“We must have a reformation within the Church. To beg for a flood of blessing to come upon a backslidden and disobedient Church is to waste time and effort. A new wave of religious interest will do no more than add numbers to churches that have no intention to own the Lordship of Jesus and come under obedience to His commandments. God is not interested in increased church attendance unless those who attend amend their ways and begin to live holy lives.”
A.W. Tozer
I’ve seen it many times, you likely have as well. A new fervor develops in a congregation. Rapid numeric growth occurs. The people are happy, the staff is ecstatic, and God is said to be “moving”. But, what if it’s not God at all? What if it’s simply a “feel good” convention? Not to seem like an amateur psychologist here, but there is such a thing as group think. If enough people start moving in one direction and everyone thinks it’s good, well it’s good. In this Tozer quote he says “they have no intention to come under the Lordship of Jesus.” That is scary stuff. I mean, isn’t that truly the reason for all of it? That’s the bottom line right? That’s why we exist as a congregation in the first place.
As a life long minister, I understand the pressure of growth. I’ve been a part of a congregation that grew rapidly, and it was awesome. There really is nothing better than that feeling. It gives a sense of validation to us. However, I’ve also been in a congregation that was going through a rapid decline. I swear if I ever write a book it will be titled “How to Grow Your Youth Group from 120 to 60 and Keep Your Job”. Been there and done that! But, as good as the feeling of growth feels, and as hard as the time of decline feels, we should never soften the message simply to make it more palatable. Once again, isn’t Lordship the goal?
I do need to add a quick disclaimer here. Everyone will read these words through their own context, experience, and background. As I’ve heard said, “don’t hear what I’m not saying”. What I’m not saying is that rapid growth is always wrong. By no means is that correct. The great awakenings and the great revivals say otherwise. We see God’s Spirit moving mightily even today all over the world. I’m also not saying that churches cannot be “out of the box” and do some very creative things in the community. We SHOULD be in the community. We SHOULD be friends with the unchurched. But, we should never water the message down to the point where it’s no longer the gospel message.
Abraham. When it comes to the subject of faith, he is “the guy” in the Bible. He’s the MVP, the rockstar, the OG! Throughout Scripture Abraham is synonymous with faith. When we place our trust in Jesus, we become one of Father Abraham’s children. “I am one of them, and so are you, so let’s just praise the Lord!” Most of you got that reference, but if not, please keep reading anyway!
In Hebrews 11:8-10 we read:
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
In this passage, there are three steps that Abraham took in his walk of faith. They are a pattern, or a blueprint for us today.
1. He Left Something
In our passage, Abraham is called by God to go to “a place that he would later receive”. In other words, God’s call to Abraham was to leave everything he knew. He was to take his family, pack the camels up, and start a journey. He had to leave friends, wealth, home, security, comfort, control, all of it behind. To top it off, he is instructed to go to an unknown destination. Our passage said, “he did not know where he was going”. Basically, God said, I’ve given you a promise and I’m with you, but I want you to just start walking, and I’ll show you where to go once you start. Abraham left everything behind. No wonder he is referred to as the “father of the faith”. A key I see in this for us is that we can’t get to where we are going, until we leave where we are. That sounds so simplistic to say, but a little more complicated to live out. I really believe many Christians never get to their destiny, because they are stuck in their current situation. You can’t get to where you are going, until you leave where you are!
2. He Lived in Waiting
So, he’s obedient and he follows God. Surely God will reward that faithfulness. He does indeed, but not nearly as quickly as I would have liked that story to be written. Side Note: Even in our obedience, sometimes we are expecting quick results from God. “Hey God, I’ve done what you said, it’s been a month now, time to show me that ‘next thing'”. Sound familiar? In our passage, Abraham made his home “like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents”. Once he got to the destination, he was now an outcast. He was a stranger. He even lived in a non permanent environment. Don’t miss this. Abraham came from a place where he was well off. He had land, friends, clout, prestige, and comfort. He left at God’s calling, and now he’s a weirdo, outcast, stranger in a far off land, living in a tent. I really believe there is no harder discipline in the Christian life than waiting. Two steps forward, then three steps back. There are times in my life where it seemed the waiting lasted forever. A key to remember in waiting periods is that God is at work. He is simultaneously doing two things at once. He’s preparing the promise for you, and He’s preparing you for the promise. It’s always a time of preparation. For us, we don’t have any control over the promise part, that’s Gods side of the road. But, we do have a say in the person part. He can prepare you quickly, slowly, or maybe even never for the promise. Our faith, listening, obedience, and patience play a big role. For us this passage is also a reminder that we are strangers here on earth. This whole thing that we call life is actually one big waiting room. Scratch that, it’s better described as a training room. We are in preparation for our ultimate destiny in Heaven.
3. He Looked Forward
In our passage we read that he was “looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” This is how Abraham survived for years in the waiting. The is how he handled the situation. Where he looked made all the difference. He was looking to Heaven, but he wasn’t going there yet. He just had his eyes there. For you and I, looking at Heaven helps us to live better here on Earth. If all we see is Earth, then this is all there is. Our view has to be bigger. This life is about more than me, more than you. When we look to Heaven, and Heaven informs Earth it’s almost like a superpower. That power from above is joining me here on Earth. This is what helps us make it from “tent to tent”. This world is passing away, and we shouldn’t hold onto it too tightly. Now, a side note is needed. We are to enjoy this world. God gave us life, and emotions, and senses for a purpose. Life is to be enjoyed, but it’s not all that there is. The apostle Paul said it best in Colossians 3:1-2
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
We are to put our emotions and our thoughts above. We aren’t to dwell on the things of this world. It’s not always easy, and we may not always get it right. But, when we can make that shift in perspective it changes everything.
Abraham lived by faith. He was 75 years old when he left his home and set out in the direction God called him. When he was 100 years old the destiny was fulfilled. For 25 years, Abraham was waiting on the promise. To get to our destiny, the blueprint still stands. You have to leave something, you have to live in the waiting, and you have to look forward. Faith isn’t always easy, and faith can be risky, but faith has a reward!
Philippians 4:4-7, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
This is a fairly familiar passage to most people that have been around Christianity for a while. It’s only a few verses ahead of Philippians 4:13, which just about everyone knows, even the casual observers. I might do a study on 4:13, and understanding it in context in another study, but not on this blog post!
In this passage, there are several things. We are instructed to “Rejoice”… it’s so important I say it again, “Rejoice!”. We are told to “not be anxious about anything”. Our marching orders are to use “prayer and petition”, while also showing “thanksgiving”. If and when we do that, God’s peace, which we don’t fully understand will guard us.
Sounds easy right? Hardly! I guess it’s not that big a deal if the “every situation” is a good thing, or even a mundane thing. But, what about the really horrible times? What about the tragedies? What about the unexpected news? What about the death of a loved one, the dreaded late night call from the hospital, the news of cancer? What about the failing marriage, the loss of a job? What about wayward children or a spouse that is cheating? Are we really instructed to rejoice in every situation? Are we truly supposed to do this with thanksgiving? Let me play this out for you. “Dear Lord, thank you so much that my spouse is cheating on me. Today I rejoice in this situation.” Kind of absurd right?
So, how do we deal with this passage? I think the key to this whole passage is nestled right in the middle. Four simple words: “The Lord is near.” That’s the key. We don’t manufacture some pseudo joyful emotion and thankfulness when we pray to God about our situations. The joy, or lack of joy isn’t based on the situation at all. It’s all about “The Lord is Near”. This is faith. We know that the book of Hebrews defines faith as “being confident of what we hope for”. Our hope and our joy is not based on the situation, it’s based on our faith that “the Lord is near”.
We pray with confidence that God is in control. Our sorrow turns to joy. I believe the key to the whole passage is making the shift from “every situation” to “the Lord is near”. When we pray, we might be anxious, we might not be rejoicing, and we may not even have peace, but “the Lord is near”. Then, unexpectedly, we don’t even understand it, but God’s peace comes, and he guards our hearts and minds. My interpretation of that is: he changes our thoughts and feelings. He heals our emotions and pain.
Whenever you face a trial in life, you likely won’t be able to rejoice immediately, at least not in the situation. But, lean on your faith. Lean on the knowledge that “the Lord is near”. Pray and listen. God may not change the situation, but He will change your heart and mind. You’ll be shocked at the joy and thanksgiving that will return. The Lord is near … always!
This is the first in a multi-part blog series on characters in the Bible. While these are stories of old, they are still strong examples of leadership for us today. What does a leader look like? What traits are most important? I might not do one every week, but over time, I plan on writing on many of the Bible heroes. We’ve heard the names, we know the stories, but do we really know the person. What made these characters a hero? After all, they’re not some superhero “Bible guy”. These are real people with real lives and real problems. The were ordinary people that God used.
Hebrews 11:7:
By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.
This New Testament verse is written in what has become known as the “Hall of Faith”. It’s a tribute to the great faith characters in the Bible. It’s an example to New Testament followers using an Old Testament character. This story is remembered by this one verse in Hebrews, but points toward the detailed story in Genesis chapters 6-9.
We get a little insight into the character of Noah in Genesis 6:9:
This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.
What kind of person was Noah? For our purposes, what type of leader does God use? I see three things:
Noah was righteous – righteousness is living to please God
Noah was blameless – while righteousness is about the Godly relationship, blamelessness is about integrity with others.
Noah walked with God – how was Noah righteous and blameless? He walked with God. This means he was “on the same page with God”.
Now, it needs to be understood, that Noah wasn’t perfect. Whew, that’s a relief. If you read the rest of Noah’s life and story, he made some pretty large mistakes. Oddly, that’s good news. We don’t have to be perfect to be used by God. We don’t even have to be perfect to be considered righteous. But, we do have to “walk with God”.
What was the world like in the time of Noah? Genesis 6:5 gives us a glimpse:
The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.
Yikes, “only evil all the time”. Basically, all of the world had turned it’s back on God. Man was living for self. The underlying current was self-absorbed. In essence, “if it makes me feel good, I’ll do it”. It was a truly wicked culture. By the way, the Bible warns us that Jesus will return to earth when things are “as they were in the days of Noah”. It’s not a threat, it’s a warning. It took Noah 120 years to build the ark. The whole time Noah was preaching of the coming destruction. It was likely a very short sermon: “It’s going to rain”. No one heeded the warning. The warning is the same today. Destruction is coming. It’s not a threat, it’s a warning. There’s still time to get on the boat!
Back to the character of Noah. What leadership do we see in him.
Hebrews 11:7 gives us more insight:
By faith Noah when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.
“when warned”– God gave Noah the warning, and Noah heard it. How and why did he hear it? Because he was close to God. God does speak today, but there has to be a proximity and closeness to Him in order to hear His voice. Closeness to God brings thoughts you haven’t thought, perspectives you’ve haven’t had, and feelings you’ve never felt. How sad it is that many Christians, and even Christian leaders don’t hear from God. The way to hear: Get closer to Him.
“things not yet seen” – this part is awesome. Up until the flood, it hadn’t rained on the earth. God is warning about something that’s completely unknown. Noah lives 100 miles from a body of water and he’s building a massive boat (about 1 and a half football fields long and 4 stories tall). And, it’s taking 120 years. He’s asking Noah to do something over a LONG period of time, to prepare for something that was unknown and never seen before. Leaders follow instructions even when it doesn’t make sense. Genesis 6:22 tells us that Noah did EVERYTHING just as God commanded. Godly leaders are obedient, even when it doesn’t make sense. I’ll take it a step further. The weirder the assignment, the potentially bigger the thing is that’s coming. When God gets “weird”, get ready for something really BIG!
“in holy fear” – Godly leaders need an “awe” of God. There needs to be an attitude and lifestyle of worship. How did Noah get through 120 years on manual labor all while being mocked? Worship! Can you imagine the mental anguish of being doubted for that long, and also having to do the amount of hard labor for all that time? It wasn’t like there was a chainsaw to cut down all of those Cypress trees. I imagine with every chop there was a “I praise you God”, thrown in with some “I give you glory”. Then, to keep it real, “I don’t see water or rain or floods, I don’t even know what that is, but I choose to trust You God”. Noah chose to bless God’s name even in the hard days. By the way, so did Moses, so did David, so did Joseph, so did Daniel. See a trend? Leaders have an awe, a reverence, and a faith, even when it doesn’t make sense.
“to save his family” – could Noah have saved the whole world? Well, yes, if they had listened to his short sermon: “It’s going to rain”. But, he did save his family. Leaders save those closest to them. A leader takes care of the flock. Noah couldn’t convince the world to get on that ark, but his family made it. Why? Because that is what a Godly leader does. We can bemoan the faults in our world. We can be upset about the downfall of society. We can do our part to make changes. But, first and foremost, our calling is to guard the flock. For a church leader, that’s the one God has entrusted to them.
“By his faith he condemned the world” – Noah condemned the world because he followed through. It took 120 years of work and worship, but one day it finally came. God’s judgement arrived. Can you imagine that very first rain drop the very first time? “Uh, what was that?” “Why is water falling from the sky?” “Uh oh, maybe that crazy loon Noah has been telling the truth this whole time”. Noah looks at his family and says, “it’s time”. Mr. and Mrs. Kangaroo start their hopping journey. Mr. and Mrs. Bird give a little “tweedle dee, tweedle doo” and start making their flight. Noah had been given instructions without knowing how any of it would play out. He built a boat on dry land 100 miles from water with no idea how animals were going to arrive. No details other than how to build the boat were given. Yet, Noah did it. Once again for 120 years! And, his faith condemned the rest of the world. He was faithful when no one else was. This is a key principle of leadership. A Godly leader will do the right thing even when no one else understands. This can be hard. To be crystal clear here: One man was right, and all of civilization was wrong. What does that look like in our context? Just because all of society is screaming one message, it doesn’t make it right. We desperately need Godly leaders that listen and obey, even when it is completely counter-culture. Our faith should never be defined by public opinion or discourse. It’s always a matter of “what does God say?”. That’s all that matters. Godly leaders stand on God’s Word, no matter what may come!
“became heir” – Noah became the beneficiary of the inheritance because he believed and obeyed. There were so many days of ridicule and mocking. There were so many days that Noah was doubted. I believe (can’t prove this though), that in Noah’s humanity, there were days he even doubted himself. I mean 120 years of obedience with no sign of the promise is a LONG time. But, Noah endured. Noah did EVERYTHING that God commanded. And, in the end, Noah was rewarded. Complete faith is always rewarded. It may not seem like it in the hard seasons. It may seem that God is absent or forgotten you. But, faithfulness and obedience are always rewarded. It does and will come! Godly leaders dig in and focus on the coming blessing, while waiting. If God has said it, stick to it. Hold onto the promise. Then wait. Wait for God to show up, because He always does.
Noah is my first stop on this look at Godly leadership. There is so much we can learn by looking at these heroes. But, let’s never forget that even Noah was “just a man”. He had faults and failures like me and you. But, he made it into the “Hall of Faith”. Noah was a man that followed through. We need those Godly leaders today, that will stand up and do the right thing even when no one else understands. Godly leadership is most concerned about God’s opinion, because that is all that really truly matters!
“I Got Saved” by Selah is one of my new favorites. I love this song. I love the simplicity of the message. I found this video of some of the back story of the song, as well as a challenge video. Enjoy!
