Re-centered

In the midst of the turmoil of life, the Word of God is our answer

So here you are, you are going on vacation with the whole family.

Mom and dad, little Buffy and Jody and baby Bob all pile into the SUV.

The car is crammed to the gills with all of the things you will need, might need and will never need but you brought them anyway.

You close the doors, fasten your seat belts, set the GPS and off you go.

The GPS is an improvement over a paper map in the sense that now you have someone whispering in your ear how to get where you are going.

But on the other hand, you kind of lose track of where you are in the grand scheme of the trip - you know what I mean?

Let’s say you are headed to Panama City and you go through the town of Newton.

Did you even know there was a town called Newton?

Your GPS says you have 138 miles left it will take you 2 hours and 51 minutes.

And that’s great.

But what town comes next - and where exactly is Newton, Georgia?

And why it is going to take me almost 3 hours to go 138 miles?

So you take your GPS and start swiping around to see where you are and what comes next

Well, now the little arrow on the road isn’t visible anymore - and that kind of freaks you out

Cause now you’re going to get lost

So you tap the little button that says “Re-center”

And it puts everything on the GPS back in place.

So now you know where to turn and all is right with the world once again.

I like the word re-center.

Get back in the center again.

I know where I am - I know where I’m going.

I’m re-centered.

Our passage today covers a lot of ground.

We are in the book of Exodus chapter 6.

Go ahead and open your Bible’s there so you can follow along.

Kids, sometimes things get a little crazy and we forget

That God told us everything is under control - it’s always going to be OK.

See if you can hear that in our message today.

To help you listen, you are listening for 3 words ; plan, re-center and Jesus.

Everyone, if you have your Bibles open to Exodus 6, we’ll be reading Exodus 6:2-13 and Exodus 7:1-7.

We’re going to skip the genealogy

There is a good reason it is in there and there is a lot of historical information to learn there.

I simply don’t want all of our eyes to glaze over while we try to play Ancestry.com with it.

So Hear now the Word of the Lord Exodus 6:2-13 and Exodus 7:1-7.

Exodus 6:2–13 ESV

God spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself known to them. I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners. Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant. Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.’ ” Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery. So the Lord said to Moses, “Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the people of Israel go out of his land.” But Moses said to the Lord, “Behold, the people of Israel have not listened to me. How then shall Pharaoh listen to me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?” But the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge about the people of Israel and about Pharaoh king of Egypt: to bring the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

Exodus 7:1–7 ESV

And the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go out of his land. But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment. The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.” Moses and Aaron did so; they did just as the Lord commanded them. Now Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

What do you do when Plan C fails?

Moses’ Plan A was to grow up to be an avenger and teach his people how to live.

But he very quickly found out that you can’t really hide murder

And people don’t like being told how to live.

So Plan B was to run away and live anonymously as a simple shepherd.

God messed that up with the burning bush.

Plan C was to follow God and go to Pharaoh and tell Pharaoh to let God’s people go free.

Pharaoh was supposed to be impressed with the signs and wonders God gave Moses to do

So he would let God’s people go.

All of the Hebrews would be impressed that God did that

They’d hail Moses and Aaron as national heroes

Israel would waltz into the promised land and everyone would live happily ever after.

It was such a great plan.

Too bad it didn’t work.

Instead of letting God’s people go, Pharaoh decided they had too much time on their hands and gave them more work to do.

Has that ever happened to you?

Back at IBM I was assigned to handle service billing and inventory control for the Atlanta office.

When I took over, it was weeks and weeks and weeks behind.

I worked hard

I worked extra hours

I took short lunches

I worked and worked until it got caught up.

I walked into my bosses office on the day the Atlanta office was current for the first time in years

With a smile on my face and a song in my heart, I told him of my great accomplishment.

He congratulated me - and immediately assigned me to assist with another office that was woefully behind.

His thinking: If I had time to catch up, I obviously had too much time on my hands now that I was caught up.

If the Hebrews had time to come ask for time off to go three days into the wilderness to worship Yahweh.

Obviously, they had too much time on their hands.

So Pharaoh assigned them other duties.

The Hebrews were all hyped that God had heard their cries

And some were probably already packing their bags getting ready to go

Now they have to work twice as hard with no end in sight - except death.

And Moses and Aaron went from being their hope to being the goat just like that.

The people quit listening to Moses and Aaron.

Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me

Yeah, not going to shame me twice.

Moses and Aaron failed.

Obviously they or God got something wrong.

Moses pleaded with God, Exodus 5:22–23 “O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all.””

Plan C for Moses life had failed - what now?

This section of scripture tells us what to do when our Plan C fails and our world just won’t do what we want it to do.

First,

Remember what the Lord has done for you already

We’re assuming you are a Christ follower already

If you aren’t, this won’t work for you.

Your first step is to follow Jesus - then this works.

But for the Christ follower - things had been going OK, but then they spiraled out of control

The first thing to do is remember what the Lord has done already.

That’s exactly what the Lord did in chapter 6 verses 2, 3 and 4.

He re-centered them

The Lord caused them to remember.

“I am Yahweh.

“I am the same God your ancestors worshipped - but I didn’t give them my name.

“But I did something special for you, I gave you my name.

“And I made a covenant with them, I made a giant promise that they would one day own a whole chunk of real estate.

God could have ended that with, you remember that, right?

I don’t think when the Lord tells us in Psalm 46:10 ““Be still, and know that I am God,” that He is wanting us to just not be anxious anymore.

What calms the anxiety is remembering what He said at the end of Psalm 46:10 "I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!””

The Lord is assuring you - Plan C isn’t the end.

I will complete what I’ve started and I’ve only just begun with you.

First, review what the Lord has done for your already.

Second,

Remember what the Lord is doing right this minute

We’re not saying, “Count your blessings”

If life hands you lemons make lemonade.

Look for the silver lining behind every cloud.

That’s because those saying have the world revolving around us.

If Plan A, B and C failed - do we really think your Plan D is going to be any better?

The Lord isn’t telling Moses what Moses needs to do.

The Lord tells Moses what the Lord is doing.

“I have heard the groaning,” of my people

“I have remembered my covenant.”

“I will bring you out

“I will deliver you

“I will redeem you and it will be a sight to behold when I do.”

It’s not that you are letting go and letting God

It’s that you are re-centering.

It’s not me that’s in charge of this world - the Lord is.

First, the Lord made Moses look back and see what the Lord had done.

Second, the Lord reminds Moses of what the Lord is doing right this minute,

And third,

Remember what the Lord is going to do

Part of re-centering is us focusing on what the Lord really wants for us.

It’s easy to get off track in the miasma of life.

So many things swirling around us, pulling us one way, then another.

So many unpleasant things happening that you are working to stop from happening.

A good question to ask when Plan C fails - “Where does the Lord really want me.”

Exodus 6:7 “I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.”

The most important thing the Lord wants us to know, is that we are His and He is ours.

That He is our deliverer and our protector.

He is our way-maker and path deliverer.

He and He alone is in control.

The Lord wants us to remember that.

The Lord wants to re-center us around that.

That’s what He did with Moses and

AND, the LORD did it with His Words.

His Words - HIS Words - no one else’s.

So I wondered, have we remembered - have we re-centered ourselves around what the LORD has said to us Himself.

Not what you might have sensed when you were praying or what someone may have said to you that sounded like something the Lord might say.

But HIS words.

If you are a note taker - you are about to get a lot.

If you are not a note taker - today might be the day you take a pen and your worship guide and jot a few things down.

What does the Lord really want us to do?

Let’s start with this:

What is the most important thing for us to remember about the Lord and us?

Matthew 22:37–40 “And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.””

Nothing else ultimately matters.

Yes, it matters that you take care of your family, your kids, your business, yada, yada, yada.

But if we miss this - everything we have done will burn up when we meet Jesus face to face.

This is what we are about.

What does it look like for us to love the Lord and our neighbor as ourselves?

Matthew 25:34–36 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’”

Our Jesus’ Hands ministry to do our best to make sure no child is hungry until Monday, is there.

Ever time you welcome someone to church or into your small group

Or into your neighborhood or your job or your class or your team

You were loving the Lord and your neighbor.

“See,” Jesus is saying to us, “This really isn’t that hard.”

What will we look like when we are centered on Jesus?

Galatians 5:22–23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

The world is one giant fruit inspector.

They know, almost intuitively, what Jesus looks like.

If we are centered on Jesus, we’ll look like Him and they will be able to see it.

What is more evidence we are centered on Jesus?

Romans 6:11 “So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

We struggle with sin.

That’s right - we struggle with sin.

Because we are alive to God in Christ Jesus and dead to sin doesn’t mean we won’t be tempted to sin.

Sin is still attractive to us - 2 Corinthians 11:14 “And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.”

But because our spirits are dead to sin - we war within ourselves.

The Apostle Paul said the very things he didn’t want to do, he did and the things he wanted to do, he didn’t do.

So if we are struggling with sin,

What help do we have in our struggle?

1 Corinthians 6:19 “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?...”

The Lord Himself has filled us with His Holy Spirit.

The promise He made to Moses lives on in us - Remember God’s Words in Exodus 6:7 “I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God...”

Jesus said in John 14:18 ““I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

In John 14:16–17 Jesus said to us - not just those sitting there around him - but us - and I can say that with confidence because right after this Jesus prays for you and me.

Jesus said: “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”

What does the Spirit living in us do for us?

Ezekiel 36:26–27 “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”

Those of us who are older understand this better than those of us who are younger

Because we have more to look back on and more to see how the Lord rescued us

And prevented us

And really, made our paths straight to Him - when much of the time we didn’t think He was around.

He was there like Isaiah 30:21 says “And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.”

Assuring us, strengthening us, disciplining us, comforting us.

Reminding us of

What should we be remembering every moment of every day?

Matthew 28:20 “... And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””

These aren’t my words - they are the Lord’s words.

He has spoken to you today directly.

Because He is for you.

If you will hear the Words of the Lord Himself, you can be re-centered.

If you are not a follower of Christ - none of that applies to you.

You owe a debt to God you cannot pay.

You obviously don’t think you have a debt or that you need to pay a debt.

And because of that, you will die and go to hell

And you will remain in hell separated from God and anything you think is good - forever.

You will suffer in mental and physical anguish with no end.

The Lord hates your sin and isn’t a fan of yours for continually rejecting Him

He does have compassion on you because He knows the terrible end that is awaiting you.

God sent His Son Jesus to die on a cross, to be buried and resurrected

So that you would see the power of God and you would follow Him.

If you will follow Him, He will save you.

And all of those things He said will belong to you.

Because that is what He does to all who follow Him.

But the balls in your court.

God created you

And even while you are his enemy, He’s made a way for you to come back to Him.

Frankly, it doesn’t make much sense that you would reject Him.

But that’s your choice.

We’re going to pray and then sing.

I’ll be down front if you want to come talk about Jesus.

The altar is open if you want to come pray.

But every one of us needs to be re-centered.

And now we know how.

Let us pray.