IF YOU BUILD IT, HE WILL COME

“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” (Galatians 6:7-8)

“IF YOU BUILD IT, HE WILL COME.” That’s the famous supernatural and mystical line from the film “Field of Dreams”. Field of Dreams is my favorite film. It’s one of those kind of movies that I could probably watch three hundred times, and still not get tired of. Ironically, some of my fellow evangelical Christians will have a very difficult time with my love of this film. Yes, it could probably be considered a “New Age” film. Certainly, it’s literal message is not Biblical. NO, if you build a first class baseball field, ball players from 1919 are not going to show up and play ball! “Moonlight” Graham is not going to come and prevent your little girl from choking. You Dad is not going to show up as a young man and play catch with you. The film is NEVER meant to be taken literally, but if you look at that film as a metaphor, it’s very powerful.

It’s been a week since I have posted on the blog. I was going to write something this evening which would be interesting, inspirational and “safe”. But as I reflected on it, I just CAN’T write the piece I’d intended. Instead, I’m writing a very “unsafe” piece...one which may get me in trouble...one which some folks may not understand... and may harshly criticize.

But that’s a vivid example of how you follow the Scripture verse I opened with, and the philosophy of “If you build it, he will come”. For some of my evangelical Christian brothers and sisters who just CAN’T get into “Field of Dreams” then watch a great Christian film which you’ll feel much better about: that’s “Facing the Giants”. It’s not a baseball movie, it’s a football movie, but it has a strong message about faith...believing...stepping out to believe God for the impossible...

That’s what this piece is about.

Listen, 2010 has not been an easy year for me. Like Elijah and the guy who followed in his footsteps hundreds of years later (John the Baptist) I’ve sunk to some of the lowest points of despair and hopelessness of my life this year. But I’m still alive and kicking. I want to thank many wonderful people who have prayed for me this year, and who have literally battled the forces of darkness in their prayers. No kidding, I’VE FELT YOUR PRAYERS! Although I’m very weak in myself, and in me, in Bob Baril (naturally speaking) is NO good thing, yet the prayers of God’s people have given me the faith and courage to look to Jesus the Author and Finisher of my faith (see Hebrews 12) and press on!

I feel very strongly that this piece is for at least a couple of people- maybe more. Whoever it’s for, I hope and pray that you’ll read it and read it again and again and again...maybe cut and paste it and save it and print it out. Listen, I’m nothing, but the principles and truths in this piece are what I hold onto and a big part of what are keeping me going at this difficult time. Jesus said in Matthew 11:15, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear”. Are you hearing?!

Listen, you know what’s KILLING and HAMPERING and MAIMING and CRIPPLING the church in America and the Christian people of America? It’s what my good friend Ron Sebastian calls “the spirit of I.B.M.” No, I’m really not talking about International Business Machines. I’m talking about being “INTENTIONALLY BUSINESS MINDED”. Now, don’t get me wrong. Yes, we all have to be practical up to a point. If I’m buying a car, for instance, I have to figure what it’s going to cost me to buy it, then sales tax, insurance, excise tax, registration, title, etc. If I’m buying a house, there are credit checks and closing costs, and the need of legal representation, etc. I’m not against any of that stuff. I’m for it. BUT MOST CHRISTIANS AND CHURCHES NEVER GET BEYOND THAT LEVEL!! So many of the Christians of one hundred years ago believed God for the impossible. They prayed in their jobs. They prayed in their clothing. They prayed in their “daily Bread”. They believed God for the impossible, and many times THE IMPOSSIBLE HAPPENED. My friend Dave Milley who reads this blog can tell you about his Dad, Norman Milley, who was one of those kind of people. He’d be about 110 if her were still living. Listen, that guy prayed for the impossible, and many times IT HAPPENED! That guy wasn’t perfect, but that guy walked and talked with God. He worked construction. He wasn’t some flaky ethereal guy. But he really believed God and His Word, and Norman lived that uncompromisingly.

You may be the most humble ordinary person in the world. You may have had some great failures in your life. You may have actually felt worthless. (Sometimes I have- and that’s LIE from the pit of Hell!). You may feel God can never forgive you and can never bless and use you (that’s also a big lie!). What has God promised you in your spirit? (I know if you’re not a born again Christian, this is all foreign to you...in that case YOU need to come to know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord, and if you’ll e-mail me, I can tell you more about that.) One Sunday afternoon during the summer of 1979, I went to Knollwood Memorial Park in Canton and sought the Lord there with all my heart. God spoke to me- NOT audibly...but in that “still small voice” internally that Believers know about... and told me one day I’d be an assistant pastor at a particular large church. I thought that was crazy and it did not seem possible. Yet, two years later I was put on staff at that large church. I’ve had all sorts of things like that take place in my life. That’s why I know how important it is to really seek the Lord and trust Him no matter how foolish it seems, or frankly, no matter what you have to go through in the meantime.

So many times we become judgmental. We look down our nose at others. We become so concerned about the “speck” in our brother or sister’s eye and forget about the BEAM in our own eye. This is really for somebody right now. FORGET about the “speck” in your brother or sister’s eye. Forget about it. Pray for them and leave it to God. Let God deal with the BEAM in your own eye. What is He saying to YOU? Are YOU standing in the way? Is your pride standing in the way of what God wants to do? Is your opinion standing in the way? Listen, sometimes mine has been. But what about YOU?

We Pentecostals can become so cocky about feeling that we’re “led by the Holy Spirit” and sometimes we’re the most “intentionally business minded” and carnal people of all. Let me tell you about George and Lorraine Barnett. They’re still alive and around 80 and I hope they won’t mind, but somehow I don’t think they’ll mind me telling this story: They were from Baptist and Presbyterian backgrounds. They’re not into “speaking in tongues” or any of that kind of stuff at all. But they do know the Lord. Back in 1959 they were a young couple with a toddler looking to move from Boston to the suburbs. They looked at a lot of houses. They looked at a new ranch style house in Canton. It was really nothing special. They found their dream house in Braintree. They put a deposit on the Braintree house and were proceeding ahead with buying and moving to their dream house. But one day, God spoke (in that “still small voice”) to Lorraine Barnett. He told her to NOT buy the house in Braintree...instead to buy the house in Canton...that He had a work for them to do there. The Barnetts are rock solid sensible people...not “flaky” at all. But Lorraine knew this was God. They backed out of the Braintree deal. They bought the Canton residence. They joined a Baptist church in Sharon. Ten years passed and NOTHING happened as far as spiritual things were concerned. In 1970, their son George Jr. led me to personal faith in Jesus Christ. Shortly thereafter, my sister Dianne became a born-again Christian. There was a mini-revival and a number of young people who were all students at Canton High School became born-again Christians. One of them, Glenn Pickett is today a professor of music at a Christian college in southern California. His brother Larry died a few years ago of A.L.S. Larry died as a born-again Christian...led to the Lord by his brother Glenn. Today Larry is in Heaven. Do you think it was important for Lorraine Barnett to listen to God and obey Him? Had she been “sensible” and “intentionally business minded” she’d have moved to Braintree and I’d have gone to Hell...along with Glenn, and Larry and Dianne and others...

I believe this is a prophetic word to some of you: PLEASE GET OUT OF THE WAY. DROP YOUR STINKIN’ THINKIN’. DROP THE I.B.M. STUFF. What is God telling you to do? What is His call on your life? I know of a guy who was a T.V. repairman (Dick Lawless) who is now around 80, but who led scores of people to Christ on television repair calls in the 1970s and 1980s. What’s God calling YOU to do?

Walking forward in faith is not easy. In “Field of Dreams” the Kevin Costner character looks outside at his baseball field filling up with snow. He couldn’t pay the mortgage. He looked like a fool. In “Facing the Giants” the main characters also have their very dark moments when they feel very foolish. Listen, sometimes when you follow God you have to be willing to look very foolish and to become very vulnerable. Christian people will try to discourage you and will push their “I.B.M.” stuff on you. Remember when Peter told Jesus he did NOT have to go to the cross and Jesus told Peter, “Get thee behind me, SATAN!”? Peter gave Jesus an “I.B.M.” speech there if I’ve ever heard one.

Again, this is for at least a couple of people...maybe more. What is God saying to your spirit? What calling is on your life? What are you doing to THWART that? How can you get out of the way and let God have His way with you?

The end of “Facing the Giants” is a very moving scene of a bunch of high school boys, one by one, proclaiming that nothing is impossible with God. And, you know the end of “Field of Dreams”...the lead character playing catch with his Dad. I had a testy relationship with my own father, and that scene always brings tears to my eyes.

Listen, it’s really true. Read the Bible passage I started with again.

And, if you build it, he will come.