On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. (Luke 5:1-3)
Over two years ago the leadership of our church began exploring the possibilities of expanding the physical plant of our church campus. The Lord has graciously brought many new faces to our weekly gatherings and space is limited. Because we want more people to hear the good news of Christ, and because we want to be good stewards of the assets God has given to us, our goal has been to expand our physical space without incurring debt.
The first 6 months of our expansion planning were smooth sailing. The last 18 have been filled with obstacles. The Lord continues to bring new faces to our church, but he has not yet opened all of the doors for the expansion project. As we wait for those doors to open, and as we have faced the reality of some doors slamming in our face, our church is being tested by a wise and gracious God.
This reminds us that God isn’t simply growing our physical structures, he is growing us as a people. Far more important than larger classrooms is larger faith. Greater endurance and trust are to be desired above a greater seating capacity.
Lately, in my devotional reading, I have been reading Luke’s gospel along with J.C. Ryle’s notes on the text. Ryle was a faithful Anglican minister in the 19th century and I highly recommend you read his notes which can be found for free here.
Commenting on the passage above, in which Christ preached to the gathering crowds from a boat in the open air, Ryle writes:
The servants of Christ should learn a lesson from their Master’s conduct on this occasion. We are not to wait until every little difficulty or obstacle is removed, before we put our hand to the plough, or go forth to sow the seed of the word. Convenient buildings may often be lacking for assembling a company of hearers. Convenient rooms may often not be found for gathering children to school. What, then, are we to do? Shall we sit still and do nothing? God forbid! If we cannot do all we want, let us do what we can. Let us work with such tools as we have. While we are lingering and delaying, souls are perishing. It is the slothful heart that is always looking at the hedge of thorns and the lion in the way. (Prov. 15:19; 22:13.) Where we are and as we are, in season of out of season, by one means or by another, by tongue or by pen, by speaking or by writing, let us strive to be ever working for God. But let us never stand still.
Lake Wylie Baptist, this is a hearty encouragement from the Lord straight to us through a long-dead minister. If we cannot do all we want…
- If we do not have enough rooms
- If we do not have enough seats
- If we do not yet know the final destination of our expansion
- If we cannot understand yet how God will provide
- If we must wait another 5 years, 15, years, or 30 years…
Then let us do all we can. Let us fill the seats we have, trusting in the sovereign God to bring men and women, boys and girls which he desires to save. Let us serve one another, many or few, as if we are truly brothers and sisters in Christ. Let us fill in the gaps where volunteers are needed with joy, knowing that no work of God is ever thrown away, but that in the Lord, our labor is not in vain. Let us pray ever more for God’s will to be known and obeyed as we seek to expand our church’s buildings.
Join me. Join the men who serve us as deacons. Join Marcy as she leads our children and youth ministries. We need every hand on deck, ready to serve. Our God has promised to supply our every need according to his riches in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:19) Trust him, and let us strive to be ever working for God. But never stand still.