Tuesday, March 12, 2013
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I was a Flash Gordon freak when I was a kid. Now, you probably have led a deprived life and you maybe say, "Flash who?" Let me bring you up-to-date. Flash Gordon was an inter-galactic hero that was made famous in a serialized movie that I think might have been filmed way back in the 1930s. No, I did not see it when it first came out! But it kept going on and on and on forever. I think you might still be able to find it sometimes on late night TV. Every episode ended with Flash in a jam, and he was always ready to be destroyed by some space monster or death ray. And you were sure there was no way Flash was going to get out of this one. There always was. He always did, and there is always a way out for you and me, too, if you're working for the right director.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Flash Gordon Rescues."
Now, you probably have a life full of close calls, just like old Flash Gordon. Except his were on movies and yours and mine are for real. There's a man who had a life full of close calls in the Bible - the Apostle Paul. He talks about them in our word for today from the Word of God, 2 Timothy 3:11 he says, "You know the persecutions and sufferings and what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured." But listen to this, "Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them."
Now, I have kind of a convoluted mind (you know that already), because as soon as I read that verse, I think of Flash Gordon. No, he's not in the Bible, and I know I've got a mental problem. I can't help that, but I remember that he was always rescued out of every close call. That's the bottom line for every child of God. He will sometimes let you go to the edge. It may look like there's no way out, but He will never let you go over the edge. "But the Lord rescued me out of them all." You can say that, and so can I.
It's not that it hasn't been close sometimes, but just look at the exciting episodes from your past; the time that the money ran out, or your friends ran out, or your family ran out, or your strength ran out. Maybe you've been so lonely at times in the past you couldn't stand it, or frustrated because every door seemed to slam shut in your face. There were these people that you had depended on, and they were suddenly gone. Or maybe you're hopelessly buried in work and responsibility and stress. And you say, "I'll never get out of this mess!"
You've been to the edge of desperation, but remember the Lord rescued you out of them all. Maybe you're in a perilous or a painful place again. This time it looks like there is no way out of this, Flash, but then it's looked like that before at the end of other episodes and you're still here. Get some perspective. Stand back. Remember a lifetime of the Lord's rescues.
1 Corinthians 10:13 says, "...He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out..." He will let you have heavy loads, but never more than you can handle. Jesus is, after all, your Savior. He can save you from this comparatively small crisis. He'll change the situation or He'll enlarge you to deal with the situation. But one way or the other, your Savior will rescue you. Look, He always has.
Now, Flash Gordon, my old hero, got in big trouble - some big jams, a lot of close calls - so will you. But Flash Gordon always got rescued, and so will you. The God of the universe is writing your script and the God of the universe is producing your future.