It’s 3:45 in the morning and I am deep asleep and then the phone vibrates. I look at it and see that is our alarm monitoring company for our church. “Hello? Is this Dennis? Yes. We have a fire alarm going off at your church and fire and police are in route.” Now this isn’t the first time I’ve been called deep in the night for an alarm, but in the past, I was always able to tell whether it leaned towards a false alarm or not. This time I sensed a very serious tone in his voice. So, I quickly dressed and left home heading to what I was praying to be another false alarm. I did have an almost instant flood of thoughts once in the car; what if there is a fire? Which elder do I wake first? Why now God, we are already quarantined from this covid-19 and are being challenged in new ways to hold church? I really don’t need a new stressor! As these thoughts run through my mind, I notice the speed at which I am travelling and decide it best to slow down (I only live 3 miles from the church) getting there faster won’t matter if there is an issue.
I am more than ½ way there and I can’t tell if what I am seeing is now fog or smoke. My heart rate increases and so does my speed again, in fact I will confess I was way over the speed limit. I get to the roundabout and see there are multiple trucks, lights flashing and as I get closer to the parking lot, I notice one fireman (in full gear) opening a door towards the rear of the truck and had his hand on a hose. PANIC hits me! I pull into the lot, park and jump out of my car and go up to the front doors. There I see several firemen in the building, literally running around and strobe lights flashing and I can hear the alarms. One of them sees me and comes to the front door and asks if I am with the church and lets me in. At that moment – all fear / panic stops. Because I know he would not let me into a burning building! Once we determined which alarm was activated, they were able to reset the system and everything returned to “normal” and an “all clear” was given.
Ever been there as a business owner, pastor or leader? The place you work for, love, possibly built and the alarm is going off and you are called out. There is that moment where what makes sense seems to leave your mind and you begin wondering, if not worrying about worse case scenarios. “All clear!” Great words to hear. Your breathing slows down, your mind eases and suddenly your body reminds you that it is late, better get back home.
I took a moment to pray and thank Jesus for this false alarm. I also took a moment to say thank you for protecting this church – His church and the people that call it home. The pandemic (covid-19) has caused so much panic and fear. We see it and feel it in the stock market. Depending on where you live (I am in Illinois) you may be under an order of “shelter in place.” Which the idea behind it is to restrict public interaction as much as possible, hoping to prevent the spread of this dangerous virus. But let’s be honest, there is a lot of fear in our world right now. Many blame the news media and social media for this. Which I personally find interesting. Have you seen what people are sharing on social media? The same ones blaming the news media are sharing so much misinformation, if not complete lies about all of this that they are causing people to panic too.
Should we be in fear? Should we be living in panic? Remember the strobe lights and alarms I saw and heard at the building? We as a country had “alarms” and warnings in advance of this virus from other countries and then before we knew it, it was here. Now I cannot answer for all of those in authority about what actions they took or didn’t take when they first had those warnings and alarms going off, but I am thankful that they are doing whatever it takes to stop this virus in place , if not trying to eradicate it. The leaders of our great country are doing something – a whole lot of things. Before you choose to disagree (because I know some will) think about this: had my alarm company ignored the alarm and just pushed silent / reset and called it good and then hours later more alarms go off because there was / is a fire – the results are most likely horrific. What if the leaders of our country turned their backs and simply said, not going to happen here?
God has given us His Word to sound off an alarm for us. God’s Word helps us to know when we are in danger. It helps us understand what dangers we face. God’s word not only instructs and encourages us, it also warns us. And while, there is no explicit warning in the passage below, as we apply it to our lives, it issues a warning.
Luke 6:1-11 New International Version (NIV)
One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grain fields, and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels. Some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”
Jesus answered them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and taking the consecrated bread, he ate what is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.” Then Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Get up and stand in front of everyone.” So, he got up and stood there. Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?” He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was completely restored. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus.
Warning: The Danger of Rules Righteousness (1-2)
Application to us: You cannot earn God’s favor by doing good works. You cannot go to heaven following a set of rules. Perhaps you think you will get to heaven this way. Jesus said that there is only one way to the father and that is through Jesus Himself. He lived, died, and rose again. He lived to provide a righteousness which we cannot have on our own. He died because our sin creates a debt we cannot pay. He rose again so we can have a new life that we can never earn. If you want to have eternal life, then you must turn from you sin and trust in Jesus Christ.
Warning: The Danger of misunderstanding who Jesus Is (3-5)
Application to us: Do you know this Jesus? He is the Lord of the Sabbath. He is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. He is God. Do you know Him? The danger of rules righteousness flows right into the danger of misunderstanding who Jesus is. If you think you can follow a set of rules to get to heaven you won’t understand who Jesus is.
Warning: The Danger of Self-Righteousness (6-7)
Application to us: Are you falling in to the trap of self-righteousness? When you someone preach the word of God, do you find yourself applying it to others. Do you find yourself saying I wish so and so had been here this morning, they really needed that? Do you find yourself talking about other people, and how bad they are? Do your criticize people a lot because they don’t do things YOUR way? If you answer yes, then you are in a danger zone.
Warning: The Danger of Misunderstanding What God is doing (8-10)
Application to us: What about in your life? What if you are misunderstanding what God is doing? What if you are about to miss the greatest years of your life in Christ because you just don’t get? You’ve charted your own path. You may have even told others that God is in it, but you don’t even see that you have left God. As a matter of fact, you stand in direct opposition to God’s plan.
Warning: The Danger of Opposing God’s Plan (11)
Application to us: Some of you may be in this position today. You may be so hardened to God that you are actually opposing God’s work. Yes, you may be a person who has attended church for years, but you stand against God because the only person you really support is yourself and your own agenda.
Some of you are living lives of sin that stand in direct opposition to God and God’s Word. You made a decision some years ago and you had a life change, a salvation experience. But now you have sin in your life. It is your pet sin. You have decided that God is okay with it and that you will just be okay with it too.
It could be a sin of commission – something you do that you know is not right. Perhaps you are putting things into your body that are destroying the temple of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps you are involved in sexual sin and unfaithfulness to your spouse or you are dabbling in pre-marital sex. Perhaps you are spending your money on things that God will not bless, alcohol, drugs, tobacco, gambling, the lottery, things that are meant to put your pleasure above the pleasure and joy you are to have in God.
It could be a sin of omission – something you know is right, but you don’t do. Attending church regularly. Giving your tithes and offerings to support God’s work at your church. Sharing your faith with other people. Regular times of Bible reading and prayer. Giving your time and energy to serve God regularly in the church.
It is always a dangerous place to be when you oppose God’s plan. The Bible reveals God’s plan for you. There is a narrow way that the believer is given it is God’s way. Then there is your way and it always leads to judgment and destruction of good and life.
Warnings / Applications credit to: Andy Weaver
One last thought – remember that fireman in full gear in the beginning? He was in training and was just a bit overzealous! Whew, what a relief. Maybe another day I can share about that – being overzealous, I bet a few of us have “been there, done that.”
Think about this: Is God sending signs and sounding the alarm for His children to prepare and pay attention to the enemy who lurks within? Alarming things are happening throughout our land but the enemy has no power when we stand strong with our God, He is our provider and protector and we need to spend time in prayer!
Are we listening, are we sure we’re listening? The alarm is sounding! Let us stay closely connected to Christ and be prepared to meet our Master at any moment. Jesus is coming soon!
Thanks for stopping by the fire,
Pastor Dennis
Fire Side Therapy 