I'm Unstoppable

I Samuel 17:37
David said, “The Lord, who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine. So Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you!”

Sir Isaac Newton’s law of motion can be summarized this way:

• An object that is not moving will not move until a force acts upon it.
• An object that is in motion will not change velocity (including stopping) until a force acts upon it.

According to the law of physics, objects will remain in motion, they are unstoppable unless something of equal or greater forces comes against it. If we took this law for face value there would be plenty of times for us to give up on life and just throw in the towel because we’ve all found ourselves time and time again coming into contact with forces stronger and bigger than ourselves. Oftentimes, our momentum has been slowed by resistance, our best intentions have been blocked by impending forces but there is another law at work in the Kingdom. It’s the G-force. The G-force works against the law of physics. The G-force is the God force. Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world.

Jesus told Peter after he confessed that Jesus was the Messiah, in Matthew 16:18 (Amplified Bible)
18And I tell you, you are [a]Peter [Greek, Petros--a large piece of rock], and on this rock [Greek, petra--a [b]huge rock like Gibraltar] I will build My church, and the gates of Hades (the powers of the [c]infernal region) shall [d]not overpower it [or be strong to its detriment or hold out against it].

As Christians and members of God’s church we are supposed to be unstoppable but because of our flesh and not our faith we get stuck staring at opposing forces out of intimidation. We face what Marty Neumeier calls "Wicked problems." In his book, The Designful Company: How to build a culture of nonstop innovation, Marty says wicked problems are problems so persistent, pervasive or slippery that they seem insoluble.

The church has been set in motion but we face wicked problems like pollution, over-population, dwindling natural resources, global warming, technological warfare, AIDS in Africa, and a lopsided distribution of power that has failed to address massive ignorance or Third World hunger.

These wicked problems have been like giants staring us down daring us to do anything with our diminished church budgets and our limited workers in a bountiful harvest.
The Israelites felt the same way when they faced a wicked problem called Goliath. For 40 days this 10 ft tall Giant intimidated the whole army of Israel. They had come to a standstill. At times, it seems the church has come to stand still intimidated by these giant wicked problems. At times, it seems we have lost our relevance while gangs run our streets, teenage girls get pregnant, Christians get divorced at the same rate as people outside the church and we are just hiding out in our church buildings. The church is one of the most powerful institutions but we have been punked out by wicked problems. We are waiting on a champion of innovation to stand up to Goliath but the key to innovation is that the solution may not appear in a traditional package.

A teenager delivering cheese to the battlefield heard the threats of Goliath and he couldn’t understand why all these highly trained soldiers were sitting around hiding while this Giant talked smack about the living God. Why ain’t nobody doing nothing?!

If we are going to be unstoppable we have got to do what David did:

1. Find out what the problem is. David found out that if he defeated this Giant that his family would be tax exempt and he would get a wife out of it. The Church is tax exempt because we are commissioned Giant killers. We should be working in partnership with the local government to kill local giants.

2. Don’t focus on your haters. David’s brother Eliab put him on blast talking about, “Why are you here? Where did you leave those few sheep?” David ignored his brother and clarified his mission.

3. Don’t let people tell you you’re too young. Saul told David, “you’re just a boy; this Giant has been fighting for years.” In church, we have a tendency to discourage the youth. The future of our churches rest in the innovation and courage of your young people.

4. Rely on your faith. David said, “God rescued me from the paw of the lion and the bear, and I know he will rescue me from the hands of this Giant!” With God all things are possible.

5. Don’t fight new problems with outdated methods. Saul tried to put his armor on David, but David couldn’t walk around in them. It’s amazing the older generation is too afraid to face wicked problems but we want to weigh the younger generation down with our methodology. You can’t reach an Mp3 generation with an 8-track ministry.

6. Be Innovative with what God has gifted you with. Marty Neumeier says the key to finding solutions to wicked problems is the designer's ability to embrace paradox—a willingness to stay in the dragon gap as long as it takes to brave the discomfort of creative tension until the conflicting issues are resolved. David heard the taunts of Goliath and stood there with his sling shot and five smooth stones. What he had normally reserved for self defense against predators he was now going to use against his Giant. That’s innovation!

7. Speak what’s getting ready to happen. David told the Giant you are getting ready to come down. He was like Robert Downey Jr. in Sherlock Holmes. I’m going to punch him in his stomach, after which I will prevent him from breathing by striking him in his esophagus…David said, “I’m coming over there to cut off your head after I hit you with this rock!”

8. Run to the line of battle. So many times we run away from barking dogs but when God has given you the assurance that the gates of hell will not prevail against you than it's time to run towards the barking dog with your best weapon in your hand. Our weapons are not carnal but spiritual for the pulling down of strongholds.

Dear God, give me the courage and faith to be unstoppable. I’m ready to face my wicked problems because greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world. I’m ready Lord, Let’s Go!

In Jesus Name,
Amen