Upper Room Futility

It's 4:09 AM July 7, 2010 and I was suddenly awakened from my sleep and prompted to get up and testify to the goodness of God in our lives.  Because of the events of the last couple of years, good and bad, one might think that God would be saying to me in Matthew 7:7, "Ask and it shall be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you.  For everyone who ask receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened."  Because truthfully, I have been so blessed over the last several years, I would be the last person who someone would think would be suffering and experiencing physical problems.

However, tonight, when I was awaken, I could (as plain as the nose on my face) hear the Lord direct me to a passage of scripture in John 20:19 and this verse says, "When therefore it was evening, on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst, and said to them "Peace be with you." 

Of course it "jogged" my memory and I immediately thought of the eleven disciples who finally came together in the "upper room" following the events of the Crucifixion for fear of their own lives and God reminded me of an inspirational piece I read, several dozen times over the years, a piece which gave me both calm and courage at the same time and I wanted to share it with you.

It comes from my favorite book (besides the Bible, naturally) and it is called "Six Hours One Friday" by Max Lucado.  In chapter 7 he begins by saying, "The church of Jesus Christ began with a group of frightened men in a second-floor room in Jerusalem.  Though trained and taught, they didn't know what to say.  Though they'd marched with Him for three years, they now sat...afraid.  They were timid soldiers, reluctant warriors, speechless messengers.  In fact, the most courageous act was to get up and lock the door.  Some looked out the window, some looked at the floor, but all looked inside themselves.  And well they should because it was an hour of self-examination."*

And I thought, this is who we Christians are, "people with a little bit of faith but very little fire.  A group of confused ambassadors behind locked doors, wondering what will it take to unlock the door."  Well I won't quote anymore because everyone reading this should have this book and read it for themselves.

I will say, however, that even as ambitious as I feel I am, I have very little fire, I have a tremendous amount of fear and doors always seem to be locked and I'm not always sure I want to unlock them.  And then sometimes I'll be sitting down for dinner and just out of nowhere I'll say to the server, "Are you going to heaven" or something like that, just to try to create a situation for an opening for the Holy Spirit.

When Jesus Christ was crucified on that Cross, it must have been "Extremely" traumatic for those who followed Him so close.  All their dreams, all their ideas, all the hope they had built up in one man was spilling on the ground as Jesus bled on that Cross.  I can't even imagine how they must have felt except they were in fear of their own lives simply because they agreed with and followed the Christ so closely.  They were hiding behind a locked door when Jesus, obviously slipping right through the walls said to them "Peace be with you."  How does life get more "shocking" than that?

I remember when the doctor came into the room to confirm that it was indeed cancer that they had discovered all over the inside of my body.  Suddenly "the door was locked".  What was I going to do?  How was I going to continue to be a husband to my wife and a father to my children, and by this time, a grandfather to my grandchildren.  And almost as suddenly as she spoke those words, I can remember being just as calm as if Jesus had just passed through the doctor's walls and into the room where I stood with my Wife, Son, Daughter-In-Law, and Sister-In-Law, and could just as plain as day hear Jesus say "Peace be with you."  From that day on, the door has been unlocked and I pretty much say what's on my mind whenever prompted by the Holy Spirit.

We all experience extreme difficulties in life, and in today's world the anxieties and so much greater than ever before.  But we DO NOT HAVE "Upper room futility!"  We are not confused and afraid to get up and unlock the door.  We live our lives with a power inside of us that literally created the universe and all that goes with it.  That means we ARE in control, prompted by the Holy Spirit and we need not have any fear in this life as we look forward with great anticipation toward the life to come.  And Jesus is asking us to "invite a friend" and we can't do that with the "doors locked."

Are we confused? Perhaps so!  Could we use more training?  I believe so!  What about better strategies?  That would surely help!  A greater world vision?  Undoubtedly!  And maybe even some more money?  That would help.*  But even more than all those things that we believe could help us "unlock the door" and openly share the gospel, unafraid and unashamed, would be exactly what got those disciples out of that "Upper room futility" - "Peace be with you."  A word of encouragement from the Master.  And you've gotta know some wisecracker disciple surely said, 'Hey the door is still locked!!

One more quote from this precious writing and I'll close.  "Think about the first time you ever saw Him.  Think about your first encounter with the Christ.  Robe yourself in that moment.  Resurrect the relief.  Recall the purity.  Sommon forth the passion.  Can you remember?"*

I CAN NEVER FORGET!

Dave

*(quotes from Six Hours One Friday by Max Lucado).