Going Somewhere?

“He stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem.” Luke 9:51 

When Jesus steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, He immediately ran into a dreaded detour.  A tiny, Samaritan village, an unnamed wide spot in the road stood in the way.  Every noble aspiration gets bogged down in perspiration.  Paul said, “I fought a good fight, I kept the faith, I finished my course.”  Nobody does anything good without a fight.  Nobody finishes the course without the temptation to quit.  But consider Jesus.  “Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross.” Hebrews 12:2.

Today, I am a fellow traveler.  I started my journey a few years ago, but I have not yet arrived at my destination.  You’ve caught me a few days past the mid-point.  I am traveling because I chose to leave the place where I used to reside; I made up my mind that nothing was going to stop me; I picked the right road to travel; and I’m going to someplace important.  

First, you’ve got leave something behind!  Too many get excited about a new venture—until they realize that they must leave some things behind before they go. “One thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind.”  Philippians 3:13. Nostalgia gets in the way.  Nostalgia is the people of Israel wanting to go back to bondage after they crossed the Red Sea.  It’s wanting to give up the freedom to go back to the leeks, garlic and onions of Egypt.  And guess what?  The “good old days” that people long for were never that good to begin with!  The devil can paint a picture that makes your past look better than your future.  But an unknown future with Jesus is better than a known past. 

The second thing you need to do is set your face.  I can’t tell you how important it is to have a made-up mind. “God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”  2 Timothy 1:7. A sound mind is a mind that can’t be changed.  You will never go to your New Jerusalem without being tested by the fires of adversity.  You are going to hear the sneers, feel the hurt and sense the rejection of people on your way.  Parents of some folks kicked them out of their homes when they came home with salvation.  But, never let your adversity make you waver.  “Ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavers is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.” James 1:6.  

Third, make sure you pick the right road.  Be very careful here.  Jesus said, “Enter in at the strait gate.” Matthew 7:13. “There is a way which seems right unto a man, but the end are the ways of death.” Proverbs 14:12. I don’t know how many times I’ve turned onto a road that looked like it would take me to my destination. It was wide, well lit, smooth and well-traveled—but it was the wrong road.  Everybody taking the wrong road doesn’t make it right; nobody taking the right road doesn’t make it wrong. 

Last, you need to know where you’re going.  Jesus set His face toward Jerusalem to take care of important business there.  Everything that had to do with our salvation was going to happen in Jerusalem.  No prophecy could be fulfilled unless Jesus went to Jerusalem.  It couldn’t happen in Babylon, or Damascus, or Philistia. He had to go to Jerusalem. 

Are you going to the New Jerusalem? You must leave some things behind.  Make up your mind.  Make sure you’re on the right road. You’re going to a city whose builder and maker is God! “He who overcomes … I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem.” Revelation 3:12. Final call!  Are you going?

Comments

[fran]

.Thank you, Bishop! Psalms 85:13...I want to follow Him closely, so I won't get side tracked. You've helped me so much along my journey!