Merhan Karimi Nasseri was a man who got stuck in a big way. It all began back in 1988 when he was expelled from his native country of Iran. Belgian authorities had made arrangements for him to fly to Paris for processing. From Paris he was to be flown to England where he would begin a new life.
Unfortunately, during his flight from Iran someone stole his refugee documents. When he arrived in Paris he had no passport, no citizenship, and none of the papers that would enable him to leave the airport for another country. The papers he lost were so important that without them, he was prohibited from leaving the Paris airport terminal to walk across the street.
For an astonishing eleven years Merhan was forced to live in terminal number one of the Paris airport. Every night he would fall asleep on a bench in the terminal and every morning he would clean up in the public bathroom and write in his diary. Each day he would rely on handouts from airport employees for nourishment. He did this for eleven years!
But then in September of 1999 everything changed for Merhan. French authorities presented him with an international travel card and a French residency permit. Suddenly he was free to go anywhere he wanted! But when airport officials handed him his walking papers he simply smiled, tucked the documents in his folder, and resumed writing in his diary. He was afraid to leave the bench and table that had been his home for eleven years. Eventually after several more days airport officials were able to coax Merhan into leaving the terminal to find a new home.
We all know that airport hubs are to be transition points. Theoretically they are designed for quick arrivals and quick departures. The seats in a terminal are uncomfortable. The food is lousy. The atmosphere is chaotic. There is no privacy. Airport hubs are not a place to stay for very long. They are only ports. They are temporary havens. They are a place to catch your breath before moving on. They are never ever to be a final destination or a place to get stuck.
This week the opening words of Hebrews 6 have been echoing in my thoughts. In Hebrews 6:1-2 (NIV) the writer says, "Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance of acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instructions about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment." The writer is quick to point out our need to move on and to grow into maturity. The basics are never to be a final destination for us. They are always a beginning point, a place to start, a place to grow from, and a launching pad for our new life. They are a foundation upon which we are to build our lives.
With this in mind I would like us to take another look at this list of Christian basics and make two important observations.
Beginning the Christian life.
We begin the Christian life with obedience in all six areas. First, we turn away from sin and turn towards God in repentance. Second, we trust Jesus Christ to lead us to God and to save us from sin. Third, we pledge our allegiance, our heart, our mind, our bodies, our soul, and our all to Jesus Christ through the waters of Christian baptism. Fourth, we discover our spiritual gifts and we begin serving God wholeheartedly. We roll up our sleeves and accept our calling and take on a ministry task. Fifth, we place our hope in Jesus Christ as we await the resurrection of the dead. Last, we fear God by respecting his holiness and his coming judgment on creation.
The Christian life is inaugurated as we turn to, trust in, pledge allegiance to, serve, hope in, and fear the Lord God.
Continuing the Christian life.
We grow into Christian maturity with obedience in all six areas. We must be careful in how we speak of leaving the elementary teachings. You see, we never really leave the Christian basics. The basics are an ever-present foundation that we continually build our lives upon. Throughout our lives we continually revisit them and renew our understanding of them. It is not so much the case that we move beyond the basics, as it is the case that we move deeper into the basics.
In fourth grade I can remember my band instructor teaching me to play trumpet. We began with the basics. I had to learn to learn to shape my lips, tighten them, and then blow through them to create a crisp buzzing sound. Then for the longest time I had to practice with only the mouth piece of my trumpet. I buzzed around the house driving everyone crazy as I mimicked every commercial and song I heard. And then came the day when I got to put the mouthpiece into the trumpet and I learned how to breathe and project that buzz through the trumpet. And then the instructor began teaching me how to read music, play the scales, and position my fingers to create each sound.
When I was first learning the scales it took an enormous amount of concentration. Everything was difficult. My lips fatigued very quickly. My hands grew numb. I would get frustrated. I couldn't reach the high notes. But slowly over time, a remarkable change occurred. With practice, everything started to come naturally for me. My lips gained strength. I barely had to think a note and my hands would obey. With time I effortlessly sailed through the notes. For a time I became first chair in our school's band.
If you think about it, no matter how much I excelled in playing the trumpet, never once did the basics become obsolete or unnecessary. As late as high school I was still buzzing and playing the same notes and the same scales. The difference was that I became more proficient and had moved deeper into the basics.
The exact same thing is true in the Christian life. We inaugurate the Christian life by turning, trusting, pledging, serving, hoping, and fearing. And we grow deeper into Christian maturity by becoming more proficient in the same. At first it is awkward and difficult. But later it becomes more natural, like typing, playing a piano, or learning a musical instrument.
It is the implementation of the Christian basics in our lives and their continual use that changes us, transforms us, and matures us into Christ's perfect image. Or as my band instructor used to say, "Practice makes perfect." And so let's take a few moments and talk specifically about how we can move deeper into the Christian basics and so move on to Christian maturity.
I want to return for a moment to the story of Merhan at the airport. In a physical, geographical sense I doubt that many of us have ever been stuck like Merhan. He spent eleven years trapped in the chaos and discomfort of terminal number one. That kind of thing is virtually unheard of.
But how many of us have ever felt as if we were spiritually stuck in terminal number one? I think everyone in this room knows what it means to be spiritually stuck. Generally, whenever we get spiritually stuck it can be traced to a failure or temporary lapse in one of the six Christian basics we have been studying.
Spiritual lapse number one is having an unrepentant heart.
Christian basic number one is repentance from acts that lead to death. God has wired us up to grow spiritually cold whenever we allow sin to reign in our lives. Perhaps this is too simple to even mention, but I'll say it anyway. We cannot allow ourselves be seduced by sin, and expect to feel close to God at same time. We cannot nourish secret sins and expect to experience God's power in new and fresh ways. Sin quenches the work of God's Holy Spirit in our lives.
And so whenever I don't feel like praying or whenever my devotional life runs dry or whenever I find myself avoiding God, I ask God to break my spirit. I ask God to change my hardened heart and to open my eyes and purge my soul of wrongdoing.
If you are in a spiritual rut, this morning you need to do the same. You need to ask God to break your rebellious spirit and give you a new heart, a repentant heart. You will not feel close to God until you turn away from the sin in your life and turn to God, asking him to purify your heart and forgive you.
Spiritual lapse number two is entertaining a doubting spirit.
Christian basic number two is faith in God. God has wired us up to grow spiritually cold whenever we doubt him. All of us have circumstances in our lives that are totally beyond our control. For some it's their marriage. For some it's their work situation. For some it is the life choices their children are making. For some it is their physical health. For some it is their aging body. For some it is their finances.
When life is throwing us a bunch of curve balls, our natural tendency is to doubt God. This natural tendency is part of our sinful nature and it is diametrically opposed to everything that God has revealed about himself to us in his word. The challenge is for us to remember that God is totally trustworthy and that God has tirelessly proven his faithfulness to us time after time.
Friend, even when it hurts, even when you may not understand, even when waves of anger are surging through your body, never doubt God! Know that God is working for the good of all who love him. Take him at his word and trust him in this!
Spiritual lapse number three is having a divided passion.
Christian basic number three is the pledge of baptism. All of our lives are loaded with commitments. Obviously, some of our commitments are absolutely necessary, like work, raising children, and caring for our bodies. Some of our commitments are benevolent in nature, like taking care of parents.
But many of our commitments are discretionary. We can become overly committed to watching certain television programs. We can become overly committed to pursuing recreation and sports activities. We can become overly committed to working overtime in order to maintain a lifestyle that far surpasses the level of our needs. You insert what applies to your life. It may be shopping, socializing, partying, or hobbies.
In baptism we pledge ourselves to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We cannot be close to him while at the same time squeezing him out of our schedules. We have to make time for those we love. The exact same thing applies to God. Don't let yourself become so overcommitted that you don't have time for God. If you don't have time for God, for worship, for devotion, for prayer, and for a relationship with God, then some serious changes need be made in your life. Busyness is a formula for spiritual stagnation and dryness.
Spiritual lapse number four is having idle hands.
Christian basic number four is the laying on of hands, or Christian service. Idle hands can be a cause of spiritual dissatisfaction.
A minister I know was talking about a building program that his church was conducting. The leadership had gone through a great deal of trouble to see to it that every last detail was covered and appropriately financed. But when the men whipped out their hammers and began construction there was a substantial number of members who began bellyaching. Every day they would show up at the job site criticizing the work, pointing out problems, and generally exasperating the help. They were sour, they were embittered, they were angry, and they were divisive.
Finally the men got together and made a rule. No one could criticize the building project until they had rolled up their sleeves and worked twenty or more hours.
There is something about serving that changes peoples' attitudes. When we serve, we take ownership in the overall ministry of the Church. When we serve, our personal preferences and desires are submitted to the interests of the whole Church. When we serve, our energies become focused on building instead of on tearing down. When we serve, we get energized about God's work and begin promoting it. When we serve, we stop focusing on ourselves and think about others.
In contrast, idle hands are a formula for spiritual lethargy, for cynicism, and for scorn.
Spiritual lapse number five isa skeptical mind.
Christian basic number five is hoping in the resurrection of the dead. The principle here is that God wants us to trust him with the deaths of our loved ones and that ultimately, he wants us to trust him with our very lives. He has a plan for our bodies that involves a physical resurrection. He intends to keep that promise just as he raised Jesus Christ from the dead. We cannot allow our hope to deteriorate and die along with our physical bodies. Our hope is what keeps us alive as we walk through the valley of the shadow of death.
Hopelessness is a formula for spiritual dryness.
Spiritual lapse number six is having a fearless conscience.
Christian basic number six is God's eternal judgment. We cannot lose sight of the fact that God will judge us according to the lives we live. We are not as independent and unaccountable as we tend to think. Right now we have a credit card and have the power to charge anything we want. But someday the bill is going to come due and it's going to have our name on it. We are going to have to answer for every charge, line by line, date by date.
Our conscience is a reminder to us that God knows everything we do, think, and feel. Our conscience is a gift from God that reminds us to live each day as if it were our last. We should live as if this day will count for eternity, because it does! At any moment we could be standing before the judgment seat of Christ. One of the greatest spiritual lapses we can make is to ignore our consciences. To ignore your conscience is to ignore and disrespect God's character.
This morning if you are in a spiritual rut or have fallen on spiritually dry times, it is your time to turn back to God through repentance. It is your time to trust in his promises with your very life. It is your time to live out the pledge you made to Christ in baptism. It is your time to serve God wholeheartedly with your gifts. It is your time to embrace the resurrection hope that Christ secured for you. It is your time to fear God and keep his commands.
Please use the time of our invitation to respond to God's will.