Believing God

Exodus 33:12 – 17
Moses said to the Lord, "See, you have said to me, "Bring up this people'; but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, "I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.' Now if I have found favor in your sight, show me your ways, so that I may know you and find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people." God said, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." And Moses said to him, "If your presence will not go, do not carry us up from here. For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people, unless you go with us? In this way, we shall be distinct, I and your people, from every people on the face of the earth." The Lord said to Moses, "I will do the very thing that you have asked; for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name."


Moses is frustrated. He is calling on God to make good on the promises made to him. He is also asking God to show a little cause and effect. In other words, I think Moses is saying, "So God, I have found favor in your sight? That's great. Can I get a little action over here? I'm feeling awfully alone and it looks to others like maybe we have been making you up all this time. Seriously, God, if we are your nation, then come with us. If you aren't planning on coming with us then I'd rather stay where we are. I can't do this without you. I won’t do this without you."

Isn’t it comforting to know that it isn’t just us? Do you find relief of mind and heart that, for Moses, believing God sometimes meant asking for a little evidence? That probably doesn’t sound very spiritual, does it? Asking God for evidence sounds like a lack of faith. But here was Moses, a great person of God, chosen by God to be a leader saying, “Now if I have found favor in your sight, show me your ways.” Show me what you are going to do, God. And make your presence known so that we don’t look like fools.

After God agrees to all that Moses requests, Moses takes it a step farther. In verse 18 Moses asks to see God’s glory. Moses wants to see God. With his eyes. Not an angel. Not a miracle. Moses wants to see God up close and personal. God’s reply? “No one can see me and live. But I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by; then you shall see my back; but my face shall not be seen.”

God didn’t get mad, which is known to happen throughout the Bible. God didn’t say forget about it, which is known to happen throughout the Bible. God says, okay, but we will do it my way.

Is it lack of faith that prompts such requests? Or is it abundant faith that believes God will respond to such requests? Maybe it depends on the motivation of the person and the specific circumstance. All I know is that God responded to Moses favorably. What then does it mean to believe God? Maybe Paul can help us.

Philippians 1:1 – 11
Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God's grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.

What catches my attention in this passage the most is when Paul says, “I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work amoung you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.” God will finish what God began. Paul is confident!

How often have we started a project and then realized that it was bigger or harder than we thought? Paul wants the Philippians to know that even if what they are doing is bigger and harder than they thought it would be, that God knew how big and hard the project was when it was started. The Philippians are to trust God’s ability and loyalty so that they can finish what they began. They need to be confident with Paul. They need to remember with Paul who it was that began the good work amoung them. By remembering God’s good work amoung them at the beginning they can believe God for a successful completion.

Paul is also telling them that God is with them from beginning to end. God did not start the work just to watch them finish from a distance. God is as devoted to the work as they are. Just like God promised to be present to Moses, Paul is promising that God is present from beginning to end. But the Philippians still have to believe. They have to remember with Paul and believe that it was God who started with them. If they agree that it was God who began the good work, then they have to believe that God wants to finish the work with them.

It is easy to remember the good work of the past and to think … ah, the good old days. Do you remember when this was wonderful and that was wonderful? Wouldn’t it be great if it were like that again? Sometimes these memories are good and important just to have for their own sake. But to look on those memories only to be sad about the present diminishes the possibilities of the present.

I do believe that there are times to grieve what never will be again. We must acknowledge these losses and mourn. And then I think it’s important to lift our heads up and look at what we have now. Paul is helping the Philippians do just that.

The Philippians seem to be having a tough time. They started out strong but now hard things are happening. Not the least of these things is what is going on with Paul himself. He is in prison. Paul started the church in Philippi. They have remained quite close. When the church found out that Paul was in prison they sent Epaphroditus with a gift from them. As a response to that gift Paul sends this letter back with Epaphroditus. He knows that they love him. He loves them too and he knows how hard it is for them that he is in prison. He also knows that they are under pressure too. Being a follower of Jesus as the Christ was risky business for everyone. They had opponents just as Paul did.

“I am confident,” Paul says, “that the one who began the good work in you will bring it to completion.” Paul is in jail for preaching the gospel. While in jail he is encouraging his church because they are worried about him and they are experiencing persecution. In all of this, where does Paul get his confidence? Unlike Moses, he isn’t asking to see God. Well, that might be because he has seen God.

In the middle of Acts we read about Paul who was at that time called Saul. He was persecuting the church with much enthusiasm and with the backing of the chief priests. Acts 9 tells the story of his conversion. “Meanwhile, Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ Saul asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?” The reply came, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.’”

Saul ended up temporarily blind because of this experience. While it doesn’t say explicitly that Saul saw God, it is inferred when the story talks about what happened with his traveling companions. “The men who were traveling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one.” This implies that Saul saw someone. The voice speaking to him said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.”

Another person who saw God, although in a different way, was Thomas. Do you remember that he doubted the resurrection? Who can blame him? He was in deep grief. He loved Jesus. How awful that he happened to be gone the first time that Jesus appeared to his friends in his resurrected form. Thomas said, “Unless I see for myself I will not believe.” That seems only fair to me.

The next week Jesus returned. Thomas was there. Jesus said to him, “Put your fingers in my wounds and believe. Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen me and yet have come to believe.”

Believing although not seeing. This is the challenge of most people in the church. Moses saw the backside of God. Paul saw the ascended form of Jesus, although I’m guessing in a very small dose. God told Moses that no one can see God and live. Paul was only struck blind. These great people of God seem to have such an advantage over us. And yet, Jesus is talking right to us when he tells Thomas, “Blessed are those who have not seen me and yet have come to believe.”

Last week we talked about visioning and dreaming. I encouraged us to pray and receive the visions and dreams that God gives us. I want us to not be afraid of change, to love people of all stripes, and to offer our ministry without restraint. To do that, we have to have some kind of anchor in our soul, even if it’s only a kernel of solid belief. Jesus told his disciples that if they had faith only the size of a mustard seed they could say to the mountain, “Be moved!” and it would be moved.

Just like Moses, we can feel frustrated, lonely and exhausted in our ministry. We may need to ask for evidence like Moses did. We may need encouragement like the Philippians. We may long to see Jesus like Thomas. Whatever place you are I can tell you this: I am confident like Paul that the work the Holy Spirit has begun in us will be brought to completion by this same Holy Spirit through us.

What is your anchor of belief? Where have you seen God? What can you return to at the times when your present situation feels frustrating or when you feel alone or overwhelmed? I think it’s important to be able to identify your anchor of belief, the kernel of faith that helps you stay centered and strong. I don’t like to leave inspiration and motivation to chance, hoping that I’ll remember in my time of need. That is like hoping you’ll find a good sturdy rope and something heavy enough to tie it to when your ship is drifting. It is good to know what your anchor is and where it can be found.

Your anchor might be a memory of seeing the evidence of God in your life or someone else’s life? It could be a deep knowing in your spirit. It could come from prayer, music, walking in the woods, going to church, or any number of other things. Knowing our anchor of belief is one way of opening up a space in our souls so that we have room for dreams and visions.

Believing God isn’t just some spiritual gift that some people have and others don’t. Just like any relationship, we need to cultivate our trust in God. We need to know in our souls that God is faithful and loyal. Our believing in God in response is a way to be faithful and loyal in return.

It is okay to call out to God like Moses did, asking for some kind of assurance. That is still an act of believing God. When we call out wanting a response we are doing so with some kind of faith that indicates a response is possible. It is important to remember the strength of the past sometimes so that we can be confident in the future.

Talk to God in real terms. Don’t worry about being religious or spiritual. Tell God what you need, what you long for, and how you are feeling. This is one way to open up your soul for the dreams and visions that we need as we move forward.

Believing God comes in many forms. What does it look like when you are believing God?

Standards of Evaluation

Text: Mattthew 11:1 – 15

Who are these men? People were asking these questions about John the Baptizer and Jesus. People still ask these questions. We still ask these questions. At least, I hope we do. While we Christians have ascribed roles and some character traits to these men, I believe it is a good practice to delve deeper into who they were then and who they are to us now. In this account John is in prison and he is hearing about the miracles Jesus is performing.

According to Luke's gospel, Jesus and John are cousins. In the King James Version the angel, talking to Mary in Luke 1, says this, "Behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible." Mary visited Elisabeth when they were both pregnant, Elisabeth being farther along. John and Jesus were about 6 months apart in age. They probably played together as children. They knew each other. And yet, John asks Jesus, "Are you the one or shall we wait for another?" John wanted to be sure. He was in jail and I imagine he wanted his spirit to be settled on the matter. Cousin to cousin and prophet to prophet, John asks Jesus who he is. And he trusts Jesus to tell him the truth. Jesus answers by sending information that superficially it seems John already knows. What does this message mean to John?

Jesus was a man who spoke in parables and riddles. According to Matthew "without a parable he told them nothing." Is it possible that Jesus was sending a message to John that would make sense to him in a way that it wouldn't to others? Don't we have people with whom we speak that a certain phrase holds a deeper meaning than it would with others? John knew that the lame were walking and the blind were able to see because of Jesus. What John didn't know was if Jesus was The One. Jesus doesn't tell him yes or no ... I think he tells him something more, something we will never really be able to understand. And what of the last phrase, "Blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me." In fact there were many people taking offense at what Jesus was doing. Sure the sick were healed, but he was doing it on the Sabbath. Okay so he was doing miracles, but he was letting unclean people touch him and letting his disciples eat with unceremonially washed hands.

Why were people offended at Jesus doing these amazingly good things? I think it's because they were letting their standards get in the way of their evaluation. They couldn't look past what they had known before, how things had been done before, even the rules that had been set out before. They couldn't appreciate the miracles because they were distracted by their bias and protocol. May God save us from our bias and our protocol.

This same bias and protocol was at play when people evaluated John's identity. After the disciples of John left, Jesus turned to the crowd to address John's identity. "What did you go out to see," he asked? Some people thought John to be crazy. Others thought he was the Messiah. Many followed him as a prophet and even more were influenced by his teachings and were baptized by him. Jesus challenges the crowd. He names their opinions. Is he a reed shaken by the wind? Is he royalty from heaven? Is he a prophet? Yes, Jesus tells them, he is a prophet and so much more. And then Jesus says a very curious thing. "Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he."

How can this be? What is he saying? If no one has arisen greater than John, where does that put Jesus? Yet the least is greater than John. What is the standard of this evaluation? Such a mysterious saying. But he goes on to say, "For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John came; and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. Let anyone with ears listen!"

Let anyone with ears listen. Let anyone who can drop their bias and reliance on protocol accept and understand. Jesus asks a lot of us in many ways. This is one of those ways. In his statement about John, that he is Elijah who is to come, Jesus not only tells us who John is but he tells us who he is. Mark 9 gives us insight into this. We are in the middle of the story of the transformation on the mountain where Peter, James and John saw Jesus transfigured along with Elijah and Moses. Afterward, as they were walking down the mountain together, "they asked him, 'Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?' He said to them, 'Elijah is indeed coming first to restore all things. How then is it written about the Son of Man, that he is to go through many sufferings and be treated with contempt? But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written about him.'"

Malachi prophesied that Elijah, the first prophet of Israel, would precede the coming of the Messiah. The scribes handed down this prophesy as a teaching. Peter, James and John were confused. If Jesus was the Messiah, where was Elijah? Jesus explains to them in the story of the transfiguration that Elijah has come. He explains even more explicitly in our story today saying that John the Baptist is Elijah. John is the messenger preparing the way for the Messiah.

One might not see Elijah in John the Baptist at first blush. He was rough and crude. He isolated himself in the desert and only ate locusts and honey. We hear no stories about him attending weddings like Jesus did. The only relationships of his that we hear about are those he had with his followers and with King Herod. Elijah may not have had many friends, but we do read about him helping the widow and her son, being a sought after consultant to King Ahab, and having a confidant and trusted mentee in Elisha. He might not have been the most sophisticated chap, but he doesn’t seem to have been quite as hated in the same way that John was. Furthermore, there is a certain romanticism that happens when someone becomes an archetype. John the Baptist didn't really fit any romantic vision of Elijah. Yet Jesus tells them that if they will listen to him, if they will drop their romanticism and expectations, they will see that John is Elijah the messenger and that the way was prepared by him. Jesus proclaims himself Messiah without having to use those words. He answers John's question to him, are you The One, in one message to John's disciples and then in another message to the gathered crowd.

But how is it that John can be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven of those born of women and yet the least are greater than him? Is this a riddle to be analyzed? Is this a secret truth that, if we uncover it we will understand something of the essence of God? Maybe. But rather than figuring out how it is that this can be I want to figure out how it is that we can live this truth. The questions in the passage are all about identity. The premise that I see is that we need to drop our bias and let go of our protocols. If we concede that John the Baptist is the greatest and yet those who are least are greater than he, how must be live? Who are least in the kingdom of heaven? I mean, out of all the people that we meet, that we hear about, that we read about ... out of all these people, who are ascribed to be the least in the kingdom of heaven? If these people are least, and Jesus tells us that they are greater than John the Baptist, how must we live?

I believe too often our standards get in the way of being able to evaluate according to Christ's teaching. Sometimes these are standards that we know we have and sometimes they are internalized. This week let’s practice getting in touch with those ideas or frameworks that create standards that limit our evaluations. And let’s pray that we have ears to hear the teachings of Jesus. When we let go of our bias and our protocols, who knows who will be revealed to us as being greater than John the Baptist.