Longing For a Better Country
Dearly loved people of God,
Last week I used the image of a journey to describe our life as Christians. As a congregation, we are on the move together. We’re moving in the direction of the Kingdom of God – it’s what we pray for when we recite the Lord’s Prayer: your Kingdom come, your will be done. We’re looking forward to the un-argued rule of Jesus Christ – the day when every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The Kingdom of Heaven is our destination, our goal. Like Moses, there are times when we have mountain-top experiences and catch a glimpse of the Promised Land:
· Perhaps it’s a SERVE experience, a whole week devoted to serving, worshipping, and trusting God in everything – making you feel closer to God than ever before
· Perhaps it’s a worship service, where all the songs and words that are said make you aware of God’s presence, his loving forgiveness, and the fierce joy of being a Christian
· Perhaps it’s an extremely frightening experience, your family or your life is in danger – yet in the eye of the storm you find peace, knowing with certainty the presence and care of the Lord
These are glimpses we get of the Kingdom of God.
But we aren’t always on these mountain tops. Our life generally isn’t lived at such spiritually lofty levels.
More often our journey goes through rolling hills. Like Moses most of our life is in the wilderness, not on a mountaintop. We know that we’re headed for the Promised Land just we can’t see it from here.
That’s a normal experience for God’s people: walking by faith, not by sight. Throughout the Bible, the ancients were commended for living by faith: “being sure of what they hope for and certain of what they did not see.”[1]
Consider Moses; last week we read about Moses on Mt Sinai, begging for God’s presence on the journey ahead. There on the Mountain, Moses actually experienced the glory of God and heard the mercy and compassion of God firsthand.
Forty years have passed since then, bringing us to our reading today. The people of God came to the brink of the Promised Land, but their lack of faith and lack of confidence in God, made it impossible to enter and take possession of the land. Instead, they wandered through the wilderness for 40 years as a whole generation of God’s people died off.
In those 40 years, the people still experienced God’s presence and providence. Moses still met with the Lord – and the glory shone in his eyes and face for a long time afterwards – but the journey never seemed to end. They never arrived at their destination. Although God was close by, and the people’s faith went up and down a little over the years, they didn’t receive their inheritance. They didn’t get to rest. They kept wandering in the wilderness, without achieving their goal.
Now in Deuteronomy 34, Moses comes again to the brink – he can see the Promised Land – but he cannot enter. He doesn’t see the fulfillment of God’s promises. He hears again the oath God made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, “I will give this land to your descendants.” But Moses doesn’t see it. Joshua will lead God’s chosen people to receive the inheritance and enjoy rest in the Promised Land.
· What kept Moses going through those 40 years?
· What kept Abraham going . . . or Sarah . . . or Isaac . . . or Jacob?
· What keeps you going – through the wilderness of our walk with God – the weeks and months when you’re not on the mountaintop and can’t see the end of the journey?
There’s only one thing that can give God’s people this kind of staying power. It’s God’s unique gift of faith. God’s chosen people are often called people of faith. Hebrews chapter 11 is well known as a hero’s gallery of people who lived by faith.
The author of Hebrews recites a whole list of faithful people because he recognizes that the people receiving his letter are facing tough times. He describes their situation in Heb. 10:
Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. 34 You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.[2]
He describes the kind of people he’s writing to:
We are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.[3]
This letter is written to people who haven’t yet received the fullness of the Kingdom of God. They face the brokenness of our fallen world; the challenges of persecution and ridicule as they await the return of Jesus Christ.
The book of Hebrews is written to our kind of people – people like us. Waiting, watching, expecting God’s promises to be fulfilled, yet not always having the end in sight. The church of Jesus is still waiting for the return of our King. We have already received the forgiveness of our sins through Jesus Christ – but have not received God’s gift of rest from evil or the fullness of the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
Like Moses, we have glimpses of the Kingdom in all its fullness: we experience the fellowship of the body of Christ – eating and drinking together, both in a community meal like we had last Sunday and gathering at the Lord’s Supper.
We know we are headed for the Kingdom of Heaven. Right now we need faith to keep on going, faith to hold on tight to God’s promises and to keep travelling together.
We won’t turn back. We can’t. The kingdom of this world with its smoke and mirrors and fools’ gold has no attraction for us.
· Now that we’ve tasted the real food and drink and joy of God’s Kingdom, the imitations of this world won’t satisfy us.
· Now that we’ve tasted true friendship and love in God’s family, the superficial relationship of this world won’t satisfy us.
We long for the renewal of this fallen creation so it truly will become a better country – a heavenly one!
By faith in Jesus – banking on God’s promises – we continue our journey of faith. It’s a journey that leads us to some mountain-top experiences. Yet we realize that we travel mainly through the wilderness.
Working together we can make our worship services each Sunday to be high hills so that we can catch a glimpse of the Promised Land each time we gather. So that our worship services encourage your faith in God as we travel together to a better country – to the City of our God.
----
[1] Hebrews 11:1
[2] Hebrews 10:33-35.
[3] Hebrews 10:39