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Kids
are eager to grow up. If you don’t believe me go to any house that has
children and you'll find a door or doorway with a series of horizontal
lines and accompanying dates.
It
is the children's grow chart. When we moved here I think it was Greg who
wanted me to copy down the dates and heights from our house in Staten
Island and transfer them to our new house. They can’t wait to be taller.
They would want to get measured every day. So we made it that every
three months we would measure them. Children and teenagers can’t wait
for thier next birthday to come. They can’t wait until they are
teenagers, until they become old enough to drive, until they
become old enough to go to college.
The
story of David and Goliath is a story of becoming. It is a story about
becoming a Godly person. When David said, “I come at you in the name of
God. This very day God is handing you over to me. The battle belongs to
God – He’s handing you to us on a platter.” It was not wishful thinking.
It was not something he spoke off the top of his head. It was the result
of years of becoming a Godly man. His faith came from years of being
nurturing, of praying, of seeing God working in his life as a shepherd
protecting his flock from bears and lions.
God’s
desire is that we would have the same faith as David when we are
confronted with our daily battles. God’s desire is that we would become
Godly, become Christ-like.
Does
the name Al Hollingsworth mean anything to you? I am not referring to Al
Hollingsworth, who played major league baseball in the 1930s and 40s
with the Reds, Phillies and Dodgers. I am referring to Al Holingsworth
who played football at the University of Colorado in the 60s. After
college everyone anticipated that Al would have a promising career in
the NFL as Al had hoped and planned for.
His
dreams and plans of playing in the NFL came to a screeching stop when he
was knocked unconscious during a football game. While unconscious Al
said, “God spoke to him, telling him that he would serve God as a
successful business.
When
Al came to he was a changed person. He went from a student who was on
borderline academic probation to deans list. He brushed off the NFL
after graduation to pursue God’s call of being a successful businessman.
He took a job working in a paper and packing company and just as God
promised, within a couple of years started his own successful business.
With
the demands of a thriving business Al began to spend less and less time
with God. Al comments, “I began saying, ‘Just a minute, God. Let me take
care of this deal. Then I’ll be there with you. I’ll be right there.’”
Sound familiar?
What
Al did not realize is that he was switching loyalties and priorities. Al
pushed and manipulated his own way of success. The stress brought on a
heart attack. At first he began bargaining with God.
We
know how that goes. We have played the game. God, if you do this for me
I will do this for you. When bargaining does not help we resort to
begging and pleading.
The
heart attack was a wake up call. Al realized the mistakes he made in
making his business number one and his relationship with God number two.
He recovered and his business prospered. Can you guess what happened
next?
He
returned to his old way of doing things. Gradually as the business
increased he spent more and more time in the business resulting in less
and less time for God. Al defined himself by his career, rather than his
relationship with Jesus.
This
raises a question for each of us to answer, what defines your life:
career; family; hobbies; Jesus?
Once
again Al left Jesus in the dust. So God bankrupted his business. He was
devastated. He turned to God and basically said, “How could you do this?
You promised me that I would be a successful businessman.” That is when
Al remembered that he made some promises too, promises that he was not
keeping, like his promise to “seek first the kingdom of God.”
Al
realized if this was God’s promise for his life he had to make God’s
desire his desire. He had to make his comeback under God, by God and for
God. He had to make God’s desires, his desires. It has been 25-30 years
since he took another step in becoming Christ-like. His business plan is
to consult his CEO, God every day. He has developed Biblically based
training programs to show how Jesus spills over success in every area of
life – personal, confidence, business, impact on people, anything. Al
and his wife Hatie bought the Ponderosa, the very place where the TV
show was filmed and has turned into a spiritual retreat. The very place
where the Cartrights walked is where you can walk, but more important in
that very place you can learn how to walk like Jesus walked.
Al's
story is just one of millions of stories of people who followed their
desires only to fail. I spoke this week with a person who left a job she
loved to take a different job because it offered more money and she is
miserable. I read a story in a devotional about a young man who was a
guitar player and song writer for an up-and-coming band. Yet the money
and success still left him feeling empty. He discovered a relationship
with Jesus. He gradually began changing his ways, his lifestyle and even
his music. He wrote some Christian rock songs his band refused to play.
Eventual the band spilt up because he refused to play the kind of rock
music they were playing. He presently is a praise and worship leader and
a writer of Christian music.
“I come at you in
the name of God.
This very day God is handing you over to me.
The battle belongs to God –
He’s handing you to us on a platter.”
The world is
filled with little gods and christs. They fool us into thinking and to
following. They trick us into thinking that we can live life our way.
The path they are leading you down will lead you to the same place it
lead Al.
The good news is when we find ourselves at the end of this dead road we
will also find Jesus offering us Himself to help us get out of that
gutter. In what ever battle field we find ourselves on we can have the
courage that David had as he faced Goliath.
“I come at you in
the name of God.
This very day God is handing you over to me.
The battle belongs to God –
He’s handing you to us on a platter.”
No heart that
stays focused on God can remain the same. No heart that stays focused on
God. Becoming Christ-like takes time and practice. Hurt, pain, sin,
disobedience needs to be removed so we can see clearly.
Mother Theresa did not go to bed one night and wake up the next morning
passionate about caring for the poor. The truth is that anyone who’s
pursuing Jesus and honestly seeking to live for Him is changing. Just
like no one completely grows physical in a day, the life of the most
committed, most obedient follower of Jesus is a life of continual
learning and growth.
It takes diligence and work. Simply sitting back and letting God do it
all does not work. Following Jesus takes complete dependence on God.
Seeking God is filled with mistakes, humility, forgiveness, risks, and
hard times. Our faith is strengthened through these ups and downs.
Becoming Christ-like requires a patient listening ear; a forgiving,
accepting heart; warm encouragement; firm challenges; great questions;
guidance; hope and the truth.
Becoming Christ like enables us to face life as David faced Goliath.
“I come at you in
the name of God.
This very day God is handing you over to me.
The battle belongs to God –
He’s handing you to us on a platter.”
Reverend Richard Hayes Weyer |
