Gods! Can a Roman senate long debate
Which of the two to choose, slavery or death!
No–let us rise at once, gird on our swords.
And, at the head of our remaining troops,
Attack the foe, break through the thick array
Of his throng’d legions, and charge home upon him;
Perhaps some arm, more lucky than the rest,
May reach his heart, and free the world from bondage.
Rise, fathers, rise; ’tis Rome demands your help;
Rise, and revenge her slaughter’d citizens,
Or share their fate: the corps of half her senate
Manure the fields of Thessaly, while we
Sit here, deliberating in cold debate,
If we should sacrifice our lives to honour,
Or wear them out in servitude and chains.
Rouse up for shame! Our brothers of Pharsalia
Point at their wounds, and cry aloud-”To battle!”
Great Pompey’s shade complains that we are slow,
And Scipio’s ghost walks unreveng’d amongst us.
–from Joseph Addison’s ‘Cato’
Act II, Scene 1
(New King James Version)
7 As they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?
8 “But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses.
9 “But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet.
10 “For this is he of whom it is written: ‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.’
11 “Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
12 “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.”
(The Living Bible)
3 It is true that I am an ordinary, weak human being, but I don’t use human plans and methods to win my battles.
4 I use God’s mighty weapons, not those made by men, to knock down the devil’s strongholds.
5 These weapons can break down every proud argument against God and every wall that can be built to keep men from finding him. With these weapons I can capture rebels and bring them back to God and change them into men whose hearts’ desire is obedience to Christ.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Larry Walters in Flight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ol Suit.
IT WAS A WARM AFTERNOON, late in the fall of 1982, when a commercial airline pilot spotted an unusual object in the sky over southern California. At first, it appeared to be a many-headed space creature – the kind of thing you’d expect to see in an old Black & White thriller. It seemed to hang motionless – watching the fast-approaching airplane.
As they drew closer, however, the pilot could clearly see that this “space-ship” had a human aboard. While no less weird, the man’s face was frozen in stark terror. He desperately clutched the arms of a sturdy plastic lawn chair that was held aloft by some 40 weather balloons.
In the inquiry that followed the man’s rescue, the authorities learned that the “pilot” of the ill-fated lawn-chair frequently passed his weekends in a rather bizarre way. Taking a few helium-filled weather balloons Larry Walters would rise to a height of about 150 feet – the distance being determined by a rope tethered to the ground. From there he would leisurely survey his neighborhood. At the end of the day, he would take his BB pistol and shoot the requisite number of balloons to allow him to drift slowly back to the earth.
On the day in question, he had unwisely increased the number of balloons, with the result that (according to eye-witnesses) he shot straight up like a rocket. The tether, of course, ripped free from the ground, and the pistol fell out of his lap. He was 16,000 feet in the air when the pilot spotted him.
Walters at 16,000 ft.
Now the question on everyone’s mind was, I’m sure, the same one you and I have. “Why would he do this?” When asked, Mr. Walters pointed to the chair in his back-yard, and simply said, “You can’t just sit there!”
This is, as you might have guessed, exactly what I want to talk with you about today. “You can’t just sit there!” Good observation. And especially apropos to the Christian of this generation.
“The Kingdom of Heaven advances by force,” (as one translation puts it), “and the forceful alone will cause it to advance.”
I. The Questions of Jesus
Jesus asked three questions that illustrate the nature of the ministry and lifestyle of John the Baptist:
A. What did you go out into the wilderness to see?
1. “In the midst of burning barrenness, did you expect to see fields of grass gently blowing in the breeze?”
a) It is when a nation’s moral and cultural powers are exhausted that the People of God must make their voices heard.
b) The penetrating words of the German Reformer Martin Luther frequently echo through my mind. He said: “If you preach the Gospel in all aspects with the exception of the issues which deal specifically with your time – you are not preaching the Gospel.”
(1) Tough times call for tough people.
B. “What did you go out to see?”
1. “In such rugged environs, did you think you would see a man clothed in soft, luxurious garments? Did you really expect to see the king’s courtier on the far side of the desert?”
a) John the Baptist was no sniveling puppet of the king. He had denounced the immorality of Herod and cried out against government-sanctioned idolatry.
(1) “Soft” people are found in “soft” places.
C. “But what did you go out to see?”
1. “Did you expect to see a prophet? Well, you have seen a prophet, indeed! But John is more than an ordinary prophet – he is the forerunner of the Messiah.”
a) Jesus was telling them that Israel was at the crossroads of destiny. The crisis of deciding which path to follow loomed before them. Would they accept the Messiah of God, or would they rebel, harden their hearts and go along with the status-quo?
* John the Baptist was the kind of man who couldn’t “just sit there”. He knew the days in which he lived were to be the dividing line of history. He also knew that in the face of entrenched wickedness one must not surrender. In radical obedience to God, he would resist the temptation to keep quiet – he would stand for righteousness and God!
II. The Violence of the Kingdom.
* Scottish Presbyterian scholar, William Barclay, translates verse 12 in this way: “Always my Kingdom will suffer violence; always savage men will try to break it up, and snatch it away and destroy it; and therefore only the man who is desperately in earnest, only the man in whom the violence of devotion matches and defeats the violence of persecution will in the end enter into it.”
A. The Hallmark of the Last Days is a Spirit of Unholy Compromise
1. In Matthew 24:12 Jesus foretold this when He said: “…because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.”
2. In Revelation 3:16 Jesus speaks to the Church of Laodicea, saying: “…because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.”
3. And again, Jesus asked the question: “…when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8)
B. The Christian is to be a faithful Soldier
1. We are called to:
a) “Fight the good fight of faith” – 1 Timothy 6:12
b) “…endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” – 2 Timothy 2:3
c) “…wage the good warfare…” – 1 Timothy 1:18
d) And to, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” With the added admonition: “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” – Ephesians 6:11, 13
C. The Enemy is not Political or Physical.
1. Ours is not a battle of human personalities or parties; we war against the real “Evil Empire” of satanic spirits. Our enemy is one: Satan himself.
a) Hear again 2 Corinthians 10:3-5: “It is true that I am an ordinary, weak human being, but I don’t use human plans and methods to win my battles. I use God’s mighty weapons, not those made by men, to knock down the devil’s strongholds. These weapons can break down every proud argument against God and every wall that can be built to keep men from finding him. With these weapons I can capture rebels and bring them back to God and change them into men whose hearts’ desire is obedience to Christ.”
D. Moral and spiritual advance come through a people who refuse to accept evil merely because it has become institutional and common.
1. The England of the 1700’s was ripe for revolution. The whole land was one great ‘South Central Los Angeles’. Riots were common. Poverty, substance abuse and violence were raging beyond the control of the government. Then the Methodists arose. Preaching in the streets they often endured the jeers and floggings of mobs. Yet, they spoke from hearts aflame with the love of Christ, telling all whom they met of the righteousness of God and salvation through His Son. They gave to the poor. They spoke for God in their generation. And England was transformed.
2. In the America of the 1800’s, social and moral decay were knawing away the foundations of social stability. The foul spectre of that socially-accepted and state-sanctioned injustice called ‘slavery’ was dimming the promise of “freedom and justice for all”. Then a slumbering church awoke and began to work for a renewal in righteousness. Christian abolitionists, many of whom were Wesleyans, cried out against the evils of the slave-trade and fearlessly preached the Gospel’s standard of holiness of heart and life. Gradually, the nation recovered its conscience and, after a painful war, put an end to the notion that the black man was only “three-fifths of a human”.
E. “The Kingdom of Heaven” still “advances forcefully” through righteous women and men of courage and boldness.
1. We Christians are a conundrum: On one hand, we are peacemakers and gentle. We do not wage physical violence against any. Yet, we are a people of spiritual and moral violence. We must and do make our voices to be heard even though we sometimes seem to be but “voices crying in the wilderness”.
2. We are ladies and gentlemen, but we speak out against the evils of our day. We do not, must not, remain silent while we hold the very Gospel which can reform the nations and teach righteousness to a people who have lost their bearings.
3. We will endure the scoffing of the scoffers; We will outlast our most passionate foe – because it is in our redeemed nature to bear witness to God and the right regardless of the praise or dispraise of man.
III. The Courage of the Christian Warrior.
A. Hear once more the Word of the Lord:
1. “You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” – 2 Timothy 2:3
2. “And let us not get tired of doing what is right, for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t get discouraged and give up.” – Galatians 6:9
3. “…from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.” – Matthew 11:12
IV. Application
1. Every significant advance begins by challenging the status quo. By challenging the status quo (”the way things are”), you are liberated from repeating errors and are freed to establish stronger foundations for new advances. Jesus challenged the status quo of the religious professionals of His day with the “Great Commandment” – to love. The Apostle Paul challenged the status quo of early church leaders who acted as if “only Jews could be saved.” Martin Luther challenged the status quo idea of salvation by works. William Carey challenged the notion of his fellow churchmen that “If God wants the heathen saved, he will do it without you,” and thus was born the modern missionary movement.
2. Remarks attributed to Lynn Anderson describe what happens when a people lose their vision. “A group of pilgrims landed on the shores of America about 350 years ago. With great vision and courage they had come to settle in the new land. In the first year they established a town. In the second, they elected a town council. In the third, the government proposed building a road 5 miles westward into the wilderness. But in the fourth year the people tried to impeach the town council because they thought such a road into the forest was a waste of public funds. Somehow these forward-looking people had lost their vision. Once able to see across oceans, they now could not look 5 miles into the wilderness.”
V. Conclusion
1. What will history record about us? Let it not be that we were timid, visionless and cowardly in the face of evil. Nor that we became mean-spirited and bitter in resisting it. Let it rather be that with both love and courage we took our stand and refused to be relegated to the footnotes of history. Let it be that we spoke for truth and righteousness in spite of the mocking ignorance of the crowd. And that God heard our voices and answered with renewal and holiness throughout our land.
2. We are warriors in a time of holy war. Let us then be wise and conduct our warfare as courageously as Children of God ought to do. With the weapons of love, truth and faithfulness every foe must — in time — yield to our King.
Prayer: May the God of Grace, Courage and Illumination give us light to see that “we cannot just sit there”… and the courage to violently “storm the heights” through prayer and witness – until righteousness and “the knowledge of the Lord cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.” (Isaiah 11:9, Habakkuk 2:14)
Benediction: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. – Rom 15:13;16:20
