For Your Sunday Morning Drive

Episode 132: Number Stations

What can a number station teach us about spiritual gatekeeping? Let’s take a look at that here in just a bit.

Welcome to the show. I’m Daniel Dalp, and this is For Your Sunday Morning Drive. It’s a short podcast, and we have a simple goal: to help point your mind from the worldly to the spiritual. I just want to help you bridge that gap on Sunday mornings, just like this.

This is one of my favorite times of the year. Halloween is coming up on Saturday, and as per tradition, I try to make our Halloween episode a little bit spooky. Maybe spooky isn’t the right word for it, but maybe a little bit mysterious. We’ll see if you agree with that after the episode’s over.

That being said, I hope you have none of the tricks and all of the treats this Saturday. Be safe, and I hope you have a great week.

Thank you for riding along with us this morning. Let’s go ahead and get the show on the road. This is Episode 132: Number Stations. Let’s go to church.

Are We There Yet?

The recording you just listened to is an example of what is known as a number station, and this one in particular is called the Lincolnshire Poacher.

If you aren’t familiar with the idea of a number station, they’re shortwave radio broadcasts that typically begin with a chime or a song, and then some sort of mysterious, monotone voice tends to read out a list of seemingly random numbers and letters.

It’s a pretty old concept. They’ve been around in some iteration since World War I. They peaked in use and popularity during the Cold War, and even though they do continue broadcasting today, they seem to be slowly shutting down.

But what are they? What are they really? What’s their purpose?

Well, no one can really say for sure. That’s just one part of what makes them so mysterious.

The other reason they are so mysterious is that it’s almost universally agreed that the numbers and letters being broadcast are secret codes used in espionage to relay critical data to operatives all over the world.

And why have they been used for almost 100 years? Because the codes they use are basically unbreakable.

If a random person doesn’t have the key to interpret the message, the message, regardless of how important or how critical it might be, is useless.

The messages, you might say, are only helpful if you are in the know. At this point, you may be well within your right to ask yourself what secret codes, espionage, and cryptic messages have to do with the spiritual at all.

Would you believe it if I told you I think there might be more in common between the garbled messages of a number station and the clear, concise, and simple message of the gospel?

Or rather, what we sometimes do to that clear, simple, and concise message, or maybe how we talk about it, maybe how we speak to those who are looking for it.

Sometimes, dear listener, I think we have a tendency to speak, to preach, and to evangelize in a way much like a number station. We use words, terminology, and phrases that are, in most cases, biblical, but are also very much in-house.

Can I give you some examples?

When someone comes and asks us, “How do I become a Christian?” we often say, “Oh, it’s a very simple thing. Just follow the plan of salvation.” Those of us in the know know exactly what we mean here: believe, repent, confess, be baptized, and continue to live faithfully.

We even know the Scriptures that go along with it. But to someone who is entirely new to Christendom, what does that sound like? Especially if the conversation ends there without any further teaching or explanation.

Do we see how they might be stumped?

No, it doesn’t mean that the terminology is wrong, but maybe we need to think of it from the perspective of the lost rather than that of the saved.

Many of us have heard and likely agree with the idea of calling Bible things by Bible names, and no argument here. But what good does it do those who don’t know Bible things and don’t know Bible names? Where do they get their start?

It’s all well and good for those of us who are in the know, but for those who don’t know Adam from, well, Adam, how do we get them started on the path to understanding?

I’m reminded in some ways of Apollos in Acts 18 and the Ephesian brethren in Acts 19.

Apollos was familiar only with the baptism of John, and Priscilla and Aquila took the time to decode the way of God in a way that he could understand.

Acts 18:26 says:

“And he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.”

In Acts 19, Paul did the same with the brethren in Ephesus concerning both the Holy Spirit and baptism. They came right out and told him how confused they might have been. Acts 19:2 says:

“We have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.”

Imagine if the conversation had stopped there. Imagine if that information had just been left for those in the know, if it was never decoded.

And what I mean in this context by “decoded” is simply taught.

How do we teach?

Jesus used parables to decode the message of heaven to His disciples. Sometimes He even used plain language when they asked Him. Are we above doing the same?

The goal—our goal—is to be lights of the world, not just to the enlightened. We want to bring those in darkness to an understanding, not just sit around and play high church.

And if that calls for simple explanations to start learning about difficult things, maybe that requires a dressing down of formality.

We want to bring people to an understanding of God’s Word, just like Philip did with the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8.

That calls for us to be patient teachers.

Because, friends, the Word of God isn’t classified material.

So maybe we need to be the kind of Christians who help the lost crack the code.

Well, take it or leave it. Those are my thoughts for your Sunday morning drive.

Now it’s time to share yours. Our discussion questions for this week are:

1. How can we make the message of the gospel easier for people unfamiliar with the Bible to understand?

2. Why is it important to explain biblical concepts rather than assume everyone already understands them?

3. What are some practical ways we can become more patient and effective teachers of God’s Word?

And here’s Evelyn with today’s kids’ question.

What questions do you have about the Bible?

Hey, thank you for listening. Thank you for taking time out of your day to ride along with us. I hope you have a great day of worship.

I hope you make some great memories this Halloween. If you enjoyed the episode, share it with a friend. Look for ways to teach the gospel, and do it patiently.

Keep pressing forward, and I’ll see you Sunday.