Op World 5 Thurs 1982 — George Verwer

Now before I get to the main message, I want to give something that I've given out a number of times. I just got this from the magazine and it's been such a blessing to me. It's called first aid. I took a course in first aid.

It's very helpful first aid for spiritual emergencies. You may want to jot some of these things down. Remember, we always have two pieces of paper in an OM meeting. We have feedback to give in. I prayed for all the feedback given to me yesterday.

It's not coming very quickly. Maybe 20 or 30. Of course some of you gave in the official feedback up there. And then you can have a piece of paper. You can write things down to keep for yourself. But we talked the other day about learning how to be hurt.

Spiritual First Aid for Relational Wounds

How to handle situations when you're hurt. Your wife hurts you. Husband hurts you. Your neighbor hurts you. Your pastor hurts you. The man down the road hurts you. Your butcher hurts you. Whoever hurts you.

Mentally physically thinking especially spiritually. Here's what to do the next time you get hurt in the event of injury inflicted by a brother or sister in Christ. Follow this procedure. All right, number one.

Keep calm. That's simple in it. Keep calm. Still your soul before God at the moment of impact. Be still and know that I am gone. Rushing about trying to correct the injury usually causes greater damage.

Someone's in a serious accident. He's laying on a highway. You don't sort of run along pick him up and sort of drag him down the road or give him a push. Keep calm. Don't rush about. Number two. Apply direct pressure of understanding to the wound.

What caused the incident? Could you have prevented it? Negligent, how does the offending party feel? What if things were reversed then what? Good to ask that isn't it put yourself in his shoes. Three.

Wash the wound thoroughly with kindness. To remove all harshness and vindictiveness wash the wound thoroughly for. Coat liberally with the ointment of love. This will protect from infections of resentment and bitterness.

Coat liberally with the ointment of love. Five. Bandage the injury with forgiveness. This will keep it out of sight until the wound is healed. Bandage it with forgiveness. Six. This is basic. Don't pick the scab off by bringing up the subject and opening your wound.

Serious dangers from infection in number four still exist. This could be fatal spiritually. Seven. Beware of self-pity, which is painful and touchy. This is often referred to as withdrawal pains evidenced by the injured one withdrawing from others.

Especially the one inflicting the injury remedy except apologies. And then number eight prescription prescription. Take a generous dose of antibiotics from the Word of God several times daily. Using prayer each time.

This is a soothing effect and is definitely a good pain killer. Antibiotics from the Word of God. Number nine. Stay in close contact with the great physician at all times. Depend on his strength joy and peace to help you in your convalescence period.

Then number ten evidence of full recovery is noticed when the patient is in full fellowship and Harmony, especially with the offending party. That's been a great help to me through the years and I hope it'll be a help to you.

Jesus' Call to Leave the Nets

Now I want you to turn with me in your Bible to the gospel of Mark. The gospel of Mark chapter 1. Let's look at verse 16. Now as he walked by the Sea of Galilee, this is Jesus. He saw Simon and Andrews brother casting a net into the sea for they were fishers their official.

And Jesus said unto them Come after me and I will make you become fishers of men. Remember this is the Lord Jesus and Immediately says in the Old English straightway. Straightway, they forsook their net and followed him and when he had gone a little farther He saw James the son of that Zebedee and John his brother.

Who also were in the boat mending their net that was their work their secular employment. And Straightway, he called them and they left their father Zebedee in the boat With the hired servants and they went after him and look over in chapter 2.

Chapter 2 fine man named Matthew Levi Jesus verse 13 went forth again by the seaside and all the multitude came on to him and he taught them and as he passed by he saw Levi the son of Alpheus sitting at the tax office and He said of him follow me and he arose and Follow him.

Jesus Christ has been a bit among us in these days in this tent. As believers, we know he's not only with us in a sense. He indwells us never forget that the reality the joy of His indwelling Christ in us the mystery of godliness.

Jesus is among us and I know from Talking to some of you from reading some of your letters. Then you sense the Lord speaking to your heart now this evening at the end of this service because we want you to think about it.

We don't want to just spring it on you. We're going to give the opportunity for people to make an open act of commitment. By standing to their feet as an outward expression of an inward transaction now that inward transaction will be somewhat different in different people.

For some it may be a climax of what the Lord has been saying this week about beginning to move forward as an ambassador overseas for Jesus Christ because that's partly what operation world is all about.

For more it may mean Just a deeper commitment of the Lord Jesus. And the accompanying fullness of the Holy Spirit that that commitment must involve. We want also this evening to speak a little about the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

I'm sure Alan Redpath emphasized this last year. That seems to be the greatest Arrow in his in his message making Jesus Lord. I remember listening to some of his old messages from Keswick and if you want some of his tapes you make contact with us.

We have some of his tapes and he's always preaching make Jesus Lord. Remember his exposition on King David. And he speaks about King Jesus. And I sense especially that some of you have been here for the week and yet you still haven't Really taken that step of faith where you've said with all your heart Jesus.

You're going to be Lord. And I think we need to be specific. The Bible specific and Jesus wants to be Lord of every area of our life. And if we're really honest there are areas of our life that up to now have not been brought under his powerful hand under his Lordship.

Sexual Purity Under Christ's Lordship

With many young people the last thing that goes under the Lordship of Christ is their social life. The boy-girl relationship thing now, let's be honest. This is a very big thing in our culture. Some of the most dedicated Christian young people have shared with me even leaders in the Christian Union that their social life is all messed up.

One minute they're in a meeting talking about Jesus leading the Christian Union the next minute. They're in bed. Then they're not married. I Wouldn't say it happens a lot. But it happens more frequently than any of us want to talk about and if they're not in bed.

They engage in what some of us classify as evangelical sex. Maybe that's a new term for you. I better define. It's good to define terms. What in the world is evangelical sex. You see because Christians when they're teaching Don't want to go all the way in a sex relationship outside of marriage.

They may at least know that much that that is against God's Word. And so because they don't want to go what they call all the way they do everything else. But I've even had them share with me that they were completely without clothing in bed together.

But they didn't go all the way so they feel they did not commit fornication and so their consciences are slightly free. But it's a sin against the Living God and it's impurity and it's immorality and Some of you, you know that with your boyfriend with your girlfriend.

You're playing with fire. You're going too far. You're engaged in heavy petting whatever you want to call it. And if you think you're gonna go on for God and still compromise in the area of your social relationship.

Even with a girl or the boy you think you're gonna marry you're in for some big surprises. And we need to make Christ Lord over all of the aspects of our life and that includes that boy-girl Relationship nothing wrong with dating.

There's nothing wrong with going out together. Doing some sports together go to church take a walk in the woods. No one's telling you it's wrong to kiss your girlfriend goodnight. But oh my some of you are like a Jaguar with Volkswagen brakes and you need to get a bit of an overhaul.

And unless this area of your life gets straightened out. Because the sex emotion and the religious emotion so easily get mixed up. You're gonna be in trouble and this conference will mean a thing. It won't mean a thing.

Because Christ has not taken over that area of vulnerability in your life and you're playing with fire. Just as David played with fire when he was on that roof and started lusting at the woman on the other roof.

We need to turn to Joseph. To see a man who made God Absolute monarch of his life and even when this voluptuous beautiful Egyptian woman tried to take Joseph to bed. He said no. Thank you. Dare. I sin against my God, even though he ended up in prison.

He refused to fall into that sin. Billy Graham said speaking to thousands of students at the Greater Banner Convention that this is the greatest battleground of youth. And it's not only youth. It's not only you.

My good friend Roy Hessian. Who wrote that book forgotten factors on the subject of dealing with sexual impurity and immorality? And I'd be happy to send that book as a gift if you can't find it on the book table.

Forgotten factors. He said in his counseling 40 years of counseling. He's found more promiscuity and immorality among married people than he ever has among single people and it seems to be the last thing.

We're often willing to face as we shared the other day 400 verses in the Word of God. But we hardly say anything about. Sometimes we find the church. I may have said this already sometimes on the fifth day I get a little mixed up of what I've said.

But sometimes we get churches that that sort of boast that they teach the whole counsel of God. We teach the whole council God. We're a New Testament Church. And I like to say well. What about this verse here be now satisfied with the breath of the wife of thy youth.

When did you last expound that that mercy in the Bible? It's in the Bible and It's an important verse because you know what a lot of Christians even this 20th century Christian Christian young person.

They think sex is dirty. That's why we can't speak about it. The church is dirty. Now which was given to us by God as one of the most beautiful gifts Billy Graham calls the sex drive our creative force created in the image of God.

He has given us a creative force. It's beautiful. It's God's plan, but it's got to be according to God's pattern within the commitment of marriage. I want to ask is Jesus Lord over that area of your life know what about your free time.

Making Christ Lord of Time and Entertainment

Is he Lord over your free time? You know, we know a man and we know a man's commitment by his free time. We can tell a person's maturity, you know and by what they do with a free time. Know what they do when there's regimented time where they don't have much of a choice.

We learn things from that as well and we need to learn how to praise the Lord and press on when you know. Somebody else is just telling us what to do, but it's during our free time. That the truth comes out.

Is Jesus Christ Lord of your free time. What about your holiday? I got the word that there's a couple of Christian holidays Conferences that they just prefer not to have George for were there speaking which which of course I can fully understand for other reasons.

But the reason that came back to me is that you know it's it's a holiday and this kind of message could make people uncomfortable during a holiday and Let's let's understand it very clearly. There's nothing wrong with taking a couple of weeks off, but the devil gives no holiday.

One of our families just went on a holiday and during the holiday the young ten-year-old daughter was water skiing and the man driving a boat made a mistake a young daughter into the docks and she's Broken her leg and she smashed her arm and she's laying in a body cast.

That's what happened on the holiday. Have you ever had that experience? You've launched out on your holiday. And somehow you didn't pray about it enough or maybe you did but whatever the old enemy decided to give you a few little tests.

And your holiday ended up the most difficult time of the year any of you older people ever had that experience. Everything went wrong in your holiday. When you go on a holiday this summer I want to ask you make sure Jesus Christ is Lord of your holiday.

What you do what you see where you go. How you spend your money? You can have some relaxation. You can go out in your kayak. I took a friend out in the kayak. He turned upside down lost 40 pounds worth of glasses in the bottom of the lake.

Is Jesus Lord of your free time. A great man of God once said the greatest sin of young people is wasting time. I dare to say without a little discipline without a little crucifixion of the ego in the self-right.

Some of you are going to go out of here with the next five months. You'll waste hundreds of precious hours of God's time and remember this often. The good is the enemy of the best. You know, this is the problem with television.

I Don't think I'm neurotic against television and you have a television that's quite normal. You can get the news either things to pray about there even Christian programs now. But so easily instead of you controlling the television the television is controlling you.

I Visited good friends that I hadn't even seen in years and they couldn't turn the football game off when I walked into the dining room. They just it. I mean that's priority a football game and you know the big problem with television I don't really believe it's the wicked evil programs.

That is a problem and I will tell you There are some vicious things. There are some very vicious things on television, but I think for Christians It's often the good the endless stream of good documentaries good talk programs.

Perfectly healthy sports. You can't condemn sports and yet when it comes to world evangelism young people when it comes to obeying Jesus as his witness the good becomes the enemy of the best. That's why I think one of the greatest verses in the Bible is that verse about moderation.

Let your moderation be known to all men or how I would love to be known as a moderate person. I'm not sure I've got that reputation yet. How I'd love to be known as a man of self-control. Let your moderation Be known make Jesus Christ the Lord of your free time your holiday.

Surrendering Career and Future to Christ

Make Jesus Christ the Lord of your future. What are you going to do with your life? God is not going to lead everyone to leave their nets as Jesus called these particular men to leave their nets. The Lord doesn't lead everyone to do that.

But let's get this let's get this in our hearts he does lead some. That's what he did in my life. I Had some very nice nets at 16. I had three businesses. I was a little visionary capitalist and my I already had 200 people working for me part-time and They were sending in their money and I was lying on the beach.

Enjoying life. I had this great vision. Please Least work possible. Get other people to do it. I own the philatelic agency. I'm the firefighting equipment business and one of the small little business Bergen County sales company and Verwer stamp corporation 16.

It's great to have pocketful money go to the New York nightclubs and blow 25 and 30 quid in one night. Then I met the man from Galilee one night in New York City Madison Square Garden were usually this boxing and circuses and freak out all kinds of music things and that one night somehow in answer to Prayer Billy Graham was there and somehow they prayed me in a little middle-class Bourgeois American pagan and I heard that Jesus Christ died for me and I heard that he shed his blood for me and that night He came into my life as I put my faith in him.

And I realized I was bought with a price as far as I know I never knew anything from my conversion on except total surrender to Jesus Christ. There was no other option. I can't understand How people can so supposedly trust Christ to be converted and just sort of go on the same way they did before.

Apart from a few minor changes faith in Jesus Christ is a radical thing when you meet that cross when you meet that Savior He brings a total overhaul love peace joy power zeal. Determination. This isn't my message.

You're bought with a price the precious blood of Jesus Christ. I believe If Jesus Christ gave his all for us on the cross. The least we can do in our few remaining years and none of us know how many hours or days or years we have left Is to give our all for him our time our talent our energy our strength our minds.

Make those hours those minutes count for eternity. What are you gonna do young person with your life? I'm gonna get a nice job make a few pounds get a nice house get a nice mortgage. It's getting harder.

Spend the rest of your life making payments. And a fridge and a mortgage and a nice car. Keep up with a family down the road. Of course go to church of course the sign of respectability. You certainly won't be accused probably you go to church of being one of the local terrorists.

And anyway, at least we've learned in America more than you've learned here what good business contacts you can make in church. Especially if you're an undertaker and I want it's a whole separate message.

But the invasion of commercialism into church life. False motives in church attendance. False motives in church life. It's an abomination to God. Well that are proud that they've not missed the breaking of bread in their church for 15 years.

I Will tell you you can go and be at the breaking of bread every Sunday for 20 years. But if there's anybody in that assembly that your heart is not linked with in love and compassion. Then every time you break the bread, there's a little gong that rings.

Because you can have everything. The greatest attendance a record the greatest evangelistic record. And if you don't have love according to the Word of God. You're a sounding brass and a tingling cymbal.

Oh For a revolution of love. That would somehow sweep away the cobheaven the cobwebs of bitterness the cancer of resentment. That's so easily gets into church life. Oh Beloved don't you long for revival?

Don't you long to see God's people dwelling together in love and unity. Supposed to be God's chosen people. But if we're honest often where God's frozen people. May this final night be operation defrost.

May the warm hot love of our great God and Savior somehow melt our hearts our proud hearts and break us and bring us Tonight that we may repent and make Jesus Lord Lord of our future plans. Many of you not just young people but others.

Following Christ in Full-Time Ministry

I Think you need to listen more closely to the voice of God perhaps with Mark chapter 1 open. To see if the Lord Jesus Christ is not saying to you as he said to those fishermen those ordinary fishermen.

Follow me. I want to make you a fisher of men. There is a sense when we speak about being a witness. There is a sense of all fishing men. We see that in Acts we see that in Acts 1 8. But it's clear here that the Lord is also Leading some and he still is today.

We often sing it from Hebrews yesterday today forever. Jesus is the same all may change but Jesus never have you ever sent it glory to his name. Is he the same. Is he still calling people to leave secular jobs good secular employment?

Yes, and I think some of you tonight When the invitation is given You need to stand to your feet to say Lord. I'm ready to leave my job. I love my job. It's it's it's quite secure. I'm quite happy, but I'm ready to become a fisher of men.

We don't have Jesus. Clear cut black and white situation we have to go by faith. But when I say those words, I think of our Savior who said blessed are those who believe without seeing. And tonight some of you are going to have to stand and say Lord, I'm ready to leave my nets their Complications.

I don't know what my parents are gonna say. I don't know what my church is gonna say. I can't make a simple black-and-white decision tonight, but by faith, that's the direction I'm gonna move. Some of you God has already said that to you this week.

And tonight will just be a confirmation of what the Lord has already said. Others may not sense that that clear word from the Lord. But the biblical commands about his Lordship. Which are for all people in a sense should come one step before that.

Sometimes it comes at the same time. That is the commitment you need to make. And Jesus would be Lord of your life. And then what about our material possessions? If there's ever an area that George Burwer backpedaled on it's it's in talking about material possession.

I used to preach every month minus very few months from Luke 14 33 when I was a young Christian, you know. The verse it's not the most popular verse in the New Testament. Except you forsake all that you have you can't be my disciple.

And what about the story the rich young ruler. Do you realize most of us in this tent in comparison to way? The majority of people are living in the world because we're in the world. It's a global village.

Soltz and it seemed said to talk about internal affairs in the present-day world is just ridiculous. It's just one vote and I believe in Comparison to the rest of the world. Many of us tonight. We're.

We're rich young rulers. That's one of the things that scares me the most about Western society. Most people in the world don't don't have a car. Most people in the world on the television most people in the world don't have running hot and cold water.

Most people in the world don't have the amount of clothing we have. Most people in the world just don't have these things. Oh sure, what's on they do. Germany. America no matter how materialistic we are.

We always like we always like to look at others who are more materialistic. The great cop-out in Britain is America. When we think of the way they waste money and they spend money and you know, we feel we're all just the most conservative.

Antimaterialistic thrifty little band of Englishmen that ever did walk, you know. Every man has to live out his Christian life within his culture. Within his culture. That's why God is very patient. He's very patient with Americans who are too American.

When I left the United States I was an ugly American worse than that. I was the ugly Bible believing evangelical American. And I will tell you God had to humble me so many times with my Mexican brothers with my Spanish brothers.

When my Indian brother and I still have a long way to go I do not share these things with you. It's someone who's arrived. I have a long way to go and I'm so thankful to my God has been so patient with me an ugly American.

I believe some of these people in the United States who. Well, maybe when I first look at them, they just seem to be just living very high on the hog. We say seem to have a false set of values, you know I've got to know some of those people.

I've discovered some of them have a greater love for Jesus than I do. And I'm very ashamed of my lack of love emotional and spiritual love for Jesus. And I've just realized that all of us just had so far to go.

We must be very careful in judging one another and I know that when God works here in England He doesn't destroy all the English culture. He doesn't say I'm not gonna work in your life. Until you know all this disappears and all that disappears and you've got perfect doctrine and you've got no more false motivation, etc Etc.

His love for us is so great. He just starts working despite some of our some of our wrong ways or some of our false doctrines or some of the the wrong Practices we may have in our life or some of the materialistic Fetishes that somehow are still hanging on to us all the love of God.

It's so great. But oh how much more we can do if we were set free from the shackles of material things and I want to ask. Is Jesus Lord of your bank account? Is Jesus Lord of your credit card. Is Jesus Christ Lord of that inheritance you've received?

Oh, it's a beautiful experience to be set free from clinging to things clinging to. You have to keep Luke 14 33 in balance with Philippians 4 my God will supply all your needs according to his glory in Christ Jesus.

It took me a long time to learn that I was hesitant to take God's provision. Some of you know that in OM we always use the most beat-up old cars. We can ever get our hands up over the years dozens of cars in Britain.

And no one else ever wanted to drive. They call us up in the phone dear brother George. We feel led to give a car to the work. You think you could send a wrecker to collect it and we brought cars down some of them 15 years old.

We repaired them usually got a year or two out of them before they before they died. We did this because we felt we should have steam others our brothers in India didn't have bicycles. What are we worrying?

We don't have a new car. I was just converted and God began to work through me. My father came to me. He's not a wealthy man. He's a hard-working man a dear man. He also got converted just after I did then my mother got converted then my daughter my my sister got converted.

And my dad he was just a young Christian. He didn't understand the ways of God. He said son, you know, you're doing an important work and I think you ought to have a new car. I was driving them a 15 year old truck that we paid 5060 pound for we repaired it it died on the second 200 miles down the road and we Prayed and repaired it again and it traveled after that 50 ,000 miles, but I think you're gonna have a new car.

And even back then as a babe in Jesus. After realizing the need for Bibles the need for gospel tracks the need for the simplest most rudimentary things in God's work. I said dad I can't take a new car when they're all these other needs we need Bibles.

We need tracks. There are Mexicans that don't have a place to live. They don't have food on their table. I said dad give your money to that and my father recommitted his life to Jesus a man of 50 to 60 years of age and he gave everything to Jesus Christ and he sold his Very beautiful home and he gave that to Jesus.

Jesus gave him part of the back to get a littler home where he could live. When revival moved through Canada farmers put large chunks of land up dedicated it to world evangelism. There's a farmer out in Colorado.

He's got a cow. He's dedicated that one cow everything he produces Is given to world evangelism. Actually, it's one of the supporters of our brother Jonathan McCruff. God looked at Moses when he was out in the wilderness running away and he said to Moses.

What's that in your hand? What do you got there Moses? Nothing more just a staff. I'm a shepherd. He knew down in his heart. He was a number one failure. He had killed a man back in Egypt. He was finished out to the wilderness.

Retirement. A few sheep a couple of nice, you know, there he was Moses what's that in your hand? Just the staff. God said throw it down one cent. Give it to me. Remember what I Threw it down and God did a miracle.

I Want to ask you my friend what's in your hand? Has God give you a good business. God giving you a good job? God's giving you a little bit of this world's goods. Bible says he to have this world's goods sees his brother need and opens not up his heart.

How do I let the love of God in such a man? What are the strongest verses in the whole of the Word of God first John 3 16? Oh how we love John 3 16, but we don't do too much with first John 3 16. In fact many of us if we were honest would study the Word of God with a pair of scissors.

And then we could cut out all those hard verses that we have no intention on obeying. You wouldn't have much of a Bible left. What's that in your hand tonight young person? It's God giving you a good mind.

You're at university. Let Jesus become Lord. Let him decide how it's going to be used. Do you know the tremendous need in missionary work? For people who can handle computers. For bookkeepers. For mechanics.

For engineers. For radio technicians. I can name 50 different areas of skill where there's just a crying need among various mission societies. And you know, what's just as encouraging for me. There's also tremendous need for for the one talent game.

Then you've been looking around with for your talents and running running out of energy. You heard there are ten talent men. You're sure that's not where you are. You've heard there's five talent men.

You couldn't find five. You're not even sure if you have one. I'll tell you God's only given you one talent. Praise his name. That's all you have to take care. God is not asking you to be Billy Graham.

God is not asking you to be somebody else. You may not be a gifted preacher. You may be shy and have difficulty in communication. You may even be handicapped. I think of that man in Chicago. This is a true story.

Had no arms. He had no legs. He was blind. But he learned how to read the Braille Bible with his tongue had a radiant testimony for Jesus and taught the Word of God. You tell me about your handicaps. Look at Johnny.

Ordinary schoolgirl that would have never been known never been known in the world apart from her own few friends and in Maryland. But because of a crisis and because of one of the most devastating experiences one can have in it have in one's life.

She suddenly is used to touch millions for Christ millions for Christ. What's that in your hand? That's what God said to DL Moody. You remember the story DL Moody the encyclopedia said he depopulated hell by two million souls a worldly encyclopedia and God one day looked at Moody up there in New England the man who couldn't even speak proper English and God said what's that in your hand and Moody said just shoes Lord.

He was a shoe salesman. Wasn't William Carey man from this country cobbler. What's that in your hand. Moody pair of shoes given to me and he came. Jesus Christ Lord of your life. Your time your talent your money your energy.

Give a thank God for the gift of energy. We sure know if we get tired. Every moment you get tired. This dog kept me awake last night you should live in Thailand every night just the time I wanted to sleep.

We had a whole congregation about 40 dogs. They used to fight bark. I thought I would go completely crazy and door-to-door. I'll never forget it. There's ever a place. I would pray the Lord would not call me to door-to-door work.

It's Thailand. I tell you the dogs are really interested in books in Thailand. You come to the door books and they go, right? Well, I thought it was for the books, but it may have been for the hand. I sure I'm a baby in some ways.

My wife told me the other day. You're a baby. You know every once in a while she gets a little bold never have headaches. That's that's you know, if I have a headache. That's a major crisis. I've only taken aspirins my whole life.

I need people on headaches. Hey. How long has it been there? How are you living. I Get a headache even 15 minutes, you know, I lie down turn on Beethoven start praying. For all Roberts, I get a headache we we sometimes I'm sure I'm sure most of you don't have any problem.

I'm sure Many of us do ever tend to mold when things don't go right at least in our hearts. Have you ever thanked God for the energy he's given you? For the body for health. We don't seem to appreciate health until it goes and then we start a whole world with the prayers.

I Thank God for energy. I If it's one more week or one more year whatever for Jesus. Distributing literature writing letters making phone calls preaching helping old ladies across the street visiting the jails visiting the elderly.