I want to thank all of you who prayed for us during our “debacle of the cars”. It was another chance to see God’s wonderful plan in action.
For those of you who haven’t heard the story, since our son Andy has begun preaching in Gilmer County, he finally decided to get his driver’s license in early June. We chose to let him use our white Honda Fit, an automatic with 150,000 miles on it, and bought Saundra a new blue Subaru as a replacement.
Andy had to drive the Fit back and forth once a week to Wirt County, to the Boy Scout Camp where he was also working, down 45 miles of Route 47, one of the crookedest roads that the West Virginia Department of Highways has chosen to make.
Well, after a month of camp, it was time for his last trip to the camp. He was on his way down, 200 yards short of the camp, taking that last left turn on that rainy Thursday evening, when his front passenger wheel left the pavement.
Now in that area, the shoulder is literally only about 3-4 inches wide before dropping off into a deep ditch. He fought to get the wheel back on the pavement for a hundred yards, but then gravity won and he went sailing through the air, to pancake down the length of the ditch like a 747 landing without wheels. He finally was brought to a stop by a tree stump. The front bumper and grill were torn off, and the engine and transmission torn up. But, thank the Lord, Andy was fine, no scratches, no bruises. And the rest of the car was fine except for some mud, so we weren’t sure whether it would be in for 2 weeks of car surgery or be sent to the junkyard. Naturally, we didn’t want to buy a new car if the old one would be repaired. Thankfully, I’ve been using my Dad’s old truck to help Andy move, so the Subaru, the pickup, and the grey Fit meant we still had three vehicles available.
So that Saturday, I gave Andy some lessons on using a standard transmission with the grey Fit, which has about 135,000 miles on it. (I think you know the condition of a standard clutch with 135,000 miles on it.) He began to practice starting on the flat with the normal jumping and jerking that comes with learning how to drive a standard, and then he went onto steeper and steeper slopes in the church parking lot. After about twenty minutes, he came inside and said, “Dad, I think I’ve destroyed the clutch.” I went outside and sure enough, when I put it in gear, any gear – nothing happened. Thankfully, Andy didn’t have to preach that Sunday, since God had arranged it that it was a fifth Sunday and his five churches alternate services, skipping fifth Sundays.
I got some quotes. The Honda dealer said $2100. The Truck Transmission people in Anmoore said they didn’t work on things that small – they send Jeep transmissions to the dealerships for repair. I talked to Ben at Mr Tune – he said they don’t like to work on things that large now that he and his partner are getting older. So I called our old friends at Boley Enterprises, a shop in Marietta run by my fifth cousin, which is a transmission specialist. They said $1200, so I took Dad’s diesel pickup, which will tow a house. Rick, Andy, and I loaded the car on a U-Haul trailer and I towed it to Marietta, scarcely knowing it was there.
There, Cousin Rusty found that the clutch was probably fine, but the front axle had broken, which is a much cheaper repair. But time was running out and the axle might not arrive in time for the repairs to be made by the weekend. We needed another vehicle for the next Sunday.
We could rent a car, but Andy is too young to drive a rental car. Saundra really didn’t want him driving her new Subaru after putting two other cars out of commission in a week. Besides, she was headed to Columbus for two weeks of school on Sunday morning, which would make the car rental option a problem.The big Dodge 2500 Cummins Turbo Diesel pickup is six on the floor, tricky for an experienced driver. And we were still waiting on the insurance company to decide whether they would repair or total the white Fit Andy's wrecked.
We prayed.
Friday at 11:30 am, Marietta called and said the grey Fit was ready. We drove over and got the repaired grey Fit – with new brake pads installed, too, for less than $700. On the way, the insurance man called to tell us the white Fit was totaled. On Saturday, we bought a 2014 Subaru Legacy for Andy with no money down. And he preached on Sunday at three churches, Saundra made it to Columbus, and I made it to my two churches. Isn’t God good?
Perhaps Andy really needed an all-wheel drive. Subaru for his ministry this winter. Perhaps that’s why the car was totaled.
Now here’s the kicker – when Rusty replaced the axle, he found out it had actually broken months ago with a hairline crack that was corroded over. A piece of rubber had held it together until Andy’s poor shifting had made the car jump and jerk in the parking lot. Can you imagine what would have happened if I had hit a good pothole at highway speeds?
God looks out for people who love Him.
As God looked out for Elijah.
Elijah had just challenged the priests of Baal to a “battle of the gods’ on top of Mt. Carmel. The priests of Baal had called upon Baal to light the wood for their altar all day long. After they had given up, Elijah had soaked his altar wood in water, and then called upon God – in Hebrew the name for God is YAHWEH - to light it. Fire fell from Heaven and the altar burned brightly. Elijah had the huge crowd of the people of Israel to slaughter the priests of Baal that day, effectively destroying Baal worship in Israel.
But Queen Jezebel, who was a priestess of Baal, sent Elijah a death threat, and he ran for his life to the south, into the desert and then eventually to Mr Horeb, the mountain of God.
There he went into a cave and spent the night.
And the word of Yahweh came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
He replied, “I have been very zealous for Yahweh God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
Elijah was tired, upset, and ready to give up.
God (Yahweh) said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of Yahweh, for Yahweh is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before Yahweh, but Yahweh was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but Yahweh was not in the earthquake.After the earthquake came a fire, but Yahweh was not in the fire. And after the fire came a still, small voice. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
He replied, “I have been very zealous for Yahweh God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
Yahweh said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”
Notice that God was not in the big and dramatic events that were happening all around Elijah. God was not in the fire, the wind, the earthquake. God was in the still, small voice that spoke gently to Elijah and guided him.
Why is that?
For God doesn’t care nearly as much about the physical shape of the world as the condition of one particular soul, your soul, my soul. To God, the earth is simply a place where people live. It is the people who are important – It is simple for God to create new balls of rock, but people – God started things in process, but we create ourselves under God’s guidance and that is much more demanding, much more delicate, much more important. It is through people that God works, you see. We are the body of Christ, after all.
And so God was not in the wind and God was not in the earthquake, and God was not in the fire, but God was in the still, small voice that spoke to Elijah and told him what to do for the rest of his life. Do not look for God in grand events – listen for the still, small voice that speaks to you.
He may tell you to walk to him on top of water – and give you that ability.
Peter and the disciples left Jesus behind one evening at his request and sailed toward the other side of the lake. Late that night, Peter looked out and saw Jesus walking across the water toward them.
“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter said to Him, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
“Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.
Can you imagine what that must have felt like, walking on top of the water? WOW!
But then, Peter looked around. He saw the waves.
But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
When we have trials and troubles, it is short-sighted of us to look at those short-term troubles, like the wind, like Jezebel. God has a plan and His plan is far wiser than anything we know.
Elijah was convinced that all was lost, that he was the last worshipper of God, the last worshipper of Yahweh. But God, after reminding Elijah of His great power, told Elijah that there were seven thousand people in Israel who had never worshipped Baal. And those seven thousand would be the core of the restoration of the worship of Yahweh. There are always others who worship Yahweh, who worship God, who worship Jesus. We are never alone!
Elijah was told to anoint Elisha to succeed him as prophet. And Elisha, though less well known, was an even greater prophet than Elijah, just as Jesus was even greater than John the Baptist. Sometimes, it is time to pass on the baton to the next generation for the glory of God.
And Elijah? When Elijah retired, Elijah was taken up into Heaven alive.
And in the story of Peter walking upon the water – for that is really the important part, for everyone realizes that Jesus the Son of God should be able to walk on water. Did you even notice that Peter is able to walk on water?
Peter, an ordinary man, a fishing boat captain, had been at sea many times, but never before walked on top of the water. Peter was a rough man, a man who even after this pretended not to know Jesus out of fear for Peter’s life. Yet that night Peter walked on water.
But Peter walked on water only as long as he kept his eyes on Jesus.
When he looked at the wind, he was afraid and began to sink.
He cried out, “Lord, save me!”
And Jesus caught him. But Jesus also reminded him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”
Things are rough in your life. Why do you doubt that God will take care of you?
You’ve lost your job. Jesus is there.
You have a bad relationship. God is there.
You’ve made a mistake. God’s people are around you to help you.
You’ve lost a friend, a relative, a neighbor. There are more friends to be found in God’s people.
Your health is declining, perhaps death is upon you. Jesus is there to take your hand and lift you out of the deep, dark waters of death alive to be with Him on the other side of the journey.
Trust in God, Also Trust in Jesus. And listen to the voice, the still, small voice, and the Word of God.
We can listen to the Word of God proclaimed on Sunday mornings, we can read the Word of God, we can listen for the still, small voice of the Spirit. But that’s not the only way we can find out what God wants us to do.
Paul wrote:
But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,”
The word of God is in your mouth and in your heart. YOU can speak the Word of God. YOU can speak what the Holy Spirit tells you to speak. YOU can hear God speak using your own mouth, for God wants to speak to your friends, neighbors, and family through YOUR voice. He has a message for you to deliver. It is a message, a message about faith. God tells you that message with His still, small voice and God can speak through you if you give Him permission, perhaps by praying, “Lord, speak through me.”
As Paul said: “The message concerning faith that we proclaim:
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”
… “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
We are saved by our act of speaking the praises of God. When you profess your faith, you are saved. How much more will you be saved if you profess your faith to everyone you meet?
But here is the rub. We are frightened to speak of Christ in this world. Do YOU LOVE people? Do you love all your neighbors as yourself, as Jesus taught us?
Paul asks us: How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?
We have more churches than pastors. Small churches are being closed because of a lack of pastors in this very state. And new churches aren’t being opened up for the same reason.
Yet in this very building you sit, perfectly capable of preaching the word of God to people, of starting up new worship services in new places, in homes, in restaurants, in bars, in parks, in this very building at different times. Some of you have retirement income coming in – you could plant a new church group or start a meeting in your home. Some of you will need financial support – there are churches who are willing to pay. Preaching doesn’t have to be done in existing churches – it can be done at bars, at restaurants, in the park, at the senior citizens, at the hospital, in your own home or SUV, in a small group, in a club.
How will they hear without someone preaching to them?
If you are interested in becoming a preacher, an associate pastor, a full-time pastor, an evangelist, a man or woman who spends one day a week bringing people to the Lord, set aside next Sunday afternoon to speak with me. I’ll be in the Quiet Dell Fellowship Hall next Sunday at 2 pm to discuss the possibilities. You may not know what you want to do or can do, you may not know what to say or how to say it, but only know you want to help bring people to the Lord. Be here, and we’ll ask God to do the rest.
As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
Will you bring good news to someone? Will those be your beautiful feet?
Years ago, Saundra and I were at an event and heard that still small voice leading us to meet a young woman who was far from home. An only child, her parents were over twelve hours away and they were divorced. She had no one and yet she had to be where she was. She was terribly alone. So we made friends with her and invited her over for dinner about once every couple of weeks. We listened to her and we taught her how we depend upon the Lord, upon Jesus, upon the Word of God.
We bought her a Bible. We showed her how to read it. We took her to church. We introduced her to our Sunday School class. We sat with her at church. It took a year.
One day, I was tied up with some other visitors to our church. She wanted to talk. I told her she was a big girl now and I would see her in the sanctuary later.
That day, she stood in the communion line and said to herself, “Yes, I am a big girl and I want to know God better for myself.”
And that afternoon, on the way home, she told us she wanted to be baptized as a Christian believer, which happened two weeks later.
Now, she is a teacher a long way from here, and everything she does is informed by her Christian faith. Wouldn’t you want her to teach your children?
It all began because Saundra and I, long before we were pastors, listened to that still, small voice and reached out to a lonely woman and talked about how God helped us.
That’s all it takes to share the Gospel. That’s all preaching really is.
Listen to the voice like Elijah, keep your eyes on Jesus like Peter, and Jesus will make your feet beautiful as you bring good news to friends, neighbors, and family.
Amen.
And the word of Yahweh came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
He replied, “I have been very zealous for Yahweh God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
Elijah was tired, upset, and ready to give up.
God (Yahweh) said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of Yahweh, for Yahweh is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before Yahweh, but Yahweh was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but Yahweh was not in the earthquake.After the earthquake came a fire, but Yahweh was not in the fire. And after the fire came a still, small voice. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
He replied, “I have been very zealous for Yahweh God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
Yahweh said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”
Notice that God was not in the big and dramatic events that were happening all around Elijah. God was not in the fire, the wind, the earthquake. God was in the still, small voice that spoke gently to Elijah and guided him.
Why is that?
For God doesn’t care nearly as much about the physical shape of the world as the condition of one particular soul, your soul, my soul. To God, the earth is simply a place where people live. It is the people who are important – It is simple for God to create new balls of rock, but people – God started things in process, but we create ourselves under God’s guidance and that is much more demanding, much more delicate, much more important. It is through people that God works, you see. We are the body of Christ, after all.
And so God was not in the wind and God was not in the earthquake, and God was not in the fire, but God was in the still, small voice that spoke to Elijah and told him what to do for the rest of his life. Do not look for God in grand events – listen for the still, small voice that speaks to you.
He may tell you to walk to him on top of water – and give you that ability.
Peter and the disciples left Jesus behind one evening at his request and sailed toward the other side of the lake. Late that night, Peter looked out and saw Jesus walking across the water toward them.
“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter said to Him, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
“Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.
Can you imagine what that must have felt like, walking on top of the water? WOW!
But then, Peter looked around. He saw the waves.
But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
When we have trials and troubles, it is short-sighted of us to look at those short-term troubles, like the wind, like Jezebel. God has a plan and His plan is far wiser than anything we know.
Elijah was convinced that all was lost, that he was the last worshipper of God, the last worshipper of Yahweh. But God, after reminding Elijah of His great power, told Elijah that there were seven thousand people in Israel who had never worshipped Baal. And those seven thousand would be the core of the restoration of the worship of Yahweh. There are always others who worship Yahweh, who worship God, who worship Jesus. We are never alone!
Elijah was told to anoint Elisha to succeed him as prophet. And Elisha, though less well known, was an even greater prophet than Elijah, just as Jesus was even greater than John the Baptist. Sometimes, it is time to pass on the baton to the next generation for the glory of God.
And Elijah? When Elijah retired, Elijah was taken up into Heaven alive.
And in the story of Peter walking upon the water – for that is really the important part, for everyone realizes that Jesus the Son of God should be able to walk on water. Did you even notice that Peter is able to walk on water?
Peter, an ordinary man, a fishing boat captain, had been at sea many times, but never before walked on top of the water. Peter was a rough man, a man who even after this pretended not to know Jesus out of fear for Peter’s life. Yet that night Peter walked on water.
But Peter walked on water only as long as he kept his eyes on Jesus.
When he looked at the wind, he was afraid and began to sink.
He cried out, “Lord, save me!”
And Jesus caught him. But Jesus also reminded him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”
Things are rough in your life. Why do you doubt that God will take care of you?
You’ve lost your job. Jesus is there.
You have a bad relationship. God is there.
You’ve made a mistake. God’s people are around you to help you.
You’ve lost a friend, a relative, a neighbor. There are more friends to be found in God’s people.
Your health is declining, perhaps death is upon you. Jesus is there to take your hand and lift you out of the deep, dark waters of death alive to be with Him on the other side of the journey.
Trust in God, Also Trust in Jesus. And listen to the voice, the still, small voice, and the Word of God.
We can listen to the Word of God proclaimed on Sunday mornings, we can read the Word of God, we can listen for the still, small voice of the Spirit. But that’s not the only way we can find out what God wants us to do.
Paul wrote:
But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,”
The word of God is in your mouth and in your heart. YOU can speak the Word of God. YOU can speak what the Holy Spirit tells you to speak. YOU can hear God speak using your own mouth, for God wants to speak to your friends, neighbors, and family through YOUR voice. He has a message for you to deliver. It is a message, a message about faith. God tells you that message with His still, small voice and God can speak through you if you give Him permission, perhaps by praying, “Lord, speak through me.”
As Paul said: “The message concerning faith that we proclaim:
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”
… “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
We are saved by our act of speaking the praises of God. When you profess your faith, you are saved. How much more will you be saved if you profess your faith to everyone you meet?
But here is the rub. We are frightened to speak of Christ in this world. Do YOU LOVE people? Do you love all your neighbors as yourself, as Jesus taught us?
Paul asks us: How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?
We have more churches than pastors. Small churches are being closed because of a lack of pastors in this very state. And new churches aren’t being opened up for the same reason.
Yet in this very building you sit, perfectly capable of preaching the word of God to people, of starting up new worship services in new places, in homes, in restaurants, in bars, in parks, in this very building at different times. Some of you have retirement income coming in – you could plant a new church group or start a meeting in your home. Some of you will need financial support – there are churches who are willing to pay. Preaching doesn’t have to be done in existing churches – it can be done at bars, at restaurants, in the park, at the senior citizens, at the hospital, in your own home or SUV, in a small group, in a club.
How will they hear without someone preaching to them?
If you are interested in becoming a preacher, an associate pastor, a full-time pastor, an evangelist, a man or woman who spends one day a week bringing people to the Lord, set aside next Sunday afternoon to speak with me. I’ll be in the Quiet Dell Fellowship Hall next Sunday at 2 pm to discuss the possibilities. You may not know what you want to do or can do, you may not know what to say or how to say it, but only know you want to help bring people to the Lord. Be here, and we’ll ask God to do the rest.
As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
Will you bring good news to someone? Will those be your beautiful feet?
Years ago, Saundra and I were at an event and heard that still small voice leading us to meet a young woman who was far from home. An only child, her parents were over twelve hours away and they were divorced. She had no one and yet she had to be where she was. She was terribly alone. So we made friends with her and invited her over for dinner about once every couple of weeks. We listened to her and we taught her how we depend upon the Lord, upon Jesus, upon the Word of God.
We bought her a Bible. We showed her how to read it. We took her to church. We introduced her to our Sunday School class. We sat with her at church. It took a year.
One day, I was tied up with some other visitors to our church. She wanted to talk. I told her she was a big girl now and I would see her in the sanctuary later.
That day, she stood in the communion line and said to herself, “Yes, I am a big girl and I want to know God better for myself.”
And that afternoon, on the way home, she told us she wanted to be baptized as a Christian believer, which happened two weeks later.
Now, she is a teacher a long way from here, and everything she does is informed by her Christian faith. Wouldn’t you want her to teach your children?
It all began because Saundra and I, long before we were pastors, listened to that still, small voice and reached out to a lonely woman and talked about how God helped us.
That’s all it takes to share the Gospel. That’s all preaching really is.
Listen to the voice like Elijah, keep your eyes on Jesus like Peter, and Jesus will make your feet beautiful as you bring good news to friends, neighbors, and family.
Amen.
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