And oh, where your Lord God will take you is nothing less than the sublime indeed. Just like the disciples at the time of Jesus, I never cease to be amazed at what our God is doing in this world of ours. And like disciples, time and again, just when I think I am getting it, I learn just how much I still don’t know about our Lord, and His plans for our lives and my own as well. It’s enough to make one want to say;
“Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;”
Thank you; John Gillespie, author of High Flight.
Maybe that’s why this is a wonderful existence and an incredible path that we get to walk down, or soar across. It’s called the unfolding of our lives, all of us get to decide if we want to live our lives in and with the driver of our destiny. Hence, today’s message title: Bogus Pride Aside, He Drives We Ride!
When we allow God into our lives, ask Him to be our refuge, all kinds of things begin to take place in our relationships with other people. We begin to learn forgiveness, kindness, and good will on a deeper level, and we begin to understand scripture in new and perceptive ways. Through repetition and study. As an example, as you focus on the Call to Worship reading that Nyla read earlier, see if you can get additional insight a second time around. Reading again this instruction of David, Psalm 31:1-5:
1 In you, Lord, I have taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
deliver me in your righteousness.
2 Turn your ear to me,
come quickly to my rescue;
be my rock of refuge,
a strong fortress to save me.
3 Since you are my rock and my fortress,
for the sake of your name lead and guide me.
4 Keep me free from the trap that is set for me,
for you are my refuge.
5 Into your hands I commit my spirit;
deliver me, Lord, my faithful God.
I remember the first time the phrase: “Into your hands I commend my soul”, I was watching a Civil war movie on the Battle of Gettysburg where a officer going into battle said that very thing, and I thought what a wonderful thing it would be if I could learn to commend / commit my very being into God’s hands before everything went bad and I was walking into the valley of the shadow of death, scarred to death. How different our lives could be if we were willing to commit ourselves to living the good life with our Lord, and not just use God as a fallback plan when everything else has gone bust.
Just maybe if I could learn to trust God more, I would have a whole lot less to worry about because finally in my life I would put my: “Bogus Pride Aside”. For when any of us commit to own our lives with the Lord, we learn the basic lesson of: “He Drives We Ride”. Or at least we walk together, as we learn to trust more and worry less.
Now we are in a position to allow God to equip us with new-found resolve, strength, and resiliency. At that point, I am actually beginning to follow my Lord’s instruction from the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus talks about not worrying about stuff that is not in our wheelhouse. Please let me read our Lord’s words from Matthew 6:31-34;
31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Tomorrow will worry about itself. Unfortunately, I have a history of helping each day with the worries that I have no control over. This is especially sad because, most of the petty, worldly, pagan junk I worry about doesn’t help improve the things the Lord wants me to be working on.
I could give you an itemized list of “stupid human tricks” that I am in the process of working on ridding in my own walk. You know, like the Apostle Paul who talks about; the things that we don’t want to do, but do anyway, and the stuff we want to do, and don’t get done. My list by the way would take us a while and we don’t have enough daylight left to begin now. This is not bragging, but my own dismay of my personal shortcomings.
For a general list of things to work on, that I think we all have in common. It comes from a man who had plenty to work on in his own faithwalk. Peter is an inspiration for anyone who has been a slow learner, struggling with impulse control, and faith, because Peter doesn’t give up, and over time he lets the Lord call the shots, instead of blundering on his own. Reading from 1 Peter 2:1-10;
1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.
*Interrupting Peter to say; How you all doing? Not so good? Fact is, we all have; splainin to do! There is a growth supplement for our maturity deformity in our faithwalk. And it is the pure spiritual milk of the Holy Spirit. Getting a taste of what God is like, should lead us back for more. Again, and again… Peter continues at verse 2;
2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
4 As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For in Scripture it says:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame.”
7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,
“The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone,”
8 and,
“A stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.”
They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.
**Please let me interrupt Peter briefly to say; We are an edifice built like stone. As the Body of Christ, we are the church. This is a beautiful building, but that is all it is. You are irreplaceable and one of a kind in God’s eyes. And there may be those who reject our house and the future we are vested in. What we are destined for my beloved family is; eternity without suffering and abuse, complimented by being the presence of the wellspring of all that is good, our God! Continuing now at verse 9;
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Yes, more so. Your destiny is to be a part of the royal priesthood, by living your faith. But that doesn’t happen just because you say that you are a Christian. More than half of America still claims to be Christian, without even knowing who our Lord is or what He teaches. The closest many have been to a Bible is the dusty thing on display at home. Well, to be chosen is one thing, to live your faith and claim your birthright is another.
All this begins by trusting in our Lord and letting Him drive you where you can grow the most effectively in Him, by serving other people. Trusting in God as David instructs us in Psalm 31:14-16;
14 But I trust in you, Lord;
I say, “You are my God.”
15 My times are in your hands;
deliver me from the hands of my enemies,
from those who pursue me.
16 Let your face shine on your servant;
save me in your unfailing love.
And so many times the real enemy is what lies right inside our very being. The stuff I’m trying not to do anymore. The junk that devours us. Those same enimies, Peter instructed us to rid ourselves of that I read earlier in 1 Peter 2:2. Riding ourselves; “of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind”. I can only add to his list some of my own specific issues like; selfishness, ego, arrogance, fear, and a sense of entitlement. Entitlement in which I don’t have.
What I and you do have is a Lord that loves us in spite of all the nonsense that we emit through every fiber of being at times. Couple that fact with the certainty that we humans just plane struggle with projecting our arrogance / fears, when we should be listening, learning, and receiving God’s blessings and reassurances. We have a Lord that is essentially continually comforting our fears, and answering our needs; emotionally, physically, and of course spiritually. Bringing us back to today’s Message Reading, John 14:1-10;
1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”
*Interrupting our Lord’s instruction briefly to say; When I am following His example instead of projecting my ignorance, I am able to find my way, my path, our Faithwalk unto our Lord. Now, verse 5;
5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
**Cutting in again to say; that this last part of verse 6; “No one comes to the Father except through me”. Has been used countless times to discount anyone who disagreed with the generic Christian Faithwalk. In other words, only people that believe like we do in Christ will be saved.
Here is a thought, think with the Lord for yourself. Our Faithwalk is “the certain way” to our Lord. Make no mistake. And our Lord will welcome all into Heaven (I believe on a individual basis), making our presence to the Father achieved by going through our Savior Jesus Christ. And as Paul teaches us in Romans, He will judge each based on what is written on our hearts. Specifically, we have for clarification, Romans 2:14-16;
14 (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.) 16 This will take place on the day when God judges people’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.
Not my words, but God’s word through Paul. God judges other people’s hearts so that you can take the day off from judging, and now start sharing the Good News. Not by condemning others, but by letting God drive your witnessing, by your sharing the joy and certainty of your Faithwalk without belittling those you disagree with. Our Lord’s instruction now continues in John 14, at verse 7;
7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.
The Father and Son are God, loving, creating, sending, redeeming, and they sustain all through their Holy Spirit. Who is God in outreach and nurturing. Our source of all that is good in our universe!
Having a hard time making sense of it all? It’s ok. You can spend a whole lifetime reflecting on the Godhead: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and still have questions (we all do), and our working on it… will not be a waisted life!
As we let our Lord drive our searches for Him, more and more answers will come to you my beloved family. And you are in the right assembly for discovery. For where better to find yourself than in a hospital designed to heal your wounds and hurts by strengthening your soul of understanding and hope!
And we know that our Lord will provide when we ask for things that are in line with what His plans are for us, and the world at large. Jesus even says as much in John 10:13-14;
13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
My hope and prayer for each of you is that you will learn to trust in our Lord’s ability to provide for all we need and our actually flourishing in goodness when we are on the right track by listening to Him. That’s when we will put: Bogus Pride Aside, He Drives We Ride! And unlike the family trips of my youth, I will try to keep the inevitable query of “are we there yet” to a minimum. Amen!