Robert Robinson was born in 1735 in Norfolk, England to poor
parents. When Robert was 8 his father died. When he was 14 he was sent by his
mother to London to learn how to be a barber.
There in London he became involved with a gang of lawbreakers
and carousers. For three years he pursued the passions of his flesh. But then
one night, at age 17, he attended a meeting where George Whitefield was
preaching. He and his friends came to mock the words of Whitefield, but he came
away converted.
Several years later he felt called to preach. He entered the
school of ministry and within a few more years he became a Methodist pastor.
Years later he left the Methodist Church and moved to Cambridge, England to
undertake pastoral duties for the Baptists. Here he became known as more than a
pastor. He was known as a theologian and hymn writer. He wrote theological
treatises and many hymns.
When Robinson was 23 he wrote perhaps his most famous hymn,
“Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” In its second stanza he refers to the words of I Samuel
7:12 where Samuel is said to have taken a stone and called its name,
“Ebenezer”, as a symbol of God’s power and faithfulness. Robinson refers to it
this way, “Here I raise my Ebenezer – hither by thy help I’ve come.”
Yet in the third stanza he says, “Prone to wander, Lord I
feel it – prone to leave the God I love.” What Robinson writes in verse three
is prophetic. After years of following Jesus he wanders from the pathway and
once again lives a life characterized by lapses into sin, instability, and spurious
teaching.
The story is told that one day he’s riding a stagecoach when
he notices a woman deeply engrossed in a hymn book. She’s humming a hymn, and
when she sees him looking her way she says, “Do you know this hymn?” Robinson
stares at her saying, “Know it? I wrote it.” The hymn was “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing.”
Robinson said, “Madam, I am the poor unhappy man who wrote that hymn many years
ago, and I would give a thousand worlds if I had the feelings I had when I
wrote them.” Of course the answer to Robert Robinson’s desperate longing was
the same one he discovered at 17. The words of this hymn contain two
significant truths – we can wander and the Lord never does.
This third week of our series, “Fully Alive” we turn to the
life and ministry of Jesus. From Joseph, to Esther, to Jesus!
We will be in Luke 24 where two disciples (unnamed) are
walking away from Jerusalem and toward Emmaus. It’s Easter afternoon and they
are walking away! Like Robinson they are dispirited and lost in their own self-contemplation.
They have left their brothers and sisters in Jerusalem, not believing a word of
the news that Jesus is alive. This familiar text – Luke 24:13-35 - contains
much more truth than is often seen. The VBS question for the week is: “How can
you live like Jesus is still at work in this world?” It’s a question to which
those two guys on that road think they have an answer. Before Jesus shows up
they’re dead wrong. After He leaves they not only know the truth, they’ve
experienced it all over again.
In preparation for Sunday’s message, “Walking toward the
Sunset”, you may wish to consider the following:
- What is a disciple?
- How did one become a disciple in Jesus’ day?
- What are the evidences that none of Jesus’ disciples qualified to follow Him?
- How does Jesus totally abrogate rabbinic practice of His day in calling His disciples?
- How far and in what direction is Emmaus from Jerusalem?
- How does Jesus’ behavior in this text mirror His behavior three years earlier?
- How cogent is the discussion the two disciples are having as they walk along? Why does Jesus ask them about it in verse 7?
- On what grounds does Jesus call them foolish in verse 25?
- Why do they invite Him in verse 28?
- How does Jesus impart His grace to them? What difference does it make in their lives?
