A POSITION OF TRANSITION
As I thought about what my sermon topic would be on this final Zoom service the word transition came to mind. Transition means change, move, switch, alteration, modification. I can see how all of these could apply to what's happening with Cornerstone. We are making a transition as we get ready to start attending NSCC.
Actually, we're making a couple of transitions. We're going from Zoom services to in-person services and we are transitioning from going to church at 713 Catherine street to 911 Church street.
The word transition doesn't appear in the NIV but as I thought about the transitions that were made throughout scripture, a couple stood out to me. Let's take a look and see what we can learn from them.
1) Ruth's transition.
The story of Ruth starts out with Naomi, her husband Elimelech and their two sons, Mahlon and Kilion, traveling from their homeland of Judah to the country of Moab because there was a famine in their land.
Sometime later, Naomi's husband died. Her two sons married Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. Ten years later, Mahlon and Kilion both died. When Naomi learned that the famine had subsided she decided to leave Moab and go back to Judah.
Orpah and Ruth started out with her but at some point, she decided it wasn't fair for them to go with her. Naomi explained that even if she was to marry again and have two more sons, would they really wait until they were grown so they could marry them?
So she encouraged them to go back to Moab and remarry. After some back and forth between them, they wept together and Orpah said her goodbyes and went back but Ruth didn't. Chapt. 1:14 says that Ruth clung to Naomi. She wouldn't let her go, even though Naomi insisted.
Ruth 1:15-18, “Look,” said Naomi, “your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her.” But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.” When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her."
It wasn't that Naomi didn't want Ruth to be with her, but she felt Ruth was shortchanging herself by not going back to find a new husband and have kids. Think about it-Ruth was married to Naomi's son for ten years yet there's no mention of children; for either woman. It's understandable why Orpah would go back to Moab.
That makes what Ruth did more remarkable. She was willing to go to a foreign land, knowing only Naomi, with no guarantees of ever finding a husband or having children. This was how dedicated she was to Naomi. This was the level of relationship she had built with her.
Ruth said that Naomi's God would be her God. Ruth wasn't only willing to change her living situation, she was willing to change her god! That's amazing. This shows what kind of an influence Naomi and her family had been on her.
We're not told but I'm sure over the course of time Naomi, her husband and her sons would've talked about their hometown of Bethlehem along with the stories about God and how he delivered the Israelites from Egyptian bondage and brought them through the desert and into the promised land.
This, along with the example of godliness Ruth saw in Naomi, would cause her to look up to her and build an inseparable bond with her. So much so, that she was willing to leave her familiar surroundings to venture into the unknown. But she knew she would be okay as long as she was with Naomi.
This made me think about our relationship with Jesus. We need to do to Jesus what Ruth did to Naomi-cling to him. There's a song we sing called Rock of My Salvation. There's a part that goes, "I believe in you for your faithful love to me; you have been my help in times of need-Lord unto you will I cleave".
Jesus is the rock of our salvation. It doesn't matter what happens, when we cling to him we will be okay. For Ruth, nothing else mattered as much as being with Naomi. She could transition from the only life she knew in Moab to starting a new life in Judah because Naomi was with her.
Likewise, for some of you, Cornerstone is the only church you've known or it's the church you've been at the longest. Now you'll be going to a new church; a foreign church. Cornerstone is the only church I've ministered in. Although I was a member of NSCC for nine years I'm going back in a new way-as a minister. So, like you, I'm starting over too; I'm transitioning.
But we can go into this transition with the same confidence and determination Ruth did, because Jesus will be there. But just because Ruth was confident that didn't mean she wasn't nervous; any normal person would've been. But she knew the land she was going to was not unknown to Naomi-she was from there. So it was easier for Ruth to travel into the unknown because she was with someone who was already familiar with the territory.
And I believe Ruth's confidence didn't just come from being with Naomi; it came from being with a woman who worshipped the one, true God; the god that Ruth came to believe in. We believe in the one, true God. Since we are followers of Jesus, we don't have to be worried about following his lead. Even though we are headed into the unknown-it's not unknown to God.
So, how did things work out for Ruth? Did she make the right choice in going with Naomi? Would she come to regret not going back to Moab with Orpah?
When they arrived in Bethlehem, it was harvesting time. Ruth went to work in a field belonging to a guy named Boaz. When Boaz came around to see how things were going, he noticed Ruth and asked his foreman who she was. When he was told and that she was a hard worker he went to Ruth and asked her to stay working in his field. He assured her that all the guys would keep their hands off her. Ruth was thankful to Boaz for showing such kindness to a foreigner.
It's awkward to go into a new place; especially if you're different from everyone else. You don't know if people will accept you, you don't know how you'll be treated, etc. Then you have someone come along like a Boaz who shows kindness and makes you feel welcome. It can make all the difference. That's what we'll experience at NSCC-kindness, hospitality and acceptance. I'm sure we'll meet a few "Boazes" when we're there.
Boaz's kindness didn't end with giving Ruth a job. When Naomi found out who's field Ruth worked in, she recognized the name and told her he was a kinsman-redeemer. This meant he was a relative of Naomi and therefore in a position to obtain property that belonged to Naomi's husband and her sons; as well as being able to marry Ruth.
Once this became known to Boaz, he enacted his right as the kinsman-redeemer. This would mean that not only would the widow Ruth remarry but Naomi would be taken care of too. It was a win-win for everyone. The townspeople wished Boaz and Ruth well on their new life together. Ruth's transition proved to be the right decision.
But that's not all. Boaz and Ruth had a son whose name was Obed. Obed was the father of Jesse and Jesse was the father of King David. And when you follow the lineage of David you get to Jesus himself. When you read the genealogy of Jesus in Matt. 1 you will see Ruth's name listed in vs. 5.
Had Ruth not been willing to leave what was familiar to her and go with Naomi, she would have missed out on marrying Boaz and giving birth to a son that caused her to be involved in the lineage of the greatest person to ever walk on earth.
I don't know how things turned out for Ruth's sister-in-law Orpah back in Moab, but I'm sure it pales in comparison to how things turned out for Ruth. What kinds of blessed experiences will we have as a result of our transition? I don't know, but I look forward to finding out.
2) The Israelites' transition.
The Israelites went through many transitions in their history. Transitioning from slaves in Egypt to wanderers in the desert. Then going from wanderers to establishing themselves in Canaan. Then later because they didn't heed God's warnings to repent they were captured and taken into exile in 722B.C by the Assyrians. It happened again in 586B.C. when they were taken into captivity by the Babylonians. And by the time Jesus came they had transitioned to being under Roman rule.
When they were taken into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar, a false prophet named Hananiah told the people that God would restore them within two years. But God revealed to Jeremiah that it wasn't true. So, Jeremiah confronted Hananiah and pronounced judgment against him; he died later that year. Jeremiah wrote a letter to the exiles to correct what Hananiah told them.
Jer. 29:4-7, "This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”
It would actually be 70 years before God would deliver them. I'm sure that's not what they wanted to hear but God wanted them to settle in and live their lives. Yes, it was a new country, yes it was around new people, but it was in their best interest to make the most of their situation.
God not only wanted them to make the most of it for their own benefit, he wanted them to seek the prosperity of the foreigners in whose land they now lived. He encouraged them by saying if they prosper, then you would too.
We haven't been taken captive and forced to go to NSCC, but there is something we can take away from this-we are being called to settle down and make a life for ourselves in a foreign land, so to speak. However, although the people may be foreign to us, they're not foreigners; they are fellow believers. So it should be natural for us to want to cause NSCC to prosper because if they prosper, we prosper and God gets all the glory.
So we go there with the purpose of seeing where we fit in to serve; we go there to see how we can further the cause of Christ. We will settle there, build relationships there; prosper there.
A few verses later we have the ever popular Jer. 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." That's the plan God has for Cornerstone-prosperity, hope and a future at NSCC. This is God's plan for NSCC too. We will be a benefit to them as much as they will be to us; it's a win-win.
But there's something we need to be aware of that the Israelites were guilty of when they transitioned from being slaves in Egypt to being in the desert. The Israelites had been slaves for 400 years before God sent Moses to deliver them. That means for the current generation, all they had ever known was their way of life in Egypt.
So as they traveled into the desert, it didn't take long to see how different everything was. The fear of the unknown started to set in, and it wasn't long before the people were complaining. They were thirsty and God gave them water. They were hungry so God gave them manna-bread from heaven. But after a while, even that wasn't good enough.
Num. 11:4-6, "The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, “If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna! ”
The people complained to Moses because a lot had changed; so much was different. They were making comparison complaints. They complained that they only had manna to eat while they reminisced about all the food they had in Egypt.
We might find ourselves making comparisons too. We might be tempted to complain because of the differences we'll see at NSCC. Not that it's wrong to think about all the wonderful times we had at CCC, but if we go there with a critical attitude and be like, "well, that's not how we do it at Cornerstone", then what will happen is we won't be able to appreciate the positive things about NSCC.
God gave the Israelites bread from heaven but they weren't appreciating it for what it was. God delivered them from slavery but instead of rejoicing in their deliverance they complained and wanted to go back to what was familiar. I'm not trying to compare CCC to Egypt, I'm just highlighting how the fear of the unfamiliar and making comparisons hinder us from seeing the blessing that lies before us.
And the irony was that although the Israelites complained about being in the desert, when God gave them an opportunity to get out of the wasteland and into the Promised Land, they were afraid to take advantage of it. Moses sent twelve spies, one from each tribe, into Canaan to explore and bring back a report.
God had made a promise to the Israelites that they could conquer and occupy the land but when ten of the spies came back with a report about how big their enemy was and there was no way they could beat them, the people chose to believe them instead God. Their fear caused them to want to go back; they were afraid to move forward.
Num. 14:1-4, "That night all the people of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert! Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?”
And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” They thought it was better to go back to being slaves than to trust what God had said they could do. Because of their lack of faith they felt they only had two options-slavery or death-so they chose slavery.
They didn't end up going back to Egypt. However, because they didn't trust God, they wandered around the desert for forty years until they all died except for the two spies that believed what God said, Joshua and Caleb.
What about us? There may be some things that scare us about our transition. Not that we'll have to conquer an army of giants before establishing ourselves at NSCC-but there may be a proverbial giant we will need to conquer so that our fears will be relieved and we can be more hopeful about our future at NSCC.
Nobody said change was easy; no one is saying that going into the unknown doesn't bring with it an element of nervousness, but when God is behind something there's nothing to worry about. God came through on his promise and the next generation, with Joshua taking the lead, went in and conquered the land and the Israelites occupied Canaan, just as God said they would.
Do we believe that God has a plan for us at NSCC? Do we have the attitude of Joshua and Caleb heading into this? They were telling the people, "we can certainly do this", and "don't be afraid" and "the Lord is with us". Caleb and Joshua would tell us the same thing: don't be afraid, we can do this and the Lord is with us.
We are in a position of transition. I pray we will all approach this transition with a positive attitude. I know there may be some things about it that will make us nervous and uncomfortable at first, but I pray we can look ahead with eagerness to see what great things God has in store.
