Transcription downloaded from https://services.pcumc.org/sermons/27387/february-28-2016/.

Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions.
Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt.


[0:00] This morning for our clipboard opportunities, I want to mention that we do have one clipboard if you want to donate flowers and one for bulletins. And then we have a clipboard for the fish fries, which we did this last week. We had 720 fish fries, which is quite a lot of fish fries, I will tell you.

[0:41] We appreciate all the help and all the work people did. We have four more to come, so come and join us for those. We'd love to have you there if you want to help out. That's what the clipboards are for.

[0:52] This is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. If any kids want to come up and sing, they're welcome to join us. This is the day This is the day That the Lord has made That the Lord has made Let us rejoice Let us rejoice And be glad in it This is the day This is the day That the Lord has made Let us rejoice And be glad in it This is the day This is the day That the Lord Has made For the Fish Fry Cleanup Crew Fill out your friendship card to Get on the mailing list Sign up for activities

[1:53] List any prayers or concerns And any notes for the staff A welcome gift is available for new visitors And can be picked up at the connection site in the back of the sanctuary following worship Welcome to our church Shall we pray together?

[2:08] Dear Lord in heaven, we thank you for your presence in our lives And we pray now that you would especially make that known to us As we gather for worship with you Bless us Pour your spirit down on us Take away all the thoughts and concerns of the day And just fill us with you For it's in Jesus' name we pray Amen I'd like to invite you if you're able to stand as we sing together All hail the power of Jesus' name All hail the power of Jesus' name All hail the power of Jesus' name Let angels' name the angels' name And crown him all along Bring forth our loyal diadem

[3:09] And crown him all along Bring forth our loyal diadem And crown him all along He chosen, seen of his grace He rights up from the fall There him who saves him by his grace And crown him Lord above There him who saves him by his grace And crown him all along And crown him all along His love can never forget the wormhole and the gall.

[4:07] Go spread your trophies at his feet and grab him the Lord of all.

[4:18] Go spread your trophies at his feet and grab him the Lord of all.

[4:30] Let every day, let every time our Christ will rise to the Lord. To give all majesty, our strength and love him the Lord of all.

[4:50] To give all majesty, our strength and love him the Lord of all.

[5:03] The Lord be with you. Take a moment if you will and greet your neighbor with the peace of the spirit. I'd like to invite the kids to come up and join me now if any of the kids want to come up.

[5:29] Good morning guys, how are you doing?

[5:49] Have you ever seen something like this? What do you think it is? Anybody know what it's called? Looks kind of like a scarf, doesn't it?

[6:00] You know what it's called? It's called a stole. It's called a stole. That's just what they call it. I don't know why they call it. I'll have to look that up and find out. But it's something that I wear because at one point in time, the United Methodist Church bishop ordained me so I can wear one of these.

[6:17] It's something that shows what my office is as a pastor. And so some people think it means that I'm in charge. But you know what this really means? It means I've got to do whatever the church tells me. It means if the bishop tells me I have to live on the other side of the state, I've got to live on the other side of the state.

[6:32] It means, yeah, yeah. It means whatever they tell me I have to do because I agreed to do that because I made a pledge to listen to what my leaders tell me. Did you know that?

[6:43] Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere for a while. It looks like they've decided I'm staying here. But the truth is, is we make decisions to follow our leaders. And when we pick our leaders or our leaders pick us, we have to follow them and respect them.

[6:55] Because that's what God wants us to do. Because God wants us to learn how to respect leaders just as we respect them. Okay? What do you guys think before this morning? You want to share something? My mom and dad.

[7:08] My mom. My family. Food and water. Family. My friend and my baby sister.

[7:21] My family. My family. My family. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. All the way, my family.

[7:32] I love you. I love you, God. you for the blessings you give to us. We thank you for being there with us. We thank you for giving us parents. We thank you for giving us teachers and all the people that help us in our life. Be with us and bless us now and always in Jesus name. Amen. Let's listen to Miss Adrian.

[8:04] Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear God. Happy birthday to you.

[8:29] Thank you for not singing. How old are you? How old? Thank you very much. This was very nice of you all to give me a card and everything else. Thank you. This is great. Thanks kids. Appreciate it. Okay.

[8:48] You guys can all go out to Sunday school now if you'd like. I have to tell you what I'm thankful for this morning before you all ask me.

[9:02] At 9 a.m. on Monday, 12 guys showed up to hang drywall in our church. In about four or five hours, we got all the drywall up. We put the mud on it. We sanded it. We painted it. The kids are ready to go back to school this Monday morning.

[9:18] Now if we had hired professionals to do this, I figured it'd be done about July. So I appreciate all the help of people who make things like that happen. People who make our fish fries happen. People who make our worship happen. People who make our church happen.

[9:32] The amazing things that we can do when we do the work of God together is a blessing. And as I'm thankful to God for all the good people in our church that do so much and all the good things that God gives to us, let's return our thanksgiving with this morning tithes and offerings.

[10:07] The Lord's coming to an end and it won't be long. The party's gonna start for one and on and on.

[10:30] I'll be singing with the saints at the morning light. Ring it in the day cause there is no night. Say goodbye to the heartache, trouble and pain.

[10:44] I'll be singing at the throne with an angel band. Talk about the will you truly great I am. If you think it's a dream, well it ends.

[10:55] I'll be singing with the saints. Well the tambourines ringing and David starts to feel the rhythm.

[11:10] On the side they start humming a tune they wrote in prison. Well Gabriel hears the music and he picks up his horn.

[11:21] It's just another glory, hallelujah, hallelujah. I'll be singing with the saints at the morning light. Ring it in the day cause there is no night.

[11:33] Say goodbye to the heartache, trouble and pain. I'll be singing with the saints. Come on, hallelujah, hallelujah.

[11:46] If you think it's a dream, well it ends. I'll be singing with the saints. Oh, I'm singing Oh, I'm shouting Of their happy morning When we all shall rise I'll be singing with the saints At the morning light Bringing in the day Cause there is no night Saying goodbye to the heartache Trouble and pain I'll be singing Get the throne with an angel band Shout out to hallelujah To the great I am If you think it's a dream Well, it is I'll be singing With a song Oh, I'm singing Oh, I'm shouting Singing with the saints When the Lord

[12:47] Is all back younger I'll be singing With the saints I'll be singing Hallelujah I'll be singing With the saints I'll be singing With the saints I'll be singing With the saints His singing And my Michelle And my timid My way Lord She really бесED Your will be to the angels To the saints Thank you I'll be singing My husband With the sc Buffalo Victor車 Beat or Kianti Thank you.

[13:58] Amen. Dear Heavenly Father, we give you thanks and praise for this day, for the opportunity to gather together and to worship, and to be able to give you of our gifts, tithes, and offerings.

[14:18] Give us wisdom, Lord God, as you bless these offerings, that we would know how to best use them for the furtherance of your kingdom, that many would be drawn to salvation in Jesus Christ.

[14:30] It is in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Please be seated. Thank you so much for all of your prayers.

[14:42] After Pastor Tom kicked me out of church last week, I did very much need to rest and get over whatever was going on with my throat and my head and everything, and I know that a number of folks were praying, and I appreciate that so very much.

[14:59] God does heal. God does stand by us whenever we're in the midst of. Amen? Amen. And we do have some folks that we need to be concerned about, too, this morning, with all of our joys that are in our hearts.

[15:12] It's a beautiful day and being able to be here and worship. But we do have some folks who are in need of our prayers. Joanna Popoleo is in the hospital. She's having some health issues and is waiting on surgery.

[15:25] We have Jan Gertz. She is in the hospital again. She has congestive heart failure, and she is improving, I understand. So this is a good thing. We just need to continue to pray for her as well.

[15:37] Sherry Wailed is having multiple serious health concerns. We want to keep her in our prayers. Marlene Morrison will be having sinus surgery on March 7th prayers. Marlene Morrison will be having sinus surgery on March 17th.

[15:51] We need to keep the Spedding family in prayer. Todd is going to be having surgery on his foot, and he's on crutches right now. And his sister is in the midst of chemo and radiation therapies and such for cancer.

[16:06] And so we need to keep that family in our prayers. And Dave and Jill Diebel, we want to keep them in our prayers as well in their family. Dave's mother, Mary, died on Thursday.

[16:18] And so she's gone home to be with the Lord, and we are together in sorrow with that family. So many concerns. With these concerns and those that are on your hearts as well, let's turn to the Lord in prayer.

[16:32] Our Heavenly Father, we are so grateful.

[16:51] You are the God of all creation, great and worthy to be praised, and yet you are concerned about us. You rejoice with us when we are rejoicing, and you are grieving with us when we are in grief.

[17:09] You stay with us through all of the troubles of this life. Walk with us in every moment of every day. We are so grateful.

[17:21] We lift up to you now, all of those folks who are sick and infirm in need of a healing touch from you. We do pray that you will touch them and make them whole from the tops of their heads to the soles of their feet, in their spirits and their souls and in their bodies, Lord God.

[17:43] Father, we pray for all of those who are caring for them. We pray for wisdom for the medical professionals. We pray for compassionate, patient hearts.

[17:55] We ask also for a special blessing on those who care for them, in their homes or wherever else it is that they may be where they're receiving care, Lord.

[18:08] Father, we pray for swift healings for all of those who are recovering from surgeries, who are just dealing with health issues where they need you.

[18:29] Father, we pray in Jesus' name also for those who are grieving losses. We know that there are many, Lord. We pray in Jesus' name that you come by your spirit alongside of them, that you grant them comfort and peace in their time of sorrow, that you help them, Lord, to remember those things that are wonderful and happy and good.

[18:59] We pray in Jesus' name that you stay with them. Lord God, now we lift up our community and the wider world, Lord God, as this church reaches out and touches all kinds of folks.

[19:15] We pray for all of those ministries that we work through, that we give offerings to support and that we work on, Lord, and that we donate just all kinds of things for.

[19:29] Lord, we ask that those would be blessed as they go out. But, Lord, we ask that you would fill us, each one of us individually.

[19:41] Fill us with your word. Fill us with your wisdom. Fill us with boldness to share your love and grace and mercy with all of the people that we encounter.

[19:53] Father, we just ask that you would be in us and be with us so completely that when people see us, they see you.

[20:06] When we speak to them, they hear your words. When we touch them, they feel your presence. Father, we pray that many would be saved because you have given us the right words and the right actions at the right time.

[20:29] Help us always to be looking for ways to reach out to people. For you. As we hear your word, Lord, let it wash over us and transform us, making us well able to accomplish all you called us to do.

[20:48] Be with Pastor Tom as he delivers the message that you have given to him for us this day. Let it be a blessing to him. Let it be a blessing to us. Lord God, may all of our worship, our songs and our prayers, our hearing and listening, everything, let it be a blessing to you, Lord.

[21:13] It is in Jesus' name that we pray. Amen. Shall we hear from the word for more? Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[21:24] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[21:36] Amen. Amen. Good morning.

[21:50] Good morning. Scripture lesson this morning is from Numbers, chapter 16, verses 12 to 32. Amen. Then Moses summoned David and Abraham, the sons of Eliab.

[22:02] But they said, We will not come. Isn't it enough that you have brought us up out of the land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness? Now you also want to lord it over us?

[22:15] Moreover, you haven't brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Do you want to treat these men like slaves? No, we will not come.

[22:27] Then Moses became very angry and said to the Lord, Do not accept their offering. I have not taken so much as a donkey from them, nor have I wronged them, any of them. Moses said to Korah, You and all your followers are to appear before the Lord tomorrow, you and they and Aaron.

[22:47] Each man is to take his censer and put incense in it, 250 censers in all, and present it before the Lord. You and Aaron are to present their censers also.

[22:58] So each of them took his censer, put burning coals and incense in it, and stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the tent of meeting. When Korah had gathered all his followers in opposition to them at the entrance to the tent of meeting, the glory of the Lord appeared to the entire assembly.

[23:16] The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, Separate yourselves from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once. But Moses and Aaron fell face down and cried out, O God, the God who gives breath to all living things, will you be angry with the entire assembly when only one man sins?

[23:36] Then the Lord said to Moses, Say to the assembly, Move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abraham. Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abraham, and the elders of Israel followed him.

[23:52] He warned the assembly, Move back from the tents of these wicked men. Do not touch anything belonging to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins. So they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abraham.

[24:05] Dathan and Abraham had come out and were standing with their wives, children, and little ones at the entrances to their tents. Then Moses said, This is how you will know that the Lord has sent me to do all these things, and that it was not my idea.

[24:21] If these men die a natural death and suffer the fate of all mankind, then the Lord has not sent me. But if the Lord brings out something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the realm of the dead, then you will know that these men have treated the Lord with contempt.

[24:45] As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, and all those associated with Korah, together with their possessions.

[24:57] This is the word of the Lord. Amen. James Bond for president.

[25:20] He kills the competition. Got it figured out. How do we get out of this mess we've gotten ourselves into? We'll just elect a made-up person.

[25:31] How do we decide? I had people asking me that. Pastor, who should we vote for? You're not going to get an endorsement from me. How does a Christian decide who should be the leaders?

[25:44] What does the Bible say? Is it by democracy? There's not a lot of democracy in the Bible. In fact, I'll tell you the truth, there's not as much democracy in our culture as you might think. We don't have democracy in business or in the military or in the media or in schools or in our family or even in the churches.

[26:02] We don't have democracy on the battlefield. The general doesn't say, well, how many of you are in favor of going over that hell and possibly dying? We don't take a vote in the middle of a blizzard.

[26:12] How many of you guys want to go out and plow snow tonight? We don't take a vote when you're in the middle of the desert. These people are put in a situation where there has been a revolt and they have to choose which of the leaders should they follow.

[26:26] Do they follow Moses or do they follow this other group? How should they know? When I was coming up through the process of becoming ordained as a pastor, they told me that there's a call we receive from above and a call from below.

[26:41] That a good leader is called by God and led and really believes that somewhere along the line they have been asked by God to fulfill this obligation and expectation. But then it has to come from below as well as the people have to confirm it and have to agree.

[26:56] So we need to have an internal call from God, but we also need to have a recognition from the people. We call that the vote. What do we do?

[27:09] The first thing that we should learn from this passage is we need to seek God. The lessons from the desert are to teach us how to get back to God, how to return to God, how to remember the desert, are to teach us how to get back to God, how to return to God, how to remember God.

[27:24] We've forgotten God in so many ways. Moses, the first thing he did is went to God. Now he did complain. It's not fair, God. I didn't even take a donkey. Don't listen to that there. But he did go to God.

[27:37] Put it before God. Did you like the test? If they should die of natural causes, then they can be the leader, you know. But if the earth opens up and swallows them alive, then they're not the leaders.

[27:52] How would you think that would work? If, you know, we put all the candidates up and said, whichever one God strikes dead doesn't make it.

[28:05] It would be kind of an interesting idea, wouldn't it? Sort things out pretty quickly. They lived in the desert. They needed something a little more dramatic than us. We don't need God to zap people dead.

[28:17] But we do need to learn what God wants. And to do that, we need to learn about God. We need to learn who God is, what God would think, so that we can discern who God would want as our leaders.

[28:31] Because there are people who seek power at any cost. They'll distort the truth, they'll lie, they'll blame other people. They'll say whatever they think the people want to hear.

[28:43] Peter, in verse 3 of this chapter, they actually said, would you, Moses, stop telling people that they're bad? People are good. People are all good. That's what people want to hear from the pastor.

[28:53] You're all good. But you're not. You're not. You're all broken. You're all messed up. You all have problems. And by the way, so do the leaders. Right? But they said what the people wanted to hear.

[29:09] 2 Peter chapter 2 says to us, there were also false prophets among the people, just as there'll be false teachers among you. They'll secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who fought them, bringing swift destruction on themselves.

[29:25] Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed, these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them.

[29:38] Their destruction has not been speaking. People will make stuff up. The idea is if you tell somebody something that's false enough times, eventually they start believing it, even if they know it's not true.

[29:51] So these guys were saying, Moses, you brought us up out of Egypt, the land flowing with milk and honey, to make us slaves out here in the desert. When in reality, we all know they were slaves in Egypt.

[30:04] It wasn't a good time. They didn't have good food. They didn't have a good life. They worked hard all day long for meager amounts of food. But they keep repeating it again and again and again.

[30:17] And twist it around. It sounds like Moses is now the bad guy. And if people don't know the truth, they won't know who to follow.

[30:29] 2 Timothy chapter 3 says, All scripture is God-breathed. Useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

[30:43] The Bible is breathed by God. We can understand God by reading the book. But you know that studies have shown that 75 to 80 percent of people who call themselves Christians in the tent church have never read the Bible.

[30:57] I won't ask for a show of hands how many here. But the truth is, we don't know this book. We don't spend time in this book. We don't spend time with God. We spend time on the computer.

[31:08] We spend time on work. We spend time at school. We spend time on entertainment. We spend time on everything. Except for the very thing. It will guide us what we need to know.

[31:20] And so we end up ignorant. Biblical illiteracy is at its highest rate. You know, a hundred years ago, people could not read and write, but they could know this book.

[31:33] Because it's the one thing they made sure they got right first. Joshua says to us in chapter 1, Be strong. Very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you.

[31:47] Don't turn to the right or to the left that you may be successful where you go. Keep this book of law always on your lips. Meditate on it day and night so that you might be careful to do everything written in it.

[32:00] Then you'll be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong, courageous. Don't be afraid. Don't be discouraged. Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

[32:17] Do we think about God day and night? Do we meditate on it and know what God would want of us? If we do, then we'll know what would be the right thing.

[32:28] When we're choosing leaders and when we're actually just choosing life. God has a plan. Because God has a plan. God has an intended plan for each of us.

[32:38] God has a plan for this church. God has a plan for nations, including ours. If we'll live for the plan of God. But the problem is we don't want to live for God's plan.

[32:51] We want to live for what we want. Somebody said to Pastor Gene, how long do we have to look at that snow up in the front of the church? Well, as long as we have to have snow out there. It's kind of a winter idea. You know, it's sort of a theme we're working with, right?

[33:03] But there's a place to where we get kind of tired of winter. Except for one thing that kids want all the time and hope for in the winter. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

[33:21] Oh, the weather outside is frightful. But the fire is so delightful. And since we've no place to go. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

[33:35] And now, I remember as a child on school days often thinking. Let it snow, you can let it snow and let it snow. Now, because in the back of my mind, of course, was another thought. Snow day, snow day, snow day, snow day, snow day, snow day, snow day!

[33:50] It's me again, Bob Sled, for another nice and toasty fireside chat. Even today, when the forecast is saying snow, I still find myself thinking. I wonder if they're going to close those schools.

[34:02] Now, do you remember those days when you were a kid, cheering on the snow with the hopes of the world being shut down? We just need another day to play. We would get on the phone with our friends, excitedly talking about the possibility of staying home with another snow day.

[34:15] Now, things have advanced since then. And parents can now tell if their children have that snow day fever. Or when they notice their children's pajamas on inside out. Or sleeping with a spoon under their pillow. Or the newest fed, still don't know how this works, but flushing ice down the toilet.

[34:31] Now, snow day fever is real. It was hard to sleep on those days knowing the school might be closed. We'd wake up extra early and check right away. Is our school listed with the closings? And then, quite often, the defeat sets in.

[34:44] Nope. It's still open. But, you know, there was a great lesson learned from living all those winters in western New York. I learned that it really wasn't my decision.

[34:56] Some brazing youngsters have even been known to go into pleading mode, begging parents to stay home anyways. You know what my parents would have said? You're going. And I walked to school in the snow.

[35:06] Yes, it was uphill both ways. We learned early on that the decision is not ours to make. And that we need to obey even if we didn't like it or didn't think it was fair.

[35:17] Ultimately, it's God who would control if there was going to be enough snow to cause schools to close. The people at the school would decide if there would be school. And my parents would just reinforce their decision.

[35:28] Can you imagine if the kids got to make that decision of whether they should go to school or stay home and play? It was a very important lesson to learn to respect and obey those who made the decisions. And sometimes there is enough snow and school is closed.

[35:42] And we certainly learned to rejoice and play then. Let it snow. Let it snow. Let it snow. Of course we wanted a snow day.

[36:01] Of course we wanted the schools to close. Of course we want everything our way. What we should be seeking in life is God's plan. God's plan for us.

[36:11] God's plan for our community, for our church, even for our nation. Romans said, All things work for good for those who love the Lord and have been called according to his purpose.

[36:25] Not our purpose. Not what we want. Not what we desire. But what God calls us to. If we seek God, God will show up. In verse 19 of this passage, that's exactly what happened.

[36:37] They went and stood before God and it said, The glory of the Lord appeared to them. God was there. See, I think we've gotten to the point where we feel God won't show up because we don't even recognize God when he's there.

[36:48] God will make his plan work with or without us. God said to Moses, Get away from those people.

[37:00] You don't want to be around them when I'm going to do what I'm going to do. Because the people who didn't follow God, did you notice what happened in this story? Boom. They're gone. Somebody said to me after the early service this morning, I know the real lesson of this story.

[37:13] Don't mess with God. Well, that could be true. Because God expects us to make a decision. God gave the people a choice. You want to be on the right side.

[37:26] Because if you choose the wrong side, you're heading for destruction. Not just in this life, but in the one to come. The other thing about things about winter weather is it reminds us, just out of control we really are.

[37:39] We believe we can be in control of our whole lives and we can make happen what we want to have happen. And yet all we have to have is a blizzard where we've got whiteouts on our windshield and we're driving down the road and we make a turn and the car isn't going.

[37:53] And we're heading for the ditch. The first thing we do is say, Dear God, I'm going to get out of this! When the hurricanes are coming in the south, they board up the windows, they get ready, and then they get down on their knees, even the ones who don't go to church.

[38:05] Because when everything seems out of control, we turn to the one who can control everything. The difficult part is we struggle with wanting to have what we have in mind blessed instead of being a part of what God has already decided to bless.

[38:24] Even in our prayers, we say, God bless my family, God bless my work, God bless what I want to do and what I want to have to happen. And we should be saying, God make me a part of what you've decided to bless.

[38:38] These leaders don't want to follow God's vision. They've decided they're not going to go in God's direction. They want to do it their way. We have a tendency to want to do it our way, to live for the values that we hear in our world.

[38:54] We want to live for wealth and for fame and for popularity and success. There's an old story about a time when Teddy Roosevelt was coming back from a hunting trip in Africa.

[39:08] And he's on this steamboat and they're having big parties and everybody's going up to Ted and everybody wants to shake his hand. Everybody wants to be around him because he's the big man on the boat.

[39:20] On the same boat was a couple who had been doing missionary work in Africa. They had spent their life trying to bring people to Jesus Christ, to be honest with you, it didn't seem like they were very successful.

[39:33] There was a handful of people that they happened to bring to Christ. Africa was not a very Christian continent at the time. But their health was failing. They'd run out of money.

[39:44] And they decided it was time to go home. So they got on the boat and they're watching all this fanfare around Teddy Roosevelt.

[39:54] And the husband seems depressed and says to his wife, you know, for all the work we do. And what he did is he went hunting. And everybody's... And she said, it's all right.

[40:07] You're not home yet. So they did arrive in the harbor. And when they got there, there was a big band and there was even a guy with 48 roses for Mrs. Roosevelt to give to her.

[40:23] And everybody cheered as Teddy got off the boat. And the missionary couple came off at the same time and there was nobody there. Not any friends.

[40:34] Not the people from the churches that supported them or even the mission agency or anyone. And the husband looked so dejected and so depressed. And his wife looked at him and said, it's all right here.

[40:47] You're not home yet. But it hurts. It hurts when we feel like we've done the things that God wants us to do, but we haven't gotten the rewards that everybody else seems to be getting.

[40:59] It's hard. And so we get confused and we're not sure what we're supposed to live for. And we start to live for the wrong goal. And we find ourselves among the cursed instead of among the blessed.

[41:12] Our kids today are radically stressed out. Somebody said that there's something called quarter-life crisis now. If you reach 25 or 26 and you're not making $100,000 a year and living in a nice house and driving a fancy car, you're considered a failure.

[41:29] It's absurd. People will go their whole lives and they'll consider themselves a failure doing that. Everybody wants to be where I am in life when they're 22. We put so much stress in our kids.

[41:41] They've got to be the smartest. They've got to be the most successful. They've got to have a great job. They've got to have a great marriage. Nothing can be going wrong. They've got to be popular. And instead, they're feeling broken.

[41:54] The most successful man in terms of the world's way of seeing success in the Bible was King Solomon. He had more wealth, more power, more intelligence.

[42:09] He built more buildings. He had more glory and more fame than anyone in his day. And he wrote a book called Ecclesiastes, if you read it.

[42:19] But he basically says, I've done everything you could possibly imagine to feel satisfied and it all feels like chasing after the wind. Never enough. I never feel like I've succeeded.

[42:32] I never feel like I've gotten anywhere. I never feel like I've arrived. Even if I arrive, I feel like there's just some other goal. Well, the only thing to do is to eat, drink, and try to live a life for God.

[42:51] Difficult. Those struggles lead to resentment. And the resentment makes us lose respect. They resented Moses for pointing out that they were sinners and saying that they had things to work on in their lives.

[43:05] We don't want to hear that. We want to hear we're all perfect. We're all good. There's nothing wrong with us. We're fine. They resented. Being in the desert and having to make a sacrifice for what God wanted.

[43:17] Being in the desert and having to make a sacrifice for what God wanted. They resented Moses as a leader. They even resented God. And we're raising people up with resentment, with disrespect.

[43:34] I was watching some of the children's shows with my grandson recently. Now, I've got to be honest with you. I've watched them for years. And this starts when they're about this big. I've yet to see an intelligent father on any of these shows.

[43:48] All the fathers are complete. I don't know what is the word I'm allowed to use anymore. Fools? Can I say that? The mothers aren't much better. A little better. The kids are telling the teachers and teachers in schools.

[44:00] The kids in the schools and the shows are telling the teachers what to do. As if the teachers know nothing and the kids are so brilliant. Principals.

[44:11] My gosh. You want to talk about the most clueless group of people on the face of the earth according to television? It's principals. They know nothing at all.

[44:25] Fascinating. What a difference from father knows best. My three sons. I know some of you go, what is he talking about? That's okay. Go on Hulu.

[44:37] You can find them. They're back there somewhere. I'm not saying everything was perfect years ago, but this sense of total disrespect. You know, in this political race, it's not about how we can build things up, how we can do wonderful things for our nation, how we can make things fantastic, but how can we destroy the other person, make them look like they are completely clueless and terrible and evil?

[45:03] Of course they have problems. Of course they have faults. They're like us. Would you want to run for president seriously? I want to remind you, it was only a few years back that somebody was running for president and they were quoting his pastor's sermons.

[45:20] So not only do you have to live on your reputation, you've got to deal with mine. Oh gosh. Do you really want to go there? I told them to destroy the tapes of my sermons.

[45:30] I don't want them around. Frightening the disrespect that we've created because we're living for the wrong thing. It's not about being perfect.

[45:43] It's about being forgiven. It's not about being rich. It's about being blessed. It's not about getting it our way, but getting it God's way. It's not about being famous and popular with people, but being acceptable before God.

[45:58] Famous and popular with people, but being acceptable before God. So this couple get off the boat. There's no one there to greet them.

[46:11] They walk to their little apartment that they kept while they were away. They thought maybe at least there'd be some friends or family or folks waiting there. But instead, when they got to the apartment, it was dark.

[46:25] There was no food except a couple of cans of something in the cupboard they had left months before. The wife walked into the kitchen.

[46:38] She was downcast and went about at work. Didn't see a thing. Her husband went into the bedroom to pray. We feel as if life is just breaking us.

[46:50] Even when we're trying to do what God wants us to do is when leaders step up instead of stepping off. See, leaders lead by following God.

[47:04] Leaders lead by doing what's right, not what's easy. By doing what serves God, not what serves them. If you read the story of Moses, he doesn't strike you as one of those back-slapping, hand-shaking kind of a guy.

[47:19] He almost seems a little miserable about his work, like he doesn't want to be there. You know why? He doesn't want to be there. Moses was 80 years old.

[47:30] I want you to picture this. He's semi-retired. He does a little take care of a few sheep to get them out of the house, you know, before his father-in-law. He's like the greeter down at Walmart, you know.

[47:44] It's a pretty simple job, no big deal. I just do it so I'm not sitting around the house all the time. And God says, I want you to go down to Egypt and get my people out of Israel. And Moses said, are you crazy?

[47:55] Are you crazy? I'm 80 years old. I don't even talk well. And God said, I told you to go, Moses. Moses didn't volunteer to be a leader.

[48:07] He was raptor. He had no desire to do this. He did it not because he was looking for some special reward. He didn't become the king of Israel.

[48:17] He didn't get rich. He spent his life wandering around with a bunch of complaining, miserable people out in the desert and then died. But when God calls from above, we have to decide whether we're going to answer or whether we're not.

[48:35] Whether we're going to live for what God's plan is or whether we're going to live for what we want. I don't want to be a pastor. Maybe some of you don't like hearing that, but I didn't want to be a pastor.

[48:47] I thought that was the craziest idea God had. I was driving a truck taking care of people's lawns. Seriously, God, you know who I am. You don't want me to do this. This is crazy.

[48:58] I finally got a decent life. Leave me alone. Maybe when I'm retired. But God didn't ask me. God told me. And so I'm here.

[49:10] Some people say, well, you'll be a pastor until you die. I said, you know what? My goal is somewhere I'm going to retire and then I'm going to turn in my credentials and I'm going to be a civilian again. Because the hardest part about being a pastor is not preaching.

[49:22] It's not about being with people when they're having troubles and difficulties. The hardest part is that somewhere along the line people keep looking for you to make decisions and decide things and tell them what should be and what shouldn't be. And you know what?

[49:32] I mess up. I do. Any of you have been around here long enough and I've been here 26 years? No. I mess up. Because that's what happens. You can't help it.

[49:44] We're all human. We make mistakes. We fall short of the glory of God. Nobody's perfect. people are more than willing to point that out for everybody.

[49:58] For Moses. For our leaders. For you. They said, Moses, we're not listening to you anymore.

[50:10] When God showed up, Moses said to the people, you know, just giving you a suggestion, but if I were you, I'd be moving away from them and move over there. And I've got to tell you, the best part of this passage is it says, the people moved.

[50:25] The people moved. Not the people who were in rebellion, not the people who thought they should be the leaders, not even their families, unfortunately, but the people in general moved.

[50:36] They repented. They turned back to God. And unfortunately, the earth swalled up those who wouldn't listen. Weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful.

[50:51] And since we've no place to go, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. Snow days. Wonderful things. What's the matter with the school?

[51:01] Why don't they do snow days all the time? Now, could you imagine how hard it is to run a school system where thousands of people are expecting you to make decisions for them that affect daily life?

[51:18] The principal hears that snow is coming. They have to decide whether they're going to have school or not. And if they close the school, then there's people that will actually not receive a wage that day because not everybody gets a wage if they don't go to work.

[51:31] Some people only get paid when they show up. They're going to have parents who are going to have to go out and find child care and find somebody to take care of their kids. They weren't expecting that. And kids will miss their lessons.

[51:48] And I don't know if you know this, but if a school doesn't have 180 days of instruction, they have to find a way to make that work. So if there's too many snow days, you know what you lose? You lose spring break. How's that going to feel?

[51:59] Wait a minute, principal. We weren't planning on that now. It's hard. And worst of all, if they make the decision to keep the school open when they should have closed it, then they put hundreds, maybe thousands of people's lives at risk.

[52:19] I wouldn't want to be the one making that decision when the weather looks frightful outside. Leadership is difficult. Serious business.

[52:31] If the leaders make the wrong decision, people could die. In this story, they did die. We know that depending on how our leaders lead our country, people may live or people may die.

[52:44] Not easy. Not a game. I'm praying for this country. I'm praying for our elections. I'm praying for our leaders. I'm praying for our people to understand what God would have us to do.

[52:58] Have leaders. They're called by God doing what God wants. See that verse 30, what it said is, it wasn't Moses that they were turning their backs on.

[53:10] It was God they were showing contempt for. Do you really think that God becomes God if we take a vote and say yes? Do you really think that it's all decided by majority rule?

[53:23] Do you really think on the day we stand before God and he's on his judgment seat and if the decision is going to be made of whether we go to heaven or hell, they're going to ask all in favor of Johnny going into heaven?

[53:34] Amen. God is the ultimate one we need to please. 2 Chronicles says to us, God is with us.

[53:46] He's our leader. He's our leader. Even if the priests with their trumpets sound the battle cry against you, stay with God. God.

[53:58] God is the one we need to please and we need to choose. The purpose of this life is a power isn't wealth, isn't vain, isn't being perfect, isn't being successful.

[54:12] The purpose of this life is get to the next one. They felt sad. The wife rarely sang or whistled or did anything.

[54:25] She just went about making up a simple meal. When she called her husband to come out of the bedroom, he walked out and he had a smile on his face. And she said, what's happened?

[54:38] He said, well, I was talking to God. And he said, don't worry about it. You're not home yet. Are you far awake from home?

[54:55] Are you far awake from home?

[55:08] This dark and boldly night? Tell me what best would help H etc.

[55:31] It's like a beautiful old life. I will lead you home How beautiful, how precious The Savior of all Your love so God free me How long we ask so How gently, how tenderly He says to one and all Child, you can follow me I will lead you home Trust me and follow me I will lead you home Be near me, Lord Jesus

[56:34] I ask you to stay Close by me forever And love me, I pray Bless all the dear children In my tender care Take us to heaven To live with me there Take us to heaven To live with me there I want to be close Close to your side Heaven is real Death is alive

[57:36] I want to hear voices Of angels above Singing as one Hallelujah Holy, holy God Almighty Great I am The moon is worthy None beside me God Almighty Great I am I want to be near Near to your heart Loving the world Meeting the God I want to see dry bones Living again Singing as one Hallelujah Holy, holy God Almighty God Almighty Great I am

[58:38] Who is worthy None beside me God Almighty Great I am Great I am The mountains shake before you The demons run and flee At the mansion of your name King of majesty There is no power in heaven Or any human span Before the power and the presence Of the great I am The great I am The great I am The great I am The great I am The great I am The great I am The great I am Hallelujah Holy, holy God Almighty

[59:38] God Almighty Real patience Wheel ofiri Great I am Gold願い transformative Amen And put it in your heart You now know, she has wanted me That's what honour He waktu He Faith If her He Glory of You know, we make mistakes.

[60:18] We choose the wrong way. We go towards the wrong values, or we just simply get messed up. We need to remember that it's not about being perfect.

[60:29] It's not about even finding leaders who are perfect. It's not about whether or not we're going to get it right all the time, just whether we're with the right one. God is the one who can make it right in the end.

[60:42] So that's why we come before God every week to confess, not that we're perfect, not that we've got all the right answers, not that we've made all the right decisions, but because we have them.

[60:54] We turn it over to Him so that we can put it behind us and move forward and do our best again. Let's pray. Dear God in heaven, I have sinned.

[61:05] I failed to do the right thing. I make the wrong choices. I live to the wrong values. Forgive me, Lord.

[61:19] Guide me, Lord. Help me to repent, to turn towards You, to be an example for people who look to me that I might leave where You would have me leave and follow where I need to follow, especially following You.

[61:46] In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. God said if we confess our sin and we repent, we're turned from our sin, He will forgive us.

[62:00] In the name of Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven. In the name of Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven. Glory to God. Amen.abebe, d Red, how Shepherd, we'll fall down we'll lay our crowns at the feet of Jesus其實 Theμαι woods of Ow IS great must love, mercy and love, had refuge.

[62:33] He will bride, holy歌, earth God, And the feet of Jesus We cry holy, holy, holy We cry holy, holy, holy We cry holy, holy, holy Is the Lamb Until that day when we are home We're invited to the table We can come and meet with Jesus Come and hear from our God And know what it is that God expects of us What it is that God is calling us to

[63:34] God is calling us to fellowship with one another And to fellowship with God here At this table Everyone is welcome If you love God Earnestly repent of your sin And seek to live in peace As a disciple of Jesus Christ You are welcome at the table this morning Welcome to come To meet with Jesus To hear what God would speak to you So come this morning Everyone is welcome The Lord be with you Lift up your hearts Lift up your hearts Let us give thanks to the Lord our God It is right It is right And a good and joyful thing always and everywhere To give thanks to you, Father Almighty Creator of heaven and earth You brought all things into being and called them good From the dust of the earth You formed us into your image

[64:35] And breathed into us the breath of life When we turned away and our love failed Your love remained steadfast When rain fell upon the earth For forty days and forty nights You bore up the ark on the waters And saved Noah and his family And made covenant With every living creature on earth When you led your people to Mount Sinai For forty days and forty nights You gave us your commandments And made us your covenant people When your people forsook your covenant Your prophet Elijah fasted For forty days and forty nights And on your holy mountain He heard your still small voice And so with your people on earth And all the company of heaven We praise your name And join their unending hymn Holy, holy, holy Lord God of power and might Heaven and earth are full of your glory

[65:38] Hosanna in the highest Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord Hosanna in the highest Holy are you and blessed is your son Jesus Christ When you gave him to save us from our sin Your spirit led him into the wilderness There he fasted Forty days and forty nights To prepare for his ministry When he suffered and died on a cross for our sin You raised him to life Presented him alive to the apostles During forty days And exalted him at your right hand By the baptism of his suffering Death and resurrection You gave birth to your church Delivered us from slavery to sin and death And made with us a new covenant By water and the spirit Now when we, your people Prepare for the year Now when we, your people Prepare for the yearly feast of Easter You lead us to repentance for sin And cleansing of our hearts

[66:40] That during these forty days of Lent We may be gifted and graced To reaffirm the covenant You made with us Through Christ And on the night in which Jesus gave himself up for us He took bread and he gave thanks to you He broke the bread He gave it to his disciples Saying, take, eat This is my body Which is given for you Do this in remembrance of me And when the supper was over He took the cup And he gave you thanks and praise And he gave it to his disciples He said, drink from this All of you This is the cup of my blood The blood of the new covenant Poured out for you Poured out for many For the forgiveness of sin Do this as often as you drink it In remembrance of me And so in remembrance of these

[67:42] Your mighty acts in Jesus Christ We offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving As a holy and living sacrifice In union with Christ's offering for us As we proclaim the mystery of faith Christ has died Christ has risen Christ will come again Pour out your Holy Spirit On us gathered here And on these gifts of bread and wine Make them be for us The body and blood of Christ That we may be for the world The body of Christ Redeemed by his blood By your spirit Make us one with Christ One with each other And one in ministry To all the world Until Christ comes In final victory And we feast at his heavenly banquet Through your son Jesus Christ With the Holy Spirit And your holy church All honor and glory Is to our almighty Father Now and forever Amen Shall we pray together

[68:42] With the confidence of the children of God The prayer Jesus taught us Our Father Who art in heaven Hallowed be thy name Thy kingdom come Thy will be done On earth as it is in heaven Give us this day Our daily bread And forgive us Our trespasses As we forgive those Who trespass against us And lead us not into temptation But deliver us from evil For thine is the kingdom And the power And the glory Forever and ever Amen Will those serving Please come forward Amen Amen Amen

[69:47] Thank you.

[70:17] Thank you.

[70:47] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[71:47] Thank you.

[72:17] Thank you.

[72:47] Thank you.

[73:17] Thank you.

[73:47] Thank you.

[74:17] Thank you.

[74:47] Thank you.

[75:17] Thank you.

[75:47] Thank you.

[76:17] Thank you.

[76:47] Thank you.

[77:17] Thank you.

[77:47] Thank you.

[78:17]  Thank you.