Learning to Follow God - Intro

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By Faith https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcSmJdhMzSQ

Psalm 114 NIV

1 When Israel came out of Egypt, Jacob from a people of foreign tongue, 2 Judah became God’s sanctuary, Israel his dominion. 3 The sea looked and fled, the Jordan turned back; 4 the mountains leaped like rams, the hills like lambs. 5 Why was it, sea, that you fled? Why, Jordan, did you turn back? 6 Why, mountains, did you leap like rams, you hills, like lambs? 7 Tremble, earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob, 8 who turned the rock into a pool, the hard rock into springs of water.

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Learning to Follow God

St. Francis of Assissi once said,

10,000 Sermon Illustrations The Impossible

The Impossible

Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.

St. Francis of Assisi

However, for the sake of this new series we are about to begin, we start with the impossible because we have included God in the process. And that is what Israel is about to learn.

When we left off last summer, we had completed Exodus and Israel is camped at the base of Mount Sinai. My hope for this summer is to explore their journey through the desert and stop just before they are ready to embark into the Promised Land.

As we begin, we find that Israel has been saved from Egypt. Her enemy has been destroyed. Their journey through the Red Sea has been the spiritual baptism for Israel. However, Israel is not ready to enter the Promised Land. This journey through the desert is not about relocating them. It is a spiritual journey to mold them to be God’s people. It will take faith for them to enter the Promised Land, and even though they think they are ready, they quickly prove that they are not.

Israel’s journey was not for them alone. As we investigate their story, we see parallels to our own faith journeys. We are always anxious to achieve our destination, but God is always working in us along the journey to teach us to follow Him. Only then, do we have the faith and courage to conquer the obstacles we will face when we arrive at our destination.

Our sermon series is Numbers but for today, our text is found in 1 Corinthians 10. It will set the stage for us and this new series.

1 Corinthians 10:1–13 NIV

1 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. 6 Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.” 8 We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. 9 We should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. 10 And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel. 11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

The Word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God!

Father, please bless this Word which you have provided and which we now receive. Amen!

I. The Journey Begins

Today I wish us to take in a quick overview of what Israel will be learning on this journey and how it reveals our own personal spiritual journeys. I would encourage you as I did last year, to read the book of Numbers weekly as we take this journey. I will not preach on every verse or every chapter. For this reason, it would be good for you to read “in between the lines,” if you will to get the full context.

My plan is to only explore the chapters in Numbers that cover their preparation to leave Mount Sinai and to bring them to the borders of the Promised Land. Next summer we will take up the final chapters of Numbers and probably move into Joshua. I am not sure if I will touch on anything in Deuteronomy. Most of it has already been covered. I am not doing a book-by-book, or even chapter-by-chapter approach. Instead, I am just hitting what I feel are the highlights. That is way I encourage you to read along for yourselves.

As we read in 1 Corinthians, these things were recorded for our benefit. They are an example to us of what not to do, as well as help us to understand what God is capable of if we do obey and follow His direction.

Their journey begins just like ours.

A. Salvation and baptism mark the beginning.

However, their salvation and baptism are a little different than ours. Our journey begins when we as an individual choose to believe in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and we choose to put our faith in Him. This means choosing to follow Him and allow Him to lead us in our life choices.

For Israel, this choice was made as a nation. It was made through a set of circumstances that drove them to this point. Now, this is not so different from us as whether we compute it or not, typically, it is a set of circumstances that drive us to realize we need something more in our life. Sometimes those circumstances are every bit as drastic as Israel’s slavery. However, for others, it can be smaller struggles as simple as loneliness. Either way, it is circumstances that help us see our need for God. We never come to it on our own and it is the Spirit of God working through those circumstances that help us to see that God is the answer.

Our Savior is Christ, but for Israel, Moses was the archetype of Christ. They followed Moses much like we are called to follow Christ. This was all in preparation for the coming of Christ. Note Paul’s phrasing in 1 Corinthians 10:2

1 Corinthians 10:2 (NIV)

2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.

Once Israel left Egypt and crossed through the Red Sea, their true journey was about to begin. It was going to be a longer and more arduous journey than they expected. Like us, they expected to go directly there. They never anticipated the time that would pass before they arrived.

It is the same for us. If we take the time to seek God’s will, when the time is right He inspires us with a dream, an idea of what He is calling us to do. For me, it began as a child with a dream to be in full-time ministry. I expected to go directly to college for four years and end up in ministry. I would have never dreamed that I would be near my 40’s before I began this life of ministry. I was 37 years old when I accepted my first full-time position as a Children’s Pastor. I wasn’t even ordained until I was 43 years old.

I have said it before and I will say it again. The biggest mistake we make as Christians is to jump ahead of God when things do not happen fast enough for us. However, when we wait, we find the truth in the saying, “Good things come to those who wait!”

Once Israel was saved and baptized, they had many things to learn in their journey. One of the first lessons they had to learn was...

B. Israel was learning to trust God to provide them the necessities of life.

It did not take long for the stores of food and water they had brought along to be depleted. A desert does not come with convenient stores. There was no easy access to food and water. Here we find the impossible being made possible by the works of God who is literally the Creator of all things. God wanted them to learn that He could provide for all their needs.

This is a lesson we all need to learn and I fear very few are faced with circumstances that teach it. This is not because God is not providing the opportunities, but it is because we often fail to follow God as He is calling us to do. For me, it did not happen until I was 34 years old. The time had come when I was finally listening and following God. I was unwilling to do anything that He did not open the door to do. When it came time that I felt God calling me to go to the Bible College, I called my pastor to requesting contact information for the Bible College. I was swiftly told I did not need to do so. The pastor and others had already provided referrals for me and the college had already mailed me an application and packet that should be received any day. Wow! Talk about God providing. However, then came the big test. The college wanted me there within 30 days. That meant I had to travel with all my belongings to a town I had never visited and had no idea where I would live or how I would pay for it.

When we seek God’s will, we embark on an adventure and part of the journey is learning to depend on God for the necessities of life, just like Israel did.

But there is more we need learn.

C. In that hostile terrain, Israel was learning to trust God to deliver them from evil.

You may wonder, what evil can be found in a desert. Well here is the list.

snakes & scorpions

robbers & murderers

enemy armies

Satan, evil spirits, and demons

Is our journey any different? No matter where you live, there are some kind of critters that cause harm. I remember my mom waking in the night when I was young and we lived on the farm. She went to the kitchen and stepped on a scorpion in the dark. Now, we had never seen or were even aware that scorpions were found there. But on that night, she just happened to step on one. God provided as it turned out it was relaxed and lying flat so she didn’t get stung.

Robbers and murderers are still around today. They are part of this world. We can find ourselves unexpectedly facing such from time to time. We may not have enemy armies tracking us through town, however, sometimes there are co-workers who wish us ill and try to cause us harm on the job. Or perhaps it is a neighbor that for some reason chooses to be a thorn in your flesh.

The spiritual realm is all around us. We never know what Satan or his minions are plotting against us. In all these cases, God has the power to direct and carry us through the worst of circumstances.

Jesus had His own desert experience where he faced these same obstacles. Jesus had to be able to overcome them to be our Savior. He trusted and relied on God despite a face-to-face confrontation with His greatest enemy; Satan.

However, there is another very important lesson that needs learned on the journey.

D. In the desert, the Israelites were learning to believe and obey every word that came from the mouth of God.

This is critical and the place where many fail. We tend to want to pick and choose what we obey or don’t obey. Either we trust God or we do not. Our obedience of lack thereof, is where we learn to trust God. When we obey and see how perfectly things come together, we feel good. When we are slow to obey, which is disobedience by the way, or we blatantly disobey, we feel the sting of consequences. Hopefully, we learn from these and correct our behavior. The more we obey God, the more we witness His perfect will and the blessings of such. We find a growing desire to follow the path according to the road map He provides, as we are learning that God’s way is always perfect and blessed.

I had expected to be in full-time ministry by the time I was 23/24 years old. I had a friend whose calling was similar to mine. She did end up in ministry at that age. I took the circuitous route as I needed to learn to do better at listening and obeying God. I only listened part way and then I filled in the blanks where God was silent. What I didn’t understand at that time was that God was silent because it was not time to move yet. Following God is like an exercise in Simon Says. We hear what He instructs us to do, but we are not to move until God says, “God says.” I knew I was called to full-time ministry. I jumped and went to NNC. Later, I realized that I never asked God where and when He would have me attend. I just assumed NNC was where because it was a Christian college, near to home, that my family had attended. Never assume anything with God. Always wait until He says where and when. While you wait, pack your bags because when the time is right things move fast because God has put all the pieces in place.

God was teaching Israel, but He was also doing something else.

E. It was in the wilderness that God was establishing His covenant with the nation of Israel.

A covenant is an agreement of sorts. It usually is attached with responsibilities and promises from each party. God made Israel many promises. Some were unconditional, however, others were conditional upon their behavior. Their ability to trust and obey God.

Covenants can be personal or not so personal. Have you ever received a notice in the mail of some class action suit you are part of and you never even knew it? It will often state that if you purchased and paid for a product or service between such and such dates, you are named as a beneficiary of the outcome penalty imposed on the company that provided the service. They typically are being sued for not providing something they had promised to provide, or they had lied about the product or service in some way.

When I receive those, I usually toss them. I was obviously not aware of the breach and I do not have time to answer all the questions they ask for me to receive my $2 rebate. (Actually, since I have never done one, I have no idea how much I would get. I just heard others report that usually there are so many beneficiaries that the amount is pennies or a few dollars.).

However, the covenant we have with God is personal. We know the greater covenant promises and expectations if we study God’s Word. However, it is not a nation of Israel kind of covenant I desire with God. It is the Abraham kind of covenant. A very personal, one-on-one kind. This means seeking time alone with God and following Him so I can learn what His expectations are of me and my life. It includes His promises to me as an individual because God is a personal God. The journey I am on with God helps me to have a covenant relationship with God all my own. It is unique and special. It makes my journey different from your journey in some ways, yet in other ways they are alike. They include the same kinds of elements to help us each draw closer to the One who created us as an individual.

We also find that as individual and unique as it is, it includes others. Our church is our nation. We are to be in the family environment of God’s church. Our covenant includes both aspects, individual and communal. We need time to figure all that out and the journey leads us in a path of discovery for each of those.

F. In the desert, the Israelites were learning to worship God.

This began at the foot of Sinai, but it was a continuing process along the journey. It began with...

1. Passover: Celebrating the victories.

They needed to learn to celebrate and remember their victories and give credit where credit was due, that was with God.

2. The Tabernacle: Living in God’s presence at all times.

They were learning what it meant to dwell with God. They were learning about God’s character and His desire for His people.

3. Repentance: Learning to accept God’s discipline.

Obedience is worship. When we repent, we are taking responsibility for our wrong behavior and choosing to make things right with God. This is a form of worship.

4. Dependence: Learning to trust God in the difficult times.

Anyone can worship in the victories, but Israel needed to learn to worship God in the difficult times as well. We also need to learn to worship God along the journey, in both the good times and the bad. When we trust God, even in the most difficult of circumstances, we are worshiping God. We look not at the circumstances around us, but instead, we look up and set our sites on God. We need to learn that He is the only one with the ultimate control in all our circumstances.

Conclusion

At the foot of Sinai, the Israelites thought the hardest part of their journey was behind them, however, their journey was only just beginning. The journey would be filled with victories, defeats, and difficult lessons. Some would overcome to enter the Promised Land. Unfortunately, many would die in the desert. They were unwilling to put their full trust in God.

When we do make the journey successfully, we discover that our journey is a wonderful adventure. Getting to know God and learning to trust Him will bring us to our Promised Land. It is my hope that this series will be an inspiration to you and if you have not yet began your journey, that you will choose now to do so. If you are on that journey already, it is my hope that this series gives you inspiration and a desire to stay the course until it is completed. I believe that day will be very soon!

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