Every 6th Sunday we've started doing "Saccanville Sunday", meaning that we go next door, have breakfast together, worship together (Emily and Phil are basically rock stars), and watch a sermon, last time, John Piper, this time, Francis Chan.
We started this for Matt, because he preaches almost every single Sunday, leads almost every single Bible study, preaches frequently in chapel...he needed an off Sunday to get some feeding. We continue doing it for ALL of us...how good it is to have one Sunday of not rushing out of the house, not sitting in a very hot church for a very long service in another language. What a joy to worship in our heart languages, what a joy to lift our English together, what a joy to hear some great preachers feed us from His Word.
We'd never want miss out on Haitian church more often than this....but once every six weeks...it's been good.
This morning, Francis Chan (not to be confused with Jackie Chan, as I did), shared such an obvious, rare and powerful message about the power of God.
He talked about the powerful God of Daniel, braving LIONS...the powerful God of Shadrack, enduring FIRE, the powerful God of Caleb, plunging into battle at 85, the powerful God of David, facing giants. He talked about the boldness of Paul and the apostles, the many references to
BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS
DO NOT BE AFRAID
He talked about our Powerful God of the Universe....and the scrawniness of His children today.
Afraid. Coddling each other. Comforting each other but not encouraging each other to be BOLD and COURAGEOUS. Afraid to share the Gospel. AFRAID to share the Truth. Afraid to build relationships, afraid to SPEAK the truth, afraid to what God has said.
Scrawny.
Chan even observes that it sometimes seems that the more Christians spend time together, like in many churches, they actually become MORE afraid, more comforting, and less bold. More introvert. More squidgy.
I hate to say that we have seen this in BOTH our cultural settings. Sometimes it seems that the very people we thought we be encouraging us on to boldness and laying down our lives for the Gospels are instead the people telling us multiple reasons why we should be afraid, the many reasons why they worry for us or our children, or encouraging us to be more careful about being abandoned.
I have a really dear group of about 8 women who hear my emotional rants and begs for prayer more often than the rest of the world (yes, you can thank me now). I am so blessed by them, because while they are never harsh and always patient, the are some of the godly ladies in my life who encourage me to be bold, to think differently, and to go at it courageously. They don't let me wallow, don't let me hide. They are women I can look at their lives and try to follow their Godly example as they follow Jesus. I'm SO thankful for the many times their emails dry my tears and move me to ACTION.
As Chan spoke, I thought of SO MANY SITUATIONS in my life where my "don't hurt anyone", motherly, caring, compassionate heart has led me to WEAKEN others. I'm so anxious to make them FEEL better and to make them feel loved that I rob them of our God of Power...sitting over the heavens....God of the Universe, God of creation, splitting the Red Sea, burning up the altars of baal, bringing the dead back to life, making the lame walk, POWERFUL resurrecting God.
"Ah, what pain!" Chan says. "My heart breaks with you. Be strong! Be courageous! Be faithful! God is on our side, the battle is His, He is our strength! Fight!"
It would be amusing to see a massive body builder couple with pansy scrawny children. It's not so amusing to think of the God of the Universe with trembling, silent kids.
David's strength gave him reason to fear. His age, reason to fear. His armor, reason to fear. His weapon, reason to fear. His enemy: great reason to fear. His peers, reason to fear.
No reason to fear.
And if WE have that same God as our God, neither do we.
Even if that giant/lion/fire/ocean is an intimidating neighbor, a mocking friend, a hard situation, or heartbreak.
Do our friends and co-workers, families and strangers even KNOW that our God is the Powerful God of the Universe, Victor, by our witness?
Be strong and courageous.
Is He alive and well and STRONG in us?
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