Eyes Front!

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Understanding and occasionally glancing backwards is okay, but focusing on what you left behind can be fatal.

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Drill and Marching

When I first joined the Air Force, I was sent, like everyone who joins the US Armed Forces, to Basic Training, what many outside the military call “Boot Camp.” They teach you a lot there: how to make a bed, how to clean, how to organize, how to fire a weapon, how to save your injured comrade, how to fold your laundry, press your laundry, shine your shoes and boots, how to dress, and how to walk. You may laugh, but it is true: you are taught how to dress, fold your laundry, and how to walk. In fact, how many people here know how to fold a T-Shirt into a perfect 6-inch square? Want to know a fun fact? Most of everything we had been issued was made by blind people, which is why we were always so frustrated trying to fold things perfectly, usually getting in trouble because it’s imperfect, not realizing until our last night when our Training Instructor told us that usually it was nearly impossible. Imagine how funny we all thought that was…
But of all the things we are taught in Basic Training, probably the most interesting and most practiced was the art of drill and ceremony. Let me demonstrate: First, the group would already be assembled in formation behind our element leaders, 4 of those, at the head of the formation, and in columns behind them. The leader of the group, usually the Training Instructor, or possibly the Dorm Chief, would call us to attention, with: FLIGHT! ATTEN…SHUN! We would then arrange ourselves in order from tallest to shortest by tapping the shoulder of the person in front of us, until there was someone taller in front of us. Then the leader of the group would tell the group: RIGHT…FACE! We would all, then turn 90 degrees to our right. We would repeat the tap and move procedure. Then, the leader would call LEFT…FACE! We would turn 90 degrees to our left. Rinse, repeat on the tap and move. At this point, we would be in the best order, as defined by the United States Air Force. In this manner, we would go from point A to point B on base. There were no busses, cars, or the like, unless we were going off to do our field training, or leaving the base for technical school. They would call a marching formation the “Air Force Cadillac,” as this is how we would move around. And we learned all of this to get to the point where we would pass for review at the graduation ceremony. Our Training Instructor would be the leader. When we got to the point where we were passing the Stage, our T.I. would call out, EYES…RIGHT! Then, with the exception of the 4th element (the one on the furthest right as you look at them from behind), all would continue to march forward, but immediately turn their eyes to the right, while the leader would salute the stage, where all of the distinguished visitors would be, usually including a few generals, sometimes the Secretary of the Airforce or his/her Vice Secretary when he or she could make it. To end that, and to keep us from running into something, the leader of the formation would then call EYES…FRONT!

What does drill and marching have to do with our Scripture reading today?

Like a military formation, we, as believers in Jesus, are (or at least should) all be heading in the same direction: towards Jesus and eternal life. Occasionally, during our walk, we are told to look at different things, like, our standing with Him, the administration of a church, Bible study, or other such ministry. Other times, our focus and attention are on other things, like our sins and vices, our families, our jobs, and our hobbies. Worse still, is when our focus stays on the things behind us, our past, to include our failures and triumphs. It is this looking backwards that I want to address this morning.

“Remember when...”

Let me ask you a question: how many people here can remember when this congregation, although the location may currently be different, was much much bigger? How do we often talk about that time? With nostalgia, right? Like, “Oh, remember when you had to get to church early to make sure you had a place to sit?” or “Remember when we had so many children here?” or some other iteration of “Remember when…” It’s okay to reminisce about the “good old days” of the church, and I would also go as far to say that we should remember those days, but my question this morning is this: “Should we focus on it so much?”

15 As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city.” 16 But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. 17 And as they brought them out, one said, “Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away.”

23 The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar. 24 Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD out of heaven. 25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. 26 But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

What is the Context of These Passages?

For those of you who join our group for the monthly Bible Studies, what is the key to understanding and interpreting Scripture? Context! So, let’s look at the context here, shall we? We know that in chapter 13, the only reason Lot was in Sodom at this time was because he and Abram’s groups were just too big for the area they were inhabiting, so they agreed to split up and Lot took the plains of the Jordan, but ended up living in Sodom, which caused more than a few problems, to include Lot’s rescue by Abram in Chapter 14 (of course, this was all before God changed Abram’s name to Abraham). Then, in the second half of Chapter 18, we see Abraham hanging out with the “three men” that came to him and Sarah, when they were renamed. Chapter 18 begins by saying that the LORD appeared to Abraham. From context, it is clear that one is God (the Son, before His Incarnation), and the other two are angels. In any case, Abraham is hanging out with them, going for a walk, where God speaks to the angels, in the presence of Abraham, of whether or not to tell Abraham what He is about to do to Sodom and Gomorrah. As many of you know, I love looking at these conversations from a human perspective. Imagine being Abraham in this conversation. The LORD of all creation is standing with you, hanging out, because hey, that’s your relationship with Him, but still has the understanding that this is the Author of Creation, and two of his angels. Neat. And the Creator, turns to His heavenly companions and says, basically, “Guys, should I tell him what I’m going to do?” If I were Abraham, I would be more than a bit confused, like “tell me what?” God continues talking to the angels, as if Abraham isn’t there. Ever been that person in a group conversation, where people are talking about you as if you aren’t there? Yeah, imagine that, but the one talking is God. I know that I would be more than a bit concerned. So, God keeps going on, saying (and I’m using my own paraphrase here), “I mean, I did pick him, so he’ll be faithful to me, and as such, lead his family and descendants to follow me, which is cool, all for the purpose of fulfilling my divine plan to save the world through him.” Again, imagine Abraham here for a minute: “I’m sorry…you want to do what through me?” Then God, turning His attention back to Abraham, this herdsman from Ur, and says, “So, Sodom and Gomorrah have gotten out of hand, and frankly, everyone is tired of it. They aren’t going to change. I’m going to hit the reset button on them, Noah style, but just on them. It’ll be okay, I promise.” Then, Abraham remembers…Lot lives there. Uh-oh. “Uhm, God, hey, yeah, I get it. Bad places, and all that, but, if you’d excuse me, and far be it from me to, uh, question the doings of the Most High, but…what if they aren’t all bad. You are a good God, of course. But, you wouldn’t want to take out the good with the bad, right? So, what if there’s oh…” and Abraham thinks quickly on Lot’s group, “let’s say, 50 good people there. Would you take out the city then?” And God, you can imagine Him trying to hide a chuckle, knowing exactly how this conversation is going to end, and what the state of the hearts of Sodom and Gomorrah are, says “Yeah, okay, sure, for the 50, I’d spare the whole city.” “Okay, okay, LORD, cool. And, again, far be it for me to question the One who created everything, but what if there’s…like, 45? What then?” And they go back and forth like this until Abraham has gotten God to agree to spare the city if just 10 people were righteous. Now think on this for a moment: Lot and his group had to split from Abraham and his group because of the size of each group. Lot’s group lived in and/or near Sodom. Of that whole group, which would have numbered at least a few hundred, Abraham thought he could identify at least 10-50 people who would be worth saving. That final number likely consisted of Lot, his wife, and his children and in-laws. Because we see that Lot lived at home with his wife and two daughters, who were pledged to marry a couple of fellas in town. That brings us to 6, and Abraham was likely thinking of a few of the other folks that followed Lot that seemed okay. But, I digress...
Interestingly, we see how earlier, after God asks the angels with him about telling Abraham about Sodom and Gomorrah, the two angels head off. We see where they went at the beginning of Chapter 19 when they arrive in the city , by way of the gate of which Lot was in charge of. This was no small position, and sitting in the gateway was a position of status. In any case, the angels were readily identified by Lot, who invited them in. After the incident with the mob, the angels let Lot in on God’s plan: get out of Doge, because God is about to hit the reset button. Well, he goes to the fiances of his daughters, who laugh off his warning. Still concerned, whether it be for his wealth (which was significant), or his status (which was prestigious), or for the people who followed him into this area, Lot hesitated to leave, and had to actually be drug out of the city, by the hand, by the angels, who tell him and his wife and daughters to run for their lives, and under no circumstances, look back. Lot realized the folly of staying and of his concerns, and ran. Of course, in the running, his wife was not so dedicated to their course of action, and infamously looked back, causing her to be turned into a pillar of salt. Her refusal to look forward, and insistence on focusing on what she was leaving behind was her fatal flaw and caused her demise.
This leads me to conclude three things:
We must remember our past and where we came from.
We must focus on our present while moving toward the future.
To ignore the past or to neglect focusing on the future, is to our peril.

Remember the Past

Throughout Biblical history, God is constantly reminding His people to remember where they came from.
In Deuteronomy 8, we see that God is reminding the Israelites about his leading them through the wilderness for the past 40 years.

And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.

For those of you who may not be aware, this year, on the first of March, the Catholics called that Wednesday Ash Wednesday. Does anybody here know the significance of that ritual in the Catholic Church? I mean, we’ve all seen the Catholics with the cross on their foreheads made of the ash of burned palm leaves (though I am willing to bet that most of you, if not all, had no clue as to what the ashes were made from). When the priest, or deacon (their deacons are different than ours, more like our elders), or a trained layperson applies the ashes to a person’s forehead, they say “Remember, O man, that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return.” “Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel.” “Repent, and hear the good news.” They say that they do this for preparation for the Easter Season, the time when Christians focus on the Passion story. Nice, huh? Well, it would be, except that it’s a holdover of pagan origin, and didn’t enter into the Catholic church until a few hundred years after Jesus. Of course, there is Biblical evidence of walking around in sackcloth and ashes (as well as fasting), as an outward sign of repentance, but became something that was more ritualistic tradition. In fact, more than 200 Protestant congregations across the United States now distribute ashes in public places on Ash Wednesday. But honestly, I think they are working on the wrong kind of remembrance. It’s their focus. In fact, the Mass they celebrate every week (and sometimes daily) is the wrong kind of remembrance. Their focus is constantly on the sacrifice of Christ, which, let’s be real here, IS important, but only so far as to know that when we repent from our sins, we are then crucified with Christ. But is that how the story ends? Absolutely not!!
Turn with me to Revelation 2:5.

Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.

Jesus was referring to the Church in Ephesus, telling them they needed to straighten themselves out, get their collective acts together, and move forward, remembering where they came from!
We are to REMEMBER the past without living in it. And this, ladies and gentlemen, is the reason why our celebration of Sabbath is far better than the celebration of the Mass: we celebrate Jesus’ RESURRECTION! HIS LIFE!! We remember His death, but we live in His resurrection. This, church family, is why we do not dwell on our past failings that we have sincerely gone to God with, confessed to Him, and that He then forgave us for!

Focus on the Present While Moving Into the Future

Then what are we supposed to do? If we aren’t supposed to dwell on the past, and neither are we to dwell on the future, except when it comes to the soon expectation of the Second Coming, then what? What do I mean?
Turn with me to Matthew 6:31-34:

31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

See? We aren’t even supposed to worry about our daily needs! The apostle James is more than a bit harsher discussing this. Turn with me to James 4:13-17:

13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

So, we aren’t even to speculate about our future plans. What does that leave us? To focus on today, seeking the Kingdom of Heaven. We are to do what we are able to do today, and let God take care of the rest. Don’t mistake what I am saying here: this is not an easy course, and it takes a great amount of faith to actually live this path. In fact, the path we are called to walk in faith is fraught with pain, suffering, and difficulties. Didn’t anyone tell you that placing your faith in Jesus Christ as both your Lord and Savior paints a target on your backside? Did you think the Devil was going to just let you go?
Many people have excuses when trying to follow Jesus. Let’s look at what Jesus had to say on that. Turn with me to Luke 9:57-62:

57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Do you see what Jesus is saying at the end? Hmm…seems like there’s a consequence to dwelling on the past, as well as looking too far ahead...

Consequences

What are the consequences of ignoring our past, or dwelling on it and ignoring the present? It’s a simple answer: we lose sight of Jesus. Considering the absolute plethora of counsel that Scripture gives us on some variant of “Keep on the straight and narrow way,” which is an abbreviated version of Matthew 7:13-14:

13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

The same idea is carried throughout Scripture:
Here’s one from Proverbs 4:24-27

24  Put away from you crooked speech,

and put devious talk far from you.

25  Let your eyes look directly forward,

and your gaze be straight before you.

26  Ponder the path of your feet;

then all your ways will be sure.

27  Do not swerve to the right or to the left;

turn your foot away from evil.

Here’s one from Hebrews 12:1-2

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

And so, to what end? Well, the author of Hebrews said it, but nobody can say it better than Jesus, Amen?
Turn with me to Revelation 2:25-27:

25 Only hold fast what you have until I come. 26 The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, 27 and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father.

Funny thing, this verse. This was originally addressed to the church in Thyatira, although something that applies to all of us: we only have to endure and keep His works until He comes again in Glory, and then, all the authority that has been given to Him by the Father, in both Heaven and on earth, will be passed to us. Considering our limited time here on earth, is that really so long to endure?
Ellen White once wrote about a vision she had, which illustrates this idea so beautifully:
“While I was praying at the family altar, the Holy Ghost fell upon me, and I seemed to be rising higher and higher, far above the dark world. I turned to look for the Advent people in the world, but could not find them, when a voice said to me, "Look again, and look a little higher."
At this I raised my eyes, and saw a straight and narrow path, cast up high above the world. On this path the Advent people were traveling to the city, which was at the farther end of the path. They had a bright light set up behind them at the beginning of the path, which an angel told me was the Midnight Cry. This light shone all along the path and gave light for their feet so that they might not stumble. If they kept their eyes fixed on Jesus, who was just before them, leading them to the city, they were safe.
But soon some grew weary, and said the city was a great way off, and they expected to have entered it before. Then Jesus would encourage them by raising His glorious right arm, and from His arm came a light which waved over the Advent band, and they shouted, "Alleluia!"
Others rashly denied the light behind them and said that it was not God that had led them out so far. The light behind them went out, leaving their feet in perfect darkness, and they stumbled and lost sight of the mark and of Jesus, and fell off the path down into the dark and wicked world below.”
Begin the appeal...
Are you ready to let go of the past, and stop dwelling on the “Good old days?” Are you ready to be mindful of the mistakes of the past, but put your focus on Jesus in the now? Are you ready to let go of your worry and anxiety for the future, and give over all of yourselves to He who sits on the Throne of Heaven, leaning on Him?
Please close your eyes and bow your heads.
If you are ready to live in the NOW for Jesus, raise your hand. Eyes closed, heads bowed. Nobody is going to come to you, nobody is going to single you out. This is a moment between you and God.
If you have been living in the past, and are ready to lay your cares and worries for the future on Jesus, raise your hand. Eyes closed, heads bowed.
If you have not put your faith in Jesus as both your Savior AND your Lord, but are now ready, or maybe, you had at some time in the past but have fallen away, and wish to recommit yourself to Him, raise your hand, and I pray you come to me after our worship service is over, so we can talk about it.
Jesus loves each and every one of us as if there were only one of us to love. Hear that still small voice calling to you, calling you to Himself. Don’t wait to answer and look, when He calls out to you “EYES FRONT!”
Hands down, now, eyes still closed, heads still bowed.
Let us pray.

AMEN

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