Confessions of a Church: Two Steps Forward One Back
The Psalm writer wrote: Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law. As we come before a Holy God and hear his word, may we have eyes open to the wonderful and fearful things from his law. May it move us to repent and seek forgiveness, fear disobedience, and live in light of the grace we have received. This is the word of God. It is eternally true and applicable for all of life.
Deuteronomy 3:18-29 “Then I commanded you at that time, saying, ‘The Lord your God has given you this land to possess it; all you valiant men shall cross over armed before your brothers, the sons of Israel. But your wives and your little ones and your livestock (I know that you have much livestock) shall remain in your cities which I have given you, until the Lord gives rest to your fellow countrymen as to you, and they also possess the land which the Lord your God will give them beyond the Jordan. Then you may return every man to his possession which I have given you.’ I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, ‘Your eyes have seen all that the Lord your God has done to these two kings; so the Lord shall do to all the kingdoms into which you are about to cross. Do not fear them, for the Lord your God is the one fighting for you.’
“I also pleaded with the Lord at that time, saying, ‘O Lord God, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your strong hand; for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as Yours? Let me, I pray, cross over and see the fair land that is beyond the Jordan, that good hill country and Lebanon.’ But the Lord was angry with me on your account, and would not listen to me; and the Lord said to me, ‘Enough! Speak to Me no more of this matter. Go up to the top of Pisgah and lift up your eyes to the west and north and south and east, and see it with your eyes, for you shall not cross over this Jordan. But charge Joshua and encourage him and strengthen him, for he shall go across at the head of this people, and he will give them as an inheritance the land which you will see.’ So we remained in the valley opposite Beth-peor.
This is the word of the Lord.
The Christian walk cannot be characterized as one with a trajectory which is straight up, linear, and marked by an unbroken chain of successes and accomplishments.
It is more akin to the old saying 'two steps forward, one step back'; in the case of some of us it seems more like 'two steps forward and three steps back'.
If your faith is not rooted deeply in Christ, if you are given to neglect the means of grace granted us by our Lord (prayer, the preaching of God's word, the Lord's supper, fellowship of the saints, etc.), if you are a new Christian, an immature Christian, a lazy Christian: the trials of life, the uncertainty of the future, God's enemies, your weaknesses, and all your failures and missteps playing on loop in your mind will serve as a huge discouragement as you seek to navigate this fallen world and live faithfully where God has called you.
The mature Christian will walk by faith with a view of the future which acknowledges that Christ is King, that He is the victor, and we are co-heirs with Him, yet knowing that the fullness of the inheritance will not be realized in this life.
Look at Moses is our passage today. Moses whom God spoke to from the burning bush. Moses, who spoke the words of God to Pharaoh. Moses who was there when the Red Sea was parted, who went up on the Mountain with God, whose face glowed with the radiance of God's glory. This same Moses was told
Go up to the top of Pisgah and lift up your eyes to the west and north and south and east, and see it with your eyes, for you shall not cross over this Jordan
Moses would not cross over the Jordan to enter the promised land.
He was as seasoned, mature, and faithful a Christian there ever was, and yet did not live to lay hold of all the fullness of God's promises in this life. What he was given however, was a commission:
But charge Joshua and encourage him and strengthen him, for he shall go across at the head of this people
He would not enter in, but would play a vital role in the advancement of God's Kingdom. He would now take the role of encourager, tasked with strengthening Joshua for what lay ahead.
That's not our role though, is it? We are the one with the talent, we are the gifted one, we are the one with the resources and means, we have the vision, we've been there from the beginning, we have the grand story of God's rescue in our pocket, we are a blessing to the church, heck, to the world, so we have to be the one leading the charge. We want to be the conqueror Joshua, when the reality is, most of us have been called to the role of support. It is a humble role. An unglamorous role.
It's a role that has as its foundation: "Not my will be done, but Yours O Lord". This is not the quarterback, but rather, the waterboy. This is not the position which leads to the twitter post, the endless string of Facebook likes and hugs, or newspaper articles about your deed, but instead, will be the one which finds you mocked, ridiculed, and scorned. This is not the position which cries "look at me, look what I did, look what I overcame, look how strong I am, look how faithful I am", but rather the position of Mary, washing the feet of Jesus with her tears. It is the position of Aaron and Hur, holding up Moses' arms when he became weary (Exodus 17:12). It is the position of David delivering bread and cheese to his brothers on the battlefield (1 Samuel 17:17, 18).
It is the position of Christ obeying His Father's will. Serving rather than being served. Always about His Father's business. Never grumbling. Never looking for the easy way out. Never neglecting His duty to run off and satisfy His own desires, which was simple because He had the same desires as His Father. This position will have you wiping tears, binding wounds, encouraging the fainthearted, and enduring hardship. This is your calling dear Christian.
God has called you to one particular path, yet you are convinced that the way of faithfulness goes down another. God has clearly gifted you to fulfill His calling, but you see issues and people down other paths who need you. You say "God has given me this lot, these gifts, and this desire, so I must exercise them in the way I see fit", yet God has given you a specific husband, a specific wife, and specific children. He has placed you in a specific home, on a specific block, going to work at a specific place. He has so ordered your steps that you are a member of a specific Church, SKC, with specific members who have specific needs, weaknesses, temptations, and sins, and here is where your true calling lies.
Yet, driven by your flesh, you reject this calling, supplementing your own, and those to whom you have been called suffer. If the calling God has placed upon you demands you take a backseat, appears mundane, and isn't inaugurated with a flourish of trumpet blasts, I mean, Facebook posts, then you aren't interested.
We need to repent of this, turn back to Christ, and follow His example in faith.
Your calling as husband, wife, father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister and friend, cannot be minimized. These relationships are the primary means through which God will work in the lives of most people. Neglect these, and everything you do "out there" will be in vain. These relationships are of utmost importance and is why you hear the Pastor and Elders of this Church constantly beat the drumbeat of marriage, family, child rearing, Christian charity, and hospitality. If you are one who neglects these areas to play super Christian everywhere else, you need to repent of abandoning your primary calling.
In regards to the calling, role and duties of the Pastor and Elders in the church:
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.
— Hebrews 13:17
Don't make our job more difficult than it already is. Don't play hard to get with your Pastor and Elders. In other words, don't wrongly think that we will pick up on your passive aggressive cry for help. Don't believe that your vague Facebook rant, or your meme is something we will even see. Don't think that we are mind readers who can interpret your always glum attitude, especially if you avoid us like the plague.
Rather, when you are sick, call us or invite us to your home to pray. When you are struggling with sin, pull us aside at Church, or call us throughout the week and let us bear your burdens. When you get rebuked, or hear some preaching or teaching which you just know was directed at you, then repent if necessary. Don't withdraw and pull back with an attitude of "I'll just keep to myself". Do not allow things like social media, telegram chats, gifs and memes replace the personal, hands on relationship which is vital to Christian living. Two nights ago I watched Pastor Bayly of Trinity Reformed Church lean over and kiss my son Henry on his head. The Pastor said he did this to all the men of the church, so that he could smell what kind of hair gel they used. Translated, a Pastor's job requires a proximity to you which cannot be accomplished through a text, or even a phone call. Let us fulfill our calling with joy, not grief.
At this time, if you are able, please kneel, not under compulsion, not out of habit, but with a humble attitude, recognizing how we have sinned against a Holy God, and need the help of our Savior, Jesus.
Heavenly Father,
Your Word teaches us that there are no random events, no maverick molecules, no occurrences of happenstance, but rather, You are ordering our steps, directing our paths, ordaining the end from the beginning and working all things together for the good of those called by Your name.
Those called for a purpose.
Father please help us to discern Your calling on our lives, recognizing the gifts You have given us to fulfill that calling, and encourage us to do good works in Your name.
Please forgive us where we have sought to use gifts, time, talents, and resources in ways we have not been called.
Please forgive us for the neglect of our primary calling which is often mundane, routine, thankless, and yet very, very difficult work, favoring instead work which directly appeals to our flesh, and pride.
Please help us to follow the example of Your Son, with faith in His finished atoning work on the cross, and His resurrection from the dead.
In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
Please stand and listen to the comforting assurance of the grace of God, promised in the gospel to his church:
Luke 1:68-75 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people, And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of David His servant—As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old—Salvation from our enemies, And from the hand of all who hate us; To show mercy toward our fathers, And to remember His holy covenant, The oath which He swore to Abraham our father, To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.
To all those who thus repent and seek Jesus Christ for their salvation, your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Lift up your hearts!