Recuperating at home this last month from neck surgery has had a way of molding new perspectives. God has been teaching me the blessing of receiving from others [tough lesson for someone in the giving profession]. Extra time to meet with the Lord has only deepened my love for Him and resolve to serve Him better. Absence from the work I love, shepherding First Baptist, has only endeared, even more, each of you to my heart.
Being home through the day has also brought other experiences as well, like numerous wrong numbers. They can be very annoying, but I’m aware that I too have made a few over the years. It’s easy to do – reading the wrong line in the directory – trusting your memory – punching numbers too quickly. That whole experience of hearing the phone ring [twice while I was asleep], answering it, and then having the other party hang up, started to aggravate me. After one such call, I distinctly remember the thought occurring in my mind, “I often find people getting the wrong number too”. Was that thought from God? Well think about the following Bible situations:
- Gideon had too many soldiers to do the job God wanted him to do.
- King Nebuchadnezzar found the wrong number in the fiery furnace, for instead of only three men whom he placed there, he saw four.
- The disciples thought that a boy’s lunch was the wrong number to feed 5,000+ people. Yet they saw Jesus make it the right number.
Haven’t we seen the same thing recently in our own midst? God gave us a wonderful opportunity to help a young man in our community. We set a goal of $1,800.00, which to some was the wrong number – way too high for our church, especially when there were in-house financial challenges that called to be met first. Yet what did God do? OUR GOAL WAS THE WRONG NUMBER! IT WAS TOO LOW! So He brought in enough money to meet His goal – $2,269.47. We desired to pay for a young man’s car insurance when God was also planning to pay his family’s winter heating fuel bill.
I’m very pleased with our church – we heard God – and obeyed His direction. And it is just like our Lord to fulfill His Own Word – “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power, that is at work in us…” [Ephesians 3:20] – He did much more, by His power through us, than we could have imagined.
Do you remember Rev. Jim Harris sharing with us recently at FBC six characteristics of a New Testament church [taken from Acts 2:40-47]? One of those aspects was – “A New Testament church is noted for doing the impossible”. As Christians we are humans in whom Jesus lives which makes us more than human. And so the impossible and the immeasurably more ought to be happening constantly and not just on rare occasions.
We are about to celebrate the birth of a baby in Bethlehem – just another human being – but the world has the wrong number – He is the God-Man – not just man. And the God-Man is our Savior and His Spirit dwells in us. Remember His name – Immanuel – God with us? And His Word reminds us of numbers:
- “If God is for us, who can be against us” [Romans 8:31]
- “I can everything through Him who gives me strength” [Philippians 4:13]
Recently I was watching the James Bond film The World is Not Enough. Agent 007 was facing 4 enemies. The leader looks at him and says “You’ve got the wrong numbers” I thought, “Oh yea”? And truly, as only television can do, he soon eliminated all of them. That is fantasy. But God’s immeasurably more is something God wants to make reality in your life daily. He wants to turn our wrong numbers into the right numbers. Placing our faith in Him always get the right number.
This Christmas, do you have a baby God or are you in-dwelt by and relying on The Almighty God? If the later, I ask you, “What are you attempting that only God can do?” “What is our church attempting now that only God can do?” With our recent Pray It Forward Mission do you think God is trying to change our perspective of Him and what He can do?
Wanting more of HIS immeasurably more,
Pastor Steve