In 1992, Kevin Costner starred with Whitney Houston in the romantic thriller The Bodyguard. Costner plays a former CIA agent who is hired to protect the entertainer.
Of course, Sweet doesn't argue for a Costner in your life, but someone very similar is important. Sweet's example is that of Deborah. Deborah watches the back of General Barak (See Judges 4-5).
Sweet points out that anyone "on mission for good and God, will be the first to be fired on by enemies and by friends. It doesn't matter how good you are; you're going to get criticism, and it usually comes via the back door. If you recall, it was the religious establishment that told Jesus his healing was the work of the Devil" (p 136-137).
How many people have become homebodies on corporate worship days claiming they're tired of being "stabbed in the back"? My experience: too many! If Satan can cause a division in what God is attempting to do through a local body of believers, he's won the battle. And sadly, because too many of us don't have Deborahs or Costners in our lives, the knife causes major damage.
When you consider the importance of a bodyguard for anyone, how much more important is it for those who shepherd a local church? Sweet argues, "In the Bible, Deborah covered Barak's back so he could fight (the enemies); unfortunately, Deborahs today often cover your back so you can fend off the armies of the churches" (p 139).
There are times where a bodyguard fights alongside you. There are other times where they're elsewhere in the battle. Costners and Deborahs have an uncanny ability to sense where the next agression will come.
Everyone of us needs a bodyguard - one who is not afraid of the battle and will fight to the death defending us. Who guards your back? Who's back are you watching? Is it time to find a Costner? time to be a Deborah?
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4 comments:
Great thoughts.
I really enjoyed this post.
Keep up the great work Mike.
I hope you have a wonderful week.
I agree. I think prayer, ongoing sacrificial prayer in the Spirit (Eph 6:10) is surely very key here.
I remember a flaming Mennonite (I was raised in a Mennonite denomination) years ago saying he wanted to go, I think to New Mexico as a missionary, but he did not, because he didn't think he'd have sufficient prayer backing. I was probably dumbfounded at the time, because this was a dynamic man of God behind the pulpit, calling people to Christ. But he was a man of wisdom who saw something of what you're saying here, surely. We need to believe this and act on it.
Preacherman,
Thanks for the encouragement. I'm glad you're feeling a little better. I continue to pray for the upcoming tests and appointments.
Ted,
...sounds like a very wise man. We need more missionaries in NM though. It goes without saying that we need more missionaries across the fence as well.
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