Jack “Murf the Surf” Murphy is an author, artist, sportsman, musician, and now a Christian motivational speaker. He gained notoriety in 1964 for the Jewel Robbery of the Century when he and a partner stole the J.P. Morgan Gem collection and the Star of India, (largest Star Sapphire in the world), from the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.
For that caper and other serious crimes, Murf spent 21 years in New York and Florida prisons. In 1986, he was released from prison on life parole. In 2000, his parole was completely terminated.
So the other day a couple of guys came out to Honey Lake and I invited them to our Honey Lake church service this weekend where Murf will be speaking with his buddy, country music star Clifton Jantsky. It turns out that one of the guys I was talking to was a former Miami cop and was intimately familiar with the details of the criminal case against Jack Murphy. He declined to come hear him speak because he said he knew for a fact that Murphy was guilty of committing a very serious crime.
Hmmm…I’ve committed a bunch of very serious crimes myself, but God forgave me those sins and he forgave Murphy as well. This ex-cop’s self-righteous attitude is exactly the kind of attitude that I don’t want to prevail in our church and ministry. Sorry folks but judgmental condemning people are not representative of Christ.
John 3:17 states: For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Jesus was asked to judge a gal caught in the very act of adultery. He asked those who wanted to stone her to death for her crime that whosoever among them that was without sin should cast the first stone. No one even threw a pebble.
After her accusers melted away beginning with the oldest, “Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
“No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
Jesus was clear about His mission: “As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it.” We are instructed to follow Him. Our job is not to judge or condemn people for their sins, but point others towards His saving grace in the same spirit.
To Jesus everyone has sinned and is guilty of serious crimes punishable by everlasting death. To society there is a distinction. For example if you tell a lie about how much money you make in order to impress your neighbor, it’s no big deal to society; in fact everyone tells a little white lie now and then. But suppose you tell that same lie on your tax form to the government. Well now that is a crime and you will go to prison for it. The same society that will wink and nod at the little white lie we told to impress our neighbor will now look upon us as a lowlight ex-con criminal scumbag.
God looks at it differently: “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.”
Murf’s book “Jewels for the Journey” and a TV documentary he directed, “San Quentin Homecoming Reunion” both won Hollywood Angel Awards for Evangelism. In 1986, Murf was on the team that produced the National Prison Invasion where 20,000 volunteers went into 485 prisons across America and Canada, where on one weekend alone, they led 25,000 inmates to the Lord. For 22 years Jack was a speaker, trainer, and the International Director for Bill Glass Champions for Life Prison Ministry and School of Evangelism, based in Dallas, Texas. Since 2000, CFL has trained, equipped, and taken over 100,000 Christian volunteers into 3,000 prisons and jails where they led over 500,000 men, women, and juveniles to Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jack Murphy loves Jesus as much as anyone I know. I was trying to line him up for Preston Scott’s Tallahassee talk radio show that will air at 8:30 this morning and had trouble catching up with him because he was out on the west coast working for the Lord. Finally I get this e-mail from him:
Bob,
Good WFTD!!
Got in late last night from a Bee Brain week in Washington and Oregon.
- Did 3 television programs for Dr. Jonathan Hansen’s World Ministries International (Google this wild man),
- 3 church services
- 2 FGBMFI lunches (been associated with this group since 1985),
- AGLOW service (awesome missionary organization led mainly by on fire Spirit filled ladies)
- Russian radio/TV show (Christian) 240,000 Russians in the Portland/Vancouver area
- Hospital visits
- State prison chapel service.
After Honey Lake Church this weekend it’s into Puerto Rico to meet with prison officials, churches, and friends who will be involved with the April prison visit. Oh yes, at Easter, I do the opening Sunrise service prayer and some announcing at the big surfing contest in Cocoa Beach (second longest running surf event in the world – a partner of mine started it in 1965).
If anyone doesn’t want to attend church services with this great seemingly tireless man of God because of some crime or crimes he might have committed decades ago, before he was forgiven his sins/crimes by Jesus Christ and saved by His loving grace, shame on you.
Murphy will be joined at the church service this weekend by country music legend Clifton Jantsky who grew up leading his band in honkytonks and bars all over Texas spending his time hard drinking, chasing women, and sinning until finally at age 27 Jesus found him and changed his life.
Also Terry Warren will join Murphy. Terry is yet another sinner who followed the world from FSU football stardom, to the Dallas Cowboys, to the bright lights of Hollywood, and singing in Nashville, all the while sinning like a low down skunk before God found him and changed his life.
And finally I will join Murf, and lest you forget I was a sociopath, alcoholic, meth addict, stone cold violent criminal who by the grace of God was forgiven my black sins.
We will be giving our testimony, singing praises to our glorious God, and telling others how their lives can be transformed too. I might mention too that all of us aforementioned scumbags will not only be at Honey Lake Church this weekend, but we will be in heaven too; for eternity! So if anyone doesn’t like people like us being in church with them or for eternity in heaven, there is another viable option, you can opt to go to hell instead…
Have a great weekend and go to (Honey Lake) Church this weekend!
Eccl. 7:20
Not a single person on earth is always good and never sins.