P.O. Box 53055    
Los Angeles, CA 90053   

THE GENEROUS GENIUS OF JEEVES

He and his wife Melinda just gave $24 BILLION to their charity of providing health care to poor children around the world. If you were having lunch one day with Mr. Bill Gates, and he got out his checkbook for you, how would you feel if all he gave you was a buck?

If you’re familiar with the old literary character “Jeeves,” from the P. G. Wodehouse classics, this wonderfully resourceful valet was always one step ahead of his rather hapless, bumbling master, one Mr. Bertram Wilberforce Wooster. Bertie would summon his “gentleman’s gentleman” and say: “Now, Jeeves, I’d like you to do thus-and-so.” And sometimes his valet would nod and say, “Very good, sir.” Other times he would quietly smile and say, “It’s already been taken care of.” “It has?” “Yes, sir,” Jeeves would say. “Begging your pardon, sir, but I anticipated your need.” Actually, in most of the adventure stories, this resourceful servant would clear his throat and delicately say: “Sir, if I may be so bold . . .” and suggest a course of action that was just perfect, miles ahead of anything Mr. Wooster or Daphne Braithwaite or Lady Glossop or dear old Aunt Agatha could have ever thought of by themselves.

That remind me of a glorious verse that we find at the end of Ephesians three. Here it is:

“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us.”

In the King James: “Exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.” In other words, you dream a little dream — and God says: “What are you doing down there? Look higher; I’m way up here.” Or we wish something would happen, and God replies: “Already did it. Took care of that one last week.” Most of the time, though, I imagine our earthbound visions and prayers are just not even in the same universe with what God intends to do for us and in us.

I’m reminded of a terrific line that comes from Pastor Adrian Rogers’ book, Believe in Miracles, But Trust in Jesus. And we’re going to stay with it for a couple of very good illustrations, but in speaking about doctrinal studies and discussions, he says this:

“There are many truths of Scripture that we hold in tension because our teacup minds are not big enough for God’s ocean of truth.”

Isn’t that a great soundbite? And I think it works here too. Paul is telling us: “Your spiritual goals are just tiny sips of water, just thimbles-ful . . . when God has an ocean of good He wants to do for you!”

Clear back in the first chapter, though, entitled “The Possibility of Miracles,” Rogers passes along a story from Dr. Lee Scarbrough, who used to be the president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He preached one Sunday about Jonah and the whale, and after church his own kid was giving him the business. “Come on, Daddy,” the boy protested. “Do you really think that a fish could swallow a man and that he could live for three days? I mean, with the hydrochloric acid and the lack of oxygen and the this and the that . . .” He was really giving him what-for. And the answer is classic:

“The wise father replied, ‘Son, if God could make a man out of absolutely nothing to begin with, and if God could create the first sea creatures from absolutely nothing, don’t you think He would have the power to make a fish that could swallow a man and keep him alive for three days and three nights if He wanted to?’” And get this: “The little fellow replied, ‘Well, if you’re going to bring God into it, that’s different.’”

Don’t you just love that? And right here in Ephesians, Paul is very enthusiastically telling us: “I know the human race is divided: Jew and Gentile. I know the Christian message is a new thing, a stumbling block TO the Jews and foolishness to Gentiles. I know I’m stone broke, having to stitch tents together on the side in order to make enough shekels to preach the Word. But in all this, we have God and His unlimited power, the ocean of His abundant, overflowing good will toward us.”

Well, friend, that’s very good news and it ought to make us into rejoicing Christians. But at the same time, we need to learn a very sober lesson. Because often we ask for little and we expect little and we settle for little. We actually, in our Christianity, take hold of a teacup of God, drink it, and figure that’s enough. We put a little bit of God into our lives, accept that much power, that much peace, that much happiness, that much transformation, that much victory . . . and congratulate ourselves for getting a good deal. Pastor Rogers comments about the people who went out to the hillside and got a free meal out of the miracle-worker from Galilee.
“The people said, ‘This is wonderful. He’s a walking cafeteria.’ But Jesus said, ‘Ye seek Me . . . because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.’”

That’s John 6:26. And what a tragedy to be around Jesus Christ, who had the ability to heal the sick and raise the dead and cast out demons and bless you with truth and supply you with living water that leads to eternal life . . . and all you get is two bucks’ worth of loaves and fishes. You talk about settling for second-best! A Happy Meal instead of a heavenly home! As we’ve been saying, it’s like asking Bill Gates for a dollar. And here in Ephesians, where Paul is talking about the ocean of God, and you and me being “filled to the measure of all the fullness OF God,” what a tragedy it would be for us to “settle” too.

I want to thank Pastor Rogers for helping explain this business of spiritually “settling” for a loaf and a fish instead of an ocean and a mansion. He takes us back just two chapters to John four, where Jesus works a miracle. Here’s the story:

“There was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death. . . . The royal official said, ‘Sir, come down before my child dies.’ Jesus replied, ‘You may go. Your son will live.’”

And on his way home, he got the news that, yes indeed, his son was well. He had gotten well the very moment Jesus spoke.

Well, we hear a story like that and we say, “Man, that’s a good story. That nobleman was a good guy and Jesus rewarded his faith.” All true enough, but I’d really like for you to get this book and read it — Believe in Miracles, But Trust in Jesus — because Pastor Rogers takes us through four cautions regarding this man’s faith. Not to knock it, because it was good faith. But here’s the point, and Dr. Rogers makes it well. Even a prayer for healing — for my healing, or for my child’s healing — could conceivably be to seek God for just a cup of water and not the whole ocean. Don’t get me wrong. If someone I love is sick, I’m going to pray many, many times. I’m going to knock on heaven’s emergency room front door until I get calluses on my fists. But listen to this warning from Pastor Rogers’ book:

“Here’s the problem,” he writes. “This man has yet to bow at the feet of Jesus Christ and worship Him. So many of us are concerned only about our health, our welfare, our children, our families, and our future – but not about the will and kingdom of Jesus. That’s not strong faith.” Then he adds: “Could it be wrong to plead for the health of a child? In itself, of course not. But strong faith is interested primarily in the glory of God and a right relationship with Him.”

Isn’t that an incredible goal for the mature Christian? Yes, we’d like to have our children get well. We’d like for this ministry right here to grow. We’d like to get the “loaves and fishes” blessings of health and happiness and financial strength. But even more, we should want the ocean of victory for God’s kingdom. For the surging sea of spiritual solidarity between Jew and Gentile, male and female, white and black, Catholic and Protestant, that Paul is passionately writing about here.

Thankfully, here in this story of the nobleman with the sick son, when the healing occurred, this sincere man did actually move BEYOND the miracle and seek Jesus Himself, the miracle-maker. “He and all his household believed,” it says in verse 53.

Let me invite you right now, friend, to set down your teacup and see the whole ocean. Thank God for His plans for you, but try to glimpse the full agenda of His kingdom. That’s how much power He’s going to put into play in these last days. One Bible commentary gave us this Greek word — huperekperissou — which means “entirely above all bounds.” And really, you can sweep aside both Greek and English dictionaries here, because another commentary, the Tyndale set, observes:

“There is no limit to His power; only man’s WORDS and THOUGHTS about it are limited.”

So friend, even if we can’t get up the vocabulary to describe it, we can still accept it and use it and thank God for the ocean of His power.

“There are resources of spiritual power available to us beyond our farthest thought,” suggests the Adventist commentary for this verse 20. “We do not tap them as we might.”

Or as Mr. Reginald Jeeves would say with a bow: “Sir, all you have to do . . . is ask.”