Certainly Noah faced the same kind of criticism for building a vessel such as had never been built, and for a reason which had never existed: a flood. And young Joseph was virulently hated by his brothers for having the dreams God gave him. Joseph’s brothers were convinced that Joseph was so self-centered that his dreams came from his own proud heart. There was nothing that Joseph could do-nothing-to persuade his brothers to reconsider their conclusions concerning him. They hated him, fully convinced that they were justified in doing so, but the truth was so much different from what they imagined. Jesus’s family and friends thought that he was mentally deranged (Mk. 3:21), and the elders of Israel were certain that he was a demon-possessed half-breed (Jn. 8:48).

Then there was Jeremiah, to whom God had given terrifying revelations concerning the coming destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. He labored in earnest but in vain to warn the inhabitants of the holy city that God was so displeased with their wickedness that He had determined to destroy both them and the nation. The clergy of his day painted a picture of Jeremiah that persuaded the people to see Jeremiah as an enemy of the nation rather than the very good friend that he was. He was ostracized, beaten, thrown into a pit of stinking mud, put on trial for his life, mocked, jailed, ridiculed, and finally was carried captive into Egypt-not by Egyptians but by Jews who refused to believe that God had spoken through him. Jeremiah’s own family conspired to kill him. He was accused of being a foreign agent, a traitor to the people of God. Why else, they thought, would he prophesy such nonsense? His message certainly could not be true; everybody knewthat. There was no question, in their minds, that he was lying. That wasn’t even an issue. So, the mystery that occupied the thoughts of his contemporaries was, “What was Jeremiah’s real motive for his prophecies?” It positively could not be love for God's people. There was no chance of that. Why, he wouldn’t even attend any weddings or funerals, claiming that God told him not to do so! What kind of weirdo was he? Why couldn’t he just get that chip off his shoulder and get along with everybody?

Every time God sends a man for the good of His people, it seems to be taken by men as a signal to go into a frenzy of suspicious speculation as to that man’s true motive. Every time the truth is spoken, man seems to take that as a cue to play his favorite guessing game: What's This Man Up To? The man who has really heard from God and dares to proclaim what he has heard, finds that he is like a rare species, the most valued prize of Satan's sportsmen. It seems always to be open season on servants of God. And ministers ordained by men would bag one of us a week, if there were enough of us out here. Nevertheless, “being reviled, we bless, being persecuted, we suffer it, being defamed, we entreat. We are made as the offscouring of all things. As deceivers, and yet true. As unknown, and yet well known . . . As poor, yet making many rich.” Many a spiritual trophy hunter has decorated his mantle with the broken heart of one who dared to stand for the truth. Prized trophies for those who, by slander and guile, have killed the influence of a man of God in his community. Jeremiah dearly loved his people, yet he could not prevail against the prophets who belittled him and taught God’s people what they thought was best. Alone, de­spised, and discouraged, he cried, “Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets.”

Sometimes, men play a variation of this game, called, “Who Is This Guy?” It's a game of mystery that no man has ever yet solved. Passing through the territory of northern Israel, Jesus asked his disciples how the game was going. “He asked his disciples, ‘Whom do men say that I am?’ And they said, ‘Some say that thou art John the Baptist [come back from the dead]. Some, Elijah, and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets’” (Mt. 16:13-14). They were all wrong, but that didn't matter. Men love playing the game. They guessed that Jeremiah was a Babylonian spy. They guessed that Amos was just a wannabe prophet looking for a good paying position when he came to Bethel with the word of the Lord. But they were all wrong.

While men played their guessing games (and they are serious about the games they play-just watch their sports events on television), the humble servants of God labored on through triumphs and sorrows. They “had trial of cruel mockings and scourging, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented (of whom the world was not worthy). They wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.” Men guessed that they were unfit company, unworthy of serious consideration, but the truth was just the opposite. The earth was blessed to have the soles of their feet to touch its dirt.

No godly man tries to be an odd-ball character. It isn't godly to try to be different for difference sake. Some think that wearing strange clothes indicates a depth of spirituality. Just the opposite is true. Dressing different from the mainstream of one’s society is just a shallow attempt of the flesh to impress gullible men. An odd manner of clothing is not holy; on the contrary, it is a clear indication of ungodliness. Ancient false prophets wore distinct clothing “to deceive” (Zech. 13:4). Whenever men try to make themselves “strangers and pilgrims” on earth, they make themselves foolish. God’s true servants do not try to make themselves odd or different just to draw attention to themselves. In fact, we who serve Christ must strive to be as much like this world as possible-but without its sin.

Jesus showed us this when he became one of us. “In all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren” (Heb. 2:17). So, we too should strive to be as much like the world as we can be-except for sin. Saints who know God dress the way normal people in their culture dress. They stay abreast of what is happening in the world, so that they may speak intelligently with men concerning the events that God has caused to transpire. Were he living on the earth today, Jesus would not wear a robe and sandals . He would dress as a normal, respectable citizen. The Word which his Father gave him to speak eventually made him persona non grata, but it was his custom to attend social functions, and to do so respectfully. The point is that it was not Jesus the man that men despised; it was his message.

What set Jesus apart from other men was not an odd-ball disposition. Nor was he distinguished by stylishness or beauty. According to Isaiah 53, Jesus was not a handsome man, nor did he have an appealing style. Jesus did not attract attention by his manner of dress, nor by behaving arrogantly toward the powers that were in place in his time, nor yet was his hallmark weird religious behavior. What set Jesus apart is the only thing that should set any man apart from other men: fellowship with God, spiritual power, faith, compassion, zeal, and knowledge of the truth. Anyone attracted to the real Jesus was, and is, attracted only by these holy things. There is nothing else he offers us, because there is nothing else he is or cares to be.

God has given us a part in communicating the truth to His people concerning fundamental elements of the faith. Why us? I have no idea. I know many people whom, if I had been in God’s place, I would have chosen rather than me. And I think the others working with me here feel pretty much the same way about themselves. There are so many others who, it seems, would have so much more impact with the truth than we have had, or perhaps ever will have. Be that as it may, however, the task, for the moment at least, is ours. And true to form, men are guessing constantly as to our true motives. We strive to walk worthy of the calling wherewith we are called.

At a worship service near here several years ago, one elderly sister testified that since she had received the holy Ghost, she’d been accused of “everything except burning a mill pond.” Likewise, the charges against us here range from the childish to the bizarre. At various times, I personally have been called a false prophet, a "smooth talker", an adulterer, a child molester, a cult leader whose “followers” need to be de-programmed, and, if you can believe it, we have even been rumored to have sacrificed children in a pasture outside of town! And by many who are my “kinsman according to the flesh”, I am avoided and pitied as a petty, unloving man whose once great potential was swallowed up by a warped, narrow-minded view of life. And why? Because we wear long white robes and chant in the moonlight? No. We don't do that. Because we practice weird ceremonial rituals? No. We don’t have any. Because we cut ourselves off from others and have no ordinary relationships, or because we, as some have wickedly done, found some strange way to justify immorality and practice it? No. That isn’t us. Is it because we have no love of the family of God? God knows. Then, what is it? Why these wild guessing games concerning our character and labor for the precious people of God? (And our own people, pentecostal and charismatic folk, seem to be the most vicious of all!) Why the cruel accusations that resemble not even the shadow of truth? For no other reason than that we have heard from God, and men whose ministries are not ordained by God feel threatened when God really does something. But even then, the truth is not against such men, but for them. If they would only receive it, their ministries would be transformed into what they now claim it to be: of God.

We know that a person is not born again until he is baptized with the holy Ghost, according to Acts 2:4. We know that the custom of “getting saved” that developed in the 20th century is not of God but is of the spirit of antichrist, and that it quieted the Spirit in the congregation. We know that unless a man’s deeds please God, he will not be saved in the end, whether he has received the holy Ghost or not. We know that the body of Christ cannot be joined, that we must be baptized by the Spirit into it. None of these are deep, twisted, obscure doctrines. They are basic to the faith, but they are denied everywhere. Why? And why are they who confess these truths so hated? Can you tell me?

“Consider the cost”, Jesus advised. He knew, as no one better could have known, that if you sincerely pursue and love the truth, then people, even many of God’s own, will think that something is wrong with you, and will be angrily certain that they know what it is. If you are one who is willing to turn from error and confess the simple truths of God, you had better be certain that your mind is made up now and your armour is buckled on. In the eternal scheme of things, the games that mean play are indeed nothing but games. But here on earth, the games men play are serious business. Sometimes, as many an humble and true servant of God has learned, it has been a deadly serious business.