Original Entry Date: July 9, 2007
McMinnville, OR
19 Therefore this is what the LORD says: "If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me; if you utter worthy, not worthless, words, you will be my spokesman. Let this people turn to you, but you must not turn to them. 20 I will make you a wall to this people, a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you to rescue and save you," declares the LORD. Jeremiah 15:19-20
Sit down with me and let’s sip our coffee together as I share my heart with you. Experience teaches a pastor to share enough about ourselves to appear human but not so much so that people could use our humanity against us. Recognizing that we live in glass houses, we put on our best Sunday face and speak in our most powerful Sunday voice. When asked how we are doing we answer a courteous yet convincing, “Oh Great, God is good!” When a thousand people walk thought the doors of your life each Sunday you learn to be careful about what you share, how much you share, and with whom you share it. I used to let people in during my younger and more naïve days in the church but personal experience has weathered me from the storms of letting people in too soon.
Today, however I would like to share a bit from my state of being in 2007. I was tired, burnt out and grumpy. I had weathered the storms of twenty years in ministry well but I was definitely worse for the wear. When ministry beats on the walls of your heart long enough it begins to grow weary under the stress of fighting for souls, ministering to the body, and the weekly grind that never relents.
Sunday never stops coming.
I could relate to the words of Paul in the letter tot the Galatians, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9).
My prayer during this season was for God to restore my passion, energy, and commitment to Him. Over coffee one morning I confessed to Shanna that I was not where I needed to be spiritually. She reasoned that I was not as young as I used to be and waking up is more difficult because of my age. So I spelled it out for her. I simply confessed, “It is easier to sin, harder to get up, and my desire to seek God has diminished significantly.”
“But” I continued, “I have been sensing God’s grace drawing me back in.” As I reflect on that year of wandering in the desert I attribute my downward trend to three things: An overwhelming seminary and ministry load, the lack of spiritual challenge in my life, and the affluence we have experienced since moving to McMinnville.
I confess these things from my past because a few days later I experienced a revelation as God led me to one of the most catalytic passages in my life. God speaks to me through His Word nearly every time I read it, but very seldom do I believe his word is speaking to me verbatim. This is one of those rare times. Let me share it with you.
“If you return, then I will restore you – Before me you will stand; and if you extract the precious from the worthless, you will become my spokesman. They for their part may turn to you, but as for you, you must not turn to them. Then I will make you to this people a fortified wall of bronze; and though them fight against you they will not prevail over you; For I am with you to save you and deliver you.” Declares the Lord (NASB-Jeremiah 15:19-20).
I believe the “they” in this passage could be men, teenagers or youth pastors. But look at this passage. God calls men to “return” to Him with His promise to “restore”. However, there is the “kicker”.
Here it is.
Returning to Him is not about a man’s desires or even his heart. It is about separating the “precious” or eternally valuable from the “worthless” or temporal (2 Corinthians 4:18). This is the equation to win through which a man must identify the worthless and/or temporal things that want to rob him of his joy and hunger for God. Things such as affluence, materialism, television, lukewarm believers, and a lifestyle that prides itself of being busy will pull a man down to earth, over time, every time. A man must replace temporal thoughts and things with people and things that challenge him spiritually.
What worthless things do you need to replace in your life? I will let you fill in the blanks.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:1-3).
