Boot Camp: Foxholes
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Transforming Truth: Trials are meant by Jesus to break you then make you.
There is a tendency in every one of us to want to be the lord of our own futures and the captains of our own destinies. Whether it be through issues with work, health, relationships or the larger cultural landscape, things often end up not playing out as you would have imagined. In Jesus, you are to excel where you have the opportunity and ability. However, the longer you live, the more that you will see that you are in charge of your responses, not your circumstances, and in regard to your own soul, you are ultimately in need of a savior. To thrive in Christ, you need to presently find your foxhole, understand the purpose behind the breaking that trials bring and ultimately exult in how Jesus makes you through these trials.
Finding your Foxhole
1 Samuel 21:1-9 David went to Nob, to Ahimelek the priest. Ahimelek trembled when he met him, and asked, “Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?” David answered Ahimelek the priest, “The king sent me on a mission and said to me, ‘No one is to know anything about the mission I am sending you on.’ As for my men, I have told them to meet me at a certain place. Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever you can find.” But the priest answered David, “I don’t have any ordinary bread on hand; however, there is some consecrated bread here—provided the men have kept themselves from women.” David replied, “Indeed women have been kept from us, as usual whenever I set out. The men’s bodies are holy even on missions that are not holy. How much more so today!” So the priest gave him the consecrated bread, since there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence that had been removed from before the Lord and replaced by hot bread on the day it was taken away. Now one of Saul’s servants was there that day, detained before the Lord; he was Doeg the Edomite, Saul’s chief shepherd. David asked Ahimelek, “Don’t you have a spear or a sword here? I haven’t brought my sword or any other weapon, because the king’s mission was urgent.” The priest replied, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, is here; it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you want it, take it; there is no sword here but that one.”David said, “There is none like it; give it to me.”
Foxholes have been utilized in military history as places of shelter from enemy attack and a firing point for offensive strikes. Once David found himself on the run from Saul, he had to find his foxhole, the place of refuge where he was going to be armed and buckle down for the fight.
David continually showing up in the places where he knew that he could be fed is what kept him alive and his feet moving during the trials. In our context, this is represented in things like Sunday service, community groups and service through the church.
If I understand the purpose of trials, I will be free to embrace the process of God's preparation for a life of purpose.
Through trial, you are growing in strength to make your dent on the world, making sure that your life counts for Jesus. By becoming an overcomer, you are able to answer the questions, "Would anyone realize that you were here because of the way that you lived your life for Jesus? Would the church make enough of an impact in the city that we would be missed if we were gone?"
“Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.” ― Martin Luther King Jr.
The character to walk in this manner was further alluded to in Paul's letter to the Roman church:
Romans 5:1-5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
Jesus is the living God who will continually be found in the place of worship. David knew where to go in the midst of life's challenges to ensure his survival. He found food, encouragement and weapons for the fight there.
The Breaking of the Christian
Matthew 21:42-44 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:“‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;the Lord has done this,and it is marvelous in our eyes’? “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”
Studies are showing that the largest determinant of success in life is not merely your natural IQ, nor your EQ (emotional quotient), but your AQ (Adversity Quotient). Your AQ is your ability to embrace perceived setbacks and rise above them.
The result of trials: 1) It leads you toward a greater dependency on and intimacy with Jesus, His gospel promises and His power. 2) It leads you to His church community in a healthy manner when you realize that you are not meant to live life or pursue God's purposes alone. 3) It teaches you to fight by faith (I Timothy 6:12).
The doctrine of God's sovereignty.
Proverbs 21:30 There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord.
If this is the case, you want to make sure that you discern what God's purpose is in your generation, your school and your company and throw yourself into it.
When it feels like you are on the run, what are the truths, the things that will keep you grounded? It is the unchanging orthodox doctrines of our faith in Jesus that will contextualize all of your daily experience and living.
The Making of the Christian
1 Samuel 21:10-15 That day David fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath. But the servants of Achish said to him, “Isn’t this David, the king of the land? Isn’t he the one they sing about in their dances:“‘Saul has slain his thousands,and David his tens of thousands’?” David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath. So he pretended to be insane in their presence; and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard. Achish said to his servants, “Look at the man! He is insane! Why bring him to me? Am I so short of madmen that you have to bring this fellow here to carry on like this in front of me? Must this man come into my house?”
The truth is that whenever any of us experience a trial, it lasts much longer than any of us would prefer. We are tempted during those times to drift away from, rather than draw closer to Jesus. In fact, in this last portion of the chapter of David being on the run (in Achish), there is no mention of God. We begin to feel that really, the only answer is for us to take our lives into our own hands. It is here that you begin doing foolish things because you tell yourself that you are just trying to survive (in relationships, career, romantic life, etc.). We begin to blend into our environments rather than shaping them as depicted in the Lego movie: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=S75uFMFK-Gg.
All of Scripture testifies to the fact that we are to build our lives around Jesus.
It is comprised of the elements spelled out for us in the Nicene Creed and represent the themes of Creation, Incarnation and Recreation through Redemption.
The Nicene Creed
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
On the road to fulfilling God's purposes for your life, you will meet challenges and adversity. If Jesus did, you will too. The good news is that in the midst of hardships and trials in the workplace, community or home, Jesus watches over you in both life saving and life-transforming ways. As we remain in our foxholes of Christian community, we are allowing the trials of life to break us in a healthy manner so that we might be made by the eternal truths of God's word.
Second City Church- Boot Camp Sermon Series 2014