Membership Matters	October 11, 2015

What Happens When a People Who See the Invisible,

Attempt the Impossible

I went white water rafting with my family a number of years ago in Revelstoke.

To say I had a lot of butterflies in my stomach before we went is an understatement. But my apprehension was nothing like Barb’s. She doesn’t do water.

But she surprised us all that day when she announced, “I’m going with you.”

Some of the rapids we encountered were gy-normous! But oh the exhilaration when we’d go through them and not flip over. When that adventure ended, we were all pumped! All of us, including Barb, were glad that we hadn’t let fear keep us from stepping into the raft.

As we go to our coffee/question time, please share with another person something you’ve done where you were initially afraid, but still did it, and afterwards were glad that you had.

Today we are going to look into the life of Moses.

Turn in your Bibles to Hebrews 11:27.

Ten times Moses confronted Pharaoh on God’s behalf with the same request - let my people go! And each time he was given the same answer – NO!

As the plagues God brought on Egypt devastated the nation, Pharaoh’s anger with Moses only increased. But Moses kept going back…until the 10th time when Pharaoh agreed to let Israel go.

Those confrontations with Pharaoh were intense.

But equally intense was leading 2-3 million men, women, children and animals, into the desert on a trip to a land none of them had been to or seen.

The first leg of their journey was 750 km as they went from Goshen to Mt. Sinai.

It took them 44 days to walk there.

Can you imagine if God asked you to lead the entire population of Greater Vancouver (2.3 million) to Roseburg Oregon? Map.

And can you imagine attempting to do that, while the military might of the United States did everything within their means to stop you?

That was Moses’ situation. If there were bookies in the time of Moses what odds do you think they would have given for Moses to succeed? I think it would have been ZERO!

When God first asked Moses to do this, Moses reacted to God as he did – with fear, uncertainty, and unwillingness… because he believed he was not capable of doing what God wanted him to do.

Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt? Ex. 3:11

What if they don’t believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you?’ Ex. 4:1

I have never been eloquent…I am slow of speech and tongue. Ex. 4:10

Please send someone else to do it. Ex. 4:13

How did Moses go from being this guy who didn’t want to get involved, to being that guy who fearlessly told Pharaoh, “This is how it’s going to be!”

Did God pump up Moses’ confidence by telling him how wonderful he was?

Did God assure Moses, “You’ve got the right skill set for this job?”

Did God say to him, “I believe in you?”

What persuaded Moses to go... and to do... the impossible?

Look at how God responded to every objection, every fear raised by Moses.

I am sending you to Pharaoh…to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt. Ex. 3:10

I will be with you. Ex. 3:12

[Pharaoh] will let you go. Ex. 3:20

I will make the [Egyptians] favorably disposed towards [Israel]. Ex. 3:21

I will help you speak and will teach you what to say. Ex. 4:12

I…will teach you what to do. Ex. 4:15

What displaced Moses’ fear? What became the source of his confidence?

Look again at Hebrews 11:27.

Moses did what he did... because…he saw him who is invisible.

Hebrews 11:1 says that faith is being...certain of what we do not see.

It was faith in God, not faith in himself… that displaced Moses’ fear.

The source of Moses’ confidence was… the person of God.

David Watson was an English evangelist.

Facing surgery for cancer that would claim his life, he wrote:

As I spent time reflecting on the endless assurances

and promises to be found in the Bible, so my faith

in the living God grew stronger and held me safe

in his hands. God’s words to us, especially his word

spoken by the Spirit through the Bible, is the very

ingredient that feeds our faith.

Moses saw Pharaoh. He heard Pharaoh’s threats.

But more importantly he heard God’s voice and saw the One who is invisible.

This is why Moses’ persevered and didn’t give up.

Do you realize this has always been God’s way?

God has always asked his people to do what is beyond them to do.

And he has always built the faith of his people by revealing himself to them.

Think about the early church.

How do 120 people take the gospel into the world?

How did that ordinary group of people, do the impossible?

What changed their fear into confident boldness?

They saw the risen Jesus.

They heard him announce, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” And they heard his promise, “I will be with you to the end of the age.”

Jesus’ promise to them was similar to God’s promise to Moses.

How do 120 people take the gospel to Sooke?

How do we make disciples?

How do we baptize people in the name of the Father, Son and Spirit?

How do we teach people to obey everything Jesus commanded?

If we are to be and act like Moses; if we are to be and act like the early church; believing that with God nothing is impossible, like them, we must soak ourselves in God’s word; we must welcome the Spirit of God to saturate our lives with his presence and power; we must hear the voice of Jesus and move as he directs.

I can say this with absolute confidence. As Jesus builds his church in Sooke, he will ask us to do things that are beyond our ability.

Jesus will direct us to step into challenges that seem greater than our resources.

He will ask us to do things we feel inadequate to do.

Jesus will place us in situations that feel and are risky.

Jesus is not reticent to ask us to give our lives for him.

In fact, when the immensity of what Jesus did for us fully registers on our heart and mind, laying our life down for him, is not the extraordinary response of a few,

but the only response.

So yes, Jesus may ask some of us to make a career change.

He may lead some us to live in a certain part of town.

He may ask us to build relational bridges to certain people.

He may prompt some of us to give a risky sum of money.

He may ask us to re-order what we spend our time and money on.

He may lead us to do something we’ve never done before.

Last Sunday afternoon, there were 33 people from four different churches who stood along the highway for an hour and let their presence and the signs they held announce to all who passed by that they stood for life.

I was encouraged that 33 people came from four different churches and that fifteen of those people were from here.

But I also thought... what if there had been 300-400 people?

What message would that have communicated to those who passed by?

And when they inquired, “Who are these people?” how awesome would it have been for them to find out that it was the church of Sooke!!

Jesus wants his church to be visible.

He wants his church to be on the move.

He wants to put his people in places where HE is at work.

We can agree in general to Jesus’ statement, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you,” thinking the specifics applies to someone else.

But when Jesus impresses upon us that he’s speaking to us, it’s then we discover that we are not unlike Moses. Like him we push back. “I don’t have time.”

“I don’t have the ability.” “I don’t want to.”

Isn’t God good that he deals with us like he did Moses?

Aren’t you glad he doesn’t leave us alone to waste our lives on trivial things?

God has always asked his people to do things in his name and on his behalf

that is beyond them. But God has also always shown up in power, when his people

step out in faith.

Moses saw him who is invisible. This is what we desperately need.

How did your life group interactions go?

I gave you a handout article last Sunday from the book ‘Saturate.’

Did you read through and talk about it in your life group or with your partner

or a close friend?

What did you think?

Our imaginations can become paralyzed.

It can be difficult for us to see outside of our present situation.

Subtly and slowly we can put parameters on our faith.

Living in a culture that is highly individualistic we get used to doing life on our own.

Even as we read Jesus’ words that we are the sent ones, we still view the doing of that task as something we do on our own, instead of together.

The six practices described in that article are important because they connect to truth principles in the Bible.

Church is neither a spectator sport, nor an event we attend.

Church is who we are. We are the people gathered to Jesus.

Being sent by him is something we do together.

It’s not an additional activity we add to our already busy lives.

Our life groups are the places where we do life and mission together.

What will happen when we see the invisible God?

God-things will happen. People’s lives will be changed.

And as that happens, we’ll be reminded in fresh ways that the gospel of Jesus is...

the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.”

And as people’s lives are changed, then broken relationships get restored; justice and righteousness flourishes and prevails; and through it all Jesus’ name and fame spreads.

Moses did not fear to be God’s man on God’s mission because he saw the Lord who is invisible.

The Blessing

Malachi 3:16-18

May we know the blessing that comes upon those who serve God;

the blessing of his rule spreading in our community;

the blessing of him doing through us more than we could ever imagine, ask or think.

As David Livingstone traveled in the Congo,

he came to a particular region where the custom required him

to request and have an audience with the chief before entering the village.

Once the request had been made,

custom required the guest to wait

with all their possessions placed out on the ground.

If the chief accepted the request to enter the village,

he would come to the visitor

and take whatever he desired of the visitor’s possessions.

Then the chief would give the visitor something of his own.

As Livingstone waited, he set out his Bible, writing pad,

clothes, shoes, blanket – and his goat.

Livingstone suffered from severe stomach ailments.

Because the water was often questionable, he needed that goat to survive.

His sickness had been the topic of many prayers

that up until that point had not been answered.

Finally the chief emerged, dressed in ivory and gold/

He made his way slowly towards David,

accompanied by his advisors and priests.

As the chief looked over Livingstone’s possessions,

David silently prayed –

Lord, let him take anything he wants except the goat.

You know I need its milk for my very survival.

Please Lord, don’t let him notice the goat.

Please, don’t let him take it.

The chief chose the goat and walked away.

Livingstone stood there stunned.

Why would God allow the very thing

that enabled Livingstone to function each day to be taken away?

Several minutes later one of the advisors returned

with the chief’s gift for Livingstone.

He handed him a stick.

David couldn’t believe it.

The chief had taken his life’s sustenance

and in return for an old stick.

One of the men traveling with David,

noted his confusion and whispered to him,

“My friend the chief has not given you just any old stick.

That stick is his very own scepter.

With it, you gain entry to every tribe and village in this region.

That stick gives you safe passage.”

God asked Livingstone to give up the security

the goat had provided for his health.

In exchange he gained a stick that permitted him to share God’s words

with thousands and thousands of people.

But there was more.

As Livingstone risked his life by relinquishing the goat,

it was at that point God intervened to answer his prayer.

His stomach ailments were healed.

The African impala can jump to a height of over 10 feet

and cover more than a distance of 30 feet.

Yet the impala can be securely kept in an enclosure in any zoo

that has a 3 foot wall.

Do you know why?

The impala will not jump if it cannot see where its feet will land.

As we purpose to live out Jesus’ vision for us,

there will be times when we won’t be able to see

what might happen if we did such and such in response to Jesus’ leading .

Like the impala, that uncertainty could paralyze us.

Our three foot walls could be the opinions of others.

It could be the fear of failure.

It could be the love of the comfortable.

But of this we are assured.

Any obstacle that presents itself, is permitted, even designed by God, to strengthen our faith and trust in him.

Can we agree to help each other to remember

when we are facing a challenge that triggers in us a response of fear; that the Lord Jesus strongly supports and helps those

whose hearts are fully committed to him.

Can we encourage one another in those times

to act on the unseen reality of Jesus and his power?

Can we agree to step out with confidence in Jesus,

knowing that if he asks us to do something we can’t do

or for which we lack resources,

that Jesus will provide for us?

If we are going to reach our full potential as a community of faith,

it will require of us to work hard

and to act on the basis of the Lord Jesus’ unseen reality.