Have you ever been in the situation where you found out you brought to much stuff…or maybe didn’t bring enough? The first year we went to Mountain TOP with the youth I brought three personal toolboxes full. I pretty much emptied my shop into those boxes I didn’t use that much of it. This last year I brought 1 toolbox and used every bit of it.
When I was younger and really active in Boy Scouts I went to Philmont, a scout ranch where groups hike anywhere from 50 to 103 miles in around 12 days. You carry everything you need with you. I went several times. After the first time you rate your personal priorities on what you need and want. The last couple of treks I carried 2 tshirts and 12 pairs of underwear….it’s all about priorities.
Before you left a staff member conducts a “shakedown”. You take out everything from your pack and they help you evaluate what gear you are carrying. They help you get your pack down to a manageable weight, shooting for around 50 lbs or so. If you were a big guy like I was…a solid 180 back then it was not that bad. If you were little….it would be a long 2 weeks.
I did 3 treks. My favorite part was going gear shopping on the trail. You see, no matter how well people planned and did a good shakedown, they would get out on the journey and realize they had some things with them that simply weren’t essential and weighed them down. The usual solution was to ditch them on the side of the trail. You could find some good stuff!
If something isn’t essential to the mission at hand, how often do we have the courage to chuck it aside?
We have to cast things aside in order to move forward.
The story of Hezekiah and his religious reforms during his reign gives us a great example of forward vision.
Hezekiah son of Ahaz began to rule over Judah in the third year of King Hoshea’s reign in Israel. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, just as his ancestor David had done. He removed the pagan shrines, smashed the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke up the bronze serpent that Moses had made, because the people of Israel had been offering sacrifices to it. The bronze serpent was called Nehushtan.
Hezekiah held fast to the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before or after his time. He remained faithful to the Lord in everything, and he carefully obeyed all the commands the Lord had given Moses. 2 Kings 18:1-6
Holding fast is what gave Hezekiah the courage to remove anything that kept the people of God from regaining a clear focus on their life, their mission, with God. They had always had the job of pointing the nations to the reality of the Living God and to do that they needed to have a clear picture of who he was. This snake was no longer essential.
Holding fast is means clinging too, physically joined to an object. Sailors picked up the term back when ships had sails. The phrase was used to describe when they would cling to ropes to not be thrown overboard. Their life depended on holding tight…holding fast.
We can learn a lesson from Hezekiah. We need to hold fast to what we know is certain in the Lord and allow him to show us the non essential things in our life.
I would love for you to come and be part of our worship Sunday and this discussion about forward motion. See you there!
Chad Brooks - January 5, 2014
The Practice of the Presence of God
Have you ever found yourself stuck in the past? Have you wondered where the presence of God exists in time? The best way for us to practice the presence is to find it in the present.
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Sermon previews are released on Friday’s. They are to give YOU a short glimpse of what the conversation is going to be like on Sunday morning. On Monday, the preview is updated with some discussion questions, scripture guide and an mp3 of the sermon. I do these for 2 reasons. The first is so God can continue working in your life throughout the week. The second is for you to share this with a friend. I invite and encourage you to share the preview on Facebook/Twitter and through email.
Chad Brooks is a United Methodist Pastor serving in Louisiana. Married to Meredith, he is currently starting a new church in northeast Louisiana. Host of the Productive Pastor Podcast and lover of motorcycles, Chad would love to find Bigfoot one day.