Long Enough at this Mountain

These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel on this side of the Jordan in the wilderness... It is eleven days' journey from Horeb by way of Mount Seir to Kadesh Barnea. Now it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spoke to the children of Israel according to all that the LORD had given him as commandments to them, after he had killed Sihon king of the Amorites... and Og king of Bashan... (Deuteronomy 1:1–4)

God set an eleven-day journey before His people — but fear and unbelief stretched it into forty years of wandering.

A Word That Lingered: Don't Meander

I can remember vividly a message delivered in the summer between my sophomore and junior year of high school. I was sixteen, attending Christian youth camp in the San Bernardino Mountains. The theme that year was "In Christ," focused on the book of Ephesians. On Monday morning, about four hundred of us piled into the chapel, and an older, mostly bald, slightly overweight man with a big bellowing voice came to the pulpit. I didn't know who he was at the time. His name was Chuck Smith.

For fifty years Chuck pastored Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa — the first Calvary Chapel — and during his ministry it grew from one church to over 1,700 churches worldwide. God did a great work through his life. That was the first message I ever heard him preach, and though I don't remember the details, I remember the exhortation he gave us: that we not meander in life. I think that was the first time I was consciously aware of that word. He urged us not to wander, but at that young age to determine to walk in God's will.

I went away from that message conflicted. I trusted in God and agreed I didn't want to wander — I wanted an aim, a vision, a goal, and to move progressively toward it. But my conflict was this: I wasn't sure I wanted to surrender to God's will, because in my mind I thought, "If I do, God's going to make me do something weird, or send me somewhere I don't want to go." Anyone relate to that? That word, "don't meander," has lingered with me for twenty-five years. I'm grateful it didn't take me twenty-plus years to learn to yield to God's will. But I know there are more than a few of you who, looking back over the last twenty years or more, realize there has been a fair amount of meandering — some of you more than you're willing to admit.

The Wanderer

I was thinking about wandering this week because of a memory. At the end of 1992, I was about to turn thirteen, and like some of you remember, I told everyone I didn't want presents — I wanted money. I saved up and had my mom take me to Price Club, where I bought the newly released Sony Discman. I didn't even own a CD yet, but I had to have it. A friend of my dad's gave me some CDs, a couple of them U2's Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby, and I became a U2 fan.

A few months later, U2 released Zooropa, and I rode my BMX bike down to Sam Goody to buy it. I laid on my bed listening to all ten tracks. The last one was totally different — a different sound, and a singer who wasn't Bono. I opened the album cover and saw it was "The Wanderer," words by Bono, sung by Johnny Cash. I'd never heard of Johnny Cash at the time. That song says: "I went out there in search of experience, to taste and to touch and to feel as much as a man can before he repents."

Those are words to think about. That describes the experience of wandering some of you have had. And in one sense, it describes the story of Deuteronomy 1.

God Has Purposed a Path

It is eleven days' journey from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea. Horeb is Mount Sinai, also called the mountain of God — the same place Moses encountered God in the burning bush, and the same place God told him to bring the children of Israel to establish the covenant and receive the law. They were there two years. Then in Numbers, God said it was time to leave Mount Horeb and go to the promised land He had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Point one: God has purposed a path by which to bring you into His promised blessing. From the burning bush, God said:

I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry... So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey. (Exodus 3:7–8)

Moses was eighty when God said this. And it is no stretch to suppose God has the same plan for you and me — to bring us into what Jesus calls the abundant life. "The thief has come to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." God provided a deliverer for Israel; He provided a Deliverer for us. Jesus redeems us from the bondage of sin — our metaphorical Egypt — so He might bring us into the fullness He desires for us.

A Better Path Than My Own

Yet, like Israel, we can experience redemption from Egypt but then find ourselves wandering, not fully laying hold of the life God desires. Some Christians conclude, "Well, I'm saved, but that abundant life must come after I die." Some of the old gospel spirituals even speak of crossing the Jordan as a death experience. But Jesus said He came that we may have life now, abundantly.

It's worth noting that God's picture of the abundant life may differ greatly from the modern American picture — and I'd suggest it does. But I have learned, and continue to learn, that God's path and plan are far better than mine. Point two: God's path to blessing is far better than any I would choose for myself. Unfortunately, we don't always choose His path. Fear, distrust, unbelief, and many other things keep us walking a different direction than what He sets before us. The sad reality is that many in the church experience redemption but never experience living in the land of rest and blessing.

The Fortieth Year

"Now it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month." The fortieth year from what? Back in Exodus, God told Moses Pharaoh wouldn't listen, so He would bring plagues. At the tenth plague, the destroyer would kill every firstborn son — unless they observed the Passover, sacrificing the lamb and putting its blood on the doorposts. Whoever was in that house was safe. And God told them this would be the beginning of years for them — a new year, a new birthday.

Maybe you remember the time you experienced God's redemption — at a church service, across a table from a friend, hearing an evangelist, or alone in a room with a Bible. That became a beginning of years for you, a new birthday. The children of Israel had that. But now, in the fortieth year, Israel has wandered in stubbornness, unbelief, disobedience, and fear. They experienced a miraculous redemption but failed to move into the rest and blessing God had for them. I think far too many Christians do the same.

A Warning From Hebrews

The author of Hebrews reflects on this very period:

Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness... Therefore I was angry with that generation, and said, "They always go astray in their heart, and they have not known My ways." So I swore in My wrath, "They shall not enter My rest." Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God... (Hebrews 3:7–12)

He continues: "With whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief." Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians that these Old Testament things were written for our instruction. It is so much better to learn from the mistakes of others than to make the same mistakes ourselves.

Point three: failure to possess all that God has promised rests solely with me. A lot of us don't like that truth, but not liking it doesn't make it less true. Redemption is a work of God — He redeemed Israel out of Egypt; He redeems us out of sin and death. We couldn't accomplish that on our own. But He has a target, a place He wants to bring each of us, and the responsibility to lay hold of that possession is ours.

Sovereignty and Responsibility

This brings us back to a place I return to often: God is sovereign, and He has sovereignly given us a responsibility. We see these joined constantly in Scripture. My favorite verses, Philippians 2:12–13: "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." Is it God working or you working? Yes. Where does His working end and yours begin? He redeemed us by His grace, and now He's called us to lay hold of this possession.

For forty years — really thirty-eight from when they left Sinai — Israel wandered because of disobedience, fear, unbelief, stubbornness, and self-reliance. But I love that verse 3 begins, "Now it came to pass." That tells us their wandering was not a forever state. It took thirty-eight years for that unbelieving generation to pass, for that stubbornness to be purged. Only the Lord knows what fear, self-reliance, stubbornness, or sin is keeping you in the place you're at today.

The Problem of Aimlessness

What's fascinating is that the problem with meandering is not having a target, an aim — it's aimlessness. Neuropsychology finds that when we don't have a purpose or aim, our experience of negative emotion increases. You don't need a psychologist to tell you that; you've felt it. But when we have an aim, even if there are obstacles, moving toward that aim increases our positive emotion.

In the New Testament we meet a self-reliant, stubborn Pharisee named Saul. In Philippians 3, he tells us his confidence was in his flesh, his lineage — a Hebrew of the Hebrews — and his keeping of the rules and traditions. By all that, he had amassed a pretty good life. But eventually this stubborn man met the risen Jesus, who said, "It is hard for you to kick against the goads." God says, "I have a path I'm leading you in, and you're fighting Me the whole way."

I Must Determine to Apprehend

Years later, Paul writes:

But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ... that I might gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness... that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection... Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. (Philippians 3:7–12)

Paul is saying: God saved me for a purpose. He laid hold of me for a reason, and I want to apprehend the very thing He saved me for. The implication is that Paul hadn't done it yet, even after walking with the Lord a long time. "Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." That's an aim.

Point four: I must determine to apprehend that for which Christ apprehended me. There's a willful decision involved. Is God working in that decision? Yes — Philippians 2:13. But I have to make a decision to lay hold of whatever He has set before me. Paul willingly set aside every other pursuit: "This one thing I do." A divided focus leads to meandering.

Life Is Short

So we're confronted with a simple question: are you fulfilling the purpose for which Christ made you? Life is short. We were starkly reminded of that last week. I left the second service and someone said, "Did you hear Kobe Bryant died?" I never met the man, none of us did, yet it impacts us — especially learning that eight others died with him, three of them young girls, including his daughter. People die every day, but a high-profile event like this corporately confronts us with the shortness of life.

I've done many funerals, and at every one I share that when we're confronted with the shortness of life, we must number our days. Moses, the writer of Deuteronomy, is believed to have written Psalm 90: "The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength, eighty years... So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." When we remember life is short, we have to ask: Am I where I'm supposed to be?

This past Monday, a friend who used to attend here before moving to Alabama called me about some decisions before him. He said, "I just don't want, two years down the road, to look back and say, 'I wish I would have.'" That triggered a memory. Just before I turned nineteen, after high school, I was attending Bible college in Murrieta. I remember sitting in my 1981 Toyota Starlet — a one-year-only car — out front of my parents' house in November of 1999, talking about the future with my friend Charles, and saying, "I don't want, in twenty years, to look back and say, 'I wish I would have.'" There are plenty of "I wish I wouldn't haves" by now, but I'm glad to say I can't really think of any "I wish I would haves." I want to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of me, and I hope that's your aim too.

Long Enough at This Mountain

Now Moses, on this side of the Jordan in the land of Moab, begins to explain the law. This is the treaty format we discussed — the second-millennium suzerain-vassal treaty that begins with a historic prologue. So Moses recounts history:

The LORD our God spoke to us in Horeb, saying: "You have dwelt long enough at this mountain. Turn and take your journey... Behold, I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to your fathers — to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob..." (Deuteronomy 1:6–8)

Thirty-eight years ago, God spoke to their parents and grandparents — who all died in the wilderness — and said, "Go. It's an eleven-day journey. Possess the land I promised you." You've dwelt long enough at this mountain. What could have been an eleven-day journey turned into thirty-eight years of wandering in unbelief and stubbornness. Had they trusted and obeyed, it could have been eleven days. Why didn't that generation, including Moses, enter the promised blessing? We'll examine the answers as we go through this text.

We Apprehend Only What We Aim to Possess

Let me bring it back to Paul. After saying he presses on to lay hold of that for which Christ laid hold of him, he concludes: "Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind... Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern." Look around and take note of people passionately pursuing God's purpose.

Point five: we apprehend only what we aim to possess. Years ago, when I started training in martial arts in my early twenties, I was struggling with a certain technique. My instructor could see my frustration and said, "Miles, you're exactly where you should be for the time and effort you've put in." That was both an encouragement — don't be so frustrated, you just started — and a challenge: put in a little more time and effort, and you'll get this. Those words stuck with me far better than the reverse spin kick I was working on.

Perhaps this morning you're not where you expected to be. Some of you are in the last third of life and feel it's over for you. It's not. Moses was eighty when he met God at the burning bush. Abraham was seventy-five. Joshua and Caleb were in their eighties when they went in to possess the land. Don't believe the lie that your flesh and the enemy are telling you — that it's too late. But it's still worth asking: Am I where I should be?

What Do You Need to Set Aside?

Maybe you thought by now you'd have that promotion, that degree, that debt paid off, that you'd be further along in your career or more ready for the next stage of life. Maybe you thought you wouldn't still be struggling with the same thing you've struggled with for years, or that you'd be able to forgive her for what she said, or forgive him for what he did. Maybe you thought you'd be further along. It may be that your aim is off.

A few years ago a mentor of mine told me, "I think you need to go back to school." I've been grateful for all God has enabled me to do without formal education, and I felt no compulsion that I needed it to move to the next stage. But the Lord was saying, "This is what I'm calling you to do, and you'll never accomplish it if your aim is off." So for the last two years I've been back in school — I have five classes starting tomorrow and 300 pages to read this week. Sometimes God reorients us. You've dwelt at this mountain long enough; you've been in this desert long enough. It's time to take your journey and go.

What is keeping you from crossing the border of blessing? Unbelief, distrust, fear, sin? The author of Hebrews writes:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith... (Hebrews 12:1–2)

What do you need to set aside today? Think about it this week, because there may be things hindering you from possessing your possession — all that God has won for you in Christ. It is my prayer for me and for you that one day we will hear God say, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

Closing Prayer

God, I ask that You would challenge us to thoughtfully consider this today and this week, and to bring whatever these things are to You and lay them down — to confess if we've had a heart of unbelief, distrust, fear, self-reliance, or whatever it may be — and to lay those things aside, that we would fulfill the purpose for which You have saved each of us. May we lay hold of the very thing You have laid hold of us for, and run with endurance the race set before us, looking to You, knowing that one day we will stand in Your presence. I pray that all of us here will hear You say, "Well done, good and faithful servant; enter into the joy of the Lord." God, there is so much more land in our lives, in this county, and this nation — so much more for us to possess. Stir us to lay hold of it. We pray this in Jesus' name, and all those who agreed said, Amen.