Dot-To-Dot Living

Evanglism Part 4
Andrew K. Fox
Year of alignment

Psalm 139

Can you remember doing some dot-to-dot art work as a child? It all looked fascinating as we found the number one then drew a line to number two then three and so on. As time passed with patient endurance an image formed that we would never have expected. Sometimes we had neither the patience or endurance to see what was planned before we began. Each dot represents each stage of realizing what God planned for you. David said: 'You know when I sit and rise…you know my thoughts…when I go out and lay down…you know a word before it is on my tongue…you created me in my mothers womb…you knit me together…your eyes saw my unformed body…all the days ordained for me were written before I ever lived the first day.' Through each intensely personal phrase David connects dot to dot and sees for himself. He understands that what he is looking for is also looking for him. He knows that more happens through love than authority.

#1 - It's rare that everything goes to plan

One of our cultures greatest weaknesses is not confidence but over-confidence. Mount Everest is 29035ft 1953 Sir Edmond Hillary climbed to the top. Most people that have lost their life on Mount Everest did so on their descent not their ascent. A total of 142. There are still 120 frozen bodies somewhere on the mountain. We achieve, accomplish and succeed in our culture but there is no plan to recover from it. God often reminds us of our own frailty. (Psalm 39:4) "…that I may know how frail I am." Moses parts the Red Sea and meets with God but begs to be relieved of the responsibility. Elijah calls down fire on Mount Carmel but then runs scared from Queen Jezebel and hides himself in a cave. David commands men but cannot command his own sexual passion. Jonah preached a powerful sermon on repentance and cannot recover from city-wide salvation. That is why God said (Zechariah 4:6) "…Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit…"

#2 - It's rare to have all your accomplishments in one room

All that you have done throughout life may have been captured on video, photographs, certificates of graduation and achievement, acknowledgements, paycheck bonus or a golden watch. But all these are just tokens of significant moments that cannot be captured. Peter wanted to capture the moment on the mountain of transfiguration. (Matthew 17:4) "Lord, it is good for us to be here…" We are often called believers based on what we have believed but God intends you to be an experiencer. What you have done has already connected the previous dots but the days ordained for you are not finished. The line to be drawn to the next dot always comes from outside a former accomplishment. Tony Blair became one of Britain's most successful Prime Ministers because his predecessor John Smith unexpectedly died. Unintentional events often become the intension for connecting the next dot. (Genesis 50:20) "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done." You will find your carefully intended words influence far less than words you said that were not intended. A news anchor can pass comment on a terrible news item capturing far more than the script on the teleprompt. I often find people connect with words I communicate that I did not plan to say.

#3 - It's rare to find the connecting dot really suits you

Have you been shopping with your wife and she picks up an item holding it to her body saying 'I love it…this really suits me.' People look for employment, friends, a spouse and a church like this but quite the reverse is what you should be looking for. We all have abilities unique to ourselves that we like to use and be appreciated for. But tell someone they cannot do a certain thing they love to do and the ability becomes dirtied by a wrong motivation that propelled it. The reaction a person gives reveals true motivation for being employed by a certain employer, friends with a certain circle of people and part of a church. At first people will say 'I love it…this really suites me' but what they may be saying is 'I can act out in this environment.' The soap that keeps your abilities clean is the do something that does not really suit you at all. This is what the disciples struggled with when Christ took a towel and bowl of water washing their feet. (John 13:7) "You do not realize what I am doing…" The disciples would often put Christ in a place of position instead of a posture serving. He was too good for the children, unbelieving groups of people, widows and those who needed healing. But Christ showed them that their gifts could only flourish when they were engaged in something that did not suit them.

#4 - It's rare that God gives directional prophecy

We live in a culture that is desperate to know the future. The vast range of TV shows and blockbuster movies often look to the future with parable-like predictions. (1 Corinthians 13:9) "For we know in part and we prophesy in part…" But this is to our advantage always looking to the Father. God has revealed on his Word that he has plans for us but the Word does not reveal personal plans but who it is that reveals the plans. The Word reveals the nature of God. If you know who he is then you can face anything in the plans he has for you. There was a fortune teller in Paul's day that earned the management a great deal of money. Simon the sorcerer had a great following from people great and small across Samaria fortune telling. Even Paul said he did not know what was waiting for him in Rome but he was compelled to go. He knew in part. Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans only knowing in part.

#5 - It's rare to fly as the crow flies

One of the challenges people from the US have in Europe is the lack of a grid system when traveling. The roads are narrow and have many turns and bends in them. It can make you quite sea sick if you are not used to it. The Bible often uses the expression "…do not think it strange…" Christ did just as many miracles on the way to a specific place to perform a miracle. On his way to raising up the daughter of Jairus he healed the woman who had bled for twelve years. When you are on your way to a certain appointment keep your eyes and ears open to what happens on the way. While being crucified Christ influenced a Roman Centurion and led a thief to repentance but the destination was the cross. On his way to Rome Paul did so many other things including the great influence he had during a shipwreck.

#6 - It's rare to find the perfect church

A church where you feel home, loved by everyone and useful in your abilities. The perfect church is always the imperfect church. It's perfect when the hypocrite sits next to you just to prove you have a judgmental nature. It's perfect when people ignore you so your real dependence comes from God. It's perfect when there is a season that the presence of God is not so intense forcing us to live by faith and not sensation. (Proverbs 27:17) "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." In the perfect church are situations that will annoy, dissatisfy and aggravate. The Holy Spirit rubs you up the wrong way to reveal the real you to you so he can show you who you are meant to be in Christ.

#7 - It's rare that lightning will strike twice

We fear that if something has happened it has a good chance of happening again. But most of what you fear never comes true. Most of your medicated anxieties are not realities. The Bible used the expression "…fear not…" for this very reason. If Christ went to the cross to take you from the quarry of sin do you really think he will let you go that easily? You were bought with a great price so he will not put you on eBay for a reasonable bid. It is also true that if you have grown through a situation and matured learning from it you will probably never go through that again. Why would God want you to know something you now know? The same can be said for moments of brilliance. Those magical moments that stop time and surprise everyone you know. It cannot be repeated the same way.

#8 - It's rare for time not to fly

People say, 'Time flies when you are having fun' but it always flies. Stopping time, slowing it down or speeding it up is not the point but gaining the right direction that aligns with your convictions. (Hebrews 2:1) "…do not drift away…" David said that all the days ordained for him were written before one of them came into existence. We should live life full but die empty. It is how Christ died. He said 'it is finished' and then gave up his spirit. It is what Paul said telling Timothy 'I have fought the good fight and I have finished the race.' The Bible tells us a story of a man that was being buried in Israel but some Moabite raiders came to attack. They threw his body into the grave of Elisha who had decayed enough to be just bones. But there was unused power left in his bones that raised the dead man back to life. There is no context to this story. It does not say how the man died or his friends that were burying him or what happened to him when he was resurrected. It lacks a point but it is in the Bible to show you that you can live full and finish the race still full because you did not realize time was flying. What God gives you on earth stays on the earth even if it is unused because he does not want it back and heaven does not need it. If you have a gift certificate to your favorite store you cannot spend it anywhere else except that store. Christ has given you his life to be spent here on earth. The church can be no more than a storage unit filled with people not spending life.