I have heard thousands of sermons in my
lifetime. Of the thousands of sermons which I have heard, there are
hundreds of statements which frequently come to my mind. Of the hundreds
of statements which frequently come to my mind, there are dozens that often
motivate me. But of the dozens of statements that often motivate me, there
are just those few that inspire me. I'd like to share one of those
inspiring statements with you now.
Years ago I was listening to my friend Dr. Tom Williams preach in person. I can't really tell you what the sermon was about. By the way, that's always been so amazing to me. You can sit for an hour listening to a man of God preach and years later your lucky if you can remember one statement that he said. This is how preaching works friend. Different words impress in different ways amongst different hearts. We know not what God is doing in each individual's heart. I remember preachers more for individual life-changing statements they have made than I do for their sermons.
I cannot tell you what Brother William's preached on that night, but my mind was to be changed forever. At the end of Dr. William's sermon, he humbly said these words, "Folks, don't ever forget that the secret to living the Christian life is to live in John nineteen." I couldn't wait for the sermon to end, to find out what "secret" he was talking about. What in the world could John 19 be about? I'll bet it must be about preaching the great commission. Yes, that must be it. Or maybe it must be about Jesus washing His disciples feet. Or possibly it's about doing unto others as I want them to do unto me. Hmmm. What could it be? I was desperate to know, so I opened up my Bible to John 19 and there it was. I was so simple it hadn't even crossed my mind.
The entire chapter of John 19 is about the crucifixion of Jesus. The secret to living the Christian life is to live in the crucifixion of our Lord and Saviour, to continually meditate upon what Jesus did for us at the cross. I have tried to do that day-by-day. Oh how we don't deserve heaven. Oh how we deserve to burn in hell because of our wickedness and pride. But thanks be to God, Jesus made a way. God made a way of escape for mankind. Jesus, Who knew no sin, because as sin; that we, Who knew no righteousness, could be made the righteousness of God. Jesus paid a debt He did not owe because we owed a debt we could not pay. What a Saviour!!!
So please never forget...
"The secret to living the Christian life is to live in John 19." ~Dr. Tom Williams
