Pastor Steve Bauer

This is the sermon for the Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost. The sermon text is: 2 Corinthians 5:14-16. The sermon theme is: Can You Feel The Pressure? Here is the Written Sermon.

Can You Feel The Pressure?

Sir Isaac Newton said that every action had an equal and opposite reaction¹. Pushing and pressure produces. Pressure always produces something. You may see it. You may not see it. But, pressure always produces. It is true in physics and motion. And it’s also true in our lives. There is no more clear example of this than a man called Saul—who we would later know as Paul. Saul was pushed by pressure. And that pressure produced many results in his life. He had this constant pressure on him to be a zealous, good Jew. His teachers put that pressure on him. But the pressure he put on himself was far worse. It was that pressure to be a zealous Jew that pushed him to do unspeakable evil. We see it at the stoning of Stephen. Stephen boldly and caringly preached God’s word to the jews. And, as they tore their clothes and gnashed their teeth, where do we see this pressure showing itself? We can just see Saul there, can’t we: “Here, let me take your cloak. Let me hold that. I wouldn’t want you to strain yourself or damage your clothing as you murder an innocent man.” Such pressure was on Saul to produce. And it didn’t end with this pit of stones for Stephen. It grew and flourished into a passion to go out and find more pits and jails for other Christians like Stephen. This pressure wasn’t content to just hold the cloaks of murderers. This pressure pushed him to be a murderer, himself.

And, just when this pressure was at its strongest, Saul felt a different pressure. There Saul was on that dusty, dirty road to Damascus and a voice spoke to him. And, it wasn’t just a voice. It was the voice. This voice blinded his eyes and pushed against the pressure in him. It spoke out: “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” ² And, suddenly, all that pressure driving him, guiding him for so many years caught him off-balance as he realized that Jesus wasn’t a lie. No, instead, he was the Lord of Lords.

What could Saul say to this voice? What reason could he give to Jesus for so zealously trying to destroy him? What could he say? Months later, what is it he could say to the families of those he put in jail? What could he say when a girl came up to him and said: “you were the one who killed my dad.” What could he say to the man who said: “you threw my wife in jail and now she frail and weak and diseased.” The only thing he could say to these, his brothers and sisters in Christ, is the words he speaks here in 2 Corinthians: ‘The love of Christ. The love of Christ forgives my sins and it will lead you to forgive me too.’

It was that love of Christ, that special, specific ἀγάπη love which loves, not expecting anything in return which took the pressure of Paul’s sin, guilt and punishment off of him. But, in its place we find a new pressure. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5: “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” ³. The pressure of sin, guilt and punishment was gone. And in its place was the pressure of love–Christ’s undeserved love toward him. And so, he was pushed, pulled, compelled to share God’s word.

Now, there is more we need to say about Paul and this pressure of love. But, right now, we need to pause and apply these words to ourselves. Paul felt a very real pressure to go out and speak about Jesus. He felt a very real pressure to go out and live for Jesus. As his brother or sister in the faith, do you feel that same pressure?

I know, that there are times, as I read God’s word or hear it preached, when God places that pressure on me—when he says, ‘what about you, Steve? Do you feel the pressure, the burden, the urgency to share God’s word with people?’ When I hear that voice, it’s all too tempting for me to answer back like Moses: “O Lord, please send someone else to do it.” ⁴ And, even worse, there are those times when I know I should feel some pressure, some urgency, some burden to go out and share God’s word. But, where there should be some feeling, there is nothing. There is numbing apathy. And that is a very dangerous place to be. When we feel nothing in response to God’s words, then we are like the church in Laodicea that Jesus speaks to in Revelation. He tells them: “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth” ⁵ There should be something in my heart, either hot for God or cold against God. But, when there’s nothing, that’s a hypothermic heart waiting for hell.

And so I ask you, do you feel the pressure? Do you feel the proper pressure that God’s word places on you to go out and live for him? Or, do you feel nothing? You feel more pressure to work in the garden than pray for souls. You feel more pressure to cheer for the Steelers than share God’s word. You see, the reason you and I feel no pressure is because we haven’t walked with Paul. We have forgotten that voice which speaks to us: ‘Why, why do you persecute me?’ What would you say to that voice? What would you say to the countless people you have hurt with your words and actions? What would you say to the person whose reputation you shattered with thoughtless, loveless words? What would you say to the people you have hurt again and again in your lives?

Do you feel that pressure? That is the weight of your sin. That pressure—that full weight does not go away by pushing against it. It does not go away by trying to forget about it. There is only one way that pressure goes away: The love of Christ. Hear again what Paul writes to the Corinthians: “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” ⁶

Notice what Paul is saying here. The great love that Christ has for us compels us. It pushes us. It drives us to live for him. Well, how is it that this happens? We have this conclusion: Jesus died for all. Therefore all died. Do you get it? Do you understand the great truth Paul is saying here? Paul felt the pressure of his sin. But, Paul rejoiced that Jesus was the one who felt the pain. Paul felt the pressure of his sin. But Jesus was the one who felt the punishment—and not just for him, but for all of us. So now, you can say: ‘I feel the pressure, but Jesus endured my pain of hell.’ I can say: ‘I feel the pressure of my sin, but Jesus endured the punishment I deserved.’

This is what we come to church for week after week. Week after week our sinful natures seek to make our hearts die with spiritual hypothermia. They seek to make us numb–numb to the pressure God’s law puts on us and the pressure God’s gospel takes off of us. Week after week this happens. But, how thankful we are, that just like Paul, the love of Christ is able to break open and de-thaw our numbing, hypothermic hearts. It puts the weight of our sins on us and then takes the pressure off us as we look to the love that Christ has for us.

And then, as this happens week after week, there is a change inside of us. There is a brand new sort of pressure. It is not the pressure that Saul knew. It is not a pressure to go out and follow our own god out of fear, anger, pride and desperation. And it is not the pressure our sinful nature puts on us to become lukewarm. It is a warm, glorious pressure which grows from Christ’s love for you.

This brings me back to our sermon last week. You will remember that we left our sermon last week with this truth: that very often God gives a choice not between good and evil, but rather good and good. It is the Holy Spirit who pressures us in a such a wonderful way to make a choice. But the choice is our own. We go home and go back into our world. And we have the choice to share God’s word with someone in our lives. Or we have the choice to pray for that person. Or we have the choice to do both. So what do you do? It’s up to you. But know this: these are choices between good and good, not good and evil. And you do them not out of fear or desperation, but out of joyful, wonderful pressure. That, because you know how much Christ has forgiven you, out of thanks, you follow him.

So then, my brothers and sisters, do you feel the pressure? Yes. Let us always pray: ‘O Lord, let me always feel the pressure of my sin so that I never grow numb to your word. And, dear Savior let me always feel the pressure of my sin. For you have placed all of its pain, all of its punishment on yourself.’ That is the pressure we feel and the prayer we speak. Amen.

¹ Newton’s Third Law

² (Acts 9:4 NIV)

³ (2 Corinthians 5:14–15 NIV)

⁴ (Exodus 4:13 NIV)

⁵ (Revelation 3:15–16 NIV)

⁶ (2 Corinthians 5:14–15 NIV)

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 Pentecost 17: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is the sermon for the The Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost. The Sermon text is: Ephesians 2:8-10. The sermon theme is: What Am I Here For?. Here is the Written Sermon

What Am I Here For?

Getting older makes people in to good philosophers. There was a grandma who was knitting in her favorite room. And she was getting thirsty. So, she said to herself: “I think I’ll go downstairs and get some iced tea.” She got up and went down the stairs. She walked into the kitchen, stopped and asked herself: “Now, what am I here for?” What am I here for? It’s the question we ask when we go from one room into another and forget what we are looking for. But, it’s also a huge question to ask. All the great thinkers throughout the ages have asked that question: what am I here for? Not, ‘here in the kitchen’, but ‘here on this earth’. Why am I here? What is the point of my life?

In the words we look at this morning we have the answer to that question. The question that thousands of philosophers asked and never found an answer to, we find an answer to from God’s word this morning. Paul tells us: ““For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.” ¹

What am I here for? I am here purely out of God’s grace. Now, it is very important that we pay attention to this word. We are Lutherans. We use this word almost every Sunday. And the danger in that is that, since we hear it so very often, we might overlook its weight and comfort and beauty.

Paul tells us: “you have been saved by grace.²” What is grace? Paul goes out of his way to explain very clearly what grace is in the words which follow. He says: “and this not from yourselves”. What is grace. Well, first of all, it’s not out of you³. There’s no room for ‘me’ in grace. When I ask the question ‘why did Goes God love me, why did God save me’, if the word ‘I’ is in the answer, you can be sure you don’t understand what grace is. If I say ‘God loves me because I earned him, I chose him, I…am worth it. Grace is not from us.

Paul has more to say about what grace is. Grace is not from us. What then is grace? Paul tells us: “it is the gift of God”. Grace is a gift⁴. And to make very clear what sort of gift it is, Paul then tells us: “not by works, so that no one can boast.” It is a gift from God. But it’s not the sort of gift many of us are used to. There are many people out there who give gifts not to give—but to get. “you scratch my back…I’ll scratch yours.”, right? That is not the sort of gift Paul is talking about here. It is a real, true and beautiful gift that Jesus gives to us. He rescues us out of punishment in hell not because we had anything to ever give him. There is nothing we could give him that would make up for this gift of eternal life. In fact, when we try to get on God’s good side by giving him gifts in this way, he hates them. He despises them. He loathes them because they are gifts which make us think that in a small way we can earn heaven for ourselves. No. Paul tells us: “not by works, so that no one can boast.”

There is no room for ‘me’ in grace. And yet, as soon as I say that, I need to realize that my sinful nature needs to make room for me. And our sinful nature shows it in a number of ways. We ask ourselves: why does God love me? The answer should be: ‘by grace’. But, so very often, the answer is something else. God should love me because I mow the lawn. God should love me because I served as an elder or as a council member. God should love me because I prepared the altar for communion. God should love me because I cleaned those annoying little bugs off of the window sills. Notice the word popping up in all those statements: ‘I’. There is no ‘I’ grace.

We see our sinful nature when it comes to our relationship with God. And we see it when it comes to how we relate to each other as well. We show that we despise that little word, grace when we take our stands in areas of God’s word where God’s word does not take a stand. We say: “We need to have the common cup because that’s what I want. We need to have individual cups because that’s what I want. We need to have green carpet because that’s what I want. You need to vote for this political party or that political party because that’s what I want.” And the final way we see our sinful nature ruling against grace is when we say “or else.” You need to do it my way, or else, I’ll leave this church.”

That one word, grace is a dead, lead weight to our sinful nature. It shows us that he loves us because he loves us, not because of that other little word, ‘me’. It drowns our sinful nature. But, to our new nature, to that Christian inside of us that is drowning in a salty ocean of sin and guilt, it is a buoy, a beacon a rescue boat. How amazing is that word, grace! How amazing it is to know that since I could do nothing to save myself, Jesus did it for me, in my place. How amazing it is to know, that for the many times I have drowned that word grace by shouting out ‘me’, Jesus lifts up that word from under the waves and saves us with it. How amazing it is for us to see grace, God’s undeserved love here at this baptismal font. Here God connected water with his saving word and rescued us from our sins. How amazing it is for us to see God’s grace here for us in the Lord’s Supper. Here, at this rail, week after week, Jesus offers and gives to us forgiveness of sins—not because he owes it to us, but because his great love for us moves him to give it to us as a free gift.

You see, there’s one answer to the question. What am I here for? God has placed you in this pew, in this congregation, in this town and in this state so that you would have the great privilege of pondering that one word, grace all the days of your life. And what a great privilege that is! There is no place for ‘me’ in grace. And that gives me all the hope, forgiveness and confidence I need.

What am I here for? I am here to marvel at God’s grace. But God’s word also gives us another answer to that question. In verse ten we read: “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” ⁵

Note very clearly what Paul is saying here. Jesus created you. Now, here in this verse we are not talking about your physical birth. We are not talking about the fact that Jesus gave you your bones, joints, sinew and flesh. It’s true. But that’s not what Paul is talking about here. Jesus brought us to life spiritually. At the beginning of this chapter, Paul tells us: “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins” ⁶. We were dead. And Jesus gave us new life by grace, through faith.

Now, you might be saying to yourself: “pastor, that’s nice. I used to be dead, and now I’m a Christian and now I’m alive. But, how does this answer the question? How does this help me understand what I’m here for?” Let me answer your question. Paul says that Jesus created us for good works⁷.

Now, before you rush off to the ‘good works’ part, please pause for a moment. For there is importance, weight, purpose and meaning in that one word, ‘for.’ Take note of this fact. Jesus brought you to faith for a purpose. This is a fact that the world does not know. For, the wisest philosophers didn’t find answers to that one question, what am I here for? Movies teach us that we are here either for our own enjoyment or for our own despair. Evolution teaches us that we are not really here for anything at all. No, they teach that we’re here like a dumb animal, driven by instinct, but destined to die. Notice how God’s word does answer the question. We are here to marvel at God’s grace. But we are also here for good works.

Now, let’s talk about good works. We do not do them in order to get heaven. No, Paul has just told us we have heaven as a free gift, by grace. Well, what sort of good works are these? Paul answers our question by telling us that God prepared them in advance for us to do. Think about this point. Ponder this fact. God knows all the good works you are going to do. And even more than that, he planned them out.

You see, we spend so very much of our time as Christians trying to make the right choice instead of the wrong choice. But, if that’s our only view of good works, then we are missing out. For God has a whole lifetime of works which are choices between good and…good. Just think about that! I have a world and a lifetime of choices that, because I am a new creation in Christ, they are choices between good and good—not good and bad.

And, in fact, I’ll give a whole week to think about that question. For, here is where we end for today. Next week we will flesh out this idea of choices between good and good. But, it is enough food for us to chew on to know that there is an answer to the question: “what am I here for?” I am here to marvel at God’s grace. And I am here for good works. Amen.

¹ (Ephesians 2:8–9 NIV)”

² χάριτί ἐστε σεσῳσμένοι

³ καὶ τοῦτο οὐκ ἐξ ὑμῶν

⁴ θεοῦ τὸ δῶρον

⁵ (Ephesians 2:10 NIV)

⁶ (Ephesians 2:1 NIV)

⁷ “ἐπὶ ἔργοις ἀγαθοῖς” (Ephesians 2:10 GNT-T)

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 Pentecost 16: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is the sermon for the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost. The sermon text is: Mark 7:1-8,14,15,21-23. The sermon theme is: Are You Sure? Here is the Written Sermon

Are You Sure?

Are you sure? It’s one of the most important questions a person can ask: Are you sure? Are you sure that what you are saying is true? Are you sure that what you are doing is right? In the words we look at this morning we see that question shouting itself out at us in the pages of scripture. We read: ““The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and 2 saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were “unclean,” that is, unwashed. 3 (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. 4 When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.) 5 So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with‘unclean’ hands?”””

These group of men, called Pharisees, were sure. They were sure that it was wrong—very wrong for people to eat food before they have washed their hands. In his own way, Jesus was asking them this singular, burning question: Are you sure? These Pharisees were convinced that it was wrong to eat without washing their hands first. And their answer to the question was: ‘This is what our fathers and grandfathers have done. This is what they handed down to us. Therefore, it must be right! It’s our tradition.’

That word, tradition can be an amazing gift. Or it can be a destructive tool. For, the answer to the question, ‘are you sure that that tradition is right’ is: ‘what does God’s word say? Jesus tells us: ““He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 7 They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’ 8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.”””

All of us have traditions, don’t we? Traditions are simply long-standing habits. It’s not a tradition if it’s something I have done for a month. It’s a tradition if it’s something I have done for my whole life and maybe even this habit was something my parents and grandparents did. That’s a tradition.

And all of us have them, don’t we? There are families who pray every day. There are families who go to church most Sundays in the year. We look at these and we say: ‘yes, these are good traditions.’ On the other hand, there are families that come to church during Christmas and Easter. And there are families who are in God’s word for half the year. But then during the Summer months they starve themselves of God’s word. We look at these and say: ‘no, these are horrible, destructive traditions.’

But why? Why are they good? And why are they bad? They good because we’ve been doing them for a while and they seem to work for us. They good because our parents did them. Are you sure? Are you sure that your tradition is right? For, that’s the sort of answer the Pharisees gave. What does Jesus teach us? If your tradition meshes and matches God’s word, then and only then is it a good tradition. If the only answer you can give to the question ‘are you sure’ is ‘that’s what I grew up with’, then you will always be setting up the wrong traditions for the wrong reasons. And it will always bring out the wrong result.

If you grow up and start your family and you teach your children that sports, rest or relaxation is more important that God’s word—If you teach them that God’s word is only important during the school year and during the summer we rest our bodies at the same time we starve our souls, then don’t be surprised when they learn your lesson. Don’t be surprised when they grow up and have no answer to the questions that this world throws at them. Don’t be surprised when they don’t go to their brothers and sisters in the faith for answers. Don’t be surprised when they don’t go to church to hear their pastor. For, when they ask themselves the question: ‘Am I sure I need God’s word’, their answer will be ‘no, because that’s what my parents taught me.’ You see, tradition is a powerful tool.

I see dangerous traditions in the lives of our parents. But I also see them in the lives of the rest of us as well. I had a member tell me that it was fine to pray with people who don’t believe the same things we do becuase that’s what their parents did. I have had people tell me that they will not come to bible study or read their bibles at home because that’s not what their parents did. Are you sure that that is the right answer? For, if what your parents did meshes with God’s word, then how wonderful it is! If not, how horrible of a tool it truly is.

And, I don’t mention this as something I have mastery over, myself. I have traditions that serve me. And I have some that threaten to enslave me. When I was growing up, my parents brought me to church and Sunday School. But the work week was a barren wasteland. We said our prayers before bed, but never opened our bibles. And, now as a parent myself, what I wrestle with is that tradition handed down to me. It is so very difficult to bring God’s word into the lives of my children every day—not just on Sunday morning. Why? Because that’s what my parents did. I don’t mention this to make you think I hate my parents. I don’t mention this so that you will think that I am a horrible parent. I mention this for only one reason: It is so very hard to break away from the traditions our parents hand down to us.

But, as I look at these words I and all Christian parents and sinners find strength, hope and courage. What I could never do, Jesus does. I, by myself am powerless to break the bad traditions in my life. But Jesus threw aside the traditions which were not in God’s word and clung to the ones which were in God’s word. He did this to say us not just in words but in actions: “I forgive you. I forgive you parent who knows how hard it is to follow me in this dark world. I forgive you sinner who is enslaved by your parent’s bad traditions and powerless to follow your parent’s good traditions. I forgive you.” Jesus shows this by obeying the laws we never could. Jesus shows this by rising from the dead and leaving all our evil traditions in that airy, open tomb.

And this is where we ask a different question. Are you sure? Are you sure that your stupid traditions are so powerful that Jesus cannot shape you and them for good? Are you so sure that because your parents taught you a bad tradition Jesus cannot teach you a good one? Are you sure that, because you are powerless to follow your parents good traditions, Jesus is powerless to train you to follow in your parent’s footsteps? Our Savior saw the evil traditions—those sinful habits which went against his word and destroyed them. Our Savior saw the good, pure and holy habits and pursued them perfectly. If he did this in his own life perfectly and powerfully, then are you so very sure that he can’t perform miracles in your life?

The answer, of course, is yes. He can and does perform miracles. He takes a dead sinner and makes him living through water and word. He takes an enemy of God and makes her a powerful follower of Jesus through bread and wine joined with Jesus’ body and blood. Jesus takes a powerless sinner and slowly, bit by bit, shapes that person into his own image.

With all this in mind, my brothers and sisters in Christ, since you know that Jesus doesn’t just have the power to deal with sin, but that he also had the power to shape tradition in your lives, trust his promises. Don’t throw in the towel. Don’t give up. Don’t quit on yourself when Jesus has never quit on you. Be in God’s word. Joyfully struggle to find new traditions in your lives. Start new traditions which surround you with God’s word and his strength and his forgiveness. And when there’s that sinful voice that says to you ‘are you sure? Are you sure you want to be in God’s word. Let’s sleep in. Let’s watch some sports. Let’s play some sports…’ When that voice speaks you can tell it ‘I’m sure. For what Jesus has handed down to me gives me more rest than all the sleep in the world and more joy than all the fields and stadiums in our nation.’ Amen.

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 Pentecost 15: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is the sermon for the Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost. The sermon text is: Hebrews 11:24-28. The sermon theme is Did Moses Flee Or Follow? Here is the Written Sermon

Did Moses Flee Or Follow?

The bible is full of phrases that are full of meaning. Jesus saved us from our sin, not for it. We are saved by God’s work, not our own. And, there are so many more in God’s word. There are those simple phrases which are so very full of meaning. This morning, in Hebrews 11, we bump into one of them. The phrase is “by faith.” Again and again the Writer to the Hebrews uses this phrase. In fact, eighteen times he speaks these words, “by faith.”

If someone were to ask you: “what do those words mean?”, what would you say? There is an answer that many churches give. But, it’s the wrong answer. Many Christian churches say that ‘by faith’ means ‘by choice’. But, that is not what the word means. Faith throughout the bible mean ‘to trust’. Faith is trust. Making the right choice is an effect of trust, not a cause of it. Knowing Jesus and all he has done for you moves you to follow Jesus. You cannot follow someone you do not know. Faith is trust in Jesus, which the Holy Spirit gives to us. Faith is not an an ultimatum the Holy Spirit gives to us.

I mention this because this morning the writer to the Hebrews describes a number of amazing choices Moses made. These choices were not the cause of his faith. They were the effect of his faith. And, as we read these verses, we see the choices he made. In verse 24, we read: “Heb. 11:24    By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.”

Because Moses trusted in God, he was able to make the right choice. And what was that decision? He refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. Now, think about that for a moment. Moses grew up without an earthly care. He had slaves and food and drink and entertainment. He had everything this world could offer. But instead, he gave all that up. Why? Why did was he so willing to give it up? The writer to the Hebrews tells us: “Heb. 11:25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. “

His faith in God generated the right choice. Moses gave up pleasure and endured pain. Why? Because he knew that all the treasures of Egypt only lasted for this life. They could not buy lasting pleasure. They could not ransom his sin. They could not buy a boat to travel from this world into the next. He could have been buried with all the Pharaohs of old with pyramids over the top of them. He could have been buried with tons of gold and silver, thinking as they did, that he could take it with him. But he gave all that up and picked up his cross and carried it. He did this because he knew that he could not carry earthly treasures into heaven. And even if he could, how could earthly treasures of Egypt compare to the riches the Lord had prepared for Moses in heaven?

Moses said ‘goodbye’ to the riches of Egypt. By faith, he made the right choice. But he also said ‘goodbye’ to Pharaoh, himself: “Heb. 11:27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.”

Because he trusted the Lord, he made the right choice. He left Pharaoh. The word that we find here in this verse ¹ is not a temporary leaving. It means to leave with finality. It means to leave and not look back. It means to leave and burn all your bridges behind you. Moses left the king he could see with his eyes and followed the Lord, the King which he saw by faith.

So, here is where we are at so far in this sermon: Faith is a gift, not a choice. Moses made a two amazing choices because he had faith in the Lord. He left Pharaoh behind. And he left all the riches of Egypt behind. Now that we have let the Writer to the Hebrews speak, let’s hear Moses speak about this same topic. In Exodus, chapter two, we read: “One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. 12 Glancing this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13 The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?” 14   The man said, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “What I did must have become known.” 15   When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian…”²

The writer to the Hebrews says that he left because he was following the Lord and his will. But what does Moses say about himself? He says that he fled ³. Which one of these sections of God’s word is true? Did Moses flee or did he follow? Was he a hero? Or was a he a coward? Did he leave Egypt because he was saying ‘goodbye’ to transitory treasures? Or was he leaving Egypt because he had killed someone and didn’t want to be put on trial?

This is a real question. And we need a real answer. Because, as you read God’s word, you will find dozens, even hundreds of these sorts of dilemmas. So, I ask you, which one of these is true? Did Moses flee? Or did he follow? I pause at these words and stress them because these are the questions people will ask you about your faith as soon as you tip-toe into the cold waters of this world. Why would a good God allow evil to come into the world? Couldn’t God have used the evolutionary process to create the universe? Isn’t it true that God helps those who help themselves? So many questions! And God calls on you to be prepared to answer. This is why I ask, invite and encourage you to not just come to church, but to come to bible study as well. For there are real answers to real questions in God’s word.

So, what is the answer? Did Moses flee or did he follow? The answer is ‘yes.’ Or to put it another way, the answer is ‘both.’ Moses both had to flee because of his great sins and wanted to leave because of Egypt’s great evil. Should it surprise us that Moses, the most humble man who ever walked on this earth⁴, would, when he looks back at all his years on this earth would see his failings and his sins? Should it surprise us that when Moses looks at himself, he sees so very much sin? And, on the other hand, should it surprise us that the Writer to the Hebrews, when he is moved by the Holy Spirit to write, when he speaks about Moses and all the great and amazing things he did should shine the spotlight on Jesus? For Jesus was the one moved Moses to make the right choice by faith? No, neither should surprise us. For Moses was both a sinner and a saint. He had an old nature and a new nature.

You see, here is where we find our sin. When Moses spoke about himself, what he could see were the times he failed and the times he fled. When the writer to the Hebrews speaks about the gift of faith that the Lord gave to Moses, all he mentions is the times he followed Jesus, even if it meant embracing pain. In our lives, how often do we see just the opposite happening? When we speak about ourselves, what are we tempted to speak about? We speak about how smart or strong or pretty or gifted we are. We don’t really speak about who it was who gave us these gifts. And when it comes to sin—well, you know how that goes, don’t you? We follow the pattern of our first parents in the garden, don’t we? We point the finger at someone else, even if it means pointing the finger at God above.

It is at times like these when we rejoice in those two simple words, ‘by faith.’ Because of this great gift of knowing who Jesus and what he has done for us we find an answer not just to the question of whether Moses fled or followed. We also find an answer to the question: ‘what about my sin? What about all the times I have shamefully gathered glory for myself and gleefully forgotten my sinful failings?’

The answer is this: Jesus forgives you. Just as he forgave Moses, he forgives you. He takes away your sin. He takes away your sin in two ways. First, while we carry within us two people inside us who hate each other–an old nature and a new nature–just as Moses did; Jesus did not. Jesus was perfectly undivided. Jesus could shine like the stars in the night sky and point the finger to himself because he was the only human without sin. This is why his followers were drawn to him and his enemies were repulsed by him.

Jesus took away your sin by never even having a sinful nature to begin with. But Jesus went even further in his love for you. He took on all your sins. He paid the punishment of hell for all the times you gathered glory for yourself and forgot your sinful failings. He rose from the dead and gave to you his glory, his joy and his Holy Spirit.

With this in mind, as you consider the salvation that Jesus won for you and the great gift of faith he gave to you, be ever willing. Be ever willing to say ‘I’ when it comes to sin. Be ever willing to follow in the footsteps of your brother, Moses, saying ‘I have sinned. I fled when I should have fought. I should have followed you, but instead I fled from you.’ Say that word ‘I’, knowing that Jesus will forgive you.

And, when it comes to your strengths, your gifts, your achievements and accomplishments, do not say ‘I’. Or at least do not say ‘I’ alone. Follow in the path of the Writer to the Hebrews. When you shine like the stars in the darkness, show where your light comes from. “For, Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”⁵. Amen.

¹ καταλείπω

² Exodus 2:11-15

³ ‏בָּרַח

⁴ Num. 12:3

⁵ James 1:17

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