Creekside Church Sermon of April 9, 2000 "Putting the Devine Into Guidance" Exodus 13-14	Rev. David Bibbee
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One day George's faith was stretched further than ever before. The cupboards were bare. A flash of doubt crossed his mind, but he remembered the promise and saw the faces of hundreds of children who had become responsible adults because of his ministry. Though the cupboards were bare, he felt fire in his bones. He walked to the head of the dining room, smiled at seventy hungry children and said, "Let us pray. Lord, you have promised to meet our every need. Even so, we thank you for the food you are about to provide. Amen." The room was silent. The kitchen doors didn't open. Concerned glances were traded.

I will return to this story later, but for the next minutes I want to talk with you about faith. We have entered the public phase of our capital stewardship campaign. It is named "We Walk by Faith." Building for the future does not begin with funds, but with faith. Building upon a foundation of prayer, we all will be asked to pay particular attention to how God asks us individually to step out in faith to realize God's desire. Between now and May 7, I will preach a sermon series reflecting on the theme of stewardship and faith. Today we will think about the specifics of God's guidance.

Every living creature relies upon guidance. The sparrows must know how to find Capistrano. The buzzards must find Hinkley, Ohio. It is one of nature's wonders that salmon leave their home stream and swim hundreds of miles to the sea return four years later to the exact stream of their birth. Biologists think every river and tributary has a unique chemistry, and through a complex means the salmon are sent encoded and know exactly which river or stream to enter. Since we're talking about fish, fisher folks have a variety of technological tools at their disposal. Let's say I have found structural feature no bigger than a kitchen table that attracts some good fish. The problem is how to find it again in a large, featureless area. But with a global positioning system that fits into your pocket, you can log in the coordinates, return to the spot and get down to business. Now there are cars with GPS systems so men won't have to admit not knowing where they are.

But how does God guide? How can we be receptive to His guidance? This is a crossroads moment for the Elkhart City congregation. The implications for today and tomorrow are, to say the least, significant. We've entered the arena of the unknown, but two important things we do know: The Almighty holds the answers for our future, and He doesn't lead us backwards.

God has many means to guide us. Some people speak in terms in direct intervention...quickly, clearly, out of the blue. Others affirm a slower, reflective process of discerning God's intentions. One isn't necessarily more valuable than another. God reveals different things in different ways to different personalities. There are two definitive events which shape the entire Bible. In the New Testament it is the resurrection. Take away Jesus' resurrection and nothing else holds together. The defining Old Testament event is Israel's exodus from bondage in Egypt. The thirteenth and fourteenth chapters of Exodus offer insight into how God guided then and now. One way is by protection.

Though the numbers vary about how many Hebrews actually left Egypt, some put the number as high as 600,000. God's protection was evident from seeing how the Hebrew slaves left Egypt. They weren't just asked to leave. They were paid to leave. Since when are slaves paid to leave? We see God's guidance through the route Israel followed from Egypt. In geometry I learned the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. The shortest route to the Promised Land would have only taken five days. But God took them another way. Why? The shortcut would take them through Philistine territory. The Hebrews were no match for them. They would take one look at the Philistine war machine and say, "You know, things weren't all that bad in Egypt."

Instead, God took them on a circuitous route back to where Moses had spent 40 years. He knew there was nothing to eat or drink there. Why would God do such a thing? The people didn't know what they were up against. They were in no shape to face dangers they didn't know existed. They didn't know that Pharaoh thought letting the Hebrews go was the stupidest thing he had ever done. They didn't know the Egyptian armies would catch them at the Red Sea, and didn't know God would lead them through the Red Sea.

There are times when it seems like we are going nowhere. But sometimes God leads us on a long trip to give us the necessary time to think about what lies ahead. The short way may be quicker, and initially seem better. But God uses the long way to save us from hidden obstacles. God is patient. Instead of a 5-day hike, Israel went on a 40-year sojourn. God seems more interested in having us become the people He wants us to be before we arrive at the destination.

What do we usually hear when a new venture meets its first obstacle? The detractors say, "Told you it wouldn't work. What do you say we just all turn around and get on back to Egypt? At least we had a place to lay our heads, and real food instead of this manna stuff. Let's get back to the way things used to be." But there was no returning to Egypt. God doesn't lead backwards. Most of us do not experience God's guidance in this way. If God is going to guide us, we must pray to be receptive to guidance.

I often meditate upon a prayer written by Thomas Merton, especially in times of uncertainty. He writes, "My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going." Who hasn't felt the same? "I don't see the road ahead. I don't know where it leads. I don't even know myself, and the fact I think I am following your will doesn't mean I am. But I believe the desire to please you does in fact please you and I hope I will never do anything apart from that desire." Then Merton goes on to say, "...and I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it." Going without knowing. More questions than answers but going anyway. God is guiding us through unfolding events the church hasn't encountered before. Which is why we must take time to pray and listen and listen and pray. If we do this, we will grow as we go in following God's lead.

The Divine guides us by protection in the wilderness of decision making. But there is another role in guidance...recollection. The last thing packed before the Hebrews left Egypt was bones...Joseph's bones. His story began when his brothers threw him in a pit to die. But years later he was in the palaces of Egypt. He found favor with the Pharaoh, but the longing for the Promised Land never left him. Israel had sworn an oath to Joseph. His last words were, "God will surely visit you, and you shall carry my bones from here with you." Joseph never saw the Promised Land God had sworn to Abraham, but he believed God would keep His promise. The bones of Joseph reminded Israel of God's guidance in the past...promises made to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and now them. The faith in the future is built upon the promises of the past.

Early one morning I was fishing in Wisconsin. The dawn was clear, but a thick bank of fog rolled in and I couldn't see ten feet beyond the boat. I didn't have a compass, so I pointed the boat in what I thought was the right direction and slowly motored along, praying that any other boats in the area were doing the same. I kept going and going until I saw trees through the mist. I knew where I was on the west shore. My cabin was a mile and a half away on the east shore. I turned the boat around and went back into the cloud. I emerged several minutes later and saw a boat near the shoreline; I hollered, "Is this the east shore?" The guys in the boat gave a one-word reply. "West." Back into the bank I went for a long time until I saw trees and finally recognized the shoreline feature. I was on the south side of a bay two miles from my destination, so I followed the shoreline till I got back after an hour in the fog. To find my way I needed a landmark. Life with God is like this. We are led into the mist of an unclear future.

Decisions will be made about financial resources. These important decisions will not be based only upon present circumstance. Decisions about our future are rooted in God's faithfulness in the past. In the words of the benediction I often use, "God is before us to guide us and behind us to protect us."

I think you will find as you reflect upon the biggest decisions of your life that most of them didn't happen without struggle. One aspect in our consideration of what to give to the "Walk by Faith" campaign is based upon income, obligations, our potential and our church's needs. These are givens, and God works through them. Along with God's protection and recollection, however, there is the fact of God's mysterious direction and unexplained, unbidden interventions. For Israel it was the twin pillars of cloud and fire that guided them day and night. I've not seen these pillars and don't think I will any time soon. But we will have stories to share about the "Walk by Faith" campaign from people in your midst who will tell how God has guided them to a decision in both natural ways and in an infusion of divine guidance.

We have begun to identify the means God employs to accomplish His purposes, but please let me briefly mention some outward and inward influences present in this great story of guidance. Outward factors include circumstances. God will use the circumstances which are unique to us to guide us in the process. We must be open to counsel. Through prayer, conversations with one another, and information meetings and faith sharing, we can be moved in our decision to give. Along with circumstance and counsel there is the matter of consequences. As we recall the consequences of faithful giving in the past, we will make wise decisions for the future.

Internally we are guided by common sense. God gives us brains for a reason. We will not make irrational decisions. As one theologian put it, "God's revelation is not unreasonable." God can lead us by compulsion...that inward conviction that sweeps over us and leads us to say, "We know this is right." Do you remember the old slogan for Borden's condensed milk? "Made from the milk of contented cows." Along with common sense and compulsion is contentment...a sign of God's guidance. It is praying about what God would do through you for the Church, then having a sense of peace about it.

Rational thinking and strategic planning alone will not provide the guidance necessary for the future of the Elkhart City Church. We must learn to let God guide us. We trust in protection, recollection, and direction which comes from without from circumstance and counsel, and within by common sense, compulsion and contentment.

Now let's return to the orphanage where George Mueller has given thanks for a meal that is not there. The children exchange anxious glances. Then the doorbell rings. George Mueller opened the door and saw a bread wagon. "Mr. Mueller," said the baker, "I woke at 2 a.m. this morning and couldn't get back to sleep, so I decided to bake some bread for the children. Mind if I bring it in?" Minutes later the bell rang again. It was the milkman. "Mr. Mueller, my wagon just broke down. I've got to get rid of 20 cans of milk so I can get back to the depot. Can you use 'em?"

As the children ate, George Mueller sat down smiling and said to himself, "A little more faith, George." His ministry lasted another 45 years and changed the lives of more than 10,000 children.

From Moses to Mueller, they walked by faith. Now it's our turn.

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