Rev. David Holwick H Twelve Step Christianity series
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
March 6, 1994
2 Corinthians 5:14-21
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Step 12: "Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps,
we try to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these
principles in all our affairs."
I. Everyone has a story.
A. The recovery movement stresses sharing testimonies.
1) Sometimes it is all they have.
Michael Keaton's movie, "Clean and Sober," ends with him
standing at a podium.
Everything he owns has been blown on cocaine.
Leaflets in his neighborhood announce that he is a murderer
because a young woman overdosed on dope he gave her.
He has embezzled tens of thousands of dollars from
his company, and asked for understanding.
They understood: they fired him.
Through the whole wrenching experience he gained only one
thing - sobriety.
So he stands at the podium to share his story, and get a
cheap 30 day "chip."
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2) They are excited about what God has done for them.
3) Witnessing is best seen as our story of Jesus' story.
B. My first witnessing experience at a military chapel retreat.
1) I felt nervous, not wanting to be a hypocrite.
2) Officer comes up afterwards and says how meaningful it was
to him. He had been saved, but backslid over the years.
C. Too often witnessing is seen as the memorization of doctrine.
1) We panic because we do not know the two verses for the third
Spiritual Law.
2) Mechanical proselytizing turns people off.
This week Celeste worked Tuesday night at Welkind Hospital.
It was a busy night because the staffing was thin.
Celeste took one side of a floor, and a nurse she did not
know took the other side.
Being the kind of person she is, Celeste finished nursing her
patients, and went over to help the other nurse.
She was flabbergasted - almost no other nurse did this!
She turned to Celeste and asked, "Celeste Holwick - are you
that preacher's wife I've heard about?"
"Yes, that's me."
"Oh. Are you one of those born-again types? My brother
became one a few years ago."
Celeste went on to explain how she viewed being born again.
It is something that God does for us.
The nurse had a quizzical look on her face, then said,
"I'm not a born-again type. I'm an atheist."
Celeste wasn't sure how to respond to this, and soon the
patients began ringing for them.
All night long Celeste wondered if she should have been
more forceful with her co-worker.
But in the morning the nurse came up to her again.
"You're not like the other born-again people I know.
All my brother's friends are born-againers, and when I told
them I was an atheist, they came over and pounded me with
their Bibles.
You really seem to be different."
Celeste IS a special kind of person.
But every Christian has an obligation to share the gospel.
It's not just our words, because they want to see some
evidence in us.
But once they see the evidence, we have to tell them why
we are this way.
If something real has happened to you, and you really care,
you have to share.
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II. People need to hear.
A. The gospel is not just a nice option.
1) Many treat religion as a purely private matter.
2) It is a nice compartment, like your political views.
3) God says it is much more. It defines who you are.
B. People need to hear, because they are alienated from God.
1) Do you believe our sins alienate us from God and people?
2) Do you believe Jesus came to set things right?
C. If we do believe this, we harm people by being quiet.
III. People want to hear.
A. There is a spiritual hunger in our society.
1) Many have looked for fulfillment in all the wrong places.
2) New Age hocus-pocus, Satanism, and even addictions are
often the result of yearning for "transcendence."
B. We have to have a heart that sees the hunger and need.
In September 1985 a celebration was being held at a New Orleans
municipal pool.
The party was being held to celebrate the first summer in
memory without a drowning at any New Orleans city pool.
In honor of the occasion, two hundred people gathered, including
one hundred certified lifeguards.
As the party was breaking up and the four lifeguards on duty
began to clear the pool, they found a fully dressed body in
the deep end.
Jerome Moody was 31 years old.
They tried to revive him, but it was too late.
He had drowned surrounded by lifeguards celebrating their
successful season.
How many visitors and strangers are among us drowning in
loneliness, hurt, and doubt, while we, who could help them,
don't realize it.
We Christians have reason to celebrate, but our mission, as the
old hymn says, is to "rescue the perishing."
And so often they are right next to us.
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IV. We should want to tell them.
A. God's love compels us. 2 Cor 5:14
1) Since we are so often "compelled" by the wrong things, it
is about time we were compelled by the right things.
2) God's love should be more powerful than alcohol or cocaine.
3) It can make us do things we would otherwise avoid.
B. It has to happen to us before it can happen to them. 2 Cor 5:16
1) We must be reconciled before we can reconcile others.
2) If we can't share about Jesus, maybe it is because we have
not really accepted him as our savior.
C. Sharing the message keeps us straight.
1) Wilson believed sharing the message was the best way to stay
sober.
"Practical experience shows that nothing will so much insure
immunity from drinking as intensive work with other
alcoholics.
It works when other activities fail."
2) We are reminded of where we came from.
3) We are challenged to look at our own life.
V. Seeking out those who will hear.
A. Early A.A. went to hospital alcoholic wards, looking for the worst
drunks.
B. Jesus also took the initiative.
1) He went where the people were.
2) He approached them, and challenged them to make a decision.
C. God has no voice but our voice.
1) Who could you speak to?
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