Dakota Community Church
June 15, 2008
Unsafe for the Whole Family
We live in a world that has gone to the extreme where safety is concerned.
Everything is labeled for safety.
As I write this I glance at my coffee cup which warns me that “the beverage I am about to enjoy is extremely hot” and in case I am offended by the artistic blurb on the other side of the cup; “This is the author’s opinion, not necessarily that of Starbucks”.
Wacky Warnings:
On a cardboard windshield sun shade: "Warning: Do Not Drive with Sun Shield in Place."
A label on a baby stroller warns: “Remove child before folding
A brass fishing lure with a three-pronged hook on the end warns: “Harmful if swallowed
A digital thermometer that can be used to take a person’s temperature several different ways warns: "Once used rectally, the thermometer should not be used orally."
The label on a bottle of drain cleaner warns: “If you do not understand, or cannot read, all directions, cautions and warnings, do not use this product.”
A 12-inch rack for storing compact disks warns: “Do not use as a ladder.”
A cartridge for a laser printer warns, “Do not eat toner”
A popular manufactured fireplace log warns: “Caution - Risk of Fire”
A box of birthday cake candles says: “DO NOT use soft wax as ear plugs or for any other function that involves insertion into a body cavity.”
(Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch - http://www.mlaw.org/wwl/pastwinners.html)
Remember being held at the top of the teeter totter by the school yard bully and begging to be let down… then feeling the unexpected shock of slamming into the ground when he finally let go?
Remember hanging on for dear life to the merry-go-round while a group of older kids spun it around and around until you eventually went flying off or tossed your cookies?
Remember metal slides that glowed red hot in the sun with ladders that were so steep it was like scaling a wall just to get your turn to screech your bare legs all the way down?
Those were the good times eh?
Our poor kids are missing out on all that fun with the plastic and rubber coated safety playgrounds of this modern era.
If your children are in sports at all you know the push for safety in that field.
Hockey Jerseys now come with red stop signs where the players name used to go to warn opponents not to hit from behind.
The first year my sons played hockey I bought them gear at a used sporting goods store only to get to the rink the first day and be told that half of what I had bought did not meet safety standards and they would not be allowed on the ice until I bought current equipment. I thought about the little plastic and Styrofoam hat my dad had sent me out to play in and realized he never really loved me!
One set of shin pads I bought for Caleb warned that, “Pads cannot protect any part of the body they do not cover”. True that!
Some churches are really big on safety these days too, providing a safe place for you and the whole family … not that there is really anything wrong with that… but honestly; how safe is this Christian walk?
Mark 8:34-38
Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels."
Not exactly the words of a “safety first” union rep. eh?
I think in this play safe social setting we find ourselves in it is important to be reminded of a few things every now and again.
1. Ours is not a “safety first” calling.
2 Corinthians 11:23-29
Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?
I am not suggesting that Christians should abandon common sense or take foolish unnecessary risks, but I am saying that God may call you to go somewhere or to do something that may place you in harm’s way.
Safety is not the top priority when God’s call is on the line.
Hebrews 11:32-40
And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.
These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
This is from the famous “Hall of Faith” passage and is the part that is usually not quoted because we don’t want to hear about the destitute or the mistreated as heroes of faith, we think faith is only about overcoming and being prosperous.
In Germany in the late 1930’s many Christians saw the tyranny that was falling upon their Jewish fellow countrymen. Some felt that it was only a matter of time until they too were labeled as unpatriotic so they heard the call of God to flee the region. Others stayed to make a stand, to try to save their neighbors, to declare that what was being done was a horrific injustice. Many of them died along side their Jewish neighbors in the gas ovens of the concentration camps.
These are not sorry examples of defeat. These are victorious believers who heard the call of God to make the ultimate sacrifice for their beliefs.
There are things in this life that are more important than safety and security.
My oldest son Joel who is 19 years old has been following God on the mission field in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei. I don’t know how safe he is at every moment, I pray constantly for him, but I know that I would rather see him risking all to follow God than sitting safely at home doing his own thing.
The temptation for us as Christian parents is to try to protect and shield our children from the reality of this fallen planet, and we should, however, it is possible to go too far in this and wind up handicapping our children leaving them ill-equipped for life as adults. The real world is not safe, the real world is not fair, the real world will not embrace them for their “unique giftings”, and we should not do more than God will do in our desire to spare them from reality.
Ours is not a “safety first” calling because:
2. We do not serve a God who plays it safe.
Revelation 13:8
All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.
From the beginning God’s plan was to sacrifice Himself for our salvation.
John 18:3-5
So Judas came to the grove, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.
Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, "Who is it you want?"
"Jesus of Nazareth," they replied.
"I am he," Jesus said.
Jesus did what He did for us with open eyed knowledge. He endured the cross for us, not so that we could live lives of leisure and safety, but so that we could know what it means to really live. To embrace a life with God as our sole source, to experience life as men who are already dead!
Matthew 10:37-39
"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
What can you take from me if I have already given all?
Romans 6:4
We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
What can you do to me if I am already dead?
We desire a safe God, a tame God, a God who meets our need for absolute security; but as C. S. Lewis so accurately displays in the Chronicles of Narnia when you first encounter the Lion-god of Narnia, "meek and mild" will never enter your head. In fact, the beavers warn the four human children that the mere sight of Aslan will cause their knees to knock so much they may be unable to stand.
"Then he isn’t safe?" asks Lucy.
"Safe?" replies Mr. Beaver. "Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good."
Not safe but good – a strange description for God. But over and over in the seven stories we learn just what this means.
One example occurs in The Silver Chair when the schoolgirl Jill is alone and desperately thirsty in unknown woods. She comes upon a stream, but between her and the water sits the great Lion. Aslan tells her that she can drink, but the terrified girl wants assurance that she will not be eaten. When he refuses to promise, Jill determines to find another stream. But he tells her, "There is no other stream." The Lion of Narnia makes uncomfortable and sometimes extreme demands, and he cannot be manipulated or controlled or bent to anyone’s will.
"It’s not as if he were a tame lion," explains the magician in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
(Rick Warren Blog - http://www.pastors.com/RWMT/article.asp?ArtID=8771)
Ours is not a safety first calling because we do not serve a tame lion, a God who plays safe, none the less it is important to remember that we are not left helpless and without defenses.
3. Don’t battle naked.
There are always two extremes. Some lean toward over doing the safety thing to the point of not really living, but, there are those amoung us who abandon faith and set out naked to battle in a foolish thrill seeking mindset that also leads to destruction.
Luke 4:9-12
The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down from here. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’"
Jesus answered, "It says: ’Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’"
Jesus did not jump from the temple roof!
Ephesians 6:11-12
Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Is it going to be safe? You don’t need armor in a padded room.
Is He going to lead you someplace you don’t want to go?
He might, honestly, He might; but would it help if I tell you that after you have followed Him there you will not regret it?
Would you rather search for another stream, a safe stream?
There is no other stream.
PowerPoint available (Free of charge) on request dcormie@mts.net
