How do young
believers live sold-out lives for the Lord if they did not receive modeling
from their parents? One answer could be found in Joshua 5 and 6. In these
chapters, the Lord prescribed a series of steps for a new generation to follow
upon entering the Promise Land. This generation did not receive good modeling
from their parents. Let’s take a look at the steps God provided, and then
explore the parallels they contain for modern-day believers.
The Promise Land
The generation
that died in the wilderness did not trust God to give them the Promise Land.
They shrank away in fear from the enemies that occupied it (Numbers 14).
Therefore, God had to ask their sons to do the exact opposite of what was
modeled to them.
On top of this,
the generation that died in the wilderness failed to circumcise their sons.
Therefore, Joshua had to circumcise them when they were full-grown men, in
plain view of their enemies, before they could take their inheritance (Joshua
5). Once they did this, God declared that He had given Jericho – the first
deposit of their promised inheritance – into their hands.
However, God’s
word did not come to pass immediately. In fact, when God said this, Jericho was
still an impenetrable fortress with no apparent way to conquer it. Therefore,
the Israelites had to exercise faith and patience. They had to believe God’s
word was true even though their circumstances had not changed.
Next, they obeyed
God by marching in circles around their inheritance without ever actually
approaching it. On the surface, this seemed illogical and counterproductive.
However, their willingness to obey God by faith, without understanding His
reasons, invited His supernatural intervention into their circumstances. On the
seventh day, the great walls of Jericho suddenly came crashing down. Israel’s
enemies were left defenseless and the first installment of their inheritance
was handed to them on a silver platter (Joshua 6).
A Pattern for
First-Time Promise-Takers
The
aforementioned sequence of events contains a parallel for how God sometimes
deals with young people who were not spiritually circumcised. When Christian
parents become spiritual wanderers, never laying ahold of the promises or
inheritance God intended for them, they typically also do not spiritually
circumcise their children. Their children may have correct doctrines, but they
never fully surrender their lives to the Lord because it was not modeled to
them.
Nevertheless, God
can provide grace for children to overcome this lack of modeling. When they
reach the age of independence, God apprehends them with a vision of the
inheritance He has in mind for them – their promise land, so to speak. In other
words, He puts His dreams in their hearts.
However, God’s
dreams do not come cheaply or easily. The first step to laying ahold of them is
circumcision – cutting away the old self-serving form of Christianity we were
used to and re-consecrating ourselves to be used by the Lord however He wishes.
This can be facilitated through the discipleship/mentoring of one or more
spiritual father or mother figures, just as the Israelites were circumcised by
Joshua.
The next steps
are faith and patience. We must believe God can really cause the dreams He put
in our hearts to be fulfilled. Not only that – we must persevere in believing
for a period of time, possibly many years or decades. During this time He may
have us doing mundane, seemingly unproductive things that have nothing to do
with taking ahold of our inheritance – marching in circles, as it were. This is
why Hebrews 6:12 exhorts us to be “imitators of those who through faith and
patience inherit the promises.”
The purpose of
these steps is to shape our characters so we will be trustworthy stewards of
our inheritances. If there is something we want than closeness with God, we are
not mature enough to have it without turning it into an idol. Persevering
through these steps helps us esteem the presence of God in our lives even more
than the good things He wants to give us.
When we persevere
through an ordained season of waiting, God can easily make up for all the
“unproductive” time we spent performing tasks unrelated to our inheritance. He
can supernaturally cause barriers to our calling to come crashing down and
empower us to overcome any opposition from the enemy.
What is My Mission?
When young believers approach adulthood,
some of the most burning questions on their hearts are: What is my purpose?
What did God create me for? How will He use me to impact the world for His
kingdom?
Some young people feel caught between
wanting to fully devote themselves to serving God and wanting to pursue a field
of study or a career path they feel passionate about. This is often a false
dilemma. Virtually every field of human endeavor can be a powerful tool for the
advancement of God’s kingdom. I’m not referring to the need for Christians to
be salt and light in every area of society, although that is true too. I am
saying the fields themselves can be a witness because they reveal God’s
nature.
Consider the following incomplete list of
fields of human pursuit:
·
Government
·
Economics
·
Business
·
Physics
·
Chemistry
·
Biology
·
Law Enforcement
·
Health/Medicine
·
Food/Agriculture
·
News
Media/journalism
·
Entertainment/Music/Athletics
·
Family/Marriage/Sexuality
·
Church/Religion
·
Technology/Engineering
·
Construction/Manufacturing
·
History/Anthropology
·
Sociology/Psychology
All of these fields can be used to reveal
facets of God’s nature. None of them is incompatible with “ministry” or
“missionary work”. They are all potential ministries and mission fields. Young
people can much more easily be excited about ministry, missionary work, and
advancing God’s kingdom when they realize these things are directly aligned with
their personal dreams and passions.
We experience and radiate
God’s presence in a special way when we do what we were created to do. We feel
excited and fulfilled and thankful. This kind of holy fulfillment manifests
God’s presence and is a powerful witness to those around us even if they can’t
readily identify what they are sensing. This is true whether it is on a
construction site or in a chemistry lab or in a classroom.
The very first mention in scripture of
someone being filled with God’s Spirit is Exodus 31:2-5. The man’s name was
Bezalel. For what purpose was he filled with God’s Spirit? Was it to preach the
gospel or prophesy or heal someone? No, actually it was to create beautiful
artistic designs in metal, ston, and wood. The passage states:
“I
have called by name Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in
understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship, to make artistic designs for work in gold, in silver, and in bronze, and in the cutting of stones for settings, and in the carving of wood, that he may work in
all kinds of craftsmanship.”
This man,
Bezalel, was a craftsman whom God anointed to be excellent at his trade and
glorify God through it. The same is true of men and women God would send into every
field or industry.
A while back I spent a few years learning
everything I could about economics. I could not believe the treasures of wisdom
contained in this field. I had never seen so clearly as through the field of
economics how God created mankind for individual freedom, creative labor,
prosperity, and generosity. Everything about it screamed to me, “God is
Glorious!” At the same time, Satan’s kingdom has an approach to economics
that has an appearance of righteousness, but leads individuals and nations into
deep bondage. I think virtually every field of study and human endeavor is like
that – having the potential to reveal the glory of God, but susceptible to
clever satanic counterfeiting.
We live in a fallen world. 1 John 5:19
says, “…the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” In this age,
Christians will always be lights in the darkness. We will never “conquer” or
“rule over” the kingdoms of earth until after Christ’s return. Therefore,
Satan’s approach to a given field is typically far more prominent and accepted by
the mainstream than God’s approach. Even so, there are few things in life more
exciting than discovering our unique talents and passions and then using them
to reveal a facet of God’s nature and kingdom to those in our spheres of
influence.
Next
In the next chapter, we will look at the first of three scriptural examples of children building upon a foundation laid by their parents.