Whosoever Will

 Read Genesis 49

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.  Welcome to tonight’s game.  Let’s begin by welcoming the home team Chosen People.

Playing first base, number 1 in your programs but maybe not in your hearts is Reuben.  Reuben is Jacob’s firstborn.  He is the pride of the team.  He is strong and the natural leader.  He is the team’s leading scorer, though that was his downfall.  He scored with one of his father’s wives.

He is probably not making the Hall of Fame.  You thought steroid use was bad, you should try Thanksgiving dinner with the family after you slept with the mother of some of your brothers.

At pitcher and catcher are Simeon and Levi.  They can throw some heat.  Anger has ruled them before.  Do you remember when their sister Dinah was raped?  It looked like everything would get worked out with the Shechemites as Shechem the son of the king and the man who raped Dinah really wanted to marry her and was willing to go as far as having all the men in his tribe circumcised so they could take wives from Jacob’s family.

They all got circumcised and while they were still in pain, Simeon and Levi killed them all.  Those Shechemites wouldn’t rape anyone again.  That’s for sure.

I don’t think that Simeon and Levi are headed to the Hall of Fame either.

Then we come to Judah.  Through Judah will come David and the Messiah.  Judah is the epitome of perfection, well, except for that whole thing that his line would continue through the children that he had with his daughter-in-law.

He didn’t plan it that way.  Judah’s wife had died and he thought he was just making a quick stop with a prostitute on his way to see how the sheep shearing was going.

I think that we have to put Judah in the Hall of Fame because both David and the Messiah come through his line, but they aren’t putting his stats on the back of his baseball card.

Let’s do a quick catch-all here.  All the kids pitched in to loot the Shechemites after Simeon and Levi had killed all of their men. Everyone earned some shame and disgust in that endeavor.

Jacob continued with his blessings and filled the entire lineup card.  Some blessings that were a mix of history and prophecy were less remarkable than others, but we should realize that these are the original heads of the 12 Tribes of Israel that one day would enter and claim possession of the Promised Land.

Remember, Levi’s descendants would not receive a territory but would be distributed among the other tribes as priests.

As I consider this montage of blessings that Jacob pronounced, I am reminded of some rather dubious comments that have surfaced on fitness reports and performance evaluations over the years. Some are legit.  Others might be embellished a bit.

This officer is depriving a village somewhere of its idiot.

Of all the people I have ever known, he is one of them.

This officer is single-handedly responsible for 5 of the last 6 safety standdowns.

His men would follow him anywhere, mostly out of curiosity.

She sets low personal standards and then fails to achieve them.

When his IQ reaches 50, he should sell.

She has the wisdom of youth and the energy of old age.

He has a photographic memory but the lens cover is glued on.

I’m thinking if it was my turn to hear Dad’s blessing for me, I might just say pass.

Are these really the heads of the tribes that would produce God’s Chosen People?  The answer is yes and we should not be surprised. 

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob might be the patriarchs but they were not performance Allstars.  It seems that Jacob’s kids carried on the family tradition.

God chooses people. He is sovereign. He can see the heart. Your GPA, advanced degrees, good looks, the car you drive, and the clothes that you wear don’t sway him one iota.

When God chooses you, you are chosen and that’s that.  He chose you. It’s a done deal and there is no appeal.

Done deal.

No Appeal.

He might have chosen you to do great things or to reveal just how vulnerable we all are.  He might call you to lead in battle or to kneel in prayer. He might call you to teach the wisest of the wise or to bless the most broken among us.

We can make no argument that will sway God. Sound human reasoning didn’t work for Jonah or Moses. Why do you think that your own understanding will convince God of anything, especially of not choosing you?

We all fall short of the glory of God.  God calls us anyway. God chooses us anyway.

Done deal.

No Appeal.

It’s time to get Cumberland. It’s time to use some Cumberland Presbyterian language.  It’s not that prevalent in western Oklahoma, but as you have found your way into this denomination, you should understand a bit about who we are.

We are the denomination that said, we are going to the frontier with the gospel. The rest of those in the Reformed Tradition said, not so fast. You need a good education in Europe.

We said, we are partial to the centers of education in our own country.  We are going west and the gospel is coming with us.

We are going to take the good news to the wild west.  We are going to take the gospel where it is needed the most.

And conventional wisdom said, there’s nobody worthy of receiving it out there. Those seeds will not fall upon fertile soil. It’s a waste of time and effort.

And God said…

And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

Whosoever will may come!

Who are we to say that another is not worthy of the Spirit of God? Who are we to say no when God says yes?

Who are we to say who is qualified and who is not?

We all have our own histories. We have all fallen short. We by most standards don’t measure up to the right standing of God.

Those standards that do place us in right standing with God are called delusions. We all fall short.

Only in the free gift that comes from God through Christ Jesus that we have received by faith are we made right with God.  It is all his doing.

God is sovereign. God is just. God is merciful. God chose us in spite of ourselves.

God is sovereign.

We can look at Jacob’s sons and think, man those are some screwball blessings for some screwball kids or we can look in the mirror and say, whosoever will may come.

I have preached and will continue to preach that there is one church and Jesus is the head, but sometimes it’s okay to consider some of our uniqueness. It’s time to be a bit more Cumberland Presbyterian today.

“Whosoever heareth,” shout, shout the sound!

Spread the blessed tidings all the world around;

Spread the joyful news wherever man is found:

“Whosoever will may come.”

Refrain:

“Whosoever will, whosoever will,”

Send the proclamation over vale and hill;

’Tis a loving Father calls the wand’rer home:

“Whosoever will may come.”

Whosoever cometh need not delay,

Now the door is open, enter while you may;

Jesus is the true, the only Living Way:

“Whosoever will may come.”

“Whosoever will,” the promise  is secure,

“Whosoever will,” forever must endure;

“Whosoever will,” ’tis life forevermore:

“Whosoever will may come.”

The term that I use to describe Cumberland Presbyterians is unique.  It’s much kinder than saying oddballs or knuckleheads.

When the gospel was headed to the frontier, we were called—not necessarily in a complimentary way—those Whosoevers.

We need to be ok with who we are. We might be more like Jacob’s kids that we want to admit. We need to be who we are. We are those whosoevers who have already come.

If you went to a Billy Graham outdoor event, they would sing Just As I Am as the hymn of invitation.  It’s a good choice and people came out of the bleachers by the thousands.

When we worship or go to camp or finally get to have a bonfire—don’t rule that out.  There will probably be a day when the ground will be covered in snow and the wind is not too bad and you can roast dogs and do smores by a big fire, and we will sing Whosoever Will.

We will sing Whosoever Will here momentarily.  I will tell you that whatever tempo you are singing with, you need to pick it up a bit.  This is our song. It’s an upbeat song.  It’s a message that we should be able to sing with firsthand testimony and enthusiasm.

Whosoever will may come!

Amen.