Men's Meeting, September 14, 1992

The text for this evening is to be found in the 42nd Chapter of Jeremiah, verse 3: "That the Lord thy God may shew us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do." This portion of scripture is found within the section of Jeremiah which discloses the removal of the remnant of the Lord's people into Egypt, later to be enslaved by Nebuchadrezzar. We will not deal in depth this evening, with the story itself, but rather look at some of the truths that are held within this verse for each one of us tonight. There are realities held within this passage which are important to grasp and to take before the Lord concerning our desire before Him as men of God.
	In preparation for this evening, I was again reminded of the purpose of these gatherings together before the Lord. They came into being in the desire that we, as men, would give ourselves wholly unto the Lord in perfect fellowship so that our lives, as fathers in our families, as husbands, as young men growing into these positions, as fellow partakers in Christ within the body would be more accurate expressions of Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. We have been meeting together for years, and have been sharing truths of Christ together. We have welcomed new members, joined to us by the Lord in the realization that He is working in our lives to bring about a more perfect union of Love in His Body. And yet, in all confession of what is part of my life, I wonder how much has really taken root? I am not saying that the Lord has not been working in our midst, Heaven forbid. It is obvious that only the Lord God Almighty could have kept us together throughout these years in the wonderful way that He has. However, more precisely, have we kept that desire before us, individually and corporately that was the hallmark of our return from the mountain? Are we truly desirous after the ways of God, or have we been turned aside by our desires after what we want to see as the truth of God to be fitted into our lives?
	You see, there is a great difference between seeking after God to make known His way in our lives, or asking Him to bless that which we want to have for our lives. In all truthfulness, there have been many occasions when I have prayed that the Lord would bless things that I was involved in, whether He was a part of it or not. I have sought after Him to bend His will to meet my desires. Those things that I wanted, I wanted Him to bless. I knew that I could not be happy seeking after my own way apart from Him, so I asked Him to become a part of that in which I was involved. And, He couldn't do it! It wasn't a matter that He wouldn't do it, that He wouldn't bend His plans to mesh with mine, it was the simple fact that it was and is impossible for God to be anything less than fully faithful to that which He has set into motion before the foundation of the world was laid. He could not alter anything that would take away from the glory of Christ Jesus, no matter how much I wanted Him to. It wasn't that I felt unloved by Him. Rather, that I knew, in my heart, that what I was doing was not of the will of God, no matter how much I prayed for it to be. It did not serve to glorify Christ, no matter how many verses of scripture I coated it with, no matter how much I prayed for it to fit within His plan and purpose, I could not have it my way at Christ's expense! It has to come to the point in in our lives when it is Christ and Christ alone. "Not my will but thine, be done." Luke 22:42.
	Along these lines, there have been times, when I have regarded our meeting together as an inconvenience. We meet on the first Monday of the month, the same day as our monthly faculty meetings at school, which makes for a short time at home before this meeting begins. I have also felt that the meetings had become, in some sense, more of an obligation rather than a true fellowshipping in the Lord. It had become a matter of ritual, something that had to be done every month whether it was of spiritual significance or not. Please don't misunderstand me or quote me out of context, these were my feelings and my attitudes because I was not allowing the Lord the complete freedom of being the focus of my desires. It was never a question of whether or not I was saved, or anything like that. It was a question of whether I was truly desirous after that which the Lord desired, or whether I was trying to make the Lord fit into my desires.
	This passage in Jeremiah places that choice before us in a not so subtle manner. There is no leeway available for us to hang a disclaimer upon this verse. It is not a matter of the Lord showing us His way and then we can pick or choose that which appeals to us as we walk as Christians in this world. The Jerusalem Bible puts the stress of this truth a bit more forcefully in its translation: "so that Yahweh your God may show us the way we are to go and what we must do." "so that Yahweh your God may show us the way we are to go and what we must do." Notice that the emphasis is on the entirety of what God desires and the way that must be taken if we are to follow that desire of God. As men of God, we must follow that course which the Lord has set before us. We must go on the path that glorifies Him alone, setting aside all that which smacks of our earthly desires and attitudes. 
	Sometimes we get caught up in the personalities of those to whom God has joined us. We find fault with some of our brethren, and prefer to limit our dealings with them to the very least amount possible. We would never dream of shunning their company or their needs, but we are not very generous with our opportunities to share in the fellowship of our Lord, except as that which is absolutely necessary. There is a deliberate attitude evident on our part which would make it difficult for some to get to know us in the Lord, except for the occasional hug at Sunday worship and at the various meetings which we attend together. We refuse to allow ourselves to flow together in the goodness of the Lord because we don't desire to share in His fullness with someone else whom we consider as not as nice, or less than worthy or just not as friendly as someone else. It is our attitude which marks us as judgmental of others around us. We would prefer the company of others, rather than the one that the Lord has joined us to in time of fellowship. Such is one of the situations that besets some of us in our lack of complete desire after the Lord's path for our lives. Our likes and dislikes, feelings and attitudes and preferences have no basis in the spiritual realm. The only basis is to be Christ and that alone which serves to bring greater glory to His name.
	This passage in Jeremiah addresses another aspect which needs to be dealt with in some of our lives, mine especially. It comes to mind particularly at this time of year because school is once again in session. It is the quality of our teachableness by God. How open are we to the work of God as it is revealed to us? There is a great danger inherent in our being considered men of God. That danger is that we feel that, because of our positions as the head of a family, with the responsibilities that are part of making provision and giving direction to the development of the family in Christ, that we are above being taught. Many may be of the opinion that if we haven't learned it by now, it is too late. Not that we would ever openly admit it, but in searching our hearts as we discuss the things of the Lord together, how many of us patiently listen to the concerns and difficulties of others and inwardly think that that could never take place in our lives, in our families, in our spiritual development because we have been Christians for so long already. We may recognize that we haven't yet arrived, so to speak, but we may consider ourselves to be better along than many others around us. 
	All to often, there is a tendency, at points in our lives, to feel that we have heard it all before, and that we don't have to listen to this or that message again because it is the same old stuff. Because of our standing as men, we may have a tendency to not be teachable by God. That is what is described in the passage before us. The words spoken were the words of the remnant of the people of God who were beseeching Jeremiah to ask of the Lord His way for them. When Jeremiah does bring forth the Word of the Lord, those people place themselves above it in their choice. Rather than to learn His way in obedience, they chose to go into the land of Egypt and therefore into captivity. They refused to be taught of the Lord.
	Let us pray that this attitude does not develop in our hearts before the Lord! Let us encourage one another in the Lord to be continuously teachable by the Word of the Lord, always open to what He would have for us. Again, this is an area where the Lord has pointed into my life, as with all that I am sharing this evening. It is a pitfall that I see all too commonly, especially among teachers, that we refuse to be taught anymore. We seem to reach a saturation point, and then everything just runs off our backs like oil off an ice-cube. It is brought back, once again to our attitude. Are we willing to allow the Lord to work in our lives to make us receptive to His Word and thereby receivers of the Word of God, or do we hold onto that false sense of security in having heard it all before. Just as an aside, studies indicate that the average person needs to be exposed to new learning more than thirty times for it to be truly learned. It amazes me how many Christians, including myself, think they have learned the things of God after just one lesson on a Sunday night. We need to take the Word of God and focus ourselves upon it, allow our beings to be saturated with it, feast upon it, mull it over before the Lord, seek after Him to make it part of our every fiber of life, and then we may be able to say that we have come into some better understanding of the Ways of God. Never allow ourselves to be unteachable, for to do so means that God must break that hardened soil of our lives in order to make the ground of learning fertile.
	This truth of being teachable is part of what is held in that passage of the Book of Matthew with which we are so familiar. Chapter 18, verse 3: "Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." While there are truly many aspects to this verse, including child-like faith and belief, there is also the truth that little children are sponges of learning. They are willing to be taught, and even yearn after learning all types of things, some simply for the sake of learning. They know that they don't know it all and they are willing to place themselves in the lowly position of learners in order to be taught. They are put under the tutelage of others in order to learn. 
	Some of the greatest truths brought to us of the Lord are those with the little children gathered at His feet to hear the realities which He was teaching. That is the true position of men of God. We are to be continually at the feet of the Master, beseeching Him to teach us more of His ways and of His truth. Our lives should be characterized by a willingness to be taught of the Word of the Lord at all times. We should be seen as attentive students of our Master, our ears and thoughts and hearts and minds completely focussed upon Him for every lesson of our lives, great and small. When we are asked for guidance, it should be forthcoming only as we hear from our Lord, by His Word and by the Holy Spirit. There are no ready formulas in the kingdom of God, there is only Christ and His glory. That is all that we can share and that only as we are taught by Him. Our voices and hearts should echo that of the Apostle Paul in Acts 9:6 as he asked "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?"
	This is the great difference in the lives of the Men of God. They sought the way of the Lord and then gave themselves to it. They did not hear the Word of the Lord and then choose their own paths, but heard and obeyed. They were taught of the Lord throughout their sojourn on this earth, and never tired of hearing the Word of the Lord as the Holy Spirit made it life in them. This must be our course if we truly are desirous after the Lord in our lives, in our families, in our fellowship one with another. Let us seek after the way of the Lord and give ourselves to walk in that way as He teaches us to live out from Christ, and Christ alone.
	"That Yahweh your God may shew us the way we are to go, and what we must do."