Who here this morning wants to be possessed, to be like Linda Blair in The Exorcist, completely out of control--out of mind, out of body, just out there?

If you even considered for a nanosecond raising your hand and saying that would be the best thing since scrambled eggs, please see me after worship this morning, and I will gladly give you all the information you need to be connected to one of the several mental health professionals we have here in our congregation.

Control is something that practically defines the way we live today. We want to be in control of our time, our assets, our family, our friends, our lives. We want to know what is coming, to anticipate every turn in the road and every possible outcome of our decisions so that nothing will surprise us.

God, however, has other ideas. This morning we heard from the prophet Nahum, and he might well stand for anyone who has ever been touched directly by God. In a moment, he lost complete control of his life. He was suddenly told what to speak, where to speak it, and to whom to speak. And what a task it was! He got sent to Nineveh, the capitol of Babylon, to tell them that God was coming and the end was near. He became a man possessed, a man with zero control, and certainly no inclination to do what he did.

God is like that. God remains God no matter how hard we try to convince God otherwise, that we are fully capable of being self-sufficient. The prophets reveal otherwise, as do the Disciples, as does Paul, as does most of scripture. God remains in charge and God will direct us as God sees fit.

That is so important to remember on a Sunday like this one. Today we are officially sending another group of men and women into the church’s service as Elders and Deacons. Do you recognize what it is we are really doing? We are sending them forth as people possessed. We might have thought we knew what we were doing when we elected them, but now they are in God’s hands. In fact, as Presbyterians, we believe they have been all along, and that their election really had nothing to do with us at all--God selected them before all time and now will direct them to act, to say, and to lead as God sees fit. Our task will be to accept that and follow as God leads us all through them.

The further recognition to be made is that there is absolutely no difference between any of these folks and the rest of us. By coming within the confines of God’s presence in the church, we lose control. God is God. Oh, we can rebel against God and we can claim to be completely autonomous, that we are here on our own terms, making faith what we want it to be. If that is so, then what we say or do will be hollowed out--it will all be revealed for the air it is. God is in charge. God directs us. God fills us.

And the greater truth is that since that is the case, we are now empowered to speak as Nahum with full confidence and commitment--

The Lord is good,

A stronghold in a day of trouble,

He protects those who take refuge in him.

Becoming possessed may be the best thing that ever happened to us.