When Rev. Gray asked me to preach, the answer was easy. I am just about always ready to preach! You know how it is with preachers, especially Baptists: we can come up with a Scripture to cover all occasions, we have an opinion about everything, and we believe that everybody is waiting to hear our deathless words! So I readily agreed to come this afternoon and share with you.
But after all of these years I should have known better. I should have known to ask first what direction my message is supposed to take. After all of these years of preaching, I should have known that John 3:16 and Psalm 23 do not necessarily cover all occasions. But I didn’t think. I said yes, and then I asked Rev. Gray what he needed me to do. Bad move! For when he said, “We want to focus on the year 2000 census and why it is important to be counted”, my first reaction was, “Man, I don’t know that I can say anything about that. What do I know about census-taking?” What was I going to do with this assignment? It puzzled me.
Now, Brother Gray, I think I stammered and stuttered a little while, sort of hoping that you would say, “Oh, just come and do a rerun. Just come and give us one of the sermons you’ve already preached at Takoma Park.” Brother Gray, I waited for you to say that, but you didn’t. You wanted something done on the census. The census!
Well, now, I did find out why Rev. Gray wanted me to come and speak on this topic. Let me tell you his secret. When it became clear that he was not going to budge and that I was going to have to preach on the year 2000 census, I said, “Well, two Scriptures come to mind.” I said, “I am thinking about the place in the Old Testament where King David takes a census and gets into trouble over it. And I am thinking about the census that Caesar ordered, and which got Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem in time for Jesus’ birth.” That’s when I found out why Rev. Gray wanted me to do this, because he said, “You thought of two passages? I only thought of one!” So, my friend, you needed to be rescued, didn’t you?!
But now, this became a learning experience. When I went to work on this topic, I found a whole lot more than I knew was there. When I went to my Bible and began to search, I found out that God has been in the numbering business for a long time. It began with His promise to Abraham that he would be the father of a nation greater than the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the beach. Counting. It continued through the Biblical Book of Numbers, where the people are counted into families and tribes. More counting. It flowed through the history of the early church, where they counted that little band of a hundred and twenty believers after the death of Jesus and showed it expanding to five thousand after Pentecost. God is in the counting business! And, most of all, God’s census taking comes to a climax in the Book of Revelation, where there is an incredible picture of nations and peoples, counted before the throne. Listen to this, the ultimate census:
Revelations 7:1-9
Your topic, Brother Gray, is not off-the-wall! There is something in the business of numbering people that matters. God has a stake in it.
Let me tell you, in a nutshell, what I found out. First, I found out that when a government takes a census, it might not always be popular, but the cause of justice can be served because of that unpopular thing.
Second, I found out that when people are counted, it may feel like oppression, but God is able to use even this for His purposes.
And, finally, I found out that when a census is taken, there is an opportunity for God’s people to build God’s Kingdom. And so my theme today is, “Stand and be counted.”
I
Stand and be counted. Let’s first think about census taking as an unpopular, unpleasant thing. Many people resent the idea of a census-taker asking nosy questions. Depending on whether you are just part of the regular count, or whether you are randomly selected for deeper study, you might be asked all sorts of questions by the census-taker. You might be asked your age – I just had a birthday, and I’m getting sensitive about that one. You might be asked your marital status, or how many children are in the house, or what your family income is, or even how many bathrooms there are. They might ask you how many years of school you have completed and what your religion is. That all seems nosy, doesn’t it? That seems like an invasion of privacy, and we don’t like it. We don’t like telling this to strangers, we don’t like the time it takes, we don’t know who else is going to see this information. Census taking is unpopular; it doesn’t sit well with many people.
Did you know that there is nothing new about that? That’s an old, old story. The Bible tells us that King David set out to number Israel, three thousand years ago. When he did, the people rose up in rebellion against him. His military officers didn’t want to do it, but David ordered them. His army was reluctant, but the King insisted. And before it was all over, there were threats of violence and of death. It was not popular at all. The Book of Chronicles even says that Satan himself urged David to take this census – that’s how deeply people felt about it.
And yet, justice came out of that census. Justice came out because when the king discovered how many people there were and how many men were capable of fighting in the king’s army, David also learned that he had to do better. That very government learned that it had to act for justice. When the hue and cry went out about that census, and David learned how the people felt, the Bible says that the king dropped to his knees and prayed that the consequences fall on him – on him. The anger of the people moved the government to repent. This distasteful and unpopular thing brought about good, because the government was pushed to do justice.
Stand and be counted; because, if we do, then the same government that takes the census, asking its private and personal questions, will find out the truth and will be pushed to act for justice. How can our nation respond to the needs of poor people unless the government knows how many there are and where they are and what they need? How can our society help the hungry and the cold, the last and the least, until we understand who they are and where they have come from? If a city or a state is undercounted, because people hide, then it will not get its fair share of the resources. The money will go to places where people are willing to stand and be counted, maybe to places where it is not so badly needed. If you and I hide because we just don’t like them nosing into our business, we’re going to lose what ought to come to us. But if we swallow our pride and stand to be counted, we will push the government to do what it is supposed to do. We will push the government to act in justice. Stand and be counted.
II
Second, stand and be counted, because, even though you suspect that oppression may be in it somewhere, God is able to use the count for His own purposes. Maybe you have reason to be suspicious. Maybe you are afraid of how the information might be used. Maybe you fear oppression. And, believe me, I am not belittling that possibility. I think that’s real. But still, God’s word shows us that when we stand to be counted, God is able to use even oppression to suit His purposes.
Travel with me in your imagination, two thousand years back to the village of Nazareth. There is Joseph the carpenter. What do you see? Is he jumping up and down for joy because far-off Caesar has called for a census? What do you hear? Is Joseph singing, “Glory, hallelujah, I get to go down to Bethlehem, scores of dusty miles, with my pregnant wife on a donkey and sores on my feet!”? Is Joseph rejoicing, “Oh, wonderful, a vacation! I won’t have to work in the carpenter shop, I won’t have any money coming in, and I get to go down there and have them figure out how much tax money I owe to Rome!”? No, not really. Joseph and Mary must have groaned and complained when they heard the news. Taxes to pay! Who has the money for that? And a trip all the way down to Bethlehem, just at the time the baby is due? Why can’t they send the census people up here? Why do we have to go to them? And it’s just not right that oppressive Rome takes money from people like us anyway! Who do they think they are? Oh, I can imagine that.
Just like I can imagine a Mexican family in Adams-Morgan saying, “If we let the census-taker talk to us, they will send us back where we came from. We don’t have papers.” Just like I can imagine a Chinese worker saying, “If they find me, they will insist that I pay social security taxes, and I don’t want to. I need to send every penny I can get to my family in China.” Just like I can imagine, in the early days of this country, your forefathers and your foremothers, caught in the unspeakable horror of slavery, afraid of a government which had permitted their servitude, distrustful of a society which had brutalized them. It’s not hard to imagine two hundred years ago, the African slave not wanting to be counted. After all, the constitution of this America had said that when they were counted, they would be counted only as three-fifths of a person – not even a real person! It’s not hard to imagine the sons and daughters of African slaves, just one hundred years ago, suspicious because the count was used to segregate them and keep them down. It’s not hard, even today, to imagine African-Americans in this very nation’s capital, wondering if this government really has their interests in mind, wondering if real people will be helped. I can well imagine all those fears.
But let me take you back again to Bethlehem. Let me take you back to a weary road and a dark night, to a couple desperate for a place to stay. Let me take you back and remind you that, in the heart of God, it was the fullness of time when the Savior should be born. It was the right time and the right place and the right circumstance for God’s Messiah. And despite all the oppressive overtones, God’s will was accomplished. Despite all of the putdowns and the pain and the heartache, when Joseph and Mary went to be counted, it was the moment for the will of God to be done.
Oh, Rome thought it had people in its grip. And the tax collectors supposed they had a hold on everyone. They were going to take and take and take, they thought. But of the sovereignty of God they knew nothing. Of the power of God to take even things meant for oppression and to turn them around to be the instruments of His compassion, they knew nothing. No matter. No matter. “We will not fear, for God has willed His truth to triumph through us.”
Stand and be counted. Stand and be counted, even though you may not fully trust this government. Even if it is a government which, not too many years ago, shut out Asians and closed out Africans and favored the immigration of northern Europeans. God has taken us beyond that. Stand and be counted because deep in the heart of this nation there is an instinct for compassion. You may not feel that Lady Liberty, in New York harbor, lifting her lamp beside the golden door, represents you. Maybe your ancestors didn’t get here on a luxury liner or in the steerage compartment of a freighter. Your ancestors may have come here, under compulsion, packed like cordwood in the musty hold of a slave ship. Still, God is doing something in this land. God has planted deep in America’s heart an instinct for compassion. When America knows the need, America responds. When America knows who is here, America will do what is right. God has brought all of us here for a reason, and He will have His way. Even in the face of oppression, He who went down into Egypt’s land to let His people go will have His way.
Stand and be counted. Trust God to use the census as an instrument of His compassion. Stand and be counted, even though you may fear what will happen to you personally. Dr. King taught us that if you disobey the law, you have to be ready to take the consequences. Taxes must be paid. Honor must be given. Stand and be counted, because you can trust God to use whatever happens for the benefit of all of His children.
III
But most of all, children of God, stand up and be counted, because being counted provides an opportunity for the church of the Lord Jesus Christ to do His work. It provides an opportunity for us to do what we are put here to do. The census count can make a way for us to do the redemptive work that is the responsibility of the church. Stand and be counted, because being counted means a chance to stand on our feet and name the name of Jesus and then to do what we are called to do.
Of all the passages in the Bible about being numbered, there is none with grander scope or more lyrical grandeur than that one in the Book of Revelation that describes the end of all things. If you want to get a glimpse of glory divine, let this passage wash over you.
And I heard the number of those who were sealed … After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands.
A great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages. People of God, the vision is for all humanity to become what God wants us to become. The vision is for all people, of every nation and tribe and language, to be redeemed and to be developed. God’s intent is that we shall be reconciled to Him and in fellowship with Him; and that we shall be reconciled to one another and in fellowship with one another; and that every person on the face of the globe grow and develop into the likeness of Christ. The Bible gives us a comprehensive vision: the will of God is for all people to flourish and blossom and be what He intended us to be. The vision of the Scriptures is for a vast throng, so immense that no man can number and no census-taker can enumerate, finally gathered around His throne.
It is to that vision, and nothing less, that the church of Jesus Christ is called. It is to the vision of a healed humanity that we who name the name of Christ are called. We’re not to put religious faith into a little pocket over here, and imagine we’ve done all we need to do when somebody professes faith in Christ and is baptized. That’s good, that’s crucial, yes. But the task of the church of Jesus Christ is to grow people in every way to be like Christ. We are called to the vision of a healed humanity.
And so for the church to be the church, we need to know all we can know about people’s needs. We need to know the kind of people who live where we live. I already know, for example, that in the community my church serves, there are a great many senior citizens. That tells me we need to do more for the needs of older people, if we expect them to be all they can be for Jesus Christ. I hope the census will tell me even more about them.
I hope the census will tell me something about the children in my community. How many are there? What are their ages? What is happening in their homes? Two parents, one parent, grandparents? Are they in school or have they dropped out? Can they read or are they struggling with literacy? All of this information is important if my church is to be faithful to the place where God has planted us.
But even deeper than that, you and I, individually and personally, need to stand and be counted. We need to see where God has put us and to what He has called us. We need to decide that we are not going to hide any longer. We are not going to hide behind our stained glass windows any longer; we are going to see the world as it really is. We are not going to hide behind our gospel songs and our inside-the-walls Bible studies any longer. We’re going to take what we have to the streets and the schools and the homes and the businesses. We need to know who’s there. We need to stand and be counted.
Young people, stand and be counted, and let others know that you know the Lord and love the Lord. Stand for what is right. Stand and be counted when on the playground they say vicious things. You know that if you will stand and be counted, God will add to His church and that vast throng of those who are saved.
Parents, stand and be counted. Stand for what the children need. Stand for what you need to be effective parents. Stand for what families need in order to thrive. Stand and be counted, for you know that what God wants is strong families. Just as the Book of Revelation has a vision of all the families of Israel gathered around the throne, thriving and growing and rejoicing. Stand and be counted so that your family and others can be saved.
Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, stand and be counted. Make it clear where our allegiance lies. Make it plain that we stand for the full development of all people. Make it certain that all of God’s children receive all they need in order to live as He designed them. Stand now and be counted so that the resources go where they should go. Stand now and be counted so that we can do what churches are supposed to do. Stand now, people of God, for the last, the least, the lost, and the lonely. Stand and be counted for those who have no voice, stand and be counted for those whose hearts fail them, stand and be counted for those who are too weak to stand and too weary to run. Stand and be counted. Be the church. Know who you are, know whose you are, and know who needs you. Stand and be counted.
During the Second World War, the hatred of Nazism targeted every person of Jewish descent. It was dangerous to stand and be counted. If you were Jewish, you could lose your possessions, your home, your family, even your life, if the Nazi government knew you were Jewish. Dangerous business. And so when the Nazis took over the little country of Denmark, they counted the Jews and made each of them wear a little yellow triangle. Everyone would know, “This is a Jew. He’s fair game.” Dangerous to stand and be counted. But the story is that the Danish king, whose rule had been taken over by the Nazis, put on his own arm a yellow patch, the mark of the hated Jew, and walked the streets of his kingdom, wearing this badge. The king stood with those who had no one else to stand for them.
Oh, you know, we have a king too. And our king wears a badge of disgrace. Our king bears a badge of pain and disgrace. It is a cross. Our king wears the badge of disgrace in the streets of our city. King Jesus carries that cross. The Scripture even says that in his death he was numbered with the wicked. But He did it for us. And for all our needs. For the needs of all people.
If you and I will stand and be counted, we will make it possible for everyone, for the last, the least, the lost, and the lonely; for the fearful and the hated; for the young and for the old – for all to stand around the throne of God, a vast throng which no man can number! What an opportunity! What a joy! To stand and be counted.
I don’t know about you, but as for me, I want to be there, “when the saints go marching in, O Lord, I want to be in their number, when the saints go marching in.” Stand and be counted.
