Preached December 8, 1991, morning service First Baptist Church Garrett, Indiana
If you have ever watched a Chicago Bear football game in the past couple of years you undoubtedly know of a giant named the refrigerator. Right. I'll bet very few of you know a dwarf named Charlie Stienmetz. Henry Ford knew him. Stienmetz was a dwarf and rather deformed and a rather unattractive fellow. What he lacked in physical stature he made up for in the knowledge of electricity. He was an electronic genius. Ford knew that and so when he built the first automobile factory in Michigan he hired Stienmetz to build those hugh generators that would run so much of the plant. He put his magical touch to work and before long cars were being turned off the assembly line.
One day out of the clear blue, everything went black. Electricity for some reason shut down. And of course when cars are not running off the line, Ford isn't making money. And he got very nervous when his own mechanics & helpers were unable to get that thing back into motion, so he got a hold of Stienmetz. And he tinkered with a few motors and he fiddled with a few fuses and messed around with a few wires and THREW A SWITCH and sure enough, the lights came back on and those vast generations began to turn and the cars started coming right off the line.
In a few days he sent Henry Ford a bill for $10,000. Well, even though a rich man Ford felt that was a little high, so he sent down a wrote Charlie Stienmetz a note;
"Dear Charlie: Doesn't it seem a little steep, $10,000 for tinkering with a few motors?"
Stienmetz got the note and he wrote another note back;
"Dear Henry: For tinkering with a few motors, $10. For knowing where to tinker, $9,990."
That's a great story. I've been in the ministry long enough to know that when I just tinker with a few motors its worth about $10, but when the Holy Spirit knows where to tinker, its priceless. And He's tinkering with your motor today. He's talking about your role as a Christian, as a joint heir of Christ, about your life and your lifestyle.
Today, He's going to tinker around with your DETERMINATION. In II Timothy 3 we are promised that in the last days difficult times will come. I like F.D. Meyer's word in his book "CHRIST & ISAIAH". In this book early on he talks about this idea. He says, "If I am told that I am taking a journey & it will be a rough journey on route to my destination, every jolt in the road tells me I'm on the right road."
If you are having a difficult time, you're on the right road. That just tells you you're living in these last days. Difficult times will come, savage times, perilous times and he describes those times for us in verses 2 thru 8. And then he says to Timothy & indirectly to us, "But you, keep that vision clear -- follow the teaching you've been given. Conduct and purpose & faith & patience & love & perseverance - & stand firm in persecutions Timothy, sufferings such as happened to me -- hang in there -- don't give up -- don't quit".
And after describing another scene of depravity & deception he says in verse 14, "you, however, be different" It's going to be tough. It's going to be hard.
Look at the next chapter. Now in verse 2 we put a lot of emphasis on the first 3 words but I think we miss something when we stop there; "Preach the word", BE READY, hang in there. The NIV says, "Be prepared" In season, out of season. When you feel like it, when you don't feel like it. And on and on and on.
I was reading thru the sports section of a major newspaper some time ago & I came across a fascinating article entitled, "TERROR THE SIDE OF A STEEP SLOPE". I want to read part of it to you. "Jay Rathman was hunting deer the wildlife area near Red Bluff. He climbed up to the ledge on the slope of a rocky gorge and he raised his head to look up on the ledge above him, when, in his words, "I caught a movement to the right of my face, I instinctively pushed myself back & a rattler struck, just missing my right ear." The 4 foot snakes fangs got snagged in neck of Rathman's wool turtleneck sweater. And the force of the strike caused it to land on his left shoulder."
Sounds like fun, doesn't it?
"It then coiled around his neck, he grabbed it behind the head with his left hand, and could feel the warm venom running down the skin of his neck. The rattler is making a furious racket."
Well, I'll think I'll stop there..............no I won't.
"He fell backwards, he fell backwards and slid head first down that steep slope, thru brush and lava rock, his rifle and binoculars bouncing along beside him. As luck would have it! (Laugh), he said, I ended up wedged between some rocks with my feet caught uphill from my head, and I could barely move."
"Now picture this! He got his right hand on his rifle and used it to disengage the fangs from his sweater, but the snake had enough leverage to strike again. He made about 8 attempts and managed to hit me with his nose just below my eye 4 times. I kept my face turned so he couldn't get a good angle with his fangs but it was very close. This chap and I were eyeball to eyeball. (L) And I found out that snakes really don't blink. (L) He had fangs like darning needles. I had to choke him to death. It was the only way out. I felt that with all the blood rushing to my head I might pass out."
When he tried to toss the snake aside, he literally couldn't let it go. He had to pry his fingers loose. Game warden, Dave Smith says of meeting this fellow, Rathman, "He walked toward me holding this string of rattles & said with sort of a grin on his face, "I'd like to register a complaint about your wildlife here".
Friends, life is a snake fighting experience. And the attacks are relentless & they are treacherous & they are fearful & at times they can be poisonous. If you are living in a dream world, thinking that somehow things will just sort of work out for you to become one of these so called Christian workers, you're barking up the wrong tree. You are going to get bit.
BE READY, in season, out of season. When God's blessing is obvious and when it seems as though you are going thru a dry spell. When life is rather smooth & calm, or when the place catches on fire. HANG TOUGH!!
I have never met a person who got a job done who didn't have determination. Never in my life. Some people have the strangest ideas about the Christian walk. Some how, by going to church and saying my prayers that everything is going to get done. Are you going to get a surprise, YOU'RE ABOUT TO THE LEDGE.
You have to learn that God honors the steady pace. "It is required of a steward that he be....." WHAT? FAITHFUL!! Not full of charisma, not quick on his feet, not clever, not always productive, but faithful. Faithful. IN SEASON, out of season.
Now with that as my background I want to define 3 words, because I'm using them often & I need to help you understand what I mean by those words.
I speak a lot about vision. When I speak I'm thinking of this, "the ability to see above & beyond the ordinary". Vision is the ability to see THRU the circumstances. Beyond them. The majority will always see the circumstances & give you the statistics and the facts & say "this is what you cannot do". Vision sees beyond that.
Vision is fueled by risk. You cannot be a visionary without risk. And risk will mean you often stand alone, in season, out of season, it'll be lonely sometimes.
Remember what the Lord said to Samuel when he was looking for a new king. (I Sam. 16:7) You would have thought that he would have known better from his days with Saul. After Jesse had paraded all his sons in front of him, here came tall, dark and handsome, Eliab, & I would have thought that he wouldn't have care much anymore about tall, dark & handsome. But he fixed his attention on him and (Ah, [clap hands] the Lord's anointed is before me) And God stepped on the scene and tapped him on the shoulder and said, "don't be attracted to him, he's not My choice." Then He said, "for men sees not as God sees. Man looks on the outward appearance but the Lord looks on the heart."
Visionary people look upon the heart, they see beyond the externals and the obvious.
The second word I want to define is determination. Determination is applying the discipline to remain consistent regardless of the odds. Determination is what it takes to graduate from a school, not just attending. Determination is what it takes for a Sunday School teacher a the end of a year to have the same excitement and push for excellence as at the beginning.
Determination is applying the discipline to remain consistent regardless of the odds and I'm here to tell you that the odds are often times enormous. Yes, even for me. That is reality and that's why you have to have determination.
Do you know what fuels determination. Just as risk fueled vision. Dreams fuel determination. WHAT'S A DREAM? It's not something that you do in the middle of the night. That's not the kind of dream I'm talking about. This is something you do when you are awake. I've come up with this definition.
"A dream is a God given idea, plan, agenda or goal that leads to God honoring results." That's a dream. A God given idea, plan, agenda or goal that leads to God given results. That's how Timothy could stay, he dreams, he sees visions, he lives on the edge of excitement. I thought about dreams last night and made these notes.
Dreams are specific, they are not general. Dreams are personal, they are not public. Dreams often appear illogical & extreme to other people. Dreams are often accompanied by a strong desire to accomplish them. They are outside the realm of the expected or the ordinary.
WHAT ARE YOU DREAMING ABOUT THESE DAYS? I sometimes get discouraged about schools and students. You ask them, "where are you going?" They respond, "Lunch." You know, deep thoughts. Where are you going? What is your hope? What is your objective? What's on the horizon? I know what's behind you, I know the trouble you've had. Don't take my time. You don't want to hear mine either. Let's not lick each other's wounds. What's on the horizon? What are you dreaming about?
If you can reach it, it isn't a dream. It's just a matter of discipline to get it. But if you can't reach it, it is probably in the realm of a dream right now. Do you have dreams for your children? Sunday School teachers, don't you have dreams for your classes? Deacons, deaconesses, trustees, superintendent, moderator, committees, do you have dreams?
It is amazing to me that there are many people who can look at the very same set of circumstances & most don't get beyond them.
Let us go to Numbers 13 and we will see 2 men who dreamed. 2 men who were determined not to let the dreams die. They weren't wild eyed dreams, they weren't ridiculous dreams. They were real, they were God given. God honoring. And they were surrounded by people who just absolutely wouldn't believe it. Now the first one is mentioned up here in verse 16, his name is Joshua. The other man is mentioned earlier in verse 6, from the tribe of Judah, his name was Caleb.
The reason I sort of come in the back door there is so that you would understand, how ordinary they were. They weren't people walking around with antenna & you get up close to them and they go (to-il-do-il-do [twi-light zone]) Not like that. You know, there are some wierd people in the Christian family.
A guy bumped into me not so long ago and said, "I want to show you what I've written." He pulled this thing out and he kept unfolding it till it looked like a world map. There were pyramids and big eyes, charts and arrows. Orbit kind of stuff. No, not that kind of person. This is just Caleb & Joshua kind of people. People just like you and me. Ordinary folks, who were set aside by God for a piece of extraordinary kind of work. That's the kind of people God stamps His approval on. Just ordinary people.
These ordinary people stood all alone. Verse 30. In the midst of all this hub-bug that we can't do it, we're not able, Caleb quieted the people, sh, sh, sh. Remember that? Then he said, "by all means we should go up and take position." How could he say it? HE'S DREAMING. In his head it was done. It was a finished task. He had linked arms with God cause God had said "do that".
The opinions of people meant little to Caleb. He said, "we are well able to take possession of it, we shall surely overcome it" and a little later on Joshua joins in with him in verse 6 of chapter 14 and he with Caleb tears his clothes & they stand before the congregation, verse 7; "the land which we passed thru to spy out is an exceedingly good land, it is a land that flows with milk and honey." Verse 9; "don't rebel against the Lord. Don't fear the people of the land, they shall be our prey. Their protection has been removed from them." The protection of your enemy has been removed and the Lord is with you, DON'T BE AFRAID.
And so, when push came to shove, God disciplined those that didn't believe and God honored those that did. Isn't it amazing. Ten saw a problem, 2 saw a solution. Ten saw obstacles, 2 saw victory. Ten were impressed with men, 2 were impressed with God. It is so simple, it is so clear.
TEN FOCUSED ON WHAT COULD NOT HAPPEN and 2 on what was about to be completed by God's power.
Well, did they have the determination to see it thru? Joshua chapter 14 is the next stop off on this journey because we come to the end of the 40 years. We want to see if they have been consistent, in season and out of season. We want to see if they have STAY READY. We want to check their vision. OKAY? Look at Joshua 14 verse 6. I think you'll like this; "Then the children of Judah came to Joshua in Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him: "You know the word which the LORD said to Moses the man of God concerning you and me in Kadesh Barnea. I [was] forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land, and I brought back word to him as [it was] in my heart. "Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt with fear, but I wholly followed the LORD my God."
He is giving Joshua his testimony.
And now verse 10; "And now, behold, the LORD has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the LORD spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old." 85 years old. What are you going to do when you are 85? Some of you are already picking out your rocking chair. Some of you are saying, "Now let me see, 85, I will have been retired, 15, 20, 20 years." Your mind is the first thing to go so it takes you a while to figure that up. 20 years I'll be retired. I've got plans. TO WHAT?
Not Caleb. Verse 11 (laugh) This is terrific. ""As yet I strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength then, so now my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in."
An 85 year old dude talking to Joshua about his FUTURE. Look what he says next; (loudly) ""NOW THEN, (probably didn't say it quite that loud, but ... I did) give me this mountain of which the LORD spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim there, and the cities great fortified. It may be that the LORD with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the LORD said.""
85 year old guy ready to take on the giants in the hills. Has he got the STUFF or what? Wouldn't it be marvelous that as we got older our courage increased rather than abated. We walked with the Lord longer, we know more of His Word. We've trusted His promises and seen them fulfilled, more than the younger......Why not? How tenacious Caleb is.
Next thing you see he's walking off in the distance, got his boon-dockers on, and he's going up the hill. "Come on kids, let's go." Wonderful.
(story of the sitters & the little bull dog by W.A. Criswell)
That's tenacity.
We don't need more sitters, we need more bull dogs. To crawl thru the hole and just dare the enemy to stand against you. Caleb, he reminds me of that bull dog. That's Caleb,..... that's some of you. Some of you have a make up like that and you didn't know it was OK.
Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Nothing is more common than unsuccessful men ....... WITH TALENT. Genius will not. Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not. The world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are important. That's Caleb. Persistence & determination.
Now, what about Joshua? What kind of a guy was he? You get over to the end of the book, that bears his name, chapter 24. For the first 13 verses he reviews their history. HE'S NO SPRING CHICKEN, EITHER but he can spit out the history of the people and they are listening to him. And they are learning from him. And they are motivated by him. And when he gets down to about verse 14 he levels a charge and this is coming from an older gentleman, who has been thru the fire, he remembers the wilderness, he went thru the wanderings and he watched God work laying Moses to rest. Joshua took up the torch and he's led them thru the battles of Canaan and they have come out victorious on the other side. So now he sort of delivering his swan song.
It beautiful to read it. Joshua 24:14 "Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD!" Now I'm so glad the next verse appears, because up till now you could be sort of crating with your determination. If you left right now, if you turn it off right now, you think, "boy, I'm just going to take charge and go full bore ahead. Wait a minute. You need to see the balance, the sweetness. The graciousness in Joshua. Verse 15.
"And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. (you make a choice) But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." Isn't that beautiful?
You know it is so easy to be so determined that you become hard to live with and then it becomes a battleground of stubbornness and arrogance. So I want to warn you about that. The kind of Christians who make a dent are those who draw people. Who win them. They don't drive them. They don't embarrass people. They challenge them. They don't humiliate people who don't get in line, they say, "you make your choice, I've made mine."
I love this word from a wise old man. You may be able to compel people to maintain certain minimum standards by stressing duty, duty, duty,--- but the highest moral and spiritual achievements DEPEND NOT UPON A PUSH, BUT A PULL. People must be charmed into righteousness. That's why I love music. Music charms people. It's wonderful how it just takes the sting out of the wound. IT SOFTENS THE BLOW. You can exhort in music, you can motivate in music and you charm people into walking with God. You sing them into that path of righteousness.
These charming words from Joshua. He is a man full of determination.
Well, I'm going to wrap it up quick. Age has little to do with achievement or commitment. So don't use your age as an excuse. Has little to do with achievement or commitment.
Second, a godly walk is basic to a positive life. If there isn't a godly walk, the positive stuff is just superficial.
And third, convictions are a matter of choice, not force.
In closing, let me give you 4 NEVERS.
Never use age as an excuse for negativism. It doesn't wash. These men, though aged, in the true sense of the word, were not negative.
Never take your cues from the crowd.
Thirdly. Never think your choice obligates anyone else.
And #4, Never quit because somebody disagrees.
I don't know what kind of a week you are going to have, but regardless of how good it may be, you are never going to get rid of the snakes. They are going to be there. And you are going to be fighting them. Your going to get them snagged in your sweater, their going to get around your neck. And it will sort of be between you and God. YOU TRUST HIM TO SEE YOU THRU....OK. THE BATTLE IS HIS.
Let's pause and let's bow. Let's be real quiet in the Lord's presence right now. When I prepared this message God laid upon my heart this thought, this one thought. That doesn't happen too often, but when it does, I know there's somebody that needed to hear it. Some of you are just on the verge of quitting---quitting school, quitting marriage, quitting job, quitting church. Let it row on. Let it row on. YOU... TRUST...GOD. You trust God. You place yourself before Him and you say, "Lord, with or without the glory, with or without visible results, I'm trusting you & I'm standing firm in You. I lay my life before You and I worship You"
