Battleships (World Missions)
This Sunday is World Missions Sunday…a day set aside to pray for revival in all th nations of the earth! So today, I want to share a special story with you, that I believe is the epitome of missions…
During the D-Day invasion of Normandy, the USS Texas (BB-35) was initially used as a medical treatment ship for casualties from the Army’s 2nd Ranger Battalion, who scaled the cliffs at Pointe du Hoc. She then returned to England for resupply, and upon returning again to the waters off Normandy just under a week after the D-Day invasion, the USS Texas faced a problem. Allied troops had pushed inland and were being met by strong enemy resistance. This battle was visible from where the Texas was, and the radio calls for support were heard by the crew of the Texas. However, she could inch no closer because of shallow waters and underwater obstacles placed there by the Germans. From where she sat, her guns couldn’t reach the enemy that was halting the Rangers inland advance.
So, on June 15, Captain Charles Baker, the commanding officer of the USS Texas, did something unthinkable: he ordered his crew to intentionally flood the torpedo blisters on the starboard side of the ship in order to list into the water just enough to raise the port side 14-inch guns, giving them just the right angles to re-enter the fight and change battlefield momentum. That tiny tilt was enough to elevate the guns and unleash a new wave of firepower that helped protect soldiers advancing inland, beyond her standard range of elevation. A risky move, but that 2-degree tilt extended the reach of her powerful guns, and that bombardment helped the Rangers breakthrough the enemy line!
I believe that’s the picture of what we as the church, and as lions, are called to be. We are made for battle. And we are made to take risks! Not comfortable. Not predictable. Not playing it safe.
· The church is commissioned: “Go and make disciples of all nations…”(Matthew 28:18–20).
· The church is equipped: “The tools of our trade aren’t for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture. We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity.” (2 Corinthians 10:3–6).
· The church is sacrificial: “In humility value others above yourselves” (Philippians 2:3–8).
Like the USS Texas, we’re called to adjust, risk, and shift for the sake of the mission of making Jesus’ love known. I know each and every one of us can tilt our lives, even ever so slightly, in order to make more room for God’s heart, or to engage just a little more, to expand the reach of our impact just a little more.
Think of Ananias in Acts 9. His simple “yes” to pray for Saul of Tarsus changed the trajectory of the Church. But that was a scary step! Like flooding torpedo holds, lots could go wrong. The ship could have taken on too much water and sunk. Saul was a murderer and notoriously mean and violent! But, a willingness to get in the fight, a two-degree tilt, and history is rewritten! Saul became Paul—the greatest missionary in history—because one ordinary believer gave just two more degrees of faith. He tilted his life, with one yes, toward the call of God.
What could God do if you tilted your life just two more degrees?
· Two more degrees of prayer.
· Two more degrees of generosity.
· Two more degrees of surrender.
· Two more degrees of willingness to say “yes”
The USS Texas tilted to reach beyond its limits. Will you tilt your life to reach beyond your comfort zone? Lions are nontraditional, daring, bold, risky, creative, missional people who roar with their lives; and in doing so, change battlefield momentum!
This World Missions Sunday, let’s remember every believer has a role. You may never cross an ocean, but you can cross a street. You may not fire the biggest guns, but your two more degrees of obedience, faith, generosity, or prayer could shift eternity.
We are not cruise ships. We are battleships.
And God is calling us to go ALL IN for His mission.