Participants: Dennis Uffindell
Series Code: FC
Program Code: FC000051
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00:29 We're glad to welcome you to our program today,
00:32 and I trust that you like 00:35 I will enjoy talking about Jesus once again. 00:39 Let's pray together before we do. 00:44 Father in heaven, 00:45 once again we want to take a fresh look at Jesus Christ. 00:49 We want to learn from Him and become like Him, 00:55 and we pray that You will work that work 00:57 in our hearts and lives, 01:00 in His name, amen. 01:06 My name is Dennis Uffindell, 01:08 and I'd like to share with you a subject 01:10 that I always enjoy talking about 01:13 and that is another picture of Jesus Christ. 01:19 When I was a young teenager, 01:21 I used to enjoy going to summer camps, 01:24 and I well remember that at this summer camp 01:26 I used to go to, there was a young man 01:29 who was older than the rest of us, 01:31 physically that is, 01:33 and he was very proud of himself 01:36 because he was the only one of the campers 01:38 who had a certificate to prove that he was normal. 01:43 You see, he'd had some problems but he had been cleared, 01:48 and it illustrates a very important truth 01:51 and that is, we all like to be normal. 01:55 We don't like to be considered abnormal 01:57 in any way whatsoever. 02:00 Which brings me to an important thing, 02:02 what do we mean by normal? 02:05 Have we ever stopped to think, for instance, 02:07 what a perfectly normal person would look like or behave like? 02:14 What is normal anyway? 02:17 Well, I suppose in common parlance, 02:19 it would be what we're talking about 02:21 when we talk about somebody having a normal temperature, 02:27 or behaving normally, 02:30 or restoring a difficult chaotic situation to normality, 02:36 things of that kind. 02:39 That's the way we normally use it. 02:42 It means to conform 02:43 to the average pattern of those around us. 02:49 No one likes to be abnormal, 02:51 so when we run a high temperature, 02:53 what do we do? 02:54 We want to get it back to normal 02:56 as quickly as possible and so and so forth. 03:02 We conform to what we consider to be normal 03:08 which leads me to a very important issue. 03:11 What I consider to be normal 03:13 will have a powerful influence upon my thinking 03:17 and upon my behavior and therefore inevitably, 03:20 my destiny. 03:22 It reminds me of what happened in conversation 03:25 with a young man one time. 03:30 He said, "Well, it's perfectly normal 03:34 to get angry when someone is nasty to you," 03:37 and he was a sincere young Christian, 03:40 but do you see what the idea of normal had done to him? 03:45 It had cost him to forget entirely 03:49 what Jesus had said about a situation like that, 03:52 because in Matthew 5:44, 03:56 he says this, "I say unto you, love your enemies, 04:01 bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, 04:05 and pray for them which despitefully use you, 04:08 and persecute you." 04:11 So you see, it had completely cancelled out, 04:14 the idea of what was normal had completely cancelled out 04:17 the words of instruction of Jesus for him. 04:22 And that's a pretty serious thing I would think. 04:25 It had made him decide that to be normal 04:31 was the right thing 04:32 and Jesus' words would be asking him to be abnormal. 04:37 Another illustration, are there ever times 04:40 when in truth, you are a little bit ashamed 04:43 to be pinpointed as a Christian? 04:46 Now where I come from, back in Britain, 04:49 it would be almost unheard of to be sitting in a restaurant 04:54 and see a family join hands and say grace 04:57 before their meal. 05:00 And I know that there were times as a young person 05:04 when I felt very awkward doing it 05:06 because I knew that people would think, 05:08 well, "Is there something wrong with him?" 05:13 You know, normal morality 05:15 has done the same sort of trick on people. 05:18 There was a time when morality all around us was such 05:23 that certain things were completely taboo 05:25 and they strengthened us in our decision 05:27 to do what was right. 05:29 But today, normal morality is so loose 05:34 and perverse that it only leads us 05:38 in the wrong direction 05:39 rather than in the right one. 05:42 It reminds me of a trainee at a clergy session, 05:46 as she told me afterwards, 05:48 and this was a mature Christian woman. 05:51 She said to me, 05:52 they were talking in this session about sexuality 05:57 and the leader was asking individuals 06:00 in the group about their personal sexuality, 06:03 and she refused to talk about it, 06:05 and he turned on her and said, 06:06 "Why, are you ashamed of your sexuality?" 06:10 You see, how even in clergy circles 06:16 things have changed so much 06:17 so that what is correct to talk about 06:21 is what was incorrect not very long ago. 06:24 But now before we go any further, 06:26 let's look at the dictionary definition of normal 06:31 because it just so happens 06:32 that the dictionary definition 06:34 is a rather different definition 06:37 than what we normally use. 06:39 It says here, from the Oxford dictionary, 06:42 excuse me, 06:43 "from norm which means standard, 06:47 pattern, or type, or that which is perpendicular." 06:53 Abnormal is deviating from the type 06:58 and the type is a personal thing 07:01 to which everything should conform. 07:04 So then to be truly normal is to be like the normal man, 07:11 and scripture makes it very clear 07:12 who the normal man was, 07:14 because in Philippians 2:5, for instance, 07:16 the Apostle Paul says, "Let this mind be in you, 07:20 which was also in Christ Jesus." 07:22 So think like Jesus, He is the pattern. 07:27 Or John 13:15, 07:31 "For I have given you an example," 07:33 Jesus said, "that you should do as I have done to you." 07:38 So behave like Jesus. 07:44 So I'm now gonna say something 07:45 that sounds really crazy at first. 07:47 "To be normal is to be like Jesus." 07:51 Does that come as a radical idea? 07:53 It certainly did sound a little different 07:56 when I first came to that conclusion. 07:59 But I'd like you to take a picture 08:02 of what the normal man, 08:04 Jesus, would do. 08:07 The story is told in Mark 7, 08:11 of how Jesus took with His disciples 08:14 a 40 mile hike one day. 08:17 Now I don't know 08:19 whether you've ever walked 40 miles in a day, 08:21 very few people have, I certainly haven't. 08:25 And you know what He did it for? 08:28 Because way up there near Tyre, Sidon, was a lady, 08:34 who desperately needed His help. 08:37 And so in the hot sun, 08:40 over those rocky hills and stony pathways, 08:44 Jesus hiked for 40 miles there and back, 08:50 to heal one person. 08:53 That's what the normal man was like. 08:58 It tells us in 1 John 2:6, "He that saith," sorry, 09:04 "he abideth in him, ought himself also to walk, 09:08 even as he walked." 09:10 Or in 1 Peter 2:21 and 22, 09:13 "For even here unto were ye called: 09:16 because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, 09:21 that ye should follow his steps, 09:24 who did no sin, 09:26 neither was guile found in his mouth." 09:29 So Jesus according to the Bible 09:31 is one unquestionably the normal man, 09:36 or the type, or the pattern man. 09:41 Now this brings us to an important point 09:43 and I believe it's a staggering fact for many, 09:47 "it is not normal to sin." 09:51 Oh, the Bible makes it clear that everybody sins, 09:56 but it never says it is normal to sin. 09:59 It says it is abnormal to sin. 10:02 And to see it that way is very important, 10:04 it's in fact a very valuable insight, 10:07 because it changes our whole attitude toward it. 10:13 God created a perfect world, 10:17 with perfect human beings in it. 10:20 What happened? 10:21 The devil came along and persuaded them 10:23 to depart from God's instruction, 10:26 and as a result we have all these sickness, 10:30 and death, and pain, and misery, and hatred, 10:33 and so on that we have in our world today. 10:37 Does that sound good? 10:38 Sure, doesn't to me. 10:40 Now the truth is, sin is a perversion 10:43 and abnormality is destructive. 10:47 And you know, in nature, 10:49 it's an interesting thing 10:51 that everything that is abnormal 10:55 has a greatly lessen chance of survival. 10:59 The Bible certainly teaches 11:01 that the abnormality of sin does that to human beings. 11:06 That's why God speaks of it in Isaiah 5:20, 11:12 in very strong terms, 11:14 he says, "Woe to them 11:17 who call evil good, and good evil." 11:21 Because he knows what a powerful influence 11:23 that'll have upon people in the wrong direction, 11:28 it's a lie. 11:30 Actually, and this is encouraging I think, 11:33 there are far more beings 11:36 who are like Christ than like the devil. 11:41 Two-thirds of the angels remained loyal 11:44 and all the beings in other worlds 11:45 have remained loyal. 11:47 It's only the people down here in this little world, 11:50 along with Satan and his following angels 11:53 that have the abnormality of sin. 11:56 So we're really with the majority anyway 11:58 which is to my mind a good news. 12:01 And the value of seeing it all this way is this, 12:06 I want one to confirm to the norm around me, 12:10 if I know it's an abnormality, that is destructive, 12:14 it won't sound very attractive, 12:18 when sin is seemed to be a perversion 12:22 and destructive. 12:26 The Bible talks about sin as a disease, in Isaiah 1:5, 12:31 it said, "The whole head is sick," 12:33 speaking about Israel. 12:35 Well, I don't know about you, 12:36 I don't like to have any part of me sick, 12:38 but the last place I want is to have my mind sick, 12:42 and that's what sin does according to the Bible. 12:45 I'd like you to, in your imagination, 12:48 come with me to a leprosarium. 12:51 I've had relatives 12:53 who'd gone to leprosariums in Africa, 12:55 because all my relatives on both sides of my family 13:00 except my mother and father, 13:01 all my aunts and uncles were missionaries in Africa. 13:04 And of course, there have been a lot of lepers in Africa, 13:09 sad to say. 13:10 And of course, it disfigures their faces, 13:13 and their hands, and their feet, and so on. 13:16 And so as we look around, 13:18 we see everybody there has leprosy. 13:24 Can you imagine 13:25 after being there for two or three weeks, 13:27 crying out, "Oh, I want to be a leper," 13:30 just because everybody else has leprosy? 13:36 No, because we know, it's a deformity, 13:39 it's an abnormality and we don't want to have it, 13:43 and that is precisely what sin is. 13:47 And so just because everybody does it, 13:50 surely no sins make it desirable 13:55 and there's no excuse. 13:57 Now when Jesus started His ministry, 14:01 we are told that He came with a specific purpose in mind 14:07 and He talks about it in Luke 4:18, 14:13 He says, "The spirit of the Lord is upon me, 14:15 because he hath anointed me 14:17 to preach the gospel to the poor, 14:19 he sent me to heal the brokenhearted, 14:22 to preach deliverance to the captives, 14:25 and recovery of sight to the blind, 14:27 to set at liberty them that are bruised, 14:30 to preach the acceptable year of the Lord." 14:35 So recreation, the remaking of us, 14:39 is the restoration to normality, 14:43 that's the good news, 14:45 and that tells me something else important 14:47 as it's often forgotten and that is this: 14:50 the church is the right place for sinners. 14:54 You know, sometimes, church people 14:55 look down on sinners 14:57 who don't conform to their pattern, 15:00 as though they had no place there, 15:02 but the church should be the hospital for sin-sick souls 15:05 to be healed, should it not? 15:07 So we don't need to keep away 15:09 just because our lives are not right. 15:12 Now I'd like us to take a look for a few moments 15:15 at the typical attributes of the pattern, 15:19 Jesus Christ, to see what a man 15:24 who has no abnormalities is really like. 15:28 How can you adequately describe for instance, 15:33 the Creator God, coming to earth, 15:38 taking upon Himself human flesh, 15:41 living the life of a poor peasant, 15:44 then being crucified, 15:48 despised, and hated, 15:51 dying on the cross? 15:53 Why? 15:55 Just because His total unselfish love demanded 16:00 that He do something about our lost condition. 16:03 Well, how do you describe the sinless purity of a man 16:09 like Jesus, 16:11 when He could honestly say, 16:13 "Which of you convicteth me of sin?" 16:16 John 8:46, or in John 14:30, 16:20 "The prince of this world cometh 16:23 and hath nothing in me," 16:25 that is, he will find no response in me 16:29 to the temptations that he brings. 16:32 There's no such thing as even the slightest response to it 16:37 or his total devotion 16:41 to serving others is normal. 16:45 He possessed the power and the means 16:48 to relieve people of every kind of pain, 16:51 and affliction, and misery, and heartache. 16:54 But He was so totally devoted to serving others, 17:00 that while He was being treated as we have just described, 17:05 and He could have called down angels from heaven 17:08 to deliver Him from it. 17:11 He preferred to continue His work of salvation 17:16 and He did to find personal relief 17:20 and left angels to weep 17:24 as they beheld His agony. 17:27 What a man! 17:29 What a majestic pattern! 17:31 Could you ever be satisfied with anything less than that? 17:35 I must confess that I couldn't anymore. 17:39 I'd like to share with you, 17:41 how the Apostle Paul described his love. 17:45 Only, I'm going to read it from a different translation 17:48 because I happen to love what Moffatt says here 17:51 in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, 17:57 "Love is very patient, very kind, 18:01 love knows no jealousy, love makes no parade, 18:06 gives itself no ace, is never rude, never selfish, 18:12 never irritated, never resentful, 18:16 love is never glad when others go wrong, 18:19 love is gladdened by goodness, always slow to expose, 18:24 always eager to believe the best, 18:27 always hopeful, always patient, 18:31 love never disappears." 18:35 That, my friend, is the pattern. 18:38 Can you honestly be satisfied with anything less? 18:44 Like you, there have been times 18:46 when I've been disappointed bitterly with myself, 18:50 because I was a long way from the pattern. 18:55 And I can remember well the devil whispering in my ear, 18:59 "What's the use, Dennis, 19:01 why pretend that you can ever become like Jesus?" 19:07 But then I thought to myself, 19:10 but could I ever be happy turning to the other? 19:14 Why, no. 19:15 Could I ever be happy having abandon Jesus Christ? 19:19 Why, no. 19:21 Could I ever be happy reaching anything else 19:23 but my highest potential in Christ Jesus? 19:26 Of course not, 19:28 and so I want to follow the pattern. 19:34 And do you know what, the wonderful thing is that 19:37 while we may not see changes taking place in us 19:41 because the changes that Jesus brings are gradual, 19:45 brought about by His loving presence in our lives. 19:48 They do become evident to other people. 19:51 And I think one reason why He does it slowly. 19:57 And thus it often can steal from ourselves 19:59 is that the tragic thing about human nature 20:03 is we're so quick to crow about our achievements, 20:07 have you noticed that? 20:08 You know, there was a man one time 20:10 who was brought to a church I was pastoring, 20:13 by a friend who'd also been in the hippy 20:16 and the drug movement, and he was filthy, dirty 20:21 and he had one of these big afros, 20:24 but the interesting thing that I wanted to mention was this. 20:28 He would boast about 20:30 how many lice he had in his hair 20:31 and on his body. 20:33 I said, well, how can anybody be so crazy? 20:36 I really don't understand. 20:38 But I'll tell you one thing I do know that 20:40 in every country of the world 20:43 society has demanded ludicrous things of people, 20:49 so that they could conform to the pattern 20:52 and be considered something. 20:56 Are you conforming to a pattern 20:59 that actually is bringing you no real happiness? 21:03 And oftentimes a lot of pain? 21:06 And to others too? 21:07 Just simply because it's nice to conform to those around us 21:13 at least to some extent. 21:15 I want to tell you something. 21:18 When we fix our eyes upon the typical man, 21:22 the only normal man, 21:26 nothing like that seems attractive anymore. 21:29 So although, we sometimes slip and fall, 21:32 our goal remains the same. 21:36 We want to be like Jesus. 21:40 And if we truly want to be like Jesus, 21:42 if that is our total commitment, 21:46 He has promised that He will accomplish it. 21:50 One of my favorite texts 21:52 is in the little book of Philippians, 21:55 and I love it dearly 21:56 because it's something I can hold on to, 21:59 when I don't always make it in harmony with the pattern. 22:05 It says, "Work out your own salvation 22:08 with fear and trembling," 22:10 and that scares me. 22:11 Because I don't do that very well 22:14 but then he goes on to say this, 22:16 "For it is God which work within you, 22:19 both to will and to do of his good pleasure." 22:22 And the good news is, God is all powerful, 22:26 He can do anything He wants to do 22:29 but the one thing He won't do is force our wills 22:33 because God is love and love does not force, 22:36 only the devil does that. 22:39 God allows us to make our own choices. 22:44 And so He says often in various ways to us, 22:50 "come, follow me, rest assured that 22:54 if you do, follow me, 22:56 it'll be a good road, it'll be a happy road, 23:01 it'll be a road you will never regret having taken, 23:05 because it's the road 23:08 that leads closer and closer to me, 23:11 and the road that leads to eternal life." 23:16 So today I appeal to you 23:21 when opportunities for service come, 23:25 don't look the other way because it's inconvenient, 23:29 you follow the pattern. 23:32 When everybody else quits some project 23:35 for not very good reasons 23:37 or at least even for good reasons 23:39 as far as they're concerned, 23:42 don't you just follow the pattern. 23:47 When you hear of somebody's mistakes 23:49 and people are gossiping about that individual 23:52 and it's easy to laugh about them. 23:57 Don't do that, follow the pattern, 24:02 who never hurt anybody in his life. 24:05 And when someone spits in your face 24:10 and the inevitable thing is that you would want to rise up 24:12 and wroth and retaliate, 24:16 follow the pattern. 24:20 One time my Brother told me about an experience that he had 24:24 when he was a landscape gardener, 24:26 running his own business. 24:29 And they had some turf that was delivered, 24:32 a whole truckload of it, 24:34 and when he came he found the trucker unloading it, 24:41 and he had driven right across some turfs 24:45 that they had already laid and completely ruined it. 24:48 And he was upset about it 24:50 and he told the trucker 24:52 that they would have to pay for it being parried, 24:56 and so he was a big man, was the trucker, 24:59 and he came with his fists all screwed up 25:03 and he was going to punch my brother out. 25:05 Now my brother happens to be tall too, 25:07 he is 6'2" and with great big fists. 25:10 I wouldn't want to get into a fight with him 25:12 but anyway, 25:14 and he instinctively pulled up his fists too 25:18 and then he remembered Jesus. 25:21 And he said to himself, 25:23 "This is not right, I can't do this." 25:27 And so do you know what he did? 25:29 He let his hands go down 25:31 and he stripped there in front of that angry man 25:33 who was about to punch him. 25:35 And he simply said this, he said, 25:38 "You could hit me if you like 25:41 but that will not alter the fact 25:45 that these turfs have to be replaced 25:48 at the expense of your firm." 25:50 In other words, instead of fighting back 25:52 he just stood for what was right 25:55 but he said it in the right tone. 25:57 The other man's hands dropped down, 26:01 he no longer wanted to fight either. 26:04 And a very nasty situation was averted, how? 26:08 Because that time my brother followed the pattern. 26:14 My brother or sister, 26:16 Jesus Christ became your brother 26:20 in order that's standing beside you. 26:23 He may live His life afresh in this world today. 26:27 To the glory of God the Father 26:29 and to your blessing 26:32 and the blessing of those around you. 26:35 Will you allow Him to enable you 26:40 to follow the pattern? 26:44 Let the pattern be so embossed upon your heart 26:49 and upon your life 26:51 that your life becomes one of total unselfishness, 26:56 of sinless purity, and utter devotion 27:00 to the service of others, a life of love. 27:05 And never forget, the Bible says in Romans 8:29, 27:10 "For whom he did foreknow, 27:13 he also did predestinate to be conformed 27:17 to the image of his son." 27:20 What a wonderful miracle that God can take weak, 27:24 sinful Dennis Uffendell, 27:28 and so transform him that in the end, 27:32 he will truly be like Jesus. 27:36 It's not just His call for me it's His goal for you too. 27:42 And He's the only one who can make it a reality, 27:45 not by you gritting your teeth, but by you looking to Jesus, 27:51 the author and the finisher of your faith. 27:56 Amen. |
Revised 2017-05-11