Preaching without
Cabin Pressure
(or: Lessons from Payne Stewart)
by Ron Forseth
General Manager, SermonCentral.com
"We beg of you on Christ's behalf, be
reconciled to God!"
II Corinthians 5:20
"There is…..a time to speak..."
Ecclesiastes 3:7
“How can they hear without someone preaching to
them?”
Romans 10:14
"Woe to me if I do not preach the
gospel!"
I Corinthians 9:16
Life is full of really good
things. Ball games. Amusement parks. Family outings. Sunsets. The smell of flowers and baked bread and
air-dried towels. Raindrops on the
roof. The taste of Mom's cooking. Airplane rides. So much to take in and enjoy.
Recently I was on a flight
from San Diego to Denver. As we boarded
the plane, the flight attendants were busy readying the flight for
departure. We passengers didn't have
the same sense of urgency but rather tended to our own matters, enjoying some
of the good things around us. Some of
the things I enjoy are baseball and reading leisurely magazines. As a courtesy, the airline had given us a
free copy of the Colorado Rockies Magazine to peruse at our
leisure. And though the team wasn't
having a banner season, Todd Helton was showcased on the cover and in the
feature article. I enjoyed the article
about Denver’s consistent slugger who gives fans something to cheer about, even
in a losing season.
But the flight attendants
weren't focused on Todd Helton or the Rockies Magazine. They had other more pressing business to
attend to. In fact, they implored us to
put down our magazines and to take our headphones off so that we could give our
undivided attention to their urgent message about safety procedures. One sentence, stuck out in particular: "In the event that the cabin loses
pressure, oxygen masks will drop from the ceiling above you. First, place the mask over your own nose and
mouth; then, assist others..."
They sure make a big deal
about this on each and every flight I take.
When the cabin pressure
drops at 35,000 feet and high altitude and 600-mile-an-hour speeds suck the
oxygen out of the cabin, life takes on a different set of priorities. The good things in life aren't the focus any
more. No time to pause and sip hot
chocolate or enjoy the sunset. Not a
chance. Every shred of energy is
redirected toward the singular goal of acquiring oxygen, first for yourself,
then for those around you. It's very
clear:
1) Oxygen masks drop.
2) Secure your own mask.
3) Help others secure their masks.
Notice it doesn't leave
much room for secondary activities:
1) Oxygen masks drop.
2) Secure your own mask.
3) Finish your beverage and magazine article.
4) Consider helping others secure their masks,
if you don’t have anything better to do.
For those with a heart,
the magazine article evaporates and getting oxygen to everyone possible becomes
paramount.
A very noticeable incident in sports history
illustrates this well:
On October 25, 1999, golf legend and reigning U.S. Open Champion, Payne Stewart
was flying on a Learjet to Dallas, Texas.
He was going to compete in the money leaders’ TOUR Championship. For reasons still unknown, Stewart’s jet
cabin lost pressure and the six souls on board all died of hypoxia, the lack of
oxygen. The plane remained on autopilot
for several hours while the fuel ran out.
The craft finally went down, interestingly, in the same area where my
own life started: The small town of
Aberdeen, South Dakota. (By the way,
Payne Stewart was a dedicated believer—so at least he had one life-saving
“mask” on.)
Had
the passengers or at least the pilot been able to secure an oxygen supply
before losing consciousness, all on board could have survived. Loss of cabin pressure leaves a very brief
window within which to respond. If that
window is missed, terrible tragedy follows.
So it is with our
preaching. We have these brief windows
of contact with people and an opportunity to rescue them from what will
certainly end in eternal tragedy for all those without Christ.
As with the flight
attendants, so with us as preachers. We must give clear instructions.
The flight attendants
don’t only tell people how to help themselves.
They explain how they can help others as well. First, put on your own mask.
Then, help others put on theirs.
As preachers we can tell
people how to be saved from God’s wrath.
And we can train people how they can tell other people how to be saved.
It’s a bizarre thought
that someone on a plane without cabin pressure would don their own oxygen mask
and then return to reading their magazine without helping those around
them. And one of the greatest
travesties imaginable is a believer—with salvation secured—traveling through
life ignoring those around them.
(Let us pause for a moment
with a careful comment here: This is a
crucial message targeted at the mind and the will and the emotions of our
hearers—with a call to action. It is
not a message meant to heap guilt, condemn, or stir up a flurry of activity
that will soon come to nothing. It is
an opportunity to illustrate the urgency of the gospel and to challenge
believers to watch for those people God brings into their lives to tell about
Christ—or at least to invite them to church.)
Challenge and implore your
hearers: “For a moment, set aside the
good things in life to listen to the preacher.”
1) The grace of God has dropped.
2) Secure your own salvation.
3) Help others secure their salvation.
Earth has lost its cabin
pressure! The solution is urgent! Everyone must wear the “oxygen mask” of the
gospel or they will soon be lost forever.
We must be as vigilant as the flight attendants in giving people careful
instructions for saving themselves.
Without a careful explanation, they simply won’t understand it:
1) Yes, you are wonderfully loved by God!
“God demonstrates his own love for us
in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans
5:8)
2) However, your sin has put you in grave danger!
“Anyone, then, who knows the good he
ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.” (James 4:17)
3) God’s wrath is certainly coming.
“You are storing up wrath against
yourself for the day of God's wrath when his righteous judgment will be
revealed.” (Romans 2:5)
4) Jesus Christ died and shed his blood to give you
shelter from the coming judgment.
You see, at just the right time, when
we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. (Romans 5:6)
5) You can call upon him now and be rescued from the
danger you are in.
“For whoever will call upon the Lord
will be saved!” (Romans 10:13)
Preach about sin? Emphasize God’s wrath? Talk about Christ’s blood? Can that possibly have a positive effect?! Most certainly. Ultimately it’s the only way to have a lasting effect. We must go there under the careful direction
of God’s Spirit. It’s called the
gospel. Preach it creatively. Preach it passionately. Preach it accurately. But by all means, preach it!
God was pleased through the foolishness of what was
preached to save those who believe.
1 Corinthians 1:21
