Conference for Missionaries-1986 - Part 1 — William MacDonald

The Highest Goal of Christian Character

The Lord Jesus was praying that his people might be morally and spiritually like himself, that his people might be godly, that his people might be Christ-like. That is what would shape conformity to the image of the Lord Jesus.

Because the highest description of Christian character is found in the word Christ-like. You cannot go higher than that. When applied to a believer, it's the ideal tribute, the ultimate honor. There's no ambition higher than to be like Jesus.

We talk about long-term goals, and we talk about short-term goals. The greatest goal of all is to achieve Christ-likeness in life. Henry Drummond said, "...to become like Christ is the only thing in the world worth caring for, the thing before which every ambition of man is vanity, and all lower achievement is vain.".

Christlikeness Beyond Spiritual Gifts

I'm sure it must be a very satisfying experience to be greatly gifted, to be able to teach or preach in such a way that you'd have the audience, as it were, in the palm of your hand. It must be wonderful to be able to preach so the heart abounds beneath the influence of the word.

Christ-likeness is better than great gifts. A man might be very gifted on the platform at a perfect crouch at home, and the two don't go well together. Gift is a sovereign favor of God bestowed upon us, but grace is something in which our responsibility is involved, in which we have to develop by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Following Christ in Evangelism

Many people today aspire to be great personal soul winners. They rush around breathlessly, witnessing for Jesus Christ, and racking up souls at the end of the day, cutting the notches on their guns. But oftentimes their lives are an embarrassment.

Sometimes their lives don't back up what they're doing. They forget those words of the Lord Jesus, "...follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.". Sometimes I think we develop such familiarity with a verse like that, that we don't stop to think, what does that mean, follow me?

It means live as I live, and get me to be Christ-like. To be fishers of men. The ability is to follow Him, and His is to make us fishers of men. It is the natural nature of the Lord Jesus. More and more like the Lord Jesus.

God's Pattern of Transformation

When we see the Savior, we're going to be like Him, aren't we? We shall be like Him! When we see the Savior, we're going to be like Him, aren't we? We shall be in transformation. We're becoming like Him.

That will be an act. I think Harold Maywald has given us... He tells about a supervisor, and then she'd come back and stand before the mirror. She kept on coming, and she bit. There's a pattern. That's it.

God has a pattern. Another lovely illustration he uses is of the filter. He had the chisel and he started chipping away with the granite. And before he was through, beautiful lions emerged, breathtaking.

And somebody came and said, I've seen it with Michelangelo. Have you seen the Michelangelo? In your life, and in mine. At the following moments, we want to describe how God's goal is to chisel away on our lives until the image of the man appears.

And as we do, may our prayers be, Let it be seen that with Thee I have sinned, Jesus my Lord and my Savior. Let it be known I am only Thine. Every one of us a role model of Jesus. I find that very, very...

The Church as Christ's Witness to the World

To show the world His likeness. We are members of the body of Christ. The body is the vehicle by which the Lord Jesus expresses Himself to the world today, isn't it? The body. You and I are members of the body of Christ.

We want to express Himself. May be what they see of Him in you, Mr. Ronald. May be what they see of Him in you. Osmondal says, The world was of an eagle. When we speak of our Savior and the life He offers, everything we say is filtered.

Jesus has suffered from the hands of Satan. He's been wounded in the house of His friends. James thinks that more evil is done to the cause of Christianity by its adherents than by its opponents. Do you believe that?

More evil is done to the cause of Christianity by its adherents than by its opponents. For the world's profession is destructive. We claim that it is. It ought to make a difference. How do you answer that?

The Scandal of Inconsistent Christian Living

Let me give you some examples of poor or low-brow leaders. What is Jesus going to do? Sunday night. Honorable Jesus brought a test. Sunday morning, He's back in the office and things are not going well at all.

And He took it out on His secretary. He really let her have it. And as she was going out the office, He passed another girl and she said, Yep. Come to Jesus on Sunday night and go to hell on Monday. Breaks your heart, doesn't it?

It breaks your heart that if the church weren't a divine institution it never would have survived. It would never have survived blows like that. The inconsistency in the life of Christian people. All the time we hear of the Christian community suffered from an intense and gloomy to be born again.

The trouble is that they don't make with the world. Born living the same lifestyle that they have always lived. Rated movie and it's very evident that Christ has not made a change in their lives. And all of this in the name of the lovely Lord Jesus that is associated with could be Christian musicians with their theatrical performances.

The imitation of the world and all of its style. And often times the questionable lyrics. A young woman within the last two years caroled in a great gospel. She's coming out with statements that are slightly less than poignant.

Thanks very much. One of the great crusades in this country. But his life didn't change at all. The news spread like wildfire that he was now a believer but he continued to carry on his underworld activities.

And when somebody confronted him with this caricature of Christianity nobody ever told me that in coming to Christ I hadn't changed my life. He said, you have Christian cowboys he said, you have Christian politicians he said, you have Christian football players why can't you have a Christian gangster?

And he went back into the world. You never heard from him. Nothing all may be one but the world may believe thou hast been. Then there are the pre-sporting make-ups. And this is the way Jesus is presented in the 20th century by tenuous friends.

Scandals That Discredit the Gospel

There's radio and TV begging money-making rats and it goes on until some clever reporter gets a hold of the story and the whole thing comes out in the headlines. Another blot on the Navy studying Pope did a report on faith healers and it seems that there's a show on television, Johnny Carton and one night he had a fellow on called The Incredible Randy.

Randy's no friend of Christianity apparently but he likes to expose anything that professes to be supernatural and so he picked one of the healers. The healer's name was Peter Popoff. No harm in mentioning because it's been in the papers and TV and he went to the Peter Popoff show and first of all you see Peter Popoff there and he's saying man in the meeting tonight.

Harry, Harry would you raise your hand. Harry raises his hand. You live at 30 for the Lord has revealed to me you live at 3844 foothill. The Lord reveals the wife is crying by now this wonderful revelation of the Lord.

He said you have eye trouble don't you and your wife has eye trouble too. Come over here and let me put your hands on your eyes. Puts his hand on their eyes and pushes them down into the chair. I don't know whether that was slain in the spirit but I want to tell you it was a hefty push down into the chair.

And then came the extra. Randy had gone there not only with but with sound equipment as well and they found that Mrs. Popoff went out to the audience before the meeting and she interviewed people who came to be healed and if they wanted to be healed she gave them a card to fill out 3844 foothill eye trouble.

Wife has eye trouble too. And then the meeting would start. Mrs. Popoff was behind the scenes. I forgot to tell you that when Randy first interviewed Peter Popoff he noticed he had an ear bone. He had something in his ear and he said that's funny.

That's funny for a healer to be deaf. But before the meeting starts Mrs. Popoff goes out in the back and she's broadcasting on 38 megahertz and Peter is picking it up in the earpiece and she says the next man is Harry.

He said I have a revelation from the lord that the man named Harry. She said 3844 foothill. He said you live at 3844 foothill. And this is what you could hear this. You could hear this on the videocassette.

You could hear the broadcast. You could hear her broadcast. You could hear him and then presenting it as a revelation. This is why the world this is why it's getting harder and harder in the United States to reach people with the gospel of the grace of God.

Materialism and Moral Failure Among Christian Leaders

One of America's favorite TV preachers was reported to live in a 12 room mansion modeled after the palace of Versailles. He had fabulous formal gardens tables and pools. Another bought a half million dollar mansion in Los Angeles which his wife called a little place to get away to.

And he added a Rolls Royce to his fleet of Jaguars and Mercedes Benz. And assembly people are spending money for these radios and TV deliveries instead of supporting the missionaries those who have been commended from the assembly they become part of the TV church and are sending money heartbreaking to read the newspapers and read of Christian leaders who left their wives and gone off with their their secretaries or celebrated Christian women who turned away from husband and foes to go off with another man.

Dear friends, the evangelical world really needs a house cleaning. All is not gold. I think how Christ is sometimes libeled by so-called Christian politicians men who profess to be born again in order to get the votes because they know that the despisable evangelical community with voting power and then you hear their earthy language and you read about their questionable compromises and their shadowy association that it all links with the name of Jesus.

That's the dishonor done to the Lord Jesus Christ in Calvary. We even mention Christian prisoners and we've seen so much of this out our way, men who claim to have been saved and through strong representation from believers the judge shows leniency to them he says, I know you're a con man but under the circumstances, I'm going to release you.

And they release him and some Christian organization gets a hold of him and they put him on parade throughout the country forgetting the scriptures. He says, not a novice, but being lifted up with pride he's fallen to the condemnation of the devil and that's just what happens.

Faithfulness in the Face of Death

I visited up in San Quentin once and a man there, I'm very fond of him. Do you know why? He went around San Quentin with a t-shirt and it said, Powered by Christ and he would lead a man to Christ out in the yard of San Quentin and I thought to myself, McDonnell, if you were here would you do that?

No way, you know Powered by Christ that was his testimony at San Quentin. He came out of the Christian organization, got a hold of him made a movie about him, got him traveling throughout the country.

I heard he was acting and he had a wonderful testimony for the Savior that day or so. What shall we say about Christian students who cheat on exams and housewives who quarrel with their neighbors and common folk who are rude and short-tempered and these are all libels instead of Bibles.

Every instance of behavior that is unchristlike causes the enemies of Christ at last to be. Every poor role model causes people to say, what you are, speak so loud I can't hear what you say. I think it was this that caused John MacArthur to say one time, I think that Jesus had a lot more class than many of his agents.

A soldier was brought before Alexander the Great with some discipline problem and Alexander said, and what's your name? And he said Alexander, sir. He said, well either change your name or change your behavior.

What's your name? Christian. A little thing in one of the books by East Stanley Jones he was talking to Mahatma Gandhi one day and he said to him Gandhi, he said I would like to see Christianity in India not as a foreign religion not as a religion from some imperial power but as a native religion of India a part of the national life of India and contributing its power to India's uplift and redemption.

What would you suggest that we do to make this possible? And you know what Gandhi said? He said, I would suggest that all of you Christians must begin to live more like Jesus Christ. Second, I would suggest that you practice your religion without adulterating it or toning it down.

And third he said, I would suggest that you must put your emphasis on love for love is the center and soul of Christianity. I tell you, that's something coming from an unconverted man, isn't it? I think I'll read that again so that it'll stick in my mind and in your mind as well.

I would suggest that all of you Christians must begin to live more like Jesus Christ. Second, I would suggest that you must practice your religion without adulterating it or toning it down. And third I would suggest that you must put your emphasis on love for love is the center and soul of Christianity.

Examples of Christlike Character

Well, that's kind of a bloop. We're not in a meeting on a picture like that by any means. We've shown how Christians have often grossly misrepresented the Lord Jesus to the world rather depressing. Praise God that's another side of the picture.

There have been in our men who are giving a faithful witness to Jesus Christ. I think of one of the fellows in our intern program a few years ago. He was a classmate of mine. How many years ago was that story?

Three? Three years ago. This fellow's name was Rob Lucey. He was stricken with cancer. He was dying. District nurse came out to visit in the home and she said to Donna an unconverted woman, she said Rob makes me think of Jesus.

He made all of us think of Jesus. The Christ life. I'm not saying it because he died. I'm saying it because it's true. He was only saved a few years. He had memorized 1200 verses and when we would go over to visit with him, we would sing with him.

The whole group of interns would sing with him. We'd pray with him and the scriptures that he would quote to us were obviously given to him by the Lord for this particular time in his life. I said to him one day, Rob you know a lot of scripture.

What's your favorite verse of scripture? He said, but none of these things move me neither count I my life dear unto myself that I might finish my course with joy and the ministry I've received of the Lord Jesus to testify the gospel of the grace of God.

When the Lord took him home, one of the men in Fairhaven said, Rob taught us how to live and he taught us how to die. That was one of the greatest experiences I think of our discipleship intern training program to be there that year with Rob Luce during his last days on earth.

It made me think of what Spurgeon said. Spurgeon said spend much time with the dying. He used to tell his students that spend much time with the dying. I know now why he said it. It was a tremendous experience in all of our lives.

Living Christ Rather Than Merely Preaching Christ

I won't say we didn't weep, of course we wept taught us how to live, but he taught us how to die. Robert Chapman Christ-like man he set before himself a great goal. He said since so many preach Christ and so few live Christ, I will aim to live Christ.

Darby said of him He lives, but I preach. What a testimony. I read so often that story that somebody addressed a letter to him, Robert Chapman University of Love, England and it was delivered. You read that?

Robert Chapman, University of Love. That was delivered. Somebody said of William Arnett. His preaching was good. His writing was better at his life. You could hardly say anything better of a man than that.

Christlikeness Seen in the Lives of God's Servants

Some of you have read the story of Sadhu Sundar Singh Sikh converted. I think he was about 15 when he was converted. He had really as a young man been a real enemy of the gospel. He had gone into the mission school and taken New Testament and destroyed them.

The Lord shook him when his mother died and in a marvelous way he was converted to the Savior and went out to live a life of discipleship and one day as a Christian preacher, he went to a home and he knocked on the door and the maid opened the door and she rushed breathlessly to her mistress to say I think Christ has come.

In another home one night Sadhu Sundar Singh was playing on the hearth rug with the children and when they went to bed that night they said to their mother Mother could Jesus put us to sleep? They were so moved by the life of this man of God.

His Christian appearance was matched by his gentleness of the authority of his bearing in spirit. Another man was Robert Murray McShane who moved Scotland, died at the age of 29. James Stewart says of him his holiness was noticeable even before he spoke a word.

His appearance spoke for him. He was in the north of Scotland spent a night with a minister there and when he left in the morning when he left the house in the morning the minister broke down and wept.

He said I have never met a more Jesus like man. Shane spent hours in Holy Communion inside the veil in rapturous praise and adoration being bathed in Calvary's love. He would come forth from God's presence to leave the fragrance of Christ as he went from house to house in visitation.

As he walked the streets of his parish and even anywhere in Britain the people were startled to see the look of Jesus on their faces. Richard Hillary was an unconverted pilot. He wrote a book called The Last Enemy and in the book he confesses that he was really annoyed by one of his fellow pilots called Peter Pease.

Peter Pease was a consistent Christian and he said the best man he had ever met. And his one ambition was to get Peter alone and to open up his big gun on him and just devastate the fabric of his faith and his chance came as they were traveling together one day on the way to Edinburgh he glared at poor Peter Pease and he said your religion is a fake a hereditary hangover, a useful social adjunct and nothing more.

And poor Peter opened his mouth and tried to say something and he stammered out a few feeble protestants and he just lapsed into silence. He was crushed by his opponent's sluggish dialectics. But Hillary says in the book that he knew that he had lost the argument for there was one fact he could not explain.

Peter's and his religion were inextricably bound up together and it played havoc with logic. A Christ-like life is worth more than a thousand arguments. That's why J .P. Jowett said in one of his books, men may more than match you in subtlety of arguments in intellectual arguments you may suffer an easy defeat.

But the argument of a redeemed life is unassailable. Seeing the man that was healed they could say nothing against it. Isn't that good? Seeing the man that was healed, they could say nothing against it.

It can't argue against a transformed life. Shortly arriving on the mission field of a missionary, he was speaking for the first time to a group of villagers, and he was trying to present the gospel to them.

The Gospel Made Visible Through Christlike Conduct

And in presenting the gospel, he was introducing the Lord Jesus as one who was compassionate, kind, loving, caring, one who went about doing good. And he noticed that the people had kind of a knowing look on their face, and they were nodding in agreement.

And he interrupted the message, and he said, why are you all nodding in agreement? Do you know who I'm talking about? And they said, oh yes. They said, we know who you're talking about. You've been talking about a man who used to come here.

And he described a missionary doctor who had come to their remote village to minister to their physical needs. His life had been so Christlike in caring for the people that they saw the Lord Jesus in him.

He was truly an example of conformity to Christ. If you read the little daily devotion Our Dainty Bread, I read a story recently of how Billy Graham was playing golf with President Ford one time, and let's see, Jack Nicholas, the golfer.

And another golfer had been invited along. And after the round was over, one of the other pros said, hey, what was it like playing with the President and Billy Graham? And the man said, but disgust, I don't need Billy Graham sucking religion down my throat.

With that, he headed for another parlor and began taking out his aggression on a bucket full of golf balls. And so the other golfer said, what's the matter with Billy Graham? A little rough on you out there?

And the pro sighed and said with embarrassment, no, he didn't even mention religion. It was his life that made that golfer uncomfortable. He didn't even mention religion. That they all may be one. That the world may be one.

A Prayer for a True Representation of Christ

That's the message, isn't it? To be more like Jesus, day by day. That others may see him in us and want to know him as well. Father, you really speak to us through your word, and we feel ashamed. And so often the things we do and say are libels instead of Bibles.

And so often, by our characters, we misrepresent the Lord Jesus. We give the world a caricature instead of a true picture. We think of conditions in the evangelical world today, Lord, and we're part of it.

And we will just eat the sin offering. Pray, Lord, that you'll come in convicting power, clean away all the blocks, break up the fallow ground, that the church may begin to give a truer representation of the Lord Jesus to the world.

Make us willing, Lord. We ask it in the Savior's name. Amen.