From the Outside Looking In

Opening Hymn 245: More About Jesus

Closing Hymn 468: A Child of the King

Scripture Reading

Deuteronomy 34:1–5 (KJV 1900)

1 And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the Lord shewed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan, 2 And all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the utmost sea, 3 And the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto Zoar. 4 And the Lord said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither. 5 So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord.

Introduction

In the 70s I wanted to be that guy (Richard Rowntree - Shaft)

I wanted the puffy afro and the bell bottom trousers.

I was never cool

In fact you could say I was the kid from the outside looking in.

Maybe some of you might identify with that.

With the rise in social media many more people, especially young people feel that they are on the outside looking in.

And that can be a lonely and despairing place to be.

We are going to briefly explore the life of Moses

You quickly get the impression that he too, albeit the greatest leader of the nation of Israel was himself a man on the outside looking in.

Permacrisis

Before we explore Moses a little further I want you to keep this word at the back of mind.

Permacrisis is Collins Dictionary’s Word of the Year:

Permacrisis is defined by Collins as “an extended period of instability and insecurity”

“Permacrisis” is a term that perfectly embodies the dizzying sense of lurching from one unprecedented event to another, as we wonder bleakly what new horrors might be around the corner— David Shariatmadari

Moses: The Outsider

Three highlights where he was an outsider:

As A Child

Exodus 2:5–8 (KJV 1900)

5 And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river’s side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. 6 And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews’ children. 7 Then said his sister to Pharaoh’s daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee? 8 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child’s mother.

As An Activist

Exodus 2:11–15 (ESV)

11 One day, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their burdens, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people. 12 He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13 When he went out the next day, behold, two Hebrews were struggling together. And he said to the man in the wrong, “Why do you strike your companion?” 14 He answered, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, and thought, “Surely the thing is known.” 15 When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and stayed in the land of Midian. And he sat down by a well.

As A Retiree

Deuteronomy 34:1–2 (KJV 1900)

1 And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the Lord shewed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan, 2 And all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the utmost sea,

There are many other examples but for the sake of time I’m only highlighting these three.

Moses had led the COI for 40 years to this moment of entering the promise land

He had gone through the depth of dispair with the golden calf.

And the elevation of seeing the back of God

And here he is on the outside, of the promised land, looking in

Are You An Outsider?

John 17:15–16 (ESV)

15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

Jesus answers this question, yes we are.

We in the world but we are outsiders

Therefore what lessons can we learn from Moses as a child, an activist and a retiree?

Lessons From Moses:

We must be nutured by the Word

When we compromise God’s will it will always result in failure.

God’s calling does not always lead to an expected outcome.

2023

Whatever your hopes and dreams are for 2023, I wish you well

However, if like Moses standing on Mt. Pisgah things did not work out as planned

Don’t be discouraged there is hope beyond Pisgah.

Beyond Pisgah

Luke 9:28–30 (ESV)

28 Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. 30 And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah,

As Moses stood on Mt. Pisgah, he couldn’t see beyond the grave

He didn’t know that one day instead of being on the outside he’d be on the inside (in the heavenly Jerusalem) looking out.

We might not be able to see beyond our visa problem, our health crisis or when natural disaster strikes,

but regardless of what happens in the coming year - we know how the story ends and

Like Moses one day we will be on the inside looking out. God says it...

Revelation 20:7–10 (ESV)

7 And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. 9 And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, 10 and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

From The Inside Looking Out

This time there is a role reversal:

it is the wicked that are on the outside looking in

while the righteous we’ll be on the inside looking out.

2023 might be a year of permacrisis

but it won’t be like that forever, there is hope beyond Pisgah…One glorious day you’ll be on the insde looking out.