Part 4 of 6-part series, "Come As You Are. Be Empowered by the Spirit"
Exodus 3:12-14, John 20:19-22
James McTyre
Lake Hills Presbyterian Church (USA)
Exodus 3:12-14
New International Version (NIV)
12 And God said, "I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you[a] will worship God on this mountain."
13 Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?"
14 God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM.[b] This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'"
John 20:19-22
New International Version (NIV)
Jesus Appears to His Disciples
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
21 Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit.
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We're continuing our series called, "Come As You Are; Be Empowered By the Spirit." As we've said these past weeks, it sounds great to say, "Come as you are." Come as you are to church! Of course you can come as you are. Been out mowing the lawn? Come as you are. Been draining the septic system? Come as you are. That's why they call them "Pews." God doesn't care how you smell. So, come as you are.
But that "as you are," part begs the question, "How are you?" Before you can Come as You Are, you've got to have some idea of how you are. How are you? You might say, "Hey, I'm here." That's good. 80% of life is showing up. You might say, "I'm tired." You've had a long week, and you're here to get recharged. When I was a boy, and dinosaurs roamed the earth, if the preacher asked, "How are you?" I would have said, "I'm bored." Sermons were the longest three hours of the week. (I am told they weren't really that long, but you could have fooled me. I thought, "I wish I were preaching the sermons." Be careful what you wish for, kids.) How are you? You might say, "I'm grateful to be alive one more day." You might say, "I'm hoping to make a change." You might say, "I'm ready to give up on religion completely, but I'm here to give it one last shot before becoming an atheist." Great. No pressure, there. But all of these answers are subject to change without prior notice. Your mind changes. Your moods change. Your energy level changes. Your blood sugar changes. Your serotonin reuptake changes -- all these can change or be changed with changes in diet, exercise and medication. You can get lipo to suck it out, you can get Botox to shoot it in, you can get a personal trainer named, "Hans" to get you to the gun show. How you are on any given day is subject to change for all sorts of reasons, some chosen by you, some chosen for you, and some put upon you whether you like it or not.
But here in church we worship the God who never changes. Here in church we worship the God who is, and who was, and who evermore shall be, world without end, Amen, Amen. So here at church, when we look for answers to the question, "How are you?" we look for answers that won't change. We look for answers to, "How are you?" that can't change. We look for answers that can't BE changed by your feelings, or by your opinions, or BE changed by feelings, opinions or debt ratings.
So, a few weeks back, we began at the beginning and said, "How are you?" and answered by saying You are CREATED by God. Then, we said, "You are LOVED by God." That's how you are. This week, we're narrowing the focus of the answer a little more, saying, "Yes, you are CREATED by God. Yes, you are LOVED by God. But why? Why -- did God create you? Why -- does God love you? For what purpose are you CREATED and LOVED by God?" What difference does it make? What difference does believing in the creating love of God in Jesus Christ make in your life? And what difference should it make in the lives of others?
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I was in Wal-Mart the other day. I must have looked lost. No surprise. And this very kind-looking, older Wal-Mart man wearing his Wal-Mart badge came smiling up to me and asked, "Can I help you?" And then, he kept right on walking past me. I've never had that happen before. "Can I help you?" and then just keep right on going. Didn't even slow down. Did I not answer fast enough? Was he on a headset with someone else? He walked to the end of the aisle and hung up a product and laughed. "I can't stop because if I don't put this back while I'm thinking about it, I won't remember why I had it in my hand."
Do you ever do stuff like that? Do your children laugh at you because you wander from room to room with no apparent purpose? "Dang! Why did I come in here... with this butcher knife?" That stops the laughing. I've noticed it's getting so much easier to get distracted. Or maybe I just have more distractions. Whatever the reason, whatever my purpose, it's easier and easier to get detoured. Whatever my point, it's easier and easier to get led off-target.
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What happens to people who have really lost their purpose? What happens to people who - for whatever reason - have lost their way?
I know a good number of people who get up every day and go do whatever it is they do every day because that's what they do every day. It's not a question of whether they like what they do. It's not a question of whether they don't like it. They just do it because... that's what they do every day.
When I was a kid, my mom and dad - reluctantly - let me get a pair of gerbils. I named them Herman and Edna. I don't know why I named them that. Seemed funny at the time. The kind of thing a kid who's going to grow up to be a minister would do. Anyway, one or the other of them was always in the exercise wheel. Which was weird, because they never lost any weight. They'd just get on that squeaky metal exercise wheel and run and run.
What happens to people who feel like they're stuck running in the exercise wheel, because, that's what they've always done and because stopping seems... unthinkable? What happens to us when we forget why we're running and running?
In one of my favorite Simpsons episodes, Marge has a bit of a breakdown. She's driving from here to there, to back here, then there, taking care of Homer and the kids and the dog, and her sisters and Homer's dad, when she finds herself in the middle of the big bridge over the Springfield river. And she stops her car. And sits there. Traffic's piling up, people are about to riot, but Marge won't move. After they finally get her out, they send Marge to counseling, with her minister, Reverend Lovejoy. He suggests she read some scriptures. "But which ones?" she asks. Reverend Lovejoy sighs and says, "Oh. They're all good." You see, Reverend Lovejoy's having a bit of a crisis himself. He sees himself doing what he does day after day and can't really remember why.
When you don't know where you're going, all roads are the same. I think Neil Young said that. If we're just wandering, what difference does it make if we get detoured? The distractions can be kind of entertaining, at least a change from the monotony of the exercise wheel. I hear people complain about all the distractions these days: cell phones, iThingys, 100 TV channels of Kardashians, or sharks eating people, or that guy who goes around eating bugs. People complain about their "information overload" but I think, deep down, in a weird kind of way, we really like it. Gives us something to complain about. Gives us conversation topics at dinner. "Did you see last night when the giant bugs fed the Kardashians to the sharks?" I think we kind of like the distractions if we're not so sure about the stuff we're being distracted from. So we have stuff we don't like, distracting us from other stuff we don't like. Geez. No wonder pharmaceuticals are so popular.
So where do you go when the distractions lose their distractive power? What do you do when you want to step off the wheel, but you don't know how to take the first step? When you're tired of wandering through life's rooms searching for your purpose, what then? A lot of people - even a lot of people in scripture - take a deep breath, and sigh a deep sigh - and as a last resort... turn to God.
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We think of Moses as the great leader. The Charlton Heston look-alike who lifted his staff and parted the waters. But for a long time, Moses was pretty lost. Moses ran away from his life. He ran away from his problems. This man who was supposed to have been so great ran away from everything and was distracting himself by wandering around the mountains behind a flock of his father in-law's sheep. Moses the big leader was Moses the Biggest Loser. You know Moses had to be really bored, because all God had to do was set a bush on fire to get his attention.
"Oh lookest over yonder. That bush appeareth to be on fire-eth. I shall traverse yonder hillside to see what's up with that." Or something like that.
So Moses traverses yonder hillside to investigate, and life turns down a road he never dreamed.
God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has SENT me to you.'"
Life does a 180 for Moses, when he is sent. He gets meaning and purpose when God sends him. Everything changes - the boredom, the hiding, the endless wandering stops - when he is sent.
...A thousand years later, it's the week after Easter, and the disciples are locked in a house. They're literally and figuratively living in fear. What are they doing in the house? I don't know. Maybe wandering from room to room. Maybe wondering, "What now?" Jesus has been crucified. Their little religious movement has fallen apart. What now? They have no direction. They have no purpose. They have no reason for life.
So here's what happens in John chapter 20, verse 19:
Jesus came and stood among them...
(Don't miss that nuance. Jesus just appears in the locked house of fear.)
Jesus came and stood among them... and said, "Peace be with you!"
Notice what he says: "Peace be with you." Apparently, Jesus knew deep down they weren't at peace. Jesus knew that deep down they needed peace. Jesus knew that deep inside, their minds and hearts were not at peace. Their minds and hearts were racing from one place to another trying to find peace, and reason, and purpose. So the first thing he tells them is, "Stop running. Stop wandering. Step out of the wheel."
Jesus came and stood among them... and said, "Peace be with you!"... After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has SENT me, I am SENDING you."
That's the moment the world changed for the disciples. Their world does a 180 when Jesus SENDS them.
"Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."
I think Jesus says those same words - not just to the disciples in that empty house - but to all of us in our empty houses. I think Jesus intends his words not just for the chosen few, but for you. And for me. And for everyone who is searching, everyone who is running and getting nowhere. I think Jesus sends... you.
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All these past weeks we've been telling you, "Come as you are." But this week Jesus is telling you, "Go as you are." God has brought you here. Now it's time to be sent. As you are. You say, "Sent for what?" You say, "But I'm not ready." You say, "Can I get lunch first? Because I didn't have time for breakfast, and you stopped doing the donut time, and I'm not very coherent when my blood sugar drops."
And Moses said, "But I'm not a very good public speaker." And Jeremiah said, "But I'm just a kid." And Jonah said, "But I don't like those people." And the disciples said, "But I'm scared." So you're in good company. It's not that God disapproves of your excuses. The Bible's full of really creative excuses. God seems to be amused by them. But in the end, God doesn't hear your excuses. God forces you to choose which you like more -- your wheel... or your Savior. Your mindless wandering... or a purpose. Your money... or your life. ("Wait. I'm thinking." Some of you don't know who Jack Benny is. Think, Mr. Crabs combined with Squidward.)
Come as you are, so you can be SENT as you are. Sent to do what? I don't know. But I do know that when the time is right, you will know. Maybe you have to wander a little bit more before you're ready to hear God. Maybe God's not ready to give you the sending. But if you don't stop, and if you don't go investigate, how will you know?
A lot of you have just started back to school. Or your kids have just started back to school. And the answer to "How are you?" is "LATE!! I've got this giant pocket watch and 'No time to say hello, goodbye! I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!" I used to be 15 minutes early for everything. And then we had kids. Girl kids. And now I consider 15 minutes late a personal victory. How do you find time for pondering existence when you're on a schedule that won't stop?
I think a lot of it's simple awareness. A "You are here" approach to life. Be aware of what you're doing and from time to time ask yourself, "Why?" Is this what God wants me to be doing with my time, my energy, my money, my life? Really?
But it's also more. Being SENT means getting from "You are here" to "You are there." If you're not where you want to be, how do you get there? Maybe you ask for help. Stop and ask directions. (That's always a novel approach for guys.)
But it's even more than that. Being SENT means God is sending you outside of your little bubble of influence. In order to send people, God bursts bubbles.
A scriptural Being Sent means God sends you to other people. That's the way it always works in the Bible. And that's the way it works for you. When God sends Moses, God sends Moses to the children of Israel. Good news. God sends Moses to Pharaoh. Bad news. For Pharaoh. When Jesus sends the disciples, he sends them to make more disciples. You can't make disciples if you don't go talk to people. You can't heal and help and share good news if you don't go find someone else. The bubble God bursts by sending is the bubble of isolation. God bursts the bubble of boredom. God bursts the bubble of senseless entertainment. God bursts the bubble of self-satisfaction. God bursts bubbles when God sends. God pulls us out of the wheel and gives us traction. God gives us reason to go. God gives us purpose to get up. God gives us people who need us, people who need to be nurtured, cajoled, sometimes yanked out of their exercise wheels and put on track to life. And salvation. And freedom.
God calls us as we are. And then God sends us as we are.
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Imagine a church full of people who believe, deep down in their souls that the answer to "How are you?" is, "I am sent." But more, imagine a church full of people who believe "We are sent." Sent to do what? Sent where? To other people. That's what Jesus was all about. When he started his ministry, he stood up and said, in Luke 4:18,
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has SENT me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
(and to) to proclaim the year of the Lords favor.
Imagine what could happen if we all resolved, personally and as a church together, to be sent, just as Jesus was. Imagine what could happen if we all vowed to stop worrying about how we are or how we feel on any given day, and promised God we'd go... wherever we are sent.
A few years back, I met a little boy. By the time he was five years old, he had had a lot of very painful surgeries. He would lie in his hospital bed and cry. And his parents would cry with him. But then, one day, his parents came into his room, and he wasn't there. Was something wrong? Where was their little boy? They were panicked.
But on their way to their nurses' station, they caught sight of their son. He had the little bandages on his hands and feet. And he was sitting in another patient's room. You see, he had gotten up from his bed, on his own, and had begun wandering from room to room. And in each room, he would tell the patients, many of whom were ten times his age or more, that things were going to be OK. He would tell them that God was taking care of them. And that even if they hurt, things would get better.
Imagine if we all set aside our own pains and went wherever God sends us. Even if we have to hobble, or go on a walker, or in a chair. Imagine how pleased God would be if we all agreed to come as we are and then go as we are sent.
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