Teamwork according to a flock of geese!
In life, we need to have hope and to have hope we need to have a focus and a goal. Right now many people are re-evaluating what their goals are and what is really important to them. My summary for this blog can be found in Philippians 3:14, “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” As we stand on the threshold of great change for our personal lives, our church, and our community as a result of the Covid-19 Pandemic I want us to learn from Paul. I want us to capture something of the joy, hope, direction, and encouragement that Paul had for the church of Philippi and guide us to apply it to the life of our church, community and ourselves. When we come out of this time of restriction there will be a great need for our churches to be revitalized and that will require vision, leadership, and teamwork centred in our Saviour Jesus Christ.
By way of illustration for this blog let’s take 3.5 minutes to study these wild geese.
WILD GEESE FACTS
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WILD GEESE TRAVEL 1000’S OF MILES
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WILD GEESE TRAVEL ALONG TRADITIONAL ROUTES
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WILD GEESE TRAVEL IN FAMILY UNITS
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WILD GEESE TRAVEL IN A FORMATION
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WILD GEESE COMMUNICATE TO EACH OTHER
WILD GEESE TRAVEL 1000’S OF MILES
There are about 5 million birds which migrate to the UK for the winter.
Wild geese fly 1000’s of miles as they migrate from wintering site to breeding site. At the breeding site, the geese hatch their eggs and little goslings appear and grow. Then the wild geese fly off on the long journey back to their wintering site. Some fly up to 5000 miles at 50 mph so we see that geese are in for the long haul. On their journey, the geese have to fight against the weather conditions and attacks from animals.
The church is on a long journey, year in and year out worshipping God, leading people to faith in Christ, equipping Believers, providing Pastoral Care and organising opportunities to meet socially. In fact, the journey will last until Jesus comes back at the end of the world. Paul would say, that the Christian life is not just like a journey, it can be likened to a marathon race, a battle, or even a boxing match (I Cor. 9:25). The Christian life is a race that we need to run even though it is hard work.
It would have been easy for Paul and the Philippians to take the lazy way out and rest on their laurels following their successes or to shrug their shoulders at their failures and casually say, “Well, nobody’s perfect!” But Paul’s response is, “I press on!” I press on to renew my efforts, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. I press on to be more like Christ.
I press – is to run swiftly in order to catch a person or thing, to run after;
The mark – the distant mark looked at, the goal or the end which one has in view
The prize – the award to the victor in the Roman games, a prize; a metaphor of the heavenly reward of the Christian.
WILD GEESE TRAVEL ALONG TRADITIONAL ROUTES
Bird watchers and people who study birds have established that wild geese fly along traditional routes. Each season the geese stick to the same path which takes them from wintering site to breeding site and back to wintering site. Along these routes stop off points have been established. These are like refuelling points for aeroplanes on long haul flights. The geese fly so far and then stop off for a period of time at set points along the way to refuel. At these points the geese rest and feed in preparation for the next leg of the journey. The geese don’t have a committee meeting each year to discuss which route they will take, they don’t pick up a glossy holiday or travel magazine and see if there is somewhere new to go to, no they take the route of previous generations.
My friends, there is a great need for us to avoid the trap of becoming distracted by the events of this life which offer alternative routes. There is always the distraction of money, the distraction of living a comfortable life, the distraction of false religions, the distraction of sport, the distraction of glossy magazines. The route in our Spiritual journey is laid out for us in God’s Word. We travel that route to be more like Him, we travel that route because that is the only route to heaven. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life no man comes to the father but by me."
We are to be more like Christ: In prayer. In Bible study. In love, grace, forgiveness and fellowship.
To be more Christ-like we need to know God’s Word, Hosea 4:6, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge."
There is a mark, there is a goal and we should be striving for that goal in our lives! That goal in our lives should be, being more like Christ. God grant that He will continue to help us to keep our eyes on that goal. Too many come out of the blocks primed and pumped to run the race, but after a few short months or years, they have become distracted and fallen out of the race. Folks we should not be living for the moment, we should not be living for self-worship but we should be running with eternity in view. We need to appreciate that God is honoured by a race well run and a life well-lived. We are not to be easily distracted.
The geese have stop-off points to get food. As Christians we need Spiritual food and we need to stop off at Sunday school, Midweek, Christian Endeavour, Youth Fellowship, the prayer meeting and Sunday services to get our food. If we don’t eat we are not going to have the energy to continue in the race. Spiritually we will starve and die falling short of the finish line, heaven.
Hebrews 10:25, "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. I ask you when you are not at church how do you refuel spiritually?"
WILD GEESE TRAVEL IN FAMILY UNITS
Wild geese mate for life usually in their second year and many of them not only use the same nest each year but also build their nests in the same area that their parents did.
We know today in 2020 our family units are not all the same. Some families have suffered from bereavement, some have a member working away from home, some have suffered from divorce or separation but God’s Word is pointing to the goal of worshipping together. We need parents to give an example to our children and children to show obedience to their parents in this matter. The Presbyterian Church in Ireland has lost 80,000 children from Sunday school attendance in 30 years. Today we thank God for those families that set an example in bringing their children to Sunday school and pray for those who struggle in this area.
AN ILL GOOSE
When a goose gets injured or becomes sick other geese, usually from the same family will drop out of the formation and stay with it until it recovers or dies. Today we commend to you those who undertake visitation of the elderly, ill or housebound. Those who organise the recording of meetings and services on Youtube and on CD’s for the use of people in their homes. We remember the work of the Kirk Session responsible for the spiritual welfare of the members of the congregation and the chaplains who work in our hospitals.
WILD GEESE TRAVEL IN A FORMATION
When wild geese are travelling they fly in a V formation because this requires less effort and energy.
To be able to fly in a V requires a goose to be at the front.
A V formation in our church requires a minister, elders; it requires leaders for Sunday school, Creche, Children’s Church, and Youth Activities. People who will work as part of a team. The church and the organisations are all in place to assist you in bringing up your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord and ultimately so that young people will come to know and love Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. Are we pressing on and involving our children in these organisations? Are we encouraging those who bear the responsibility of leadership? Are we praying for them?
Paul didn’t want to just know about Jesus rather He wanted to know Jesus. Paul was satisfied with Jesus but not with his Christian life, he wanted to be better. Paul was aware of the dangers of looking back to his Jewish heritage. Paul was aware of the danger of resting on his laurels and so he urged the Philippians forward, leading from the front. Paul says to us don’t rest on those laurels, keep pressing on. As Christians we need to be meeting regularly to worship God and for fellowship to support the growth of our Christian faith. We need to be studying the Word of God.
A GOOSE LEAVES THE FORMATION
When a goose leaves the formation, it finds it more difficult to fly as fast as the others and it can get left behind. If we don’t keep company with other Christians we can get left behind. If we become isolated on our own we become easy prey for the devil. Are we pressing on in the growth of our faith in Church, Midweek and prayer meeting attendance? We tend to think of geese flying in nice straight lines that make a V but in real life that rarely happens even though it is the best formation. For a church and its members to fly in a V formation takes much prayer and effort.
GEESE TRAVEL & TALK
One of the advantages of the V formation is that the wild geese can honk or communicate with each other. They communicate to encourage each other to fly on. How wonderful. Could we in the incoming Church year speak a word of encouragement to someone, to the Minister, to an Elder, a Sunday School Teacher or youth leader? It costs nothing but oh the benefit to the one that hears it. Even when we are apart it is good to keep in touch with people that you don’t normally speak to, introduce yourself or just ask how are you. The Christian faith is a personal faith that is to be lived out in community. Let’s be honest with each other, encourage one another, so that we can grow in fellowship.
TAKE A LOOK AT THE PRIZE
A. We are called:
1. From Sin To Salvation – 1 Peter 2:9; Eph. 2:1-4.
2. From Death Unto Life – John 5:24.
3. From Strangers Into God’s Family – 1 John 3:1-3.
4. From Wanderers To Witnesses – Mark 16:15; Matt. 28:19; John 20:21.
WHERE DO YOU FIND YOURSELF?
1. Are you a follower of Jesus Christ?
2. Are you living for the Lord, as instructed by the Bible?
3. Are you living for the future, or are you stuck somewhere in the past?
4. Are you pressing for the mark and reaching for the prize?
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