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KNOCKING ON HEAVEN'S DOOR #5

GETTING TO A GIANTS GAME

In the category of "Technologically Challenged" comes this sad little anecdote from our friends at Compaq. Apparently some customer had picked up a brand new computer, unpacked it, got everything plugged in — monitor, printer, the works. Then she sat there for 20 minutes waiting for something to happen. Nothing. She hit a few keys. Nothing. She tried my favorite trick: hitting "Control - Alt - Delete" all at the same time. That makes most of my problems go away. Still nothing. The screen wasn't even lit up. No little "Windows" theme song, nothing. So she called the toll-free hotline and explained her problem. Should she go back to the store and get a refund? What kind of operation was Compaq running, anyway?

The man on the other end finally got a word in edgewise and asked her: "Well, ma'am, what happened when you pressed the power switch?" And there was a long pause. "Uh . . . what power switch?" End of phone conversation.

Well, considering some of my own computer adventures, that story isn't really very funny. But it's a fact, isn't it, that even a 50-GIG hard drive and all of the great software programs in the world don't do a computer user the slightest bit of good if he or she doesn't ever hit the power switch.

And that brings us right back to our discussion for the week. Jesus says to us: "I am the Door." Meaning, "I am the way home to the Father. The journey to eternal life is through Me." But even though that door is there, an open door, an open door with an inviting Savior standing right there inviting us into His wonderful presence, we still have to walk THROUGH that door in order to be with Him.

We noted at the beginning of the week that the Christian gospel does hinge on this concept of Christ being the door. That's explicitly stated in the Bible, most clearly in the book of John, chapter 7:

"I am the Gate for the sheep." Meaning: "I am the Door."

And the three points we've made thus far in our study together are these: First of all, God loves us and wants to be with us. He MADE us to be in His presence, to receive His love and also to return it. To live in relationship. Two, sin created a separation between us and God. In fact, it created the kind of separation that is eventually fatal. Which makes sense. If you're apart from God, the Author of all life, what can you do but eventually die? In fact, I would go so far as to say that, being sinners, we would INSTANTLY die except that God miraculously sustains our lives – on borrowed time, so to speak – to give us an opportunity to be reunited with Him.

But now Step Three is such incredible news. Jesus Christ, through His gift on Calvary, creates a bridge between us and God. He bridges that gulf; you and I can actually picture that old rugged Cross spanning the huge chasm between us and our heavenly Father. I mentioned that magnificent verse yesterday, over in II Corinthians 5:

"God was IN CHRIST, reconciling the world unto Himself."

But friend, that's three steps. And this third step is absolutely the best news in the universe . . . and yet it still leaves us lost and doomed — on the other side of the great chasm — if we don't proceed to Step Four.

You know, there's a wonderful Christian college up in Northern California where I've spoken on a number of occasions. Pacific Union College is up in the Napa Valley, just up the hill — Howell Mountain — from the little town of St. Helena. And if I decide to relax a bit after my speaking appointments there at the school, and take in a ballgame at the brand new stadium for the San Francisco Giants, I might put on a Giants hat, get up my appetite for some popcorn and Cracker Jack, have my mitt ready to catch a home run ball hit by Barry Bonds, and have all the determination in the world. But the simple truth is that I'm in Angwin, California, and the Giants are playing in downtown San Francisco at the brand new Pacific Bell Park. And if you look on a map, there's a small matter of a body of water called the San Francisco Bay. Oh true, I could take the 880 Interstate clear down to Milpitas and San Jose, and loop around the bottom and lose about four hours. But if I really want to get to see the San Francisco Giants in that beautiful new stadium, friend, I can have all the best intentions in the world. However, unless I drive across the Bay Bridge, I'm not going to find myself in San Francisco. Never mind that a visionary person built the bridge. Never mind that hard-working men and women maintain it, checking the cables and bolts and structural safety. Unless I get in my car and drive across that bridge, I won't get to the game.

So there IS a Step Four following Calvary. I have to ACCEPT the bridge called Jesus. I have to walk across and embrace the invitation Christ offers to me.

In fact, this is the very title given to the Fourth Step in the little diagram provided by our friends, "The Navigators." "CROSSING THE BRIDGE." And they use this Bible verse, found in John 1:12:

"Yet to all who RECEIVED Him, to those who BELIEVED in His name, He gave the right to become children of God."

In the other little four-step outline we've borrowed from all week — this one in the back of the great little book, More Stories For the Heart, from Multnomah — Step Four is described with this title: "Our Response: RECEIVE Christ."

"We must TRUST Jesus Christ," they write, "and RECEIVE Him by personal invitation."

And they share a powerful Bible invitation as well. Maybe you remember this one from the book of Revelation, chapter three, also written by John.

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock." That would be Jesus, of course. "If anyone hears My voice and OPENS the door, I will come in to him and dine with Him, and he with Me."

We kind of jumble up our metaphors here, having pointed out all week that Jesus is Himself THE door. And we seem to be talking about US crossing over that Bridge to be with God again — that Bridge being Jesus and His Cross. Well, don't let the Bible's many illustrations and object lessons confuse you. The point here is this: a decision has to be made. On OUR part. I'm HERE. The wonderful game is over THERE. A generous Friend has provided a bridge across the San Francisco Bay so I can be at the game WITH that Friend. But I do have to make a choice to cross that bridge. (The good news is that, unlike the Bay Bridge, I don't even have to pay a toll!)

What does this really mean, though, to cross the bridge? Here are a couple more Bible verses, one found in the book of John, chapter one:

"But as many as RECEIVED Him" — again, there's a very active word, notice — "to THEM He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who BELIEVE IN . . . His name."

The Apostle Paul, who encountered this bridge too — remember the story of the Damascus Road? — also writes about our part, in his letter to the Romans. Notice:

"If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."

So we have the word "receive." "Believe." "Confess." "Open the door." All of these words seem to say that we take the reality of Calvary, the truth of what Jesus did, and we personally ACCEPT those things. "Yes! Jesus, I believe You died for ME. And I ACCEPT that sacrifice. I want to link my life with Yours; I DO want to be WITH You, to HAVE that restored relationship You tell me You want."

We mentioned clear back on Monday the importance of CHOOSING that Door, and then acting upon the decision. Do you choose some other philosophy, or do you deliberately and consciously choose Jesus Christ as your means to salvation?

Pastor Bill Hybels tells an interesting story about all of this. And of course, Hybels has probably drawn this four-step salvation process — the chasm, the bridge, everything — on more McDonalds napkins than just about anyone. But one such conversation ended in a kind of hung jury. Here's how he tells the story in his book, Becoming a Contagious Christian:

"I once had a fascinating talk," he writes, "with an atheist friend. At the end of our long and lively discussion, he said, ‘Well, Bill, you believe one way and I see it another way. So why don't we just agree to disagree, and leave it at that?'"

They'd talked about Steps One, Two, and Three . . . and now this man just did not see the necessity of walking ACROSS that bridge. The story goes on:

"‘But, Keith,' I said, ‘there's a day coming — and it won't be long — when we're both going to find out who is right. We're banking our lives and DESTINIES on totally contradictory ideas. We can't both be right. One of us is going to hit the jackpot and the other is going to be in remorse for eternity. Keith, I'VE DONE MY HOMEWORK on this subject, but I really wonder if you've done yours. Why not deal with your doubts directly, and make sure you've found the right answers?'"

That's a sobering finish, isn't it? The chasm is real. But the bridge is in place. Still . . . it's life or death if you choose to cross over.