A Prayer For Maturing Faith
Preaching
Distinctively Different
I make no secret of the fact that I am not fond of bumper stickers or bumper sticker religion. However, I did see one the other day that caused a smile and a nod of agreement. It read, "Be patient! God is not finished with me yet!" I like that! It reminds me that I am still very much a work in process and, I hope, in progress. With apologies to Robert Fulgham, I did not learn everything I need to know in kindergarten. Where I was reared, we did not even have a kindergarten, so, needless to say it is difficult to learn from that which one never attended. But my educational process, though deprived early on, continues today. It also is true to say that the more I learn, the more I realize how much there is to learn and how little I know.
I think the dynamic also is true in the realm of spiritual matters. The more I learn about Jesus and the closer to him I become, the more I realize how much more there is of Christ to know and how woefully short I fall in comparison to his marvelous example. I still have a way to go. However, I find encouragement in our text because it reminds me that Paul, the Apostle, is praying for me.
Let me try to explain. The New Testament book of Ephesians, more perhaps than any other of Paul's letters, is a circular letter. In fact, the word "Ephesians" does not appear at the beginning of many of our older and better manuscripts. That could mean that "Ephesians" is a summary of Paul's theology to a group of churches that was to be circulated from one church to another. Therefore, a circular letter. Perhaps, this letter is not just for one congregation at Ephesus where Paul spent three years, but for all congregations. The letter is not so much for one time as it is for all times. Therefore, when Paul writes in verse 16, "I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers," he is not only praying for first--century Christians, he is also praying for twentieth-- and twenty--first--century Christians. Just think, Paul is praying for you and me.
What an encouragement to think that Paul is praying for us! He is praying that we would know Christ better (v. 17) or that we would have a maturing faith. I know few who have a mature faith, but I am acquainted with several whose faith is maturing. Paul is praying that ours would be a faith that is alive, expanding, bringing us closer to God and making us distinctively different in the image of his Son Jesus.
Paul uses two beautiful word pictures to paint a description of this ever--maturing faith. The first metaphor used to explain this faith is the word "wisdom." In Paul's usage, wisdom means more than just knowledge or information. Wisdom is more akin to spiritual discernment coupled with the ability to apply knowledge in practical and spiritual ways. In scripture, wisdom is a gift of God.
The second, very similar to wisdom, is the word picture "revelation," which also is a gift of the Holy Spirit. In the Bible, the Holy Spirit has at least two functions. First, the Holy Spirit is to reveal or disclose God and his truth to us. Secondly, the Holy Spirit gives to us the ability to recognize and discern that truth when we see it and apply his truth according to his will. Thus, this revelation and wisdom is given to us that "we may know him better" (v. 17). Paul then proceeds to pray that the "eyes of our heart might be enlightened" (v. 18). What a beautiful phrase - "the eyes of our heart." Paul is praying that we may have eyes of discernment to see things as God sees them.
The eyes of the heart! One might see a newborn baby as messy and wrinkled, while another sees the most miraculous event in the world. The eyes of the heart! One might see a street person dirty and deserving of his plight in life, while another may see a person for whom Christ died and an opportunity to put our religious talk into action. The eyes of the heart! Could it be that Paul is praying that, in some small way, we might see as God does? That is a maturing faith. That is a life that is distinctively different.
In our text, Paul describes the Christian whose faith is maturing. Maturing Christians are ones who know where they are going, whose they are, and who have the means to arrive at their destination.
The maturing Christian knows where he or she is going. Paul states, "I pray that your eyes may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance of the saints" (v. 18). That "hope and inheritance" is nothing less than a call to share in the very life of Christ. Every one of us is called to be distinctively different, as was Jesus. As Fred Craddock states, "If there was a governing metaphor in the message of Jesus, it very well may be that the very life and presence of Christ can be yours!" Jesus' very life can be ours? We can be as joyful, kind, graceful, forgiving, compassionate, and loving as Jesus? That is quite a hope! That is quite an inheritance!
Let me ask you: Are you closer to Jesus today than you were last year? Are you more like Jesus today than you were this time last year? Are you more loving? Are you kinder? Are you more forgiving? Are you reflecting more and more the nature and spirit of Jesus? Are you any more like Jesus than you were ten years ago, five years ago? Are you still struggling with the same problems that you were struggling with ten years ago, fifteen years ago, five years ago? Does God want it to be that way? God has called you that you may realize the hope of being more like Jesus.
Mother Teresa says that the first step toward a maturing faith is to will it. The first step is to have a determination to do so. Have you made that determination?
Mohammed Ali was a three--time world heavyweight boxing champion. His face has appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated more times than any other athlete. Some have tabbed him as the greatest athlete of the twentieth century. He has one of the most recognizable faces of anyone in the world. When he was "floating like a butterfly and stinging like a bee," he was king of the sports world. His entourage followed him around the globe. But where is he now? Gary Smith, a reporter, went to see Ali. Ali escorted him out to a barn next to his farmhouse. On the floor, leaning against the walls, were mementos of Ali in his hey day. Photos were endless of his sculpted body, at its prime performing seemingly the impossible - the knockout of George Foreman - the "thrilla in Manilla."
On the photos were white streaks - bird droppings. For some reason Ali walked over to the photos and turned them one by one toward the wall. Then he walked to the barn door, stared at the countryside, and mumbled something. The reporter did not hear what he was saying and he asked him to repeat it. Ali said, "I had the world, and it wasn't nothin'. Look now."1
The Roman emperor Charlemagne left very specific instructions for his burial. He wanted to be buried sitting on his throne, scepter in hand, crown on his head, royal cape around his shoulders, and an open book in his lap. He died in 1814 A.D. Two hundred years later Emperor Othello wanted to check to see that Charlemagne's instructions were carried out. They allegedly sent a group of men to exhume him and sure enough, the instructions he left were carried out exactly as he wished. The open book was on his lap with his finger pointed to the place where he requested, Matthew 16:26, which reads, "What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?"2
Maturing Christians are ones who have their priorities right. They are living lives to be more like Jesus of Nazareth. They are living more and more in the nature and spirit and love of Jesus Christ. They know where they are going. They know the hope to which they are called.
Maturing Christians not only know where they are going, they know whose or who they are. They are called to be "saints." The word "saint" in the New Testament is built upon a little Greek root word which means "separate." The word "holy" is built upon this same root word. The Christian is to be "holy" or "separate" in the same way that God is "holy" or "separate." We are to be different as God is different because we are his children. We are heirs of God and joint heirs of Christ (Romans 8:16--17). What a glorious inheritance!
But we sometimes have spiritual amnesia. We forget who we are. We forget that God has created us in his image. We forget that we are one for whom Christ died. As a result, we get caught up in the mad dash of the world in the game of one--upmanship.
Every now and then I like to watch a television show about nothing. Of course, you know that the show is Seinfeld. It literally is about nothing. But every so often they slip in a thought worth noting. In a recent episode, Seinfeld discovered that he was number four on someone's speed dial. He became obsessed with the notion that he had to be number one. He spent the entire episode bringing flowers, gifts, doing favors, all in an effort to cause the person to list him number one on the speed dial. How silly! How ridiculous! But when we look at some of the recognition for which we strive, Seinfeld does not seem so foolish. Or does he?
Maturing Christians know who or whose they are. We are created in the image of God. Look at the person to your right or left. That is the very image of God. That is the very best that God can do! That is, you are, God's "masterpiece."
Mother Teresa states that "if you are humble, nothing will touch you, neither praise nor disgrace, because you know what you are ... Christ tells us to aim very high, not to be like Abraham or David or any of the saints, but to be like our heavenly Father."3
Do you know whose you are today? Do you know the glorious inheritance that is yours because you are his child? Is your faith maturing? Are you growing more and more like the one you hope to emulate, Jesus Christ our Lord?
A young girl asked her Sunday school teacher, "If Jesus is on the right hand of God, where are we?" The teacher in a moment of insight said, "We're on the other side. We're on the left."4 Just think: Everything Jesus has in heaven one day shall be yours. You are an heir of God, you are a joint heir of Jesus Christ. And it is God's purpose for you to share in his very life that you might become more and more like him.
Paul's prayer for us is that we might know where we are going, whose we are, and have the resources with which to arrive at our destination. "And his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms" (vv. 19--20). We travel our road toward maturity in Christ not in our own power but his - not through our own efforts but in his grace. When we travel in his power, we are assured of his success.
We can walk each and every day unafraid with Jesus Christ at our side because God "has placed all things under his feet ..." (v. 22). Look again at the great doxology of praise in verses 22--23: "And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church which is his body, the fulness of him who fills everything in every way." As Major Ian Thomas states, "Everything that is over you is already under him."
Everything that is over your head is already under his feet. Everything that annoys you, defeats you, tempts you, everything that is over you already is under him. How can we lose? So we go forth in life boldly as his children with a maturing faith, knowing where we are going, knowing whose we are, and knowing how we are going to get there.
Tony Campolo tells the story of his neighbor's four--year--old daughter. He said that if you put her in a Shirley Temple look--a--like contest, she would win every time. One night after her parents put her to bed, there arose a tremendous thunderstorm. The lightning was flashing all around, the thundering was making a loud rolling noise, the wind was blowing the rain against the windows. The father ran upstairs to check on the daughter, "Honey, are you all right?" As he opened the door, she was standing up against the window spread out like an eagle. "Honey, what are you doing?" She turned around with a great big smile on her face and said, "God is trying to take my picture!" Wouldn't that be a wonderful way to go through life? "God is trying to take my picture." No fear! No worry! No dread! No apprehension! Living in the hands of God and interpreting every event through the grace and love of God.
His name is Gordon Gund. Gordon had a fairly normal life until his mid--thirties when he was stricken with an illness that took his eyesight. The illness left him totally blind. He descended into despair. Then he began to call upon the resources of his family and his faith. His attitude was transformed to see things in a positive light. He began to look at what he had and not what he did not have. He began reconstructing his life. His eyes were opened in a real sense. Today Gordon Gund is the owner of the NBA franchise, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and has established a foundation for eye research. His eyes were truly opened to see what was important in life. He not only knew where he was going, he knew who he was.5
William Borden was born to power, influence, and prestige. He received the finest education at Yale University. He left all and went to serve God and his fellow man in Egypt. As a result of his untiring service to God and fellow man, he died very young. Written on his tombstone in Cairo, Egypt, you will find these words, "Apart from Christ there is no explanation for such a life."6
Is that the life you live? Christ is the explanation for where we are going, who we are, and how we're going to get there. Christ is the essence of life. He is the center of our thoughts! He is the direction of our love! He is the object of our worship! He is the Lord of our life! What a prayer! Thank you, Paul, for praying for us.
Dr. Joel Avery is a thoracic surgeon and a deacon at the church where I serve as pastor. While touring the exhibit hall at the National Convention of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship in Birmingham he was approached by a missionary who has to remain unidentified for security reasons. Many "unofficial" missionaries of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship have to remain anonymous because the country in which they serve does not allow "official" missionaries. The nameless missionary approached Joel. Reading Dr. Avery's name tag, he began, "You are a member at First Baptist in Chattanooga, right? I have been looking for someone from your church for years to tell this story." And with that he unfolded a most incredible episode to Dr. Avery.
"You remember that my wife and I spoke at your church at the beginning of the Gulf War? We requested that you pray for us as I was leaving your church to go straight to the airport in Atlanta to return to Turkey. I still had members of my 'missionary team' trapped in Iraq and I was returning to get them out. When I arrived in Iraq near the Turkish border, I encountered a United States Army colonel who stated that the situation was very dangerous due to Saddam Hussein's activities. I asked the colonel if he would send in a team to retrieve my people, and he said that would be impossible. I stated then that I would go myself, and he adamantly refused to allow me to go. 'How am I going to get my people out?' I asked. 'I don't know, but no one is going in there.' 'What am I to do?' I asked. 'Call the President or something! It is out of my hands,' the colonel responded. 'That's exactly what I'll do!' I replied."
With that the missionary returned to his less--than--luxurious hotel and, to his great surprise, found the only telephone on his hotel floor unoccupied. That in itself was a minor miracle. Where to call? The only telephone number he had was that of the hotel in Houston where his wife was speaking at a mission's conference at the Tallowwood Baptist Church. To his amazement she answered the phone. She had had to return to the hotel room because of trouble with her contact lens. He quickly related his predicament and said, "You have to call the President." "Which President?" "Of the United States!" he cried.
"Well, I just can't pick up the phone and call the President, but Keith Parks is at the church. I'll see if he can help." Keith Parks was the Director of International Missions for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. After being told the story, Parks said, "All I know to do is to call James Dunn, Executive Director of the Baptist Joint Committee in Washington, D.C." Parks then called James Dunn at 5:00 p.m. and to his surprise found Dunn at home. Dunn is never at home at 5:00 p.m. Having been caught just out of the shower and after hearing the story, Dunn told Parks, "Well, Keith, if you'll quit talking, I'm trying to get dressed to go to a dinner at the White House. Let's see what we can do."
When James Dunn entered the White House dinner, he was immediately approached by Hillary Clinton to thank him for some favorable comments he recently had made about her to the press. Dunn quickly related the predicament of the nameless missionary. Hillary responded, "I will help if I can. Let's go talk to Bill."
About midnight, the missionary received a knock upon his hotel door. When he answered he saw a slightly embarrassed United States Army colonel. He stuttered, "I have just sent in a team to get your people out. And, yes, please don't ever call the President of the United States on me again!"
The incredible entire process of one miracle after another occurred in a time period of less than six hours!
"I just wanted to thank someone from First Baptist Church of Chattanooga for praying for us. Next time I need a miracle I am going to ask you all to pray. You folks know how to get results!" So does Paul! Aren't you glad that he is praying for you?
____________
1. Max Lucado, The Applause Of Heaven (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1990), p. 152.
2. Ibid., p. 153.
3. Mother Teresa, No Greater Love (Novato, California: New World Library, 1997), p. 55.
4. Mark J. Molldrem, The Victory Of Faith (Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing Company, 1997), p. 81.
5. Molldrem, op. cit., p. 29.
6. Preaching, Volume VIII, Number 5, March--April, 1993 (Jacksonville: Preaching Resources, Inc.), p. 68.
I think the dynamic also is true in the realm of spiritual matters. The more I learn about Jesus and the closer to him I become, the more I realize how much more there is of Christ to know and how woefully short I fall in comparison to his marvelous example. I still have a way to go. However, I find encouragement in our text because it reminds me that Paul, the Apostle, is praying for me.
Let me try to explain. The New Testament book of Ephesians, more perhaps than any other of Paul's letters, is a circular letter. In fact, the word "Ephesians" does not appear at the beginning of many of our older and better manuscripts. That could mean that "Ephesians" is a summary of Paul's theology to a group of churches that was to be circulated from one church to another. Therefore, a circular letter. Perhaps, this letter is not just for one congregation at Ephesus where Paul spent three years, but for all congregations. The letter is not so much for one time as it is for all times. Therefore, when Paul writes in verse 16, "I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers," he is not only praying for first--century Christians, he is also praying for twentieth-- and twenty--first--century Christians. Just think, Paul is praying for you and me.
What an encouragement to think that Paul is praying for us! He is praying that we would know Christ better (v. 17) or that we would have a maturing faith. I know few who have a mature faith, but I am acquainted with several whose faith is maturing. Paul is praying that ours would be a faith that is alive, expanding, bringing us closer to God and making us distinctively different in the image of his Son Jesus.
Paul uses two beautiful word pictures to paint a description of this ever--maturing faith. The first metaphor used to explain this faith is the word "wisdom." In Paul's usage, wisdom means more than just knowledge or information. Wisdom is more akin to spiritual discernment coupled with the ability to apply knowledge in practical and spiritual ways. In scripture, wisdom is a gift of God.
The second, very similar to wisdom, is the word picture "revelation," which also is a gift of the Holy Spirit. In the Bible, the Holy Spirit has at least two functions. First, the Holy Spirit is to reveal or disclose God and his truth to us. Secondly, the Holy Spirit gives to us the ability to recognize and discern that truth when we see it and apply his truth according to his will. Thus, this revelation and wisdom is given to us that "we may know him better" (v. 17). Paul then proceeds to pray that the "eyes of our heart might be enlightened" (v. 18). What a beautiful phrase - "the eyes of our heart." Paul is praying that we may have eyes of discernment to see things as God sees them.
The eyes of the heart! One might see a newborn baby as messy and wrinkled, while another sees the most miraculous event in the world. The eyes of the heart! One might see a street person dirty and deserving of his plight in life, while another may see a person for whom Christ died and an opportunity to put our religious talk into action. The eyes of the heart! Could it be that Paul is praying that, in some small way, we might see as God does? That is a maturing faith. That is a life that is distinctively different.
In our text, Paul describes the Christian whose faith is maturing. Maturing Christians are ones who know where they are going, whose they are, and who have the means to arrive at their destination.
The maturing Christian knows where he or she is going. Paul states, "I pray that your eyes may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance of the saints" (v. 18). That "hope and inheritance" is nothing less than a call to share in the very life of Christ. Every one of us is called to be distinctively different, as was Jesus. As Fred Craddock states, "If there was a governing metaphor in the message of Jesus, it very well may be that the very life and presence of Christ can be yours!" Jesus' very life can be ours? We can be as joyful, kind, graceful, forgiving, compassionate, and loving as Jesus? That is quite a hope! That is quite an inheritance!
Let me ask you: Are you closer to Jesus today than you were last year? Are you more like Jesus today than you were this time last year? Are you more loving? Are you kinder? Are you more forgiving? Are you reflecting more and more the nature and spirit of Jesus? Are you any more like Jesus than you were ten years ago, five years ago? Are you still struggling with the same problems that you were struggling with ten years ago, fifteen years ago, five years ago? Does God want it to be that way? God has called you that you may realize the hope of being more like Jesus.
Mother Teresa says that the first step toward a maturing faith is to will it. The first step is to have a determination to do so. Have you made that determination?
Mohammed Ali was a three--time world heavyweight boxing champion. His face has appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated more times than any other athlete. Some have tabbed him as the greatest athlete of the twentieth century. He has one of the most recognizable faces of anyone in the world. When he was "floating like a butterfly and stinging like a bee," he was king of the sports world. His entourage followed him around the globe. But where is he now? Gary Smith, a reporter, went to see Ali. Ali escorted him out to a barn next to his farmhouse. On the floor, leaning against the walls, were mementos of Ali in his hey day. Photos were endless of his sculpted body, at its prime performing seemingly the impossible - the knockout of George Foreman - the "thrilla in Manilla."
On the photos were white streaks - bird droppings. For some reason Ali walked over to the photos and turned them one by one toward the wall. Then he walked to the barn door, stared at the countryside, and mumbled something. The reporter did not hear what he was saying and he asked him to repeat it. Ali said, "I had the world, and it wasn't nothin'. Look now."1
The Roman emperor Charlemagne left very specific instructions for his burial. He wanted to be buried sitting on his throne, scepter in hand, crown on his head, royal cape around his shoulders, and an open book in his lap. He died in 1814 A.D. Two hundred years later Emperor Othello wanted to check to see that Charlemagne's instructions were carried out. They allegedly sent a group of men to exhume him and sure enough, the instructions he left were carried out exactly as he wished. The open book was on his lap with his finger pointed to the place where he requested, Matthew 16:26, which reads, "What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?"2
Maturing Christians are ones who have their priorities right. They are living lives to be more like Jesus of Nazareth. They are living more and more in the nature and spirit and love of Jesus Christ. They know where they are going. They know the hope to which they are called.
Maturing Christians not only know where they are going, they know whose or who they are. They are called to be "saints." The word "saint" in the New Testament is built upon a little Greek root word which means "separate." The word "holy" is built upon this same root word. The Christian is to be "holy" or "separate" in the same way that God is "holy" or "separate." We are to be different as God is different because we are his children. We are heirs of God and joint heirs of Christ (Romans 8:16--17). What a glorious inheritance!
But we sometimes have spiritual amnesia. We forget who we are. We forget that God has created us in his image. We forget that we are one for whom Christ died. As a result, we get caught up in the mad dash of the world in the game of one--upmanship.
Every now and then I like to watch a television show about nothing. Of course, you know that the show is Seinfeld. It literally is about nothing. But every so often they slip in a thought worth noting. In a recent episode, Seinfeld discovered that he was number four on someone's speed dial. He became obsessed with the notion that he had to be number one. He spent the entire episode bringing flowers, gifts, doing favors, all in an effort to cause the person to list him number one on the speed dial. How silly! How ridiculous! But when we look at some of the recognition for which we strive, Seinfeld does not seem so foolish. Or does he?
Maturing Christians know who or whose they are. We are created in the image of God. Look at the person to your right or left. That is the very image of God. That is the very best that God can do! That is, you are, God's "masterpiece."
Mother Teresa states that "if you are humble, nothing will touch you, neither praise nor disgrace, because you know what you are ... Christ tells us to aim very high, not to be like Abraham or David or any of the saints, but to be like our heavenly Father."3
Do you know whose you are today? Do you know the glorious inheritance that is yours because you are his child? Is your faith maturing? Are you growing more and more like the one you hope to emulate, Jesus Christ our Lord?
A young girl asked her Sunday school teacher, "If Jesus is on the right hand of God, where are we?" The teacher in a moment of insight said, "We're on the other side. We're on the left."4 Just think: Everything Jesus has in heaven one day shall be yours. You are an heir of God, you are a joint heir of Jesus Christ. And it is God's purpose for you to share in his very life that you might become more and more like him.
Paul's prayer for us is that we might know where we are going, whose we are, and have the resources with which to arrive at our destination. "And his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms" (vv. 19--20). We travel our road toward maturity in Christ not in our own power but his - not through our own efforts but in his grace. When we travel in his power, we are assured of his success.
We can walk each and every day unafraid with Jesus Christ at our side because God "has placed all things under his feet ..." (v. 22). Look again at the great doxology of praise in verses 22--23: "And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church which is his body, the fulness of him who fills everything in every way." As Major Ian Thomas states, "Everything that is over you is already under him."
Everything that is over your head is already under his feet. Everything that annoys you, defeats you, tempts you, everything that is over you already is under him. How can we lose? So we go forth in life boldly as his children with a maturing faith, knowing where we are going, knowing whose we are, and knowing how we are going to get there.
Tony Campolo tells the story of his neighbor's four--year--old daughter. He said that if you put her in a Shirley Temple look--a--like contest, she would win every time. One night after her parents put her to bed, there arose a tremendous thunderstorm. The lightning was flashing all around, the thundering was making a loud rolling noise, the wind was blowing the rain against the windows. The father ran upstairs to check on the daughter, "Honey, are you all right?" As he opened the door, she was standing up against the window spread out like an eagle. "Honey, what are you doing?" She turned around with a great big smile on her face and said, "God is trying to take my picture!" Wouldn't that be a wonderful way to go through life? "God is trying to take my picture." No fear! No worry! No dread! No apprehension! Living in the hands of God and interpreting every event through the grace and love of God.
His name is Gordon Gund. Gordon had a fairly normal life until his mid--thirties when he was stricken with an illness that took his eyesight. The illness left him totally blind. He descended into despair. Then he began to call upon the resources of his family and his faith. His attitude was transformed to see things in a positive light. He began to look at what he had and not what he did not have. He began reconstructing his life. His eyes were opened in a real sense. Today Gordon Gund is the owner of the NBA franchise, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and has established a foundation for eye research. His eyes were truly opened to see what was important in life. He not only knew where he was going, he knew who he was.5
William Borden was born to power, influence, and prestige. He received the finest education at Yale University. He left all and went to serve God and his fellow man in Egypt. As a result of his untiring service to God and fellow man, he died very young. Written on his tombstone in Cairo, Egypt, you will find these words, "Apart from Christ there is no explanation for such a life."6
Is that the life you live? Christ is the explanation for where we are going, who we are, and how we're going to get there. Christ is the essence of life. He is the center of our thoughts! He is the direction of our love! He is the object of our worship! He is the Lord of our life! What a prayer! Thank you, Paul, for praying for us.
Dr. Joel Avery is a thoracic surgeon and a deacon at the church where I serve as pastor. While touring the exhibit hall at the National Convention of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship in Birmingham he was approached by a missionary who has to remain unidentified for security reasons. Many "unofficial" missionaries of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship have to remain anonymous because the country in which they serve does not allow "official" missionaries. The nameless missionary approached Joel. Reading Dr. Avery's name tag, he began, "You are a member at First Baptist in Chattanooga, right? I have been looking for someone from your church for years to tell this story." And with that he unfolded a most incredible episode to Dr. Avery.
"You remember that my wife and I spoke at your church at the beginning of the Gulf War? We requested that you pray for us as I was leaving your church to go straight to the airport in Atlanta to return to Turkey. I still had members of my 'missionary team' trapped in Iraq and I was returning to get them out. When I arrived in Iraq near the Turkish border, I encountered a United States Army colonel who stated that the situation was very dangerous due to Saddam Hussein's activities. I asked the colonel if he would send in a team to retrieve my people, and he said that would be impossible. I stated then that I would go myself, and he adamantly refused to allow me to go. 'How am I going to get my people out?' I asked. 'I don't know, but no one is going in there.' 'What am I to do?' I asked. 'Call the President or something! It is out of my hands,' the colonel responded. 'That's exactly what I'll do!' I replied."
With that the missionary returned to his less--than--luxurious hotel and, to his great surprise, found the only telephone on his hotel floor unoccupied. That in itself was a minor miracle. Where to call? The only telephone number he had was that of the hotel in Houston where his wife was speaking at a mission's conference at the Tallowwood Baptist Church. To his amazement she answered the phone. She had had to return to the hotel room because of trouble with her contact lens. He quickly related his predicament and said, "You have to call the President." "Which President?" "Of the United States!" he cried.
"Well, I just can't pick up the phone and call the President, but Keith Parks is at the church. I'll see if he can help." Keith Parks was the Director of International Missions for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. After being told the story, Parks said, "All I know to do is to call James Dunn, Executive Director of the Baptist Joint Committee in Washington, D.C." Parks then called James Dunn at 5:00 p.m. and to his surprise found Dunn at home. Dunn is never at home at 5:00 p.m. Having been caught just out of the shower and after hearing the story, Dunn told Parks, "Well, Keith, if you'll quit talking, I'm trying to get dressed to go to a dinner at the White House. Let's see what we can do."
When James Dunn entered the White House dinner, he was immediately approached by Hillary Clinton to thank him for some favorable comments he recently had made about her to the press. Dunn quickly related the predicament of the nameless missionary. Hillary responded, "I will help if I can. Let's go talk to Bill."
About midnight, the missionary received a knock upon his hotel door. When he answered he saw a slightly embarrassed United States Army colonel. He stuttered, "I have just sent in a team to get your people out. And, yes, please don't ever call the President of the United States on me again!"
The incredible entire process of one miracle after another occurred in a time period of less than six hours!
"I just wanted to thank someone from First Baptist Church of Chattanooga for praying for us. Next time I need a miracle I am going to ask you all to pray. You folks know how to get results!" So does Paul! Aren't you glad that he is praying for you?
____________
1. Max Lucado, The Applause Of Heaven (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1990), p. 152.
2. Ibid., p. 153.
3. Mother Teresa, No Greater Love (Novato, California: New World Library, 1997), p. 55.
4. Mark J. Molldrem, The Victory Of Faith (Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing Company, 1997), p. 81.
5. Molldrem, op. cit., p. 29.
6. Preaching, Volume VIII, Number 5, March--April, 1993 (Jacksonville: Preaching Resources, Inc.), p. 68.
