Chuckle at the absurdity

 

     There have been some great evangelists in the history of the Church. One of those was a man by the name of George Campbell Morgan, who preached his first sermon at 13 years old. But at the age of 19, Morgan became troubled by the writings of Charles Darwin, other scientists, and agnostics of his time. Their writings bothered him so much that Morgan canceled all his speaking events and put away all his books.

 

     Morgan bought a new Bible and said to himself, “I am not longer sure that this is what my father claims it to be—the Word of God. But of this I am sure. If it be the Word of God, and if I come to it with an unprejudiced and open mind, it will bring assurance to my soul of itself.” God spoke to Morgan, giving him new assurance and sent him back out preaching. (Wycliffe Handbook of Preaching & Preachers, Moody, 1984, p. 211)

 

     There are many things that we read, see, and think that may raise doubts in our minds. But why? God has repeatedly proved Himself. As we continue our Lent series, “Never Again” we will look at a forefather of the faith who faced a moment of doubt. He chuckles at the absurdity of God’s promise.

 

 

     Genesis 17:1-7, 15-17 (CEB):

 

     (1-7) When Abram was 99 years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am El Shaddai. Walk with me and be trustworthy. I will make a covenant between us and I will give you many, many descendants.” Abram fell on his face, and God said to him, “But me, my covenant is with you; you will be the ancestor of many nations. And because I have made you the ancestor of many nations, your name will no longer be Abram but Abraham. I will make you very fertile. I will produce many nations from you, and kings will come from you. I will set up my covenant with you and your descendants after you in every generation as an enduring covenant, I will be your God and your descendants’ God after you.”

 

     (15-17) God said to Abraham, “As for your wife Sarai, you will no longer call her Sarai. Her name will now be Sarah. I will bless her and even give you a son from her. I will bless her so that she will become nations, and kings of peoples will come from her.”

 

     Abraham fell on his face and laughed. He said to himself, Can a 100-year-old man become a father, or Sarah, a 90-year-old woman, have a child?

 

 

This is the Word of God.

For the people of God.

Thanks be to God.

 

 

     As we look at this passage, we encounter the line where faith collides with doubt. There are many reasons we could give for doubt, but all our answers only serve to mask the real culprit. It is in this story of God’s promise to Abraham, a hero of faith, that we discover the source of our doubt.

 

     The promise God gives to Abraham in verses 1 through 7 is not a new one. In chapter 15, God tells Abraham this same promise. But then time went by, and the promise still had not happened. This is why in chapter 16, Abraham and Sarah take matters into their own hands by having Abraham sleep with Sarah’s maidservant, Hagar. Hagar gets pregnant, but that opens a whole can of worms. Trying to get God’s blessing without God’s will always lead to such disasters.

 

     Thirteen years later, after Abraham and Sarah’s failed attempt to go it alone, God comes to him again. God begins in verse 1 by saying, “I am El Shaddai” or “God Almighty.” In the English, this does not say much to us. But in Hebrew, God uses this unique name for Himself, God is saying to Abraham, “I am God all-sufficient.” The Lord is telling Abraham that He is the God who pours out blessings on people.

 

     Continuing in verse 1, God says, “walk blameless.” God is telling Abraham to do it His way, Abraham is to have faith in God and then live his life through that faith. Abraham already had an example of what happens when he does not.

 

     In verse 5, God gives Abraham a new name. Up to this point, Abraham’s name was “Abram” which meant “exalted father.” His new name means “ancestor of a multitude.” God’s promise and call for Abraham to walk blamelessly was entering a new period in his life. One that was not Abraham’s own but a life that belonged to God.

 

     Despite Abraham and Sarah trying to gain the promise without God, God reaffirms his covenant with Abraham and Sarah again. How does Abraham respond to God? In verse 17, it says, “Abraham fell on his face and laughed.” Abraham laughs at the idea that God will do the impossible. Why does Abraham laugh? It could be that the idea of them giving birth was a 100-year-old man and his 90-year-old wife giving birth was an impossible task. And yet, God was promising to do it. The thought was so ridiculous all Abraham could do was joyfully laugh. Or Abraham laughed because he believed the promise of descendants was possible but doubted how it would be accomplished.

 

     Either way brings us to the same issue, doubt. Whether it is blatant in Abraham’s laugh or not, it reveals an attitude of doubt that is a pattern in the mind, rooted in his heart. The broken humanity in him, even though he heard it spoken from God and had experienced His goodness, still was saturated in doubt.

 

     Why do we doubt? Because sin has convinced us to fear God, believing in our hearts that He wants to punish us for our sins. Our hearts do not trust God is good, or that He wants to do something good in our lives. To complicate matters, sin has taught us to not trust anyone or anything good. Anything good from this world seems to come with strings attached.

 

     Remember the name God gave Himself to Abraham? “God all-sufficient.” God is enough. John Wesley wrote, “We have all in him, and we have enough in him… We have enough to satisfy our most enlarged desires; enough to supply the defect of everything else and to secure happiness for our immortal souls.” The idea that God could fall short of His promises or even fail to provide for our needs is ridiculous. Doubt is a lie fabricated in the depths of humanity’s brokenness.

 

     How could Abraham be considered a forefather of faith if he laughed because of doubt? Paul writes in Romans 4:20, “Abraham did not waver in unbelief about the promise of God but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God.” Abraham is considered a forefather of faith because while there may have been doubt in how the plan would be accomplished, he believed that God was greater than his unbelief. Abraham did not try to make God compete with his unbelief. He surrendered to God, knowing that God was bigger, more powerful, and greater than his unbelief.

 

     You and I can have faith like Abraham. Never again do we have to chuckle at the absurdity of the impossible. Why? Because God has already worked the most impossible of all impossibilities. He made a way for lost sinners to come home. Jesus died and rose again to prove to us that God loves us. If Jesus can save the very ones who rejected Him, nothing is impossible for God. Even when we were so lost we did not know to even look for God, in His grace He dropped breadcrumbs in our lives to point us to Jesus.

 

     The faith of Abraham is trusting God more than your own heart and understanding. It is to stop trying to control everything, lining up your ducks and those of everyone around you. And believing that you never again have to chuckle at the absurdity of the impossible, because there is nothing that your God cannot do.

 

     What is it you are trying to work out on your own? Trust God, because He can! What is the impossible thing that makes you think that God cannot do it? He can! Trust Him! Maybe you think you have sinned too great and are beyond redemption. Do you think your sin is greater than the blood of Jesus? No matter what it is, surrender to God this morning.

Need prayer? Have a question? Contact The Dirt Path Pastor

Go for wood

 

Never again. Those words imply that something happened before, or happened a certain way, but it will not be that way or happen that way again. Throughout the Bible, there are such events that tie into God’s story of redemption. As the season of Lent begins, our sermon series will focus on these events found in the Old Testament connected with the work of salvation completed in Jesus.

 

In the book of Genesis, the Bible records that the world became wicked and violent, to the point that every inclination of the human heart was fixated on evil. The most merciful thing God could do to preserve humanity and creation was to start over. God tells a man named Noah, “Go for wood.” Noah needs to go for wood to build an ark because God was sending a flood to wash away humanity’s wickedness.

 

 

     Genesis 9:8-17 (CEB):

 

     God said to Noah and to his sons with him, “I am not setting up my covenant with you, with your descendants, and with every living being with you—with the birds, with the large animals, and with all the animals of the earth, leaving the ark with you. I will set up my covenant with you so that never again will all life be cut off by floodwaters. There will never again be a flood to destroy the earth.”

 

     God said, “This is the symbol of the covenant that I am drawing up between me and you and every living thing with you, on behalf of every future generation. I have placed my bow in the clouds; it will be the symbol of the covenant between me and the earth.

 

     When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow appears in the clouds, I will remember the covenant between me and you and every living being among all the creatures. Floodwaters will never again destroy all creatures. The bow will be in the clouds, and upon seeing it I will remember the enduring covenant between God and every living being of all the earth’s creatures.” God said to Noah, “This is the symbol of the covenant that I have set up between me and all creatures on earth.”

 

 

This is the Word of God.

For the people of God.

Thanks be to God.

 

 

     God tells Noah to go for wood because He is going to wipe out all life that dwells on the earth. Noah was considered a righteous man because of his faith in God, so God was going to restart the earth through him and his family. And Noah was faithful to the task. For over 200 days, Noah and his family survived in the ark, with each other and two of every kind of land-dwelling creature.

 

     Once Noah and his family emerged from the ark on dry land, God declared that Noah, nor any other person would have to go for wood again to build an ark. We will be examining God’s promise to Noah in the aftermath of Noah’s ark experience.

 

     In verse 8 and again in verse 11, God says He is establishing a covenant with Noah and his family. This covenant does not exist on the will of Earth or its inhabitants. It is not because of humanity’s goodness. The covenant that was given to Noah, his family, and the rest of the creatures was propped up because of God’s goodness. God decided that “never again” would there be a need to go for wood.

 

     Again, God did not do this because humanity was now good. Sin has corrupted every human heart. As a matter of fact, in this same chapter, we will see the wickedness continue. This is a covenant based on God’s mercy. But this covenant is given beyond Noah to all living creatures, both past and present. We see how much God values all of creation, including us.

 

     As a reminder, God places a mark on creation. This is not because God is forgetful. He always remembers. When God sees the mark, it is not for Him to recognize that He needs to pull back the rain, thunder, and wind. It is a mark reminding all of us that God will “never again” have anyone go for wood.

 

     What is the mark God uses? A bow. I know the NIV says, “rainbow.” But the Hebrew word means “bow” like the instrument of war. A rainbow is shaped like a multi-colored bow in the sky. However, notice which way the bow is pointed. It is not aimed at the earth, but directed at heaven. God is not going to shoot arrows at Himself, it is a promise without end.

 

     How does this apply to us? How does this connect with the wider story of salvation through Jesus? Matthew Henry wrote, “Sin which drowned the old world will burn this.” It was our wickedness and violence that brought the flood waters to the earth. God acted in mercy to preserve all of creation from our sinfulness. After the waters receded, God promised never again would anyone need to go for wood to build another ark. His flood waters of judgment would never wash away all creation again.

 

     But the truth of this passage is that sin always leads to destruction, and the Bible assures us that a day is coming when God’s holy fire will ultimately destroy sin, evil, darkness, and death once and for all. It is a good thing God promised “never again” about the need for an ark. An ark made of wood would not keep anyone safe. The Bible tells us people will take to the mountains to shield themselves from His judgment, but there is no escape.

 

     And remember, God wants everyone to be saved. But an ark was only big enough to save Noah, his family, and two of every creature. That is a limited capacity. The number saved at the time of the flood was a very small percentage of life.

 

     God wants everyone to be saved. This means that God has put no cap on the number of survivors at the final judgment. And the good news is God has made a way so that is possible! Jesus died on the cross to make a way for all sinners to be saved through faith in Him! “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” (John 3:17) An ark is not needed because the blood of Jesus can wash away our sin, and if we place our faith in Him then the Holy Spirit will purify our hearts with holy fire. In other words, we do not have to go for wood because Jesus was nailed to it.

 

     That day of God’s judgment is coming. There is nothing any of us can do to stop it. There is nothing of this earth or us that can save us from it. And if we are not right with God, that should terrify us. If hearing this stirs up fear, it should be because we are being convicted with the knowledge of our sinfulness. But we do not have to leave here today in that fear. God does not want us to live in fear of His judgment. Our conviction is pointing us to our need for Jesus. We can choose to shed our fear and exchange it for a crown of victory.

Need prayer? Have a question? Contact The Dirt Path Pastor 

Between

 

One of my favorite TV shows is MASH, with Hawkeye being one of my all-time favorite characters. In one episode, this American surgical unit is penned down by enemy sniper fire, impeding their attempt to do their life-saving jobs. As the problem begins, Colonel Blake tells the company, “Now the first thing people do in this situation is panic.” Hawkeye responds with, “Good, at least I’m doing things in the right order.”

 

Is that not our go-to human response? When we face tough news, impossible difficulties, and overwhelming things our natural response is fear and anxiety. But our passage today reveals that we can rest in these moments. A choice exists.

 

 

     Exodus 14:13-31 (CEB):

 

     But Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. Stand your ground, and watch the LORD rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never ever see again. The LORD will fight for you. You just keep still.”

 

     Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to get moving. As for you, lift your shepherd’s rod, stretch out your hand over the sea, and split it in two so that the Israelites can go into the sea on dry ground. But me, I’ll make the Egyptians stubborn so that they will go in after them, and I’ll gain honor at the expense of Pharaoh, all his army, his chariots, and his cavalry. The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD, when I gain honor at the expense of Pharaoh, his chariots, and his cavalry.

 

     God’s messenger, who had been in front of Israel’s camp, moved and went behind them. The column of cloud moved from the front and took its place behind them. It stood between Egypt’s camp and Israel’s camp. The cloud remained there, and when darkness fell it lit up the night. They didn’t come near each other all night.

 

     Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The LORD pushed the sea back by a strong east wind all night, turning the sea into dry land. The waters were split into two. The Israelites walked into the sea on dry ground. The waters formed a wall for them on their right hand and on their left. The Egyptians chased them and went into the sea after all of them, all of Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and cavalry. As morning approached, the LORD looked down on the Egyptian camp from the column of lightning and cloud and threw the Egyptian camp into panic. The LORD jammed their chariot wheels so that they wouldn’t turn easily. The Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites, because the LORD is fighting for them against Egypt!”

 

     Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the water comes back and covers the Egyptians, their chariots and their cavalry.” So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. At daybreak, the sea returned to its normal depth. The Egyptians were driving toward it, and the LORD tossed the Egyptians into the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the cavalry, Pharaoh’s entire army that had followed them into the sea. Not one of them remained. The Israelites, however, walked on dry ground through the sea. The waters formed a wall for them on their right hand and on their left.

 

     The LORD rescued Israel from the Egyptians that day, Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the amazing power of the LORD against the Egyptians. The people were in awe of the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses.

 

 

This is the Word of God.

For the people of God.

Thanks be to God.

 

 

     I have two disclaimers as I get started. One, I will not quibble over the natural and supernatural elements of the miracles in this passage. Two, if you struggle with anxiety or depression, I am not saying you should not seek professional help. It takes faith in God to see professionals who are trained to assist in unpacking trauma and other things that injure our minds. Our minds get broken like our bodies do, and praise God that He has raised up those who are called to aid us.

 

     Now, for the sake of time, I did not read the verses immediately before our passage. But they are important, so I will quickly summarize. After their initial grief of losing their firstborn children, Pharaoh denies God’s Sovereignty and in anger he leads the Egyptian army to wipeout their former slaves. When the Israelites seem them coming, they begin to panic and cry out against God directed at Moses.

 

     While the people panic, Moses speaks up as God’s faithful leader to God’s people. Moses gives no orders to take up arms or defensive positions. Instead, Moses says in verses 13 and 14, “Don’t be afraid, watch the LORD rescue you. The LORD will fight for you. You just keep still.” The Israelites looked at the angry Egyptian army from their panic-stricken human position, Moses looked at it from a place resting in faith. That picture matters.

 

     Verse 15 is curious, because God says, “Why do you cry out to me?” We have no recorded prayer or words from Moses, but not all prayers are words. Moses was human, I am sure his bold faith claims in verses 13 and 14 was full of confidence, but at the same time had to be internally trembling. God was telling Moses this was a time for the people to move. Then verses 19 and 20 tell us God moved Himself between the people and their big scary problem.

 

     Verses 21 through 30 describe a series of miracles that follow. At the right time, God moved between His people and the Egyptians. At the right time, God sent “a strong east wind” that worked all night to make a way through the sea when there was no way. When the people made their way through, and the faithless and arrogant Egyptians inexplicably decide to give chase, at the right time, God created chaos in the Egyptian army and jammed up chariot wheels. The Israelites had enough faith to take a step, and God faithfully worked at the right time.

 

     God moved in such a mighty way, He fulfilled His words in verse 18 when He said, “The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.” In verse 25, as God is laying the smackdown on them, the Egyptians say, “Let’s get away from the Israelites, because the LORD is fighting for them!” The faith of the Israelites led to life; the faithlessness of the Egyptians led to death. The same waters that saved the Israelites were the death of the Egyptians. Life was found through the water, and death was beneath it!

 

     As daylight comes, the Israelites are standing on the shoreline staring at dead Egyptian soldiers and horses surrounded by devasted chariots. The same enemy that sent them into a panic was now dead at their feet! Not by their own hands, but by the God who went between them and their problem. Verse 31 says, “Israel saw the amazing power of the LORD. The people were in awe of the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses.” “Believed in” is stronger than the Eligh would have it seem. This is transformational faith that purifies the heart and renews the mind. God’s people were changed.

 

     What does this teach us? It reveals the truth about our human condition. Panic, fear, and anxiety are our natural responses to enemies and the encounters we have as broken people in a broken world. Fear stimulates our flight or fight response, evidenced by the Israelites lashing out against God and Moses as the Egyptians charged at them. We do the same thing; it is the natural and fallen human response.

 

     While it is our natural response, it is rooted in our fallen condition. And that is a problem. In 1 Corinthians 15:50, Paul writes something that steps on our toes. He writes, “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor can corruption inherit corruption.” How does that connect with what we are talking about? Panic, fear, and anxiety will not lead us to God’s kingdom. They are from our fallen nature. God wants us to live as citizens of His Kingdom here, with our hearts resting in His goodness and our minds leading us to act in the confidence of His goodness. But panic, fear, and anxiety rob us of that rest and confidence.

 

     The good news is this: God’s Kingdom is one of rest and peace available now. No matter what our problem is, we can get above fear! Not by pulling up our bootstraps, taking arms, or trying harder, but a step of faith! God became flesh to go between us and our biggest problem, sin! And He can do the same with our problems! The way above fear is not looking at how big our problem is, but instead by looking up at how big and mighty our God is.

Need prayer? Have a question? Contact The Dirt Path Pastor