George can give you something to, there you go. Well, God bless you all. God bless you all, Jeremy.