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This message concludes our SFSG: So Far So God series. In Jeremiah 31, the Israelites are in exile in Babylon, but God promises to bring them back to Jerusalem. It is one of the most hopeful chapters in Scripture.
Verse 9 says, “Tears of joy will stream down their faces.” Verse 12 says, “They will come home and sing songs of joy on the heights of Jerusalem. They will be radiant because of the many gifts the Lord has given them.” Verse 13 says, “The young women will dance for joy.” And verse 14 says, “I will satisfy my people with my bounty.”
There is promise after promise.
And then the Lord gives them specific instructions in Jeremiah 31:21: “Set up road signs; put up guideposts; Mark well the path by which you came.”
Mark Your Trail
This week I was reading Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose. It is the story of Meriwether Lewis, as in Lewis and Clark. Lewis was appointed by Thomas Jefferson to find a waterway to the Pacific. He was given a $2500 appropriation from Congress for the expedition. The largest part of the budget was $696 for Indian presents. He also used the appropriation to buy things like a boat and medicine and navigational instruments.
But Ambrose makes a special point of noting how much ink Lewis brought along for the journey. Ambrose writes, “Lewis had plenty of ink left when he got home, enough for another voyage. That ink wasn’t critical for making the trip, but it was critical to make the expedition a success by recording its findings.”
Ink may not seem as important as the .54 caliber rifles or dry goods or navigational equipment that Lewis took with on the expedition. As Ambrose noted, ink wasn’t necessary to make the trip. But it was necessary to mark the trail.
Lewis’ expedition journals are priceless. He drew pictures of the animals he encountered. He noted the flora and fauna he saw. He used the ink to draw maps. He recorded every detail in his journals.
There is a difference between making a trip and marking a trail. Far too many of us make the trip, but we don’t mark the trail.
Think of Jeremiah 31:21 in expedition terms. It says, “Mark well the path by which you came.”
In other words, mark your trail.
This series has been all about marking our trail. This message looks in the rearview mirror and reflects on some of the lessons we’ve learned along the way.
Lesson #1—God is Sovereign
First and foremost, I’ve learned that God is sovereign.
I knew that before we started pursuing this dream of building a coffeehouse on Capitol Hill, but there are two kinds of knowing. One is an intellectual knowing. The other is an experiential knowing. I knew from reading Scripture that God was sovereign, but it was theoretical. Over the last eight years, that head knowledge has turned into a profound sense of destiny. I know that I know that God is in control. I know that I know that God is in the business of strategically positioning us in the right place at the right time. And I know that I know that God is going to get us where God wants us to go!
A few months ago we have a week of prayer and one of our prayer meetings was at Ebenezers. During that prayer meeting, someone said they felt like the Lord had given them a Scripture to share with the group. That Scripture has been in my spirit ever since. It is Exodus 23:20. “See I am sending my angel before you to lead you safely to the land I have prepared for you.”
It obviously refers to the Promise Land. But I believe God did the exact same thing with Lot 109 in Square 754, AKA 201 F Street, NE. He sent his angel before us to lead us to the land he prepared for us.
This week one of our neighbors walked into the coffeehouse and told me, “If it weren’t for me you wouldn’t have a coffeehouse.”
He has lived in the neighborhood for twenty-five years and he’s actively involved in the community. He said that in the 1980’s the former owners of 201 F Street filed for a demolition permit. And this neighbor stopped them. He went to Historic Preservation and got the property deemed a historic property. If he hadn’t done what he did, a fast food chain or Dry Cleaner or Corner Mart would have snapped up this property long before we moved into the neighborhood.
I just think that is so cool. Before this dream was even conceived, God has his hand on 201 F Street, NE. He went before us protecting it and preparing it!
Lesson #2—Some Delays are Divine
Here is a second lesson I’ve learned. I’ve learned to appreciate what I call divine delays.
To be perfectly honest: I hate delays. I don’t like waiting at drive thru windows. I don’t like waiting at stop signs. But the worst are plane delays!
I’ve been flying hither and yon the last few weeks. I flew out to Sisters, Oregon to meet with my publisher a few weeks ago. I had to hop on three flights to get there and three flights to get back. On the way back I was pretty tired. I just wanted to get home to my wife and family. I caught my first flight at 9:30 AM PST. I almost threw up on the first flight. I didn’t have anything to eat and it was one of those jumper flights where the plane is so small you feel claustrophobic. I thought I was going to have to do the Flintstones and actually help run the plane down the runway and then flap my arms. I managed to survive the first leg of my journey. I made the second flight to Chicago. And then my final flight got cancelled and I had to wait two hours to catch the next flight. It felt like an eternity. I didn’t get back to DC till 10:30 PM EST. It was a long day!
Last week I flew to Denver for the day. I got up at 4 AM. I did a short video shoot there and I hopped a flight home. We got out on the tarmac and evidently the wind was too strong in DC so we couldn’t take off from Denver. Is there anything worse that getting stuck on the tarmac? I don’t understand airplane air conditioning. We have the technology to defy gravity and get this baby off the ground, but we can’t run the air conditioning until we’re in the air. When you’re on the tarmac it’s like being in a sauna fully clothed.
Alright, I feel better now! I hate plane delays!
I’m not the most patient person on the planet. When I get a vision I want it to happen yesterday. But I’ve learned that God cares more about who we become in the process of pursuing a God-given dream then the dream itself. And God isn’t going to get us to where He wants us to go until we’re ready to get there.
Not many people know this, but we actually had two contracts to purchase 201 F Street, NE. And the first contract fell through. I thought the dream was dead.
I still remember meeting with the former owners. It was two lawyers. And these guys couldn’t be more different. At first I thought it was a negotiating trick on their part. It was like good cop, bad cop! I still remember meeting with them and they spent half the time arguing with each other. Not only that, they involved their two wives and one of their sons in the negotiating. And I thought to myself, “No wonder they’ve never sold this property.” There were so many different personalities involved that it seemed like they’d never agree to sell the thing or agree on the same price.
When that first contract fell through I thought the dream was dead, but it was only delayed. And it was a good thing. Why? Because we weren’t ready yet. We didn’t have the people to pull it off. We didn’t have the resources to pull it off.
Let me show you something in Scripture.
There is a fascinating principle in Exodus 13:17. I often think of this when I get discouraged about a dream that gets delayed. It says, “When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them on the road that runs through Philistines country, even though that was the shortest way from Egypt to the Promised Land.”
Why? Why not get them there as quickly as possible?
God said, “If the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” They weren’t ready yet.
If your dream hasn’t become reality yet it is probably because God is still working on you. If we aren’t spiritually mature enough to handle dreams becoming reality then those dreams because curses. They lead to pride. We think we had something to do with the success we’re experiencing. Without the right foundation, dreams backfire and end up hurting us spiritually.
We wanted to open our coffeehouse years ago, but we weren’t ready yet. I’ve learned to thank God for divine delays. God is going to get us where God wants us to go, but He won’t get us there a second too soon!
Lesson #3—When God gives a Vision He Makes Provision
Here is a third lesson I’ve learned. When God gives a vision he makes provision.
I’ll never forget November of 2001. We had a contract on 201 F Street, NE. And we needed to come up with 10% for the down payment. We needed a $32,500 deposit or the contract would be null and void. We scraped together as much as we could and it totaled $25,000. The day before our deposit was due we got two random checks in the mail. I say “random” because we weren’t expecting them. We had no idea they were coming. And the people who sent them had no idea we needed them. Those two checks totaled exactly $7500.
I’ll never forget the feeling of God providing in the nick of time! It was one of those Ebenezer moments. I think provision is often evidence that a vision is from God. I’ve also learned that God loves to wait till the last second to make provision!
I never cease to be amazed at the way God has provided. There have so many moments along the way where we’ve wondered how we could afford this dream. But when God gives the vision he makes provision. I’ve been overwhelmed by the dedication gifts that so many NCCers have brought over the last few weeks and months. And you never know where the provision is going to come from.
This week we got a check and note in the mail from a couple that doesn’t attend NCC. They live half the country away. Along with the check they wrote this note, “We feel it a privilege to share in the exciting completion of Ebenezers coffeehouse. The enclosed check represents a years saving of change from my purse into an old pickle jar.”
When I read that note this week my eyes started sweating. I cried because I thought about how amazing the Kingdom of God is. God gives a vision to one person and uses another person to make provision.
For what it’s worth, NCC gave a quarter of a million dollars to missions last year. And every time we invest in a missionary or ministry we are making provision for a vision God has given to someone else. That is what the Kingdom of God is all about.
Lesson #4—No Matter How Right Your Vision is Someone Will Find Something Wrong with It
There will always be someone who says you shouldn’t do what you’re doing. There will always be someone who says you can’t do what God is calling you to do.
Do you remember when Nehemiah started rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem? What happened? He disrupted the status quo. And some naysayers named Sanballat and Tobiah reared their ugly heads and started taunting them and mocking them.
Anytime you pursue a God-ordained dream you can expect the favor of God to make a way for you. But you better expect some opposition along the way as well.
I remember there was a very fragile season where this dream could have died if the community has opposed us. And some naysayers tried to shoot us down. All kinds of rumors and misinformation started circulating about what we wanted to do and why we were doing it.
I saved eight pages of email attacks!
Those email attacks were hurtful. One of them said, “I have real concerns about the church’s commitment to the community.” We do community events all the time. We invest thousands of dollars into hosting the annual Easter Eggstravaganza at Lincoln Park every year. We do an Extreme Home Makeover for a Single Mom on Mother’s day. We’re reaching out to those in our community who are homeless. And we view the coffeehouse as a $2.5 million investment in our community!
But Abraham Lincoln was right: “You can please all of the people some of the time; some of the people all of the time; but you can’t please all of the people all of the time.”
Expect opposition. But don’t let it discourage you. Take encouragement from it. Evidently, what you’re trying to do is worth the enemy opposing it.
Lesson #5—Pray like it Depends on God and Work like it Depends on You
One of our core values as a church is pray like it depends on God and work like it depends on you. We don’t just give lip service to that value. We have walked the talk.
In Exodus 17, the Israelites defeat the Amalekites. It is this cool image of the way we fight spiritual battles. The army is fighting and Moses is praying at the top of the hill. To me, this is a picture of our core value: pray like it depends on God and work like it depends on you. It is both/and. This is a picture of the way we win spiritual battles.
Verse 11 says, “As long as Moses held up the staff with his hands, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites gained the upper hand.”
I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to keep you arms raised for any length of time. It is exhausting. And that is without a staff in your hand.
Verse 12 says, “Moses’ arms finally became too tired to hold up the staff any longer. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side, holding up his hands until sunset.”
Throughout the past eight years, we have kept our arms raised in prayer. We have laid hands on walls and done prayer walks. We have had prayer meetings before critical meetings and in the foundation of the building. We’ve had countless impromptu prayers meetings at 201 F Street, NE.
Our arms have gotten awfully tired at times, but so many people have held up our hands in prayer.
We’ve prayed like it depends on God. We have also worked like it depends on us. There is nothing easy about starting a coffeehouse. And five services at three locations is harder than four services at two locations. But the last time I checked, the reward for good work in the parable of the talents wasn’t an extended vacation or early retirement. The reward for good work was more work.
God-given dreams are hard work. Buy some extra-strength deodorant because dreams require lots of holy perspiration.
