“Who has roused a victor from the east, summoned him to his service?” Brother Oke, I warned you a month ago, at the ordination service for Gloria Grant, that I would probably use your name as the basis for your ordination message. The name “Victor” is so full of spiritual possibility! And so, here it is, right there in Isaiah – or, since you have been to seminary, you will understand it when I call him Deutero-Isaiah – there it is, plain as can be, “Who has roused a victor from the east?” Nigeria is eastward from here, isn’t it?
In the profession you are about to enter, you will want victory. You will need victory. You will hunger and thirst for victory. But all too often it will be elusive. All too often it will slip through your fingers. In this ministry, you will want to win. You will want success. If you serve a church, you will want it to grow. If you serve in a chaplaincy or counseling role, you will want to see your clients improve. If you serve in missions, you will want to see hearts won over and lives changed. You do not want to engage in ministry and feel defeat. You want to be a victor.
But guess what? If you want victory so badly that you can taste it, you will face serious temptation. You will be tempted to think that if victory does come, it’s all about you and your gifts and your hard work. You will start to congratulate yourself on your preaching, your energies, your this, your that. You will think that victory is all about you.
And if victory does not come, if success, however you measure it, does not follow you, you will once again be tempted to think that it’s all about you. Your failures, your mistakes. You will start to blame yourself for missing this cue and for not ratcheting up that sermon, for not reading this book and for not handling that situation. You will think that victory or failure, whatever comes, is all about you.
And if you do either of these things, you will have missed the point. You will have lost the vision. For the vision about victory is this, again: “Who has roused a victor from the east, summoned him to his service?” The answer to the question is: God. It’s about God and not about you. It’s about what God chooses to give, it’s about how God measures victory, and not about what you want to be or about the world’s measure of success. I cannot improve on what the prophet says in this chapter, answering his own question, “Who has roused a victor from the east?” The prophet’s answer is: God delivers, God pursues, God performs, God does. “I, the Lord, am first, and will be with the last.”
Does that mean that ministry is done, just you and the Lord, all alone against the world? Does this mean that only you know what is right, only you know what to do under God? Am I going to give you license to be a lone wolf, who needs no one else in order to succeed? No, because Isaiah does go on to describe one worker helping another, and together they think they are creating something permanent and durable. Did you catch it? Isaiah’s picture is of craftsmen at work, and they are helping one another get the job done. “Each one helps the other, saying to one another, ‘Take courage’”. Sounds good, doesn’t it? Peer support. Isaiah gets specific: “The artisan encourages the goldsmith, and the one who smooths with the hammer encourages the one who strikes the anvil.” Nothing wrong with that. We do need each other. And then this bottom line – as they work, whatever it is they are making – and one is surely tempted to suspect it is some sort of idol – whatever they are making, “they fasten it with nails so that it cannot be moved.” Oh, now there is a picture of success and victory, right? Something so solid that at the end it is nailed down so that it cannot be moved. Is that victory? Is that success? To have worked with your colleagues, helping one another, so that what you have made is nailed down and cannot be moved?
Brothers and sisters, a long time ago I saw something that is, I think, truly damaging to the Kingdom. I want to pass along an observation to Victor Oke and to each of you. I saw a long time ago that the real educator for many ministers is not the seminary, not the classroom, not the theologian, and not even the Bible. I discovered that the real guide for many ministers is the peer group. It is that band of brothers and sisters whose approval so many of us seem to need. Because we come at our profession, too many of us, as deficit people, as people who need to be needed and need to be approved, we fall into the trap of doing what pleases the peer group. We do not follow what we know, we do not grasp what is truth for us; we do not claim the victory that God wants to give us, because we are so busy claiming the approval of others.
Let me illustrate. Years ago, when I was the Baptist Campus Minister at the University of Kentucky, I heard that there was to be an interpretation session for pastors, concerning a particular program of evangelism. I had looked not only at the theology but also the outcomes of this approach to evangelism, and found serious flaws in it. So I went to the meeting, hoping for a productive dialogue. I found at that meeting that the presenter was a young man who had just graduated from the same seminary I had attended, and so I knew that he had had exposure to first-rate teaching. I knew that he knew better than what was in this charade he was talking up. I raised a question or two; I presented what I felt were some of the dangers in this program. I shall never forget his answer: “Joe, I’ve been to seminary too. I’ve read all the theology. I do see that this is not consistent with what we’ve been taught. But, hey, it works! It brings people in. It gets them to say “yes” to an invitation. And that’s all that matters to us, isn’t it?” He said that, looking around at the other pastors there, almost begging them to applaud him – which most did. I saw a young man, with a good deal of charm and intelligence, but so hungry for approval, so thirsty, he was willing to sell his soul for a mess.
The real guide for a great many ministers is the peer group. It is the approval of our colleagues. We fall into the trap of doing what pleases our friends and gets their approval. We do what gives us short-term success, little victories. But if we do not follow what we know – if we do not grasp what is truth for us – we do not claim the great and unique victory that God wants to give us. My brother, the core of the message for you today is this: that although it is good to listen to others, although you have received and will still receive counsel from those more experienced, ultimately you must fall back on your relationship with God. Ultimately you must depend on your sense of His presence and His leadership. Let’s nail that down.
Let’s not nail down the idolatry of the peer group. Let’s not nail down any particular method or style of doing things. Let’s not nail down the applause of others. Let’s nail this down – that God has called you, Victor Oke, to be you. God has called the unique person that you are into His service, and promises to give you victory. It will not come by your copycatting others. It will not come by your playing up to Baptist politics. It will not come by your mouthing the stuff you have heard others preach. God knows, success will not come by your echoing whatever paltry preachments you have heard from this pulpit and this pastor. Let’s nail this down – your victory will come if you will be you, as God has gifted you, and you will let Him be intimately personal and particular with you.
Listen to the text and see how God pays attention to you as you are. After this description about those who are working together and are nailing down their idol so that it cannot be moved, God says, “But you ..” But you – you are to be different. “You whom I took from the ends of the earth ... You are my servant ... I have chosen you ... I am with you ... I am your God.” It’s all intensely personal and particular.
And then, let’s nail this down: “I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.” May I take a few moments to expand on those promises?
I
Nail this down first: “I will strengthen you.” You will need strength. Ministry is draining. Ministry takes a toll, physically and emotionally. I know there are folks who will tease us and say, “I’d love to have your job; you only work for an hour on Sunday morning.” They do not see behind the scenes. Ministry is draining.
Eighteen years ago, I asked this church’s Administrative Committee if I could stay at home on Fridays to prepare the Sunday sermon, since I soon found out that the church office was no place for concentration. They agreed; and so nearly every Friday I stay home and sweat and strain over the Sunday sermon as well as the Bible classes I teach. But do you know that after all these years there are still people who refer to Friday as my “day off”?! It’s as though preparing to preach was not really work. But I tell you it is nothing short of a struggle. My wife can attest that on Fridays she has to coax me out of my study to come eat lunch, because I scream at her, “I’m in the middle of an idea – don’t interrupt me now or I’ll lose it!” Then somewhere in mid-afternoon I will utter a cry of “Hallelujah”, which is, translated from the original Hebrew, “The first draft is finished!” Preaching is draining, ministry is draining.
I will say nothing of the late night phone calls, the rounds to the hospitals, the marathons to be run when there is a funeral to conduct. I will not even mention the bane of the pastor’s existence – wedding rehearsals, which always start late, are completely confused, and don’t end until every last left-footed groomsman has shuffled down the aisle three times! Ministry is draining!
But if it is draining it does not have to be debilitating. If ministry is draining, it need not be destructive. Stay close to the God who roused you from the east, the God who summons you, and He will strengthen you. He will give you stamina and staying power. Let prayer be the hallmark of your life. Pray without ceasing – which, in the busy life of ministry, may mean short bullet prayers, injected into every situation, more than extended periods of prayer. But whatever you do, stay close to your God. Without prayer, your strength will fail. With prayer, your strength will be multiplied.
Victor, I have heard you pray often. Nearly every time you pray, you utter a line which has become your signature. Invariably you will pray, “Forgive us where we fail you.” If you will continue to seek the forgiveness of God for the failures of yesterday, you will find that there is strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.
Let’s nail this down: God and Victor together are strong enough for any challenge, for you can do all things through the Christ who strengthens you. Let’s nail that down.
II
And let’s nail this down too. “I will help you”, the Lord says. “I will strengthen you, I will help you.” You are called to nothing less than a partnership with the Lord of all creation in His great work of redemption.
Are we all aware that ministry is not applauded and appreciated as once it was? Few will listen just because someone has that word “Reverend” in front of his name. Some, in fact, will suspect you because of it. Too many of our colleagues have disgraced this calling. Some have trifled with the emotions of the opposite sex. Some have mishandled children. Some have become greedy for money or for power. And some just like to be heard whether or not they have anything to say. But in these times, in this city, few will acknowledge you just because you are in ministry.
I am the president of a group called the InterChurch Club of Washington. It is an old-line pastors’ group, about 75 years old. Our club has an interesting history. Its files hold newspaper stories about InterChurch Club members and their glory days. One of my predecessors as president of this group was Peter Marshall – Presbyterian pastor, chaplain of the Senate. People lined the streets for blocks to attend services and hear him roll his Scottish r’s as he preached. Now, Victor, neither my Kentucky twang nor your Ibo accent will get anybody in the door these days! Another member of that club was Lloyd C. Douglas, pastor of the Luther Place Memorial Church, and author of novels like “The Robe”. People sought him out and bought his books, and Hollywood put his works on the screen. You and I will do well, in these days, to get our names spelled right in the church bulletin! We are more like a Georgia pastor, Bill Self, who said that the church he came to serve had called and dismissed so many pastors that out front instead of a signboard with his name up in bold letters, they wrote his name on a chalkboard and kept the eraser close by!
These are no longer the days when ministers are acclaimed just by showing up to do their thing. But I say praise God for that! Yes, I say, praise God for that! Because if the task is one you can do on your own, it isn’t big enough! If the ministry to which you are called is one you can do with your own resources, you just have not yet seen all that the Lord has in mind for you! He wants to stretch us out and challenge us, so that we will know that we need Him. He wants us to be in partnership with Him. He promises to help us – not to sit idly by and watch us, nor to do our jobs for us. Let’s nail this down. He promises to help us. It’s a partnership.
Victor, every e-mail that I get from you has a tag line at the bottom. You always write, “In all things God works for the good of His people.” When the Lord Jesus walked this earth, He taught, He preached, He healed, and He raised the dead to life. But then He said to His disciples, “Greater works than these shall you do, when I have gone to the Father.” Incredible as it sounds, Jesus has promised that we can succeed, if what we do we do in partnership with Him. Not to satisfy our peers, but to satisfy our God. Let’s nail this down. He will strengthen us and He will help us.
III
And finally, He will uphold us. He will uphold us. When we are down and discouraged, because so much of the world’s measure of success eludes us, He will lift us up. When we are down on ourselves and think we’ve made a terrible mistake by getting into this ministry business, He will uphold us and assure us. Let’s nail this down: He will uphold us.
And when we get to flying too high, He will just hold us. When we suppose that we are the greatest preacher since Peter and the finest pastor since John; when we imagine that we could have taught Paul a thing or two and that we could rewrite the Book of Hebrews and make it comprehensible – when we are tempted to fly too high, He will just hold us. Uphold us and hold us. Let’s nail this down; our God knows our hearts, He understands our feelings, He is at work in our emotions, and He can keep us on even keel.
On Sunday afternoons I go home from this place, and I generally feel one of two things. Either I feel as though this whole thing is a mess, nobody heard a thing I said, I didn’t hit the high notes today, and why am I here? Or I feel that there is nothing more exhilarating in all the world than the church, that I love everything about it, that seeing people’s hearts change is the most exciting thing in the universe. On Sunday afternoons, I go home from this place, and I feel. For good or for ill, I feel. But sometimes I need to be propped up so that I can wake up the next morning and do it all over again; and sometimes I need to be held in check so that I can wake up the next morning and see a whole new challenge. As I know my own heart, Victor, the Lord does not fail at this promise. He will uphold us. He will hold us up and sometimes He will hold us back. But let’s nail this down. He will hold us in the hollow of His victorious right hand. I can testify, more than forty years after my own ordination, He has kept His promises. He has not allowed me to sink into the slough of despond, nor has He permitted me to soar, like Icarus, so close to the sun that my wings melt. He has kept me and countless others anchored where we need to be. Let’s nail this down: He means it when He says, “I will uphold you.”
“I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you.” Brothers and sisters, the God who promises to help and strengthen and uphold does not promise these things idly. Let’s nail this down, for the Spirit who summons us into service is not merely engaging in wild talk. Let’s nail down exactly why this Christ must be heard and can be trusted: one day the people of the capital city cried for blood. One day His peer group wrote Him off. One day He staggered up a long and winding road and hauled a cross up Calvary’s hill. One day they flung Him high and wild against an eastern sky and drave great nails through hands and feet. Let’s nail this down, brother Victor: God cam promise these things because in the cross He has paid the ultimate price.
But this too remember: He is not dead. He is alive. He is alive. And because of the risen Christ, in all these things we are victors – no, we are more than victors – through Him who loves us.
Who has roused a victor from the east, summoned him to his service? Do not fear, for I am with you. Do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand. Have we nailed this down?
