Billy was a young boy who rode the bus to church each Sunday, and he was from the low income project, and he looked forward all week to coming to church. Billy loved the Pastor because it was the pastor that first came to their home and invited Billy to come to their church, and he was there every Sunday morning. When church service had ended and before the bus left, Billy would run to the foyer of the church where Pastor would be greeting folks and he would scan the crowd until he saw his friend, the Pastor. Once he had zeroed in on his target, Billy would run over, wrap his little arms around Pastor's leg, squeeze tightly and look up and say, "Preacher, we're friends ain't we?" The Pastor would lovingly pat Billy on top of his tousled head and say, "You betcha Billy. We're best friends!" Billy would grin from ear to ear and head for the back doors of the church where his bus waited to take him back to the squalor and uncertainty he escaped from once a week when he came to see his "best friend".
Then came the Sunday morning when Billy made his regular trip into the foyer of the sanctuary, but this time it was different. There were tearstains streaking little Billy's cheeks as he wrapped those little arms around Pastors leg. As usual, Billy asked the question and as usual, Pastor answered. Then Pastor noticed the tracks of Billy's tears and he inquired, "What's the matter Billy, you've been crying?" Billy responded with fresh tears welling up in his eyes, "Preacher, when I left home this morning my mommy told me I was never gonna get to come here again. You see, Preacher, we're leavin' and I ain'tnever gonna come back! You're my best friend and I'm gonna miss ya!"
Pastor smiled as kindly as he knew how and told Billy, "Now don't you worry Billy. You'll find you a new friend where you're going. You'll be fine." He then patted Billy on the head and walked away to greet all of the new visitors.
Billy stood there for a minute or two, watching the Pastor. Then he turned and with a fresh flood of tears flowing down his face Billy headed toward the back door, then he stopped, turned back, and looked down the corridor one last time and called out to the pastor, "Preacher, don’t you understand? We're best friends and I'm leavin' today and I’m never going to be ableto come back! Ain't you even gonna cry?" Then Billy went out the back door and boarded his bus, never, ever to return and No One Cried but Billy!
Wow, and no one cried but Billy!!!
John 12:46 “I am come as a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not remain in darkness. v47 And if any man hears my words, and does not believe, I do not judge him, for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world”.
Notice that this statement is addressed to “whosoever” and to “any man”….
If you put it together you have “any whosoever”….Jesus is describing who He came for and who was still missing, that He came to seek and to find….. Do you know them, have you met them recently?
It’s a lot like the bible version of “WHERE’S WALLY”…..Jesus is addressing the religious leaders and His own disciples here and asking them if they have missed what it was all about….In their searching, had they missed the most important thing?He was drawing their attention to who was missing from the gathering that day…. (Is there “any whosoever” who is not here?) Jesus is asking, “Who is the “ANY WHOSOEVER” in your world”? Have you seen them in the grocery store or begging on the street or living next door to you or cleaning your teeth at the dentist, or grooming your dog or teaching your children or living next to you for the last 10 years?Have you seen “any whosoever”?....Have you missed them in the kingdom of God?… “WHERE’S WALLY”?
A few years back, I was called by a friend to join him on Big Pine, at the sight of a hit and run where a man who was a son, a father and a friend was killed. I followed my friend’s car and when we got to the spot, there was still blood in the street that marked the spot, and all the family and friends were just standing around. It was a spontaneous gathering and when they found out that I was a pastor, I was asked to say something fitting to the situation…. These folks were the “Any Whosoever” that Jesus was talking about and I saw that this was an opportunity that He had given, to find some of the missing “WHO-SO-EVERS” from the kingdom that night. The blood in the street was crying out…. “Do you miss me?”…. I had come for the victim of the hit and run, but I realized that it was the “Who-so-evers” I had really come for! I was there to find the missing….
Have we gone to our workplace, or driven through our neighborhood, or gone out to eat with the question on our heart, “are there any missing Who-so-evers here that I am chosen to find for the kingdom? Whosoever is used throughout the New Testament 93 times, and describes anyone and everyone. You are an anyone, I am an anyone, it is an all-inclusive term, and leaves no one out. Anyone and everyone that hears come. Anyone and everyone that thirsts come. Anyone and everyone that wants freedom from fear and an uncertain eternity, come .
I don’t know about your house, but I know that who-so-ever lived at my home, growing up, and still does…. My mom was always talking to Whosoever…. “Whoever made this mess, better clean it up…. Whoever broke that, better get busy confessing…. Whoever was supposed to wash the dishes, better get those dishes done!!! And now I’m married and my mom and my wife must have had a talk, because she does the same thing even though I’m the only other person there!!!! Listen, I know Who-so-ever on a personal basis!
The search is on….We need to find these Who-so-evers, because God used one of them, to build the Ark, his name was Noah…. He used another one, to bring his people out of Egyptian bondage, his name was Moses…..and how about that Who-so-ever, who was an idol maker but was chosen of God to be the “Father of the Faith” known as Abraham…..I can’t help but wonder what God has planned for all those who-so-evers that are still missing…..
I recall my son Chris, who was about 3 years old and was upset because he couldn’t do something…. He came out with a little backpack he had put some clothes in and got ready to head out… but first he turned and announced…. “I’m going to runnedaway, and get myself lost! WILL YOU MISS ME”?Well, Chris didn’t run away, because we let him know that he would be terribly missed…. We all need to let “whosoever, know that they are terribly missed in our lives, and they have a special place in the heart and plan of God…..
There’s something supernatural about everywhere you are…..You may not feel that your job is supernatural, or that you are supernaturally in the family you’re in, or that your have been supernaturally placed in the neighborhood you’re in….I’m thinking of the young lady who hit my car in a New England blizzard… I told her that God had brought us together, led her to the Lord, and she became a missionary… A rebellious young man who was ready to punch me out, I led him to the Lord, and he became a college campus director, planting Christian clubs in colleges around the country…. I’m thinking of a young military man that I encouraged to go to Rhema, who is a youth pastor, another young man who is an evangelist, traveling here and overseas…… Some of God’s whosoevers!
You see, God has supernaturally appointed you in theplaces you are, to reach the next missing whosoever, who is the next Reinhart Bonkey, or the next Billy Graham, or Pat Robertson, or John Kilpatrick, of Joel Osteen….
I recall the story of a young college exchange student who felt compelled to go out into her neighborhood and find some of God’s missing who-so-evers. She heard someone groaning and went into an empty, dark basement that had the stench of death, and found a young man, lying on a cot, just skin and bones, dying in the last stages of Tuberculosis… She shared the gospel with him, prayed with him to receive Christ, then prayed for his healing. That young man was saved and healed and was raised up to shake Korea with the gospel. His *…..name is Dr. Paul Yongi Cho who was used by God to build the largest full gospel church in the entire world… Just think about it, that young lady will receive a reward for everything Dr. Cho accomplished!
JOHN 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him would have eternal life”…
The huge difference in Christianity and all other religious systems, is that the one who asks us to follow him, paid the price to make it possible. Every other religious system makes demands that no one can measure up to and there is something the follower has to do in a never ending attempt to measure up but can never succeed. Scripture tells us “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God”….How amazing, that knowing this, Jesus paid the price, understanding that we would never be able to!
The question has been asked….What if JOHN 3:16 IS NOT TRUE?..... Roger Campbell said that if God had not loved the world, “Our world would be a dark, lifeless planet, hurtling through space without hope. There would be nothing to live for and no purpose for existence. It would be a world where prayers were but useless cries into the skies. Every death would be the end of personal hope and every grave a place of final and ultimate despair.”
But the truth is that every one of us here, are living, breathing evidence of the amazing love of our amazing God!
We need to discover that God’s “What-so-ever” is connected to His “Who-so-ever”….When we begin to get a heart for the Father’s missing who-so-evers, amazing miracles will happen….
Matthew 25:40 For surely I say unto you, Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these, youhave done it unto me.
Can we say that in a little different way…?
”As you have done “whatsoever”, to the least of the “Whosoevers”, you have done it unto Me.” But don’t stop there…let’s read on…
This is where it starts getting really good!!!!
Matthew 6:4 “When your alms (“whatsoever”) is done to (“whosoever”) in secret, Your Father which sees in secret Himself shall reward
you openly”.
Tony Campolo received an invitation to speak at a woman’s conference. Before the president of the conference introduced him as their guest speaker, she read a very moving letter from a missionary who was calling out for help in response to a great need on the mission field that required thousands of dollars. To Tony this missionary was just a who-so-ever, but they were God’s appointed who-so-ever!
When the president of the conference then turned to Tony Campolo and asked him if he would pray that God would provide the resources to meet this need! Tony, who is a very outspoken man, said, “No! I won’t pray for the need to be met. I believe that God has already provided the resources, and all we have to do is give it . Then, he challenged each woman in the room to follow his lead, and he placed his money on the table, and after the women had a chance to respond, all the money needed was there!!
We have a God who is serious about bringing all the missing who-so-evers, home to the kingdom, and bringing them into the place and calling He has for them.
Jesus says in Revelation 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man (any who-so-ever) will hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me”. He said if anyone will hear my voice….. Let’s hear what He’s saying today…..He knows the answer before we ask the question, He has the solution before we had the problem!!!! He’s knocking, ANSWER THE DOOR!!! The word used here is … or ar-khee….which means a feast….(answer the door and we shall feast) The word ar-khee indicates there is a ruler of the feast, because when there is a feast there is a ruler of the feast! Jesus is saying invite me for a meal and I’ll turn it into a feast for I am the ruler of the feast! It’s not enough just to hear, we need tounderstand…..
I read about a lady who had a hearing problem. One day she and her husband were driving from Tennessee to Arkansas. They were pulled over by a state trooper who asked if the husband knew how fast he was driving. The wife asked, "What did he say?” The husband replied, "HE ASKED IF I KNEW THAT I WAS SPEEDING.” Looking at the driver’s license the trooper said, "I see you’re not from around here.” The husband said, "No we are from Memphis.” The wife again asked, "What did you say?” The husband told her, "I SAID WE ARE FROM MEMPHIS.” The state trooper then commented, "You know, the meanest woman I ever met was from Memphis.” The wife again asked, "What did he say?” The husband replied, "HE SAYS HE THINKS HE KNOWS YOU!"
We need to hear what the Lord is saying!!!
Salvation is not an exclusive thing….. There are no “saved only” public bathrooms…. There are no “saved only” restaurants….(they would go broke) There are no “saved only” beaches (although there would be plenty of room on them if there were)… That day is coming, but now God is operating a “Whosoever will”… arrangement!
If God had offered salvation only to THE RICH? People like you and me would never make it. All you folks who are broke before payday even arrives—
too bad for you!
If God had offered salvation only to THE HEALTHY OR THE FIT? Some of us wouldn’t even have a CHANCE! Get your unfit self to the back of the line
… way back there!!
If God had offered salvation only to good, and righteous, and perfect people? – Then NONE of us would have a shot, and we wouldn’t ever get
a ticket in that game….
Romans 5:8 – “But God commended [showed or demonstrated] his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
If we could be good enough, do enough good works, or in any way work out or qualify for our own salvation, then Jesus would not have come…According to the well-known researcher George Barna, 51% of the population believe that "if a person is generally good, or does enough good things for others during their life, they will earn a place in Heaven." But Jesus Himself said in John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
I think of the demoniac of Gadara who was delivered from a legion of demons and my hope is renewed for all who are oppressed….
I think of the lepers who could not come near because of their condition, and then Jesus touched them and healed them and my hope and faith is renewed….
I think of Peter who knew Christ so well, yet cursed and denied him, yet was the one used to see 5,000 come to Christ on Pentecost and my faith is renewed….
When is the last time you met a rude, vulgure, cussing, mean person and said to them, “Wow, you’re just who God has been looking for. You are in the right place at the right time. Let me share with you what God wants to do for you”!!!
I remember how the Roman soldier in charge of crucifying Jesus, stood in a moment of clarity and declared “Surely this is the Son of God”… and I no longer write anyone off of God’s missing who-so-ever love list!!!
When Jesus died on the cross, there were two of the missing who-so-evers hanging on either side of him. One of them were cursing him right up to their dying breath. Both of them deserved to be there. They were the riffraff of society, common thieves, and apparentlythey were deemed incorrigible or irredeemable by society to be punished by crucifixion. They were men of dishonesty, fraud, deception and led lawless lives. But one of them, said to Jesus in faith, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” And Jesus said to him: “…Verily I say unto you, Today you shall be with me in paradise.”
If you were to ask the Lord, “who’s still missing today?” He would answer what He always has and always does…. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
And I hear in my mind a father asking Jesus for help with his afflicted son, and he said in Mark 9:22 “If You can do anything, have compassion on us, and help us. v23 And Jesus said unto him, If you can believe, all things are possible to them that believe”.
I understand that this dad was standing in place, or proxy for his son, who was unable to stand for himself…. That’s the role we have today, and we will be faithful in the roll of intercessor, (standing in place of another) knowing that Jesus will say, “I am willing”
