September 28 2014 A Feast: FITNESS - *Exodus 17.1-7,
Philippians 2.1-13 Pastor Jacqueline Hines
God’s people were on their way to the Promised Land. After a
while, they got thirsty, but there was no water to drink. They poured their
anger out on Moses. Suddenly, Moses went from being a hero [ #1 Moses hero with a staff ] who
delivered them from the wicked Pharaoh to being despicable and worst of all, useless.
[ #2 useless ] It’s
a terrible thing to believe that nobody needs you. Have you ever had that
feeling? That you’ve been put on the
shelf [ #3 reaching for shelf ] and all that is
left now is for you to just sit there and not mean anything? It’s also a
terrible thing to believe that you’ve lost your influence; nobody pays any
attention to you anymore. Unlike E. F. Hutton - when you speak, nobody seems to
listen. [ #4 man blocking ears ]
Over and over again, Moses’ leadership was challenged; the
crowd grew angrier and angrier. It became a mob ready to riot. [ #5 mob dumping leader ]We all know pouring our anger
on one another never helps and always destroys some precious connections that
may not be healed for generations. [ #6 hands joined ]
They had obediently followed Moses’ big plan to leave for the
Promised Land, [#7 crossing Red Sea ] they expected
that things would get easier. Instead, they seemed worse. The time for being
polite was over. They weren’t even over the trauma and difficulties of they
suffered in Egypt; how could they possibly endure the threat of another crisis.
Where’s the water, Moses? And where is the God who is supposed to be guiding us
to the Promised Land?
Last winter, when the snow fell so hard, power lines were
knocked down, and temperatures plummeted. Some of us found ourselves days and
weeks without water, without heat, and no idea how long it would be before
things were back to normal. Secretly, we may have compared ourselves, wondering
who was blessed and who was not, who had good luck and who had bad luck. In the
end, we all had our faith stories, our stories of how God blessed us, whether
we appreciated it in the midst of the struggle or not. God always deserves
better than we give him and we deserve worse than we get.
Still, when things turn sour, it does not mean that God has
abandoned us. Instead it is a time to remember that God has a purpose and a
plan. [ # 8 notebook God’s pan ] It is a time to
put our faith in action, to increase our spiritual fitness, to feast on God’s
wonderful word day and night, from the bible, the internet, television, radio,
the testimonies of family and friends. God’s word is everywhere. Feasting on
the word keeps us fit. It strengthens us for the journey toward whatever God
has promised us. [#9
Jesus with Teddy Bear]
Peg Linderman sent me an email that I never forgot. It showed
a man carrying a cross. His cross was wide and long. [
#10 man and cross ]It looked
heavy and hard to carry. The man complained to God that it was too much for him
to bear and he cut it down and continued the journey. After a while, he became
tired and continued to complain that his cross was still too much to carry so
he cut it down some more. He kept cutting it down until it became easy.
Traveling on, he came to a cliff that was several feet away from the next step
he was supposed to take. The cross he rejected was the very cross that he
needed to make it through. [#11 cross at cliff]
One of the crosses that we are called to bear in the Church
universal is the cross to remain in harmony and unity despite our diversity.
How in the world are we going to stay together as a family of God if we do not
have healthy, respectful, adult conversations on our different views on
sexuality?
Denominations have become divided without finding a way to
live together, but I cling to a hope that the United Methodist Church will be
able to have meaningful dialogue [ #12 let’s start
talking ] that will bring peace and respect. Our international missions
depend upon our staying together. The United Methodist Church responds to every
crisis in the world – including the Ukraine and the Middle East. What matters
more than being able to talk together without exploding in each other’s faces
or bombing each other’s lives? Good soldiers respond with integrity and
self-control. [#13 soldier/flag] Anger and
disrespect leave us vulnerable to the attacks of the enemy.
Instead of asking where is the water? Where is what we want,
what we need, and where is God?, can we first take a moment to answer the
question Jesus asked the disciples in the middle of a dangerous storm. “Where
is your faith?” [#14
faith ] Though the disciples followed all the holy directions they were
given, the storm still rocked their boat. Fearing for their very lives, Jesus
still asked them, “Where is your faith?” Being afraid is no excuse for giving
up our faith. Being thirsty or hungry or tired or sick or grieving is no excuse
for faithlessness. Where is our faith in the God who promises to guide us, to
provide for us, to love us though family and friends forsake us? Where is our
faith in a God who faithfully keeps covenant with us, even when we reject that
covenant? Whatever our circumstances, we do well always to keep the faith! [ #15 keep the faith
]
After all God had done for them, they still doubted God’s
love and provision. They walked head first into trouble, as we often do. Still
God delivered them. They were freed from the Pharaoh, the waters were parted,
the enemy was eliminated, and God gave them a vision of a new home where they
would be free to plan and prepare a faithful life.
Instead of keeping their eyes on such an awesome God first,
their first focus was on themselves. So they kind of had the attitude, “Thank
you very much, for all you have done, Lord, but can you just give me what I
want now?” All along, God says, just “Trust me. Call on me and I will show you
great and marvelous things, you’ve never seen before. Trust me through your
wilderness. Don’t rely
on things that look secure. Don’t trust those simply because they appear
strong. Don’t trust in a quick fix out of desperation. Don’t allow yourself to
remain discouraged and depressed. Trust in me. I love you.
A counselor asks the question, how do you know when a
marriage is bad? The answer was a marriage is bad when the two people in it
continually subject the love that undergirds it to daily doubts. "Do you
love me?"
“The same is true of the marriage between God and creation as
it is in the marriage of husband and wife. When there is no trust in God,
nothing God can do will ever be enough. No prayer that God can answer will ever
be enough. No blessing that God can bestow will ever be enough. God will always
be one bad experience…from no longer being believed.*
As children of God, we can trust God’s love because God hears
our every cry, just as he heard the Israelites. Just like any loving parent
hears. Even when there are lots of children around, a parent knows the cry of
their child, even when they have not even learned to say a word. A loving
parent interprets the meaning of each cry and responds to what is wrong.
Calling on God, crying out to God is a very powerful way to communicate with
God. God hears the need, the urgent, loud cries of pain, anguish and distress.
God cares, and God answers each cry.
God sent Moses as an answer to their cries and their prayers.
Moses was given specific instructions from God: First he was to get away from
the angry crowd – and bring along a few wise, calm, and trustworthy elders.
Second he was to take the lead and go up front, carrying the same symbolic
staff that he used earlier to divide the waters of the Red Sea, crossing over
to freedom. Thirdly, he was to strike a rock and release water for all the
thirsty people and their animals to drink. God did provide. Their prayers were
answered!
What are you thirsty for today? [
#16 glass of water ]What longing
lurks in your heart? What storms have you weathered? Trust in God!! Seek the
Lord with ALL your heart. Do like Moses, get in front of the fray and bring
someone who loves and trust YOU and your God; bring a symbol of the last
miracle you received, [ #17 baby foot ] and dare
to strike the rock. [#18 water coming from rock]
In Hebrew the word strike in this verse is “Naw Kaw” the
rock, “Naw Kaw” to hit, strike a blow, capture, subjugate. In order to be
refreshed, God wants us to deal with the hard, seemingly impenetrable things in
life that we find on our way to our Promised Land. There may be hard work and
hard conversations to be had because God loves us the way we are, but too much
to let us stay that way.
In another telling of this story, Moses is not instructed to
strike the rock because he had anger management issues. Moses is instructed to
speak to the rock. Whether God tells us at a certain point in our journey to
speak up in a hard place, or to strike the rock, one thing we have learned as
we have kept the faith, and as we have used every gift and talent in good
service, God will provide the refreshing waters that we need for the feast to
begin. The quarreling, whining, and complaining cease and we can continue our
journey and complete our mission. So, drink up! [#19
water spilling over] You will quickly find that our God is one who can
take ordinary water and make it intoxicating. May we find rest in God’s
presence today. [cat
at rest] Amen.
*Sermons.com
