The Three Chairs

If you were to reflect over the course of your life, how many meals really stick out to you as being just especially awesome meals? We all have eaten good food, but over time we forget about them, except for the exceptional ones, right?

I can recall the first time I had gourmet duck. I can recall the delight of some peanut butter cheesecake from a steakhouse in Bardstown. But most meals....we forget. Ask me what I had for lunch on tuesday....I don’t know. What about even yesterday? I could probably tell you, but I’d have to think about it for a moment. We eat food all the time, but seldom remember it, and yet that food nourishes us and keeps us alive.

I like to think that it is similar with sermons. Sometimes pastors bemoan the fact that most people cannot remember the sermons they preach.

“I put so many hours into preparing that and you can’t even remember it for one week”

I have a secret for you. I don’t even remember my sermons for very long, and I’m the one who preached them! If I want to know how I handled a certain verse in Philippians, I’d probably have to go back to my notes to find out.

Even though we cannot remember every sermon, just like our regular mundane meals, these sermons do spiritual nourish us. This is part of why it is so ciritical to be part of a local church where you can fed regularly.

And just as it is with impact meals, there are some sermons that might stick out. Some of you could probably look back and identify a couple of sermons that had a significant impact on your life.

There a few that stick out in my mind that way.

One particular sermon that really stands out to me as having an outsized impact upon my life is a sermon that my Pastor in Chicago, Pastor Bob, preached when I was in high school. The sermon was titled, the Three Chairs, and I intend to preach my version of that sermon here today.

I need you to know that I have never once before preached a sermon that was not my own. I’ve used outlines from other men, but even that is rare and I have always adapted them and have always developed my own content. I consider it my ethical responsibility to develop and preach original sermons.

But today. Today is a unique day.

This will be the first time I’ve ever preaching a sermon with content not fully original to me. Why would I do that?

This sermon had such a profound impact upon me and changed the way that I approached so much of life, that I want to share it with you. And I need you to know that this message is a challenging one for me as well. I preach this to myself just as much or more than I do to anyone else.

To give credit where credit is to, I first heard this sermon from Pastor Bob Sheridan, who, when he preached this sermon, was transparent that it was not original with him, either. He got it from another preacher (Bruce Wilkinson). When I was in Chicago in September, I asked Pastor Sheridan if I could have a copy of his notes and he graciously sent them to me.

Though I have his notes, I have made some alterations along the way, because even though I’m preaching a sermon largely written by another, I still want it to be me preaching. I’m not reading someone else’s manuscript today. I’m taking the outlines, ideas, and concepts and have crafted a sermon that really is mine, even if the original ideas were not.

This is the Three Chairs.

Everyone sits in one of three chairs.

So often, these chairs are represented in three successive generations. The first generation is fully sold out to the Lord, the second generation introduces compromise and hypocrisy, and the third generation lives in a state of conflict with the things of the Lord.

In our time today we are going to consider several ways to illustrate the concept of the three chairs from biblical characters, beginning with Joshua.

Open your Bibles to Joshua 24.

We spent time in the book of Judges earlier this year. Joshua 24 is the prequel to that.

God had powerfully brought out the people of Israel from the land of Egypt. They were slaves and God make a mockery of the Egyptian God through the 10 plagues that he brought upon the land.

He led them out into the wilderness, but they rebelled against him. As a result they had to wander in the wilderness for 40 years. But finally, the time for them to enter into the promised that had arrived. They went in and they conquered the land. Now the time has come for Joshua to die. So he issues one final challenge to the people.

Let’s pick things up in 24:14

Joshua 24:14–15 ESV

14 “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Notice Joshua’s own commitment to the Lord. He is a first chair individual. He is sold out to the Lord. He has seen all that God has done to bring the people out of Egypt and establish them in the land. He is not interested in playing games with false gods. His focus is the Lord and he intends to lead his household to do the same.

Not only that but he is challenging others to do likewise. Put away the foreign idols!

The people are going to respond favorable to Joshua’s charge “Yes, we will serve the Lord”, and yet Joshua reissues the challenge after that:

Joshua 24:23 ESV

23 He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the Lord, the God of Israel.”

It’s amazing that he had to issue that challenge to them. God had demonstrated his power of the very idols that Joshua is calling them to forsake, and yet they were still clinging to them!

But here is Joshua. Committed to the Lord, and calling others to the same. He is in the first chair.

Turn with me now over to Judges 1-2. Immediately after the death of Joshua we find compromise in the people. We covered this passage a number of months ago, so I won’t linger too much on the details.

But we find that the people did not do what was right in regard to Adoni-bezek. We find the people failing to drive out the people God had commanded them to drive out.

In chapter two we find this description:

Judges 2:6–7 ESV

6 When Joshua dismissed the people, the people of Israel went each to his inheritance to take possession of the land. 7 And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the Lord had done for Israel.

Here we have the first two chairs represented. The people served God all the days of Joshua. He led the people to follow through on their commitment.

The second chair is represented by the elders. They had seen the great work that the Lord had done for Israel, and so there was a level of commitment there, but it was not the same level as Joshua.

It was under the Elder’s watch that the compromise of chapter one began to creed in. It was under the Edler’s watch that the Angel of the Lord said “you have not obeyed my voice” in the beginning of Chapter 2.

This was a generation that introduced compromise. They gave a nod to the Lord, but ultimately did not live wholeheartedly unto him as Joshua had urged. They are second chair individuals.

Third chair individuals can be found just a few verses later.

Judges 2:10 ESV

10 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.

This is the third chair. They do not know the Lord. Indeed, their lives are going to be characterized by conflict with the one true God.

We have walked through judges so we know what follows. The people worship false gods, engage in all sorts of evil practices, and are judged by God over and over for their rebellion.

We can think about this as where the focus of an individual is. Is the focus on God and everything that He has said? First chair.

Is the focus on God....but then also on me? Yes, God....but I’m also going to do things my way. Second chair.

Or is the focus entirely on myself. It’s all about me. Third chair.

To illustrate this further consider Abraham

Abraham was called out by God to to go a land which he would show Him. Abraham believed God and obeyed his voice. Eventually he comes to the land of Bethel and the first thing he does there is build an alter to the Lord. After that he digs a well to supply the needs of his family.

We know Abraham is not a perfect man. He lies about his wife, he tried to fulfill God’s promise through the means of the flesh with Hagar. Being a first chair individual does not mean you are perfect. But it does mean that there is a level of commitment that shows that they are sold out to the Lord. he was willing to sacrifice his own son, and Hebrews says he did so because he considered that God was able even to raise people from the dead.

Tremendous faith. Tremendous obedience. First chair.

Later comes his son Isaac.

Isaac travels around like Abraham did. He commited some of the same sins that Abraham did. But there are indications that he is less focused on his God than his father was. He eventually returns to the same places where Abraham had been, but instead of first building an alter he first digs wells, and then builds an alter.

This might not seem like a big deal, but it represents a subtle shift. Isaac does not appear to be completely sold out to his God. There is a God and me, and me and God focus, rather than just God.

He also fails to raise his children in a godly way. Isaac and Rebekah both played favorites with their twin children and it created strife between them. God had also revealed that Jacob was the line through which God intended to accomplish his purposes, but Isaac was fully prepared to give the blessing to Esau, his favorite son. 2nd chair choices.

Later comes Jacob. The name Jacob means supplanter, or thief, and he lives up to that name. He swindles his brother out of his birthright and then steals his identity to steal his blessing.

He later physically wrestles with God, which seems to represent his whole life in a way. He is in constant conflict with God. God is using him and accomplishing his purposes through him, but his life is not marked by faith, but conflict. Conflict with others and conflict with his God. Jacob is an individual that seems to be very focused on himself and his own wellbeing. It’s all about me.

Jacob is a third chair individual.

Then there is David.

David. David was a mere shepherd boy whom God used to defeat the Philistines. He was described as a man after God’s own heart. Again, not a perfect man. He committed adultery, murder, and other such things. But his life was marked by genuine repentance. He composed many Psalms that reveal his heart and how he looked to the Lord in all his troubles, one of which we read just this morning for our Scripture reading.

When he was confronted with his sin, he repented and turned away from that sin and sought to do what was right in that situation.

His desire to build a temple for the Lord was praised by God, even if he didn’t get the opportunity to do it, and demonstrated his upward focus to his God.

David, was a first chair individual.

He son was Solomon. Solomon began well. He recognized his need for God’s wisdom, and he built the incredible temple that was unrivaled in the history of the world.

But he began to introduce compromise. He multiplied wives and concubines for the sake of political treaties. These women came to him and brought their false gods with them and the text says in 1 Kings 11:1-7

1 Kings 11:1–7 ESV

1 Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, 2 from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the people of Israel, “You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. 3 He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart. 4 For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. 5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 6 So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and did not wholly follow the Lord, as David his father had done. 7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem.

1 Kings 11:4 ESV

4 For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.

Compromise. Blending. Not wholly devoted unto the Lord. 2nd Chair.

His son was Rehoboam.

When Solomon died and Rehoboam assumed the throne, he sought ways to solidify his power over the people. He had counselors suggest to them that Solomon had been a tough ruler and that if he eased their tax burden the people would be loyal to him forever.

But then some wicked counselors came and suggested that if he went soft he’d lose the people’s respect and they’d never follow him, so he ought to be even harder. So he became a tyrant. He said “My father’s yoke was heavy, but I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions”

Not only was he a tyrant, but he lead the people away into idolatry and they worshiped false gods once again.

Third chair.

To summarize, the first chair is marked by conviction. They love their God. The examples I’ve given today were from the Old Testament. There are New Testament words for this as well that we can pull from 1 Cor 3, it uses the word “Spiritual”. These are individual who have trusted in Christ for salvation and are sold out for the Lord.

They gladly serve him. When the Bible gives instruction, even if it is painful to obey, they obey. They see God at work. They can identify answered prayers and how God has moved powerfully in their lives. They aren’t perfect individuals by any means, but when they find themselves in sin they repent and turn to the Lord for forgiveness and restoration. Their faith isn’t in hypothetical realities, but in truths of Scripture lived out.

Skipping down to the third chair. These are marked by conflict and condemnation before God. They do not know Christ. Their focus is the gods of this world. They are focused on living how they want to live, they don’t care what God has to say, they have fully bought into the lies of the culture. They are in their natural state as sinners condemned by God. 1 Cor 2:14 “14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”

There is no interest in the things of God. If there is church attendance it is usually at churches whose aim is entertainment and not the Word of the Lord. But there is no transformation. There is no power.

(Go sit in the chairs)

So often, the third generation can arrive at the third chair because they are sitting next to the second chair. They see the compromise and hypocrisy and they want nothing to do with that. They say “maybe you want to be fake, but I’m not going to play that game” and so they turn their backs on the second and first chairs.

These individuals need the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They need to know truly that Jesus Christ came into the world to save them from their sin . They need to know that unless they repent, they will spend eternity apart from the glorious presence of God. They need to know that second chair living is not what God desires for his people, but that there is tremendous blessing in being wholly committed to the Lord.

The second chair is the one that many who call themselves Christians would likely fall into today. These are individuals who have made professions of faith in Christ, but their lives are not in line with what the Scriptures say about how they are to be living. There is compromise and hypocrisy. Yes, they go through the motions, just like the Spiritual/Committed, but deep down inside there is a lack of giving themselves wholly unto the Lord.

They attend church, get baptised, take communion, but seldom read the Scriptures on their own, seldom spend extended times in prayer and there seems to be little power when they do pray.

When it comes to making big decisions, they cannot act with certainty on what they know the Scripture says because they don’t know Scripture well enough, so they are forced to rely upon the opinions of other believers around them instead of seeking God himself. It isn’t wrong to get counsel from other believers. But if that’s the basis and not God and His word…that reveals something.

They are willing to overlook sin in those around them, are comfortable with media that glorifies what God hates and display patterns of sin that remain unaddressed.

Paul calls such believers “carnal” in 1 Cor 3. They profess Christ, But acting fleshly. At times they look more like the world than like committed followers of Christ.

Part of what makes this chair so dangerous is that it is not only spiritually harmful to the individual, but when the next generation sees the hypocrisy and the compromise they conclude that the god of the 2nd chair is little more than a Santa Claus figure designed to help you feel good, but is in the end imaginary.

They see there is no power so they don’t play pretend like they perceive the 2nd chair to be doing

2nd chair living is dangerous and harmful! Think of what Jesus said to the lukewarm church in Revelation 3… I wish that you were either cold or hot, but since you are lukewarm I will spew you out of my mouth!

God is not pleased with 2nd chair living! God is not interested in having nominal Christians. God doesn’t just care about where you are on Sunday, he cares about where your heart is all week long.

Brothers and sisters, that is not what I want for Pillar Fellowship. That is not what I want for you. That is not what I want for me.

The question that each of us needs to reckon with today is this. Where are you sitting? We so often want to comfort ourselves by saying “oh I’m in the first chair. I no second chair person”

Let’s not be hasty.

The thing about our spot in these chairs is that we can move. Just because you’re in the third or second chair, doesn’t mean you are stuck there. You can trust in Christ! You can take your faith seriously! But just because you may be in the first chair does not mean that you cannot slid down.

We can get defensive about this. I’m not standing here in judgment over you today. I cannot answer for you where you sit at this moment. We all need to seriously consider where we are sitting.

Today in January 1st. A new year. I’m not here to plead with you to make a list of new years resolutions. But you have an opportunity to seriously consider if there are areas of your life that reveal that you are living as a second chair individual.

And I need you to know, I’m not up here pretending that I have all this figured out for my own life. I stand here today with specific things in mind that I would like to change in my own life to reflect first chair living. I want my children to grow up not choosing the third chair because they saw my compromise in the 2nd, I want them to see how God worked powerfully in my own life and I want them to live as first chair believers as well.

What about you? If there is anything I can do to help you move from one chair to the next, I hope you’ll come talk to me and we can work through that together.

What can you change in your life TODAY that would move you close to sitting squarely in the first chair. Do you have a Bible reading plan. Not just a peice of paper with checkboxes, but a plan for how, when, and why you will read?

What does your prayer life look like?

Even if you sit here today and after examination you conclude that you are in the first chair, praise God! But take warning. Scripture says that to him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.

What steps can you take in the days and weeks ahead that will grow you in your walk with the Lord?

We sand Higher Ground earlier. May that be our aim. Lord plant my feet, or in this case, our seat, on higher ground.

Pray.