I don’t know about you all but one of my favorite Saturday
things to do when I was growing up was to go to the matinee at the Florida
Theater and watch Cowboy movies. Some of
my favorite cowboys were Lash Laroo, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, James Arness,
Chuck Conners, and William Boyd (also known as Hopalong Cassidy.) I always wanted to grow up and be a
cowboy. In South Florida….especially in
West Palm Beach that was not something that would happen easily. If you wanted to be a cowboy you had to live
in Bel Glade, Loxahatchee, or Pahoki. We lived in town. But just because I did not grow up to BE a cowboy does not mean I cannot talk
about them. This evening my sermon is called The Cowboy Way. It is a
guide to revival in the church. My
scripture text was from Matthew 28: 16-20.
One Sunday morning an old cowboy entered a church just
before services were to begin. Although
the old man and his clothes were spotlessly clean, he wore jeans, a denim shirt
and boots that were very worn and ragged. In his hand he carried a worn out old
hat and an equally worn out bible. The
Church he entered was in a very upscale and exclusive part of the city. It was
the largest and most beautiful church the old cowboy had ever seen. The people
of the congregation were all dressed with expensive clothes and
accessories. As the cowboy took a seat,
the others moved away from him. No one greeted, spoke to, or welcomed him. They
were all appalled at his appearance and did not attempt to hide it. The preacher gave a long sermon about
Hellfire and brimstone and a stern lecture on how much money the church needed
to do God’s work. As the old cowboy was
leaving the church, the preacher approached him and asked the cowboy to do him
a favor. "Before you come back in here again, have a talk with God and ask
him what He thinks would be appropriate attire for worship." The old
cowboy assured the preacher he would.
The next Sunday, he showed up for the services wearing the same ragged
jeans, shirt, boots, and hat. Once again he was completely shunned and
ignored. The preacher approached the man
and said, "I thought I asked you to speak to God before you came back to our
church." "I did," replied
the old cowboy. "If you spoke to
God, what did he tell you the proper attire should be for worshiping in
here?" asked the preacher. "Well, sir, God told me that He didn’t
have a clue what I should wear. He says
He’s never been in this church!” In Amos 4:12 we
are told “Prepare to meet your God, O Israel.” - And, of course, everyone needs
to prepare to meet God in person. This is a big part of what life is about. We
start life with God (even though we don’t realize this), we continue our lives
with God (even though many people stubbornly refuse to admit this. He is our
sustainer in life). And we end life with Him (even though many people deny this.)
BUT WE OF ALL PEOPLE SHOULD RECOGNIZE THIS
FACT AND BE HUMBLED BY IT! Life is a
preparation to meet God in person!....and THAT is why we are seeking revival
tonight! Hebrews
9:27
“Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.” - The
people of America and the world need to prepare to meet God. This is why we are
called to preach the truth about God and Christ. Jesus is the way, the truth,
and the life and no one approaches the Father except through Him! So this morning in this so-called “Cowboy sermon,” I want to
consider some things that a cowboy does and apply these to the Christian life
and revival. Here is what he does:
1- He
rides ‘em - Someone said, “I had a near death experience
that has changed me forever. The other day I went horseback riding. Everything
was going fine until the horse started bouncing out of control. I tried with
all my might to hang on, but was thrown off. Just when things could not
possibly get worse, my foot got caught in the stirrup. When this happened, I
fell head first to the ground. My head continued to bounce harder as the horse
did not stop or even slow down. Just as I was giving up hope and losing
consciousness, the Walmart manager came and unplugged it.”In Matthew 28:19 we are told “Therefore go and make
disciples…” - Cowboys had to ride a horse to get their work done. They had to
“get up and go” to get anything done. “Get up and go” is one of our problems
today. Jesus said to “go” into all the world and get something done for
Him. I have a semi-pro BASS fishing
friend. We have been friends for over 30
years. In the beginning he would never
fish in a Sunday tournament….but then things changed. When I ran into him a few months back I
asked him if he was going to church….. Guess what? He’s not going to church
even though his wife does. I have to tell you that he is great guy, a loving
husband, father, etc., but he still isn’t going to church. It saddened me that here is a lovely Christian professing man but
he is not honoring the Lord by worshipping on the Lord’s Day and there is no
doubt in my mind that he has no “get up and go” for serving the Lord or for
pointing people to the Lord. AND YET, HE HAS PLENTY OF “GET UP AND GO” FOR BASS
FISHING. What has happened to our
priorities? What about us? What about you? On what do you spend your “get up
and go?” WE NEED REVIVAL!
The
Second thing he does is….ROPE ‘EM. Matthew
28:19 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations…” Cowboys round up cows and
rope ‘em. We need to do similarly with people. We need to round ‘em up and rope
‘em. In other words, we need to make disciples out of people. We need to make
followers or encourage people to become followers of Christ. Have you made any
followers lately? All my life I’ve had people try to get me
to become a follower in one way or another. When I was about 18 years old I was
attending Palm Beach Junior College. One of my friends was an avid golfer. She
invited me to go golfing with her one morning. I did. It was my first and last
time. I was not sold on golf. Don’t get
me wrong…there is nothing wrong with playing golf. It just didn’t appeal to me.
My son plays golf…but it does not appeal to me. Have you made any followers
lately? That is, have you roped anyone into believing that Jesus is the Son of
God and the Savior of the world? Have you convinced anyone that Christ is the
way to go in life? Have you even talked to anyone about Christ? THIS IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY FOLKS AS HIS
DISCIPLES, HIS FOLLOWERS. We are to encourage others to follow Him just as
Andrew found his brother Simon and brought him to Jesus. WE
NEED REVIVAL!
The
third method is to BRAND ‘EM. We find
in Matthew 28:19 “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.” Cowboys of old would round up their herd
and brand ‘em so that others would know to whom they belonged. Baptism is a
part of this branding business. It’s a sign, if nothing else, to God that we
belong to Him! It’s a step in the right direction. One preacher said these words about baptism:
One good way to think of baptism is to consider it a “signing of a contract”
between you and God. If you were to buy a house, you would be required to sit
down with the sellers of the home and approve a contract. To show your
approval, you would be required to sign your name at the bottom of the paper.
Your signature wouldn’t buy the house (the money you probably borrowed from the
bank did that), but you couldn’t purchase the house until your name was on the
dotted line. So also, your baptism doesn’t “buy” your salvation. Christ’s blood
does that. But your signature on God’s contract is required. In Acts 2:38 Peter replied, "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 8:36 “They traveled along the road, they
came to some water and the eunuch said, ’Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I
be baptized?" Acts 22:16 “And
now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away,
calling on his name.” Baptism is an act
of obedience that all people who believe in Jesus need to comply with. This
does not “complete” our obedience to Jesus but it’s a step of obedience in the
right direction. AND WHY WE NEED
REVIVAL!
The
fourth thing Cowboys do is CORRAL ‘EM - Matthew
28:20 “Teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am
with you always, to the very end of the age.” After a cowboy has ridden
hard, roped his livestock, and branded them, then he needs to corral ‘em. He
needs to herd them into the corral and keep them there. The corral, however, that I
am thinking of is the church. When people come to believe in Jesus and they
decide to follow Him, they need to be encouraged to become a part of the
church. And they need to be taught, which comes in the church. Some
people don’t want to join a local church or fellowship of believers. Why not?
One reason is because they will feel responsible to attend that church and
support that church in service and in giving. AND THEY SHOULD! Arthur Boers in "The Other Side,"
(May/June, 1989) wrote, “I often visit newcomers in town and find them to be
church shopping. They want to know what they can get out of church. Churches
are one more consumer commodity. Worship services are not a place for us to
serve God and neighbor but a place where people expect to purchase the best:
Inspiring worship, good music, moving sermons, quality child care. As if we buy
God and not vice versa.” Brothers and sisters, that’s not what the
church is all about! The church is not here for the purpose of getting some out
of it, but rather for us to put something into it! Being honest with you….I
want to deliver the goods to you! I want to preach the best sermons I can for
your sake and to honor the Lord! I want to give you and the Lord the best
service I can. But this is the way we all should think. If we all give our best
service and do our best for the Lord and His church, ALL PEOPLE WILL GET SOMETHING OUT OF IT. It’s the principle of:
the more you sow, the more you reap. The more we give, the more we get. Someone once said at a school inservice I
attended…..and it applies here too, "There are four main bones in every organization.
The wish-bones: Wishing somebody would do something about the problem. The
jaw-bones: Doing all the talking but very little else. The knuckle-bones: Those
who knock everything. The back-bones: Those who carry the brunt of the load and
do most of the work." And I’ve always heard it said that about
20 percent of the people carry 80 percent of the load. BUT
THAT’S NOT THE WAY IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE! Just
think, if every body who believed in Christ, joined the church and got involved
in service, JUST THINK WHAT COULD BE
ACCOMPLISHED FOR THE LORD? If you’re not in the church you need to be and
if you’re not involved in some kind of service, you should be!
Ride ‘em, rope ‘em, brand ‘em, and corral ‘em. That’s our
job as people who belong to the Lord. There is a Congregational Christian church in Kansas City that
has these words as its motto: We will “wake up, sing up, preach up, pray up,
pay up, but never give up or let up or back up or shut up until the cause of
Christ in this church and in the world is built up.” What a great motto. Real cowboys of old were committed to their
job of riding herd and taking care of that herd. Likewise, we, as God’s people,
God’s herdsmen, have been called to do nothing less than our best to reach
people for Christ, to lead them to Him, to baptize them into Him, and to get
them in the church and continue teaching them the ways of Christ.
THAT IS WHEN WE WILL HAVE REVIVAL!
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