Enter In and Receive

God has provided the scriptures so we might learn of Him, to walk in His ways and grow.  The Bible is much more than an accurate account of history but provides examples for us to observe wisely and heed ourselves.  Paul explained how the past experiences of others are useful for us to take to heart today in Romans 15:4:  "For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope."  God recorded the failings of His people so we might begin to comprehend His faithfulness and place our hope in God whose love is revealed by longsuffering patience.  The Bible details how God was true to His word and fulfilled promises He made to undeserving people by His grace.  People were fickle and forgetful, yet God remained good and faithful.

I was recently struck by what happened after God established the children of Israel in Canaan.  After the kings of nations were overthrown in Canaan, Joshua 18:1-3 reads, "Now the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of meeting there. And the land was subdued before them. ² But there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes which had not yet received their inheritance. ³ Then Joshua said to the children of Israel: "How long will you neglect to go and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers has given you?"  God had delivered the children of Israel from Egypt and sustained them in the wilderness for 40 years.  He brought them into the promised land and miraculously subdued their enemies before them.  One might assume each tribe and family would be keen to take possession of the inheritance God promised to give them, yet 7 of the 12 tribes were content to camp at Shiloh around the tabernacle as they had during their lengthy pilgrimage.

The crazy thing is they had not even seen nor mapped out the area God would give them by lot.  Joshua continued in Joshua 18:4:  "Pick out from among you three men for each tribe, and I will send them; they shall rise and go through the land, survey it according to their inheritance, and come back to me."  The tribes did as Joshua commanded in Joshua 18:9:  "So the men went, passed through the land, and wrote the survey in a book in seven parts by cities; and they came to Joshua at the camp in Shiloh."  People love free stuff, and this especially applies to free real estate.  Taking possession of the land would involve time-consuming effort and ongoing maintenance.  I expect the reluctance of the people to take possession of the land had much to do with their preference for comfort, familiarity, the close proximity to the tabernacle and the presence of God, and uncertainty and unknowns of what the future held.  A new level of personal responsibility would be required when they moved away from the national campsite and to their own plot on their own.  And there were still enemies and wild beasts in the land, potential threats to safety and family.  Perhaps it was just easier and simpler to keep things as they were:  at least they were no longer enslaved or trudging through wilderness.

Joshua, however, would not stand idly by and watch the children of God continue to congregate around the tabernacle in Shiloh when they had an inheritance from God to take possession of--an inheritance they had never even seen!  The children of Israel in this passage provide an example that applies well to the Christian life.  The Hebrews were content to be free of bondage in Egypt and to have the land conveniently subdued before them.  Many believers are well pleased to be born again, forgiven of sin, to receive the promise of eternal life by faith in Jesus Christ--and are content to stop right there.  God had an inheritance for the Hebrews to enter into, plots of God's land provided by lot they were to work and cultivate, provide for their families and the service of the tabernacle.  Their daily lives and routines were to radically change because of new boundaries and horizons.  For Christians, God also has a place for us in the body of Christ were we are called to serve Him and one another in love.  God has given us the Holy Spirit who fills, comforts, teaches, and empowers us to do God's will.  I believe there are many things God has promised His born again children we also have yet to possess.  Like the Hebrews who had not even walked through or mapped the land God promised to give them, I suggest a great number of Christians have never perused or carefully examined the scriptures concerning the promises God has already given them to enter into today.

God has divine wisdom and spiritual gifts for believers in Christ to operate in now for the glory of His name and to edify the Body of Jesus Christ, the church.  Do you know what these gifts are?  In the epistle to the Galatians Paul contrasted the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit.  You might be savvy to know varieties of fruit, plants and even their Latin names:  but would you recognise the fruit of the Spirit when you see it?  Are works of the flesh being culled and the fruit of the Spirit cultivated in your life today?  In His teaching Jesus gave His followers many commandments to follow and the New Testament is packed with "one another" commands which guide believers in how to love our brothers and sisters in Christ:  are you aware of these?  Have you mapped them out through experience?  Unlike the children of Israel who huddled by the tabernacle where the presence of God dwelt, under the new covenant in Christ's blood the Holy Spirit fills and accompanies us wherever He sends us as the temple of the Holy Spirit.  Some of the believers in the early church did not understand the implications of this, and it is entirely possible we do not either.

Brothers and sisters, let us not neglect to enter into the inheritance God has supplied us today by His grace.  It is true God has promised to provide us a home in the heavens with Him where righteousness dwells, yet today is the day to enter into the Gate of Righteousness by faith and obedience.  For all followers of Jesus Christ He has an abundant life to experience today.  There are enemies, obstacles, opposition, and hard work required, yet nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.  Let not comfort or convenience hinder us from pressing on into the inheritance God has given us in Him, taking steps of faith in obedience to His word.  Let us refuse to shirk our responsibility to enter in, though we must climb a mountain, cut down a forest or displace fortified giants.  Caleb did so because the LORD helped Him, and God will help us--even we of little faith whose doubts are great.

Upheld and Carried by God

It is a great tragedy children and even older folks can be viewed as "burdens to society," a concept never put forth in the word of God who values and loves all people created in His image.  Those who appear strong and supportive in their prime of life can be gone in an instant, and this reminds us that health and strength of people with the most robust constitutions are limited and temporary.  Believers are called to carry one another's burdens, but we are also called to carry our own load.  It is when we are unable to carry our own load, small though it may be in comparison to others, that we realise we need God to carry us.

Do you know God promised to do this for His people?  Even whilst they were in the throes of idolatry, labouring needlessly to find favour with foreign gods when they were established and blessed by the living God, He reached out to them through the prophet Isaiah.  Isaiah 46:1-4 reads, "Bel bows down, Nebo stoops; their idols were on the beasts and on the cattle. Your carriages were heavily loaded, a burden to the weary beast. ² They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden, but have themselves gone into captivity. ³ "Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been upheld by Me from birth, who have been carried from the womb: ⁴ even to your old age, I am He, and even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you."

God used a remarkable illustration to promise He would hold, carry and deliver them all their days.  The prophet described strong beasts of burden struggling under the weight of heavy carriages loaded down with idols that could not hear, see or do anything.  Where they were placed there they would remain and collect dust.  They would lose their shine as the precious metals corroded and the wood began to rot.  The weight of the idols was so great these bulls collapsed under the weight from exhaustion, and all their precious idols were taken.  God pictured himself in contrast to these weary beasts and dumb idols:  they perished in the worship of their idols, but God would carry and save them.

Consider the contrast between carrying a heavy idol of stone or wood and being carried by God to His intended destination!  A man took great pains to prepare a plot of ground or temple to adequately house the idol, ensure it was not exposed to the elements and did not tip over--and was not always successful.  God, on the other hand, lifted the burden off His people as He listened to them and acted for their good.  He was the One carrying them to safety, kept them upright and delivered them from destruction.  People guarded their idols which could be stolen, but no one could snatch God's people out of His hand.  We are called to be casting our burdens upon the LORD because He is able to bear them without being burdened by them, so great is His power to save and love for us.

Isn't it wonderful to know God stoops to carry us from the womb to our old age?  As recipients of such love and grace, let us joyfully walk in it no matter our season of life.  While we are upheld in His hands by faith we can fulfill our purpose to bear one another's burdens, for He is faithful.

Treasuring God

On the first day of the week, two disciples walked along the road heading away from Jerusalem to Emmaus.  They discussed and could make no sense of what had happened:  during the Passover feast, Jesus had been arrested, crucified and buried in a tomb.  Luke 24:15-17 reads, "So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. ¹⁶ But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him. ¹⁷ And He said to them, "What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?"  It is fitting their discussion and reasoning resulted in sadness because they did not realise or believe Jesus was risen, alive and walking with them.

There are things in life that do not make sense to us, no matter how much we obsess or think it over.  The disciples talked, reasoned and perhaps vented but it did not change the reality the one they believed would redeem Israel was dead, nor could they understand why it happened.  Jesus knew beforehand what His crucifixion and resurrection would accomplish, and He graciously drew near to open the scriptures so these sorrowing disciples would have a change of heart and mind.  This was not an isolated incident, for God still speaks through His word and the power of the Holy Spirit.  We should not "hope" for an experience with God as if we could be disappointed, but we ought to expect to hear from God every time we read the Bible because God has spoken and the Holy Spirit lives within us.

As a kid I enjoyed reading Calvin and Hobbes, a comic strip by Bill Watterson.  One strip illustrates well six-year old Calvin's perpetual joy for life.  Calvin, wearing a pith helmet, was digging for buried treasure.  In Calvin's words he found “a few dirty rocks, a weird root, and some disgusting grubs.”  His stuffed tiger Hobbes asked, “On your first try?”  Calvin enthusiastically replied, “There’s treasure everywhere!”  While rocks and grubs can be interesting for a little boy, nothing compares to the treasure of God and His word.  When we open the Bible we hold in our hands God's divinely inspired words of life that sets hearts on fire with awe and joy.  God has comfort for broken hearts, revelations for the believing seeker and hope for the future regardless of circumstances.

When we open God's word in a humble posture in faith, by God's grace we can receive truth and wisdom beyond the reasoning of men that is profound and intellectually satisfying.  We find, not so much an answer to life's questions, but a God who loves us and is the Way, the Truth and the Life.  God is the treasure we ought to value over all.  Unlike treasures on earth which are hoarded and kept for ourselves, God is the treasure we joyfully share with all.

Fruit Unto God

I remember a singular experience years ago at the start of youth group on a Sunday night.  One of the youth workers was visibly frustrated as he told us of his decision to stop serving as a leader after several months.  "Guys, I'm just not seeing any fruit," he said.  "I'm going to Horizon" (a different church in southern California).  After he voiced his displeasure at our lack of maturity and growth, the meeting had just begun when he walked out the door and I never saw him again.

I was thinking today of how common it is to look for results from our efforts and how we can be disillusioned when we do not see them.  Like that youth worker we have made sacrifices, laboured faithfully and been patient and yet we cannot see any positive impact.  I am convinced fundamentally the youth worker's issue was not with us kids, ratbags though we were:  his frustration was actually with God.  Genuine believers must recognise the temptation we face when we see immediate, tangible results from our efforts or none whatsoever.  Believing we are the ones making a difference provokes pride in us, and the absence of arbitrary "fruit" from our efforts leads to disillusionment and despair.  It is possible at the root of the youth worker's outburst was unbelief in God and the power to accomplish His good purposes in providing His word.

Could it be God prevented the youth worker's eyes from seeing the profound impact God was making on the lives of young people so he himself would be changed and grow in maturity?  He was a man who had spent much time in a gym and was used to seeing gains in his physique:  perhaps he imagined working with youth should be no different.  People embrace workout routines to achieve goals, yet no amount of effort can change a heart or save a soul.  Jesus compared the word of God to seed that is sown in the soil, and depending on the variety of seeds we observe in nature the germination process is different.  Some seeds spring up quickly in prepared soil and others can be dormant for years because they require the heat of fire to germinate.  Who but God knows what it will take for His good seed to grow and be produce fruit?  There is always a gap of time between sowing and reaping, and let us not lose heart in the meantime.

Jesus said in John 15:1-2, "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. ² Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit."  On occasion I have trimmed fruitful citrus trees, and I have found this guarantees the tree will not fruit for at least a year.  Having trimmed the tree myself I expect there to be a season of fruitlessness in a good tree as it redirects nutrients to build stronger limbs to support a greater capacity for fruit.  Jesus says as a Vinedresser the Father takes away branches that do not bear fruit, and the fruitful branches He prunes.  He cuts off a bit of fruitful branches so they will be more fruitful still.  It is Jesus who supplies our spiritual life, vitality and fruitfulness, and God expertly manages the fruitfulness of His people.  This is why "looking for fruit" in the lives of others can be a snare:  it has more to do with what we want to see or feel our efforts deserve rather than what God intends to accomplish according to His divine purposes.

The situation with the disgruntled youth worker who left our church group in a huff provokes the question:  are we looking for fruit in other branches or to the LORD who makes us fruitful?  May the fruit of our lips be seasoned with salt, grace and wisdom as our hearts are yielded in faith to the power of God and His word.  Any fruit we see is not for our encouragement or satisfaction but for God (Romans 7:4).  Galatians 6:9-10 has an exhortation and promise to God's faithful labourers:  "And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. ¹⁰ Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith."