I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

The Lord uses our journey to change us

Way back in the dark ages, 1987 to be exact, there was a band named U2.

They were very popular.

There was a lot of buzz that they were a “Christian Band”

Which in their case meant Christians who made music.

And I tend to believe at least one of them knew Jesus because of the way they wrote their songs.

Listen to this:

“I believe in the kingdom come

Then all the colors will bleed into one

Bleed into one

But yes, I’m still running.

You broke the bonds

And you loosed the chains

Carried the cross

Of my shame’

Oh my shame,

You know I believe it.

But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.”

That of course is the name of the song - I’m sure you can find it on Spotify or YouTube should you be so inclined.

The song was incredibly popular.

It rose to number 1 in the Billboard charts and the single sold over 1,000,000 copies.

Back in the day when you had to buy a physical copy.

It’s a miracle we lived - isn’t it?

I checked the “official music video” out on Youtube.

It had 211 million views.

There were a dozen or more “unofficial videos” with millions of views each.

Why was that song so popular?

I think it’s because it struck a nerve.

I believe if everyone was honest, each of us would confess the title:

“I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.”

And that’s for good reason.

We’ll never find what we are looking for until we see Jesus face to face.

We are back in Exodus after the Easter break.

So turn in your Bibles to Exodus 4, we’ll begin with verse 18.

Yahweh’s conversation with Moses is over.

Moses finally, after all kinds of excuse making, has accepted the Lord’s plan for His life.

Only, Moses has no clue what he’s signed up for.

Kids, I make you this promise - no matter what you get in this life

No matter the trophies, no matter the awards or letters behind your name

You will always want more

Because there is always more to want.

Just make sure you are striving for the right more.

Our three words this morning are journey, Moses and Jesus.

Hear now the Word of the Lord from Exodus 4:18-31

Exodus 4:18–31 ESV

Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Please let me go back to my brothers in Egypt to see whether they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.” And the Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all the men who were seeking your life are dead.” So Moses took his wife and his sons and had them ride on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the staff of God in his hand. And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son, and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’ ” At a lodging place on the way the Lord met him and sought to put him to death. Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it and said, “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!” So he let him alone. It was then that she said, “A bridegroom of blood,” because of the circumcision. The Lord said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So he went and met him at the mountain of God and kissed him. And Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord with which he had sent him to speak, and all the signs that he had commanded him to do. Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the people of Israel. Aaron spoke all the words that the Lord had spoken to Moses and did the signs in the sight of the people. And the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped.

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

We all know that life is a journey

And it’s a journey full of unexpected things.

Sometimes we can see something coming simply because they way someone lives

But for all of us - even the most change resistant and the most adventurous too

Things happen that we never anticipated.

And those things change us.

Pay attention to Moses.

The man we see now isn’t the same man we see later in the journey, because

The journey changes us

The LORD and Moses finish their conversation at the burning bush and Moses goes to pack his bags.

He heads back to Midian

I don’t know if you remember, but Midian is across the Gulf of Aqaba from the Sinai peninsula.

Moses is traveling away from Egypt at this point but for a good reason.

As a grateful son in law, he’s got to get the blessing of his father-in-law Jethro to be able to go in peace.

When Moses says, “Please let me go back...” to Jethro, he’s not really asking permission.

He’s asking for a blessing.

It shows humility and a deep respect for - not only his elder and father of his wife

But for the man who rescued him really and help him get a new life.

This isn’t a bad lesson for us to pick up.

The modern ethos is a grown child has a right to do whatever they want to do regardless of the feelings of their parent.

So you see in the news young people doing embarrassing things because they have a “right to be themselves.”

And yet, the Lord set up an order for the family.

And I know, everyone can give me 100 examples of bad dads and bad moms

But can’t we give 100 examples of bad kids too?

So what about the good moms and dads and kids?

What about the ones who do honor their father and their mothers

Who listen, who seek advice and wise counsel

Who may choose to do something the parent advises against - but does it without vitriol and anger

But with respect and honor.

Listen, even the worst mom alive is a mom.

She may have made life horrible, but she made a life

You weren’t aborted.

You were given a chance to find the Lord and His love and His mercy

And to find His meaning for your life.

So there is something to be grateful for in the family.

Jethro blessed Moses - “Go in Peace”

So Moses gathered up his family and all of his possessions and he left.

Think about this for a second.

Have you ever had a job where you had to travel?

I did.

I would leave on Sunday evening and return on Friday evening.

I didn’t pack up my family - I only packed up a bag.

I was going on a mission to do my job for a week - but I was coming back.

My place was at my home with my wife and family.

That was my identity.

But the journey changed Moses - he packed up everything he owned.

He’s no longer a fugitive.

He’s no longer a sojourner with no home of his own.

God gave him a new identity.

He’s now an Israelite.

The journey changed him.

It demanded he make a stand.

And Moses went all in.

Are you on a mission, or are you all in?

Do you talk a good game?

Do you do church

Or are you the church?

The journey is trying to change us.

Now look at Exodus 4:21–23 “And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son, and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’ ””

The Lord’s intentions are clear

When I read this I almost fell over.

I don’t ever remember reading this - I know I have.

I’ve read the Bible multiple times - so how did this hide from me?

I always thought the big “first born dying” reveal was when the final plague was about to take place.

But no - the Lord’s intentions were clear from the very beginning.

Yahweh is saying to Pharaoh - “This nation is my first born son.

“He will inherit all that is mine.

“He will live with me - He is mine.

“And you are trying to kill him.

“You claim to be a god pharaoh, so let’s see which one of our sons dies.”

We could do a lot of hand-wringing, and lots of people do over the phrase, “I will harden his heart.”

If you read ahead, you’ll see where the Lord says He hardens Pharaoh’s heart

And other places Pharaoh hardens his own heart.

But the fact of the matter is, Pharaoh’s heart is not open to the Lord.

Pharaoh claims to be a god himself - He sees himself as Yahweh’s competition.

God is not being unfair or uncaring.

God is being just and God’s wrath will be poured out on Pharaoh’s sinfulness.

“The wages of sin is death,” right?

Could Pharaoh have been saved?

2 Peter 3:9 ESV

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

There is a time that all can be saved.

But the Lord knew Pharaoh, better than Pharaoh knew himself.

Pharaoh claimed himself a god - he would never change.

So the Lord chose Pharaoh as an instrument for God’s glory.

This great and mighty, powerful man is going to be utterly destroyed by the God of the Hebrews.

Nations would hear of it and tremble before the nation of Israel

Because of the power of their God.

There is no great mystery with the Lord where we are concerned.

His desire is to free every one of us from the bondage of sin.

Galatians 5:1 “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”

God’s desire is not for us to be free to sin.

God’s desire is for us to be free from sin so we can follow Him.

His intentions are clear.

The Lord disciplines His children

Exodus 4:24–26 “At a lodging place on the way the Lord met him and sought to put him to death. Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it and said, “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!” So he let him alone. It was then that she said, “A bridegroom of blood,” because of the circumcision.”

Dude, that’s weird.

I mean that’s straight up weird.

This man Moses who the Lord Yahweh Himself meets in the wilderness.

Who got angry with Moses at the burning bush because Moses was so hard headed

And yet the Lord let him live and the Lord gave him a mission and miracles to back it up.

And here we are - maybe a few weeks, maybe a month later, and the Lord “sought to put him to death.”

What’s that all about?

It’s actually not as weird as it seems.

First off let’s deal with “sought to put him to death.”

The story is being told from Moses’ perspective, Moses wrote Exodus.

I’m certain from Moses’ words that he felt like God was trying to kill him.

But I have to wonder, knowing how God operates and that by the very sound of His voice God can call things into existence from nothing

And He can cause the earth to open up and swallow people - we might study that passage one day.

If God wanted Moses dead, would He really have to work at it?

So what happened?

A long time before Moses was around, Abraham was God’s man.

As God has Abraham on a journey and the journey was changing Abraham, God gave Abraham a rule.

Genesis 17:14 ESV

Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”

Circumcision became a requirement for all Jews forever.

And if a Jew failed to follow this law, he “shall be cut off from his people.”

Cut off can mean banished or it can mean killed.

“If you aren’t one of us, you can’t hang around us and cause others to go astray.”

That same idea can be found in Matthew with Church Membership.

If someone professing Christ is caught in a deliberate, continuous sin and they refuse to repent,

Jesus tells the church that if they can’t get a brother or sister to repent, Matthew 18:17 “If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.”

Let him be dead to you - he’s not one of you.

The Lord is very consistent.

This is the way, walk in it.

And if you do, He is quick to discipline His children.

Moses who has just been called to be the second greatest deliverer of people of all time, for some reason refused to do what God required for his child.

Whether it was willful or maybe he was just plain lax - but that’s not God’s concern.

God’s concern is, this is the way, walk in it - and Moses didn’t.

Let me ask you a question - this is for Christ followers.

Have you ever sinned?

Deliberately - on purpose - because you wanted what you wanted sin.

And after you did, you had your world crash down around you?

Maybe it really was bad things happening - job problems, marriage problems, whatever.

Or maybe it was this soul crushing weight that rest right on top of your chest in bed?

Do you think that happens just because you have such a great conscience?

That’s the Lord and you know it.

Sometimes it does feel like the Lord is trying to kill you.

It feels like you are suffocating

Like you are swallowed in darkness.

Because He is disciplining you to repentance.

And when you repent and ask for forgiveness...

When Moses’ wife circumcises Moses son, verse 26 says, “So he let him alone.”

Grace doesn’t mean you can willfully sin with impunity.

Grace means your Father in heaven loves you and when you stray

Your father disciplines you.

That’s how this thing works - the journey changes us.

Then finally,

The Lord’s work will be accomplished

Exodus 4:27–31 “The Lord said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So he went and met him at the mountain of God and kissed him. And Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord with which he had sent him to speak, and all the signs that he had commanded him to do. Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the people of Israel. Aaron spoke all the words that the Lord had spoken to Moses and did the signs in the sight of the people. And the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped.”

You could almost begin this section with, “Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the Lord was talking with Aaron...”

In six sentences, Moses covers probably 2 months time and 400 miles of distance.

But the point is this, while Moses is back in Midian getting his life together, the Lord was working somewhere else working His plan.

We’ve got to remember this.

Something not going like we expected?

The Lord is still working His plan.

Nothing seems to be happening?

The Lord is still working His plan.

The job fell through, the guy turned out to not be the guy of your dreams

You worked as hard as you could but the grades just weren’t good enough for law school or med school or grad school.

That doesn’t mean the Lord isn’t working in your life.

It simply means - as hard as it is to accept it - the journey changes you.

The Lord’s plan might have a different destination than you expected

So the Lord uses the journey to open your eyes to His plan.

Some of the hardest moments of my life have turned out to be my biggest blessings.

We know the story.

Moses will go on to work the plan.

The Lord will keep surprising him.

But the end of Moses’ tenure, he’ll not be the same man he was on this day.

The Lord doesn’t allow us to remain the same.

The journey changes us.

The neat thing about this story is how much of us we can see in it.

We’ve all started out in one place and ended up in another.

We’ll all sinned and felt the soul crushing weight of guilt and shame in our chests.

Many of us have been delivered and we know what it feels like to be free from guilt and shame.

We know that we still haven’t found what we are looking for

Because what we are looking for isn’t on this earth.

I want to invite you this morning to come to Jesus.

Let Him start your journey that will show you how to be free from bondage and guilt and shame.

A journey that will go to unexpected places that you may not like.

But in the end, you’ll thank the Lord for them.

Because you’ll see how much He loved you to take you there.

Tell Jesus you want to follow Him.

Tell Him that you regret not following Him and living in a way that dishonored the very one who created you.

Ask Jesus to be your Savior

And see what it’s like to be free.

In just a moment, we’ll sing.

Talk to somebody here - today about Jesus.

Just know - you are on a journey.

You need to be on Jesus’ journey.

Let’s pray.