SAFETY!

I was preaching at one of the megachurches in the DFW area the other day, and I got there a bit early. The pastor and I were catching up over caffeine and preparing to pray when I noticed three stalwart, stout, sturdy, stern men position themselves behind the two of us. All three had those odd black microphone deals clipped to their ties, with wires leading to parts unknown.

Noticing my apprehensive glance (had the TV police from the UK gotten on my trail again [an old story]?), the pastor quickly attempted to put me at ease. “Oh, here’s Dick, Dan, and Dave,” he introduced. “They are … your … detail.”
“My what?” I exclaimed.
“Well, you know, the church is close to a major freeway, and who knows who might walk in here. So we do have a bit of security for those up on the stage.”
My detail. In other words, bodyguards.

Spying the bewildered look on my face, Dick—the head honcho of the pack—came over. In a conspiratorial whisper he said, “Son, we’re for real.” And leaning towards me, after a furtive glance around, he undid his jacket button and pointed to his ample waistline.

There it was. Firepower. Iron. He (and I assume the rest of the burly entourage also) was packing some serious heat on their persons.

That’s when I realized that preaching had now become dangerous business! You thought preaching was all about Greek and Hebrew exegesis, intricate manipulations of hermeneutics and deft contortions of rhetoric, eye contact and fancy gestures, and all that kind of stuff, didn’t you? Pshaw! That was in the good old days. Now, ladies and gentlemen, preaching has become dangerous business, not to be undertaken by the faint of heart. I’m shopping online for Kevlar right now.

(Of course, when I told my Dad about this, he guffawed skeptically. “Protect you? They were protecting the church from you.” I must note here that Jesus was right about that family stuff: You ain’t got no honor in your hometown … or even in your own home, for cryin’ out loud!!)

Anyhow …

What with the lethal attacks in a Colorado Springs megachurch late last year and all that, I suppose churches do have a responsibility to keep matters secure, and to be proactive in terms of safety issues.

Nonetheless, it was a good reminder about the dangers of ministry. At Dallas Seminary’s first chapel this semester, our Chancellor, Dr. Swindoll, warned the students and the rest of the Seminary community that we had huge targets drawn on our backs—targets for the evil one.

Indeed! Probably true for every believer seeking to live a life pleasing to his/her Lord.

… our struggle is not
against flesh and blood,
but against the rulers,
against the powers,
against the world forces
of this darkness,
against the spiritual forces
of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 6:11–12

Dick was on my tail all morning that day, discreetly watching my every move and sitting right behind me in the front of the church. But you know whom we have on our side … all the time? The Almighty God who is able to keep us from every vile and virulent attack.

What then shall we say to these things?
If God is for us, who is against us?
Romans 8:31

On our side, by our side—our safety, our succor, our sustenance. And we wear His armor. Some serious firepower that.

Put on the full armor of God
that you may be able to stand ….
Ephesians 6:10

Thanks be to God!

FREE!

Ever gotten paid for something you didn’t do? I did.

Last weekend, I caught the last flight out of Dallas before Southwest Airlines shut down its operations in Love Field anticipating the ravages of Hurricane Ike. I was headed to Arkansas for a preaching assignment.

All went well … almost, until Ike decided to follow me to AR.

Saturday night, he did his malevolent stuff there and moved on to parts northward. Sunday morning dawned bright and clear—lots of blue sky, plenty of bright sunshine, delightfully balmy temps—but most of Hot Springs Village, AR, awoke (if they had gotten any sleep, that is) to downed trees and power outages.

Village Bible Church, left without power that morning, canceled its services. And I, the preacher, was left powerless. Had sermon, but no pulpit.

The church, however, was gracious enough to pass on to me their speaker’s honorarium—for not preaching! And so I got something for nothing. I had experienced grace. Again.

Unmerited favor. And, theologically, the only way for sinful mankind to satisfy God’s requirement for absolute holiness. Grace.

For by grace you have been
saved through faith;
and that not of yourselves,
it is the gift of God;
not as a result of works ….
Ephesians 2:8–9

I did nothing to merit it. I can do nothing to pay it back.

He saved us,
not on the basis of deeds
which we have done …,
but according to His mercy.
Titus 3:5

Amazing grace, and all because God loved us.

But God, being rich in mercy,
because of His great love
with which He loved us …,
made us alive together with Christ
(by grace you have been saved) ….
Ephesians 2:4–5

Someone rightly observed that GRACE stands for God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense!

… the surpassing riches
of His grace in kindness
toward us in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 2:7

Grace! Freely given. Free for us, but somebody had to pay the price.

… you were not redeemed with
perishable things like silver or gold
… but with precious blood, as of
a lamb unblemished and spotless,
the blood of Christ.
1 Peter 1:18

And that price is applied to us when we place one’s trust in Jesus Christ, the only God and Savior, the One who came bearing saving grace. Grace for deliverance.

For the grace of God has appeared,
bringing salvation to all men.
Titus 2:11

But it doesn’t end there. Grace—free!—continues to sustain us through this life. We need God’s grace to keep us, to strengthen us, to protect us, to enable us, to empower us. All we are and all we do is a result of His grace—we need an ongoing appropriation of that free gift. Grace for life.

But by the grace of God
I am what I am,
and His grace toward me
did not prove vain;
but I labored even more
than all of them, yet not I,
but the grace of God with me.
1 Corinthians 15:10

And then, one day, at the end of this life, we’ll experience grace again—this time in a different way. Grace for glory.

… fix your hope completely on
the grace to be brought to you
at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 1:13

And all of that free! Something—nay, everything—for nothing. Unmerited favor from God through Christ, in the Spirit. Grace for all who trust Christ as their Savior: grace for deliverance, grace for life, grace for glory. Free!

Thanks be to God
for His indescribable gift!
2 Corinthians 9:15

Hallelujah!

SINKING!

I write this as Hurricane Ike, or whatever is left of it, rips through Texas. The third major hurricane of this year’s Atlantic storm season, but, hitting a peak of 145 mph last week as it grew to a diameter of 550 miles, it became the most massive Atlantic hurricane on record. While damages in Houston and its environs are still to be calculated, computer models predict $10 billion worth of loss in revenue, property, chaos, and havoc.

The power of water and wind!

Jesus’ disciples were once caught in a wind-and-water bind one time on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus was with them on the boat.

Jesus Himself was in the stern,
asleep on the cushion;
and they woke Him
and said to Him,
“Teacher, do You not care
that we are perishing?”
Mark 4:38

It strikes me as somewhat illogical that the disciples should chide Jesus for not caring that they would perish: if they were going to perish, He was going to perish, too. Of course, He cared! At least, His peace of mind should have conveyed to them that things were in control.

They were. He awakens. Wind and water meet their match.

And He got up and rebuked
the wind and said to the sea,
“Hush, be still.”
And the wind died down
and it became perfectly calm.
Mark 4:39

The interesting thing about this dramatic incident is the fact that Christ expected His disciples to have had faith and to trust in Him … before He woke up and calmed the raging sea and pacified the storm. There’s that little word oupo (meaning “not yet” or “still”) …

And He said to them,
“Why are you afraid?
Do you still have no faith?”
Mark 4:40

In the chapters preceding this story on the sea, the disciples had already seen Christ exorcising and healing many who were ill with various diseases—he had even healed Peter's mother-in-law (not that mothers-in-law are a difficult breed to heal!). And He was doing things no man had ever done—going around forgiving people! Now who could do that but God?

The disciples had seen it; they had heard it; they had experienced it. They should have put it all together: this was God with them. But they had forgotten the past.

Ike is here. Soon there will be Josephine, and Kyle, and Laura, and Marco, and Nana, and the rest—in 2008. And if wind and water aren’t your thing, take your pick of daily calamities and catastrophes prone to strike our lives with devastating impact. It’s coming.

Let’s not forget what we’ve have already seen of God in the past. What He has done in our lives. What we’ve already experienced of His power. Our salvation. His provision. His protection. Of course, God has worked in your life, and worked powerfully, He has.

For He spoke and
raised up a stormy wind,
which lifted up the waves of the sea.
Then they cried to the LORD
in their trouble,
and He brought them
out of their distresses.
He caused the storm to be still,
so that the waves
of the sea were hushed.
Then they were glad
because they were quiet ….
Let them give thanks to the LORD
for His lovingkindness,
and for His wonders
to the sons of men!
Psalm 107:25, 28–31

Keep track, to be sure, of Ike and his ilk. But don’t forget to keep track also of God’s lovingkindness in the past. So that we may not hear our Lord say, “Do you still have no faith?”

GROWTH!

The Mercedes Benz Museum in Stuttgart is a fascinating place. Not only is the architecture and layout of the building remarkable, the history of automobiles (from Daimler eyes, of course) can be followed in concrete detail through the eight floors of the Museum. From the humble belt-driven car of the late 1800s to the fancy half-a-million-dollar SLR-class vehicles (the fastest automatic transmission cars in the world: 0–60 in 3.2 seconds) is an evolution that involved technology, anthropology, sociology, and economics.

Daimler AG (Mercedes’s parent company) has come a long way since Karl Benz’s creation of the first car in 1886, to become a $150 billion outfit. Growth!

In the process of this growth, Daimler has made some significant contributions to the automotive industry: first passenger car with brakes on all four wheels (1924); “safety cage” construction with front and rear crumple zones (1951); anti-lock brakes (1978); airbags (1980); pre-tensioners to tighten seat-belts instantaneously in the event of a crash (1981); traction control (1986); 7-speed automatic transmission (2003); etc. Fruitful growth!

To the company’s credit, almost all of the safety features they introduced, Daimler has licensed for use by competitors. Selfless growth!

There’s theology in there, somewhere! Growth, fruitful growth, and selfless growth—the marks of a maturity in a believer in Christ.

Growth in Christlikeness.

… we are to grow up in all aspects
into Him who is the head,
even Christ.
Ephesians 4:15

Growth in fruitfulness.

… so that you will walk
in a manner worthy of the Lord,
to please Him in all respects,
bearing fruit in every good work and
increasing in the knowledge of God.
Colossians 1:10

Growth in selflessness.

... and may the Lord
cause you to increase and
abound in love for one another,
and for all people ….
Now as to the love of the brethren,
you have no need
for anyone to write to you,
for you yourselves are taught by God
to love one another;
for indeed you do practice it
toward all the believers …..
But we urge you … to excel still more.
1 Thessalonians 3:12; 4:9–10

Indeed, the writer to the Hebrews expects—nay, demands—a degree of growth of readers of that epistle, a maturity in discernment that enables them to be teachers who contribute, in turn, to the growth of others.

For though by this time
you ought to be teachers …,
mature, who because of practice
have their senses trained
to discern good and evil.
Hebrews 5:12, 14

Peter agrees. Diligently seek to increase in these cascading characteristics, he urges.

Now for this very reason also,
applying all diligence,
in your faith supply moral excellence,
and in your moral excellence, knowledge,
and in your knowledge, self-control,
and in your self-control, perseverance,
and in your perseverance, godliness,
and in your godliness, brotherly kindness,
and in your brotherly kindness, love.
For if these qualities are yours
and are increasing, they render you
neither useless nor unfruitful in
the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 1:5–8

And—lest we forget—such growth is not only an individual enterprise, but a collective, corporate engagement …

… until we all attain
to the unity of the faith,
and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
to a mature man,
to the measure of the stature which
belongs to the fullness of Christ.
Ephesians 4:13

May we be constantly growing … together.

… grow in the grace and knowledge
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
To Him be the glory,
both now and to the day of eternity.
Amen.
2 Peter 3:18

And, “Amen!”