Resistance

In her book Atheists Finding God: Unlikely Stories of Conversions to Christianity in the Contemporary West, Jana Harmon explored why atheists came to faith in Christ. One big factor included the kindness of Christians. Harmon writes:

Nearly two-thirds of the former atheists I spoke with thought they would never leave their atheistic identity and perspective. They were not looking for God or interested in spiritual conversations. So, what breached their walls of resistance? ... Something [disrupted their] status quo.

She shares one story about how some Christians became the catalyst that disrupted the atheistic worldview by Christlike kindness:

Jeffrey became an atheist following a childhood tragedy where he lost two brothers in a house fire. His deep pain fueled a vitriolic hatred against God and instability in his own life. During the next 20 years, he developed strong arguments to support his emotional resistance to belief. When his wife unexpectedly became a Christian, his anger against God only grew.

One evening his wife called and asked him to pick her up at the home of the Christians who had led her to Christ. Jeffrey was expecting a heated exchange, but instead received warm hospitality. Feeling valued, he was drawn back again and again toward meaningful conversation. Over time, his walls of resistance began to melt, friendship and trust developed, and intellectual questions were answered. Eventually, he lost his resistance to God and found the peace and joy that had long eluded him.

Travelers on a boat tour in the Bahamas were relieved after witnessing an incident on the waters. Witnesses say they saw a twelve-foot-long hammerhead shark swimming in the waters, a rare treat for tourists. But their delight turned to horror when they witnessed a dog jump into the water from a nearby dock to confront the shark.

In a video posted to social media, onlookers can be heard shouting anguished warnings for the dog to get away while the dog and the shark are circling each other. But inexplicably, the shark turns around and swims away. One man exclaimed, “I don’t think the shark is going to mess with him!”

The tour reservations manager Rebecca Lightbourn says she often sees the dog running along the shore to greet the boat, but had never seen it dive in like that. She said, “I guess this time the dog decided he wanted to protect his house or play with a really big fish in the water, so he went after it.”

When the shark swam away from the pier, the medium-sized dog scrambled back onto the rocks and loped away like it was no big deal.

Possible Preaching Angles:

1) Devil; Satan; Spiritual Warfare - When God is with us, we can be bold and confident against our vicious enemy Satan (Jam. 4:7). 2) Boldness; Prudence - God honors good judgment and wisdom as well as bravery. So, we do not completely ignore danger.

We all know that breathing is essential to life. Each of us takes about 20,000 breaths each day. What is amazing about breathing is that it is an involuntary action—we don’t even think about it. Our brains are programmed to instinctively monitor the balance between oxygen and carbon dioxide levels.

When we breathe deeply, our brains send a message to the rest of our bodies to calm down and relax. When we breathe, we can intentionally lower our heart rates and bring down our stress levels.

According to the Mayo Clinic, breathing "may help ease symptoms of stress-related disorders and mental health conditions such as anxiety, general stress, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder."

With all of this in mind, Apple has created a notification App for their watch called, Breathe. The App reminds users to be mindful and focus on what is important in the moment.

Possible Preaching Angle:

The problem with the Apple watch is that notifications can be turned off or simply ignored. We can do the same thing with the gift of the Holy Spirit, who is the very breath of God.

Travel blogger Matt Karsten was sightseeing on a small dinghy during a trip to Antarctica with his wife and some friends when they happened to notice some commotion in the water. The video they took of the experience went viral.

We were heading out for a scenic Zodiac cruise between icebergs when a large pod of orcas showed up playing in the water besides us. They swam right up to the camera and said hello. Suddenly the orcas started chasing a penguin trying to eat it.

Left with no other options for survival, the penguin tried to jump into the boat. The first time it bounced off the side, but in a show of resiliency the penguin’s second attempt landed it safely inside, to the shock of everyone on the boat. The orcas gave chase for a bit, but eventually gave up and moved on. Karsten said, “After cruising for a little bit, the penguin said goodbye to the boat and hopped back into the icy water.”

Possible Preaching Angle:

Often when danger rears its head, pride causes us not to take it seriously. But the enemy of our souls is just as dangerous as a hungry killer whale. There are times for careful thought, and there are times for urgent action. May the Lord guide us so that we can know in the moment which is which.

Lord Kenneth Clark, internationally known for his television series Civilization, lived and died without faith in Jesus Christ. He admitted in his autobiography that while visiting a beautiful church he had what he believed to be an overwhelming religious experience. He wrote, “My whole being was irradiated by a kind of heavenly joy far more intense than anything I had known before."

But the "flood of grace" as he described it, created a problem. If he allowed himself to be influenced by it, he knew he would have to change, his family might think he had lost his mind, and maybe that intense joy would prove to be an illusion. So, he concluded, "I was too deeply embedded in the world to change course."

Like many sheep ranchers in the West, Lexy Fowler has tried just about everything to stop crafty coyotes from killing her sheep. She has used odor sprays, electric fences, and “scare-coyotes.” She has slept with her lambs during the summer and has placed battery-operated radios near them. She has corralled them at night, herded them during the day. But the southern Montana rancher has lost scores of lambs--fifty last year alone.

Then she discovered the llama--the aggressive, funny-looking, afraid-of-nothing llama. Fowler said, “Llamas don’t appear to be afraid of anything. When they see something, they put their head up and walk straight toward it. That is aggressive behavior as far as the coyote is concerned, and they won’t have anything to do with that. Coyotes are opportunists, and llamas take that opportunity away.”

Possible Preaching Angle:

The author of temptation is much like the coyote--he is an opportunist. But if we are firm in our faith in God to give us the strength we need to resist temptation, then he can be beaten. “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7-8).

When a wild mountain lion was found mistakenly caught in a bobcat trap in Utah, wildlife officials were faced with a tricky problem. Mountain lions are fierce, aggressive creatures—and this was a big one. Video footage shows the authorities struggling to calm the growling cat, which naturally was unable to comprehend their friendly intentions. Eventually, after several minutes of careful and courageous work, the officials were able to free the mountain lion, which dashed off with minor wounds on its paw.

Possible Preaching Angle:

C.S. Lewis compares God's relationship to mankind in a similar way. "Suppose that what you are up against is a surgeon whose intentions are wholly good," he writes in A Grief Observed. "The kinder and more conscientious he is, the more inexorably he will go on cutting." We cannot always understand the pain in our lives, but we can always trust that there is One who is working good through it.

Our tribulations and doubts, wherewith the Devil plagues us, can be driven away by no better means than by condemning him; as when one condemns a fierce cur, in passing quietly by him, the dog then not only desists from biting, but also from barking; but when one enrages him by timorously throwing something at him, then he falls upon and bites him. Even so, when the Devil sees that we fear him, he ceases not to torment and plague us.

Temptations, of course, cannot be avoided, but because we cannot prevent the birds from flying over our heads, there is no need that we should let them nest in our hair.

From research and personal experience I've come to the conclusion that in every church 16 percent of the members will never change. The tragedy is I see young pastors every day leaving the ministry because of that 16 percent. It's as if they're butting their heads against a brick wall. What they should be doing is concentrating on the 84 percent who are ripe for change. That's where the real ministry of the local church takes place.

The only person who likes change is a wet baby.