August 6th, 2000, Sunday Evening


-- FAITH PROMISE MISSIONS CONFERENCE --
DAY 4
"The Second Line"
The Importance of the Second Lineman
(Special Guest Missionary: Pastor Pat Boulton)

OPENING: Exodus 17:9-12, KJV


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Exodus 17:9-12: Many of us are familiar with the story of Moses, Aaron, and Hur and their battle with Amalek. As Moses kept his staff above his head, his team would win the battle. As Moses got weak, he needed help to keep his staff above his head.

In church, there are 1st liners and 2nd liners.

Moses held a very important leadership role--a 1st liner position--just like a king, president, sheriff, governor, or a preacher. But what good is a...

• king without followers
• sheriff with no one to protect
• pastor with no one to minister to

It takes more than one man to make it happen. It takes a TEAM (Together We Achieve More). And team members are primarily the "second line."

Sure... first liners like the pastor get all the prestige, honor, glory and receive (sometimes too many) accolades. But remember we serve the King of Kings not the pastor:

• We don't vacuum the church carpet or cut the church lawn for the pastor but we do it unto God.
• You don't clean your house for your spouse, you clean it unto God.

There is no honor to magnify without the second line. What is a...

• Captain without his soldiers
• President without people to follow

Exodus 17:9-12: In this story, Moses had help from Aaron and Hur.

• Moses' arms were being held up by Aaron and Hur
• This is an example of second liners holding up a man of God--Moses.
• This is a picture of prayer
  
  
• One man cannot cover all the "hedges and highways"--we need second liners.

TESTIMONY (True story): One day, a very wealthy, Muslim, 65 year old man named Mr. Hussein was walking down the street. As he passed a local church, the 8 year old son of the pastor said, "Excuse me, mister, but my daddy is starting church in a few minutes and you're invited to attend." Mr. Hussein stopped and went in the church. He sat through 15 minutes of the sermon and got up and left. However, about 20 minutes later he had returned to hear the rest of the sermon. Turns out that 20 minute period he left the church was to go pray in the traditional Muslim style.

As time went on, Mr. Hussein stayed. He listened to prayer sermons and even went on the church hayride. Imagine this 65 year old wealthy man dressed in a cashmere suit with a silver tie was having a ball throwing hay around! And after two and a half years, the church finally won the Muslim's heart and Mr. Hussein was saved

... and all to the credit of the unspoken hero--the second line--that eight year old son of the pastor.

There are qualifications to being a second liner:

• Proverbs 6:16-19:
  
  
  • Not having a "proud look":
    
    
    • Not picking up loose pieces of paper lying on the church floor or parking lot
    • Not tithing
    • Not giving money to Faith Promise missions efforts
    
    
  • Not having a "lying tongue":
    
    
    • You can't be effectual or dependable if you lie
    • Your sincerity in prayer/giving/following is all in vain if you subsequently go home and yell and scream at your children and then watch pornography.
  
  
• Correction must be immediate and physical. Pull the Osh-Kosh's down, put the child over your knee, use your right leg to hold the child's leg's down, your left arm to hold the child's hands down, and use your right hand to spank that behind until the point is driven to the child.
  
  
  • Don't punish when the rules were previously unknown or if you're punishing in anger not correction.
  • Right after the spanking, kneel with the child and pray this doesn't happen again.
  
  
• A second liner must not undermine the work of God
  
  
  • Must not "sew discord" among fellow church members. (I.e., "Psst--Brother Earl... Did you hear what Brother Roy did after church yesterday?")
    
    
  • If you're not part of the solution, shutup.
  
  
• Acts 6:3: The Holy Ghost and wisdom go together. Once you're saved, you have the Holy Ghost within you. If you want it bad enough, the Lord will liberally pour out wisdom in you.
  
  
• A good second liner follows orders even with question.
  
  
  • True story: Pastor Boulton thought it would be really cool to use church building funds to create a first class sanctuary. Pastor Boulton's pastor said he would pray about the idea because at the time, funds were approved for the building of an education center/all purpose building. In the meantime, Pastor Boulton was to take charge of the church for a week while his pastor went on vacation. During this time, Pastor Boulton thought he was harmlessly "taking the church's temperature" regarding an interest in the church sanctuary. In reality, Pastor Boulton had created a divide with a small group of those now wanting a sanctuary and the rest for the all-purpose building.
    
    With the church divided on the issue, the pastor returned from vacation and called Pastor Boulton to visit him. The main pastor said, "Brother Boulton, you have sewed discord in the church by getting a small group to believe we're using funds to buy a sanctuary. I charge you to go back and undo this mess."

We are all part of the body of Christ--both first and second liners.

What it means to "PRAY WITHOUT CEASING"

• This means to pray all the time
• You're constantly thinking about the Lord in all you do
• You lose track as to whether you're talking to the Lord or yourself
  
  
• "Fingers on your hand" prayer analogy--look at your hand when you think about what to pray for:
  
  
  • Your longest finger is for wisdom among our leadership
  • Your shortest/last finger is to pray for yourself
  • Your weakest finger (ring finger) is to pray about weak marriages and commitments
  • ...Anything else YOU can think of!

It takes "grit" to be the second liner

• Takes traction and action
• While first line gets the spotlight, the second line holds that spotlight

TESTIMONY (True story): 12 years ago, there was a 34 year old man with long hair who had a severe stroke that prevented him from driving. He had a severe left foot drag when he walked and he lived for beer and cigarettes. As Pastor Boulton kept trying to reach him at home with God's word, the man continually refused.

Finally, as Pastor Boulton was preaching a service one day, he heard the sound of a foot dragging down the aisle. Pastor looked up and saw the man coming toward him. The man said, "Pastor, I want to get right--right now." Pastor said, "How'd you like the job of church bus driver? We'll get you all the necessary extras put on and a ball for the steering wheel and everything..."

Within three months, the man became sincerely faithful to God and was the official church bus driver. He has only missed 3 days driving the bus in the last 12 years!

CLOSER

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True story: General Booth of the Salvation Army attended a Methodist church. This church segregated the men and woman in that the women could not walk on the floor in front of the altar and were confined to lofts above the main floor. General Booth proposed to the church a giving program to help the indigent and the poor. The church responded they don't have an interest in helping those people. At that moment, general Booth's wife shouted from a top in the lofts, "HONEY--WE GOT EACH OTHER AND GOD AND THAT'S ALL WE NEED!!"

So General Booth and his wife started the giving program themselves. And when he died, police didn't carry rifles next to his casket. They carried mops. They carried mops because of all the tears of those who benefited from General Booth's program called the Salvation Army.

...mourning and remembrance from the second line (which can be compared to the death of Jesus--we are that second line).

Imagine millions of people in a bottomless well holding on to the end of a rope from the top of the well. Faith Promise Missions giving is holding that rope. Those hands holding the rope are hands folded in prayer--us.

...don't let go. Support your Faith Promise missionaries!


-- END MISSIONS CONFERENCE --