THE REMOTE

Ah, the good old days.  Our girls were young, but old enough to get up on a Saturday morning on their own and make their way down to the TV to watch cartoons.  As if it were yesterday, I can still hear them, the pitter patter of their feet on the carpeted stairs, the sound of the TV being turned on.  And then it began – the first of the day remote control skirmish!

Amy:  I had it first, I get to pick what I want to see.

Becky:  No, you had it first last time.  It’s my turn.

On and on it went until, our Saturday morning peace broken, one of us had to get up and mediate, or lower the boom, or whatever would restore peace.

Can you relate?  Maybe this happened at your house on a football day when your house was divided on which team was their favorite.  Or when your wife wanted to watch a chick flick and you wanted to watch Rambo. 

These were familiar scenarios in American homes - who controls the remote? 

Here's a question for you: What happens when God controls the remote?  I'll get there, stay with me!

During the Covid 19 pandemic we watched a lot of Amazon Prime and Netflix videos.  I’m guessing you may have as well.  It didn’t take long to get to the place where the pickings were poor.  Recently however, we discovered that both of these video providers have quite the stash of Christian movies, though you have to be prepared to search for them.

We’ve watched a number of really good stories about today’s missionaries, like: Two Hats, and Living Hope.  We’ve watched biographies of William Tyndale, Charles Spurgeon, Billy Graham, Luis Palau and a number of others.

It was the video entitled, Jesus in Athens, that left us in awe of what Jesus is up to in this world when He controls the remote!

Jesus in Athens, tells a refugee story.  In 2016 Athens, Greece was inundated with refugees, most of them Muslims, from all over the world.  Suddenly, the city was overwhelmed with people, many of whom were waiting to move on to somewhere else, but in the meantime, needing shelter, food and clothing.

Jesus in Athens, is also the story of the mobilization of the Christian church to meet those needs. Many church members had to overcome a resistance to reaching out to people with different religious beliefs and customs.  But, when they stepped out in faith to do so, there was an explosion of help – centers where refugees would find food for their families, places where they could go to be safe and relax.  Churches opened their doors and provided places for families to stay.  Watching what they were doing made me want to hop a plane to Athens and get involved!

Then God did the even more miraculous.  He raised up Muslims to faith in Jesus and then sent them out to preach the gospel right there in Athens.  

Back to the question: What happens when Jesus takes control of the remote?  Here's what happens - Lives are forever changed!

One story the video relates is of an ordinary Muslim man who was watching TV at his home in Athens. He got up from the couch to do something and his TV remote fell on the floor.  When he returned, he discovered that Jesus had changed the channel!  His Muslim focused program had been replaced by one on which a Christian was preaching the gospel.  Instead of changing the channel, this Muslim man heard the gospel. Responding in faith, he began preaching the gospel to his fellow Muslims, all refugees right there in Athens. 

Outside of their predominantly Muslim countries, many were open to hearing the gospel message, one they had been warned against, but had never actually heard.  Now they were open to listening – discovering that what they had heard about Christianity was not true, and many came to faith in Jesus as a result, joining the Christian churches that had served them with such mercy and grace.

I was blown away by this man's story, such a picture of the glory of God, who is sovereign even over our TV remote controls!  But it wasn't the only story that blew me away.  The following was a goosebump causing moment.  I hope it is for you as well:

Muslim man to person sharing the gospel:  Why did you not come to Afghanistan to share this message with us?

• My reaction to his comment:  A stab in my heart that we had not gone.

Muslim man to person sharing the gospel:  Oh, I know!  That’s why God brought us here!  So that we could hear the gospel and believe!

• My reaction to his comment:  Does this not give YOU goosebumps as well? God not only controlled the TV remote that brought the gospel to the formerly Muslim man sharing it, He also sovereignly controlled the events that brought otherwise unreachable Muslims to a place where they could freely hear it.

Our sovereign God is at work in the world at large, and in our little world too.  Look around, befriend the stranger, be open to sharing the gospel, share it - and watch what Jesus does to change lives!