The Journey, Sycamore Sermon

Is it the destination or the journey

Good morning, welcome to Sycamore Hill Church

I’m Tony Graffanino, not one of the pastors here, but I am filling in for pastor Jon Boulet as he is .....?

If you are visiting, welcome, you’ve caught in a sermon series that is somewhat connected to our church wide reading plan, Route 66, as we are reading and preaching about the Crimson Thread, God’s Plan of Redemption that runs throughout the scriptures

We are in a section of the sermon series this week that involves the Land,

Some of you may know

3 years now, driving across the country

There’s 2 routes you can travel, 2 main routes, quickest and most efficient

The first year, the faster route, Nicole’s first time driving that long

4 days of at least 8-9 hours of driving, we did it in 5 averaging 7+ hours a day

We stopped in Albuquerque, had a nice dinner

Next stop was in Oklahoma City, then St. Louis, Columbus OH, then here

On the way from St. Louis to Columbus we stopped at the Ark

Anyone here been to and seen the Ark? Pretty awesome, massive, so interesting.

Describe the ark?

Thankfully we weren’t on a time constraint, we could take our time, enjoy the ride, stop and see people, and stop to see the ark.

But I’m a guy, I don’t know if anybody else out there can relate, but the end goal was always on my mind.

Getting to where we were going.

For me, it’s about getting there, how long is it supposed to take, well we can beat that time, right.

I don’t want it to take 5 days, or even 4, if we drive 12 hours a day we can be there in 3.

But, if I ever wanted to do this again, or should I say, if I ever wanted Nicole to do this with me again, which was in 6 months, I needed this first trip to be good for her.

We needed to enjoy the ride, stop and get good food, not road trip food, not truck stops, oh no, Panera, or Chipotle, those aren’t right off the highway, those are 15-20 minute detours

Anyway, I need to let that go, we needed to enjoy the ride.

We would listen to the Bible, that’s right, that’s how holy we are.

Yup, and we listened to sermons and Christian podcasts, maybe some 80’s rock, but we did crossword puzzles, and talked, sometimes we just rode in silence.

It was good, just time alone, together, enjoying each other’s company, the best part of the journey was being together, until we got closer

That last day we got anxious, and frustrated, the miles and time crept by, we just wanted to get there.

We wanted to see our family and friends and start our Delaware life again, we couldn’t wait for the life that was waiting for us.

Can anyone relate to this, I’m sure a bunch in here have taken road trips, that last leg is tough, can we just get there already

It doesn’t matter who you’re with anymore, those cool moments and good feelings are gone

We forget that the best part of the journey is who you’re with, not where you’re going, because where you’re going is secondary to who you’re going there with.

It’s that we did it together, we experienced it together, spent time together, my bride and my love, with me and me with her.

And where we’re going is a place where we will be together, to enjoy together, experience together.

The goal isn’t to get to Delaware and then part ways, right, but I know I had ideas and some excitement about what I was wanting to do, and I’m sure she did as well.

The idea of being in Delaware was at the front of our minds, especially on that last leg of the journey.

We had built it up, life will be good, once we get there

Well I pretty sure the same held true for Israel, after 40 years in the wilderness, that’s a road trip gone terribly wrong by the way

But after 40 years in the wilderness, on this never ending journey, the Promised Land was in sight, life there was so close

Promises of what the Promise Land held

Warnings about life there

An example from Moses, Exodus 33

Questions to ponder

Could I say that?

Am I living in the Promised Land without God? Here’s what I mean

Would I forgo the Promised Land, stay in the wilderness with all its issues, so I could remain in Gods presence?

Here’s part of our problem, we are the generation born in the Promised Land, the generation after Joshua, we weren’t born in the wilderness, and lived in the wilderness, and then inherited the Promised Land, we were born here, this is normal for us

When we have “wilderness” experiences we wonder what God is doing, why He would allow this, question and even get frustrated with God.

Why, because we like life in the Promised Land, we like our freedoms, our houses and cars and vacations and clothes and restaurants, and the list goes on and on

We have so much milk and honey and I wonder is it the land we love, or the God who gave us this land?

When asked about heaven, most people mention no more pain or suffering, being reunited with loved ones, streets of gold, mansions, and the like, but few are to have at the top of their list, being in the presence of God for all eternity.

In fact when asked if they would want heaven if all those things happened, no more pain, family members, mansions, but Jesus wasn’t there, most would be ok with that heaven

But heaven is heaven because Jesus is there,