It’s hard to believe that the idea of a commercially available cell phone is only as old as the Thriller album. So-called smart phones (like Apple’s iPhone) are only as old as the year 2000. With their advent, the phone has gone from being just a talking device, to a texting, video chatting, web surfing, all purpose thingamabob. In the smart phone age, an incoming call can be rejected, and a polite text sent to the caller informing him of your reasons for not answering.
Though He doesn’t operate with an iPhone, there is a call coming from Heaven as you read these words. The caller is Christ, and His message is salvation. The question to consider, however, is not “Will you answer the call?” Rather, the question ought to be: “What will your answer be?” No one can truly neglect to answer the Lord’s call: Either he will respond with a “no” or with a “yes.” Either the one being called will callous his Gospel-pricked heart, or he will allow it to be melted and go to his Lord.
Jesus is calling…what will your answer be?
Ahh, the old standby: “brb.” It’s used so commonly, I catch myself saying those three letters when heading to the bathroom. Now let’s consider what kind of person would respond to a caller in such a way.
Responding with “brb” implies friendship between caller and receiver. The receiver wants the caller to know he’s not rejecting the call; he just has something going on at the moment, and he’ll get back to the caller later. Shucks, you hate it, but what can you do: You’ve got prior engagements.
If we were to put a percentage on it, the person who says “brb” to a caller, is about 75% committed to being the caller’s friend. He wants to answer, and most of the time he would…just not right now.
Oh the people who hear the Gospel call, but are just too busy at the moment. These are the ones who, if you were to ask them, would say they are His…most of the time. “I belong to Christ…” they would proudly proclaim, but then add the caveat “…except for those few and far between moments when something comes up.”
Again, these aren’t the ones who would say or think “I’m too busy for Christ.” These are the ones who would say “I’m too busy right now; I’ll answer later.” Their tone of voice is optimistic, maybe even a little sorrowful that they had to turn down the call. They are, as we said, 75% committed.
Don’t be deceived, however. As good as 75% commitment is, it’s not good enough for God. He is a jealous God (Exodus 20:5), and He has every right to be. God demands 100% commitment. Christ demands complete commitment. I must be ready to answer His call whenever it rings out. His calls take priority over even father and mother or brother and sister (Matthew 12:46-50).
But consider one person in particular: David. Now when the Bible student reflects on the life of Israel’s 2nd king, generally he is associated with strong faithfulness and commitment to God. And yet, even he who was called the one of after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14), he was not immune to the temptation to put God on hold – to tell God “brb.”
And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem.
And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.
And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?
And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house.
(2 Samuel 11:1-4)
King David saw something he should not. Now had he turned away and returned to his room, none of this would ever have been known, and no sin would have been committed. Instead, filled with lust, David lingered (sin one), inquired (sin two), requested (sin three), and indulged (sin four). As a person who has shown from youth a commitment to God, it’s not a stretch to assume David had a spiritually-tuned conscious. So where was his conscious? It was there – David just wasn’t listening. His phone was buzzing, but he hit ‘brb.’
Unfortunately, sin begets more sin. Bathsheba became pregnant with David’s child (v5). Instead of confessing and answering God’s conscious-call to repent, David tries to cover up his sin with more sin. He calls her husband, Uriah, back from battle, under false pretense (sin five) hoping he will return to his wife and…well…end up thinking his wife is pregnant with his child. Uriah is too noble to relax at home while his nation is at war (v10-11).
His phone still ringing, David continues ignoring the call. In the back of his mind, he doubt said to himself (and God), ‘As soon as this is covered up, I’ll be right back to being faithful.’ Many people today make the same mistake: There is no statute of limitations on sin. David will eventually learn this, but right now he’s still determined to cover his sins with more sin.
He calls Uriah to him (v13) and gets him drunk (sin six), hoping again he will return home to his wife. Again, David’s scheme fails. Now fully obsessed he orders Uriah to the forefront of the fiercest battle (v14-15). Normally this is the heavy weight of responsibility a commander-in-chief has. Under these circumstances, this is nothing short of murder-by-proxy, which David admits (sin seven).
In a moment of tragic irony, Uriah is sent to fight alongside those soldiers deemed the most courageous (v16). If only David had the courage to answer the Lord’s call, what happens next could have been avoided!
When news returns to David, he offers hollow words about sacrifice in wartime, and how the people should be inspired by the deaths of men like Uriah – knowing full well those were not his reasons for sending the man to his death (sin eight).
The eight sins of David were each painful to the heart of God, but at any time David could have repented and ended the madness. By the time he comes to his senses (thanks to Nathan the prophet – 2 Samuel 12), the damage is done, and he will pay the price – all because when God called him away from temptation, he told God ‘brb.’
Oh how many Christians try the same answer with the Lord today. They may be pretty faithful. They may not curse or cheat. They probably worship God regularly, but there’s some weakness they have. It might be something they watch, or something they read, or a friend from whom they can’t part. Whatever the temptation is, when it arrives, and the Lord calls – hoping to pull the tempted one back to the light, he checks his phone, sees Who’s calling, and hits ‘brb.’
Jesus is calling. What will your answer be?
On this my phone, there’s a center button that you can push when it’s ringing to send an automated message to the one calling. The first option is to have the phone respond to the caller: “We’re sorry but the person you’re trying to reach is in a meeting. Thank you. *click*”
That’s kind of a snooty response for a preacher to use, but to be fair, the phone doesn’t know its owner isn’t some white collar office manager on the 32nd floor. There probably are people are frequently “in a meeting” and thus can’t answer their phones. So what about those people who would respond to the Lord’s call in such a manner?
When you hear those words “in a meeting” more than likely your mind recalls a workaholic-type; the kind of person who has made a career out of having a career. This isn’t the kind of person who has a good job, or who wants one for various reasons. This is the person who is obsessed with moving up, being successful, finding that pretty house, pretty car and pretty wife. If you want to talk to this type of person, be prepared to talk business. If you’re not prepared, then expect to hear “in a meeting.” He’s not a bad person, per say, just a very busy one.
Spiritually speaking, this is the kind of person who is about 50% committed to Christ. He’s faithful sometimes – when he has time – but when he doesn’t have time, he never makes time. This is the kind of person you might see worshipping on Sunday morning, maybe 3 times a month (since Sunday is the only day he takes off – a half day). When it comes to the LIFE of Christianity, that’s just too big a commitment for him to make. There’s just too much going on. So, all though Jesus is calling, the phone is set to “in a meeting.”
Paul once traveled to Athens – the great city of idolatry:
And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is?
For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean.
(For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)
(Acts 17:19-21)
Here Paul encounters some obsessed people. Not obsessed with work, but still obsessed. In their case, they were obsessed with hearing some new doctrine. Athens was the cultural, intellectual, and philosophical capital of the world. This is isn’t a people who want to accept some new teaching; they just want to lean some new teaching. It’s very detached, emotionally. They’re not interesting in finding THE truth, since they don’t believe in a singular truth.
When Paul stands before such an audience of poly-theistic, poly-opinionated people, and tells them of the ONE God and the ONE truth, the reader might think his message would be coldly received. On the contrary:
And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, “We will hear thee again of this matter.”
(Acts 17:32)
Some mocked him because he said something that went beyond anything they were willing to comprehend (the idea that a Higher Being could die and rise again of His own power). They weren’t mocking him because they didn’t agree, they mocked him because what he said was (to them) ridiculous. It made them laugh out loud.
As nearly-depressing as that reaction was, consider the second reaction: “We will hear thee again of this matter.” At first glance that might seem like a positive reaction, but when you consider the type of people to whom Paul spoke, it’s likely the thought behind the statement was: “Thanks for your time, if you have more we’d love to hear it…NEXT!”
They heard the one message that could save their souls. They heard a sermon about the only God really in existence, but they were too obsessed with their manner of life to stop and consider the meaning behind Paul’s words. All they could say was “Sorry…in a meeting.”
And when a faithful Christian tries to convince his workaholic neighbor to worship with him, or when elders visit an unfaithful brother who has quit worshipping regularly because of a taxing work schedule: Some might mock – those are the ones who are aware of their lifestyle choices and don’t care. Others will simply shrug off the warnings, and continue their busy lives, with too much to do, and too many meetings to attend.
Jesus is calling. What will your answer be?
By now the pattern is becoming obvious. The 75% committed person, who just wants a brief moment away from his conscience – answers the Lord’s call with brb. The 50% committed person, who has good intentions but can’t find the time right now to answer the call – answers with in a meeting.
Sometimes the phone will ring, and despite there being nothing going on, and no good reason not to answer, you just don’t want to answer. You want alone time. You want to be left alone. You don’t want to deal with the call (or the caller). So you hit ‘send to voicemail.’ You’re not rejecting the caller – just putting his call on the backburner. “Leave a message” the caller will hear. “And I’ll get back to you when I have time.” In reality you mean “when I feel like it.” but you don’t want to be rude. It’s not that you have 0% commitment, but it’s still only 25%.
Paul once stood before Governor Felix, charged with giving a defense of the actions for which he was arrested (preaching Jesus – though the charge was insurrection against Rome). Paul’s defense (Acts 24:10-21) can be summarized thusly: “They’ve got no proof, and I have a lot of witnesses that say I’m innocent.” Felix, who seems like a level-headed guy, tells Paul he will talk with some people (v22-23) and that he’ll be right back (no pun intended).
And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ.
And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.
(Act 24:24-25)
Obviously Paul made an impression on Felix, since he wanted to see the Apostle for reasons totally unrelated to his trial. How interested is Felix, though? Paul preaches to him about righteousness (doing the right thing), temperance (living the right life), and judgment to come (winning the right reward). Felix was interested enough to listen intently, since the sermon caused him to tremble (literally: to become alarmed). He was interested, but not enough, apparently, since he told Paul to leave him until he had a “convenient season.”
That’s very interesting, considering that Paul has already given his defense, was waiting for Roman judgment, and is now in a private meeting with Felix. This was ALREADY a convenient season. There wouldn’t be any more convenient time than this. So why send Paul away? Because it wasn’t the time that was the problem – it was the message. What Felix heard scared him, but not enough to change his life. He knew he needed to answer the call, but he didn’t want to change: So he sent the call to voicemail. Even after two years (v27), that “convenient time” never came.
Oh, how many people sit in pews Sunday after Sunday? No one makes them come, no one forces them to listen, and week after week they hear the Gospel and it causes them to tremble. They know they are living wrong, but they love the life too much to change. When the invitation song is sung, and everyone stands, he will clutch the pew in front of him, white- knuckled and holding on for dear life: He has that 25% spark of commitment, but can’t bring himself to change. So when the call comes ringing to his heart, he hurries to hit “send to voicemail.” Maybe another day, he says to himself, foolishly thinking another die is guaranteed.
Jesus is calling. What will your answer be?
There’s something insultingly thrasonical about actually blocking a number. We’re not talking about simply ignoring a call – blocking a number means you have so little regard for the one calling that you make the assumption you will NEVER have any regard for him, and thus you tell your phone not even to bother ringing when that person calls. The subtext to the action is of a person who deems himself superior to another – the one whose call he has no time for.
To block a number means more than just ignoring someone. It involves a desire to forget you ever heard of that person; to remove yourself from anything to do with that person. Obviously the percentage of interest in the caller would be 0.0%. Spiritually, here is a person who has so little interest in the Gospel Call that he is moved to try and shut it out of his life completely. Whether his action is from ignorance or arrogance, he simply wants nothing to do with Jesus Christ.
After Paul met with Felix, he stood before King Agrippa. The person Paul most wanted to speak to was the Caesar – not wanting to pass up an opportunity to preach the Gospel to the king of the world – but here he stands before the puppet king of Israel, having again an opportunity to defend himself. Instead of trying to save his skin, he preaches to Agrippa the Gospel of Christ. As the evil King listens to Paul’s conclusion, and the call of Jesus rings forth, he utters this famous statement:
Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.
(Acts 26:28)
When read in the King James translation (as it is above), the wording sounds as though Agrippa is close to being converted. But not only does that just not make sense (When has a person ever been close to conversion and then walked away?), that’s not at all what Agrippa said. A better translation might be something like: “With so few words, you would persuade me to be a Christian?”
Agrippa isn’t close to answering Jesus’ call. Far from it. Agrippa is almost mocking Paul. He has no interest in obeying God. At least Felix trembled at the message. Somewhere deep inside of the Governor was the spark of a conscious pricked by the Gospel message. With Agrippa however, there was only derision.
Just before this statement Paul puts the ball in Agrippa’s court, but asking him if he believes in the Jewish Prophets of God. Now, Agrippa may be Roman-appointed, but he still needs to keep up appearances (typical politician), so naturally he’s not going to say he doesn’t believe in the prophets of his constituents, but he also can’t say he does, because Paul’s next question would be why he won’t accept the Christ those prophets foretold. So what does he do, being caught in the horns of this dilemma? He laughs. He mocks. When the call comes ringing, he simply blocks the number.
What about you? The phone is ringing. You can’t change that. You can’t avoid giving some type of answer. Will you say “not now but later” (brb)? Will you say “not now but maybe when I have time” (in a meeting)? Those answers can’t save you.
Will you answer “I just don’t feel like talking right now” (send to voice mail) or “just go away already” (block caller)? You can’t ignore Him forever. Any answer is an answer, but only one answer will save your soul.
Rarely will one listen to a Gospel sermon and have it not be followed by the verse of song; intended to invite the lost or astray to (or back to) God. One such song is “Jesus is calling.” Its meaning is obvious by the title alone: The Lord is the One doing the inviting. Jesus is the one doing the – as it says in a later verse – “pleading” that we “listen to His voice.”
To everyone who is lost and heading toward the darkness of the demon’s cell, and to every Christian who has forsaken his Master, and is headed to the same destination: The phone is ringing, the Caller offers hope. Answer the call.
Jesus is calling.
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