Aug 09 2010
Pastor’s notes
I shared with the ladies at the Ladies Guild last Tuesday how I had intended to spend a significant part of my holiday praying and seeking the Lord’s direction for preaching His word after I finished up the series on Philippians. I came back still not having any direction but as the days moved on the words “God with us” began to direct my focus.
I used a concordance (digital is just so easy!) to look up the number of times in the Bible God says that He will be “with” someone—it was astounding. As I thought about this I came to realise that the most important thing that we need to know about God is that He is with us. And it is the most important thing that we can share with anyone full of questions about life and its meaning. Jeremiah was a prophet who was given a really hard job to do. God told him to tell the people that because of their sin they were going to be punished by God—specifically that they would be exiled in Babylon. The Lord also told him that the people would despise him and ignore him but that he was never to give up or be afraid because He (God) would always be with him and would rescue him. (Jer 1:8) Nonetheless Jeremiah did struggle with the constant rejection to his message and in Chapter 12 he complains bitterly to God about his situation. God says to him, “If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses?” I have always been inspired by that verse—if the little things get you down, how do you expect to cope with the big issues?
Jeremiah is a great example of perseverance in the face of great difficulty. When you’ve been in the same job, or house, or situation, or even marriage, for a long time it feels that your world is diminishing around you. Jeremiah could have felt like that but God’s reminder was that there were much greater issues at stake and that He would be with him through them all. And so Jeremiah carried on carrying on—he ran with God. If you find yourself facing insurmountable odds, remember, God is with you in the race!
Today our focus on this subject of God being with us, takes us to Mount Sinai. Moses had been up the mountain to meet with God and was about to come down with the Ten Commandments when God told him that He was furious with the people who had created a golden calf and were worshipping it while Moses was away. The Lord said that He was no longer going to lead the people; they were going to have to find their own way to the Promised Land.
Moses pleads (argues?) with God. He holds the Lord to His Word (that’s why it is important for us to become familiar with the Bible). He reminds God of His promises—this is your nation; these are your people; you said you would
lead us; how can you rescue us and then just dump us; what about your promises on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? And God relents—He undertakes to continue to lead the people and to be with them. This is the wonder
of God’s grace, this is why God will always be “with” us—He promised, and we need to hold on to that promise as much as Moses and Jeremiah did. A significant aspect of Moses’ reasoning with God is that it is the Presence of the Lord which distinguishes His people from all other people. This can not however be a source of pride for us, or make us haughty over others. N0, that the whole point of the Gospel—it is not God’s desire that any should perish but rather that everyone should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). Having found the joy of salvation in Jesus Christ, we can know that God is now with us, and it is our task then to share that with others who do not yet know the Presence of God with them.
If you feel that you are struggling to know the Presence of God with you then ask one of the elders to pray with you after the service today, or come to see me in the week. I am at the church Monday to Wednesday morning. By the
way, its okay to feel like that. That exactly how Jeremiah felt and how Moses felt. So if you are feeling weary after running with men, then ask God to run with you.
Next Saturday is the Great Eastern Gathering at the Kalgoorlie/Boulder Church. It starts at 9.30am and will include a tour around Kalgoorlie and the Super-pit in the afternoon. Everyone is invited, see the details on the What’s Up page. Margie & I (and Sal) will be driving up early on Saturday morning and will be returning in the late afternoon if you would like to attend (and not stay over).
On August 27/28 we will be privileged to have Rev Dr Chris Walker share with us (and surrounding churches) in a seminar. He is the National Consultant for Theology and Discipleship in the Uniting Church and is the author of
five books on spirituality and discipleship for today’s generation. We have specifically asked him to speak on one of his books, “Seeking relevant churches for the 21st century”. You don’t want to miss this!
Grace & Peace
David
to spend a significant part of my holiday praying and seeking the Lord’s direction
for preaching His word after I finished up the series on Philippians. I
came back still not having any direction but as the days moved on the words
“God with us” began to direct my focus.
I used a concordance (digital is just so easy!) to look up the number of times
in the Bible God says that He will be “with” someone—it was astounding. As I
thought about this I came to realise that the most important thing that we
need to know about God is that He is with us. And it is the most important
thing that we can share with anyone full of questions about life and its meaning.
Jeremiah was a prophet who was given a really hard job to do. God told him
to tell the people that because of their sin they were going to be punished by
God—specifically that they would be exiled in Babylon. The Lord also told
him that the people would despise him and ignore him but that he was never
to give up or be afraid because He (God) would always be with him and
would rescue him. (Jer 1:8) Nonetheless Jeremiah did struggle with the constant
rejection to his message and in Chapter 12 he complains bitterly to God
about his situation. God says to him, “If you have raced with men on foot and
they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses?” I have always
been inspired by that verse—if the little things get you down, how do you expect
to cope with the big issues?
Jeremiah is a great example of perseverance in the face of great difficulty.
When you’ve been in the same job, or house, or situation, or even marriage,
for a long time it feels that your world is diminishing around you. Jeremiah
could have felt like that but God’s reminder was that there were much greater
issues at stake and that He would be with him through them all. And so
Jeremiah carried on carrying on—he ran with God. If you find yourself facing
insurmountable odds, remember, God is with you in the race!
Today our focus on this subject of God being with us, takes us to Mount Sinai.
Moses had been up the mountain to meet with God and was about to
come down with the Ten Commandments when God told him that He was
furious with the people who had created a golden calf and were worshipping
it while Moses was away. The Lord said that He was no longer going to lead
the people; they were going to have to find their own way to the Promised
Land.
Moses pleads (argues?) with God. He holds the Lord to His Word (that’s why
it is important for us to become familiar with the Bible). He reminds God of
His promises—this is your nation; these are your people; you said you would
lead us; how can you rescue us and then just dump us; what about your
promises on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? And God relents—He undertakes
to continue to lead the people and to be with them. This is the wonder
of God’s grace, this is why God will always be “with” us—He promised,
and we need to hold on to that promise as much as Moses and Jeremiah did.
A significant aspect of Moses’ reasoning with God is that it is the Presence of
the Lord which distinguishes His people from all other people. This can not
however be a source of pride for us, or make us haughty over others. No,
that the whole point of the Gospel—it is not God’s desire that any should perish
but rather that everyone should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). Having
found the joy of salvation in Jesus Christ, we can know that God is now with
us, and it is our task then to share that with others who do not yet know the
Presence of God with them.
If you feel that you are struggling to know the Presence of God with you then
ask one of the elders to pray with you after the service today, or come to see
me in the week. I am at the church Monday to Wednesday morning. By the
way, its okay to feel like that. That exactly how Jeremiah felt and how Moses
felt. So if you are feeling weary after running with men, then ask God to run
with you.
Next Saturday is the Great Eastern Gathering at the Kalgoorlie/Boulder
Church. It starts at 9.30am and will include a tour around Kalgoorlie and the
Super-pit in the afternoon. Everyone is invited, see the details on the What’s
Up page. Margie & I (and Sal) will be driving up early on Saturday morning
and will be returning in the late afternoon if you would like to attend (and not
stay over).
On August 27/28 we will be privileged to have Rev Dr Chris Walker share
with us (and surrounding churches) in a seminar. He is the National Consultant
for Theology and Discipleship in the Uniting Church and is the author of
five books on spirituality and discipleship for today’s generation. We have
specifically asked him to speak on one of his books, “Seeking relevant
churches for the 21st century”. You don’t want to miss this!
Grace & Peace
David
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