Field of Dreams

Ezra 2:68 "Some of the heads of the fathers' houses, when they came to the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem, offered freely for the house of God, to erect it in its place:" NKJV

"Field of Dreams" is a great movie. Kevin Costner plays a guy who got an idea…who had a vision…who wanted something to happen. The guy loved baseball. He loved baseball history. Why? Because his Dad loved baseball. He was really into Shoeless Joe Jackson and some of the guys who played ball. He had one simple idea: "If you build it, they will come." Now, this is kind of goofy, but he decided to build an amazing baseball field in the middle of nowhere…in fact in the middle of a cornfield. When he did this, a bunch of the old players walked out of the cornfield to play baseball…and he got to play catch with his Dad. The concept: "If you build it they will come" meant that these old guys would return. But more than that happened. People started showing up from all over the place. Cars lined up for miles to come to this field.

Now this is just a story. It is a figment of some writer's imagination. Ezra is not just a story…it really happened. But Cyrus did not build it first…he just shared the vision…and the people's hearts were stirred and they came. When people's hearts were stirred what happened next? They started to come. In fact, this entire chapter is dedicated to outline who came and how many came. When it was all said and done 42,360 people's hearts were stirred. 42,360 people decided to uproot themselves from where they were and move. 42,360 people made the decision to get out of their comfort zone and come back to a place where God would use them. 42,360 people brought their servants, and horses, and mules, and camels, and donkeys with them. And the heads of these 42,260 people brought their gold and their silver and offered it freely to build the house of God.

Vision from God is power. That vision communicated properly is stirring. People respond. They respond by coming. They respond by moving. They respond by giving. I think that we can change Costner's line to say: "If you communicate it, they will come." It happened in Ezra's day. It can happen today.

Question: What is God's vision? What does He want? How do we communicate it? We must be sure…then we have to open our mouths.

Progression

Ezra 1:5 "Then rose up the heads of the fathers houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem."

Progression. It is an interesting word. The word itself says progress. It implies movement. It implies going from one step to the next. It is what is seen in the first chapter of Ezra...and it all started with one leader with a vision.

Cyrus was king of Persia. God had been working in his heart. The first verse of the chapter says: "the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus...". God woke up the inner man of Cyrus. God placed a desire there. And that desire was to build the temple in Jerusalem. Now this was a formidable task. This was not something that he could pull off by himself. He needed to place this desire in front of a group of people. He had to cast the vision and see what happened...and this is what he did: "Whoever is among you...let him go up to Jerusalem...and rebuild the house of the Lord." v3 This was not very complex but it was clear. It was not like he had to lay out every detail initially but he had to tell them what the end result would be. He simply had to cast the vision. The result: progression. This vision was cast and who caught on? Initially the leaders...the heads of the father's houses. Then who caught on? The priests and the Levites. Then who caught on? "Everyone whose spirit God stirred." Then what happened? "And all who were about them aided them...". v6 I am sure that this did not happen overnight. It is something that developed. As Cyrus got excited, the head of the father's houses got excited. As they got excited the spiritual leaders got excited. As they got excited and challenged the people from a spiritual perspective, the people got excited.

This point can't be lost. Not only was the vision cast in terms of the physical (the heads of the father's houses) but also in terms of the spiritual (the priests and Levites). When a vision is cast, both perspectives have to be communicated. When that happens God does the same thing in the hearts of a group of people that He did initially in the heart of one leader: He stirs up our spirits. (Compare verse one and verse five.) When that happens, look out.

This verse is not being lost on me. I need to be open to hear what God is doing in my pastor's heart. When we combine a physical vision with a spiritual vision (what he shared last week) let God stir my spirit. Then that needs to spread. Watch the progression.

Repetition

Josh 23:11 ""Therefore take careful heed to yourselves, that you love the LORD your God." NKJV

Joshua is old. He knows that his time is short, so he is loading up on giving advice to the nation of Israel. He either says the same thing in chapter 23 as he said in chapter 22 because he is getting old and repeating himself, or he is saying it because it is huge and needs to be cemented in these people's lives and hearts. (Actually he says it and repeats it because it is straight from God and God wants these people to grasp the urgency of what Joshua is saying.) What does he say again? "Keep and do all that is written in the Book of the law of Moses." V6 He said that earlier. "Hold fast to the Lord your God." V8 He said that earlier. "Take careful heed." V11 He said those words earlier. And…"Love the LORD your God." V11 He said that exact thing before.

I know sometimes I am dense. Actually, most of the time I am dense. My wife has to tell me things more than once in order for it to sink in. I think we are all like that. It has been said that in order for something to register with people, it has to be told to them three times in three different ways. That is just the way we are. God knows this. Joshua knew this. And this is what was important: Obey God's word, cement yourself to the Lord, be careful and watch yourself, and love the LORD your God.

The idea of being careful is huge. It is so easy to get distracted. It is so easy for me to run after other stuff and spend my time on things that are not important. It is so easy to lose my focus. But when it all boils down to the basics this is it: Love, obey, and hang on. And if this were to really boil down to one thing it would be: Love the LORD your God. Love covers it all for if we love, we will obey. If we love, we will serve. If we love, we will hang on. If we love, we will walk with Him. If we love, we will cling to Him. If we love, we will not run after other stuff, we will not get distracted, we will not set our affections on other garbage.

And to be honest, this advice needs to be repeated to us over and over and over again. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, all your strength. This is the first and greatest commandment." Jesus knew it. Joshua knew it. Do I? Really?

Good Advice

Josh 22:5 "But take careful heed to do the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul."

Joshua was giving the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh a pep talk before they left the other tribes and went to possess the land that they had been given on the other side of the Jordan. They had been faithful in helping the other tribes fight their battles in order to possess the promised land. Now they were being released to go back and inhabit the property that God gave them. The pep talk…the final words…the charge, here it is: Be careful to obey God's word. Love God. Walk in His ways. Obey His commands. Hold on to Him. Serve Him with all that you are.

Not bad advice. In fact it is advice that we should still listen to now.

To take careful heed actually means take exceedingly much observance of God's word. Sometimes I wonder if we do that? Those of us who say that we are believers, that we are part of the family of God, that we are Christians…are we diligent to pay attention to the word of God? Or do we yawn? Do we go to church and listen to the preacher preach and find fault in what he says, or do we go out of obligation, or do we hear but don't really listen? I mean, if you were to ask the average church goer: "What did you hear on Sunday?" I wonder if they would remember? Why don't we? Because we are not exceedingly diligent with God's word. Beyond that, however, what about getting in it? What about studying it? What about meditating on it? The one thing Joshua charged these people with was to pay attention to God's word. Great advice.

Then he said: "Love the LORD your God." Jehovah, the existing One, the eternal One, the One who made it all and is orchestrating it all…Love Him. Have a relationship with Him and not just a casual one. A close one. An intimate one. A personal one. Spend time with Him. Talk with Him. And…

"Walk in all His ways". This actually means to walk down His road. To follow His direction. To do what He does. I wonder, do I? Or do I go down my own road, do my own thing, follow after my own desires? And…

"Keep His commandments". Keep is the same word as heed earlier. How about this one: "He who has my commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me." John 14:21 How do I really know whether I love God? If I obey Him. If I do what He says. If I pay close attention to His word and then do it. I fear that many of us show that we really don't love God because we don't do the things that He says. And…

"Hold fast to Him". I love the KJV word: "Cleave to Him" Stick to Him. Stay close to Him. Be one with Him. I wonder if I can say this about my relationship with Christ. Am I so close to Him, am I so stuck on Him that I move with Him? Where He goes I go. What He does I do. What He says I say. What He thinks I think. What a challenge. And…

"Serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul". This is where the rubber meets the road. This is where it all shakes out. Serve Him actually means to work. Do the work. Work hard. "Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord." The Christian life is not for the lazy. We should work. We should get tired. We should work for Him with all that we are heart, soul, mind, strength. I know that I have been guilty of wanting to get lazy. To take it easy. To chill. This is not Biblical Christianity. We need to serve Him in whatever capacity He calls us, in whatever way He has gifted us. Don't turn down opportunities to serve. Run after it. Be a servant.

Good advice. I need to listen.

Faithful and True

Josh 21:45 "Not a word failed of any good thing which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass." NKJV

As I sit here and read and re-read this verse, I am impressed by the truth and faithfulness of God. God made a promise to Abraham. His promise was: "To your descendants I will give this land." Gen 12:7 I think about this promise. It was a promise that God made but it was a promise that was for the future. Abraham was not going to see it. Instead, his descendants would see it. Abraham had the word of God. The promise of God, and that is all. He did not have the land. His descendants would get the land. He would not see the fulfillment of this promise. That was for some time in the future. Instead, all Abraham had was the promise of God…and that was enough for him. Why? Because he knew that God was true. He knew that God was faithful. He knew that God would keep His word.

I know that I get impatient. I want to see things happen now. I want to see things happen in my lifetime. I want to enjoy the fulfillment of God's promises. I am blessed as I am able to say that I have seen God's faithfulness. I have seen God's truth. I have seen how God keeps His word. Every time I look at my family, I am reminded of this. I know, however, that God has made promises that I may not see fulfilled. Does that mean that God is not true? Does that mean that He is not faithful? No. It means that He is patient. It means that His timing is perfect. It means that He knows what He is doing because He is God.

The point is: "Not a word failed…all came to pass." God's words are true. God's words are trustworthy. God's words are faithful because He is true and trustworthy and faithful. Every word, not just few of the words, not just a majority of the words, but every word that is laid out in the Bible will come to pass. Not one word will fail. When He says that things will proceed from bad to worse, He means it. Watch it. It will happen. When He says that men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, proud, He means it. Watch it. It is happening. When He says that men will hold to a form of godliness but deny its power. He means it. Watch it. It is happening. When He says that someday there will be a one world government, with a one world economy, that people will not be able to buy or sell without a certain number, He means it. Watch it. We can see it going down right now. When He says that He is returning and He will judge the world, He means it. Watch it. It will happen. When He says: "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.", He means it. Watch it. It happens.

God is true. He is faithful. We can trust every word that He says because "not a word (will) fail…all (will) come to pass.

Too Comfortable

Josh 18:3 "How long will you neglect to go and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers has given you?"

Joshua had a question for seven of the tribes of Israel…"what is taking you so long?" Only five of the tribes had inhabited the territory that had been given to them. The rest were kind of sitting around doing nothing. Now you would think that since they had crossed the Jordan and gotten to the promised land that these people and their leaders would be anxious. I remember when Georgann and I built our house. It seemed like almost every night we were out here looking at what the builders had done that day. We could not wait to get the keys and move in. This urgency did not seem to hit these seven tribes. Why not? Were they comfortable where they were at? Were they nervous? Didn't they know what to do or where to go? I have a feeling it was a little of all three. The result was neglect. The word for neglect actually means to let drop, to slack, to relax. Frankly, they got lazy.

That is the problem with getting comfortable. We let our guard down. We start to relax and take it easy and forget about the fact that there is more out there…more land to get, more battles to fight, more victories to achieve, more that God wants us to possess. We get nervous because we think that we are going to lose what God has already given to us so we want to hang on to it and not venture out any further. And then sometimes, we simply have no direction. We don't know what it is that God has for us and we stop asking. Those who are there to help us fail to show us what to do…so we get like these seven tribes and get fat and comfortable and lazy.

Not Joshua. He got in their face. He said: "What is the deal with the laziness? This is what you need to do. Three guys from each tribe go out and survey the land and then bring a report back to me. We will have a lottery to see who gets what." Joshua had a challenge and he had a plan. When the people saw the challenge, when they embraced the plan, they did it. No more laziness. No more neglect. No more couch potatoeing. It took a leader…it took a challenge…it took a plan to overcome nervousness and comfortableness.

I know that we have some challenges ahead of us as a church. We can't stay where we are forever. We are growing too much and there is a limited amount of time on our lease for the property that we are renting. We have to do something. Oh, it would be easy to be comfortable and lazy. The property that we have rehabbed is very nice, but it is not the "…land which the LORD God of your fathers has given you." God has something else. What is it? We need to find out. We need to have a group of guys survey the land and bring us back a report. Thankfully, that is what we are in the process of doing. When the results come back, put out the challenge. I know that I can't allow myself to get comfortable. Neither can the people of Lake Ridge.

Daughters

Josh 17:3 "But Zelophehad the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but only daughters. And these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. " NKJV

This is a weird verse to pick today. What is it about this verse that could hit me? I am like Zelophehad. I have no sons, but only daughters. Back then and in many societies today, sons are it. I know that the one child policy in China has resulted in forced abortions. These forced abortions make people choose the sex of their child and guess what…China has way too many men. They say that there are going to be 40 million men in China who are going to be bachelors because the Chinese are choosing to have boys not girls. From my perspective, not only is this shameful but it is just plain dumb. Why? Because girls are a blessing…I know…I have two of my own who have been nothing but a joy to their Mom and me.

I have heard: "Well, the Richardson names stops with you." My response: "If that is the way it is, that is the way it is." I would not want my family to be anything other than what God has made it and that is filled with estrogen.

This verse makes me think about my girls. Michelle and Elise are really the best gifts that God could give us. They are fun, energetic, smart, wise, helpful, loving, beautiful…and godly. That last characteristic is the biggie. My desire has always been for my girls to walk with Christ. To have a real faith, not something that Mom and Dad shoved down their throats, but something that they claimed and lived as their own. And now they are adults with lives of their own and what are they doing? Living their faith. I love it when they come to me and say: "Hey Dad, what do you think about….?" and the question is about the Bible or how to handle a situation in a Christ honoring way. They care about their relationship with God. They care about His word. They care about living exemplary lives in front of others and doing what is right. I remember when they were little I used to say to them: "Stay sweet." They have…and their husbands and kids (Maddie now and others someday) and their friends are the beneficiaries of what God is doing in them.

I bet Zelophehad felt blessed with his five girls. I am blessed because of my two. They are what 3 John says: "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in the truth." They do.

Mich and Elise…I love you. Thank you for the blessing that you are. I would have it no other way.