Numbers 33
Something to add to the discussion from our this week's Wednesday Bible study at Zion... How very opportune!
We discussed how very slow the journey must have been to Israel with that great crowd of people. Very slow indeed! With that great crowd of people, the Israelites made their journey through the wilderness in stages.
I think if we look back at our lives, we will see that our journeys have also been made in a similar manner - in stages. Our stages are not all all alike. We don't take them all in the same order. But, we all go through them - from new birth received in baptism symbolized by the crossing of the Jordan as they fled from Egypt to the crossing of the Jordan once again into the promised land. And in between, there is much learning and growth at each stage of the journey. We grow in relationship to God at each stage or we can turn back and not grow at all.
I have often looked back at my own life and a particular set of stages that are very important to me - to my relationship with God. So you're going to get a story...
When I was a young child. I had a lot of fears. Life could be kind of scary at times. I didn't go to Sunday School very often, but my grandmother brought me to Worship (mostly in the Finnish language) and taught me herself. I came to know and trust God as my Father, for protection from the darkness of the night. When I was afraid, I would close my eyes and pretend that I lay in the safety of His great big hands (I knew the song - He's got the whole world in His hands) and I was safe. I knew God the Father. At the time, I knew who Jesus was. But, I didn't know Jesus.
After confirmation, I strayed as most young people do - lot's of false gods. About the time of my oldest sons confirmation, I was tired. Life was pretty chaotic. God was not on the bottom of my list of priorities, but He wasn't on the top, either. We were attending an LCMS congregation. Pr Gary Fisher proclaimed the Good News and I heard. I remember one particular sermon he gave in which he cited the Apostle's Creed. But, instead of using the words I believe, he said, "I know God the Father Almighty... I know Jesus Christ..." I began to crave a deeper relationship with Jesus, not just to know who he was, but to really know him. And I began to grieve that he should die for someone like me, who had for so many years taken him for granted. God was speaking to me and telling me it was time to turn my life around. It was time to repent. I did. I remember driving home from the church one day, crying and confessing to God, all of my sins. Asking Him for forgiveness for not putting Him before all other things. I was sorry that I had been such a poor example of a Christian and I deserved death and to never be allowed into the kingdom. The sacrifice that Jesus paid for me, was more than I deserved. I told Him that I didn't care if He condemned me, but if He he would allow it, if He would guide me, I would serve Him. Help me to tell the world of Jesus' love, not for my sake, but for the sake of all those who do not know Jesus. At this stage of my life, my relationship with Jesus began to grow.
I knew the Father and the Son. But, there are 3 persons in the Trinity and I still had to meet the Holy Spirit. Thanks be to God, two men, whom I worked with, knew the Spirit. I didn't even know who the Holy Spirit was. Teaching of the third person sometimes gets least attention in many Lutheran churches, except for on Trinity Sunday. These men began to teach me. I had already learned that there is a difference between knowing who someone is and knowing them. So on the advise of these men, I got on my knees one night, alone in my room and I asked God to please send the Holy Spirit... That night, I met the Holy Spirit. I refer to it as the night that God introduced me to the Holy Spirit. No words can describe knowing the Trinity in this kind of fullness. The joy within me was indescribable. The world around me was still pretty rough, but I kept right on smiling in spite of all the obstacles. Pr. Fisher thought maybe I needed counseling :) But, he finally directed me to the Renewal in Missouri movement. Which began another stage in my life.
The point I'm trying to make this morning is that our life on earth is a journey through the wilderness and it is usually made in various stages. We do not learn everything overnight. Our relationship with God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit takes time. That doesn't usually happen overnight either and like all relationships it will have it's ups and downs. There are a lot less downs though when you are traveling through the wilderness on the path that has been set before you. It will be easier because you will know the peace that Jesus promised that surpasses all understanding. If you turn back, you will not get to the promised land. If you refuse to go at first, it may take a few more years, maybe even 40, to get where God would have had you in the first place.
If in your journey, you find yourself afraid, know that God is with you. If in your journey, you're finding yourself thirsty or hungry, God will provide. He has provided us food and drink that will sustain us for all eternity, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. If in your journey, you need comfort, know that the comforter is with you, the Spirit of Christ will give you peace.
May God bless each of you with a greater relationship with the fullness of the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Something to add to the discussion from our this week's Wednesday Bible study at Zion... How very opportune!
We discussed how very slow the journey must have been to Israel with that great crowd of people. Very slow indeed! With that great crowd of people, the Israelites made their journey through the wilderness in stages.
I think if we look back at our lives, we will see that our journeys have also been made in a similar manner - in stages. Our stages are not all all alike. We don't take them all in the same order. But, we all go through them - from new birth received in baptism symbolized by the crossing of the Jordan as they fled from Egypt to the crossing of the Jordan once again into the promised land. And in between, there is much learning and growth at each stage of the journey. We grow in relationship to God at each stage or we can turn back and not grow at all.
I have often looked back at my own life and a particular set of stages that are very important to me - to my relationship with God. So you're going to get a story...
When I was a young child. I had a lot of fears. Life could be kind of scary at times. I didn't go to Sunday School very often, but my grandmother brought me to Worship (mostly in the Finnish language) and taught me herself. I came to know and trust God as my Father, for protection from the darkness of the night. When I was afraid, I would close my eyes and pretend that I lay in the safety of His great big hands (I knew the song - He's got the whole world in His hands) and I was safe. I knew God the Father. At the time, I knew who Jesus was. But, I didn't know Jesus.
After confirmation, I strayed as most young people do - lot's of false gods. About the time of my oldest sons confirmation, I was tired. Life was pretty chaotic. God was not on the bottom of my list of priorities, but He wasn't on the top, either. We were attending an LCMS congregation. Pr Gary Fisher proclaimed the Good News and I heard. I remember one particular sermon he gave in which he cited the Apostle's Creed. But, instead of using the words I believe, he said, "I know God the Father Almighty... I know Jesus Christ..." I began to crave a deeper relationship with Jesus, not just to know who he was, but to really know him. And I began to grieve that he should die for someone like me, who had for so many years taken him for granted. God was speaking to me and telling me it was time to turn my life around. It was time to repent. I did. I remember driving home from the church one day, crying and confessing to God, all of my sins. Asking Him for forgiveness for not putting Him before all other things. I was sorry that I had been such a poor example of a Christian and I deserved death and to never be allowed into the kingdom. The sacrifice that Jesus paid for me, was more than I deserved. I told Him that I didn't care if He condemned me, but if He he would allow it, if He would guide me, I would serve Him. Help me to tell the world of Jesus' love, not for my sake, but for the sake of all those who do not know Jesus. At this stage of my life, my relationship with Jesus began to grow.
I knew the Father and the Son. But, there are 3 persons in the Trinity and I still had to meet the Holy Spirit. Thanks be to God, two men, whom I worked with, knew the Spirit. I didn't even know who the Holy Spirit was. Teaching of the third person sometimes gets least attention in many Lutheran churches, except for on Trinity Sunday. These men began to teach me. I had already learned that there is a difference between knowing who someone is and knowing them. So on the advise of these men, I got on my knees one night, alone in my room and I asked God to please send the Holy Spirit... That night, I met the Holy Spirit. I refer to it as the night that God introduced me to the Holy Spirit. No words can describe knowing the Trinity in this kind of fullness. The joy within me was indescribable. The world around me was still pretty rough, but I kept right on smiling in spite of all the obstacles. Pr. Fisher thought maybe I needed counseling :) But, he finally directed me to the Renewal in Missouri movement. Which began another stage in my life.
The point I'm trying to make this morning is that our life on earth is a journey through the wilderness and it is usually made in various stages. We do not learn everything overnight. Our relationship with God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit takes time. That doesn't usually happen overnight either and like all relationships it will have it's ups and downs. There are a lot less downs though when you are traveling through the wilderness on the path that has been set before you. It will be easier because you will know the peace that Jesus promised that surpasses all understanding. If you turn back, you will not get to the promised land. If you refuse to go at first, it may take a few more years, maybe even 40, to get where God would have had you in the first place.
If in your journey, you find yourself afraid, know that God is with you. If in your journey, you're finding yourself thirsty or hungry, God will provide. He has provided us food and drink that will sustain us for all eternity, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. If in your journey, you need comfort, know that the comforter is with you, the Spirit of Christ will give you peace.
May God bless each of you with a greater relationship with the fullness of the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
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