Semper Paratus
Imagine this morning if you would that you are in a Mediterranean paradise. [Short pause] There once was a man who lived there. He was a good man. He raised his children to the best of his ability, he supported his wife in all her endeavors, and yes … he fully trusted and followed God.
This man was into agriculture; as were must of that time period, raising a herd of animals. He had raised and sold livestock for many years; and with each year, his blessings seem to grow and grow and grow.
It is probably important to tell you that he was also an avid fisherman and a sailor who enjoyed going out onto the sea to fish, reflect, and recharge: to simply smell the salty freshness of the sea.
It was on one such day that he got up early, it was a beautiful day, and got his stuff together. The kids were asleep, so he peaked in and then turned to leave. He stopped back in his bedroom and left a rose on the pillow beside his beloved wife. He creep downstairs, went out the door, jumped in his boat, and headed out to sea. The waters were calm and the day was young … it was paradise: or so he thought ….
It was just a little later in the morning when his life began to change. The kids had gotten up and left for school. When they were only a few blocks from the school, tragedy hit. A drunken truck driver went left of center, hit the bus head on, and all of his children were killed.
The news came hard to the mom. She had just gotten to work with a smile on her face when the news came in. She was devastated: she couldn’t talk, she could barely sit. The doctors found out that the father was on the sea and a messenger was sent to radio out for him.
When he received the news, he too was saddened and troubled, yet he turned his boat around. With the dark, storminess of life surrounding him, he began the trip home.
Realize this morning that this man was hurting. As he rushed to his wife, he noticed that the sky was getting darker and the waves were becoming more choppy. He got on his knees and continued to pray that God would deliver him safely out of this storm.
Yet with each moment, his world was becoming darker, not lighter. The storm continued to grow and he knew that he too was in trouble. He radioed in for support and continued on his course.
All at once, the boat was hit by lightening and became dead in the water. All of the electronics were fried! The storm tossed the small ship around. A wave hit here, a wave crashed there: the ship was going down. He climbed up to the top and continued to pray to a God who did not seem to be listening.
Then it happened, he heard a noise. He looked up in the storm and saw the copter approaching. As it got closer he could see the doors open and a man leap out into the cold ocean below. The swimmer made his way to the boat, reached out for the hands of the man who was seconds away from drowning. He scooped the man up, pulled him to safety, held him as he began his ascent into the copter and returned home. As he was returning to land, he was thanking God that he had not been forgotten. He thanked God for sending people his way to help him feel his Savior’s presence in a time when he could not have done so alone.
I would now like to share a 2nd story with you this morning. It too is a story about a man who loved God, but lost everything. Hear today the story of a man named Job.
1. Job – Read text: Job 1: 1-22
2. What he had
a. A wife, 7 sons, and 3 daughters
b. 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and many servents
3. What he lost
a. His livestock to theft and fire
b. His servants
c. His children
4. His response was to bless God.
5. How others helped?
a. They didn’t.
b. Eliphaz stressed that the innocent do not suffer.
c. Bildad stresses that God rewards the “Good”
d. Zophar rebukes Job.
In both stories, you can see that God was there. That is the advantage of being on the outside looking in. We know from Job that God really did care. We also know from the 1st story that God cared so much for that man that he did send him a way to safety.
Yet what does either of these stories have to do with the church? As we examine that question, let me tell you about last week. IT was just a few days ago I went to the movies with a couple families from Maple Grove. The movie we went to see was “The Guardian.” If you have not been to it or heard about it, it is a movie about the US Coast Guard. As I watched the movie unfold, I thought about the images in the movie and how as Christians we can learn a great deal from it.
To begin, I would like you to look at the Coast Guard motto which is Semper Paratus which literally means “always ready.” Just as the Coast Guard is “always ready” to help those in need, so too must the church be “always ready” to serve humanity: it could be helping someone who is hungry, it could be keeping in touch with someone who has lost a loved one for “no reason.” It could come in the form of a teenager stopping in for help as she is pregnant, her boyfriend is gone, and she knows her parents will kill her. Just as that man was sinking into the ocean, so too are many today sinking into the “ocean of life;” that great void which is swallowing them up. We must be ready to help at anytime. Yet how do we help? [short pause]
Returning to our story this morning, I would like you to think of the “swimmer.” This was what the movie was mainly about: the guys who jump in. Whereas the Coast Guard motto is to always be ready, rescue swimmers have their own motto and it is one we should all live by: “So others may live.” That is our mission on earth. We are called to help others find the safety and comfort that comes from God’s Redemptive love. Yet today, many churches put that on the back burner. It is more important to “be seen,” to “be financially secure,” to “follow a rule book here or there.” I’m here to tell you this morning, that our primary task is listed in only one book and it tells us to go fishing; to go into the world and share the Gospel message to all of humanity … nothing less, nothing more.
The rescue swimmers are asked one major question in there training. They are asked if they are willing to die so that someone else might live. Imagine the power of God’s Kingdom on earth if his people would also say yes. Imagine the love of God flowing out of you when someone in need, someone begging for help, is reaching out for a hand and that hand is yours.
Our Lord said: “Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me” (Matthew 25:40, NASB).
Be always ready! Be always ready to serve So others may live! Not just on this earth, but for all of eternity.
