I Am Not in Control

Thankful to be home. Thanks to elders, to Julie and Tim filling in. Had an amazing time and saw some incredible things.

Cathedral in Porto where we began

Walked along the coast first two days

Lots of old world charm along the way

I met Jesus along the way, but he couldn’t speak English so Google translate to the rescue

Of course, at a lot of peregrino plates with either fish or calamari

And met a lot of amazing and fun people along the way

Not surprisingly, I want to talk about pilgrimage for the next few weeks. At it’s core it simply means Walking With God. There is a way of going through life where everything is a blur. It’s like driving along the interstate. You are able to see things in the distance quite well, but anything nearby passes by in a blur of motion. My aim for the next few weeks is to help all of us to slow down, to grow in our mindfulness of God’s presence, so that we might grow in our expectation of his activity.

God is a walking God. One author has said that God moves “at the speed of love” - about 3 mph. God is introduced in the opening of scripture as a one who walked with Adam and Eve. He walked with the Israelites as he led them out of slavery in Egypt. He is portrayed as a God who walks with his people in covenant faithfulness.

And he is a God who invites us to walk with him. The scriptures often portray this life as a long pilgrimage. A walk with God. And it’s about far more than just a destination. It is about how you get there, and who you’re with as you go there. The earliest name for Christianity was “the way”. Our faith wasn’t defined primarily by doctrine to learn or knowledge to acquire, but by a path to travel.

Today God invites you on a pilgrimage. To begin I want to teach you something called The Pilgrim’s Credo. I encourage you to memorize it over the next few weeks.

I am not in control.

I am not in a hurry.

I walk in faith and hope.

I greet everyone with peace.

I bring back only what God gives me.

I will roughly organize the next five weeks around these statements. To begin, walking with God requires a certain amount letting go of control. God is not often found in the places of our comfort and contentment. He lives out in the wilds, and sometimes to walk with him we have to go outside our places of comfort to where he is.

God calls us to be on a journey with him. This is seen clearly in the life of Abraham. His pilgrimage sets an example for the pilgrimage of our life.

Genesis 12:1 “Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.”

Walking with God usually begins with disruption of the status quo.

This is the only bad news I have to share with you. Except it’s not bad news really. One our own, living comfort and contentment, we won’t choose God.

Abraham living in pagan place among pagan gods and pagan forms of worship. He needed to come out from there so that he could meet God.

Before we go on, what is God wanting to disrupt in your life so that you can go on a walk with him?

Returning to the passage, Genesis 12:1 “Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.”

2. Walking with God means to have the living God as your constant companion.

Notice that it is God who invited Abraham on this pilgrimage, and if God is going to show him a new place, then it is implied God will journey with him.

I believe there is a way of walking through life in unbroken fellowship with God. Of being constantly mindful of his abiding presence. I want to know his nearness. This doesn’t mean you are necessarily having a running conversation with him all day. But I believe we can cultivate a mindfulness of his presence.

"The sense of being led by an unseen hand which takes mine, while another hand reaches ahead and prepares the way, grows upon me daily." ~ Frank Laubach

Let’s pause again and ask the Lord, who loves us, to grow our ability to attend to his presence. Perhaps we need to ask the Lord to increase our desire for him. Maybe you’ve never met this God who invites you to walk with him… (next steps slide)

Returning one more time to our passage, Genesis 12:1 “Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.”

3. Walking with God is not about the destination but the journey.

Abraham was walking with God, but he was also walking toward God. He was walking toward a land, but truly that land could have been anywhere. That wasn’t really the destination. The destination was God himself.

The author of Hebrews, writing about Abraham, says: Hebrews 11:8-10 “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going...For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”

Abraham was looking for more than just a place to pitch his tent permanently. The city he sought after was the very dwelling place of God. This is the place we look for as well. The longing in our hearts can only be filled by finding this city. Again, the author of Hebrews writes, Hebrews 13:14 “For here we have no lasting city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.”

That place is attainable by each of us. It is a place where the Spirit draws us to intimacy with the Father. It can be found at the Cathedral in Santiago. But it can also be found at your kitchen table, you favorite chair, or even your car.

Genuine pilgrimage is about who your going with and who your going toward. This is beautifully conveyed by a ninth century story of three Irishmen who landed in Cornwall having drifted across the sea in a boat without oars. They were brought before King Alfred and explained, ‘we stole away because we wanted for the love of God to be on pilgrimage and we cared not where.’

The folks at 24-7 prayer have produced a helpful resource on practicing the presence of God. If you’re interested point your camera at the QR code or head over to the link. (graphic)

Let’s pause one final time and ask the Lord to awaken in us a hunger and prepare our hearts for pilgrimage...

Coming back from Tulsa feeling like something wasn’t finished. I’d made it to what I thought was the goal - the cathedral in Santiago (pic). Felt like I’d been on a hike, not a pilgrimage. I’d spent so much time and energy preparing for the physical demands of the walk, but I’d neglected to prepare myself spiritually. There was a deep sense of loss, like a squandered opportunity. But the God who loves me came in the moment and said, “You pilgrimage begins now.” Maybe the walk to Santiago helped prepare me, and I certainly had God-moments along the way, but now is the moment of the real pilgrimage, and he invites you and I to go on it together.

Let’s return once more to The Pilgrim’s Credo. Let this be a prayer of release. Of giving up control and saying “yes” to God’s invitation to walk with him.

I am not in control.

I am not in a hurry.

I walk in faith and hope.

I greet everyone with peace.

I bring back only what God gives me.

Worship team come up. Being on pilgrimage with God and toward God means becoming aware of his presence, and as John Wimber used to say, to have his presence is to have his power. Want to create space for God to speak to us prophetically, through words of knowledge. For me, part of being on pilgrimage with God is to grow in our expectation. That he is near. That he loves us. That when we ask him to come, he comes.