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Moore's
Chapel Home Pastors Reverend KyungMo Koo Audio Sermons
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I’d Rather Have Jesus
A robber entered a fast food restaurant, pointed a gun at the cashier and said, “Give me all your money!” The cashier said haltingly, “For here or to go, sir?” Life is full of choices. Not only “for here or to go” at fast food restaurants, but also when you go to grocery stores you hear, “plastic or paper?” When you go to department stores, you hear, “credit or debit?” When you order a cup of coffee, you hear, “regular or decaf?” Whether we want to or not, we encounter a variety of choices and must make many decisions everyday. It is same with our spiritual life. We have to decide something every moment of our lives when we follow Christ. On Sunday mornings, you have to decide whether or not you will go to church to worship God. You have to decide to how much money to contribute for the offering, pledge for building fund, or people in need. You have to decide how much or often you’re involved as a committee member, in the Praise band, in the Senior Choir, as an usher, a worship leader, a Scripture reader, or with the Junior Church. You have to decide whether you will participate in a mission or ministry when asked. Even after we have decided to follow Jesus, we still hesitate to jump into full discipleship because of worldly relationships, pleasures, and possessions. There is an old Korean and Chinese idiom that says, “Eat in the East and Sleep in the West.” Let me explain. During the times when families proposed and arranged marriages, a particular house received two offers from different houses, one from the west, and one from the east. Both houses had their strengths and weakness, so the father, not knowing what to do, asked the daughter which one she wanted. He said, “The young man from the west is very handsome and healthy, but very poor. The young man from the east is very ugly and scrawny, but very rich.” She replied, “Is there any way I can spend the nights in the West at the handsome and strong man’s house and then eat good meals in the east at the rich man’s house?” This story tells us what we usually do when making decisions that concern Christ vs. the world. In many cases, you don’t have to give up something in order to gain another. You don’t have to give up all of your money, property, or possessions to serve God. You don’t have to totally give up your hobbies, entertainment, or fun to participate in God’s mission and ministry. You don’t need to give up your entire Sunday to worship God. You don’t have to be tired physically, mentally, or emotionally to serve God. You don’t have to give up all that you are or all that you have to follow Jesus. Our God is so kind, generous and considerate that He asks us for our leftover time, or sometimes a part of our money and possessions, sometimes a small portion of our lives, or sometimes just a token of our hearts. In the journey of faith God does not always require “Either/Or.” In many cases God gives us the opportunity to have “Both/And.” However, He sometimes wants to see how much we really love Him, not just through our words like, “Lord, you know that I love you; you already know how much I love you,” but really knowing that our hearts are for God. At a certain point of your life, He will probably ask you whether you choose him or worldly possessions, pleasure, achievement, honor, or fame. What will your answer be? Here’s one brave faithful man’s story. George Beverly Shea loved to sing. After training in New York City he was given an audition at one of the radio stations and was offered a contract. At the age of 23 he had a hard decision to make. He could accept a job offer in a secular singing position in New York City with a great salary and wide respect. He asked that he might sing Gospel songs. He was told that he might use one occasionally, but he would have to use the songs on the Hit Parade. His mother was praying about this job offer. On Saturday night she placed a poem, I’d rather have Jesus written by Mr. Rhea F. Miller on the piano. She wanted her son to find it and change the course of his life. The words moved George so much and spoke to him about his own aims and ambitions in life. He sat down at the piano and he composed a tune for it. One verse was: “I’d rather have Jesus than silver and gold: I’d rather have Jesus than worldwide fame; I’d rather be true to His holy Name!” Shea’s mom heard him singing it and asked him to sing it at church the next day. George’s life direction did change. He was offered a popular music career with NBC, he turned down the contract. A short time later he was offered a position with a Chicago radio station where he might use the Gospel songs he loved. While there he met the great evangelist Billy Graham. He used those words to direct his life and has shared his song, “I’d Rather Have Jesus” with audiences around the world. Joining the Billy Graham Evangelistic Team since 1947, Shea has become one of the most well loved vocalists among the Christian community. In today’s Scripture, when Paul met the living Christ on the road to Damascus, his goal, direction, attitude, worth, and value of life changed forever. When he realized who Christ was and all that Christ had done for him, his accomplishments and ambition were nothing more than garbage by comparison. After Paul considered everything he had accomplished in his life, he decided to write it off as “a loss” when compared with the greatness of knowing Christ. In our other Bible reading today, Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field” (Matthew 13:44). There were poor people who would farm the fields for rich people and one day one of these poor farmers was plowing a field and heard the sound of his plow hitting metal. He began to dig and to his surprise he found a chest. When he opened up the chest, he found that it contained a lot of expensive treasures and so he was very happy. He covered the treasure chest up and went out and sold everything that he had and bought the field from the rich owners. He willingly and intentionally sold all that he had to buy that field. An antique collector was passing a small shop when he noticed a cat on the sidewalk out front, licking milk from a saucer. The man immediately realized the saucer was very old and valuable. He stepped into the shop with an uninterested look and asked to buy the cat. “I’m sorry,” the shop owner said, “but the cat is not for sale.” “Please,” the collector urged, “I need a cat around my house to catch mice. I’ll give you $20.” “The cat is yours,” the proprietor said, taking the money. “Listen,” the collector added, “I wonder if you could throw in that old saucer as well. The cat seems to like it, and I’d hate to have him give it up. “Sorry,” the shop owner answered, “but that saucer brings me luck. Why just this week, I’ve sold 68 cats!”. It is natural that we try to sell and sacrifice to gain precious things. As Jesus illustrated in today’s Scripture, when we find the treasure, we must sell everything in order to possess it. If having Jesus Christ is more valuable than anything else we can have, we must be willing to give up everything to obtain this relationship. As Paul confessed, we should regard everything else as a loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus. For the sake of Christ and gaining Christ, we need to willingly suffer the loss of all things. Becoming a Christian means discovering the treasure chest – Christ. Now the Republican and the Democratic parties are in the primary elections for selecting the candidate for the next president of our country. It is a time of choice and decision. It is always difficult to pick the best among good candidates. It is not easy to decide which one should lead the way. However, choosing and having Jesus is a more important issue than any sort of political campaign. We all need to know and confess that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:3). Jesus not only leads our way, but He himself is the way. Salvation is absolutely free. It costs us nothing. It is a gift from God through Jesus Christ. However, following Jesus will cost us something. If we truly want to be his disciples we need to understand that sometimes, it will cost us. Even though God does not always request our total surrender of things, He wants us to show our genuine loyalty and total commitment at any time when it is required. Have you found the greatest treasure in your life yet? Are you willing to sell or sacrifice the lesser things of your lives in order to obtain the best? A wise person sells a lesser thing to gain a more precious thing. Jesus Christ is the best in our lives on earth and our lives to come. You should rather have Jesus. When we only have and follow Jesus in our lives, above all other worldly goods, that is when we truly realize that he’s the only thing that matters. Amen.
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