Calculating Odds With the God Factor
Joshua 1:1-11; 1 Corinthians 1:25-31
A Sermon Delivered by Thomas J. Boone, Ph.D.
Central Presbyterian Church, Mobile AL, April 6, 2008

“Odds are...” that if you do well, but no one knows about it, you won’t get recognition.

“Odds are...” that the old adage “eye for an eye” leads to war, where its “son for son, daughter for daughter.”

“Odds are...” if you stop communicating with your spouse, trouble lies behind, and more trouble lay ahead.

“Odds are...” if you outspend your income you’ll wind up in debt.

“Odds are...” if you don’t prepare to do a good job, you won’t.

“Odds are...” if you drink mocha frapaccino’s, eat scones, and smoke you’ll contribute to rising long term health costs.

“Odds are...” I won’t win a Mr. Universe competition, no matter how often I go to the gym!

Odds. I’m no mathematician, bookie, or investment banker, so I don’t know how to calculate them. But, this I do know. Odds are...you’ve calculated choices using the “odds are” formula. Humans are apt to do things once we think we’ll succeed, when we think we’ve got the skills for the project, or when we’ve got most of it figured out.

I used to be an Associate Pastor in education, and it didn’t take me long to realize that my real job wasn’t to teach, but to motivate and encourage people to do ministry in the church. Or, maybe the more skeptical of us might say, “recruit.” The two top reasons I was given that people didn’t want to do something were, “I don’t have the time,” and “I don’t have the talent for it.” That’s the language of an “odds are” faith. “Odds are” language sees limits and boundaries based on ourselves. If we think we can do something maybe we’ll consider doing it; if not, odds are that we won’t. Life is filled with “odds are” situations, but we don’t always follow the odds.

For example, when we become parents, we’re not given a manual and we don’t get a BA or BS degree for the role. Parenting is fraught with risk, but that doesn’t stop most people from having children, and facing the odds. Now some parents try to figure it all out ahead of time, but most of us know that’s just silly.

Or take a simple drive down the road, for example. Most of us don’t calculate the odds, because if we did we’d not dare do it. We hope we have vehicle with working brakes that can stop us in time for any number of incalculable risks. Who’s to say another person’s car won’t stop working and make a problem for you? Whose to say that someone wont’ decide to outrun police and put us in danger in the process? Who’s to say that a teenager using a cell phone and riding with distracting friends won’t accidentally run the stop light in front of you? Who’s to say your tire won’t find the one nail on the road that everyone else seems to miss? My point is this: we all know that driving is risky business, but we do it anyway, since our desire for independence outweighs the odds against a safe trip.

So there are occasions where the odds don’t necessarily control our actions. When I worked in New Jersey a pastor made a decision to go against the odds by taking a call to a much smaller church in South Carolina. It meant a reduction of salary by nearly 50%, and a number of other pastors couldn’t comprehend his decision. The move brought his wife closer to her family, though, and he figured that God would provide in the midst of a decision that was going to help her in the long run. Calculating the odds in human terms, it made little sense. Calculating the odds with the God factor, though, and the story became a courageous move of faith that honored God’s ability.

A group of white church members were struggling to hold their church together. They had a decent property, but because their part of the city had changed so much, it became clear that either they had to redefine their vision as a church or face the prospect of dwindling despite their best efforts. Odds for them were that nothing could work, and people tried to close them down, but they moved a different direction. They chose to follow God and stay, creating a new vision for their church. Now, thirty years later, Uptown Baptist Church in Chicago, stands as a pillar of multi-cultural church success against the odds that were against them. When we calculate odds using the God factor, amazing things will happen.

God takes pleasure in us when we risk much against odds generated by human limitations.

Odds were...that David had no chance against Goliath.

Odds were...that Gideon and his 300 fighting men had no chance against 10,000 warriors.

Odds were...that Noah was a nut case.

Odds were...that Paul would never stop killing Christians.

Odds were...that Mary was lying about her Immanuel child.

By themselves each of these stories makes no sense when you use the human calculation of odds. I doubt a bookie would’ve even taken the bet the odds were so low: a thousand to one against Paul. 10,000 to one against David. 100,000 to one against Mary. But, what humans have seldom understood is that when we calculate odds with the God factor, even a million to one doesn’t make God flinch. So, the question for us is, will we flinch when against all reasonable odds, God calls us to be strong and courageous rather than do what makes most sense in human terms?

Take Joshua, for example. Moses was a pretty significant guy, and Joshua was the person designated by God to follow in his footsteps, and do even more in some ways. It wasn’t because he was an astute administrator or proven leader on the battlefield. Joshua’s legacy began when he reported to Moses that the land of Canaan was ripe for the taking. It was gutsy and courageous advice, but Moses chose to listen to the play-it-safe advice others gave. And because Moses didn’t listen and refused to exhibit strength and courage based on the God factor, the Bible says for this reason God caused Israel to wander for forty more years until a new generation of bold and courageous Israelites had taken over.

What Joshua knew is that just because they were God’s people didn’t mean He was going to remove all their challenges and risks. In fact, following God into Canaan was going to mean constant testing of their faith in God and pressure to choose disobedience to His Word over obedience to it. God was calling them to the bold and courageous faith that depended more upon God’s strength than human ability. “Be strong and courageous” is God’s call to Joshua, because God was going to be with him in everything. Notice that God didn’t tell Joshua to calculate the odds before going into Canaan, and He didn’t tell Joshua that it was going to be easy. Faith, whether for individuals or the church, isn’t ever supposed to be easy, formulaic, or predictable.

The modern church has several messages that subtly contradict the message that God’s giving us in Joshua. One of the messages I hear from mega-churches is that human formulas for church growth work: apply the right model, correct formula, and be in the right demographic location and you’ll grow a church. Another message that you may hear from time to time is “name it and claim it,” which means that if we pray in the right way God will give us what we want. I guess some people haven’t matured beyond the notion of a Santa Claus God. Another message is that performance and professionalism ought to define the worship experience. The message in this case is that worship is glorifying to God when it’s perfectly on cue, or entertaining and polished.

God can do amazing things despite the odds, if we get out of His way and start to rely on Him boldly and with courage. We may not get all we want, but we will bring Him pleasure. At the heart of faith, which was evident way back with Joshua, is that God works best when He’s the one who ends up with the glory. We should be able to look at what has happened in our midst and say with all humility, “Wow...isn’t it amazing what God did?” When we calculate odds using the God factor, miracles will happen.

Forgetting this basic principle of faith is the heart of the problem in Corinth. They’d forgotten what Joshua was bold to proclaim: in matters of faith, without God we’re nothing, but with God at our center we’re everything. The Corinthians had done what so many Christians still end up doing. They defined their prosperity as a church in terms that elevated themselves. Sure, maybe they said ‘to God be the glory,’ but if you listen carefully to the subtle undertones of what Paul’s writing, a completely different message emerges. We are great, they said, because we’ve done so much. We are great, they said, because we’ve made wise decisions. We are a jewel among churches, they said, because we have so much.

And with a loud “No!” Paul proclaims the good news that you’ll be reading throughout 1^st Corinthians. You’re great only by God’s grace. You’re anything only because God has made you so. The message to us is the same. We proclaim it in our hymns: “On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.” “The Church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord.” We proclaim it in our mission that with God’s help we will thrive in this new day of the church. What decisions will you make for yourselves and this church that are bold, courageous, and stand with icons of faith like Joshua and Paul? What decisions has God granted you responsibility over that may not make sense in the odds game, but that with the God factor would be miraculous and awe inspiring? Think on it. Pray over it. Then do it. God has put into your hands the opportunity to continue building a miracle at Central. But, do you have the strength and courage to do it? I know you do, and so do you. Hallelujah. Amen.