Rev. David Holwick G 50-Day Adventure
First Baptist Church Week 1
Ledgewood, New Jersey [rather short - can be easily expanded]
February 25, 2001
Matthew 17:1-8
|
I. Strange encounters.
A. Of the Third Kind.
Around 15 years ago, Robert White was napping while his friend
Jan drove the car near Grand Junction, Colorado.
They were heading to Las Vegas.
It was very late at night.
I am reading from his sworn testimony:
She woke me, asking me what is that bright orange light
ahead of us?
Since there was a railroad track on the north side of the
highway, I told her it was just a railroad light, and
resumed my nap.
A while later, Jan woke me again and said, "That is no railroad
light."
She was right.
It was about the size of a full harvest moon.
I decided to stay awake and watch this thing.
As we got closer, it grew larger. [...]
When we were a few hundred feet from it, I turned off the
ignition and we coasted up close to it.
It was huge, the size of a very big barn.
I made Jan stop the car, which she did not want to do.
She was terrified and shaking badly.
"Let's keep going," she pleaded.
I tried to assure her there was nothing to fear.
After all this is just a bright light.
I got out of the car on the passenger side and stepped in
front of the car for a better look at this thing.
For some unknown reason, Jan turned on the headlights, and this
light went up in the sky as fast as my eyes could follow it.
When it reached a great height, it either changed shape or
connected to another light, [with colors falling from it.]
It came back down almost to where it started from.
I did not see it hit the ground, because where I was standing
there was a small incline.
I climbed the incline and went over to where I thought it
might have hit.
I found a groove in the ground about 18 inches deep and 9 inches
wide.
I followed the groove and there it lay.
[A piece of extraterrestrial spaceship? - looks like burned
chunk of metal in grainy photo]
I watched it for a while and it was still glowing.
I went to get some gloves.
I went back to the object and it was no longer
glowing.
I ran my hand over it and since I didn't feel any heat, I
picked it up with the glove, carried it back to the car, and
put it in the trunk.
I have been told by Dr. Reiswick from Los Alamos National
Laboratory, Materials, Science and Technology Division,
who did the analisation [sic] on it, this object is
definitely extraterrestrial.
I swear under oath this is a true story.
(signed and notarized)
Robert L. White
In an article Mr. White says, "Everyone who sees it -- at
least until the government gets ahold of 'em -- says it's
the (darndest) thing they've ever seen."
"Unsolved Mysteries" investigated it but mysteriously did not
put it on TV.
So Bob White has launched a website called "Hard Evidence.com."
His encounter has turned his life upside-down.
#19147
B. Of the Biblical kind.
1) About 2,000 years ago, three students and a guy named Jesus
had a strange encounter.
a) Alone on a mountaintop.
b) Surrounded by clouds and light and supernatural beings.
1> A foretaste of heaven and world to come.
c) It was a turning point in his ministry.
2) Bizarre to compare to an alien encounter?
a) Not if you were there.
b) The disciples didn't know what to say. Mark 9:6
c) They were terrified.
d) They saw Jesus in a completely new way.
3) When you've encountered the real Jesus, it should blow
your mind.
II. Worship should give us a taste of that mountaintop.
A. It is not enough to just believe - we must celebrate.
1) 50 Day Adventure puts worship at the top of the list.
2) It has exercises to focus our worship better.
a) For example, get rid of distractions which put you
in a bad mood before you ever get to church.
1> (Leave the husband/kids at home?)
b) Come to church with anticipation.
B. What can we do as a church to make worship more exciting?
1) What doesn't work.
a) Pure theatricalism.
b) Program. (ABC women's program at former biennial)
c) Exhortation only.
2) Worship is not something we do. It is who we know.
C. What builds excitement.
1) Worship is exciting when people are seeking Jesus.
a) A few years ago one church surveyed its community
asking why people DIDN'T go to church.
The answers are interesting:
1. There is no value in attending. 74%
4. I'm simply not interested. 42%
6. Church services are usually boring. 36%
7. Services are irrelevant to the way I live. 34%
Only 12% said they didn't go because they weren't
sure there was a God.
Everybody wants spirituality.
They just don't expect to find it in church!
#3333
b) You shouldn't come to church for the service.
You come to encounter Jesus.
If you don't sense that Jesus is here, why don't YOU
bring him in?
2) Worship is exciting when people are saved by Jesus.
a) A stagnant church is a boring church.
b) When people are getting saved you cannot hide
the excitement.
c) Don't think of this as something that happens
during the last hymn.
1> All through the week, God is working in lives.
2> A new Christian will have an intensity about them.
3> If few are being saved we will become too inward.
3) Worship is exciting when people are serving Jesus.
a) The second Action Step is caring for one another.
1> Do someone a kindness - secretly.
2> Do one this week.
3> (Maybe you could share it with the rest of
us - anonymously, of course.)
b) Service is not just for the pastor or S.S. teachers.
1> We believe everyone has a part.
2> When you help out someone who is down-and-out,
you are helping Jesus himself.
III. The ultimate expression of excitement is REVIVAL.
A. The presence of Christ is the outstanding characteristic of
all authentic revivals.
B. When Christ is present, worship happens.
1) The revival in Shantung, China, in the early 1930's had
a great impact on the worship in church.
C. L. Culpepper describes it this way:
One result of the revival [Shantung, China, 1932-33] was a
continual singing of the people.
They put songs and other scriptures to music.
Old people who could not read or write memorized the songs
and sang with their eyes closed, their bodies swaying
to the rhythm of the melody and tears of joy running
down their cheeks.
God had taken away their sorrow and given them a new song.
I saw that many old women who could not carry a tune were
filled with the Spirit, singing a melody that seemed to
come from an angel of heaven.
One of the greatest personal blessings which I received
from the revival was the wonderful spirit in the worship
services.
Entire congregations bowed in silent meditation for several
minutes.
The atmosphere became charged with spiritual power.
Suddenly someone would begin to pray and praise God.
As long as an hour would pass before the speaker would
speak.
Conviction became so evident that the preacher would simply
give an opportunity for anyone who wished to accept
Christ to come forward.
There was always some response, often in large groups.
I knew it was the natural result of a spirit of worship
and adoration which followed revival.
#19148
2) We serve the Conqueror of Heaven. Worship him with joy!
=========================================================================
SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
# 3333 "Executive Minister's Note," by Rev. Roy Medley in ABCNJ
Pre-Vues (newsletter), September 1995.
#19147 "The Bob White Extraterrestrial Experience," by Robert White
(edited by David Holwick), http://www.hardevidence.com,
February 2001.
#19148 "The Shantung Revival," by C. L. Culpepper, pages 48-49; quoted
by Dr. David R. Mains in sample sermon of "Seeing the Unseen
Christ" 50 Day Adventure, page B.28, February 2001.
These and 17,000 others are part of a database that can be downloaded,
absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
=========================================================================
Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick
Created with the Freeware Edition of HelpNDoc: Single source CHM, PDF, DOC and HTML Help creation