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Growth comes in waves…

And it seems to have a cycle that goes something like this:

Growth—Discomfort—Working thru the Pain—More Growth.

In its earliest days, the church experienced waves of growth and cycles of growth:

Growth—
“As the believers rapidly multiplied” (Acts 6.1)

Discomfort—
“There were rumblings of discontent” (Acts 6.1)

Working thru the Pain—
“The twelve called a meeting and said…” (Acts 6.2)

More Growth—
“So God’s message continued to spread. The number of believers greatly increased” (Acts 6.7)

We’re always somewhere in the cycle of growth.

I think how we deal with the pain/discomfort of growth will determine our future growth.

My daughter will occasionally complain about growing pains in her legs.

The truth is, nobody likes pain or discomfort…

But pain is sometimes a very natural, normal, and even necessary part of the growth process.

If you’re growing, you will likely experience some discomfort or pain.

People are suckers for pain-free formulas, schemes and magic pills….

“Get rich quick!”

“Lose weight fast without dieting or exercise!”

The Bible says, “Wealth from get-rich schemes quickly disappears; wealth from hard work grows over time.” (Proverbs 13.11 NLT)

Pain-free growth is usually short-lived, but steady growth over time (with some pain) has staying power.

When Israel crossed over from the desert-side of the Jordan River into the Promised Land, their new address meant change and growing pains.

One major change was how they got food.

God no longer provided manna (bread from heaven) for the people.

The Israelites now had to harvest crops and store food for the other seasons.

This took effort, planning, work, new systems, new thinking, and new ways of doing things.

For 40 years, they received manna in the desert…

No planting. No irrigating. No weeding. No harvesting. No storing.

Now, they had to deal with the pain of change.

Growth and pain often go hand in hand.

As Israel received their inheritance—their Promised Land, they were simultaneously growing through the discomfort and pain of change.

A total absence of discomfort or pain in your life may not be a good sign.

Life was pretty easy for the Israelites in the desert…

But the desert wasn’t their destination—it was just a detour on the way to their destiny.

Don’t get stuck in a life of ease, comfort and no-growth.

Embrace the discomfort of growth.

Remember, growing pains are a good sign.

We will not hide these truths from our children…

We will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about his power and his mighty wonders…

So the next generation might know them—even the children not yet born. (Psalm 78.4, 6 NLT)

Those who build an empire build for themselves.

Those who are building the Kingdom—they are building for others.

Jesus said, “I have others… I must bring them also.” (John 10.16)

Progeny is a funny word (at least I think it’s funny, which is why I rarely use it).

One of the meanings of “progeny” is: descendants, children or offspring.

Not everyone has children, not everyone has progeny.

In the Bible, Absalom had no descendants.

Neither did Joshua.

While Absalom built a “monument to himself” as his legacy, Joshua fought for the younger generation.

Although both men had no kids (physically—in the natural), Joshua saw himself as a father…

He had a vested interest in what would happen after his lifetime.

He adopted an entire generation, a younger generation—as his own.

When they succeeded, he felt victory personally.

When they failed, he felt the pain of defeat personally.

Having children is messy and expensive business (think diapers, temper tantrums, injuries, the junior high years, teenage drivers, college tuition, weddings and grandchildren).

Part of God’s plan for mankind is that we “be fruitful and multiply.”

Like I said, not everyone has children (physically, in the natural)…

But we all can—and should—have “spiritual” progeny.

We can be like Joshua.

We can invest in the lives of those who are coming up around us.

We can fight for the next generation(s).

We can be fruitful and multiply.

We can, and we should.

The measure of our impact isn’t in what we have done, but in what those who come after us are able to do.

Our vision must be generational, reaching beyond what is good for us—to what is best for future generations.

Ken Malmin recently said “It’s the second or third generation in a church that is the true test of how wise the first generation was.”

In the story of Israel crossing over into their Promised Land, only two of the twelve original “spies” made it in to the new territory (Joshua and Caleb).

The other spies, along with that entire generation, spent their lives in the desert.

They didn’t want to cross over.

They were scared of the new territory.

They’d become comfortable where they were.

They’d lost their sense of adventure.

Their vision wasn’t future-focused.

They cared more about avoiding new challenges than setting up the next generation for success.

But God hadn’t led his people out into the wilderness so they could stay there—He was taking them into the new territory, the Promised Land…

Joshua led the charge—he fought for the land and he organized the distribution of that land.

Joshua made sure the next generation received their inheritance.

At this point, Joshua and Caleb were much older than everyone else.

They weren’t fighting for themselves anymore.

They were fighting for the next generation.

In contrast to Joshua and Caleb, Absalom (another Bible character from the time of the kings) didn’t think generationally…

His vision was all about himself.

Absalom was kind of like Narcissus—he was in love with himself.

The Bible says when he cut his hair, he would have it weighed. Uh, that’s just weird!

“During his lifetime, Absalom had built a monument to himself in the King’s Valley, for he said, ‘I have no son to carry on my name.’ He named the monument after himself, and it is known as Absalom’s Monument…” (2 Samuel 18.18 NLT)

Yikes! A monument to self.

When we fail to see generationally, it’s easy to make everything about self.

When we make everything about self, we build a lifeless monument—just like Absalom did.

The way I see it, we have a choice…

We can either build a lifeless monument to self or leave a lasting legacy.

Let’s be like Joshua and Caleb: let’s fight for the next generation and be used by God to leave a lasting legacy.

The old flow has to be broken in order for us to enter a new flow.

If you’re getting married—the old, single life must die.

If you’re getting healthy—unhealthy habits must be broken.

Unfortunately, we’re not always successful in breaking the old flow (which causes us to fail in the new flow).

But there is Good News…

Jesus is the ultimate flow breaker.

He permanently broke the old system, the old flow.

God no longer measures our right standing with him based on our ability to be good and do good.

Jesus did that for us: he was good and did good; he lived a pure, holy, sinless life…

And he became our once-and-for-all sacrifice.

Here’s what the Bible says about it:

“God put the wrong on him (Christ) who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God”
(2 Corinthians 5.21 MSG)

“Now that we are set right with God by the means of this sacrificial death… there is no longer a question of being at odds with God in any way.” (Romans 5.9 MSG)

“Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The past is forgotten, and everything is new. God has done it all!”
(2 Corinthians 5.17, 18 CEV)

In other words, Jesus broke the old flow COMPLETELY and opened the entrance to the new flow—for us.

It’s kinda like the Jordan river getting stopped up so that 2 million Israelites could crossover on dry ground into the New Territory…

Jesus made the way for us to enter this new flow, this new life in him.

Our ability to be good and do good is no longer the issue.

It’s all about him—Jesus, the ultimate flow breaker.

In order to enter a new flow, you must first break the existing flow.

In Joshua 3.13 we read,

“And when the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap.” (ESV)

God told his people that the New Territory was a land flowing with milk and honey.

Between the people and their Promised Land was the flow of a river—which happened to be flooding at that time.

Interesting how it seems like it’s never a “good time” to crossover.

God led his people to the Jordan river for a crossing during the flood season.

Stepping into the new flow means breaking the old flow—whether it’s easy or not.

Often times, breaking the old flow requires a firm stance, determination and patience.

“Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan.” (Joshua 3.17)

I wonder how long it took 2 million people to walk across that dried-up river bed?

I have no context for it—I’ve never been part of an event with 2 million other people.

I’ve been to some sporting events with about 70,000 people in attendance.

Getting out of the stadium to the parking lot takes at least 30 minutes.

The number of people crossing the Jordan river was 28 x 70,000.

30 minutes x 28 = 14 hours.

If it took 14 hours to get everyone across—that means the crossing would’ve continued non-stop from 8am-10pm.

That’s a long time for the leaders to stand.

Change takes time. Crossing over doesn’t “just happen.”

Entering the new flow demands strong leadership, clear vision, and a strategy to move everyone forward.

Think about habits: if you do something everyday for 21 days in a row, you’ve probably started a habit.

Habits are easy to form. Habits have a way of sneaking up on us, unplanned and unexpected.

Breaking habits, on the other hand, takes a lot of time and effort.

Entering a new flow means breaking the old flow, and breaking the old flow takes some work!

In your life, breaking the old flow so that you can enter the new is challenging… but the reward is worth it.

Be patient. Stand firm. Hold on to the vision God gave you.

The New Territory—a place flowing with God’s blessings—awaits you.

The furnace man came out to my house the other day.

He was there to install a new thermostat.

He was friendly and talkative.

His grey hair and glasses gave him the “happy grandfather” vibe.

Within minutes, he asked me what I do for a living.

“I’m a pastor” I said.

Immediately he responds, “Well, let me ask you a question…”

I’m thinking, “Oh boy—this should be interesting.”

He asked, “Do you think the church all over is still declining or are people starting to come back to the church?”

I thought about it, and answered slowly…

“I’m not sure if there’s been much of a change in the overall statistics. Our church is growing a lot—but it’s young and reaching people with kids, we’re pretty modern and our music is loud, we throw lots of parties and BBQ’s and car shows and stuff like that.”

There was a bit of an apologetic tone to my explanation of our church to this older gentleman.

The furnace man paused.

He stopped working.

He turned around and looked at me.

And then he smiled.

“That’s the way it should be,” he said.

He continued, “I can’t imagine Jesus ever wanted us to freeze time and act like we’re not living today.”

Driving his point home, he said: “It’s like the movie Sister Act. I think that movie really should have opened the eyes of the church. The church has to change. If it stays stuck in yesteryear, it won’t be long before it dies completely—and I don’t see how that honors Jesus at all.”

Boom.

The furnace man was dropping wisdom like bombs.

We are alive today.

Jesus promised “I will build my church.”

He is building his church. He is building it now, today.

He’s building his church with today’s people, today’s language, today’s technology and today’s songs.

Thank you, Mr. Furnace Man, for that reminder.

PS—Mr. Furnace Man goes to a Lutheran church. His favorite thing about his church: the new cushioned seats (he really hates pews).

Sometimes, it’s important to look back.

It gives a sense of perspective—of how far we’ve come.

We’re no longer where we used to be (and that’s a good thing).

However, there’s a big difference between:

looking back in appreciation…

and looking back because you want to go back.

Looking back because you want to go back is never fruitful.

Just ask Lot’s wife. (Genesis 19.26)

Jesus said, “Anyone who begins to plow a field but keeps looking back is of no use…” (Luke 9.62 NCV)

Wanting to go back not only drains today of its potential—it also sabotages your future.

Looking back doesn’t have to be a bad thing.

Looking back in appreciation is good.

It makes us thankful for all that God has done.

It fuels our faith for today’s adventure.

It reminds us of God’s faithfulness.

When Israel crossed the Jordan river, leaving the desert behind, God instructed them to take 12 stones from the river and build a memorial. (Joshua 4.3)

God wanted them to remember what happened there.

He wanted their children to see those stones and ask, “What does this mean?”

He wanted them to be thankful for what took place.

He wanted them to have faith for the new adventures that awaited them in the Promised Land.

He didn’t want them to look back longingly.

He didn’t want them to look back, wanting to go back.

He didn’t want them to stand in the middle of the Jordan river for all eternity.

He didn’t even want them to build their homes, cities or lives around the 12 stones.

He didn’t want them to worship the memorial.

He simply wanted them to remember.

I believe God wants us to honor the past AND embrace today…

Look back in appreciation AND have faith for the new adventures waiting for us.

We’re not where we used to be—and that’s a good thing.

God has been so faithful, so good to us.

And our best days are ahead.