Old Lea Bethel Baptist Church

Exodus 23:29-30 I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. ³⁰ Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land.

We’re a people of instant gratification. Information is instant, sermons must be short, church must last exactly one hour, texts are preferred over phone calls, and heaven forbid that we go and visit someone to lift their spirit. We expect gourmet miracles, a rich buffet of life, and incredible spiritual creations, but have fast-food faith. In other words, we want the best, while we invest less and less.

God doesn’t work that way. Yes, there are instant miracles in the Bible. More often though, miracles happen over a period of months and years. Consider the Israelites. Abraham was promised the land of Canaan. For 400 years, his descendants stayed in Egypt. For 40 years, they wandered in the desert. Yet, God gives the land over little by little. Why? Because they were not ready for the full miracle! God is gracious in that He sees what they are ready to handle. He sees their ability to receive the blessing.

God sees us in the same way. He prepares us. We’re jumpy and demanding, asking God what’s taking so long, wondering if He’s forgotten us, asking first for this and then for that, and we’re blown like a flag in a hurricane. Some complain. Some grow discouraged. Some try to speed God along through nagging or “helping” Him. Yet, He sees that we’re not ready to receive His blessings. We’re not ready to receive the miracles.

So He works, little by little, driving out our fears, our doubts, building the skills we’ll need to handle what is to come, and surrounding us with the people to support us. He drives out the old habits, identifies sin that is dividing our focus, and removes our “other gods”. Little by little, He works, while we increase in Reverence, Obedience, Self-Control, and Endurance. He is making us a ROSE in His garden, ready to receive the beauty of His spirit, in order to bless others.

Little by little… Fast food faith will never deliver gourmet miracles. We must be willing to wait until we’ve become the rose God is growing. The rose does not grow impatient, but waits for due season. We can learn much from the rose.

Ephesians 4:32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

Stumbling is part of the Christian experience. Some stumble more, some less, but all stumble. The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 7:15 – For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. Has anyone other than me experienced what Paul is writing here? Has anyone other than me done something and later not understood why it was done?

As Christians, we’re to be quick to listen, full of forgiveness and understanding, slow to speak and slow to get angry. We long for forgiveness and understanding when we have stumbled, but are often slow to forgive and not very understanding when our brother or sister stumbles.

In our walk, we will stumble… we will do that which we hate… we will have times when our word doesn’t align with who we’ll one day be in Christ. We’re human. (The interesting thing is that others we encounter along our path are human too. The Bible says that there are none perfect.) When we stumble, how will we use this to improve our witness? What will we learn? When we see our brother stumble, what can we help him learn? Will we look on and cluck our tongue or will we reach out and help him up? Will he learn love or judgement from our reaction?

Witness is a journey. This means there will be times we stumble. This means we will encounter brothers and sisters who have stumbled. A pedestal of pride is the jumping off place for destruction (Proverbs 16:18). God calls on us to forgive even as He has forgiven us. How has He forgiven us? Frequently, completely, undeservedly, mercifully, gracefully, unconditionally, and the list goes on. How are we to forgive our brother? The same way. How do we hope to be forgiven by others? Just as God forgave us.

Our choice when the strong stumble: Look on or lift up. Witness is a journey, not a pedestal.