Jump Start # 3359

Judges 8:4 “Then Gideon and the 300 men who were with him came to the Jordan and crossed over, weary yet pursuing.”

Our verse today shows the judge Gideon in pursuit of the enemy of God’s people. Earlier in the chapter, the size of his army had been downsized dramatically. He started off with more than 30,000 troops. Those who were afraid were allowed to go home. Twenty-two thousand went home. Only ten thousand remained. That’s about 70%, or out of every ten, seven admitted to being afraid and returned home. Yet from that, 10,000, the number trickles down to 300, about 1% of what Gideon started off with.

The passage states that they were weary yet pursuing. What a great description that is. Tried, yet going. Worn out, but still working. There is a passage in Mark that reveals Jesus and the disciples did not have time to eat. Busy. Always busy. The workaholic. The tireless preacher. The busy shepherd. Always someone to encourage. Always someone to have a conversation with. Always someone to teach. Always. As soon as the week ends, it all starts all over again. Another sermon. Another article. Another podcast. Another class. Like Gideon, weary yet pursuing.

I offer some simple reminders for the tired Christian. Now, I have in mind those who are wearing themselves out in kingdom work. Not those who are tired, because they are staying up too late watching TV or those who pack too much into a vacation and they come home tired. I’m not talking about the guy who is working two jobs to pay off some debt. No. What I have in mind is the busy Christian who is always doing things for others. Another meal to take to someone. Another email, answering a question. Another “can we talk,” conversation. Another quarter of classes to teach. It is those who keep the church going. It is those who are fully engaged in the work of the kingdom. They are the constant teachers. They are the ones who fill in when no one else will. They the first to volunteer for VBS. They are the ones who stick around after everyone else has gone home. They pour their hearts into the service, making things right for everyone else.

Reminders for tired Christians:

First, don’t complain about others who are not busy. There is always that 80/20 factor in most organizations. Eighty percent of the work is done by twenty percent of the people. What are the other 80% of the people doing? Not much. They may complain, but they don’t roll up their sleeves. They are quick to see what ought to be done, but it won’t be done by them.

When Gideon’s twenty thousand walked home, it must have been very discouraging for those who remained. More left than stayed. More lacked faith than had faith.

The Revelation church of Sardis is described to us as being dead. Lifeless. Their deeds were not completed. However, there were a few that were walking correctly with the Lord. The faithful few. All one has to do is make that announcement that some volunteers are needed and immediately the audience looks down at their shoes. Not me. Too busy right now. Hope you get the help you need. Wish I could, but I can’t. Those words fill PTA meetings, little league meetings, office meetings and even, the call for help at church. Not me. Not now.

Gideon’s men, tired and weary as they were, kept pursuing. Tired Christians realize that if they don’t, no one else will. God bless those diligent workers. They are found in every congregation. They keep the place clean. They make sure all the lights are on. They print all the material that the rest need for classes. The trash is picked up out of the parking lot. They greet the visitors and stick around and help those who have questions. Tired Christians are an example and a blessing. If they stopped doing what they are doing, the place would fall apart. God bless those with open eyes and big hearts.

Second, it’s not wrong to take a break once in a while. You’ll probably never see that as a point in a sermon, but it’s true. God built in a day of rest and reflection for ancient Israel that we call the Sabbath. After creation, God rested. The Gospels show us that there were times when Jesus rested.  Psalms 46 says, “Be still and know that I am God.” There are times when the woodsman must stop and sharpen his axe. He will cut better and more if he does that. It’s important for the weary Christian to get some rest. It’s important for teachers and preachers to fill their buckets. Encouragers need to be encouraged once in a while.

Third, remember your salvation is not measured by how much you do. If not careful, we walk right into the system of salvation by works when we think that way. We are saved by the grace of God. We must not think that we are better than others because of what we do. Jesus never compared the five talent man and the two talent man with each other. Every person needs to do what they can and give all the glory to the Lord.

Fourth, realize that you cannot do everything nor fix everyone. When the disciples complained about the woman who anointed Jesus with costly perfume, the Lord defended her and said, “She has done what she could.” That’s all any of us can do, just what we can.

Some will do more than we do. Don’t feel bad about that. Be thankful they are doing what they can. I know that I am a writing machine. That’s a gift God has given me. I don’t think less of those who don’t do that. Others are busy going overseas to teach and preach. That’s their talent and gift. Others are busy starting from scratch and building strong congregations. That’s their gift and talent. Some are busy teaching in prisons. Some crisscross this country preaching nearly every night of the week. That’s their gift and talent. Some are great at preaching. Others are better at teaching. Some are better one-on-one. No one can do it all.

We can’t fix everything because some things are bigger than we are. We can’t fix everything because some people don’t want to change. We can’t fix everything because somethings are not our business. But find what you can do and then do it. If you can’t teach, then help the teacher.

The tired Christian. Weary yet pursuing. That was Gideon’s three hundred. And, that’s us. Catch your breath, but get back into the fight. We need you. The kingdom needs you. You are a blessing. Heaven recognizes the good that you are doing.

Roger

Jump Start # 2327

Judges 8:4 “Then Gideon and the 300 men who were with him came to the Jordan and crossed over, weary yet pursuing.”

Our passage is one of great encouragement to all of us. It makes for a great sermon title, “Weary yet pursuing.” We are reminded of the N.T. passages about weariness. Jesus called all those who were “weary and heavy laden” to come to Him for rest. Paul told the Galatians not to grow weary in doing good.

Weariness comes in different forms.

First, there is the kind of tired one gets from just staying up too late. The remedy here is simply go to bed early.

Second, there is a weariness from over exertion. You’ve worked hard all day, and you are tired to the bone. You helped a friend move and you are paying for it the next day with sore muscles. We had some of the grandkids over this past weekend. Two granddaughters, one 4 and the other 2 love to play superhero and the giant. They are the superheroes and guess who is the giant. The game always ends the same way. The superheroes throw pillows, shoot nerf balls and slay the giant. The giant falls and the superheroes jump on top of fallen giant. Amazingly, they love this game. Amazingly, I sure feel it. Again, a days rest and most of us are feeling fine.

Third, there is a weariness that comes mentally. This kind of tired doesn’t go away when you sleep. In fact, this can keep one from getting good sleep. Tired of problems. Weary of dealing with people who do not care. Tired of the red tape, bureaucracy, cooperate politics, and the run around that forces you to make dozens of phone calls and be put on hold for what seems to be forever. Righteous people get tired of wrong being praised and goodness being mocked.

Fourth, there is a weariness that comes from carrying guilt, shame and wrong in our hearts. You try to mend fences with others and you try to apologize and forgive, but some do not want that. They don’t want things to get better. They want to remind you of your mistakes and they want to hold you hostage for things that you want to put in the past. They won’t let go of things. They constantly remind you of how you hurt them. Nothing you do can make it right. You are weary of the trouble.

Fifth, there is a weariness that comes from family problems. Kids that don’t get along. Kids that rebel. Grown children that act like they are three years old. So much drama. So much gossip. So much complaining. Is there nothing good? Is there nothing that we can agree upon? Weary. Tired. Spent and done.

I tend to believe that we are a weary people. We always seem to be in a hurry. There never seems to be enough day in our day. Our eyes and our faces show the marks of weariness. For some, it gets to such a point that they want to quit. They want to quit school. They want to quit church. They want to quit the marriage. And, what they generally say right off the bat is, “I’m tired.” I’m tired of going to school. I’m tired of getting nothing out of worship. I’m tired to trying to make this marriage work.

But our wonderful passage shows the spirit that we all need to have. Tired, yes. Quitting, never. Weary, yet pursuing. Gideon and his band of 300, dramatically downsized from what they started with, were pursuing the enemy. They were fording rivers, and in hot pursuit of the enemy. They were beat. They were tired. They were weary. But one thing they were not, they were not giving up. They were still on the move. They were pursuing.

And, that must be us. We may be tired, weary and worn out to the bone, but we aren’t stopping. We have a mission before us and that is get this family of ours to Heaven. We have a job to do for the Lord. There are times we may feel that we are the only ones doing what we should. There may be times when we just want to sit down for a while. But we must pursue. We must go until the Lord stops us. The work is too great. There are too many who need to know. There is much to do.

The spirit of Gideon lives in us when we look to the good we are doing rather than how tired we feel or how much there is to do. You write a card to someone to encourage. You take some food to someone who needs it. You spend a nice text to someone who has been in the hospital. You go out of your way to be kind, thoughtful and helpful. You’re there to teach. You’re there to help out. You’re there to add a smiling face to the congregation. Sure, there are times you think, “Let someone else do it this time.” Sure, there are moments when you think, “I just don’t feel like it this time.” Sure, you wonder, “Does it do any good?” But you know the answers to this. This is why, weary, you pursue.

This is the spirit of the preacher. Tired of writing sermons, class material, articles and having to teach them. There are moments when he thinks, “I’d just like to take a month off and do nothing.” But he won’t. Weary, he pursues.

This is the spirit of the shepherds. Always looking ahead. Always working to make things better. Always trying to help us even when we are not trying ourselves. Weary, they may think, I could just step down and not do this. But they won’t. Weary, they keep pursuing.

This is the spirit of the man and woman who loves the Lord. They are weary of teaching with little results. They are weary of showing kindness only to have it received with rudeness in return. They wonder if the kids will ever get what this is all about. Weary, yet pursuing.

We must leave this place better than we found it. This is true of our families. This is true of the congregation. This is true of our world. There still needs to be some lights shining and some salt shaking. Don’t quit, because others are counting on you. Don’t quit, because you’ll be disappointed if you do. Don’t quit, because what is awaiting us is worth any troubles here.

Weary, yet pursuing. It reminds me of, “Onward, Christian soldiers…” Onward we go!

Roger