Have you ever been camping? I do not mean camping in a cabin or camper. I mean camping in the great outdoors, bundled up in a sleeping bag, with nothing but a tent between you and the wild creatures that roam the woods.
I have only been once been once and I hated it. Knowing what you know about me in just two days, that probably does not surprise you. I am not much of an outdoorsman.
It was back in my college years. A group of friends decided to spend a few days of our Spring Break camping in the Silver River Park in the central part of Florida. We gathered supplies and rented equipment – sleeping bags, cooking utensils, insect repellant, and (most importantly) tents, all packed away securely in our backpacks.
We spent a day hiking and then found a place to set up camp for the evening. Have you ever tried to put together a tent? I am told that tent technology has improved immensely over the last 24 years. Now campers enjoy popup tents that are very easy to assemble.
I did not one those “easy to assemble” tents on my camping trips. My tent was once of those old complicated collection of rope, tarps, rods, and stakes to be securely planted in the ground.
Several of my friends were experienced campers. In no time at all, they had their area staked out, a campfire burning, and fishing poles out – ready to catch their dinner. Did they stop to help me? No way! The site of me reading the manual on how to set up my tent was too enjoyable a scene.
After more than an hour – I decided that I would have to improvise. I set up between two trees. I attached the two ends of once piece of rope two the two trees. Then I threw the tarp (the tent material – whatever its called) over that rope. Then I took the stakes and hammered them into the group at the four corners of the tent, attaching the corners to those stakes with the remaining pieces of rope.
As it turns out, I had not tied off either end of rope very securely to the trees, and they began to sag. Then a brief thunderstorm hit late that evening and the tent came crashing down. I must have tied that thing off a half dozen times through the night, to no avail.
Finally, the rain stopped and my tent just sort of just hung there from the trees, a pitiful site if there ever was one. The only thing that stayed in place was the stakes. They were deeply embedded in the ground and were not going anywhere.
Have you ever been camping? Me? I have only been once been once and I hated it. I doubt I will ever it again.
In hindsight the only thing I know I did right was lay down my stakes. That is pretty much a parable for the rest of my life. When I stake out a section of my life, it can become solidly (almost stubbornly) established.
I love that old hymn by Homer Morris that says,
I shall not be, I shall not be moved
I shall not be, I shall not be moved
Just like a tree that’s planted by the water
I shall not be moved
That is me. I spot a piece of land, mark out my claim, and lay down my stakes. I hold on to that spot with fierce tenacity. “I shall not be moved!”
Is this a virtue? In some respects, I suppose it is. We need to be deeply rooted in the scripture. We need to be firmly established in prayer. I would submit to you that there are times when it is right to sing, “I shall not be moved.”
That said, I think there are many more times when living by the theme “I shall not be moved” can become a great detriment to the advancement of God’s kingdom. We see an example of how this looks in the story that we read moments ago from Mark’s Gospel.
In the story, a man comes to Jesus seeking counsel. We do not know much about the man except that he was wealthy. Over the centuries, he has been called “the rich young ruler.” That’s at least one-third accurate. The only thing the text says was that the man “had great wealth.” His age and whether he was a person of power are not mentioned in the text. We like the idea that he was a “rich young ruler” because that phrase rolls off the tongue much easier than “unknown old rich guy.” The bottom line is that we simply do not know much about his age and influence in his society.
We do know that his tent was collapsing but that his stakes were in place.
One day he approached Jesus. He did not walk toward Jesus with an air of dignity. He did not march up with a strut of authority. He ran up, huffing and puffing, not wanting to miss the moment to speak to Jesus. Then he did something incredibly amazing. He fell on his knees before Jesus in humility. This was a sign of respect and an act of homage.
Whatever had gone right with his life had apparently not been enough to give this man a sense of satisfaction. Despite being a man of considerable means, life simply was not working out the way he wanted always imagined it would. Do you hear the hunger in his voice? Do you get a sense of his thirst for something more? Do you see his passion as he runs up to Jesus and bows in humble respect? Something was missing. His tent was collapsing.
“Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
I cannot read your thoughts. I do not know your hearts. Nevertheless, I imagine that there are times in your life when you ask these kinds of questions. I imagine that there are times when you feel that passion for something more.
At first glance, the man seems to be asking something about heaven. We hear him asking, “How do I inherit eternal life?” and we think he is really saying, “How can I get into heaven?” In reality, his question went much deeper. For the first century mindset, eternal life was not about length in a place, but a quality and a connection. Eternal life begins in the moment. Eternal life is a reflection of the presence of and connection to God. What he was really saying in the vernacular of our language is, “How can I be connected to something bigger than I am?” “How can my life have meaning and power and purpose?” Bottom line, Jesus: “How can I know – really know in an intimate way – this God of whom you speak?” “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus knew what the man meant. He responds in the typical way! He gave the man the traditional religious response. Jesus said, “You know the commandments! Do not murder. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not lie. Honor your parents!”
It is at this point that we discover something else about this wealthy man. We discover that he had already laid down stakes in the typical and traditional religious lifestyle. “You know the commandments!” Jesus said, “Do not murder. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not lie. Honor your parents!”
“Teacher,” the man declared, “all these things I have kept since I was a boy!”
This man knew the rules and he kept them. This man knew the rituals and he observed them. He was your typical church going man. He had laid down his stakes in the traditions of his elders and the observation of the law and commandments – and he had done a good job. “All these things I have kept since I was a boy!” Still, despite his faithfulness, there he is before Jesus feeling a bit empty and asking, “How can I know – really know this God of whom you speak?”
Have you ever felt as though you were doing everything right and were still not satisfied and spiritually fulfilled? Have you ever prayed, “Lord, I want my life to matter?” “Lord, I want to make a difference?” “Lord, I want to make a positive impact on my world?”
You come to church. You read your Bible. You say your prayers. You donate tithes and offerings. You know that your life matter to God, but in the stillness of life there is a hunger to know that life really matters FOR God. You want your life to make a difference and have an impact. You want to be involved in something God-sized – something that cannot be done unless God enters the picture.
The text says that Jesus looked at the man and loved him. He saw the man’s hunger. He felt the man’s passion. He knew the man was searching for something deeper. Here is what Jesus is essentially saying: “You need to pull up the stakes and move to higher ground!”
“So, you’ve obeyed the rules and regulations handed down by God through our ancestors. That is terrific! Now left take it one-step forward. Move forward from personal piety to social engagement. Move forward from a moral lifestyle to missional activities. “Go, sell everything you have and give it to the poor … Then come, follow me.”
This man had placed all his confidence in observing the rules, rituals, and regulations of his religious tradition. That sounds great. It sounds orthodox, conservative, and traditional. There is only one problem – and it is a very big problem. The problem is this: all these things in do not make a hill of beans difference in our world. That is why in the silence of our prayers we still hunger and thirst to be connected to something bigger than we are.
“Go, sell everything you have and give it to the poor … Then come, follow me.”
Take it to the next level. Move your stakes to higher ground.
The text says that the man’s face fell and he went away sad because he had great wealth!
Do you see the other stakes this man had laid down in his life? His eyes dropped. His shoulders drooped. His arms hung down to the side. His backbone began to wilt under the weight of Jesus’ words. He turned and left in sadness because he had great wealth.
“Well, that’s just like a rich person, isn’t it? They love there money more than they love God!”
Now let us not be too harsh like on the rich folks. You know, everyone likes to beat up on the rich. Understand that this is not so much about the money as it is what the money represents. Money provides a means of self-preservation. Money represents security. Why do so many people horde and hold onto their money? It is because they think that by having that money they are maintaining control, calling their own shots, and being their own god. It is not “the money.” It is the control-factor. It is the notion that we are in charge and that we call our own shots. That is what held this man up from real purpose.
“Go, sell everything you have and give it to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
Take up the stakes you have planted in self-preservation. Give up all your efforts to be in control. Take everything you trust as your source of security and give it away. Then come and follow.
What message might this have for the Patterson Avenue Baptist Church?
Maybe you remember hearing the news about the church in Atlanta, Georgia several years ago. They were bursting at the seems, conducting five worship services each weekend, each filled beyond capacity. They felt they needed to build a new sanctuary to accommodate the crowds, so they began a fund-raising campaign with a goal of 1.5 million dollars. They were 1/3 of the way toward their goal at Christmas of 2004 with about $490,000.00 in the bank – then the Tsunami hit India and parts of Asia. After a period of 30 days of prayer and fasting, the church held a meeting and voted unanimously to give all of the money set-aside for the new building to relief efforts. “We can always add a sixth or seventh worship service,” the pastor said.
When I hear stories like this, I have to ask myself if I have planted my stakes too deeply in my own personal security and safety.
What about you? Let me ask you some pointed questions. Is the Patterson Avenue Baptist Church more interested in self-preservation or the advancement of our Redeemer’s Kingdom? Are we more interested in preserving your heritage or promoting the Gospel? How much are you willing to give away for the sake of the Kingdom of God? How much are you holding back? Are you willing to release everything into God’s hands? Are you willing to give it all away for the sake of the Kingdom?
I had a chance not too long ago to meet the pastor of New Hope Community Church, a Virginia Baptist congregation located in Newport News. Freddie, the church lead pastor, is a dynamic young man who planted this church about three years ago. The church has experience tremendous growth and is in the process of starting a satellite congregation in another location across town. What interested me, however, is not the story of New Hope rapid growth or their multi-site endeavor. This is the story about another congregation, the Faith Baptist Church!
The Faith Baptist Church was a small and struggling congregation that was having a hard time reaching its community. The passion was there – but it did not have the ability to connect effectively. To help makes ends meet, Faith Baptist rented their facility to New Hope Community church on Saturday evening. Faith Baptist watched as New Hope met the needs of the community, baptizing nearly 200 people over a two year time period and seeing their attendance increase from a couple dozen to an average attendance of 300 people in that same time period.
How did Faith Baptist respond? In a business meeting, they voted unanimously to approach New Hope church, offering them the gift of their entire facility, property, and endowment. Faith Baptist pulled up their stakes and gave everything away for the sake of the Kingdom.
On the first worship service after the merger, the pastor of Faith Baptist preached his final sermon to an overflow crowd. He pointed out that the CHURCH is eternal. The gates of hell will never prevail against is. Congregations, on the other hand, have a limited shelf life. Their time comes and goes. “We had a choice as to how we would die,” the pastor said. “We could go slowly, piecemeal, on life support to the very end, or we could go out in a blaze of glory for the sake of the Kingdom. Praise God, we choose the latter.”
I do not know how long Patterson Avenue Baptist Church will exist. I hope and trust that it will be here for a very long time. What I do know is this: We have two choices as to how we will exist in whatever time God has allotted for us. We can conserve, horde, and hold-on, with an aim toward self-preservation, or we can give, serve, and evangelize the world in a blaze of glory for the sake of the Kingdom.
Of those two choices, which one describes how you would like to be church?
Of those two choices, which one describes how you would like to live your life?
In our story, Jesus is saying, "Your spiritual life can not simply be an outward thing -- a matter of doing good deeds and observing your religion. It has to be an inner thing. It has to be at the center of your life. It cannot simply be window dressing. If you want to follow me, give up your efforts at self-control, release everything to me for the work of the Kingdom, then come and follow. Pull up your stakes and move a further down the road.”
Fred Craddock tells a story of a time when he was about eight years old. It was late one evening and he and his father were camping in their backyard. They were laying out in the open air, wrapped up in sleeping bags, watching the stars.
“Fred, I want you to look out into the sky and imagine going as far as you could possibly go!”
“You want me to imagine going as far out into space as I could go?”
“Yes,” his father said. “I want you to travel in your imagination as far into space as you could possible go!”
Fred watched the nighttime sky for a few moments and said, “Okay, I have gone as far as I could go!”
“You’ve gone as far as you could go!”
“Yes, I have gone as far as I could go!”
“Great, I want you to take a stake and nail it into that spot where you have traveled in your imagination!”
“You want me to nail a stake into that spot where I have just imagined traveling?”
“Yes, son, nail that stake into that spot!”
“Okay, I have nailed a stake into that spot?”
“Great, son! Now I want you look out passed that stake. What do you see?”
“Why, I see more space and more stars!”
“Okay, now I want you to pull up your stake and go further into that space and toward those stars!”
Fred reports that for nearly an hour he and his father kept moving that stake further and further into space until Fred finally fell asleep.
Do you know what Jesus is asking Patterson Avenue Baptist Church to do?
Do you know what Jesus is asking you to do?
“Pull up your stakes and move them a bit farther!”
