Joshua 18 “Royal Priesthood”

Joshua 18 – Brandon Hatmaker “Royal Priesthood”
Monday, August 18th, 2008

“The Levites, however, do not get a portion among you, because the priestly service of the LORD is their inheritance.” – Joshua 18:7

When at first I read this in the flesh I think, “Wait a minute, that’s not fair, the Levites should get an inheritance too”. That’s probably because I’m a pastor and I tend to want to fight for the Levites, but if you were to read the entire story, it doesn’t take much effort to realize what an honor it was to the Levites that this was their lot in life.

This inheritance was all they desired. Not only was it enough for them, they knew it was best. Their inheritance was the honor of a life serving the Lord. And it wasn’t about what they accomplished or attained in that service. It was about keeping themselves and a people in right relationship with their God. It was about the journey of living out a covenant between a chosen people and a Holy God.

So the tough questions come: What if the only inheritance we receive is a life of service, would it be enough for us? What if it was never about us? What if we never achieved a position of authority or recognition? What if our good deeds were never exposed? What if the thrill of victory and the joy of accomplishing a task seemed to always avoid us? Would it be enough?

Four weeks after we launched Austin New Church, I was praying (eyes open) as I was driving to our tiny little worship service when God asked me the question, “Brandon, if this is it, are you okay with that?”.

While He certainly caught me off guard, I knew exactly what He meant. If this thing doesn’t grow… or even survive, if you guys spend yourselves (literally) on serving your community and others and you don’t see the type of fruit you are used to and hope for, will you consider it a success? Will it be enough? If all you ever accomplish is what you’ve already seen, are you okay with that?

Honestly, the first thought that came to my mind was, “God if you’re okay with it, I’m okay with it. But I don’t think you’re okay with it”. I really meant that with all my heart. BUT… and this is a big but: I fear that scenario. I know it would be very hard. It would probably be the trial of my life, not only because of my own pride, but because I have always believed God has called us to greater things than we know not lesser. That moment caused some serious emotional and spiritual searching for me. Not because I secretly wanted to experience success for selfish reasons, but because I thought I was beyond this issue. I thought to myself, “God knows my heart… I thought I was really okay… why would he be asking me this?”.

What I’ve come to realize is that this might just be a weekly or even daily question we must ask ourselves. If what we are doing today is all we achieve… if our service to God today was it… would we be okay with it? Would it be enough? And even more important, how does God feel about our heart, our motive, and our pursuits… today? Not what we plan to do tomorrow, but in what we’re doing today?

So let’s take this a step further. I’m a pastor… makes it easy for me to empathize with the Levites. Most of us, however, consider ourselves the warriors, the leaders, the people out in the real world. So our priorities can be different, right? Our pursuits can be from a different place, right? Wrong. Let’s not forget that in Christ we are given the priesthood of the believer. Everything changes under the new covenant through Christ.

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” – 1 Peter 2:9-10

The mercy we have received is Jesus. In light of this truth I think we are all asked the questions: What inheritance are we pursuing? Where are our priorities? What is our position in the pursuit… who’s glory are we striving for, ours or Gods? Who’s approval are we fighting for?

This might be a weekly, even daily question, we should all ask ourselves. Paul gives us a good reason to ask this question often in 1 Corinthians when he wrote, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.” This is a warning, none of us are beyond being deceived or blinded to even our own motives.

We should take heed more often.

Father, I believe the redemptive work you are doing in the world is so much bigger than we can fathom. I believe there is a movement in your Church today that is fresh and new to this generation… I don’t want to miss it. I pray that as you call your people to live as a sent people, that we serve you with the right motive and ambitions. Help us to measure success as you measure success. Lord, that’s a difficult task that we cannot do with our own wisdom, so I ask today for wisdom in understanding the journey, the trials, and the temptations. I know that they simply do not compare to those Christ endured for us. Amen.