What In Your Life Takes Jesus To Explain It?

What In Your Life Takes Jesus To Explain It?

by Cliff Richmond

Transcribed from the original recording; may contain errors.

Are these the same faces I looked into at the opening of the camp? No. No, they’re not. The Holy Spirit has been using divine cosmetics on you. And He’s beautified you. It’s wonderful, isn’t it, how that God through the Holy Spirit can so touch our lives that almost without us being conscious of it, we are changed into His likeness. Well, it’s been a wonderful week. And we do have a little regret, I know, that we have to go back to our daily lives as we lived them before we came here. But we’ll not live them in the same way or in the same spirit, I’m sure. As the lady said to me, “Oh my, it’s almost over. I just wish we could stay here longer.” And yet I think we’ve been given about as much as we can adjust, don’t you? I think the Lord wants us to go back down and put it into practice. You can’t help when you’re in a wonderful situation feeling a bit like Peter on the Mount of Transfiguration. He said, “Lord, it’s good for us to be here. Let’s build three tabernacles here, three houses. And let’s just stay here.” Jesus said, “No, Peter, you’ve had a wonderful experience, but there’s work to be done down the valley.”

And so there’s work to be done down the valley, there are lives to be lived. And, of course, we really, underneath it all, do want to go back again and to live in a different way than we’ve lived before, allowing God to use us even more effectively than He’s used us in the past. The fellowship has been wonderful with the Council Ring and with the campers and all of you. We’ve had a wonderful time. You’ve been very, very gracious. You’ve surrounded us with love, and I hope you have felt our love being switched out toward you as we have met under various circumstances. And I think we’ve had a marvelous experience here on this mountaintop. Reminds me of a young girl. This was back in my day when there were Bobby Soxers. Any of you remember the Bobby Soxers? Well, yeah. Well, they liked a different type of music, you know, than maybe some of the rest of the older folk like. So one day this girl called up what she thought was the record shop. It wasn’t a record shop. She thought it was a record shop. A man answered. And she was interested in getting to certain records. So thinking she had the record shop, she says, “Do you have ten baby fingers and ten baby toes?”

He said, “Well, no, but I have eight children.” She said, “Is that a record?” He said, “Well, I’m not sure, but I think it’s a little above average.” I think this camp has been, I don’t know whether it’s been a record or not, but I think it’s been a little above average. You know, another thing I notice about CFO camps, in our churches we just have to, to try to get people to come up front. And here you’ve got to come early if you want to get a front seat. It’s just the opposite. It also reminds me of a little story. I’ll tell you this one, and then it’ll get down to more serious business.

This minister, they’re building a new church, a new sanctuary. And, of course, every day he’d go over there, sometimes two or three times a day, see how things were coming on. So the church was about completed. The last, a few finishing touches were being put on, and the date had been set for the opening. He was over there one evening and talking to the chairman of the building committee. And he said, Well, he said, the building committee chairman said, “Aren’t you thrilled, pastor?” He said, “Oh, yes, yes, I’m thrilled. The only thing is, I just wish we had some way of getting people come up front.” I guess this was a little before the opening time. “If we just have some way of getting the people come up front, they always want to sit in the back.” Well, the chairman said, “If you’ll leave it all to me and ask no questions, I guarantee you, on opening day, the front seats will be filled.” Well, he said, “If you could do that, you’ll have a star in your crown.” “All right, just leave it to me,” he said. Well, finally the day came, and the minister was quite interested to see just exactly how he was going to get people to take the front seats.

So the way it happened was this. The building committee chairman had it arranged so that when the first comers arrived, there was only one, a couple of pews, one set of pews in the back, just one set. One on this side, one on that. Well, of course, that was the rear seat, the only seat, so they sat there. And then he had some buttons out there, and he pressed the button, and those two seats moved up front. And two others came up. So the folks came in, they took the back seats, they felt satisfied, pressed the button again, and moved up. And that’s what he did, till he filled the church from the front to the rear. And oh, the minister was so thrilled that he got into his sermon. He didn’t have his watch handy like I have, and he just forgot the time, and he just kept on preaching and preaching. But when 12 o’clock came, there was another button there that the chairman pushed, and when he pushed that, the minister disappeared.

So if you’ve got a long-winded minister, you might consider something like that. Well, it’s been wonderful. It is wonderful. Our God is wonderful. And the future is going to be even more wonderful than the past. Gracious Heavenly Father, we thank You for this fellowship. Oh, how rare it is, how lovely. This fellowship of those who meet together. For in this fellowship Thou hast placed the blessing of an endless life. And we’re so grateful. Bless this hour and the hour that follows. Our breaking bread together. And as we depart, to go our various ways, watch over us. Help us to drive lovingly, courteously, and bring us safely to our homes. Amen.

In Paul’s letter to the Romans, Sister Estelle told us quite a bit about the book of Romans. In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he speaks of my gospel. Now, when I first read that, I thought to myself, Paul, aren’t you a bit presumptuous to speak in terms of my gospel? Certainly the gospel is everybody’s gospel. The gospel is universal. And how can you narrow it down and speak in terms of my gospel? And yet you know, the more I thought about that, the more I realized that there is a very real sense in which the gospel must become my gospel, or it doesn’t amount to very much. And then I too realized that what Paul was talking about when he spoke of my gospel was that part of the total gospel that he understood, that he believed, that he endeavored to live, and that he preached, that part that he had made his own. Not a second-hand experience, but a first-hand experience of the gospel of Jesus Christ. That’s what he meant, and that’s why he could speak in terms of my gospel. You know, there’s a great deal of difference between knowing something about something and knowing that something personally. I always think of this story. I’ve told it many times. You’ve heard it, I suppose.

But there was this professor of speech, of elocution, used to call it in those days. Professor of speech from one of the universities, used to visit a small country village. I don’t know whether his parents lived there, or just why. He visited that particular village every Sunday. So it was quite a treat to the congregation, because when he came there, he would come to church. And they’d always ask him to give some sort of a religious poem, or a religious sonnet or something, because he did it so beautifully. So on this occasion, he was visiting this little church, and he was asked if he would recite the 23rd Psalm. So he arose, and he recited the 23rd Psalm for the congregation. And he did it beautifully. His diction, his emphasis, his articulation, left nothing to be desired. And when he finished, the congregation broke out in great applause. Well, the professor of speech then turned to the minister and said, “Reverend, would you repeat the 23rd Psalm?” Well, of course, the minister knew he could not repeat it with such perfection, such addiction, as this professor had done. He felt very humble. But he arose, and he repeated the 23rd Psalm. And when he finished, a holy hush, no applause, silence. And after the service was over, someone asked the professor, what made the difference in the response of the congregation to his rendition of the psalm and the minister’s.

He said, “Well, I know the psalm, but your minister knows the Shepherd.” You see, he knew about the shepherd. He knew the psalm, but the minister had a first-hand experience of the Shepherd. And that makes all of the difference in the world. A lot of our religion is second-hand religion. Religion is something we’ve heard about. It’s something we’ve heard our preachers talk about. It’s something we sing about. It’s something we’ve read about. But we’ve experienced so very little of it. You know, Job had to go through that experience of a second-hand religion to a first-hand experience of God and His presence in his life. Because after going through all of these difficulties, he came to the place where he was able to say, “I had known Thee by hearsay. But now, I have seen Thee face to face. I had known Thee by hearsay. But now, I have seen Thee face to face.” I have experienced Thee. And it isn’t a matter what others have said or what I’ve read. But it’s my experience. I know Thee now as my God and my Lord. And so you see, the professor, he knew the psalm. But the minister could say, my Shepherd. Job came to the place where he could say, my God. He knew Him.

And he knew Him personally. I think of Dr. Dale of Birmingham, England. He was preparing his Easter sermon on one occasion. And suddenly, he arose in his study and began to walk back and forth the length of the study in a great mood of excitement. He said, “Why, He lives. Christ is alive. He’s risen. He lives.” Well, they said, I always knew. I always believed that He had risen. I always believed that He was alive. But for some reason or other now, there came the experience within that I knew He was living. I knew He had risen. I knew He was arising. And what a difference between believing in the resurrection and knowing the risen Lord dwelling in your heart and in your life.

The gospel, oh, the gospel is wonderful. But my gospel, what we have experienced of the gospel, this is the power in our lives and to our lives in the lives of others and in the world in which we live. Every Sunday morning, many of us recite the Apostles’ Creed. We say, “I believe in God, God the Father, Almighty, maker, and so forth, heaven and earth, His Son, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit.” Yes. Well, that’s good. Intellectually, we believe in God, we believe in Jesus, we believe in the Holy Spirit. But do we know God as Father? Have we, are we experiencing Jesus as Savior? Do we know Him as an abiding presence? This is the important thing. This is when the gospel becomes my gospel.

We say, “I believe that Jesus died for the sins of the world.” But can you say, “I know He died for my sins. I know He gave His life for me.” This is making the gospel my gospel. Now, this was the secret of the early church. The early church had nothing to commend to that heathen world in the way of money or prestige or an educated ministry or beautiful cathedral. Nothing like that. All they had was the power of changed lives. All they had was the power of changed lives. And after all, this is the best commendation that can be made to the world, isn’t it? The power of a changed life. I remember hearing Stanley Jones say that when he first went to India, he had a practice and when he concluded his message, he’d always give an opportunity for questions from the congregation. And he said, invariably, invariably, one of the first questions that was asked was, “Well now, what has this Christ done for you? What is this Jesus that you’ve been talking about? What changed, what difference has He made in your practical everyday life?” Because the insinuation was if He hadn’t changed your life, if He hasn’t made a difference in your life, then, of course, what value this Christ?

What value this Jesus you talk about? And so it’s true. The question is simply this, when you get right down to it, what is there in your life and in my life, what is there in your life that takes Jesus Christ to explain it? And apart from Him, wouldn’t be there at all. Oh, you may be a very talented person, may be able to do certain things, but because of your talents, your natural ability. But what is there that takes Jesus Christ to explain it? If you didn’t have Him in your life, it wouldn’t be there at all. It’s that which we’re referring to this morning as my gospel. That which has taken on flesh in our own individual daily lives. More important than theology, more important than education, committees, commissions, beautiful efforts, et cetera, et cetera (and all these have a part, don’t misunderstand me) is this vital personal experience of Jesus Christ in our daily lives. This is what I started with. This is what I end with. We had a professor once who said, professor of homiletics in the seminary, he said, “When you prepare your sermons and you preach them,” he says, “no matter what you’re talking about, get to Jesus just as soon as you can.” And if we don’t get to Jesus just as soon as we can, it’s all a…

It’s all a bubble. It’s nebulous. All of it must take on flesh and live among us and become a part of our lives and a part of the life of the world in which we live. The gospel must become my gospel. The power of a changed life. This is the most important thing.

Now, you have a gospel. Each and every one of us has a gospel. You have a message. You have a gospel. I have a gospel. And you are your gospel. It isn’t what you say. It’s what you are. People can doubt. They can question what you say. But they can’t doubt. They can’t question what you are. I always remember Mark Dawber. Years ago, he was executive secretary of our Methodist Episcopal Board of Home Missions. And he was speaking to a group of us ministers one Monday morning at our preacher’s meeting. And he was telling how that… about his son, how that he had gone to college. And, of course, when he came home, he always had questions. And he began to question things that he had been taught in his youth. And so they would have quite lively discussions at times. So he said one time when the boy came home for vacation, they got to talking about various things. And the boy was disagreeing with his father about certain things that the father believed and had taught. And finally, the boy turned to him, Howard said, “Well,” he said, “Dad,” he says, “I doubt much that you say. But I can’t doubt what you are. I can’t doubt your life.” Now the world can doubt much that we say.

But the world cannot doubt what we are. That truth is beyond being refuted. What was it that commended Paul to his day and generation? What was it? Did you ever stop to think? Was it because he was a handsome man with a fine personal appearance? Was it because he was a great artist? No, somewhere in my Bible, it says that his bodily, his speech was contemptible and his bodily presence was weak. So it wasn’t his physical appearance. It wasn’t his power of oratory. Was it his intellect? Oh, he had an intellect. Try to read the book of Romans if you don’t believe it. And I’ll tell you, if Paul preached like that to his congregations, he certainly preached over their heads most of the time. No, it wasn’t his intellect. What was it? What commended Paul to the people of that day? It was the changed life of this individual. Many knew him. Many knew what he had been. And now here, they saw what he was. They saw the great change that had come into his life. And Paul said, “Back of this change is Jesus. It was Jesus who touched me. It was Jesus who gave me new birth. It was Jesus who gave me new life. I owe it all to Him.”

The power of a changed life. This is the thing that commends our Christianity to the world. I’ve said before here, I’ll say it again. Christianity is a religion of the incarnation. It’s not some philosophy. It’s not some psychology. It’s not some theology. It’s God Himself who has taken on human flesh and dwelt among us. He lived, He taught, He healed, He forgave, He suffered, He died, He rose again. God came out of the nebulous. He came out of the abstract. Down into the concrete, into the person, into human flesh. And He said, “Here I am. Here is what I am like.” Jesus said, “If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father.” And that reminds me of a story somebody reminded me of here in the camp along this line. This little girl used to want her father always every night before she went to bed to tell the story of the three bears. Well, you know, after a while, it gets a bit monotonous, night after night after night after night, week after week, month after month, telling the story of the three bears. So the father thought he had a solution, so he got a recorder and he recorded the story, his voice, he recorded the story of the three bears on the recorder.

So this particular night when he put the little girl… he took the recorder in the room and plugged it in. He said, “Now, honey, you lie down here.” He kissed her. He said, “Now, you just get quiet and you’ll hear Daddy tell you the story of the three bears.” So he started it going and he waited a few seconds and he slipped out of the room. Well, in a little while, about five, six, seven minutes, the little girl came tiptoeing down the stairs. And she came a bit hesitatingly over to her father. He said, “Well, honey, what in the world is the matter?” And she came over and got into his lap and he put his arm around her and said, “Didn’t you hear the story this evening of the three bears?” “Yes.” “Didn’t you hear Daddy’s voice telling you the story of the three bears there in the recorder?” “Mm-hmm.” “Well, then what’s the matter?” “Yeah, I heard the story and I didn’t hear your voice, but that thing couldn’t put his arms around me.”

Well, what good is it? What good is it? I don’t know what love is unless I see it incarnated in somebody. I don’t know what patience is. I see it somewhere taking on flesh. And God, what do I know about God? Only what I know through Jesus, Jesus of Nazareth. Now, I know God is principle. I know God is eternal law, and I’m grateful for this knowledge. But as I said many times, I can’t cuddle up to a law, and I can’t get close to a principle. But a person, yes. If God, of course, is infinitely beyond human personality, we know that. But if God is a person, someone who thinks and feels and loves, I can cuddle up to a God like that, and I can call Him Father. I can’t call a principle Father. I can’t call a law Father. I’m grateful for principles. I’m grateful for spiritual laws. But unless it takes on flesh, it’s of little value. And we ought to be living in such a way that all we are professing, all that we read about in the Holy Word here, begins to take on flesh in our lives and in our relationships with one another. So that people begin to see and to feel the Christ as they come into contact with us.

Like Sister Estelle told last night, she took one of my stories about this Mrs. Murphy, you know. I guess you were all here and you heard it. And the little boy had found her to be such a loving and kind and grateful and compassionate sort of a person, that when he recited the 23rd Psalm and came to the end, he said, “Surely goodness,” instead of saying, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,” he said, “Surely the good Mrs. Murphy will follow me all the days of my life.” Well, you see, Mrs. Murphy had incarnated goodness and mercy. And when this little fellow thought of goodness and mercy, he thought of Jesus. I mean, he thought of Mrs. Murphy. What do people think of when they look at you, when they look at me? What do they see incarnated in your life and in my life? I told a couple of prayer groups that I was going to, if I didn’t forget, and I haven’t forgot, so you don’t have to stand up and remind me. I was going to tell this morning what really recommended the CFO camps to me. The first CFO camp was in ’47 out in Koronis. That’s the mother camp. That’s where it all started.

Now, we had a galaxy of leaders there. We had Glenn Clark. We had Rufus Moseley. We had Starr Daily. We had Roland Brown. Wow, what a crowd of speakers we had at that camp. And yet, as I said, I don’t remember a single thing any one of them said. Now, you know they put out some pretty good pearls. Treasure, spiritual truth. But I don’t remember a thing they said. And then I have to stop and say, well, now, that isn’t exactly right, because I remember one thing Roland Brown said. He said, “When you go home, don’t start button-holing everybody, talking about the camps and Glenn Clark and CFO. I made that mistake.” And he said, “After a while, it became a situation, which if I were to mention Glenn Clark and CFO camps, it would be like waving a red flag in front of a bull.” So he said, “Don’t go home and start talking to everybody about the camps and about CFO and about Glenn Clark.” Well, let’s say, I remember that. But I don’t remember anything that was said. But I remember some things that happened. Some things that took on flesh. And I’m going to mention just two of them. There were several of them. But these were the things that won me.

These were the things that convinced me. I was a bit skeptical when I first went. But it was what was. It was the being. Wait, why do they have little buttons? I don’t have it on. It was the being that convinced me. Well, here are the two illustrations. One morning, we had a chapel not as large as this, perhaps half as large as this, wooden floor like this. So we went to morning meditation. And Glenn Clark had the meditations this particular morning. Of course, we got in early. We were sitting there. And so after a while, Glenn Clark began to speak. Well, he spoke for a few minutes. And suddenly, some dear precious ladies who had maybe not had too good a night’s sleep and slept a little later than usual, came into the little chapel. And they started… That was in the days when you didn’t have sneakers and all that. And they started up the aisle. Oh, boy. Here Glenn was trying to talk. Here these ladies were clackety-clackety-clacking up the aisle. And I was irritated. I was resentful. You know what Glenn did? I can see him now. A little chubby fellow standing there. He’s a round face. He just stopped. Closed his eyes. I was looking at him. Closed his eyes.

Had a little smile on his face. Just waited a moment. Clackety-clackety-clackety-clackety-clack. “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of them that bring good tidings that publish peace.” No, I said, if a man… If a man can face that, they should have been there. They ain’t no business coming in late. Oh, I was reading the riot act to them in my mind. It’s disturbing everybody else. They weren’t considered. They talk about loving, yet they don’t practice it. You see that? Yeah. But not Glenn. Now I said, there must be something to this thing if you can face a situation like that without even feeling. And I’m sure he didn’t feel it even. Because I could tell it wasn’t put on. You know, whether it’s put on or not. I thought, there’s something to this. Well, that was one thing. You see, that was the word taking on flesh. Getting out of the abstract, down into the concrete, down into human life. And the second thing happened, there was a young minister’s wife there with a couple, two or three children, I forget. But there’s a little boy, Charles, they called him Chuck. I think maybe he was six, seven. I don’t know exactly. We had a nice lake there, Lake Koronis. And one morning, I don’t know whether the father went in town or the mother went in town, but the mother thought the father had a little Chuck.

And the father thought the mother had a little Chuck. And neither one of them had a little Chuck. Then they began frantically after the mother came back from town to look around for their little boy. And they couldn’t find him. Nobody knew where he was. Now, I don’t know, I think someone has seen him get into around the boats, around the lake. So, well, they began to drag the lake. And eventually they brought up the body of this little fellow. He had gotten out there and fallen over and drowned. Now, well, now normally that would have thrown any normal group into a tailspin. But these people didn’t go into a tailspin. Not even the parents. Well, of course it was a tragedy. It was a terrible sorrow. Sure, they felt it and felt it deeply. But the camp didn’t go into a tailspin. There was a joining together. There was an agreement. There was a welding of love and a prayer surrounding this young couple, reaching up to God and letting it flow out of them into the camp. Oh, it was a… I mean, I could feel it. And the young couple went home. They took the body of the little boy home. And they held the services. And they came back to the camp.

And finished out the week in the camp. And they weren’t going around with a long face either. Tears running down their cheek. Oh, they cried privately. But… But… The faith. The confidence. The courage. The way a Christian should act. Theoretically should act. But we don’t many times. And that… That… That got me. And then the camp. Nobody just got this thing up. But we wanted to do something. In memory of little Chuck. So just voluntarily we began to drop offerings into a box or something. And we sent goats to Japan. I don’t know how many goats we sent to Japan. I don’t know how many little Japanese babies were saved because little Chuck died. Because we were inspired to do something to send goats to Japan. And I heard that later the father and mother went as missionaries to Japan. Now God didn’t take the life of this little fellow. He didn’t make that accident happen. Nor that we might send goats to Japan. That we might be welded together. That the parents might go as missionaries to Japan. No. But as I’ve said so many times. There is nothing that can happen in the life of a Christian. No matter how tragic it is. If we give it over to God. That God can’t get into it and work beautifully and redemptively.

As He did in this instance. So I said there’s something here. When people can respect… Face a sorrow, a tragedy like this. With such triumph. With such faith. When a man can stand up in the midst of this rather discouraging situation. And not feel a bit of resentment. And respond in love. And in cheerfulness. Now there’s something here. I want to know what it is. I want to know more about it. But what come in the CFO to me? Not the books I’ve read. Not what these men said. I don’t remember what they said. I don’t remember what anybody else said. But this is what I saw with my own two eyes. This was the word. This was my gospel. You see that these folks were living and preaching. Their lives were their pulpits. And our lives are our pulpits. And if we’re ever going to influence anybody really for good. Permanently for good and for God. It’ll not be merely through the mouth. It’ll be through the life. It’ll be through the being. And not the speaking. Oh, we need to speak too. Don’t misunderstand me. Let me give you this illustration. In our church at Chevy Chase. A Chinese family came. He was in the embassy. And they came. And they lived just a couple blocks from the church.

And they came to our church. They put the two children, Billy and… Oh, golly, Sally. Billy and Sally into our church school. And so they’d come to church. They were Confucians. They would come to church. And the children come to Sunday school. Well, then when the children grew a little older, Billy was the first one who wanted to join the class for church membership. So, of course, I went to see the parents. I knew they were Confucian. And talked to them. They said, well, that’s perfectly all right with them. If Billy wanted to be a Christian, go into the class and be confirmed, unite with the church. So he did. A little later on, Sally came along. And the same thing happened with Sally. But the parents as yet never expressed any interest in Christianity or joining the church. Then one day, Julia said, “I want to know more about Christianity. My children are Christians. I want to be a Christian.” So, Mr. Gould, my associate minister, he had many conferences with her and gave her books on Christianity. Of course, the Bible, most of all. Finally, she was baptized, took the vow to church membership, and joined the church. And she became really a radiant Christian. Julia really did. And she is, still. But R.C., the husband, he had not… he was in the embassy.

And I don’t know whether the fact he was there and if he came in and became a Christian, he was afraid it might influence his relationship there in the embassy. I don’t know what the background was. So we, I don’t know if we were praying for him. And he had come to church with Julia. And, but about a year, I guess, before I retired, why, he called me on the telephone. I said, “Dr. Richmond,” he said, “I’d like to be baptized and join the church.” Oh, I said, “Wonderful, R.C., wonderful.” And I knew Julia was going to be happy. The children, too. But I knew Julia was going to be happy that he wanted now to become a Christian and join the church. So I said, “Well, I’d like to talk with you.” So I talked with him about the vows he’d have to take to be baptized, about the vows he’d have to take to unite with the church, and about Jesus and so forth and so on. I said, “Now, do you feel that you can honestly, sincerely take these vows?”

“Yes, yes,” he says, “I do.” Well, he came up to church. We had a small group there. Julia was there and the other minister. Sally was there. Billy was away at school. And so we had the baptismal service, and R.C. took the vows. We had the vows of church membership, and R.C. took the vows. It was really a time of great rejoicing. And then after it was all over, I said, I got R.C. aside, and I said, “R.C., now I know it’s been a number of years. You’ve been coming here with your wife and family, and now you’ve decided to unite with the church, and you have done so. You now remember. Was there anything that triggered this? Was there anything that was the greatest influence in you finally making this decision?” He says, “Yes. There really was. The thing that really influenced me was that I noticed that after Julia became a Christian, she became a lot easier to live with.”

And if you aren’t a lot easier to live with after you’ve become a Christian, you may as well, you might well question whether or not you’re really a Christian. And not just easier to live with, but if something doesn’t happen, fundamentally, basically, in our lives, in our natures, that we are different, and that those about us can see some difference and feel some difference, what are the words worth? What’s all the show? What’s all the theatricals? It’s the life. You are your gospel.

And not only that, but you’re the only gospel the world will read. They’re not reading the gospel according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. They’re reading the gospel according to you. What kind of a gospel are they getting? They’re reading the gospel according to me. What kind of a gospel are they getting? Are they getting a perverted gospel, a lopsided gospel, a false gospel even. We’re the only Bible this careless world will read. We’re the sinner’s gospel. We’re the scoffer’s creed. We’re the Lord’s last message, giving in deed and word. But what if the line be crooked? What if the type be blurred? Every day you’re writing a New Testament. Every day you’re spreading some kind of a philosophy. Is it the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? Do the people where you work… Do they know you don’t have to wear a button and say, “I’m a Christian”? But do the people where you work… Do they have a realization that there’s something perhaps a bit different about you? That you’re a Christian? In the home? Do your children and what you say and do… Do they get some sort of an idea that you know Jesus? You know, our unconscious influence… Many times is the most powerful influence we have. When you try to influence somebody, you generally fail, don’t you?

But when you make no effort to influence them… And you become… Well, what you profess… The words, the beliefs, the creeds begin to put on flesh… That’s the influence. So I say our unconscious influence is the most powerful witness that we possibly have many times. I think of this man when I was at Towson, Maryland. And this man wasn’t necessarily a church man. But he said, “You know, something happened the other day… That convinced me more than anything I’d seen or heard in the past of the reality of the Christian faith.” He said, “I was attending my son’s commencement exercises.” And he said, “The one who brought the address on this occasion was Dr. –” and he named a very prominent clergyman in the city of Baltimore. “Now,” he said, “he was making this address before the students and their parents and friends. Now, I don’t know. I can’t remember what his subject was. And really, I can’t tell you very much what he talked about. But the thing that impressed me, that convinced me more than anything I’d seen or heard before, the reality of the Christian faith was that I knew that all the time that man was standing there and making that address with such courage and such cheer and such faith, his daughter lay dying in University Hospital.”

Now, that fellow wasn’t reading the Bible. He wasn’t reading the gospel according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. But he was reading the gospel according to this minister. And so I say, they don’t read the gospels here in the Bible, but they read the gospel according to you, the gospel according to me. That, without doubt, was the most powerful and effective sermon that man had ever preached. And it wasn’t a sermon. He didn’t know he had cast a bit of influence that day upon a single life. He didn’t really know that he had. And yet God used what he was here to speak to a man who had little or no interest in the church or in the Christian faith. So I say, our unconsciousness is what we are. This is the powerful witness. You know, I believe that one of the big surprises of heaven is going to be to have a lot of people come up to us. Perhaps we’ll not recognize them. And they’ll say, “I want to thank you for making it easy for me to be good and to keep my feet on the straight and narrow way.” And we’ll say, “Well, I don’t remember you. Where did I ever meet you?” And then they’ll recite some instance. “I was sitting in a crowd of people while you were given the commencement address,” or some other practical, basic situation.

“And what you were and what I thought of you, it made it easy for me to be good. It made it easy for me to keep my feet on the straight and narrow way and keep my face toward Christ and heaven.” And, you know, I should leave this out maybe, but I think one of the tragedies of hell, and perhaps the burning fire, the brimstone and all that, which, of course, we know are symbols, will be… And, of course, this doesn’t refer to any of us, to have people come up to us and say, “Well, you made it easy for me to be here. You greased the path. You helped grease the path upon which I slid into this terrible situation.” And we’ll say, “Well, I never knew you. I never met you. I don’t know your name. Where did I ever meet you? When did we ever come into contact with one another?” And, “Well, you know, thus and so, thus and so. You know, you were in the church, but thus and so. You were a Christian, supposedly, but thus and so, thus and so. And I thought, well, there’s nothing to it. Got a lot of yak. And that’s all there is, too.” You know, that’s… It’s a wonderful thing to think that we can thus influence people toward a good life.

But it’s a terrible thing. Isn’t it solemn to think we can also influence them toward an evil life? We can either make it easier or make it harder for people to be good. Yes, you have a gospel. You’re your gospel. And people are reading your gospel every day. Is it the gospel of love? Is it the gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ? We should be asking ourselves some of these questions very seriously now as we begin to move out again into the world and back to our homes. Then there’s a third thing I want to say. This is Sunday morning, so it’s sort of like a sermon, three points. One, two, three. But nevertheless, yes, you have a gospel. You are your gospel. Your gospel is the gospel that’s being read. The gospel according to you. And it is your gospel as it is incarnated in your life that some people need.

There are certain wavelengths, certain vibrations. And there are people on your wavelength. There are people who can receive your vibrations. And if they’re ever going to know anything about the gospel, it’s got to come through you because they’re on your wavelength, you see. If they’re ever going to know Jesus, if they’re ever going to come, they’re going to have to come through you. And we must never… Oh, I know. And it isn’t really humility though, is it? We should never take the position, “Oh, I’m not worth much. I’m living here in a little obscure place. I don’t have any talents. There’s nothing I can do. I’m not important in the kingdom,” et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Just because we can’t be a Stanley Jones or a Sister Estelle Carver, and God doesn’t want us to be. He wants you to be you, and He wants me to be me. I know for years in my earlier life, I used to look at some of these stellar lights, like Sister Estelle, Sister Louise Eggleston, and Laubach, and Jones, and so forth. And, oh, I just feel so down in the dumps, as it were. “I can never be like Jones. I can never be like Estelle. I couldn’t be…” I compare myself with them. And finally, I had to come to the place where I realized, where God said to me, “Now, I don’t want you to be a Stanley Jones.

I don’t want you to be a Frank Laubach. I don’t want you to do the work that they are doing and to be involved in situations in which they’re involved. I want you to be Clifford Richmond. I want you to be Clifford Richmond. And I want you to be the best Clifford Richmond possible. And I want you to use the talents or the lack of talents, etc., etc., that are embodied in you. I want you to occupy the place where I want you to be. If it’s in an obscure village, if it’s on a platform, if it’s out here somewhere in the light, in the gaze of the world. But I want you to occupy the place that I have planned for you. I want you to be yourself.” So then a great load rolled off of my shoulders. Thank God I don’t have to be like Stanley Jones. Thank God I don’t have to be a Laubach. All I’ve got to be is what I am, what He’s made me, the best possible me. This is all I have to… I see a great burden rolled off. And I knew then that when I stood before the great white throne in the presence of my Lord, and if Stanley Jones was standing there and I here and Laubach there, that He come to Stanley Jones and He’d say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.

Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” And He’d come to me to say the same thing. Thank God if I’ve been faithful. “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” But I had never done the work that Stanley Jones had. I’d never read the books that Stanley Jones has. I’d never been discerning mentally in the conversion of thousands and thousands of people. I’d never understand the judgment. But I stood in my corner. I’d let my light shine. I tried with God’s help to be the best person I could possibly be according to the temperament and the ability and et cetera, et cetera, that God endowed me with when I was born. And I would receive the same well done as Jones or Laubach. And you, if you’re there, you receive the same well done if you occupy your place, if you let Him have His way with you, if you let your light shine no matter where you are, whether it’s a blazing light or whether it’s just a little candle. And that little candle that shines is something that just somebody needs. And if they don’t get the light through you, they’re not going to get it. If they don’t find Christ through you, they’re not going to find Him. Now, see, this is wonderful to think that, you know, God can thus use us.

But it’s a solemn obligation, solemn responsibility too. It’s a fearful thing to realize that there are people out here that don’t know Him. There are people out here in darkness. There are people out here in midst of tragedy and adversity and sorrow and depression that could be lifted out. If only we were willing to put ourselves in the hands of the Master and let Him use us. In any way He wants to use us. Because the important thing isn’t the kind of a vessel, but it’s what is contained in the vessel. It isn’t what the channel, what the pipes are made of, whether gold or silver or platinum or water. It’s what flows through the pipe. And when He flows through us, when we are instruments in His hands, we are channels. He is the one who does the work. And He can do it just as well through a clay pipe as He can a gold pipe. And that’s true. Oh, beloved, we ought to be taking this whole thing of our Christian experience, our Christian faith, our Christian life more seriously. Because as we move about, we are witnessing all the time in one way or another. We’re making it easier, more difficult for people to know Christ and follow Christ. And you cast this influence, sometimes you’ll know some of the influence you cast, sometimes you won’t.

I’m thinking now of a dear man in Towson, Brother Will Burns. He was a carpenter. He had this snow white hair. He wore glasses. Always had a smile on his face, a twinkle in his eyes. And he loved poetry. And I hadn’t been there long before he realized I loved poetry because I recited quite a bit of it. So when the weather was good, he’d come up at 400 West Joppa Road. And we’d sit there on the porch and we’d chat. He’d swap a poem with me and I’d swap a poem with him. And we had many wonderful times together. He was a sweet soul. He was a carpenter. Well, one day he came up and we were talking about poetry, sharing some poetry. And he said, “Brother Richmond, I’ve got something here I’d like to share with you.” So he went into his pocket, he pulled out an envelope. He said, “I’ve been working out in Ruxton, just a few miles out of a rather swank community, doing some carpenter work. And when I left, of course, I received my pay, but the lady gave me an envelope. And she said, ‘Now, when you get home, you open this. I wish you’d read it.’” So he said, when I got home, he said, “I opened this envelope.”

“Well, here you open it. You read it.” This is what I read. “He chanced our way one day, this poet carpenter, clad in rough clothes, a crude exterior, yet a light shone in his eyes that was a benediction. His voice was kind and full of feeling. And when he spoke, it was not of nails and saw by which he made his living, but poetry from the soul flowed from his lips that made the quick, hot tears well in my eyes. The beauty of his thought, his gentle, gracious presence, made me feel humble, as though the Lord Himself had crossed our threshold unaware. I know I’m just a little nearer heaven, lifted by the peace that he has given.” Amen. What would you give if somebody read a poem like that about you? Your unconscious influence. The word becoming flesh in your life. Well, maybe they may not ever write a poem just like that about you, but you will as you go about. If the words become flesh, if the word becomes flesh in your life, you will cast a sweet influence, an uplifting, helpful influence. For we carry with us, Paul said, the unmistakable scent, the unmistakable perfume of Christ. And you can’t move among people, but they begin to gather some of this perfume, some of this glorious scent of the precious Lord.

Phillips Brooks, up in New England, had this great church. He was a great preacher. And after he passed away, as they, I guess, went through his clothes, pockets, they found in his vest pocket a little bit of paper. It had been folded again and again and again, well-creased, or it had been opened and closed and opened and closed many times. And they opened it up, the loved ones, and they read in there, “Dear…” many other things, but, “Dear Mr. Brooks, my wife goes to your church very frequently. I have a little tailor shop here, not far from your church, and I see you every day as you pass back and forth before my tailor shop. And you know, Mr. Brooks, I can’t think of you two minutes without thinking of God.” Oh, beloved. Well, would people even think about us two minutes? Are we worth two minutes thought on the part of anybody? But what do they think about when they think of you? What do they think about when they think of me? Do they think of God? It’s possible. They can. They may. Maybe not as dramatically as this little note that Phillips Brooks had. Maybe not as dramatically as the poem this poet carpenter received. But in various ways, in unlimited ways, they can feel His presence.

They can know Him as one who loves them and who is with them, who watches over them and cares for them and brings a redeeming influence into their lives. And so really, it all narrows down to this, doesn’t it? We sang it. Can the world see Jesus in you? Can the world see Jesus in me? Then how in the name of common sense is the world ever going to see Jesus? If they don’t see Jesus in you and they don’t see Jesus in me. And so as we go home, let’s go home and not talk too much about what we heard up here or what we did up here, but let’s go home with this prayer in our hearts and on our lips. Oh God, help me to be what I’ve heard at the camp. Help me to be what these different experiences have suggested to me and brought to me in the way of joy and peace. Oh Lord, just help me to be. I know as a young man, one prayer I prayed so persistently. I said, Oh God, help me to live the life. Whether I’ll ever be able to talk about it or to preach, help me to live the life. Let’s go home. And only with this help can it be done.

Only through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And this has been promised. Let’s go home and live it. Your gospel. You are your gospel. It’s your gospel men will read. It’s your gospel that somebody needs if they don’t get it. Through you, they won’t get it. Let’s go home and be able to speak in terms not of the gospel, which is beautiful, it’s wonderful, but may we have so incarnated some of the gospels in our lives that we can speak and live in terms of my gospel. My gospel. Oh dear, living, loving Lord Jesus. You’ve done a lot of work on us and we’re just grateful for the growth that we’ve experienced. We’ve experienced growth here. But we know we still have a long way to go. But help us not to be discouraged. Help us realize it’s Your job to perfect us, not ours. It’s our job to be surrendered. So help us to move out in a deeper surrender, in a more complete consecration. Put ourselves more fully in Thine hands and just let Thee work on us day by day and hour by hour. Conform us to the image of our Lord in Christ. Oh, blessed Holy Spirit, live the life of Jesus in me and through me to the glory of God.

Amen.