| Redeemer Lutheran Church 1084 W. Bullard Ave. Fresno, CA 93711 Phone: (559) 439-8500 Fax: (559) 439-8585 office@redeemerfresno.com The Reverend Clarence Eisberg Phone: (209) 725-9082 Cell: (209) 631-3108 pastor@redeemerfresno.com Worship ~ 8:30 a.m. & 10:00 a.m. Family Ministries ~ 10:00 a.m. Holy Communion ~ 2nd & 4th Sundays |
| Connecting People to Jesus and to One Another! www.lcms.org |
The Reverend Clarence Eisberg |
July 27, 2008 |
“Mission Impossible? The Journey of Eliezer” |
| In our recent messages from the book of Genesis we are following Abraham and his journey with God. Last week Abraham faced his “moment of truth” when God asked him to will call for unbending faith in the promises of God. The events recorded in Genesis 24 provide us with a wonderful, biblical model of how to set goals when we follow Abraham’s chief servant, Eliezer on his journey. Today’s message is not about the way to have peace with God, but rather about our individual walk as Christians. The story of Eliezer can provide a congregation with a God pleasing process to accomplish the things God wants completed in our midst. Background: Genesis 23. “Sarah lived to be 127 years of age and she died at Hebron, in the land of Canaan.” Abraham purchases property for a burial site for his wife. Hebron and its surrounding territory is the area in which Joshua and his descendant settled after the children of Israel entered the Promised Land. Hebron also became the city center for the first 7 years of King David’s rule as king of Judah after the death of Saul. If Sarah was 127 years of age, that would make Abraham 137 years of age and Isaac still single at age 37. His biological clock was ticking. In Genesis 25 we are told that Abraham lived to the age of 175 and his sons, Isaac and Ishmael buried him with Sarah in Hebron. (read the text) Eliezer, the servant of Abraham is commissioned to find a wife for Isaac. He must travel to a foreign country with ten camels, gold and numerous merchant goods, food and supplies for the other servants who traveled with him. During the journey he had to care for and protect from thieves the goods he carried. There were no street addresses, no zip codes, no triple A maps. He had to choose a wife, acceptable to Isaac, sight unseen, from the extended family of Abraham’s relatives. He faced many obstacles. V 21 he has a problem finding the right girl, from the right family. V 49 he has a problem getting the necessary consent from the girls parents. V 58 he has the problem of getting the girl’s consent. Eliezer had a goal. He had to find the relatives of Abraham. He had to bring home a wife for Isaac. As individuals, as a congregation we are always in the process of setting goals. Listen to the words of God in Proverbs 16:9 “we should make our plans, counting on God to bless them.” Proverbs 24:3-4 “any enterprise is built by wise planning. It becomes strong through common sense, and profits by keeping abreast of the facts.” Step 1. Determine your position. Ask yourself some questions: Where am I now? What would I like to change? What needs to be changed? If you were to call me from a phone booth and say, “I want to come over to your house. Can you give me directions?” What would be the first question you would ask me? * “Where are you now?” I’ve got to know where you are before I can tell you how to get to where you want to be. This is true for individuals and for congregations. When I first came the church was in disrepair. The church had no direction, no purpose. Those who were attending needed to hear words of comfort, words of hope, the gospel needed to be heard. People need to know that they were loved and accepted by God. The corporate personality of the church was negative. Step 2. Define your purpose. Clearly state your goal. Get a specific image in your mind. Know exactly what you want. Abraham said, “I want you to go my country, to my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac.” He knew exactly what he wanted. It was clear. The point is….you will never reach a goal if it is vague. The more specific the easier it is to reach. “We need a parking lot.” As Marvin said… “we got tried of fishing on one side and hunting on the other.” You can not pray. “God bless my wife.” Or “God bless my church.” How will you know when God blesses your wife or your church? A vague goal has no drawing power. Fresno State Baseball team had a great summer… they set a goal. This year the WAC football coaches think Fresno State could win the WAC. Boise State disagrees. The coach and quarterback have a goal….they players are motivated. As an individual or a congregation you have to ask yourself three questions: What do I want to be? What do I want to do? What do I want to have? As a congregation we have said: We want to imitate Jesus. (Ephesians 5:1) How do I do that? 1. Listen to the words of scripture and begin to apply them. 2. Implement home bible studies…. We began with 40 Days of Purpose with over 90% participation. We’ve kept at it. 3. Balance out the ministry opportunities within the congregation. “Community service”; Care and Comfort offered and practiced inside the congregational community; create fellowship for youth and adults; Enable people to connect in a personal way with God through worship; find ways to connect to people who are spiritually lost. In 1960 President Kennedy said, “Within a decade we’ll put a man on the moon.” That was a decision. Did he try to figure out all the problems or obstacles before he made the decision? No. He just set a goal. We’re going there. When he made the decision it was physically and technologically impossible to do it. As a congregation, we established a Master Site Plan several years ago. The parking lot and new landscape has been a pleasing and effective ministry improvement. We are loving and caring for people who are or were spiritually lost. We’ve gone to two services to more effectively serve the growing numbers of people attending Redeemer. Last month the Board assigned several people to review our Master site Plan and research ministry possibilities. This fall the Board is strongly considering a District program called “Revitalization” that helps congregations answer these very questions: Where are we now? Where is God calling us to go? What is God calling us to do? Step 3 Discover a Promise Find a promise you can claim from God’s word. Look at the promise Eliezer was claiming. (read Genesis 24:6-7) Abraham was trusting God to see his promises of descendants fulfilled. Eliezer expected God to answer prayer. (Genesis 24:12-14) Step 4. Diagnose the Problems When assessing your personal goals, or as a congregation…you want to ask yourself two questions: • What are the barriers? • Eliezer knew he would travel to a foreign country there would be obstacles. • He had to find the right family and the right girl • He had to gain the families permission and the girl’s permission. He needed to convince her to marry a total stranger…. Mission impossible! We have come to the end of our 7 years together… a lot has been accomplished for the kingdom of God. Barriers have been overcome… some of the barriers were: • People who were attending did not know their purpose nor did they have ownership in the ministry. • People were looking for spiritual peace • Talented members did no want to serve in leadership positions because of past experiences with long, argumentative board meetings. • The church was growing and we ran out of seating space on Sunday mornings. • People in the community did not know we were here. • We know that our entrance doors are a barrier to visitors… Step 5 Designs a Plan When you design a plan… you put into action ways to overcome the obstacles identified. You set a deadline, and schedule it. • We have worked hard to keep focused on God’s priorities. • We re adjusted our schedule and went to two services. Our building seats about 128, beyond that we set up chairs. Research tells congregations when they are at 80% capacity numerical growth will stop… • we overcome by being genuinely friendly and accepting • we walked neighborhoods, collecting canned goods and sent thank you notes. • We have just completed our first visitor’s packet to be given to new visitors. The list could go on. When we look to Eliezer’s story, we see that his plan was a masterpiece. He sets up a test. He’ll take all his camels down to the water and have them kneel down. Then he’ll ask for a drink, and if the woman he asks says, “Let me water your camels too, then he would know that he found the right woman. (read 24:19) John Maxwell calls this the Rebecca principle. It is the principle of servant hood. The average camel can drink between 20 & 30 gallons of water. Rebecca probably has a 5 gallon water jar. When you are setting goals, as an individual or as a congregation you have to ask yourself. “Am I willing to be a servant?” Will you serve others, or yourself. In the New Testament Jesus constantly told his disciples that they were to be servants. He who wants to be first must be a servant. Once Rebecca completed her watering of the camels, Eliezer’s plan was to share his purpose. Only then will he reveal Abraham’s wealth and try to get invited to her home, and only then will he pop the question to the family. He has a plan and follows it. (v 26,27,38) Step 6 Discipline your personality. Nothing great is ever accomplished without discipline. The bottom line in your life character. While you’re working on your goals, God is working on you. God is more interested in you than He is your plans. A growing business will require a business man willing to grow. Growing marriages require growing husbands and wives. Growing churches require growing pastors. Step 7 Depend on People You will never achieve very much in life until you learn to get along with other people. John Rockefeller used to say there was one thing he’d pay more for than any other skill….. the ability to work with people. There are a lot of geniuses who can’t get along with others. Learn to depend on people because God works through people. It takes team work. Success is never a one man show. Abraham and Isaac depended on Eliezer. In the church we depend on one another, to use the spiritual gifts that God has provided so that His work and ministry can be accomplished. The secret to a great church is commitment and cooperation. Vance Havner once said, “Snowflakes are frail but if enough of them stick together, they can stop traffic.” As we fix our eyes on Jesus we take the advice of the Apostle Paul: “Let us not become weary in doing good for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” |
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