The Sin of Jumping the Gun

Introduction

Wikipedia describes the assassination of abortion doctor, George Tiller, this way.

"On May 31, 2009, George Tiller, a physician from Wichita, Kansas, who was nationally known for being one of the few doctors in the United States to perform late-term abortions, was murdered by Scott Roeder, an anti-abortion extremist. Tiller was killed during a Sunday morning service at his church, Reformation Lutheran Church, where he was serving as an usher."

This story brings up a couple of issues, but I'd like to focus on this one: Scott Roeder took matters into his own hands rather than to trust God to deal with Dr. Tiller.

I understand the atrocity of what Dr. Tiller was doing. It's enough to make most people angry that he would kill babies at all, much less how he did it.

The irony of the assassination being done by an usher in a church where the baby-killer was attending is not lost, either. I mean, neither person - Scott Roeder or Dr. Tiller - were living like followers of Christ, yet there they were in a place where Christ is supposed to be worshipped. Do you suppose either one actually believed what they heard and professed?

Yet, Scott Roeder took matters into his own hands as he tried to stop the killing of the innocent babies. And in so doing, he was guilty of murder himself.

Do you ever feel like you need to take control of things around you rather than wait on the Lord to work things out? The Bible calls this a sin when we act on that feeling. I call it "The Sin of Jumping the Gun." It disqualifies us in our faith race as surely as it does a runner in an Olympic race.

There is not a single person, saved or not, believing or not, that isn't tempted to take matters into their own hands. This applies to the human condition universally. Every single person needs to consider what it means for us today that Jesus came to earth so long ago.

Today, I want you to trust Jesus - for the timing of His perfect will in your life, your circumstances, and your nation.

Trust Jesus in your Faith-life

I’ve already mentioned the irony of the fact that both the abortionist and his killer were sitting in the same church, watching, hearing, and even singing the praises of the True Son of God, Lord of the universe, and judge of every person’s soul. But neither one trusted Jesus. Neither consulted Jesus about their actions. Neither brought the Scriptures to bear on their choices. Both did what they thought right in their own eyes, and one murderer killed another. Faith life is no shield against getting ahead of God. Christians can do it, too.

We can and have made purchases before we should. We have gotten frustrated when our prayers go unanswered. We become angry when our society turns against us. We even lash out at the unbelieving for simply not believing. We try to force the Lord to do a miracle. I’m not asking us to stop praying, but I am saying that we need to pray believing, not forcing, manipulating, or trying to conjure up some sort of spiritual power to act on our behalf. That’s witchcraft dressed up in Christian faith.

Trust Jesus in your faith life. Let me share two verses with you to help you.

Philippians 1:6 - being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ

Romans 8:28-30 - And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

So to summarize - let Jesus work out what He wants to in your life. Don’t jump the gun. Don’t force it. Relax. Trust. And Know that He is going to make it right in the end. Be faithful, but don’t grab a sword and attack your attackers. Don’t pretend that you can defend the Lord. The Battle is His. He is making you into His image - and that starts with trusting Him to lead you according to the Father’s time-table. Don’t jump the gun. Wait for His command to proceed.

Trust Jesus in your Family-life

The same is true in your family. Some young parents have jumped the gun and adopted because they didn’t get pregnant when they would have liked, when they tried. Then, very shortly after the adoption, they did become pregnant. I’m not saying adoption is wrong. And maybe this scenario was the Lord’s will. But sometimes it isn’t. While Jesus IS making us into His image, the sin of jumping the gun can create life-long hardships that just weren’t necessary.

The same thing is true when we get married too soon. Or begin to have sex before or outside of marriage. Trust the Lord to govern your family relationships. He can heal what is dysfunctional. He can bring peace to chaos, and He can calm our hearts, uniting us better than ever if we will but let Him by obeying Him.

Trust Jesus in your Future-life

Finally, we need to trust the Lord in our future life. This is the broadest area of all. This means trust Him with everything - jobs & careers, retirement, safety and security, and anything else that crosses your path. It’s counter-intuitive sometimes to do this. This may be one of the things that Christians fail at the most. They make decisions solely upon their personal interests, logic, and understanding. We are told not to lean on our own understanding but to acknowledge Him in all our ways and He will direct our paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6) But we don’t do that so well.

We marry for “love” until we fall out of love. We don’t ask the Lord to provide a spouse. We also make career choices that force us to compromise our Lord and our loyalty to Him in order to make more money. We put granny in the nursing home before first trying to care for her ourselves as God says we should. We trust social services and welfare rather than truly work to become gainfully employed when God says that if a man doesn’t work, he shouldn’t eat. The list goes on and on. The church you choose, the community you live in, the savings you lay up, etc. All of these things should be informed by the Word of God, governed by the Spirit of God, as an act of following the Son of God to honor Him and to acknowledge Him.

Conclusion

Getting ahead of Christ isn't going to improve anything in our lives. It isn't going to make Him act any sooner or delay any longer than He intends in the first place. And it will always put you at odds with Him and His will. He is gracious, merciful, kind, and compassionate, yes. But His plan for you, your family, your future is not up for negotiation. Trust Him and see the blessing. Don't "jump the gun!"

The only time you should jump the gun is to trust Jesus to be your Lord and Savior - in that order. Let Him be Lord starting today, and don’t jump the gun any more! You will find Him to be your Savior if you do that!