Jump Start # 4029
Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
Things have been a bit crazy around here lately. It’s not the church, but it’s things all around our church building. The area is booming with change and development. Butting up to our church property is a field. For decades that field alternated between corn and beans every year. The field was sold. On one end is a new coffee shop. Right next to our building, a grocery store is being constructed. Across the street from that was once a strip mall that was mostly empty. That has been leveled and a gas station is going in. Then there are orange cones up and down the street because of road construction. It has been messy around here.
Just this morning, as I was pulling into the church parking lot, a large orange sign, placed right by our entrance, read “BLASTING ZONE.” Out in the country, not far from here are quarries where blasting is common. We don’t see these signs in town and never next to our church building.
But, I thought, how fitting and what great advertisement for us. We are in a Blasting Zone.
· With the power of the Gospel, we are blasting sin out of our hearts, minds and lives. We need to live for Jesus. The culture of the day tells us to tolerate wrong. The Bible concept is to repent and flee from sin. Blast it out.
· We are blasting away excuses that keep us from being the disciples that the Lord wants. It is so easy to limp along, only putting our big toe into the pool of faith, pretending to be Christians, while never making a difference in anyone else’s life and especially not our own. Blast away those lame excuses that keep us on the sidelines of the kingdom.
Hebrews 13:23 says, “Take notice that our brother Timothy has been released…” Released from what? From prison. Timothy’s out. Take notice. Look out, Timothy’s out. Look out, Satan, Timothy’s out. Look out trouble, Timothy’s out. Look out deceivers and false teachers, Timothy’s out. He’s going to be back in the game. He’s back at the front lines. There’s a force coming, and it’s Timothy.
· We are blasting away confusion, fear, worry and doubt. And, the way that is done is by preaching the word of God. We don’t know what tomorrow holds, but we know who holds that tomorrow. We know who will be on the throne tomorrow. The darkness of troubles can lead to fear. Do not be uninformed is what the apostle said many times. Blast away those questions of doubt. Blast away the troubles that fill our hearts. Set your course on what is sure and absolute.
· We are blasting away the thoughts that we cannot please the Lord. Beaten down by the world, discouraged by Satan, many are convinced that we are a pitiful people who are not going to make it. The victory, the Corinthians were told, is in the Lord. We are the army of Christ. With the armor that God has given us, we can extinguish everything that Satan throws at us. We are not puny. We are not weak. We are not defeated. We are not barely getting by. We are marching to Zion. Our banners are held high in the air so all can see.
Well done, is what the master said to the five talent man. Well done. Pleased with you. Good job. Way to go. The world makes a lot of noise, but there is no substance. It barks, but there is no bite. I will fear no evil, because Thou art with me.
Things change when dynamite blasts. Rocks move. The earth opens up. It’s necessary to blast to get through some tough rocks. Things that seem impossible to move, can be moved, once they are blasted.
Our verse gives us the word “power,” from which the word dynamite comes from. The Gospel is God’s dynamite. It will move what seems impossible to move. It will open up what we thought could never be opened. A hard heart. A stubborn attitude. A prideful spirit. Ignorance. Error. Put God’s dynamite to it, and they all can be smashed to pieces.
Blasting Zone—wish I could get that sign and put it inside our building. We are in the blasting and building business. Before some building gets done, some blasting is often necessary.
Roger