The Back to Egypt Commitee (10-18-10)

Shalom,

 

    Please begin by reading Luke 9:57-62.

 

    The three men mentioned here called Jesus "Lord," but none of them did what he told them.  When the first man heard of possible hardships, it appears he was unwilling to deny himself for Kingdom purposes.  The second man is shown as being overly concerned with a funeral, instead of Kingdom business.  The third man had his eyes in the wrong direction, looking at worldly goods instead of Kingdom rewards.  The emphasis of the three men appears to be "me first."  This automatically disqualifies them when they're faced with the tough conditions of discipleship.

    The first man told Jesus, "I will follow you wherever you go."  Jesus responds by telling him it could be a rough road, one with tough conditions.  When they traveled there wouldn't be reservations at the best inns.  When they visited other towns and areas of Judea, they could end up sleeping outdoors.  There was no promise of first-class accomodations because the world didn't recognize King Jesus.  So Jesus confronted this man with the cost of discipleship, not the comforts.

    The second man wants to go bury his father before following Jesus.  Modern believers often misunderstand this situation.  Jesus isn't telling him he can't go to his father's funeral, he just wanted him to focus more on Kingdom work.  What the man is saying is that he needs to go care for his father until his death.  His father isn't dead yet.  The man wanted to wait until after he received his inheritance to follow Jesus.  But when it comes to discipleship, family is supposed to come after Yahweh's will.  Jesus claims first place in our lives, and tells us we can depend on him for our needs.

    The third applicant for Kingdom service wanted some time off to go and say farewell to his loved ones.  He was showing himself to be somewhat half-hearted.  He wanted to be a disciple, as long as he didn't have to make any major sacrifices.  He didn't understand the urgency, the importance of the mission he was asking to participate in.  If we're going to plow straight and true lines with the Gospel we need to be looking forward.  Every time we look back with longing to people and things we were attached to, we lose sight of our focus point and make crooked lines.

 

    These three men should cause all of us to consider our motives for following Jesus.  What makes us want to be Christians?  Too many folks are just trying to avoid hell instead of signing up for Kingdom service.  Do we really understand the requirements placed on us when we begin to follow Jesus?  You did notice that it said "requirements," and that does mean things you need to do.  Are we ready to go forward, on to the next mission?  There's always work to be done for our Lord's Kingdom.  We're to be thoughtful people, not blind followers.  We should be doing all we can to understand why we're on the narrow path following our Savior and Lord.  Maybe we need to sing this old song occassionally to remind ourselves of a major truth: "Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe."

    There are plenty of examples in the Bible to show us how fickle we humans can be.  The Israelites in the Desert of Sin showed a great lack of appreciation for what Yahweh had done for them when they left Egypt.  In this appropriately named place they forgot Yahweh's mercy and provision.  The people criticized Moses and murmured against Almighty God.  They're only weeks away from having miraculously crossied the Red Sea, and they wanted to go back to Egypt, where things were supposedly better.  Now that's a tough place to be in.

    We act the same way when we forget what Yahweh has done for us in the past.  But often we have a different slant on this.  It's not that we don't remember what he's done for us, it's that we don't necessarily trust him to do it again.  Instead of growing in faith with each new encounter we have with our Lord and Savior, we all too often need a fresh word or a new insight or another dose of his goodness before we're ready to step out in faith again.

 

    "Is God really here or not?"  Sometimes life causes us to ask that very same question along with the Israelites.  We feel beat up by the problems in our homes, on our jobs, with our families and neighbors.  We wonder where Yahweh is in all these difficult circumstances.  We complain to him about not having what we want and expect, or how he's not working on our timetable.  And yet, our Father continues to provide for us on a daily basis.  We're too much like the Israelites in the wilderness when we forget the miracles Yahweh has done on our behalf and wonder where today's miracle is.

    No, Yahweh doesn't always respond when or how or where we want his blessings to appear.  But whatever gave us the idea that this is how the Lord God Almighty works?  Yahweh will respond when he knows it's best for us, in his perfect will and timing.  How many of our churches are limping along because we'd rather look at what's behind us?  "Oh, I remember what a good time we used to have, back in the good old days.  Our children were in church with us and that was the place to be."

    How about a reality check?  "Back in the good old days" there weren't as many choices about what to do or where to go.  You could plan a Bible study for just about any night of the week, because there wasn't dance or soccer or American Idol to interfere or compete with.  Today the Church has lots of competition.  There are so many distractions to deal with in modern lives.  Too many of our churches are doing ministry with a 1950's & 60's mentality and haven't realized that things have changed quite a bit since then.

    Yes, there were more youth in our churches back in the "good old days."  Where else could they go?  During the 50's & 60's there weren't any computers or video games or satellite TV's.  There was no "hanging out" with your friends at the mall.  The distractions that our youth have today are many and somewhat overwhelming.  Having worship services on Sunday mornings was the thing to do back in those days because not a whole lot of anything else happened before noon on Sunday.  There weren't that many stores open.  There weren't practices or games for the baseball, basketball, or soccer leagues to interfere with church.

    Our Back to Egypt Committees need to reminded of some scripture.  Ecc 7:10 says, "Do not say, 'Why were the old days better than these?'  For it is not wise to ask such a question."  Yahweh wants us to look forward toward the blessings he has in store for us.  Ahead of us is a place full of new opportunities, new perspectives, and new challenges.  And best of all, the constant presence of our great and mighty God is there.  We'll eventually get to spend the rest of eternity with the one who loves and cares for us so dearly.

 

    Some people stubbornly cling to the idea that if we're not doing something, not constantly in motion, then somehow we're not being effective.  We've bought into this notion so prevalent in our culture that appearing to be busy is synonymous with having value and worth.  If we can just keep enough multi-tasking activity going, somehow good things will result.  We seem to have a world desperately in need of rest and relaxation, but unwilling to stop their "busyness" because they have an over-inflated opinion of how important what they're doing is.

    We Christians don't need to be like these people, or be so influenced by our society's expectations.  It's not just about being busy.  It's about being solid disciples of Jesus Christ.  We need to allow ourselves to learn the power of being focused on the mission.  If our leaders are seeking the guidance of our Lord, and we're prayerfully supporting them, we'll have rightly focused Kingdom work going on.  We and our churches and our communities would be greatly blessed by the power of truly Spirit-focused planning and leadership.

    What would happen if we began to see our calling as not so much about doing things according to our agendas, but as making ourselves more available to Yahweh's leadership?  We'll ultimately live and die, not by what we can do for ourselves, but by our willingness to live in the light of the grace that's already offered in abundance.  If our churches were run according to the ongoing direction of the Holy Spirit, our focus would be in the right place.  We've got to stop trying to duplicate what was because we enjoyed that time so well.  We need new experiences.  We need new things to be joyful about.  We need to follow our Lord Jesus wherever he leads us and quit telling him that we don't do whatever it is he's telling us we should be doing.

 

    So first, don't let the cares of this world keep you from following Jesus.  Being his disciples means puuting aside our desires and taking up his cross.  Don't tell your Lord how you're going to follow him.  Ask for direction and obediently perform the tasks given to you.  There's a church sign with a powerful message we need to be reminded of or reprimanded by: Most Christians truly want to serve their Lord Jesus... But only as advisors.

    And second, don't let the "good old days" keep you from making the current ones good, too.  Being the Church of Jesus Christ means taking on new challenges, meeting the needs of the current generation in a way that touches and blesses them.  We should be excited about fresh new outlooks, instead of wanting to excommunicate anyone who tries to change things.  Yahweh didn't make us with eyes in the back of our heads.  He put them in the front so we'd be looking forward, and that's where true vision always is - ahead of us!

    Don't sell yourself short.  Yahweh has placed you in the body of believers you belong to for a purpose.  The major purpose is to win souls for his Kingdom and then to help them become disciples.  If we all work together to bring about the purposes and will of Yahweh, then someday our young people will have good memories about the past, too.  But don't live in the past, just visit from time to time and enjoy blessings your Father gave you.  Don't be longing to go back to Egypt, be excited about entering the Promised Land and establishing Yahweh's Kingdom for your generation and the ones to come.

 

    Blessings & Peace,    Mike