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My friend told me a story that I’ll never forget.  It’s about an eight-year old boy named Philip who was born with Downs Syndrome.

In Philip’s Sunday school class several weeks before Easter, his teacher introduced a special project. She gave every child a plastic egg and explained that they were to go outside, find a symbol for new life and put it into the egg.  The children responded enthusiastically.

Back in the classroom the eggs were opened one at a time with each child explaining the what they had put inside.  In the first egg was a pretty flower; in the next a beautiful butterfly, green grass was in a third, and so on.  The children “oohed” and “aahed” as each of the eggs were opened.

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Finally the last egg was opened—there was nothing in it.  “That’s stupid!“ said one child. Another grumbled, “Someone didn’t do it right!”  The teacher felt a tap on her side. It was Philip. He said,

“That’s mine, and I did do right!  It’s empty because the tomb was empty."  
 

There was an unusual silence.  And from that time on Philip was accepted as part of the group. 

Philip continued to struggle with many physical problems. That summer he picked up an infection which most children could easily have shaken off. But Philip’s weak body couldn’t and a few weeks later, he died.  At his funeral nine 8 year-olds came with their teacher and brought a gift and placed it near his coffin. Their unusual gift of love to Phillip wasn’t flowers. It was an empty egg, now a symbol to them of new life and hope.  It was Phillip who had helped his friends see the wonderful hope in the message of Easter. 

The empty tomb reminds each of us of the promise that whoever receives Christ will be raised to eternal life.  Jesus never promised that we would not die.  His promised something much greater.  He promised that, like Him, we will not remain dead!

“But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead.” (1 Co 15:20-21)

When I was a kid, there was a couple in our church named Ray and Dorcas. They were good people, and a sincere Christians.  But whenever there was a call to receive Christ, they would always come forward and kneel at the altar. I learned later that they saw every time at the altar as an opportunity for a fresh start in their lives.

As an adult, I’ve wished many times for a fresh start. Not that my spiritual commitment or relationship with God has changed dramatically. But somehow things get kind of warped and twisted. Habits develop; ways of thinking, feeling and responding that intrude and do not fit with what I want to be, or what God wants. I’d like to wipe them all out and start again with a sense of freshness and restoration. I’d like to make a new beginning.

Nehemiah knew that God was giving his people a fresh start. God was restoring their lives from captivity. 

Although, Israel had never stopped being his people, he was bringing them back where they belonged.  The people of God were to come back to the their land with great expectations to rebuild the temple and the city of Jerusalem.

But it wasn’t long before Nehemiah discovered that the old patterns of life and old values were creeping back into the people’s lives.  In the face of attacks and threats, they had stopped working.  Their hope was lost and they began to settle for rubble. 

In the middle of this bleak situation, Nehemiah responds…

“So I placed armed guards behind the lowest parts of the wall in the exposed areas. I stationed the people to stand guard by families, armed with swords, spears, and bows. Then as I looked over the situation, I called together the nobles and the rest of the people and said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes!’” (Neh 4:13–14, NLT)

This can happen to us when our hopes seem to be on hold.  We begin to drift from God and give up on our dreams.  But Nehemiah tells us that it’s at times like this we need to redouble our resolve to fight.  It’s at times like this that we can experience a fresh start by coming to the Lord who is more great and more glorious than anything.

Ray and Dorcas were way ahead of us.

There’s a great movie from the early 80’s called, “My Body Guard.”  It’s a story of a teenaged boy named Clifford Peache who moves to Chicago and begins getting harassed by some bullies.  He makes attempts to work things out, but it isn’t until he’s befriended by an outcast named Ricky Linderman that he’s able to walk home from school without being beat up.  Whenever the bullies confront Peache, Linderman (who is huge) emerges and stands right behind him.  The bullies soon learn not to mess with either of them. 

This story has a several paralells with our Christian walk: how the devil loves to bully us, and how on our own we’re defenseless.  But there is one part of this story that especially applies to our walk. 

We are called to share our faith with others, however the fact is most of us are intimidated to do so.  George Barna reports that although there over 100 million Christians in the USA, the average Christian in American today will die without ever having shared his/her faith in Christ with another person.  This not only reveals the level of our intimidation, but it shows we have a poor understanding of the Holy Spirit’s role in evangelism. 

Here’s a familiar verse…

“The Lord is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Pe 3:9b, NIV)
 

Now contrast that verse with this verse… 

“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (Jn. 6:44)
 

In other words, because God does not want anyone to perish, He is drawing people by His Holy Spirit.  When you and I share our faith in Jesus Christ with someone, we maybe intimidated, but God is right there standing with us.  God’s Spirit has been working, is working, and will continue to work on the listener, softening their heart, pushing back hell’s influence, and bearing witness of the truth. 

We have more than a body guard, we have the backing of all heaven whenever we go to do the Father’s bidding!

There’s an ancient Chinese story about a young man who wanted to learn about the jade trade. He sought out a talented elder teacher who was an expert on jade. The teacher, upon meeting the young man, put a piece of jade into his hand and told him to hold it tight. The teacher then began to talk about philosophy. After an hour, he took back the stone and sent the young man home. This strange procedure was repeated for weeks. Not surprisingly, the young man became frustrated—when would he be taught about jade?—but his respect for elder teacher caused him to keep returning. Then one day when the old man put a stone into his hands, the young man cried out instantly,

“That’s not jade!”

What a beautiful word picture of our relationship with God. Once we’ve experienced the genuine things of God, we can spot counterfeit ones a mile away. When we’ve experienced God, nothing nor anyone can substitute.

John the Beloved tells us of some Greek men that came to Philip and said,

“Sir, we would see Jesus.” (Jn 12:21)

The founder of the Foursquare Church, Aimee Semple McPherson, had this verse (Jn. 12:21) carved into her pulpit in Angelus Temple. Her heart was like those Greek men, the only thing that matters is getting to Jesus. One songwriter expressed this so well:

He is more than enough, more than enough,
He is el shaddai, The God of Plenty,
The All-Sufficient One, God Almighty,
Jesus is more than enough!

Have you ever been somewhere and sensed God’s presence, but it seemed that others around you were totally oblivious, unmoved and unaffected?

I remember being at the Los Angeles Coliseum for a Promise Keepers gathering. There were 50,000+ men gathered there. While we were worshipping, God’s presence was so strong that we all began kneel and bow our heads. You could hear men crying out and expressing their love for God. I happened to notice a group of men that were the only ones in the whole stadium still standing. I found out later they were from a church where nothing like that had ever happened before. So they just stared straight ahead, hands by their sides, and seemed to be missing what the Holy Spirit was doing.

No doubt there have been times when all of us have missed something God was doing. But how is it that one person could experience such a dynamic touch of God’s Spirit, while someone right next to them doesn’t? Hebrews 5:14 offers this:

“But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”

In other words, in order to discern spiritual things and not miss when God is working, we must have our spiritual senses developed. We do this by keeping our spirit exercised, in shape, and tuned-up.

May God bring us to place where we can have his love and presence placed in our hands over and over and over again until we can easily discern the real from the counterfeit, and never miss sensing His presence.

They had changed so much.  Anyone who’d known them over the years could not believe the changes they had made.  And they were unashamed to tell people that it was Jesus who had changed them.

They had both been addicted to meth, and dealing it too.  CPS had taken their children away.  They had been in and out of jail.  They had been in and out of court appointed rehab.  Their lives were a mess, a real mess, and they knew it.

Then one day they ran into old friend who invited them to church.  For some strange reason they went.

They were nervous.  They sat in the back.  It felt like everybody was staring at them.  One of the ushers came over to them.  They thought for sure he was going ask them to leave.  Instead he extended his hand and warmly welcomed them.  Several other people came over and also welcomed them.

Their friend arrived to sit with them just as the music started.  Pretty soon everyone was standing and clapping their hands.  It was strange to the couple how happy everyone seemed.

The pastor was an older man.  As he talked, they felt like he was speaking directly to them. 

“It doesn’t matter what you’ve done.  There is nothing, no mistake, no sin, nothing! That can separate you from the love of God!”
 

He asked people who wanted to invite Jesus into their lives to raise their hands.  They both did, and that’s when the changes began.  Within weeks they were reading their bibles and praying together.  They had joy and peace like they had never known before.

They went to every service, and anything else happening at the church.  Soon a year had passed, then two years.  They continued faithfully…until that one beautiful summer Sunday, they went to the beach.

Over the next year, other things began pull them away from church.  Housework.  Family get-togethers.  Their kid’s athletic games.  Watching football.  Sleeping in.  They even visited other churches.  

Someone from the church ran into them at the store and asked where they had been. 

“We have church at home.”
 

The answer was true.  On Sundays when they weren’t doing other things, they would pray together, and sometimes read their bibles together, then they would watch a televangelist that they both enjoyed.

Over time, things they had felt were wrong and even sinful before, were now entering their lives.  The joy and the peace they had experienced earlier was mostly gone.   Rarely now, if ever, did they tell people about the changes that Jesus had made in their lives, because no one asked. 

“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Heb. 10:25)
 

There’s something about going to church that is irreplaceable in the life of a follower of Christ.  Certainly there is strength and growth that can and should be gained from fellowship outside of church, but not at the expense of being connected to a local church.

You may fellowship in a home church, but you’re unlikely to find much contrast and growth in the relationships—because the group is, by definition, highly selective and exclusive. There will be little iron-sharpening-iron, nor struggles to get along with believers you don’t agree with.

“Just me and Jesus”
 

Being a loner is profoundly off-center from the New Testament record of a church learning to respond to widows neglected in daily rationing (Acts 6:1-7); or the disharmony between individuals (Philippians 4:2).  And then there is the constant exhortation to “preserve unity” (Ephesians 4:3), and not to forsake gathering together “as is the habit of some” (Hebrews 10:25).

Missing church to enjoy family, friends, and other activities is not a damnable sin that guarantees spiritual collapse.  Nor does being in a church service every week guarantee spiritual success. 

But make no mistake; there are many ungodly and spiritually dangerous reasons why individuals get tempted to draw away from regular church involvement. For example, Proverbs 18:1 explains that some people separate themselves in order to pursue their own “desire,” unchallenged by the wisdom of others.  Sometimes, the lying whispers of slanderers divide and scatter a flock (Proverbs 16:28; 17:9). Self-seekers, fault-finders and worldly-minded people can also create divisions (see 3 John 1:9-11 and Jude 1:16-19).

Lasting spiritual results almost always require some kind of structure, and that’s what God ordained for the local church.  Of course, having too much structure can kill spontaneous life and vitality; but where there is little or no structure, there is little submission and instruction that will lead to lasting spiritual fruit.

Many people have received love, mending, healing, training and spiritual empowerment at church, causing changes so great in their lives that everyone around them could notice.  But too many people have allowed these changes to give way to other things, and soon their spiritual lives become dry and unfruitful.  When it came time to “grow up” and exchange the thrill of receiving ministry for the responsibility doing ministry, they found no use for the very place/process that God used so mightily in their lives.

David could sense the guys were a little nervous as they ventured further into the cave.  It was gigantic, and very dark.

“It’s okay,” David assured them.  “I’ve been in here lots of times.  I’ve had to rescue a few sheep from here.  And, I can guarantee there are no bears or lions in here because I’ve killed them all!”  They breathed a little easier.  Then someone quipped, “Yeah, and now you can add a few giants to the list.”  They all laughed.

It wasn’t long before they were all asleep.  They needed to rest.  But David couldn’t sleep.  His mind raced with all the horrible things that King Saul had done and said to him.  It was so confusing.  David had never meant anything to hurt, offend, or anger Saul.  In fact he loved Saul, and his son Jonathan.  But now Saul and his whole army were hunting him like animal.  The son of Jesse had been branded an outlaw.

“Those who hate me without cause are more than the hairs of my head.” (Ps 69:4) 
 

He tossed and turned.  Then his eye caught part of the cave as the torchlight reflected on it.  He remembered a song that he had written in the same cave. 

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1) 
 

Then a couple more songs came to his mind.  He sang them,

“Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in you…” (Psalm 56:3)

“…my help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth…” (Psalm 121:2) 
 

His beautiful voice was ringing through the cave now. He was starting to feel much better.  Then suddenly the torchlight was put out.  The man on watch whispered loudly, “Quiet!”

David worked his way over to the watchman’s post.  The watchman pointed toward the entrance of the cave.  There was someone there.  Reflections off the armor gave away that it was soldier.  David and his men watched as the man made his way in to the cave and laid down.  In a few moments they could hear him snoring. 

As he moved closer to the sleeping soldier, there was now enough light coming from the cave’s entrance that David could make out the man’s clothing.  He could tell by the colors of his garments and the ornate embellishments on his armor that this was no ordinary soldier.  Then David spotted his sword.  He knew immediately who it was, and by this time so did all of the men with him. 

“Slit his throat!” one of the them said.  David stood staring, then moved closer.  He pulled his knife out of its sheave.  The men were thrilled as they expected to see Saul killed, but instead David just cut a corner of his rob off.

The guys were totally confused.  David quietly moved to the back of the cave.  They could hear him talking to himself.

“I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” (Psalm 23:4–5) 
 

David knew God would help and protect him. This was not something that he learned that moment, or that had just occurred to him.  He knew that the same God who had watched over him in every other difficult and dangerous situation, in every dark place where the teeth of animals glistened, would watch over him now. 

“God took David from the sheepfolds, from following ewes and their lambs, to Shepherding Jacob His people” (PS. 78:71)