Your Not Home Yet

I'll tell you one little story before we go. I think about this story a lot when I'm in Missouri, because I have to meet that missionary that was from Missouri, he was from Joplin, and he lived a good bit of his adult life in Burma, working with some of the hill tribes up there. He was coming home after having been gone maybe 20 years or so. He wrote his family and said, So now I'm going to be getting into San Francisco at such and such a time, and if you can get out there and meet me, that would be great. And if you can't, then you can meet me in St. Louis, because I'll be getting off the train there. If you don't pick me up, I'll just go ahead and take the train to St. Louis. But I can't wait to see you. So he got on the boat to come back to the United States, and God, in his generous mercy, put him on a boat with an anthropologist. And anthropologists and missionaries just love to argue. They need each other. Because other people don't argue as good as they do. And they argued all the way across the ocean. The anthropologist said that the missionary had wasted his life. He said, You've spent your life on people who don't want you. They don't want your faith. And now you're going to go home to a family who has forgotten you. And has probably forgotten the faith. And what does your life amount to? And Mr. Moore said, No, you wait. When we get to San Francisco, when I get home, there's going to be a party. Because my family loves me. I've got a church back there that's supported me for years. And they're going to be there to meet me. And when they pulled into San Francisco Harbor, and the harbor was alive. With people all waving flags and hooting and hollering and everything. Well, all they found out was the president was on that boat. And the anthropologist up in first class looked down at Mr. Moore and said, See, I told you, Mr. Moore looked back up and said, Well, I'll be nobody in that home yet. So he got on the train to go to St. Louis. And long before that, the anthropologist was on the train. And God, in his great mercy, literally whipped him all the way across the ocean. And he gave half a continent to argue across, too. And they got to St. Louis. Mr. Moore said, Yes, my family will be there to pick me up. I know that. When they got there, there wasn't a soul in the train station. And his brother said, See, I told you. And Mr. Moore said, Yeah, but what you don't get is this. Well, I'm not home yet. So Mr. Moore took what money he had and got a bus to Joplin. And he thought, You know, surely something's come up and we couldn't get away. So surely they'll meet me in Joplin right ahead. He said, I'll be getting home in such and such a time. Well, he got off the bus in Joplin, and no one was at the station. But all of a sudden, they got it. And he thought, I'll bet they're over at the church. And they're working on a fellowship meal. They're so busy. They're having this great feast for me. They forgot to pick me up. So I'll just walk over to the church and surprise them. So Mr. Moore walked over to the church. And the funniest thing happened. When he got there, the doors were all locked. There were no lights on. It was completely empty. And he thought, Wow. Well, maybe they didn't come to church because maybe they were waiting at my house. So he walked about two or three miles with his luggage to get to his house. See his family, his friends, his church that was supporting him. What he didn't know was that he had never gotten any of his letters or any of his letters. And the whole church was visiting another church about five miles west of there. Having a big fellowship meal was out of him. And his family, of course, being good, devout Christians, were at that meeting. When he got home, there were no lights on. The doors were locked. There wasn't anybody around. And he sat down on the steps in his home and he said, Oh God. The anthropologist was right. I have spent my life loving people who did not want me there. And I came home to people who I thought loved me. And they had forgotten me altogether. I sat down on the steps and began to cry. And the Lord looked back and said, Oh, Mr. Morris. You're not out yet. Well, folks, someone's got a long way to go. But he who began good work again will bring it to completion. And even though we fail, God is faithful. So you don't have to live your life in fear. Sin is a grievous thing. And anyone who denies the gravity of sin makes a mockery of the suffering of Christ. And anyone who looks at the suffering of Christ and thinks that it is not greater than the depth of our sin has not seen the greatness of what he did. So I'll leave you to see the greeting that the angel gave to just about every character in the Bible except for Mary, who is the mother of our Lord. Maybe because Mary didn't need to hear what the angel had to say to everybody else. But the angel said, Don't be afraid. So don't be. Go out there and live. And live in the awareness of our resurrected Christ. Who is greater than all the forces of this world. And who is greater than all of our witnesses combined. 11 currents from the faith. 11 angels. Fear God. Do your dishes. And let your light shine forth. That they will glorify your Father who is in heaven. And sing one more song with us. The song of every son. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise him, all creatures, here below. Praise him above all the earthly foes. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.