Get Involved

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning the 31st of May, 2020 at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  This was an abbreviated service, also streamed live, due to constraints put in place from the COVID-19 pandemic.  Our YouTube streaming channel is:
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.  Look for the video of our recorded services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Today is Pentecost Sunday, when we celebrate the first coming of God’s Holy Spirit to dwell within believers.  This occurred after Jesus had ascended back into heaven, and fulfilled the promise He made to provide us with a constant Companion, Counselor, and Guide.  In the Apostle Luke’s recordings of the Acts of the Apostles, the Jewish converts received the Spirit first, followed by the Samaritans and then the Gentiles.

But before that first time in Jerusalem, God only sent His Spirit to be with certain specific people, and usually just to help them through a given task.  Even while Jesus walked the earth, not everyone had the Spirit within them to guide them and strengthen them.  Not even those twelve who followed the Lord for three years and were closest to Him.

It is during this time that I would like to look at the actions of one man, one of the first chosen as a disciple, one who swore his love of Jesus.  Please listen and follow along to what the Apostle Mark recorded for us in his Gospel account, from chapter 14 verses 53 and 54 and verses 66 through 72, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

53 And they led Jesus away to the high priest; and with him were assembled all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes. 54 But Peter followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he sat with the servants and warmed himself at the fire.

66 Now as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came. 67 And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with Jesus of Nazareth.”

68 But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you are saying.” And he went out on the porch, and a rooster crowed.

69 And the servant girl saw him again, and began to say to those who stood by, “This is one of them.” 70 But he denied it again.

And a little later those who stood by said to Peter again, “Surely you are one of them; for you are a Galilean, and your accent shows it.”

71 Then he began to curse and swear, “I do not know this Man of whom you speak!”

72 A second time the rooster crowed. Then Peter called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And when he thought about it, he wept.

--Mark 14:53-54, 66-72 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for loving us enough to speak to us through Your word, saved in our Bible.  It provides us the information we need to get through each day, shows us how we can better serve You, and also gives us examples of what can happen when we fail to act on our faith.  Thank You, Father, for providing us with this guidance.  Please help us live by these examples.  Help us be more willing to stand up for Jesus and get involved in our community in His name.  And please keep us strong in our faith and help us through these difficult times.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit and better understand the message You have for us in these troubling and trying times.  Speak to us of putting our full trust in You.  Help us take guidance and strength from Your most Holy Spirit so that we might better serve You. This we pray under the blood and in the name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.


In his book, The Fall of Fortresses, Elmer Bendiner describes one particular bombing run his B-17 flight team made over the German city of Kassel:

Our B-17 (the TONDELAYO) was barraged by flak from Nazi antiaircraft guns.  That was not unusual, but on this particular occasion our gas tanks were hit.  Later, as I reflected on the miracle of a twenty-millimeter shell piercing the fuel tank without touching off an explosion, our pilot, Bohn Fawkes, told me it was not quite that simple.
On the morning following the raid, Bohn had gone down to ask our crew chief for that shell as a souvenir of unbelievable luck.  The crew chief told Bohn that not just one shell but eleven had been found in the gas tanks - eleven unexploded shells where only one was sufficient to blast us out of the sky.  It was as if the sea had been parted for us.  Even after thirty-five years, so awesome an event leaves me shaken, especially after I heard the rest of the story from Bohn.
He was told that the shells had been sent to the armorers to be defused.  The armorers told him that Intelligence had picked them up.  They could not say why at the time, but Bohn eventually sought out the answer.
Apparently when the armorers opened each of those shells, they found no explosive charge.  They were clean as a whistle and just as harmless.  Empty?  Not all of them.
One contained a carefully rolled piece of paper.  On it was a scrawl in Czech.  The Intelligence people scoured our base for a man who could read Czech.  Eventually, they found one to decipher the note.  It set us marveling.  Translated, the note read:  "This is all we can do for you now."

You know, I believe the reason a lot of people don’t get involved in an important activity is because they think there isn’t much of anything they can do to help.  It isn’t that they don’t want to help, they just don’t see how they can make a difference.  After hearing Mr. Bendiner’s story, we should be able to see that even the smallest act can make a huge difference in someone’s life.  Those Czech munitions workers saved the flight crew of a B-17 Flying Fortress by simply, but purposely, not filling antiaircraft shells with explosives.  Had they been caught doing that, I’m sure they would have been severely punished by the Nazis, maybe even executed.

Sometimes our involvement can indeed carry certain risks.  But it didn’t stop the munitions workers even though they knew they thought they could only do so little to help.  And it shouldn’t stop us.  There’s no way of knowing how many lives they saved.  We need to get involved, even if we can only do a little, because there’s no way of knowing how many souls we might save.

One other thing…  it would have been easy for those workers to quit trying to help, to stop taking risks.  It’s easy to just quit, especially during trying times, during risky operations.  But they didn’t quit, nor should we.


Our scripture reading today addresses involvement.  In this particular case, it speaks volumes about the consequences of not getting involved.

Peter swore his love of Jesus.  He was ready to fight for Him, even die for Him if necessary.  Or so he said.  But when it came time to actually stand up for Jesus, at the very least to say, “Yes, I am with Him!”, Peter hid off to the side, trying to avoid being noticed.

Peter was afraid, afraid to get involved when it could have mattered the most.  Afraid to come forward and testify for the one he called Lord.  That fear, that failure to get involved, took its toll.  When Peter realized that he had done exactly as Jesus said he would do, what he had so vehemently denied he would ever do, he was filled with remorse and wept.


Get involved…

One thing’s for sure, Jesus certainly got involved!  He was not fearful or concerned about what any of the ruling class might think about Him and His actions.  God’s Holy Spirit was in Him, strengthening Him, guiding Him.  In chapter 10 verse 38 of the Apostle Luke’s Book of Acts, we read of…

38 "how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him."

--Acts 10:38 (NKJV)

Now that’s getting involved!  Jesus went all over the place, mostly on foot, doing good and healing anyone and everyone who suffered because of the works of Satan.  He didn’t care what their nationality was, or the color of their skin, or even what, if any, religion they held.  Jesus got involved and did good, because God was with Him.


So why should we get involved?  Well, if not suffering remorse for our inaction as did Peter isn’t enough to encourage our involvement, how about because Jesus tells us to?  While He doesn’t necessarily put it in those words, I think the message is quite clear.  Listen to what Jesus said as recorded in chapter 12 verse 30 of the Apostle Matthew’s Gospel account…

30 "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad."

--Matthew 12:30 (NKJV)

If we’re not with Jesus, we’re against Him!  There’s no riding the fence here, no staying neutral and not picking sides.  There’s no grey area – it’s all black and white.  If we’re not working with Jesus, we’re working against Him!  If we’re not helping Him gather in the lost sheep, then we’re helping scatter them abroad, helping Satan in his work.  If we’re not involved in doing good and trying to counteract the work of the devil, even if what we can do seems small and insignificant to us, then we’re no better than Peter cowering in the shadows!


I mentioned that today is Pentecost Sunday and this talk of involvement may seem  a bit off topic, but because of Pentecost we have God’s Holy Spirit living within us, we who believe.  Just like Jesus, we have been anointed with the Holy Spirit and God is with us.   And just like Jesus, we need to be going all about doing good and helping folks who are suffering because of Satan.  We should not be afraid to act, not fearful of what others may think or what they might do to us.

The Apostle Paul, in chapter 10 verses 6 and 7 of his 2nd letter to his young protégé Timothy, wrote…

6 Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

--2 Timothy 1:6-7 (NKJV)

At Pentecost, God sent His Spirit to us.  He did not give us a spirit of fear, but His own Spirit of great power and strength!  We have that power within us.  Why should we fear anything of this world?

God has given us His Spirit of love.  The same love that drove Jesus to help and heal all those afflicted by the devil, whether in mind or body or spirit.  Let’s stir up the Holy Spirit within us.  Let’s not quit, because that’s the easy thing to do.  Let’s get involved and show the love of Jesus to the world.

In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, our Master, our Savior.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for sending Your Holy Spirit to dwell within us to guide us and make sure we are never alone.  You have given us Your Spirit of power and love, not of fear.  Father, please help us take strength and courage from Your Spirit.  Help us step out of our comfort zone and serve You in ways that show others Your love.  Help us become more involved in expanding Your kingdom across the face of the earth, beginning right here in our community.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You straight from our hearts, promising to repent of our sinful ways, seeking Your forgiveness and Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, Peter failed to stand up for You even after swearing that would never happen.  Lord, it just seems to be human nature that many times we fail to act out of fear.  Like Peter, we may fear for our very lives.  Or we may simply be afraid of what other people may think of us if we do something they see as foolish.  Jesus, help us, please, to be more faithful and assured in working for You.  Help us to put aside any fears and doubts when faced with possible public ridicule for serving You.  Help us take courage from our Father’s Holy Spirit within us, to face each day and to show Your love to the world.  And please, Lord, be with us during this time of great trial and devastating illness.  Help us remain faithful through it all.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.