JOSHUA 18:3
THE CALL TO ADVANCE
The story is told of an old couple sitting in their mountain cabin enjoying the fireplace. After a while the woman looked over at her husband and said, “Henry, I think I hear something. Go check and see if it’s raining.” He thought for a moment and answered, “Can’t we just call the dog and see if he’s wet?”
Have you noticed what a culture of leisure and laziness we have developed in this country? I believe most Americans would drive their cars to the bathroom if the door were wide enough.
The sad thing is, we have often allowed that culture to permeate the church as well. In far to many churches, there is the idea that all you need do is show up occasionally on Sunday morning and the preacher will feed you all you need to live on for the week. Far too many have the mistaken idea that if there is enough staff, and enough equipment, then everything will be taken care of; then we can all grow as Christians and everything will be hunky dory when Jesus comes to take us home.
My friends, God is not some little red hen, taking care of everything and leaving us on vacation with nothing to do in His kingdom. The Christian life is described in many terms, nearly all of which describe progress. It is called warfare, a race, and a pilgrimage. The terms describing the Christian life describe continuing effort. There are strongholds to be taken, plains to be seized, and trophies to be won.
I believe that is why God left a reminder for us in Joshua chapter 18, that we are called to advance.
- Read Joshua 18:1-3
The Israelites, at least 9 ½ tribes of them have moved into the Promised Land. 2 ½ of those tribes had moved into their allotted areas, taken possession of their home sites and were busy settling in. Seven of the tribes though, even after several years, had not yet claimed their inheritance. They had not yet moved in. They had not yet begun to build homes and rebuild cities.
Now, God had told them to move in and claim the Promised Land. He had told them He would give them victory over their enemies and nothing would stand in their way, and yet, after several years, many of the folks are still living like nomads, having never truly claimed what God had offered.
Before we shake our heads and click our tongues too much, I think we need to remember that many of us in the church have done the same. Think of the many blessings God has promised. Think of the victories He has promised. Do you remember the parable Jesus told of the sower who went forth to sow? Let me ask you, how many do you see in the church today who are multiplying 100 times? What is the problem?
I believe there are 5 primary reasons believers are not more actively maturing, advancing, and impacting the world today.
I. DIFFICULTY
The first reason I believe many Christians are not growing and we are not having a more significant impact on the world is that there is difficulty involved.
It takes work, it takes effort, to grow and mature. If you want to be good at sports, you have to practice, work out, exercise, and eat right. Olympic athletes devote large portions of their lives to be the best at what they do.
If you want to be good at playing an instrument, it takes dedication, commitment, and countless hours of practice. An admirer once approached a great pianist and said, “I’d give my life to be able to play like you.” The pianist replied, “I did.”
A number of years ago 2 men told me they both wanted to be deacons one day. Today, one of the men no longer attends church and the other has grown very little toward becoming a deacon. Why? because growth and maturing takes work. It involves difficulty and sacrifice.
Paul said, “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not be ashamed.” Individual growth requires difficulty and sacrifice.
What is true of you as you grow individually, also applies as you impact the world. Jesus, speaking of the wedding feast told the servants, Luke 14:23 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
Oh my friend, few of God’s gifts are given without effort on our part. First, some do not grow and impact because it is difficult.
II. SACRIFICE
Second, some do not grow and advance because there is sacrifice involved. Emerson once said, “For everything you gain, you must give up something.”
The price of success, the price of growth, the price of maturity is always sacrifice. In order to become a man or a woman in the world, in order to start your own family, you have to give up the comfort and the security of your parents’ home and start your own. In order to learn and succeed at school, you have to give up leisure time studying. In order to get through college, you often have to give up the money you could make working more hours now. In order to prepare for retirement, you have to give up some luxuries you could enjoy now.
The price of success is always sacrifice. The more you become like Christ, the less of your old sin and the less of your old nature you carry along. The more time you spend studying God’s Word, the more time you spend with Him, the more time you spend serving Him, the less time you’re going to have to watch TV, the less time you’re going to have to just waste.
Why is it that you seldom see major league sports teams repeat championships year after year, even when they retain the same players? It’s because they are often unwilling to make the same sacrifices to keep the title they made to get the title in the first place. When you’re unwilling to pay the price, you’re spiritual growth will stop. When enough people in a church are unwilling to pay the price, growth in that church will stop.
III. WEARINESS
Sometimes I believe people quit advancing, quit growing because they are simply weary, they are simply tired. I struggle with that myself. Paul encourages us, 2 Thessalonians 3:13 But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing. It is easy sometimes, to get so overwhelmed by the need, or to get so distracted by other people’s expectations instead of following the Lord’s direction, that we burn out. There’s nothing spiritual about burning out for Jesus. You don’t read of Peter or Paul or John or any of those guys “burning out.” You burn out, you get overly weary when you’re doing things God hasn’t called you to do, or when you try to do it in your own strength.
In Psalms 127:2 we read In vain you get up early and stay up late, eating food earned by hard work; certainly He gives sleep to the one He loves. (HCSB)
Weariness will stop you from advancing.
IV. SATISFACTION
Sometimes we settle for life as it is because we are satisfied for the status quo. Now, the Bible teaches we are to be content. Paul himself said he was content whatever his situation; but he also said, in Philippians 3: 13 Brothers, I do not[3] consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, 14 I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly[4] call in Christ Jesus. (HCSB)
Brothers, sisters, we can never stop the race we are running till Christ comes again. We can never settle in our present condition as long as there is room for growth. We can never stop advancing, sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for people’s lives are at stake! We can never stop sharing. We can never stop witnessing. We can never stop showing the love of Jesus to our families to our neighbors and to the world. We can never stop tilling the soil with kindness, sowing seeds, watering the ground with our tears and praying for the harvest.
The apostle Paul pleads in Galatians 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
Oh my friends, please don’t grow complacent. Please, don’t’ settle for good enough. Please, don’t settle for big enough. There are thousands in Deltona crying, “Don’t stop yet.” There are tens of thousands in Florida crying, “Don’t stop yet.” There are hundreds of thousands in America crying, “Don’t stop yet.” There are millions around the world crying, “Don’t stop yet!” And Jesus has promised that the very gates of hell shall not prevail against His church.
Let’s go get’m.
