One Brave Man

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Throughout the course of history, God has often used one man, one brave man to change His story. We have seen what the power of one man can do both for good and for evil. One man can effect change, altering the course of history to the benefit or detriment of millions. I am not using hyperbole. The Patrick Henry speech, Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!, is one example of one man refusing to go along with the prevailing sentiment and changing that sentiment with a passionate commitment. There is a reason why the pre-game pep talk or the awe-inspiring presence and words of the emperor at the rising of the sun on the morning of a hopeless battle, have entered into the voice of iconic wisdom and the lens of modern film. They work.

         We are in the process of raising up a people to the glory of the Lord. This morning we have baptized three little saints and they add to the number of those who are being saved. We see from this that God saves His world by degrees, one man at a time. But we also know that God uses ordinary men to be extraordinary. This is true of Jonathan, Saul’s son. His trust in God enabled him to do extraordinary things. Our pray is that these three new saints would do extraordinary things.

         In our own circles, the Lord has raised Douglas Wilson to accomplish more in his life than most men are capable. As we celebrate Reformation Day, we remember the Lord  using many circumstances to raise up ordinary men into extraordinary men that changed the course of God’s story, history, the kingdom of God. Ordinary men that we now call saints. Men like Augustine, Jerome, Athanasius, Chrysostom, John Wycliffe, John Calvin, Martin Luther, Thomas Cranmer. These brave men were often nearly alone in their convictions at times but like Elijah, there were always men for God to gather to those great saints, men who had not fallen to the age of this world’s luster.

         The Lord has blessed us with many children. May the Lord be pleased to give us mighty, courageous and brave saints who will laugh in the face of death and change the course of history.

It only takes one brave man to change the world. What might the Lord do with a church full of such dangerous men, women and children?