There are some major perks to being on the worship team.
A really sweet one is having a close-up view of baptisms. I love standing at the threshold of the platform where I can see the faces of those being baptized. With expressions of joy mixed with a tad of nervousness, they come out of the water so satisfied…ready to live out their commitments to Christ. Today, two of our young ladies from the youth group were baptized after receiving Christ at camp. I pray they will remember this day as one of many steps of obedience.
The biggest and best perk of being on the worship team is having a whole congregation of worshippers before my eyes…from preschoolers to seniors and everyone in between. My worship leaders. Eyes closed singing about heaven, heart and hunger for God, and His holy sacrifice on the cross.
We dedicated a brand-new baby boy today. Carrie and Gene’s two-week old Charles with his hand-knit blue booties and tiny fingers. I pray God will set him apart for eternal purposes. I pray his parents and extended family will model lives completely devoted to Christ. I pray our church will love him, support him, and point him toward Jesus, always.
Gary took us to a truth and wisdom-filled passage of Scripture: Deuteronomy 17:16-20
Moses spent 40 years with the Israelites, leading them to God’s promise. He witnessed miracles and endured complaining and lack of faith.
Soon, he would climb the mountain to die and a new generation of Israelites would enter the Promised Land.
God revealed to Moses that the people would soon desire an earthly king. From his knowledge of other nations, he knew that some kings led with integrity and some led with greed and deceit. Moses shared guidelines for future kings that, I believe, are guidelines for us all.
Scattered throughout this sermon outline, I share stanzas from a classic poem by C.T. Studd. It seemed to echo Moses’ guidelines perfectly.
See if these words say anything to you? They certainly hollered at me! And King Solomon…a king who started off on the right track, broke every one of these guidelines.
“The king must not build up a large stable of horses for himself or send his people to Egypt to buy horses, for the Lord has told you, ‘You must never return to Egypt.’ The king must not take many wives for himself, because they will turn his heart away from the Lord. And he must not accumulate large amounts of wealth in silver and gold for himself.
“When he sits on the throne as king, he must copy for himself this body of instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. He must always keep that copy with him and read it daily as long as he lives. That way he will learn to fear the Lord his God by obeying all the terms of these instructions and decrees. This regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud and acting as if he is above his fellow citizens. It will also prevent him from turning away from these commands in the smallest way. And it will ensure that he and his descendants will reign for many generations in Israel.”
1. Don’t build up a stable of horses (Pursuit of Power)
In Moses’ day, horses equaled power. Kings would accumulate horses to use in battle against neighboring countries. Kingdoms with stables and stables of horses were feared. Such power bred pride in the hearts of these mere men thrust into the role of king.
Power belongs to God alone. When we seek to build up our own storehouse of power, pride takes over like a wild weed in a neglected garden. A hard fall from that self-made throne is inevitable. (Proverbs 16:18)
King Solomon accumulated more than 12,000 horses.
2. Never return to Egypt (Pursuit of the Past)
The Israelites spent 40 years wandering the desert…not because the Promised Land was 40 years away, but because it took that long for the originals to die off. They were stripped of their opportunity to experience God’s perfect plan for them because they refused to trust and obey. They complained and bellyached about the food, the conditions, and the obstacles. Life was so better back in Egypt!
The prince of this world is a genius when it comes to twisting our memories to con us into believing past captivity is preferable to present freedom.
We all fall for it from time-to-time, and the more we look back to our Egypt, the more attractive it becomes.
Moses implores future kings to never look back to Egypt, even for seemingly innocent reasons. Those Christ set free are free indeed! (Galatians 5:1) Solomon returned to Egypt for trade purposes. No attachment to past captivity is ok.
3. Don’t take many wives (Pursuit of Pleasure)
King Solomon started off his reign strong. He humbly asked for wisdom, above all else, because he knew he was ill-equipped to rule in his own strength.
Then he developed a taste for the ladies. Before he knew it, he had about 1000 wives and concubines! Can you imagine how much time and effort it took to give each of those women even a moment of his time?
The more pleasure we pursue, the more pleasure we want. Though fine in small doses, pleasure can quickly consume our lives.
4. Don’t accumulate large amounts of wealth in gold and silver (Pursuit of Possessions)
Does your stuff control you or do you control your stuff? Things, in and of themselves, are not sinful or wrong, but when we pursue them, they consume us. In our age of the latest and greatest gadgets, we’re always pressed to want more.
Commercials breed discontentment.
Yes, you have a cellphone, but that new one pays your bills with one click.
Yes, you have a coffee pot, but that one automatically adds the gourmet creamer.
Yes, you have an dependable vehicle, but this new one has an i-pod jack and DVD players on the back of each seat.
If society had her way, we’d never be content with what we have.
Solomon accumulated for himself 2500 tons of gold per year! Definitely beyond what he needed!
5. Make the Word of Truth Your Own (Pursuit of a Personal Connection with God)
As a teacher, I encourage my students to use as many of their senses as possible in the learning process. Read it! Write it! Touch it! Say it! The more we get our hands on knowledge, the faster it will stick and become a part of us.
Moses commanded kings to write out the Word of God by hand in the presence of the Levitical priests. What an undertaking! Why would God want anyone to take the time to write out the first five books of the Old Testament?
He wanted it to stick! He wanted leaders to make His truth their own so they would lead in humble righteousness, not selfish ambition.
6. Receive and obey God’s Word. (Pursuit of complete obedience)
As Christians, we are commanded to live the Word everywhere we go. At home. At work. At the grocery store. At the computer terminal.
We can’t just do the easy stuff! We can’t put off the hard things until later, because later has a way of never coming.
People are watching. Our children are watching. Our non-Christian friends are watching. Baby Christians are watching. Shoot…even complete strangers are watching!
I read on Twitter today, “If you were placed on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” (ouch)
The Word is alive, active, and sharper than a two-edged sword! (Hebrews 4:12) It carries on from generation-to-generation without any decrease of power! If we don’t fill our hearts with the truth of Scripture, we’ll lose our way, and we can’t afford to waste one day.
Have the pursuits of the world pulled you off course? I know I’ve made a ton of detours in my life. I’ve found that the days that begin in the Word turn out WAY better.
I don’t want to waste any more time doing things my way. My way leads to self and death. His way leads to Him and life. I choose Him! I choose life!
Only one life ’twill soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.
