May 12, 2024, Day 1 of Week 7

Daily Dose of Hope

May 12, 2024, Day 1 of Week 7

Scripture:  Exodus 32-34; Philippians 3

Welcome back, friends!  It’s time to begin week 7 of our reading.  By the way, this is the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional that complements the New Hope Church Bible reading plan.  We have a lot to cover today so let’s get started!

We are in the final quarter of the book of Exodus and we have made it to the famous "golden calf" passage.  Moses has spent awhile on the mountain with God getting holy instructions for living and the people have grown restless.  They complain to Aaron, Moses' brother (the one who will soon lead the family of priests!) and he melts all their gold to make a golden calf for them to worship. 

I know what you are thinking, this is totally crazy! What in the world are these people doing???  It helps to understand (but not excuse) their behavior if we remind ourselves that the Israelites had been living in Egypt, with its many gods and idols, just a few months prior.  Now Moses has been detained for an important purpose but he isn't there to babysit them.  They fail the maturity test.  It also demonstrates how quickly people will drift from God. Without intentional connection (Moses provided this for the people), we are a fickle and distracted bunch.

For us as Christ-followers, we also have to be very intentional about walking with God: daily prayer, communing with God through the Scripture, staying in connection with other believers, and being part of a worshiping community.  If we don't do these things, it becomes easy to simply...drift.  Maybe we don't start worshiping a golden calf, but we certainly place other things, activities, and people before God.  I hesitate to say this but I'm going to risk it and say it anyway. Because of COVID, many people were forced to pull away from their family of faith for quite some time.  At first, maybe they stayed connected and worshiped every week online very diligently.  As time went on, though, it was easy to let things slide.  How many people do you know who just never really returned to church and Christian community?  They decided other things were more important.  It's not a golden calf but could it be worse?

In chapter 33, we find God wants the Israelites to leave the place they have been and move on.  They are not intended to be in the Sinai Peninsula forever.  God has better things for them.  But at the same time, God is clearly telling them that because they are a disobedient, stiff-necked people, God will no longer be present with them in the way he has been up until this point.  The people are distressed and mourn at this news.  They have been craving a divine presence (hence the golden calf debacle) and now God won't be with them as they desire because of their tremendous disobedience. 

The most interesting part of this passage to me is Moses' response.  He expresses what I would consider burn-out and frustration.  He says to God in verses 12-13,“You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’ If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.”  Moses is advocating on behalf of these people.  He is tired and probably really mad at them for their behavior but he also loves them.  In response, God consents that he will not remove his presence from the people.  Furthermore, he will provide rest for Moses. 

I'm not sure I'm supposed to do this but I can't help extrapolating a bit here-could this passage be expanded to speak to those of us, volunteers and paid, who work in ministry? How often in ministry work have we felt frustrated and burned-out, in need of great rest?  Maybe our people haven't just gotten in major trouble for worshiping a golden calf but there is other stuff going on in our church or organization.  Or, maybe we don't sense the presence of God like in the past.  I'm wondering if we need to try a prayer similar to Moses, "You have been telling me to lead these people..."

I don’t want to move on until we discuss chapter 34 as well.  After Moses returned to Mt. Sinai to get a new and improved copy of the Ten Commandments on stone tablets, it is obvious he has been with God.  Scripture says that his face was radiant.  Inf act, it says that whenever Moses went to speak with God, his face always appeared radiant and he would actually put a veil over his face. I t must have been quite bright!

Why was this a big deal?  What was the significance of sharing about the radiance of Moses' face?  Pointing out the change in Moses' face showed that he truly had been with God.  He was God's representative to the people and there was no way they could deny that.  It also confirmed that God's presence was still with them.  God's presence made a lasting effect on Moses' face that the people would constantly be reminded of.  Finally, it was a visible demonstration of God's power.  Moses didn't even look directly at God but yet his face was powerfully changed.  If simply being in a somewhat near proximity to God made such an impression, then obviously God was capable of much, much more. 

When I read this chapter, I couldn't help hear the words of the praise song, Holy Ground, by Passion. It goes something like this, "Here as we wait, Seek your face, Come and make your throne upon our praise. Here in this place, Have your way, the moment that we see you, we are changed. Show us your glory, Show us your glory, In wonder and surrender we fall down..."  We may not see the presence of God in the same way that Moses did, but God still can demonstrate and show us his glory.  When he does, we are changed.  We might not radiate it on our faces but our hearts and lives are transformed.  God's glory is still powerful and leaving undeniable marks in our lives.

How have you experienced God's glory?  How do you want to experience his glory in your life right now?

Alright, let’s move on to Philippians 3.  In this chapter, we find that Paul considers himself living in a state of in-between-ness.  He is in the middle of a journey. The longing for arrival is strong, but what he has in front of him is the journey. He can only press on, stay the course, be thankful for what God has put in front of him.

Up until this point, Paul has had a pretty interesting journey.  Remember, he started out as a zealous Jew.  He talks about this early in the Scripture passage.  He says that at the beginning of his journey, he thought of himself as righteous, as deserving, as better and more religious than others because of his background.  Paul writes this in verse 4-6…If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.  Paul is almost challenging the others --- look, if this journey is all about accumulating religious merit badges, I win hands down. I was circumcised on the eighth day, I was part of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew if there ever was one.  Remember, he was a Pharisee, which was one of the strictest sects of Judaism.  He persecuted Christians, who he felt were breaking God’s law.  He held people’s coats as they stoned Stephan. And at that time, he felt that these things proved his spiritual worth to God and to others.

I wonder how many of us look at our Christian journey in a similar way?  I wish I could say that I only really tried to rack up spiritual kudos and merit badges before I knew Jesus well.  Even after we say yes to Jesus, even after we get involved in church and small groups and we are trying to walk with God, we have the same tendency as the apostle Paul.  We try to prove our spiritual worth to others and to God.  Of course, we are influenced by all the normal sources of pride that the world tells us are important, right?  Money, stuff, accomplishments.  I hope those things have less a hold on us but if we are real, we know this kind of stuff still seeps into our lives. 

But then, there is also a need to demonstrate what good Christians we are, our spiritual merit badges.  I’m in three Bible studies.  I took this training and then I led it.  I’ve been on this committee four times.  I’ve been a member of the church since I was in the womb.  Pastors do this too.  You know one of the very first questions that another pastor will ask you when you first meet them at some luncheon or event?  So, how many people are in your congregation?  As if that somehow is what defines your value. But the good news is, there is more to the story.  Paul tells us that the journey is far from over.

In fact, Paul has some pretty strong words about accumulating these spiritual merit badges, taking pride in how “spiritual” we are.  He says, v. 7-9, But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.  So he is saying, now that I know Jesus, I understand that all those things pale in comparison with knowing Jesus.  They aren’t gains, they actually are now losses. 

Those things I thought were so important, those things that I thought demonstrated my value, those things that I thought earned me some gold stars with God – they are nothing.  Jesus is everything.  But then Paul goes one step further.  These spiritual merit badges are not simply counted as losses now that I know Jesus, NOW “I consider them to be garbage.”  His whole life, these were things that he took huge pride in, they were what made him admired in his community.  Now, he is saying – now that I know Jesus, these things are like rubbish in comparison.  He is telling the Philippians, God has brought me to a new place in my spiritual journey, one in which I realize that I’m nothing without Jesus Christ and that nothing else besides Jesus matters. 

Compared to Jesus, friends, all these things that we think are so important, they pale in comparison.  Our spiritual merit badges truly have no value in comparison to the grace we have through Jesus.  Now, this doesn’t mean that these things are worthless, but we have to know their place.  (If you led a Bible study and people grew in their walk with Jesus and lives were changed, then that is amazing.  It made a huge difference for God's Kingdom...but it didn't make put you in a better place before God.  Jesus already did that for you!) These things don’t make us better than others, they don’t increase our value before God, and they don’t make us better Christians. 

And Paul has more to say.  In v. 10, Paul states that because he now knows Christ, he seeks to be like him.  But he has not arrived.  He has not made it.  This journey we are on is just that, a journey.  We don’t arrive at the destination and say, “Yea, I’ve made it.  I can now stop striving to be like Jesus.”  No, faith is a lifelong journey.  In v. 13, Paul says we can’t look backwards, we must “forget what is behind and strain toward what is ahead.”  There is more ahead.  At the moment, we are all in a state of in-between-ness.  We haven’t made it.  We haven’t arrived.  Rather, we must press on toward the goal which God has for us in Christ Jesus.  What is the goal?  To seek his glory, to be part of his Kingdom, to be with Jesus eternally.  All of the above. 

Until then, we pay attention to the journey.  Paul is saying, how you do life as a follower of Jesus matters.  It is not all about the destination, it is about the journey, the day to day struggle and gratitude and joy of following Jesus Christ.

Think about your own life…think about your spiritual journey. 

PAST:  Where have you come from?  Where has God brought you?  What have you learned in this in between time?  My guess is there are things you regret.  My guess is there are things you wish you had done differently.  While we don’t want to forget the past, because of Jesus, we know that we are not defined by it either. 

PRESENT:  Where are you now in your spiritual journey?  What are you grateful for?  Who are you grateful for?  Have you thrown away your spiritual merit badges in favor of Jesus alone?  What is Jesus teaching you now about thanksgiving, about dealing with adversity, about walking closely with the Lord?

FUTURE:  Where might God be bringing you next?  What is that next NEW thing that God wants to do in you?  What is God calling you to do in the church or in this community for his Kingdom?  None of us have arrived in our faith journey.  We are all still striving to be more and more like Jesus, to do his will, to expand his Kingdom.  You don’t retire from your faith. 

I’ve been reflecting on this a lot lately.  I have personally gotten to this place where I know that following Jesus is really all that matters.  I am not defined by what happens here on earth.  I am only defined by who I am in Jesus.  And yet, Jesus continues to call me to his work, he calls me to his next new thing.  He is also calling you.

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki