Book the Trip

Think intro Anything in the suitcase? Just in case things, just book the trip, passport, map, some of us don’t like it because we are limited, talk carry on, time to shed off whatever doesn’t fit, journey means travel light, even shedding good things, weight besets We’re going to kick off our first few weeks together here at Cap City recounting the movement of God’s people moving from Egypt to the Promised Land. We are going to talk about moving from here to there, we’re going to take a trip together as it were, and this first week we are going to talk about booking a trip. I wonder how many of you like to travel? Just by show of hands, I would rather travel? I would rather stay home? No matter how much we like to travel there’s always the tension of leaving home. The tension of leaving what is familiar.

No matter where you live, or how much you like your house, there’s a comfort level there. I love to fly, but studies have shown there’s a tension that comes with travel. I have to decide where I’m going to go, I have to decide when I’m going, some of us have to decide who we are going with, I have to book the flight, the hotel, rent the car… Did I pack everything? Am I going to make it on time? Will there be turbulence? Will the plane crash? What will I do during my layover? Is it worth the money? Some of you just hear all these ideas and say that’s why I would just rather stay home. No matter how much you need the vacation, no matter how stressful everyday life is, you would rather just not have to manage everything that comes with it. But I need you to hear me this morning, we can’t stay where we are.

As we consider our story from scripture today, we need to answer the question, Where were the Israelites, and why couldn’t they stay there?

Exodus 1:7-11 7 But the sons of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly, and multiplied, and became exceedingly mighty, so that the land was filled with them.8 Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. 9 He said to his people, “Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are more and mightier than we. 10 Come, let us deal wisely with them, or else they will multiply and in the event of war, they will also join themselves to those who hate us, and fight against us and depart from the land.” 11 So they appointed taskmasters over them to afflict them with hard labor.

Geographically the Israelites were in Egypt. But Egypt wasn’t a bad place. In that place it said they were fruitful, they increased, they multiplied, they were mighty. This is all good stuff. But there was a change in leadership. They moved from freedom to bondage, from prosperity to hardship. Perhaps in their prospering, the Lord was not being acknowledged as He should have been. How could a leader raise up who did not know the Lord, unless the Lord was not being made known? As a result for the next 430 years they lived under the rule of taskmasters.

What about us? What familiar places in our lives started out of places of health, wealth, or prosperity? Those places most likely came about from a struggle, from a place of hard work, a place of commitment. Throughout our lives we pray our way through college, we long for someone to be with in marriage, we seek a career, we pray for children, we pray for a home. In our desire to acquire many of these things, our dependency on God is a healthy one. But often as we acquire blessing, our dependency on the blesser dwindles, and as our dependency on God dwindles, the taskmaster of sin and sinful attributes begin to creep in, they begin to take control, and eventually steal our belief that we can ever break free from those ideas that plague our life. After so long, just like the Israelites, it will be the only reality we ever remember or ever know.

Many of us never go on vacation because we don’t think we need it. We don’t think we are that tired, we downplay our pain, our stress, or our anxiety. Among the many benefits for rest that we could find in scripture, the one who struggles to rest, struggles to relinquish control to God’s sovereignty, possesses unchecked pride, and has an unhealthy belief that things won’t work without them around. We are as foolish as an Israelite slave that would have the stripes of a whip across their back and say that their situation is acceptable. Patterns of sin, habits, attitudes, and spiritual disciplines, or a lack thereof, go unexamined as we accept our lot in life, and our lower level of spirituality.

But God won’t leave us like this. He spoke to Moses in the Wilderness, he showed him signs and wonders, told him to go to the Israelites and lead them to freedom. Let’s look at what Moses and Aaron said to the people and how they responded in Exodus 4:29.

Exodus 4:29-31

29 Then Moses and Aaron went and assembled all the elders of the sons of Israel; 30 and Aaron spoke all the words which the Lord had spoken to Moses. He then performed the signs in the sight of the people. 31 So the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord was concerned about the sons of Israel and that He had seen their affliction, then they bowed low and worshiped.

In these 3 verses we see the actions taken by the people of Israel: They believed, they heard, and the worshipped.

If you want to stop settling for where your life is today (which I hope is everyone, because He always has more for you)… you start with belief or an increase in your faith. Just like the Israelites, the taskmasters of sins, the oppression, the depression, the anxiety will drain you of your belief. For the journey to begin, belief must be intact. They believed after they saw the signs of the Lord. Your lack of belief today is not from a lack of evidence, but from a lack of acknowledging the evidence of God. He had always been their God; they had always been His people. But as we see throughout the history of Israel and we see in our own lives, a lack of or diminishing belief always seems to follow times of blessing. We look back and ask where things went wrong, when we should be asking, “where did I stop nurturing my belief?” Not praying like I should, not sharing my faith, not in scripture like I should be. Step 1 in the journey is owning, nurturing, and bolstering our faith and our belief in Him for everything in our life.

Step 2 is actively hearing the Word of the Lord. They heard that the Lord was concerned and saw their affliction. Here is good news for YOU today. God sees your affliction and He is concerned for you. Some of us needed reminded of that today. You aren’t on your own, and you aren’t without help. The problem is that many of us don’t like the way God shows his concern for us. We become like the child that feels like their parents are simply nagging them and restricting them from having any fun. We say that we want a God who loves us, but what most of us really mean is that we want a God that won’t discipline us and just helps us feel good all the time. You can’t move into freedom if you refuse to respond to God’s concerning discipline that He speaks through the Holy Spirit.

In the big things, we struggle because the enemy tells you that you can’t do it. It requires life changing sacrifice that might even cause people to question our motives, our identity, or our direction in life. By the way new Christian, that’s why you have the greatest opportunity to share your faith, because you get to show the greatest change. That would beg the question for us long time Christians… Are we growing in grace, in love, in patience, in generosity? Are we still changing enough, sacrificing enough, growing in humility enough for others to see the reason for the hope that is in us? Ever notice when you get a new car, how you all of the sudden notice how many of them are on the road? More of those cars didn’t instantly hit the road, your awareness of them just became heightened. In the same sense when we buy in to the plan that God has for our lives, our awareness for his activity is heightened and fresh revelation is all around us. We said that lack of belief is not from a lack of evidence, and in the same way, a lack of hearing is never because of a lack of God speaking. It comes from a lack of obeying, and then changing what God has spoken into our lives. If you don’t feel like you are hearing from God lately, go back to the last thing you heard Him say and begin or continue to respond to that. They believed, they heard, and they worshipped.

Step 3 is worship. Lack of worship is not because He is not worthy. You don’t struggle to worship because of the song that is being sung. You don’t struggle to worship because you don’t like the style of music that is being used. Both of those excuses show that your worship is more about you than it is about God. The struggle to worship will always be rooted in pride. On the flip side just because you sing in church doesn’t mean you are living a life of worship. The scriptures both acknowledge and warn that we can praise Him with our lips while our hearts remain far from Him. We worship him with songs of praise, with acts of love, with our generosity and finances, with purity of hearts and body. Cap City, we want to start a new journey with God together, and if we’re going to book the trip, we’ve got to have a renewed sense of belief that He is going to do what He says He is going to do. We have to hear and respond to the voice of God, We have to worship because He is worthy.

How do we practically do these things then? Let’s start with belief…

How do I believe? – If you are living with any sin in your life, let me share a quote with you this morning that Martin Luther King Jr. wrote from his cell in Birmingham, AL: He said, “We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. (REPEAT) The enemy isn’t going to just get off your back, you have to cry out to God for freedom. When God spoke to Moses at the burning bush, He said I have heard the cries of my people. You have to cry out to God for Him to free you from the oppression of that sin that seems hopeless or continuous in your life. Then…

How do I hear and obey? First, you have to make space to hear Him. The scriptures say be still and know that He is God. I wonder how many of us truly spend quiet time, phone turned off, screens turned off, away from the distractions. Even then, I don’t feel like the struggle for most is hearing God, but changing what He tells you to change. If God is giving instruction, He is prescribing change in your life. In our story today, just like Pharaoh, we can see, hearing the instruction of God, and refusing to change, results in a hardened heart. That’s not what you want is it? of course not. If you’ve grown stale or grumpy in your faith it’s because you’ve hardened your heart towards God’s discipline in some area in your life. Fresh revelation from the voice of God is the lifeblood of our spirituality, and when we resist to heed to his voice, we damn up the flow of His voice and His spirit. We struggle to change, because you don’t believe that God’s plan for your life is greater than the sin you are continuing in. Did you catch that, when we continue in sin we are saying that we want that sin in our life more than we want God’s will for our life.

Then there’s the worship piece, this one is the easiest one or at least the shortest explanation – Just answer this question about worship for me, where are you not worshipping Him? There’s 1,000 different answers, but I’m sure if you simply ask the question, God where am I not worshipping like I should? He will be right there with the answer, hear what He says, respond accordingly, and watch your belief in Him grow.

Invite team: Bow your heads this morning. 4 quick questions, you can answer more than one just by lifted hand.. I’m not worshipping like I should pastor pray for me.

I’ve heard God’s voice but need to change something. I don’t believe like I should, pray for my faith to increase. Pastor I need to start a relationship with Jesus today. Hands all over the place so during this song come pray about whatever it is you asked me to pray with you about.

God’s got great things for you, if you are ready to get going, with God you don’t have to worry about all the details, just book the trip. (Graves into gardens, nothing better than you, book the trip, whatever it is, isn’t better than Jesus…

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