Winning Ways -- Hillcrest Baptist Church

We Came to Believe
by Tom Goodman
September 11, 2013

God-deprived hearts, like oxygen-deprived heads, can't think clearly enough to accept the obvious.

Jon Krakauer's book Into Thin Air documents the consequences of oxygen-deprived heads. It's a book about the ill-fated expedition to Mount Everest during the spring of 1996. Ascending Everest is, of course, a risky venture, but it was human error that caused some to lose their lives on that climb.

For example, there was Andy Harris, one of the expedition leaders. Harris was in dire need of oxygen during his descent, but he died holding oxygen canisters in his hand. They had been left for him along the trail down. Those who had already passed the canisters on their own return to base camp knew that the canisters were full. But when Harris radioed the base camp of his crisis, they could not convince him that the canisters were full and that he should use them. Disoriented from his lack of oxygen, he insisted that they were empty and were of no use.

He held all the containers of oxygen he needed to survive but -- now follow me here -- what he held in his hand was so thin in his head that he could not recognize what he held in his hand was what his head needed.

Got it?

I've just described life before God. It's the very lack of God that makes us unable to see that what we lack is what we need! And so we keep doing life on our own and making a mess of things.

But many of us can testify: "We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity." That phrase should be familiar to anyone in a Twelve Step program. But even if we've never needed an addiction recovery group, many of us could say that the Second Step perfectly describes how we awakened to our need for God.

We came to believe.

First, "we came" -- we attended a church service, we read a book about faith that a friend loaned us, we joined a Bible study.

Then, "we came to" -- that is, we woke up to spiritual reality.

Finally, "we came to believe" -- that is, we decided that this God-talk made sense and we accepted it.

This week, come. Maybe you'll even come to. Or, best of all, maybe you'll come to believe! Our "Explore God" series continues this week with my lesson at 10 and discussion groups at 11.

--Tom

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We Came to Believe by Tom Goodman September 11, 2013 God-deprived hearts, like oxygen-deprived heads, can't think clearly enough to accept the obvious. Jon Krakauer's book Into Thin Air documents the consequences of oxygen-deprived heads. It's a book about the ill-fated expedition to Mount Everest during the spring of 1996. Ascending Everest is, of course, a risky venture, but it was human error that caused some to lose their lives on that climb. For example, there was Andy Harris, one of the expedition leaders. Harris was in dire need of oxygen during his descent, but he died holding oxygen canisters in his hand. They had been left for him along the trail down. Those who had already passed the canisters on their own return to base camp knew that the canisters were full. But when Harris radioed the base camp of his crisis, they could not convince him that the canisters were full and that he should use them. Disoriented from his lack of oxygen, he insisted that they were empty and were of no use. He held all the containers of oxygen he needed to survive but -- now follow me here -- what he held in his hand was so thin in his head that he could not recognize what he held in his hand was what his head needed. Got it? I've just described life before God. It's the very lack of God that makes us unable to see that what we lack is what we need! And so we keep doing life on our own and making a mess of things. But many of us can testify: "We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity." That phrase should be familiar to anyone in a Twelve Step program. But even if we've never needed an addiction recovery group, many of us could say that the Second Step perfectly describes how we awakened to our need for God. We came to believe. First, "we came" -- we attended a church service, we read a book about faith that a friend loaned us, we joined a Bible study. Then, "we came to" -- that is, we woke up to spiritual reality. Finally, "we came to believe" -- that is, we decided that this God-talk made sense and we accepted it. This week, come. Maybe you'll even come to. Or, best of all, maybe you'll come to believe! Our "Explore God" series continues this week with my lesson at 10 and discussion groups at 11. --Tom Beacon Articles Available Online: The staff newsletters that appear each week in the Beacon are also available on our website. You can find them here. Check out my weblog here. Do you know friends who would appreciate Winning Ways? Just forward this e-mail to them! Have you subscribed to Winning Ways? You can subscribe by clicking here and following the instructions. Your e-mail address will not be sold or given away to anyone, and you can automatically change your subscription or drop it by following the easy steps provided with each e-mail. FRESH NEWS AT HILLCREST UPDATED WEEKLY: www.hillcrestaustin.org LISTEN TO RECENT SERMONS: Click here. MANAGE YOUR SUBSCRIPTIONS TO OUR EMAIL NEWSLETTERS: Click here. If you do not have access to the web, please send a note to newsmaster@hbcaustin.org to tell us of any changes you would like to make.