“If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me; if you utter worthy, not worthless, words, you will be my spokesman. Let this people turn to you, but you must not turn to them.”

Jeremiah 15:19

When will all of this nonsense stop? You know what I am talking about, the selfish loudmouths in our country think they actually speak for us. And because they are given a platform, either on cable or popular media outlets, they think they are the majority voice. And for some reason, ordinary, everyday people let them speak.

But enough is enough.

We need new voices! Have you ever met a person that truly walked with God, and it was obvious? Have you ever been with someone and when they spoke their words had weight? Those are the people we need to start listening to.

The problem, it seems, is that there are not that many people out there like this. But they are there. And when you find them you will know it right away, there is an attraction to them that makes you want to be around them and listen to them. I can count on my finger the men and women in my life that are like this. You have to look hard to find them, but if want to find them you need to first stop listening to the loudmouths because they love grabbing all the attention and sucking the air out of the room.

I had a teacher that had heavy words. I knew he walked with God because when he prayed or gave advice the fragrance of heaven was near. I don’t know how to explain it, but I could smell it.

Have you ever had anyone in your life like this?

These types of people are treasure chests, their words drip “apples of gold in pictures of silver.” Where can you find these kinds of people anymore? People who are not arguing politics and worrying about the President and hating life?

This is where you come in…

It is up to you to become a treasure chest of gold. If you want a better world, stop waiting for others to make the changes, stop letting the loudmouths have the microphone, speak up! You do it! But in order to be a treasure chest, you better have something of substance to offer others. If you don’t no one will want to listen to you.

One of my favorite anonymous quotes is this, “You need to be close enough to God that people will want to get close to you.” If you have an actual walk with God, one that isn’t duty bound or formed from forced tradition, but one that actually delights in his presence, people will beat down the doors to be with you. The truth is, the only way to change a world is to let Christ change you.

Think of it like this. Would you like to find a treasure chest in the woods? Why? Because of joy, there is hope that accompanies treasure. A treasure chest is a fun thing to think about, there is no guilt or personal responsibility in obtaining it. You don’t need to work hard to earn it, it is a free surprising gift that offers endless possibilities:

• Your eyes brighten when you look upon it.
• Your heart leaps when you come close to it.
• Your face relaxes as new dreams awaken.

If you are a treasure chest people will feel like this when they are around you. You will be an agent of hope, not a critic or purveyor of doom. You won’t be a bricklayer of guilt or a constant critic, but grace, mercy, and wisdom will flow from your words.

You will be like Jesus.

Wait a minute…isn’t that our job in the first place? To be conformed into the image of Christ? Are we not created to point people to him, to reveal him in our lives, to cause an overflowing of worship of him?

Listen to what Paul said in Galatians 1:15, “God, who set me apart from birth, and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles.”

Don’t you see, Jesus is the vine, we are the branches. We are the branches! WE ARE THE BRANCHES! If you find no joy in meeting with God, no one will find joy in meeting God through you. It is as simple as that. In fact, if you find no joy in God you will only have the same old worldly despair to offer that everyone else has.

People wallowing in despair love to listen to the loudmouths who can only criticize and complain. Despair yields despair.

But joy is rare. It is an inward appetite of pleasure that isn’t forced, coerced or demanded. It is chosen. Like a bubbling brook, it flows freely. Do you choose God? Do you choose joy? Or are you clogged up with bitterness and personal ambition?

The person who I was talking about earlier was a teacher at Moody Bible Institute named Dr. Warren Mattox. He was one of those people I know who really enjoyed God. For 10 years of his life, he was an associate pastor at a church in Dallas, Texas. He worked for Tony Evans. While there he took seminary classes in Denver, Colorado at Denver Seminary. Denver is an eight-hour drive from Dallas, and to go to class he had to make this drive twice a week. Eight hours there, eight hours back. Eight hours there, eight hours back.

A student in our preaching class asked him, “Dr. Mattox, why in the world would you do that?”

He stopped for a second and slowly answered, “I got 8 hours of uninteruppted time with God on every trip. I sang, I cried, I talked, and I talked, and I talked with my God. I wouldn’t trade those times for all the riches in the world!”

Now that is what I am talking about. And that is what America needs now. More people who are treasure chests of gold.