Intro
As we approach the November election, we find ourselves in an intense time in our history. The attempted assassination of President Trump testifies to that fact. The Republican convention concluded last Thursday. The Democrat convention is coming up in August. Who knows what decisions will be made at that gathering? The months before and after a national election are typically charged with emotion. That was the case four years ago and is likely to be so in the days ahead. Everybody knows there is a lot at stake. The two parties could not be more different in their agendas for the future.
The church is also experiencing turbulent times with all the scandals that are going on. Megachurch pastors who were once revered are being removed from their leadership positions. These scandals are leaving many Christians confused and disappointed. At the same time, all kinds of prophecies concerning the future are being published on the internet. It seems to be anything but business as usual.
With all this going on, I was asking the Lord how we are to navigate the months ahead. How do we keep our bearings amongst all that is going on? It is the answer he gave me that I want to share with you in this message. It can be summarized in this one sentence: Keep your feet on the ground and your eye on heaven.
KEEP YOUR FEET ON THE GROUND
What do I mean by the phrase “keep your feet on the ground”? I mean that we are to not get excessively caught up in all the “stuff” we find on the internet—whether it be political news or church news. We need to be reasonably informed, but there is a kind of feeding on scandal that is not healthy. There are emotions in the political arena that can lead to poor judgment. Keep your feet on the ground as we proceed forward.
Stay faithful to your daily responsibilities. In the church at Thessalonica, there was intense fervor about the coming of the Lord. We certainly should be looking forward to that glorious day. We certainly should prepare ourselves spiritually for the coming of the Lord. There is a lot of Scripture telling us to do that. Jesus gave the Parable of the Ten Virgins for example.i Peter asked the question in his epistle: “Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God . . .?” (2 Pet. 3:11-12).ii As the end grows near, the need to prepare intensifies. In Titus 2, Paul reminds believers that God’s grace teaches us that “denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.”
The Thessalonians we right in their love for Christ’s appearing. If we are not living in that passionate anticipation for the coming of the Lord, we need revival. To love Christ’s appearing is the norm for followers of the Lord. Something is wrong if that is absent. And the prominent effect of that anticipation should be godly living.iii John talked about the coming of the Lord and then added: “And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1 John 3:3).iv This blessed hope has a purifying effect on our lives. That is clearly a good thing. It is part of keeping our eye on heaven.
But some of the Thessalonian Christians got so caught up in the anticipation of Christ’s coming that they neglected their natural duties. If this is all going to end, why make my house payment? Why get up and go to that boring job? Why not just live off my credit cards or, better yet, get other Christians to take care of me while I ponder the glory of Christ’s return? In other words, they became so heavenly-minded that they were no earthly good.
In the Parable of the Pounds, Jesus taught us to occupy till he comes. Be good stewards of what God has entrusted you with. Jesus himself probably worked as a carpenter until he was launched into full time ministry at 30 years old (Luke 3:23).v We live in a natural world, and we all have work to do in that world (work that benefits others as well as ourselves). Fulfilling those duties is part of what it means to love our neighbor as ourselves.
So, in 2 Thess 3:10-12 Paul wrote: “For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. 11 For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies. 12 Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread.”
If he can work, but he won’t work, don’t even feed him.vi Why such an extreme position? Because idleness is not only detrimental to the community as a whole, but it is detrimental to that individual as well. We are designed to produce meaningful work. Before the fall, God gave Adam a job. Cultivate and take care of the Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:15). There is personal benefit in working toward an objective. Children should have the opportunity to play and develop that side of their personality. But they also should grow up learning to work and progressively take on more and more personal responsibility. A parent is not doing his child a favor by shielding him from that.
Certainly, as adults we should carry our share of the load. Proverbs 18:9 says, “He who is slothful in his work Is a brother to him who is a great destroyer.” The Living Bible paraphrases Proverbs 16:27, “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop. . . .”
We avoid a lot of unnecessary temptation when we are doing the work we ought to be doing. There is nothing wrong with times of refreshing so that we can work effectively. God commanded Israel to not work on the Sabbath. It was to be a day of reflection and worship of the Lord. But when our days are filled with idleness, we are vulnerable to temptation. David’s greatest failure (his adultery with Bethsheba) came in the context of him not being engaged in his duty. It was a season when he should have been out leading his troops. Instead, he was lounging around the palace and fell into temptation (2 Sam. 11:1).
We must not despise the practical work God gives us to do. We must do it as unto the Lord.vii We must learn how to find satisfaction in a job well done. Ecclesiastes 3:22 gives this very practical advice: “So I saw that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work, because that is their lot” (NIV). If you hate your job, if you consistently complain about your job, meditate on the scriptures we are quoting today. Let God renew your mind so that, instead of complaining, you can thank him for providing the work and giving you strength to do it.viii Do it faithfully and ask him to promote you into something that is more fulfilling for you. But do not gripe about work. Do it heartily as unto the Lord (Col. 3:23). Turn it into a spiritual sacrifice unto him.
In the Old Testament we find a ridged separation between the sacred and the secular. God was teaching people to distinguish between that which is set apart and holy versus that which is common. The temple was a physical construction in Jerusalem where they went to meet with God. The New Covenant does not diminish the importance of holiness. However, the Holy Spirit has come to dwell in the heart of every believer (John 14:17). In the New Covenant, your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19). Therefore, wherever you are, it can be a place of holy worship to God. When we are doing secular work “as unto the Lord” (Col. 3:23), it becomes a spiritual offering unto the Lord.
When I was a young Christian, I thought about how spiritual I could be if I did not have to work. I did not know that the work was part of the development of my character. I did not know that God was providing me the proper balance of natural work and spiritual endeavors to develop me as his child. Can you imagine a pastor who has been insulated from hard work all his life. He would have little to say to the man or woman who gets up every day and works for the benefit of others. He would have little empathy for the mother who feeds her family, washes their clothes, trains the children, and goes to bed tired every night. I thank God for the jobs he has given me to do and the lessons I have learned while doing those jobs.
One value of work is its humbling effect on our souls. When we are doing meaningful work, we encounter problems along the way. There is a lot of problem-solving in daily work. Those problems along with our struggles to solve them is a humbling process. It reminds us of our limitations and dependence on the Lord. There is considerable benefit in seeking the Lord for solutions to such problems throughout the day. You experience his faithfulness in each of those challenges. There is benefit in humbling ourselves in our interaction with coworkers. It keeps us looking to the Lord and in communion with him.ix
Keep your feet on the ground. Some of the Thessalonian Christians lost sight of that principle. They thought they were too spiritual to get their hands dirty serving other people. They wanted others to wash the feet of the saints while they took their ease.
Paul corrected that both by admonition and by example. In 2 Thessalonians 3:7-9, while exhorting believers to work, he wrote: “For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you; 8 nor did we eat anyone's bread free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, 9 not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us.” Paul did what he was telling other people to do. He was arguably the most spiritual person there, yet he labored with his hands to provide for the needs of his whole team (Acts 20:34).x
Much of the Christian life is getting up each day and simply doing the service God has assigned you to do and maintaining a thankful heart while doing it. Often it is simply putting one step in front of the other and doing what you know to do.
The great missionary William Carey wrote: “[I]f anyone should think it worth his while to write my life … If he will give me credit for being a plodder, he will describe me justly. Anything beyond this will be too much. I can plod. I can persevere in any definite pursuit. To this I owe everything.”xi Are you plodding for God? Keep plodding and keep praising him for the strength to plod.
Many Christians fail to discern the opportunities God gives them because their concept of serving God is not biblical. They over-spiritualize the journey. They want to serve God. But they want it to be something spectacular and impressive. It seldom is. What God calls us to do is seldom glamorous. It is usually difficult (2 Cor. 1:8). It may not be what you would choose to do. But if we do what the Lord assigns us to do, we will one day hear him say, “Well done good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things” (Matt. 25:21).
Thomas Edison provided some good insight on the opportunities for ministry that God often gives us. Edison said, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”xii If it is not service to others, it is not ministry. If it does not require perseverance, it is probably not the real thing. If it is not an act of obedience, it is not blessed.
Keep your feet on the ground and keep plodding. Keep your hand on the plow and keep plowing.xiii That is the first half of our admonition today. It is not only good advice for the season we are in, but it is a principle we live by all the days of our life. But that is not the whole story.
KEEP YOUR EYE ON HEAVEN
The other half of our admonition is to keep your eye on heaven. If we can become so heavenly-minded that we are no earthly good, we can, on the other hand, become so earthly-minded that we are no spiritual good. If we do not keep our eye on heaven, we will lose our joy; we will lose our sense of divine purpose, and we will run out of strength. We have citizenship and responsibilities here on earth. But Philippians 3:20 tells us our primary citizenship is in heaven: “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” We are to live “looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith” (Heb. 12:2). While we fulfill our earthly duties, we must keep our eye on heaven and the reward that awaits us.xiv We must maintain our spiritual vitality in the Lord along the way (Rom. 12:11).
In Luke 10, Jesus was visiting the home of Mary and Martha. Mary sat at Jesus’s feet to hear his words. She was focused on Jesus and the spiritual revelation he was giving. She was seizing the opportunity to learn at the feet of Christ. Martha was doing all the work. It is not surprising that Martha would ask Jesus to tell Mary to get up and do her fair share of serving. Jesus’s answer to her is surprising. He said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her” (vv. 41-42). In this situation, Martha had gotten too caught up in the practical responsibilities. She was doing a good thing, but it was not the best that God had for her.
It is interesting that Luke places this story immediately after the story of the good Samaritan. In that story, Jesus commended the Samaritan for rendering practical service to the wounded man. And in doing that, he condemned the hypocritical religion of the priest and Levite. So, in the first story he condemns a spirituality that does not serve the practical needs of others. In the second story, he cautions us about getting so caught up in the natural things of life that we fail to tap into the spiritual nourishment needed to do that service well.
Ministry is often a matter of going up on the mountain to receive the word of the Lord. Then coming down to the valley to obey that word in service to others. If you don’t go up the mountain and receive the influence of the Holy Spirit in your heart, you will serve out of the dictates and strengths of your flesh. It may look good on the surface, but it will miss the mark and be ineffective. On the other hand, if you live on the mountain and never wash the feet of the saints, that spiritual resource will dry up. God provides strength and grace to do his bidding. Obedience is always better than sacrifice.
After an extended time of ministry, Jesus took Peter and John up on a mountain to pray. During that time of prayer, they had a life-changing experience. They saw Moses and Elijah. More importantly, they witnessed the awesome unveiling of the glory of Christ. We know that place as the Mount of Transfiguration because of this glorious manifestation. The story is told in Luke 9:27-36. Those two disciples were never the same after that experience.
They did not go up that mountain to have an experience. They went up the mountain to pray. No doubt, they had prayed with Jesus many times. On this occasion, even though they fell asleep during the prayer meeting, God gave them this marvelous revelation. My point is this: They were not seeking an experience. They were simply doing what Jesus told them to do. In that context, they had this spiritual encounter. Don’t seek experiences. Seek God and he will give you the experiences you need in order to fulfill your calling.
How did Peter and John respond to this revelation? Their response was carnal. Peter suggested that they erect monuments to the experience. Build three tabernacles: one for Jesus, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. Do something religious. Do something impressive. Build something for God. It was terribly misdirected. Never could Moses and Elijah stand equal to God manifested in the flesh (Jesus). God’s correction to Peter’s misguided zeal was essentially this: Shut up and listen to what Jesus tells you.xv
That story is immediately followed by the encounter with the demonized son. Luke 9:37 begins with this time marker: “Now it happened on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain.” Instead of building three religious tabernacles, they went down off the mountain to help oppressed people. A man cried out to Jesus for help. His son was suffering convulsions because of the influence of this demon. As soon as Jesus encountered the demon, it manifested by throwing the child down in convulsions. Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the child.
That is an example of how New Testament ministry works. We must pray on the mountain. We must draw upon the refreshing strength of the Holy Spirit—not as a badge of spiritual pride, but as an equipping for service. If we neglect the mountain of prayer, we will be like the disciples who could not deliver the demonized son (Mark 9:28). The spiritual empowerment is essential.
After his resurrection, Jesus told his followers to “tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). Of the 500 who received that instruction, only 120 obeyed and received the empowerment. What were the other 380 doing? They were doing something other than what they were told to do. Perhaps they had business dealings to conduct. Maybe they had family to visit. Perhaps there were even religious duties to perform. Whatever the excuse may have been, it caused them to miss on the greatest event of the century.xvi
I don’t want to make a mistake like that. I want to be exactly where the Lord wants me to be doing exactly what he tells me to do. The general pattern will be time on the mountain getting spiritually equipped for service, followed by time in the valley serving others in whatever assignment the Lord may give us to do. How do we navigate the days and months ahead? We do it the same way we live any other times. Keep your feet on the ground and your eye on heaven.xvii
ENDNOTES:
i Matt. 25:1-13.
ii All Scripture quotes are from the New King James Version unless indicated otherwise.
iii Not sloth or irresponsibility.
iv For an exposition of this verse see Richard W. Tow, Authentic Christianity: Studies in 1 John (Bloomington, IN: WestBow, 2019), 162-167.
v The Bible does not specifically tell us this, but it is probable since sons in that culture typically followed their father’s profession (Mark 6:3).
vi Of course, there are people who cannot work, and Paul gives instruction for the care of such people. Cf. 1 Tim. 5:16.
vii Cf. Eph. 6:5-7.
viii Cf. 1 Cor. 10:10; 1 Thess. 5:18.
ix For a good teaching on experiencing God in our secular work, read Brother Lawrence and Frank Laubach, Practicing His Presence, (Sargent, GA: SeedSowers Publishing, 1973.
x In 1 Cor. 9:1-14, Paul makes it clear that this was beyond what was required.
xi William Carey quoted by Jason G. Duesing, “William Carey—A Plodder, Pioneer, and Proclaimer Who Kept the Grand End in View,” For the Church. Accessed at https://ftc.co/resource-library/articles/william-carey-a-plodder-pioneer-and-proclaimer-who-kept-the-grand-end-in-view/.
xii Thomas A. Edison, AZ Quotes. Accessed at https://www.azquotes.com/quote/86498.
xiii Cf. Luke 9:62.
xiv Cf. 1 Pet. 1:3-4.
xv Peter references this experience while telling Christians that Scripture is a more sure word than any of our subjective experience (2 Pet. 2:16-21). New Testament Christianity is experiential. A relationship with God is not just dry, dusty doctrine. But the final authority on truth is not found in a person’s near death experience, dream, or vision. It is found in the word of God.
xvi See Luke 14:16-24 for further teaching on the perils of a good excuse.
xvii The two great commandments that Jesus quoted in Matthew 22:36 carry this double mandate to love God and be strengthened through that relationship and serve others as a expression of love.
