Jesus said, "For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited me in; naked and you clothed Me; I was in prison and you came to Me. Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me." [Matt 25:35-36, 40]
That is the lesson I have been living out for much of the past three days. We performed a service project by painting a fence with our students for a heart transplant survivor and his wife. I received a phone call from a 74 year old woman who needed some mowing. She told she was disabled and could not afford to pay. I immediately thought of the the above verses. I set the boys down and told them we would be mowing a yard without getting paid because it is what Jesus would want us to do.
That yard proved to be the worse one we have mowed to date. It had gotten really out of hand in many places. The boys worked hard out in the brutal Texas sun knowing all they would get for it would be the smile of God. As the hours ticked by I reminded myself we were doing to one of the least of these and were really doing this unto Jesus.
During the past week I spent a lot of time on the mower and the boys on the weed eater. We dropped a great deal of sweat. Over and over again while serving others I kept thinking of Jesus's admonition that when you have done it unto the least of these you have really done it unto Him. That is servanthood.
Recently I wrote about celebrities in ministry. This past week felt about as far from that as I can imagine. We spent a week doing good old fashioned hard work. My boys earned every dollar they made. They are learning to serve and to work doing a job with excellence. Nobody applauded us for mowing that elderly lady's yard. We got no pats on the back from the watching throngs. We served because Jesus calls us to.
Spending so much time mowing has cut down on my time in the office. I have still gotten up early to seek the Lord. I have just not had time to write. Late last night I left the house and came up to the office hoping to linger with the Lord and to write. I was surprised to discover three ladies from our church decorating and cleaning. It blessed my heart to see these ladies preparing for our move to these facilities on July 1st. It disappointed me on another level that I could not be alone in my office to seek the Lord and continue writing. I got my computer and hoped to write when I got back home. The boys were watching a movie in the living room and I knew any attempts to seek God and write would prove futile. I ended up going to bed.
So on this Saturday morning when most others are still asleep I am up to write and seek the Lord. I have noticed in recent days repeated distractions to keep me from this glorious pursuit. Phone calls. A pleading wife not to leave so early. More mowing jobs. Little time to be alone in presence of the Lord. Today promises to be no different.
Taylor has a 7 on 7 tournament that will take the majority of the day. We will be watching him until sometime this afternoon. If I am going to enjoy anytime to seek the Lord or to write it has to be now. Tomorrow evening I leave with our students for Panama City, FL and our Beach Camp. Time alone is going to be a challenge over the next week. Yet that time alone is my priority. I must continue this glorious pursuit.
If there is one thing the enemy does not want that would be a revived pastor. Or he would be satisfied to see an overcommitted pastor get distracted and gradually wear down. I know in God's presence is where I find strength to serve. I know on this journey I find the mental, emotional, and physical reserves to keep up the good fight.
This glorious pursuit is the passion and priority of my life. There are no excuses and no short cuts. Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach once said, "There are no traffic jams on the road to the extra mile." I know what he is getting at. Not everyone wants to put forth the extra effort to succeed. For my purposes I know not everyone wants to put forth the extra effort to seek God when life gets busy. That cannot be my excuse.
Jesus served people and yet He still got up early to seek the Father while others slept. "In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went away to a secluded place and was praying there." [Mark 1:35]
Seeking God His Father was such a high priority for Jesus, He got up way before the sun came up to be alone in prayer. This is after a full day of teaching, healing, and delivering demon possessed people the day before. Jesus still got up early. What I find in my life is that God is the one who wakes me up. I have not slept with an alarm clock in well over a decade and more like two decades. I wake up when God wants me to get up. Sometimes that is around 2:00 a.m. On these days I am up for awhile praying and then I go back to bed. There are other times He gets me up between 4:30 and 5:00 a.m. such as this morning. He gets me up because He has an appointment set for me.
I can give into my flesh when I am tired and pull the covers around me snugly and stay in the bed. This is like when Jesus found the disciples sleeping when He had challenged them to watch and pray. He said, "So you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." [Matt 26:40-41]
The Spirit inside me woos me to draw near to the Lord. The Spirit inside me sounds like an alarm clock waking me all hours of the night and morning summoning me to spend time with the Savior. I can make excuses. "Lord, I am busy. I am so tired. You see how I have served people. I want to stay in bed and sleep."
That kind of living does not produce revival in the heart. That kind of effort does not move God to pour out His Spirit to shake lives and communities. The flesh is weak. The flesh is easily distracted. Yet the Spirit inside me burns and yearns for more holy encounters. The Spirit inside me disciplines me to continue this quest when no one else pushes or inspires me.
In these moments it is just the Lord and me. I feel His presence with Me. I feel Him stirring my soul as I pour out my heart on this computer. I sense Him calling me deeper in Him. I yearn for more time with Him. I anticipate what He will have to say to me. I cannot make excuses. I do not want to be like the disciples and in this time of the pursuit of God and revival be found sleeping. There is much work to be done. There are so many things to believe God for. There are so many things He wants to speak to me and other things He wants to shape into my life.
I wish I had the words to convey the things I am experiencing. I try. Somehow it is all lost in translations. You can read what I write but you cannot feel what I am experiencing. I can try to put it all into words but you cannot feel the heat burning in my soul. You cannot understand the one burning desire in my heart for more of God even more than sleep. This is all an indication of God working in my life. If somehow you have gotten the impression Matt is so disciplined or Matt is an example you have missed the point. All of this is evidence of God's deep work in my life. Without that I would still be meandering down the path of life with average devotions. I would serve with a lukewarm heart. I would choose to pull the covers around me and to sleep through these holy encounters. God put these things in my heart. God caused me to hunger and thirst more for Him. [Ps 63:1] I did not simply will it to happen.
He has put a craving in my heart to be alone with Him. This is time reserved for the two of us to commune together. I never know what these meetings will consist of or how long they will last. I only know the more I encounter my Lord the more I want to seek Him. Even if that means getting up early on a Saturday morning when I could sleep in. Am I tired? Yes. More sleep sounds good. My hunger for God surpasses my desire for sleep.
Like Jesus, I will do what I have to do to find seclusion with Him. Often that means leaving my family and the crowds to hide in this office. At Seminole I found a deserted class room on the second floor and made that my perch to get away to seek God. I often stole away to seek the Lord in that private sanctuary. Previous years at Beach Camp I have met with the Lord on the beach, near a swimming pool and other out of the way places early in the morning. I have sat on stones in the mountains to behold the Lord off the beaten path and far away from the crowds. I have met with Him in hidden corners in cafes and at times have parked my truck and went for a walk away from the crowds but toward the Lord.
I have said it before and will say it again. Like A.W. Tozer, I prefer the company of God than men. I love people but no person can give me what I continue to find in God. So this morning I go away. I go away from Brenda and the boys. I go away from the flock of Faith Community. I go away from the demands of a growing mowing business. God is my only agenda. He is my glorious pursuit.
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