|
 |
You Are My Answer
Exodus 3: 7-10
Two weeks ago, I started our time together by reading a portion of a
wonderful poem by Robert Frost. I want to read that passage to you again
this week:
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no foot had trodden black
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere in ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
Took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
As great as that poem is, I believe that it has been made better. Dr.
Seuss got a hold of A Road Less Traveled and reworked it so it reads
like this:
A Zoad In The Road, by Dr. Seuss
Did I ever tell you about the young Zoad
Who came to two sides in the fork in the road?
He looked one way then the other way, too.
So the Zoad had to make up his mind what to do.
Well the Zoad scratched his head, his chin, and his pants,
And he said to himself, 'Now, I'll be taking a chance.
If I go to place one, that place may be hot.
So how will I know if I like it or not?
On the other hand though, I'll feel such a fool,
If I go to place two and find it's too cool.
In that case I may catch a chill and turn blue.
So place one may be best and not place two.
On the other hand though, if place one is too high,
I might get a terrible earache and die.
On the other hand though, if place two is too low,
I might get some terrible pain in my toe.
So place one may be the best,' and he started to go.
And he stopped and he said, 'On the other hand though. . .
On the other hand, other hand, other hand though, and. . .
For thirty-six hours and one half that Zoad made starts and made stops
At the fork in the road, saying 'No, don't take a chance, you may not be
right.'
Then he got an idea that was wonderfully bright.
'Play safe,' cried the Zoad, 'I'm no dunce.
I'll simply start off to both places at once.'
And that's how the Zoad who would not take a chance
Got no place at all with the split in his pants.
Now, some of you are probably wondering what that great piece of
literature has to do with the Church here at New Hope, and then there
are some of you that have heard enough sermons in your life that you
already have made the point in your mind.
Every one of us is fearfully and wonderfully made by the creator of the
universe, and in the heart of each one of us we were given the dignity
and danger of decision. Sometimes we make wise decisions and enjoy the
benefits. Sometimes we make unwise decisions and reap the consequences.
It is that fear that keeps us from reaching out and doing the wonderful
things that God has called us as a church to do.
Why do we have 80 people in an auditorium that will seat over 200?
Because we are afraid that if we make the decision to be evangelistic we
will mess it up.
Why have you not asked someone to come to our building for our
communication seminar next week? Because we are afraid that our friends
and co-workers are happy where they are and we don’t want to mess up a
friendship.
Why haven’t you told someone about the hope that lives in your heart?
Because you are afraid that is you then they will ask you a question
that you cannot answer.
Just like the Zoad, we are caught between what we know we need to do and
what we want to do, and for the last forty years we have done nothing
but rip our pants.
Our amazing Creator sits in Heaven and listens to the cries of distress
coming from this community and wants to send an answer. For every cry of
God's people, God has an answer. And his answer is almost always God's
people. You are the answer.
Moses – God’s Answer
Look with me at the third chapter of the book of Exodus. We will read
verses 7-10 (Read Text)
You remember the story of Israel's 400-year enslavement in Egypt. The
cruel boot of oppression was leaning on Israel's throat and nearly
crushed the life out of God's people. They worked when the government
told them to work. They worked where the government told them to work.
They worked how they were told with the materials the government gave
them. For the last generation every male boy had been slaughtered by the
government. And now they are crying out to God. And God says, "I have
seen. I have heard. I am concerned. I am coming down to help you. Moses,
come here. You are my answer."
But Moses didn't want to be God's answer. So he argued with God. Can’t
you just hear it?
Well who do I say told me to go? And God said, "You tell them I sent
you."
"But God, I’m not a great talker, as a matter of fact I am a horrible
talker, I have a lisp and a weird accent.” And God said, "Moses, if I
say I can use you, I can use you."
Some of us are a lot like Moses. There are folks in our communities
crying out for help, needing the peace, and comfort that can only be
given by a loving God and we freeze. We look at our imperfections and
think that God can’t use us. We know our failures and think that we will
mess things up worse if we even try so we just sit idly by. The problem
with that mentality is that God didn’t buy it from Moses and He surely
will not buy it from us. God knew that His people needed an answer and
Moses was to be that answer.
Have you every heard of David Ring? David Ring was born with cerebral
palsy. His mom and dad were the only ones who believed in him. His dad
passed away when he was 12 and his mom passed away when he was 14 years
old. The rest of the family wanted to put him in a school for the
special needs but he said, "You can't put me away. I've been called to
preach." They would laugh at him and say said, "You can't preach. You
can't walk right, you can't talk right, and who would want to hear you
preach." He said, "I know I have Cerebral Palsy, I know I have
limitations, but I've been called to preach." And that’s just what he
did.
In 1976 the year David graduated from college he preached 48 revivals.
This year David turned 54 years old, he is an accomplished author and in
the remaining fourteen weeks of this year he will preach to 53 different
churches and business. He averages 700 requests for meetings a year. All
of this from a man who is limited more than anyone else in this room.
Against his original desires, Moses decided to become God's answer. And
with that decision, he became one of the greatest figures in all of
history. He led Israel out of Egyptian slavery, through the wilderness,
right up to the Promised Land. And then Moses was gone.
And the people said, "Lord don't leave us here. You promised you'd give
us that land. Lord don't let us die in this wilderness." And God said,
"I have seen. I have heard. I am concerned. I am coming down to help
you.
Joshua – God’s Answer
Remember Joshua's call in Joshua 1 (Read Text Joshua 1:6-9)
"Joshua, be strong and courageous, did I not tell you Joshua, be strong
and courageous, for I, the Lord your God will be with you wherever you
go?"
We are left with the impression here that Joshua wasn't very strong or
courageous. Instead, I get the feeling that he had seen the great work
done by Moses and was living in fear that he would never be able to
measure up to that type of success. Sometimes we fail to move into
action not because of a physical problem like Moses, but because of a
better than problem like Joshua.
I know that following in the footsteps of a great man or woman can be
intimidating. As Joshua looked at the task in front of him, I am sure
that it was daunting. But remember that Joshua was one of the two spies
that returned to say that they could take the land promised to them.
Then for 40 years, He and Caleb walked with Moses while every adult died
in the wilderness. Joshua knew first hand the power and protection of
God. But he was still afraid.
What if he wasn’t as good a leader as Moses was? What if his decisions
took the presence of God away from the Israelites? What if he leads them
right back into slavery? If the people rebelled against a great leader
like Moses how can I keep then from rebelling against me?
But with all of those questions and all of the fear about his ability to
do what God needed for him to do, he stepped up and did it. He allowed
God to use him to be His answer. He led them in all the battles of
Jericho and the others. And they took the Promised Land. But they never
quite became the people of the promised life.
You see it may take courage to fight for and win freedom. But it takes
character to keep it. For all freedom does is give us the power to make
choices. If we use our freedom to make the wrong choices we lose our
freedom. It's true of nations and individuals. History's garbage dump is
heaped with the lives of nations and people who used their freedom to
make the wrong choices.
Gideon – God’s Answer Judges 6:1-40
The Midianites, who were driven out by the Israelites, eventually came
back and drove God’s people into the hills and caves. They destroyed the
homes and crops and took their livestock. Judges 6:6 says the people
were so impoverished by the Midianites that they called out to God. And
God said, "I have seen. I have heard. I am concerned. I am coming down
to help you. Gideon, come here. You are my answer."
Apparently Gideon didn’t know the story of Moses all to well. E answers
God’s request in much the same way that Moses did. "God," he said, "I am
from the least important tribe in all of Judah. I am from the least
important family in the least important tribe. I am the least important
person in the least important family in the least important tribe.
Surely you don't think I'm the answer?"
Gideon’s fear to serve God was because he just wasn’t good enough to do
the Lord’s work. He was the least of the last in his mind, but in God’s
mind that was just the type of person that the Kingdom needed. God’s
reply to Gideon probably went something like, "You dare ask me how I can
use you when I've called you?"
We have to remember that when God calls us to work in His kingdom then
he will qualify us to do that Job. When God calls you to do something
you can do anything. God has called us to be the salt and light to this
community and He is not concerned with our supposed limitations. God can
work through us to change our community if we are willing to let Him.
That is the way God works through out all scripture. God's people cry
out to him and God says, "I have seen. I have heard. I am concerned. I
am coming down to help you." And then God calls someone -- some
anonymous nobody -- someone nobody but God would have considered and
says, "Come here. You are my answer."
When Jesus came out from the tomb and met with the disciples they must
have thought it was the most exciting thing that had ever happened. Here
they were -- uneducated, unlettered, poor, powerless. They were living
in a world full of people crying out to God. And Jesus said to them, "I
have seen. I have heard. I am concerned. I am coming down to rescue.
Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James,
Simon, Judas, son of James, come here .... you are my answer."
Church, today I want to ask you to do two things. Just two.
First, I want you to remember the people who were God's answer for you.
There was a time, in all of our lives, when all we knew how to do was
cry -- and produce soiled diapers. God's answer for you was a mom and
dad who fed you, bathed you, kissed your scrapped knees, and comforted
you at night when you were afraid of the thunder. They disciplined you
when your behavior cried out for it. They encouraged you when you were
broken-hearted. They defended you when you were attacked. They
confronted you when you were wrong. They loved you in a million ways.
But there have been others. For me, one of God's answers was Jim Abston,
an youth worker at the Mayfair congregation. He played basketball,
watched college football, ate at waffle house, and told jokes into the
night. We didn't even know we were crying out to God for someone who
would love us and teach us, but God heard anyway. God said, "I have
seen. I have heard. I am concerned. I am coming down to help. Jim Abston,
come here. You are my answer for these children." I remember Jim Abston,
and I want you to remember who God's answers were for you.
Here's the second thing I want you to do, I want you to listen.
I want you to listen for two sounds. The first will be a sorrowful and
lonely sound. Or it may be an angry and belligerent sound. Or it may be
broken and weak. Or loud and defiant. It will be the sound of people
crying out to God. People in our community cry out to God in different
ways. Some of them don't even know they need God. They just know they
need something. And so they cry out. Listen for their cries.
Then I want you to listen for another sound. It won't be the kind of
sound you hear -- you'll feel it, though. There will a voice coming from
within you. It will be strangely familiar to you, like you've heard it
before in a Sunday school class or worship service or fireside
devotional. It will say, come here. I have seen. I have heard. I am
concerned. I'm coming down to help. You are my answer."
|
