An Old Story From a Young Man
by Jordan Knight
June 22, 2008

Brothers and Sisters,

Let me begin by saying what a blessing it is to be in this place today. I am so happy to have the opportunity to come and talk with you for a while. Preaching is something I love to do and I never dreamed I'd one day return to the church I grew up in and give a sermon. God is truly great, can I get an Amen?

My message for today is entitled 'An Old Story from a Young Man'. When Barb Devina contacted me about speaking this was their idea for sermon topic and I liked, so we'll get into the meat of an old story from a young man in just a few minutes.

I thought it first might be helpful for me to tell you a little bit about myself for those of you who don't know me, and for those who knew me as a child, but haven't really seen me since I was about 13. Okay so let me tell you about the last 26 or so years in about 5 minutes, here goes.

August 11, 1981 is a day that will, I'm sure, be remembered until the end of time, coincidently that was the day I was born. I am the son of Bill and Diane Knight and I have one sister named, Emily. I was born here in the burg and grew up in the country just outside the west end of town, good old RR2 Box 135. Like I said before, I grew in this very church, and we attended First Christian until I was about 13. Growing up my favorite person was my grandpa Bud, and I know many of you might remember him. I think that speaks volumes of the kind of man of God he was, that so many years after his death his name and life still means so much to so many. If you didn't have the opportunity to know my grandpa, I feel sorry you. He was a completely unique individual, and he was completely selfless. Everyone was his friend and there didn't seem to be anything that would stop him from being your friend. I never really remember him preaching at me or anyone else, he didn't have to, his preaching was done in action, in sweat and hard work, in caring for the overlooked and unwanted, he preached through the way he was completely comfortable with being himself and not what anyone else thought he should be. His very presence seemed to speak about the love of Jesus. Now I'm sure he didn't touch every life in that way, but for me and many others he did.

At the age of 11 I was confirmed and gave my life to Christ, basically I didn't want to go to Hell. I had heard about Hell and how people who don't believe in Jesus go there and I didn't want that, so it made sense to believe in him. My faith didn't really go much deeper than that, but that all changed when I was 13. February 8, 1995 my grandpa Bud died of a massive heartache and I lost my best friend. I remember sitting in the funeral home crying and somehow realizing that there was more to believing in Jesus than just fire insurance. I understood that believing in him meant living my life the way I saw my grandpa live his. It seemed to me that he was able to see Jesus in everyone he came into contact with, it seemed to me that in everything he did and everywhere he went Jesus was very much there. It seemed to me that every part of his life was affected by Jesus. I wanted that for myself and I think that from the time of his death I have tried to do that same thing. I say that I've tried, but I know I'm a sinner, and I've failed again and again to live my life this way, as I'm sure he did too.

Life went on and my faith was growing. In High School I played football and wrestled. I was involved in church and a lot of other Christian activities like FCA and Chrysalis. I graduated in 2000 and had been feeling like I was supposed to become a pastor or something ministry related, but I wasn't sure what. I kind of feel like God must have preordained me for this work since my name is Jordan Christian Knight. I wanted to go to the mission field in Mexico. My parents were somewhat unsure of this idea and wanted me to get a college education, so that's what I did instead. I was blessed with the opportunity to play college football at Anderson University, a small D3 school in Indiana. I was unhappy there though, and I started to rebel. My nickname my freshman year was Rev, since I was the only Christian Ministry Major on a team of over 100. I led Bible studies, preached on the weekends, and even sang in the gospel choir, but I was still unhappy. I felt God wanted me on the mission field and I wasn't there. Other problems played into this unhappiness as well and so my sophomore year my nickname changed from Rev to Ver because I had become the opposite of everything a pastor should be. A lot of poor decisions led to a lot of trouble and I found myself one step away from being kicked out of school. One thing I've learned, however, is that Christ works through foolish people and foolish decisions. (1 Cor. 1:26-28) "Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things-and the things that are not-to nullify the things that are."

He used my sin to help me show my parents what I felt I was called to do. Just a few months later, I turned my life around, moved to New Orleans, worked as a missionary with Street Level Ministries in the French Quarter, and received my bachelors' degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. As everyone knows, Hurricane Katrina came along and I pretty much lost everything I had. I spent several months in KY with family and then returned to Galesburg, began working as a youth pastor at First Presbyterian Church, and married the love of my life, Lindsey. I think that pretty much brings us up to the here and now.

Okay I said we'd be getting into this 'old message from a young man' so I guess we better get going. Where did it come from? What is the 'old message'? How do we spread that message? Ultimately this message came from God himself. The gospel of John begins by saying, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it." The writer is saying this, that all things come from God and that nothing in this world is without God. God was and is always there, always constant, there is no beginning to something that simply; always is. God is also the word and that word is taken to mean, Jesus. Not only was Jesus with God at the beginning he was God at the beginning. Have I completely lost everyone? We know that this message came from God, but where did it go after that? It went to humanity; this message went out to all of creation. God intimately created men and women, he had unique and special relationships with them, he provided for them, met their needs, and in that way showed his love and power. There is simply nothing in this world that we could look to and not see God. I know many of you might be thinking otherwise when we see war, murder, sickness, and an enumerable list of sin all around us. We must, however, remember that sin is our own doing; God is still present in every sinner and sinful action whether we accept it or not, he is simply; always there.

So we know where the message came from, but what is the message itself? The message is that God so loved his creation, his children that he gave his only son, the one and only because there is no need for another, he gave this son to die on a cross as the substitute for our sin. He gave his perfect son so that whoever and I mean whoever, there is no limit, there is no prerequisite, all have the opportunity to experience his love, if they only believe in him, they will have eternal perfection in and through Jesus Christ. It is he and no other that can bring salvation to those still in darkness. It is he and no other that can dry every tear, calm every heart, whisper to every ear, I know you, I made you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I will always love you. This message tells us that if we have the love of Christ within us that there is nothing, no circumstance, no sin, no action that can separate us from his love. Even if we were to come to the point where we say, I don't love you anymore God, He is still constantly there, constantly saying, I still love you.

We know where the message came from, we know what the message is, but how then do we tell this message to the ends of the earth? I think it must start where it first started in the beginning, with Adam and Eve, the first parents. Ephesians 6:1-4 says this, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. "Honor your father and mother"-which is the first commandment with a promise- "that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth." Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. This passage tells us that we as children are to obey our parents, this however, is taken to mean that we have parents in the first place. I want you all to know that I was truly blessed to have a mother and a Father when I was growing up. I was blessed to have two parents who loved me and my sister and did what Ephesians 6:4 says, they brought me up in the training and instruction of the Lord. But I need look no further than the very youth I work with and see that what I had as a child is a more and more of an uncommon thing. So then how exactly does this message reach you if you don't have a Mother and Father doing what Ephesians 6:4 calls them to do? I've asked a very difficult question and I can only give you what I've learned in my own life as my opinion. We know that God forgives a multitude of sin and we know that God works wonders in imperfect situations. Where a mother or father might be absent God can and does provide a grandma or grandpa, an aunt or uncle, a church family, a person half way around the world writing letters and sending monthly checks so that a child in Africa might have a chance at life, God provides people that come along after we leave the comfort of home to continue help shape and mold us into the men and women God has always wanted us to be. These teachers, leaders, mentors and friends are out there, they are everywhere, but much is the same when we are looking for a perfect Jesus in an imperfect world, sometimes they're simply hard to find. Sometimes we must look harder, we must look within, we must look past what the world says is right; it is there that we will find the love of Christ.

Beyond the influence of parents and other Christians we must be comfortable in our own skin. A great pastor once told me that if you're going to be different you better get used to people looking at you different. We must look at ourselves and discover just who it is that we are. We must define ourselves based off of what God's word tells us not what the world assumes of us. Growing up I was very uncomfortable with how I looked. I just wanted to be like everyone else, I wanted to fit in, no really I wanted to blend in so I could be part of the crowd. I cut my hair the way everyone else did, I tried to dress the same way, I wanted everything the same way everyone else had it, but no matter what clothes I wore or how did my hair, there always seemed to be something to count me out, something to stop me from blending in, it seemed no matter how hard I tried there was always someone who would come along and point me out. Long before I got my first tattoo people still decided who I was and what I could do based off the surface. That's why I say it is crucial that we are comfortable in our own skin. Now I'm not advocating that we all rush out and get tattoos so we're unique and comfortable with ourselves. That wouldn't make us unique at all. What I am saying is that we must understand who we are as an individual, we must study ourselves and decide for ourselves what our own wants and desires are, not what anyone else tells us they should be. We must discover the true creation we are in Christ.

We must continue to spread this same message that has been around for thousands of years while at the same time breathing new life into the same message. What I mean is that we as Christians must be willing to change. The root of our message is to always stay the same as Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever, but the way in which we share this message must be forever changing, forever evolving. One of the biggest problems facing the church today is its unwillingness to change. We are constantly trying to place new problems into old solutions and then wonder why it didn't work out. We only have to look at the gospels and see that Jesus was always preaching the same message, but always in a different way. People would come to him and say, if you only do this or that, then I'll believe. His response was simple, I've already done this and that and you still didn't believe, why would I do it again? It was always the same result; that we are to love the God of creation with all our heart, with all our mind, with all our soul, and with all our strength, everything we possess is to be a reflection of God's gracious love.

Friends, I feel I could go on and on, but Greg told me 15 to 20 minutes and I'm sure I probably am well past that so I will close with this. Eccl. 4:9-12 says this, "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. God tells here that we are not to walk this road alone. Eccl. 4:12 is my favorite verse, surprisingly enough it's tattooed on my hand. It means that Christ is to be central in everything we do, every aspect of life, he is simply, constant. It means that we must reciprocate the love he gives us. It means we must also be united with other likeminded, Christ affected individuals. For those that say I don't need church in order to be a Christian, I would say you are most definitely wrong. We cannot run this race alone, and hope to come out victorious. . We cannot be individuals and hope to change the world. It takes Christ, he is central, he is necessary, without Christ as our focus all life is done in vain, it takes other believers, it takes a physical presence of at least one other person that we meet with our five senses and see the love of Jesus, and it takes you, not just the parts you want to give, but everything you possess, all that you are, all that you are proud of, and all that you're guilty of. Know that if these elements are present in your life that there is nothing, no one, and no how, that will ever cause Christ to stop saying. I love you. I made you, I will always be with you. I forgive you, I'm so happy with you, and you are my child. Grace and Peace be with you this day and forevermore. Amen