Fireworks Faith – ChurchEdge

Karen and I were headed home from our first drive around our new neighbor, New York City. It was the Fourth of July and we were driving along the West Side Highway which runs along the Hudson River, immediately across from New Jersey. Suddenly, all the cars came to an unexplainable halt. And they just stayed there – for about half an hour. There was no accident, no construction, or no apparent reason for the highway becoming a parking lot … until I saw all these drivers standing outside their car, even sitting on the hood of their car, all looking across the river. It was time for the Fourth of July fireworks display at the amusement park across the river. And, of course, everything has to stop for fireworks, right?

Well, I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Fireworks Faith.”

Fireworks always seem to draw a crowd. We love fireworks – at an amusement park, or in our spiritual experience. In fact, many believers in Christ have a fireworks faith – they’re addicted to the spectacular, to the great show, to impressive spiritual displays.

And, to be sure, God does some very impressive things sometimes. He is an amazing God. But He’s never meant for us to make the fireworks the foundation of our Christian life. One danger of this addiction to the spiritually spectacular is demonstrated in our word for today from the Word of God in 1 Kings 19, beginning with verse 11. Now Elijah has just been a part of some real spiritual fireworks as he confronted hundreds of prophets of Baal and God threw fire down from heaven to show He was the true God. But the now fireworks are over. The queen has ordered a hit on Elijah. He has run for his life and he is so depressed that suddenly he wants to die.

The Lord’s recovery program goes like this: “The Lord said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’ Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind, there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.” Now, that was when Elijah heard the Lord’s instructions.

Now, here’s the problem with the fireworks, the earthquake, the mighty wind, the fire. First, the Lord isn’t always in them. Sometimes, there’s a lot of flesh in the fireworks. And sometimes even the devil provides some thrills and chills to distract us or to just keep us spiritually shallow. God says, “Be still and know that I am God.” Spiritual maturity, spiritual consistency is not for those who feed on the fireworks. It’s for those who start each new day with their open Bible in their lap, listening for their Lord’s personal word for the day – and then doing it. It’s study and prayer and obedience that builds a disciple of Jesus Christ – not shallow spiritual spectacle.

So, don’t build your relationship with Christ on the next event, the next thrill, the next retreat, the next conference, or next meeting, the next miracle. Your Christianity will be up-and-down, in-and-out, and always vulnerable to dangerous downward spirals. You can be looking for the “wow” – and missing God’s whisper.

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