Thorny, Weedy, Distractions!

Mike Hosey, An Elder

Jesus tells the story of how a sower throws some seeds along a path (Matthew 13:1-23). In the story, some of the seeds fall along the beaten path and are picked up and eaten by birds. Some of the seeds fall on rocky ground which has only a thin layer of soil.  Those seeds sprout, but because they have no root, they die quickly in the heat of the sun. Some of the seeds fall among thorns or weeds, and are choked out by them, and so never reach maturity or bear fruit.  But some of the seed falls on good, nutrient rich, soft soil. Those seeds sprout, develop roots, grow to maturity, and produce much fruit.

Although this story is primarily about the gospel, its main point is as much about the soil as it is those gospel seeds.  In fact, you’ll notice that every time the seeds fall on soft soil, they produce some kind of plant. When they fall on the hard soil of the beaten path, they’re snatched away before they can take root, so they don’t mature, and so produce nothing. But when they fall on the thin soil that covers rocky ground, they produce a plant. And when they fall on the thorny, weedy soil they also produce a plant.  If there is soft soil, the gospel produces something. But for the gospel to produce maturity, fruit, and ultimately salvation it must fall on good soil.

This principle is true of everything that God tries to plant in us. Even after we are saved, it takes good soil for God’s words to produce God’s fruit -- and He expects us to produce fruit (Matthew 7:19, John 15:2)!   For instance, consider the weedy, thorny soil.  Those weeds and briars can be thought of as worldly distractions (Matthew 13:22). God tries to plant a seed in you for ministry, or growth, or kingdom work, and because you are distracted by pleasures, worries, worldly anxieties, social status, ungodly desires, greed, or a whole host of uncountable other things, that word never matures, and never produces fruit.

So how do we get that good soil? First, we must allow God to break up all those rocks and make them into soil. Then we must let Him till up that beaten path and soften it.  After that, we must allow Him to fertilize that soil with nutrients from His word.  And finally, we have to keep worldly weeds out of that soil because they will always compete with God’s seeds for the nutrients that make things grow!

God Works Behind the Scenes of B-17 Bombers.

Mike Hosey, An Elder

The B-17 Flying Fortress was named "Snap! Crackle! Pop!"  It was a desperate time in the world when she last took wing. So desperate, in fact, that her pilot was a 19 year old kid. On January 3, 1943 the lumbering bomber took off from Molesworth, England with a 10 man crew, and accompanied by 85 other B-17s. Their mission was to bomb a Nazi submarine port in Nazaire, France.

She never made it back. And neither did 7 other bombers or 75 airmen. But her ball turret gunner did. God was working behind the scenes to make that happen!  His name was Alan Magee, and he has one of the most amazing survival stories of World War II.

By the time she approached her target, the giant bomber was damaged by ground based anti-aircraft fire, and as she fought to survive the flak from below, German fighters in the sky shot off part of her right wing.  The loss of that wing caused her to careen into an unrecoverable spin ending in a more-than-likely unsurvivable crash.   

B-17 Flying Fortress

Providentially, a flak shell had ripped a hole through the skin of the plane.  Magee’s parachute had been damaged so he tossed it.  The situation was dire. As the plane spun helplessly through the sky, he either fell or leapt through that hole and out into the blue.  He was 22,000 feet above the earth.  He asked God to save him, and then passed out from the altitude.  He fell four miles before crashing through the glass skylights of the Nazaire train station.

He lived. But barely. His arm was almost lost. He had broken bones, head and facial injuries, and damage to some internal organs. A German military doctor saved his arm, stating, “We are enemies, but I am first a doctor and I will do my best to save your arm." After returning to health he was sent to a German POW camp, until the war ended. A year after the war, he returned to the skies and earned a pilot’s license.  He died in 2003 at the age of 84.

An amazing story of how God is in control of every circumstance (Proverbs 16:33), and how He works behind the scenes leaving nothing to chance! He placed a hole in just the right spot, and a glass ceiling at the moment of impact, and a doctor who could tend to his wounds!

Sourced from:  http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/FreeFall1943.htm
                         http://www.303rdbg.com/magee.html
                         http://ideas.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/how-to-survive-a-6-mile-fall/?_r=0
                         http://www.popularmechanics.com/adventure/outdoors/a5197/4344037/
                    

So Why Does God Work Behind the Scenes?

Mike Hosey, An Elder

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, and the glory of kings to search one out (Proverbs 25:2).  One way of looking at that proverb is that God is glorified when He does His work behind the scenes, and that men can bask in that glory when they search it out. To find His hidden treasures is an awesome thing!

Jesus touched on this in a couple of places.  He tells us to seek first the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 6:33) and by so doing, God will take care of our earthly needs. He also tells us plainly that if we seek, then we shall find (Matthew 7:7).  So if you are looking for His kingdom and His hidden treasures, He tells us that you will find them.

But why does God work behind the scenes, anyway? Well there are a lot of reasons.  Here are just a couple:

To Make Us More Like Christ:  He works all things together for the good of those who love Him so that they can be conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:28-29). That’s pretty powerful.  He’s pulling a lot of strings, directing a lot of actors, employing some special effects, and coordinating the whole play just so you can become more like Jesus.  Interestingly, you choosing to be more like Jesus gives great glory to God!

To Meet the Need for Just Such a Time as This: In the book of Esther, the Jews are on the cusp of genocidal annihilation by a pagan man who hated them.  Their loss would end the possibility of Jesus being born from the prophesied line of David.  But Esther, without her knowledge, is supernaturally placed in the exact pivotal place at just the exact right time, to thwart those who would kill God’s people (Esther 4:14).

So if you are a child of God, know that everything around you is being used to make you more like God’s son.  Also know that He has placed you where you are for a reason.  Find out what it is, and live up to it.

The Director, Producer, and Writer Behind the Scenes

Mike Hosey, An Elder

I have always loved acting.  I’m not great at it, but I’m not too shabby either.  My love of it officially started in high school when I joined the debate team / theater club with all the other nerds and geeks.

One thing you notice pretty quickly in that world of stages and props and curtains is that there is a lot of work that goes on that no one ever sees. It’s work that happens behind the scenes and props, and in the wings of the stage.  Even the actors don’t see it.  In fact, they can lose awareness of all that work and all the people involved in making their scenes shine. Something else you notice pretty quickly as well, is that a good director and writer and producer can make up for a lot of mediocre acting. 

In the end it’s the director, the writer, and sometimes the producer, working behind the scenes to make a story interesting and meaningful.  You never see the director, or the producer, and you certainly never see the writer, but even though you don’t see them, the evidence of their work is unmistakable.

It is, after all, the director who moves the actor from stage right to stage left.  It is the director who, among many other things, picks the props, sets up a scene, or determines the sequence in which the story will be told. And it is the writer who makes the script, and the producer who orders the resources.

On the cosmic stage, God is the director, the writer, and the producer.  He works behind the scenes to make the story interesting and meaningful.  In fact, he is so far behind the scenes that us actors often lose sight and awareness of Him.  But He’s there all the same. As the director, He quietly moves us from stage left to stage right.  As the writer, He recasts the story to make it work for His glory.  As the producer, He changes the schedule of the shoot, or modifies how the actors will be paid, or where the story will be released.

And He always works everything in our scene for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28) so that we may become more like His son (Romans 8:29).  

That Resurrection Power!

Mike Hosey, an Elder

Paul was exceedingly good at pointing out the power of Jesus.  Never does Paul portray the Lord as weak, emaciated, or anything less than worthy of the title Lord. In his first letter to the church at Corinth (1 Corinthians), he lays out some very profound truths about Jesus and the power of His resurrection.

Without the Resurrection of Jesus our Faith is in Vain: Not only does Paul argue that our faith is meaningless without the resurrection, he also argues that those of us who call ourselves Christians are more miserable or pitiable than all men if there is no resurrection.  This is because if Christ is not resurrected, then no one is. And if Christ is not resurrected, then He is not divine.  And if Christ is not divine, then we are still in our sins, yet trying to live holy lives, and for no tangible reason (1 Corinthians 15:14, 1 Corinthians 15:17, 1 Corinthians 15:19).

 

But Jesus Was, In Fact, Raised From the Dead:  And because he was raised from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:20) He is the fulfillment of the Feast of Firstfruits (Leviticus 23:10). In fact, Jesus fulfills all the Jewish feasts! And this says a great deal about both His power, and His divinity.  Paul calls Jesus the firstfruits of God’s people for a reason.  The reason is that Jesus is raised as the first representative of saved humanity. And later, all of the rest of us who belong to Jesus will be raised in the same way!  What power!

Jesus will Subdue ALL of His Enemies:  Every enemy of God will submit to the Lord Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:25, 1 Corinthians 15:27).  The last enemy to be destroyed will be Death itself (1 Corinthians 15:26).  When that happens, death will no longer have any victory over the people of God.  Nor will it have any sting, because people will know to whom they belong.  And they will know that the death of their old corrupted bodies, will be the first step in getting new incorruptible heavenly bodies (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).  

So when you think about Easter and the saving power of His sacrifice, don’t forget the power of His resurrection, and the future you have because of it.