by Rev. Mark Creech
RevMarkCreech.org
Sandy Bottom Baptist Church is a small congregation on the outskirts of Kinston, North Carolina, in Lenoir County. The quaint, white-framed building where they worship is beautiful and picturesque. More importantly, the people who make up the congregation are, I believe, genuinely committed followers of Christ who take their faith seriously. They are salt-of-the-earth people – God-fearing, Christ-centered, warm, gracious, and patriotic.
Their pastor, Rick Mondell, asked me to preach at two services during their Revival this week, on Sunday and Monday evenings. The Sunday evening service was well attended. On Monday evening, Gray Branch Free Will Baptist Church of Deep Run brought its choir. With members of both congregations present, the sanctuary was filled to capacity.
The music was stupendous—at least it was to me. They sang many of the old Gospel songs I had not heard in years. Much of it was the music I was raised on. Though I would never wish to be regarded as a critic of other forms of Christian music, what struck me most about those old songs was their happy, joyous spirit and lyrics bathed in an eternal perspective.
For me, it was rapturous. As they sang, I remember thinking how earnestly I long to go to Heaven and be with Jesus.
And I am so thankful to God that, while we met together, Heaven came down and the Lord was surely among us.
Here is an excerpt from my sermon on Sunday evening.
My text was John 1:10–13:
“‘He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.’
“The Scripture says that the world was made by Him – that is, by Christ. He was God in human flesh. Yet John presents us with one of the greatest ironies in human history: humanity rubbed shoulders with God and did not recognize Him. They did not know Him.”
“Have you ever wondered why the world failed to recognize Christ for who He truly was? Even when He told them, they did not believe Him. Even when it was clear that He was the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, they refused to believe. Neither His many miracles nor His astonishing teaching persuaded them, even though both certainly should have.”
“The answer to that great question lies in the depravity of the human heart. In other words, the world did not want Him.”
“My friends, when a man does not want to see the truth, he will not see it, no matter how clearly it is before him.
“Some time ago, I spoke with a pastor who told me about the difficulties he was facing with certain wayward church members. Some people were spreading blatant lies about him to undermine his credibility within the church and the community. He was deeply concerned that others might believe those lies and was uncertain about what he should do in his own defense.
“I told him, ‘Brother, I do not want to discourage you further, but you must understand that there is very little you can do about character assassination. Remember this: people generally believe what they want to believe. No defense you offer, no matter how eloquent or truthful, is likely to change the minds of those who have already decided what they want to believe.’
“Those who love what your life and preaching represent will continue to support you. Those who hate what you represent will search for any reason they can find to discredit you. It is a sobering testimony to the fact that we recognize the truth only when we have a heart for it.’
“In precisely the same way, men and women failed to recognize the Lord Jesus Christ because they did not like what He represented or what He preached. They had no love for the truth and did not want to recognize Him.”
“Even today, very few people understand who Jesus truly is. The Jesus of the Bible has been reinvented to accommodate the political correctness of our age.
“Today’s Jesus would never become angry, overturn the tables of the money changers, or cleanse the Temple. Today’s Jesus would always remain meek and mild in the face of gross and flagrant sin. Today’s Jesus would never speak of Hell, because surely God would never send anyone to such a terrible place.”
“Today’s Jesus would speak only of peace and love, without emphasizing holiness and righteousness. Today’s Jesus would accept every religious faith as equally valid. Today’s Jesus would say that you may have all you desire in this world and still enjoy the glories of the next. Today’s Jesus would never offend anyone.
“There is only one problem with today’s Jesus: He is not the real Jesus – the Jesus revealed in the Bible.
“Jesus became angry over sin. At times, His righteous indignation burned hot, and He was outraged by the unbelief of those around Him. Jesus spoke of Hell more often than He spoke of Heaven. He spoke of peace and love, but He also declared that allegiance to Him would sometimes divide members of the same family.
“Jesus did not teach that there are many ways to God. He said:
“‘I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me’ (John 14:6).
“Jesus taught that those who would share in the life to come must deny themselves in this life and take up their cross.
“Yes, Jesus was a deeply controversial figure. Nothing has changed. He remains controversial in our day.”
“The point of John’s statement is that men and women are so in love with their sins that they do not want anyone to dissuade them from them. People will do almost anything to avoid recognizing Christ. They will even reinvent Him, if necessary, because they do not want the real Christ.’
“‘He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not’ (John 1:10).
“Won’t you open your heart and mind? Ask God to give you eyes to see. Ask Him to give you a heart that loves the truth.
God says:
“‘And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart’ (Jeremiah 29:13).
