Tuesday, October 1, 2013
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Over the years my sons didn't really ask about my upcoming speaking engagements. Well, with one exception. They always asked me when I was going to do a professional sports chapel, "Dad, when are you going to talk to the Giants...or the Jets...or the Yankees?" Well, occasionally, when the guys were little, they actually would get to go with me, and even as they were growing up. And it was great to take them along, but there were some rules.
I talked to my youngest about it and he actually remembers his first chapel being a New York Jets football chapel. It happens before the game. And here he is sitting next to these larger-than-life, not only larger than him and larger than me, but larger-than-life heroes. These are players whose names you're hearing all the time. And then to actually eat breakfast with them and eat at the table with them! Oh, man! My sons were like on cloud nine.
Now, there was only one problem for a little kid. I told them they couldn't act impressed. The reason was that this was the athlete's personal time, and they were appropriately sensitive. See, this was church time; this was meal time, and they didn't really want to be celebrities giving autographs and all that jazz. So I said, "Guys, if you want to continue to have this privilege, you've got to be cool when you're here." Well, my youngest would be cool on the outside, acting as if he was eating breakfast or sitting next to any old man on the street instead of some sports heroes. But when he got to the car, he let it all out. "Wow!" he said. He had been very impressed over who he was with and he'd been stifling a "Wow!" the whole time.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "An Appropriate 'Wow!'"
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Isaiah chapter 6 beginning at verse 1. Isaiah says, "I saw the Lord..." Now, here's a great vision. "...seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above Him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling one to the other: 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory.' At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. 'Woe is me!' I cried, 'I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.'"
Can you hear the awe and the wonder in Isaiah? He shows us what it's supposed to be like in the presence of God. One word would do it, "Wow!" Like my son, really impressed by who he was with at those chapels. That's how we are supposed to be when we pray; on a much higher level, very impressed by who we're with but not stifling "Wow!"
Isaiah had a special vision. Today we get this in our prayer time; we could be in a throne room of God simply through prayer. To be honest, prayer seems to be one of the more boring parts of the Christian life for a lot of people. It's not supposed to be. My son might not have been so excited if he was just asked to eat breakfast with a bunch of nameless big guys, or sit in a seminar room with the same 20 guys. What made it so powerful was being with someone so important.
It's the same with prayer. At Mount Palomar they will tell you that they've discovered 100 billion galaxies. Prayer is consciously entering the throne room from which those hundred billion galaxies are governed. Wow! Do you know who you are with when you pray? Do you know where you are? It will change how you pray. Prayer will never be boring, never mundane again. You'll pray humbly; deeply dependant, understanding who you're with; laying aside your little powerless power for His unlimited power. You'll pray boldly, when you pray to this God, knowing you're in that throne room. You pray for supernatural things; things only God could do - God-sized things. And you pray passionately; overwhelmed, not by your problems but by God's majesty and God's love.
The One who is totally in charge is totally committed to you. When you pray, make sure you are consciously entering the throne room from which the galaxies are governed. Maybe the first word we ought to say every time we pray is "Wow!"