Jump Start # 1510

Jeremiah 6:16 “Thus says the Lord, ‘Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; and you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’”

  I was reading a book written by popular writer, Mark Batterson, the other day. It is pretty much run of the mill stuff that is being published these days. A few noteworthy quotes here and there, his life experiences sprinkled throughout, but basically what you would expect and find in most bookstore shelves these days. Then I came to page 106. He admitted on paper what is going on in the religious community today. Many accept this, but few are bold enough to put it on paper. Three statements:

• There are ways of doing church that no one has thought of yet
• I’m not into ‘been there, done that.’ Part of it is a function of theology—I believe the church ought to be the most creative place on the planet.
• We’re orthodox in belief yet unorthodox in practice

Now, on the surface, those three statements sound refreshing and exciting. Out with the old and in with the new. This isn’t your grandma’s church—has an appeal to it. Stuffy, stale, old, out of touch has been put in the attic and contemporary, cutting edge, different has been invited in. You won’t find most cutting edge preachers in suits and ties these days. They are wearing jeans and Hawaiian shirts. They are appealing to a younger generation that has not found an anchor in the Bible. Instead of preaching, they are having conversations. In many communities this approach seems to be working.

Our verse today, from the old prophet Jeremiah, reminds us that God has placed a stake in the ground. These words, God’s words, are what Heaven desires of us. Seek  the ancient paths. God has a plan, a pattern and a way that He wants His people to do things. Our Bibles illustrate the importance of seeking the old paths. All over the Bible we are reminded of this principle. Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” Paul said, “the things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things.” Follow the leader, follow God, is the tone of the Bible. Trail blazers, cutting new paths deep into the wilderness makes for great novels, but lousy theology.

When the statement is made, “There are ways of doing church that no one has thought of yet,” are we to assume that God has left the door open and wants us to do whatever comes to our mind? We remember that Nadab and Abihu, Aaron’s sons, offered a strange fire to God. We are not told what their motive was, but it may have been nothing more than, “no one has thought of this yet.” God consumed them in that fire. King David, when transporting the ark of the covenant, put it on a cart, instead of having Levites carry it, may have thought, “this is a way that no one has thought of before.” When the ark started to tip, someone touched it to keep it from falling. Immediately he was struck dead.

God has a way. His way is defined in the Bible. Now, this doesn’t mean that we do not put excellence in our worship. This doesn’t mean, long and boring is the way to go. Worship ought to be exciting and challenging and relevant, and helpful, and deep and personal, and honoring God. Songs don’t have to be sung so slow that folks fall asleep. Sermons do not have to be dry lectures that leaves people wondering, “Do we really need to know this stuff?” Absolutely not. Jesus, not only connected with the people, He was practical and revealed what the people need to know.

We can’t think of better ways of doing things than what God has already told us. We can’t improve upon God’s model of things. And then, the statement, “we’re orthodox in belief yet unorthodox in practice,” doesn’t really make sense, let alone work. Try that statement in other avenues and you’ll see what I mean. “I am an American in belief but un-American in practice.” Really? “As a husband, I am faithful in belief but unfaithful in practice.” In integrity, I am honest in belief but dishonest in practice. How about, “I am a Christian in belief yet unchristian in practice.” Do you see how crazy all of this sounds? A person is what they are based upon what they believe. Unorthodox in practice points to unorthodox in belief. From our verse today, one cannot stand in the ancient paths in belief and yet travel down new paths in practice. These two do not fit.

All of this comes down to some simple core beliefs. Do we trust God? Do we think God’s way still works today? Do you have a heart to do what God wants?

At the end of our verse today, even before the ink had dried on what Jeremiah was writing, the reply came back. The nation didn’t need to think about it for a while. They didn’t have to talk it over among themselves. The answer came back, “We will not walk in it.” Their minds were made up. They were done with doing things God’s way. They had tossed out the old ways and were embracing something new and different. For Jeremiah’s people, it included idolatry and compromising with pagans. For Jeremiah’s people, their choice would lead them to being captured by the Babylonians. It meant punishment from God.

The cry to seek the ancient paths is something that we must decide as well. Stick with the Bible way or try something new and different. Radical theology today doesn’t have much patience for following very close to the Bible.

Do you? God wants you to seek after the ancient ways. Our look is backward, not forward. What worked then, still works today. You can’t do any better than what God has already done!

Roger

Jump Start # 651

Jeremiah 6:16 “Thus says the Lord, “Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; and you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’”

This week we have taken a look at several Old Testament passages that are rich with thought and meaning. Our verse today is taken from a series of problems found in Judah that the prophet Jeremiah was trying to awaken the people to see and repent. They refused. They dug their heels in and became stubborn spiritually. Some people are like that. They’d rather be wrong with God than change. They’d rather take their chances and continue their current direction than obey the Lord.

In our verse, Jeremiah pleads for the old ways. We often hear older people talking about the good old days. When grandpa starts reminiscing about the old days the grandkids run and hide. They don’t want to hear all those stories of how things were so much better than they are today. Grandpa even forgets how hard things were. Age and time has a way of making the past look better than it really was. Most wouldn’t want to go back to the days of the outhouse, no air conditioning, black and white TV with about 4 choices of stations, no computers, cell phones, ipods, ipads. Many folks with serious ailments and health issues would not be alive if they had those things in the good ole’ days. Medical advancements have allowed people to survive and overcome extreme health issues. We can do more, go further and faster than ever before. Just last Sunday, someone in India listened to a sermon from our pulpit LIVE. Now, that’s amazing in my book.

Jeremiah is not talking about the good ole’ days like grandpa does. He is not nostalgic and missing his childhood. Jeremiah has the spiritual ways in mind. The Judah of Jeremiah’s day was not the spiritual nation as years before. More than that, Jeremiah has in mind the standard, or God’s law. Seek the ancient paths, is not so much about what we did in the past, but what was in the past. God’s way, God’s law, God’s truth. These people left that. They move on. As some put it today, “they simply outgrew the Bible.” That’s a dumb idea. No one outgrows the Bible. That’s some cute expression that a clever writer came up with to justify making changes in worship and spiritual behavior. God’s word is not a pair of pants that a person outgrows, like boys do to their jeans. What the writer didn’t have the nerve to really say was that he no longer believed in the Bible. He no longer excepted the Bible as THE way. He now had his own god and his god isn’t into obedience and rules and laws and all those stuffy things. His god is into having a good time. Happiness is the theme. You see, a person doesn’t out grow the Bible, they simply quit believing it.

The pleas of Jeremiah are for the ancient path. That well worn path, similar to what David wrote when he said, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…He guides me in the paths of righteousness…” The ancient paths were well worn and true. They lead to places. Long before the days of highways and interstates, paths were the roadways people traveled. In the pastures, paths is where shepherds lead their flocks. The ancient paths represents God’s word. Tried, true, trustworthy and dependable—that was God’s word. Those ancient paths led to God. They led to what was right and good and noble. Jeremiah was trying to get the nation away from idols and back to God. The avenue that would get them there were the ancient paths.

We need to hear those words today. What we need is to get back to God’s ancient paths—the Bible way. We don’t need new things, it’s the ancient things. Back to the ancient paths of Bible preaching. Teach the word. Make it plain and simple. It worked then and it will work today. The Bible way is the sure way. It’s a path first marked out by our Savior. It’s the way that He traveled.

New and different ways of presenting worship are not always the best. In fact, some can be just plain wrong. New ideas…new methods…new, new, new—it seems we tire of the ancient paths. This is not a call for dry, stale and boring—not at all. Toast needs some jelly on it, but do not stray from the ancient paths of God. God’s way is the only way.

Jeremiah’s people didn’t get it. Our verse even states that. The verse ends with, “we will not walk in it.” Stubborn. Dumb. Death sentence. History tells us that the nation was taken in captivity for 70 years. Life changed. Many died in a foreign land. Many died in the capture of their nation. They resisted God and they lost.

It’s the ancient paths that will save us. It’s the ancient paths that will lead us home to God. Seek them…want them…follow them and then stay on them.

Roger