Participants: Rick Remmers
Series Code: FC
Program Code: FC000214
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00:30 Hello, I'm happy to welcome you to "Faith Chapel."
00:33 I'm Pastor Rick Remmers from Chicago, Illinois. 00:37 Few years ago, there was a speedboat driver in a race 00:41 and he was in an accident. 00:43 He described that as he was going along at near top speeds 00:48 his boat hit a wake at an unusual angle. 00:52 It caused him to loose control 00:54 and his boat spiraled out of control 00:58 and he was thrown from his boat deep down into the water. 01:02 He was so deep in fact that 01:04 he couldn't even tell which way was up. 01:06 He had to force himself to be calm 01:08 and to hold still until his life jacket 01:11 finally started to pull him up to the surface 01:14 and then he could start swimming 01:16 and move on up to the top. 01:19 Sometimes, our lives feel like they're spinning out of control 01:23 just as that driver was 01:25 and we are seen so confused and frustrated, 01:27 we are not sure which way to turn, 01:29 we are not sure which way is up 01:32 but we need to learn the lesson that that driver did 01:35 and that we need to hold still and to look for the guidance 01:39 that God wants to bring to us in our lives. 01:42 God has many ways of leading us. 01:44 First and foremost he gives us instruction in His word 01:47 as to how we are to live our lives. 01:51 Today, we want to look at the experience 01:54 that Mosses had on Mount Sinai in order to understand 01:58 the lessons of guidance that God has for us. 02:02 Mount Sinai is also called in the scripture Mount Horeb. 02:06 It's in the interior of the Sinai Peninsula 02:09 and the Israelites arrived there 02:11 at the foot of Mount Sinai in their third month 02:14 after leaving their slavery in Egypt. 02:18 Today, scholars are uncertain 02:20 of exactly the location of the biblical Mount Sinai. 02:24 Many think that it's the north western 02:27 peak of two Ras Safsafa there in the Siani Peninsula. 02:32 It has an altitude of 6,500 feet, 02:35 roughly the size of the Smoky Mountains 02:37 here in the Eastern United States. 02:41 Just to the north of this mountain 02:43 there is a large plane, two miles long by a mile wide 02:48 that would have been about large enough 02:50 for the encampment of the children of Israel 02:53 as they waited for God to appear there at Mount Sinai. 02:58 What are the lessons that we learn 03:01 from Moses experience there on Mount Sinai? 03:06 We find in Exodus 3:1, 2 03:11 "Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro 03:14 his father in law, the priest of Midian. 03:17 And he led the flock to the backside of the desert, 03:19 and came to Horeb the mountain of God. 03:23 And the Angel of the Lord appeared unto him 03:25 in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. 03:28 So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, 03:32 but the bush was not consumed." 03:36 We find here that Moses was tending his sheep, 03:42 he had grown up in Egypt, he had the promise 03:45 that he would be the Pharaoh the king of Egypt 03:49 until he killed one of the slave masters. 03:53 He went off into Midian into the Sinai Peninsula 03:57 and there he tended sheep for 40 years. 04:01 Near the end of this time, he was there tending his flocks 04:04 and God appeared to him in this bush 04:07 that was in flames but not being consumed. 04:13 Moses had spent many hours, 04:16 many years on the side of Mount Horeb or Mount Sinai. 04:21 He knew what it was like to converse with God. 04:24 In fact, we find that sometime later he returns to this place 04:29 this time with the children of Israel with him 04:32 and in Exodus 34:28, 29 04:36 we read of Moses experience here on Mount Sinai later on. 04:41 "So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights, 04:45 he neither eat bread, nor drink water. 04:47 And he wrote upon the tablets the words of the covenant, 04:50 the Ten Commandments. 04:52 Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai 04:55 and the two tablets of the Testimony 04:57 were in Moses' hand 04:59 when he came down from the mountain, 05:01 that Moses did not know 05:03 that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him." 05:09 We need to recognize that 05:11 spending time with God changes us. 05:14 As Moses spent time in the mount, 05:17 as he was in the presence of God 05:20 he was-- he was changed and we are changed day by day 05:26 as we take time with God as well. 05:28 And the first lesson on receiving guidance from God 05:31 that we find from Moses on Mount Sinai 05:34 is that we need to have a place to talk with God. 05:38 Moses would go there and he would commune with God. 05:40 Now, this 40 days of fasting and communing with God 05:44 was really quite a supernatural event. 05:46 I encourage people to engage in fasting 05:50 but this was a supernatural fast. 05:53 It is not humanly possible 05:56 to go for 40 days with out food and water. 06:00 But Moses was spending time in the presence of God 06:03 and God sustained him through out this process 06:06 and there he spent time in the presence of God 06:10 worshipping, communing with God friend to friend. 06:14 So often we find the experience of Moses 06:17 described in the scriptures 06:19 and instead of God's communication with Moses 06:22 being described as prayer it simply is a conversation 06:26 that unfolds as Moses and God communicated friend to friend. 06:33 Moses is there in the mount and he experiences 06:38 what its like to commune with God. 06:40 Each of us needs to have a place 06:42 where we can come and we can meet with God, 06:45 where He can share with us His will for our lives. 06:49 Where He can encourage us and strengthen us. 06:52 Moses faced many challenges 06:54 as he led the children of Israel. 06:56 Day after day it seemed like there was a new crises. 06:58 `The people were trembling 06:59 because they didn't like the food that they had 07:02 or there wasn't enough water. 07:05 And Moses repeatedly would come back 07:08 and meet with God and receive the instruction 07:11 that God had for him. 07:13 I remember when I was in my early teens, 07:15 my grandfather was living in Boulder, Colorado 07:19 and I went and spent a summer with my grandparents 07:22 and work with my grandfather. 07:23 He was a custodian for the county courthouse. 07:26 A five story building and we'll go 07:28 in after hours in the evening and clean the courtrooms 07:31 and the offices that were there. 07:34 That left me free during the day 07:35 and I would go and they were just 07:37 across the street from church there 07:40 at the foot of the Rocky Mountains 07:42 and I would-- I would crossover and I would go 07:44 running and walking through those mountains. 07:47 I would enjoy stopping and enjoying the view 07:50 not only of the mountains but of Boulder, 07:52 down in the valley below. 07:54 And there was a place where I could spend time 07:58 communing with God, where I could pray, 08:00 where I could share my concerns where He could mold 08:03 and shape my life and my thinking. 08:06 A few years later, my later teens 08:08 I was working for Camp Mohaven in central Ohio, 08:14 and there I had a cabin full of boys to care for. 08:18 They had endless energy and it seemed like one of them 08:21 was always getting into trouble. 08:24 Each morning before they would wake up 08:26 I would get up early and just below the boys division 08:30 there was a-- a wooded area with a beautiful tree house. 08:34 And in the morning I would climb up into that tree house, 08:37 it was actually quite a large one, 08:38 large enough that-- that you could have 08:40 a whole unit of campers sleeping in there at night. 08:44 But I would climb up into that tree house 08:47 and look out through the woods 08:49 and I would see the sun burning through the-- 08:51 the morning mist coming off the Mohican River 08:54 and there I would take my scriptures and I would open up 08:58 and morning after morning spend time with God 09:02 receiving the patience and wisdom 09:06 that I would need in order to be a councilor of that day. 09:09 I had a place where I could meet with God, 09:12 where He would commune with me, 09:15 where I could take time and be filled with peace 09:18 before I went into a day filled with activity. 09:23 Few years later I was working at 09:25 Big Lake Youth Camp in central Oregon. 09:27 And there-- there was a rock 09:29 that I would go to in the morning 09:31 before the business of the day 09:33 and take the Bible and spend time with God. 09:37 Today I'm not living at a youth camp 09:40 but I have a chair that I go to and I'll take time with God. 09:45 Each of us needs to have a place 09:47 where we can go and we can meet with God 09:50 as we as Moses did at Mount Sinai. 09:52 A place that's quiet, a place where we can come 09:57 and set aside the business of the day, 10:00 set aside the-- the anxious thoughts that we have 10:03 and just let God minister to our hearts, 10:07 where He can guide us 10:08 where he can send His Holy Spirit 10:10 to give us the instruction that we need 10:13 in order to follow Him for that day. 10:15 He promises that He will lead us and He will guide us 10:19 but we need to be willing to take the time 10:21 in His presence to let us do that. 10:25 As Moses spent time in the presence of God there, 10:28 now Sinai, God communicated 10:30 some important specific things to him, 10:32 to guide him in his work. 10:34 In Exodus 3:10 we find that 10:38 there is instruction that God brought to Moses. 10:42 He says, "Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh 10:47 that you may bring My people, 10:49 the children of Israel, out of Egypt." 10:53 The second lesson that we find on guidance 10:56 from Moses experience on Mount Sinai is that 10:59 as we spend time with God, He gives us a message to share. 11:03 In this case it was a message that Moses was to take 11:06 to the Pharaoh of Egypt to let his people go 11:09 so that they could worship Him, 11:11 so they could experience freedom, 11:12 so that they could receive the promise land 11:15 that God wanted to give to them. 11:19 He had a message to deliver to Pharaoh a little later on, 11:24 after the people had left Egypt. 11:27 The people were gathered with Moses there 11:30 at the base of Mount Sinai 11:31 and God gave Moses a message for all of Israel 11:36 and by extension all of us today as well. 11:38 Exodus 19:3, 4 11:41 gives us the instruction that Moses received. 11:46 "And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him 11:50 from the mountain, saying, 11:51 "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, 11:54 and tell the children of Israel 11:56 you have seen what I did to the Egyptians, 11:59 and how I bore you on eagles' wings 12:01 and brought you to Myself." 12:04 We find here that God has a message 12:07 for Moses to take to the children of Israel. 12:10 He wants to guide them, 12:11 He wants to give them the Ten Commandments, 12:14 He wants them to understand 12:16 that He has led them out of Egypt for a purpose, 12:19 He wants them to understand that He will care for them 12:21 that as they need to cross the Red Sea, 12:24 He is willing to-- to part the water for them, 12:27 as they need daily bread He will provide the manna. 12:32 God had a message for Moses to give 12:35 to the children of Israel 12:37 and each one of us has a message to give His will 12:41 and we need to be willing to-- to go out boldly 12:44 and to share the message that God has for us. 12:47 Peter Cartwright, was a 19th century 12:50 circuit riding Methodist preacher. 12:53 And he was known for being an uncompromising man 12:56 and being bold and straight forward in his preaching 12:59 and one time he was told that 13:01 President Andrew Jackson was going to be in the congregation 13:05 when he was preaching and he was encouraged 13:08 to be guarded in the message that he presented 13:11 so that it wouldn't be offensive to the president. 13:14 When Cartwright got up to preach, he said, 13:16 "I understand that Andrew Jackson is here. 13:20 I have been requested to be guarded in my remarks. 13:23 Andrew Jackson will go to hell if he doesn't repent." 13:28 The congregation just was aghast 13:30 that he would be so straight forward and blunt. 13:34 They were anxious to see the president's response 13:36 and after the service was over 13:38 President Jackson went and was shaking hands 13:41 with Peter Cartwright and he said, 13:43 "Sir, if I had a regiment of men like you, 13:46 I could whip the world." 13:48 The president wasn't offended he recognized 13:51 that it was absolutely true. 13:52 And Peter Cartwright was simply being bold 13:54 with the message that God had given to him. 13:58 You and I need to be bold 13:59 with the message that God has give to us. 14:03 We find in-- in Acts that the apostles pray for boldness 14:08 because the message that they had to give about 14:11 a risen Jesus Christ was not well received by some people. 14:17 And the message that we have about Jesus Christ 14:19 isn't always well received either 14:21 but God calls for us to be willing to speak 14:24 with great boldness to step forward. 14:26 One of my favorite illustrations of this 14:29 is the two demoniacs in Jesus ministry. 14:32 Jesus had-- had spent the night crossing 14:34 the Sea of Galilee with His disciple 14:36 and they pullover on to the shore 14:38 and as they were getting out of the boat there are two 14:41 demon possessed men that come down 14:43 and they have been terrorizing the villagers around there. 14:46 And the disciples run away 14:47 and leave Jesus to face these two praised men. 14:52 Jesus casts the evil spirits out of them. 14:55 They go into a herd of pigs in fact and drive the pigs 14:59 into their drowning in the Sea of Galilee. 15:03 Jesus, spent some time talking with those demoniacs 15:06 but rather shortly the people from the village come 15:10 and they say to Jesus we cannot deal with a prophet 15:14 that has the kind of power that you do, please leave us. 15:18 And so Jesus gives instructions to these two demoniacs. 15:21 He gives them instruction to go back and to share 15:24 what they know about Him with their family and friends. 15:31 Now, they didn't have much time to learn from Jesus. 15:35 They didn't have time to study out every thing about Jesus. 15:40 But they had a testimony what Jesus had done for them. 15:44 Jesus had set them free from the power of Satan 15:48 and they rejoiced in the freedom 15:50 that Jesus had brought to them. 15:52 And so they go back they didn't have seminary training, 15:55 they hadn't understood all of the scriptures 15:57 but they went back and shared what Jesus had done for them. 16:00 They had a message and they gave it faithfully 16:02 and we find that later on when Jesus returned 16:05 to those villagers the people openly welcomed Him 16:08 because those two demoniacs had been faithful 16:10 in sharing a witness of how Jesus had lead them. 16:16 You and I may not feel very qualified 16:19 to speak on behalf of God. 16:21 But each of us has a testimony of the peace and the assurance 16:25 and the promise that Jesus had brought to our lives. 16:28 And we can share that with other people 16:30 when other people are experiencing 16:32 devastation in their life, 16:34 when they're facing perhaps a diagnosis of cancer. 16:37 When they face the death of a loved one, 16:39 when they face the loss of a job 16:41 and the future is uncertain for them 16:43 we can share the hope and the promise 16:46 that God has given to us for the future. 16:49 Each of us has a testimony 16:50 and we can freely share that with people who are around us. 16:55 Another lesson that we find from Moses experience 16:58 there on Mount Sinai is that when we spend time with God, 17:03 He changes the course of our life, 17:05 He doesn't leave us the way that we are. 17:07 He brings change and transformation to us 17:10 and we can be thankful for that 17:12 although sometimes it brings uncertainty 17:15 and a feeling of being unsettled as well. 17:18 Moses was changed instead of being a-- 17:21 a humble shepherd who year after year 17:24 would care for his father in law's flocks 17:27 he was called to be a great statesmen recognized 17:30 down through the centuries as being a great law giver. 17:35 We find that Moses was also transformed 17:37 from taking care of sheep 17:39 to taking care of a huge group of people. 17:44 He was to be the one that would organize them, 17:46 that would lead them on behalf of God 17:49 and his life was changed. 17:52 Moses went from relative obscurity, 17:55 there in the Sinai peninsula 17:57 to becoming a great historical figure. 18:01 Moses went from being inarticulate, 18:05 lack in confidence 18:06 in being willing to speak before Pharaoh. 18:08 To becoming someone who could speak 18:10 not only before a great monarch 18:12 but before millions of people as well. 18:16 We are often fearful of the changes 18:18 that God wants to bring to our lives. 18:21 We often times wonder what-- 18:22 what will God call us to do differently 18:26 and it brings them out about a certain amount of uncertainty 18:30 but God says that He will be with us 18:32 and He wants to change us in a way 18:34 that not only is helpful and beneficial for us 18:37 but as a blessing to other people 18:39 and gives glory to God. 18:41 He calls for us to be willing to accept 18:43 His guidance in our lives. 18:48 A 350-- 350 years ago, there was a shipload of travelers 18:53 that landed on the northeast coast of America. 18:57 These were brave people willing to crossover the ocean. 19:00 In the first year they-- they established their homes 19:04 and settled into a town together. 19:07 The next year they decided they would-- 19:09 they would organize a town government 19:11 and so they elected leaders that could-- that could help 19:14 take care of the social needs that they had. 19:18 The third year that town government decided that 19:21 they needed to built a road 19:24 five miles westward into the wilderness. 19:27 But the next year 19:28 the people tried to impeach their town government. 19:31 They said why in the world do we need a road 19:34 that goes five miles west into the wilderness? 19:37 A few years, before they had been willing to go 19:39 thousands of miles across the Atlantic Ocean 19:42 willing to face all the uncertainties 19:44 of a trance Atlantic ship trip and now, they were at a point 19:51 where they weren't willing to go few miles into the woods. 19:54 They had so settled into their own homes into their community. 19:58 And sometimes we can become so settled into our plans, 20:02 so settled in to our routines of life 20:05 that we are not so sure of we want God 20:07 to bring the change to us. 20:09 We are not sure if we are willing 20:11 to allow God to guide us 20:13 into the next chapter of our lives 20:15 and we want to be reserved and holdback 20:19 but God has a purpose and a plan 20:22 and He says that He will guide us. 20:25 One of the ways that He does that the most concrete way 20:28 that He does that is through His word. 20:31 And with Moses He gave the Ten Commandments 20:35 that Moses was to share with the children of Israel. 20:37 He was to record them so that down through the ages 20:40 we would continue to have 20:42 God's instructing guidance for our lives as well. 20:46 And some how in our culture today we look at the laws 20:50 being something restrictive and something to be feared 20:52 because it doesn't allow us to do what we choose to do 20:55 but the scriptures have a completely different 20:57 perspective of the law, it's a very positive one. 21:01 In Psalm 119:33 and onward 21:04 we find this description of the law. 21:07 "Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes, 21:10 And I shall keep it to the end. 21:12 Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law. 21:14 Indeed, I shall observe it with my whole heart. 21:18 Make me walk in the path of Your commandments, 21:20 for I delight in it." 21:23 God has the commandments that He has given 21:27 that are to be a delight, a joy in our life. 21:30 It says, we follow them that we find great fulfillment 21:33 that we find ourselves 21:34 having positive relationships with other people. 21:37 It's in following His law that we experience 21:42 the greatest blessing in our life. 21:44 And so He calls us to follow His laws and His instructions. 21:49 Unfortunately we often times come up with our own laws 21:53 that run counter to Gods. 21:55 We have our own will and we have life commandments 21:58 that we have accepted from other people 22:00 and usually these are negative messages 22:02 about the things that we can't do 22:04 and we come to believe that, 22:06 that we have to go into a certain occupation 22:09 or we believe that we can't do anything 22:11 or that we are not worth anything. 22:13 And yet in God's word He assures us 22:16 that He values us greatly. 22:18 He assures us that He has a plan 22:21 and purpose for our live. 22:25 Robert Fulghum is a creator, writer 22:28 and he has written a book entitled 22:29 "All I Ever Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten." 22:32 And while it seems a little bit simplistic 22:35 it shares some good wisdom for us. 22:38 "Most of what I really needed to know about how to live 22:41 and what to do and how to be I learned in Kindergarten. 22:45 Wisdom was not on top of the graduate mountain, 22:47 but there on the sand box at the nursery school. 22:50 These are the things, I learned share everything. 22:54 Play fair. Don't hit people. 22:57 Put back things where you found them. 22:59 Clean up your own mess. 23:01 Don't take things that aren't yours. 23:04 Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody. 23:06 Wash your hands before you eat. 23:07 Flush. 23:09 Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you. 23:11 Live a balanced life, learn some and think some 23:13 and draw and paint and sing and dance 23:15 and play and work every day some. 23:17 Take a nap every afternoon. 23:19 When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, 23:22 hold hands, and stick together. 23:23 Be aware of wonder. 23:24 Remember the little seed in the plastic cup. 23:27 The roots go down and the plant goes up 23:29 and nobody really knows why or how, 23:32 but we are all like that. 23:34 Goldfish and hamsters and white mice 23:36 and even the little seed in the plastic cup 23:38 they all die so do we. 23:41 And then remember the book about Dick-and-Jane 23:43 and the first word you learned, the biggest word of all, Look. 23:47 Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. 23:49 The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation, 23:52 ecology and politics and sane living. 23:56 Think what a better world it would be if all, 23:59 the whole world had cookies and milk 24:01 about three o'clock every afternoon 24:03 and then lay down with our blankets for a nap. 24:06 Or if had a basic policy in our nation or other nations 24:09 to always put things back where we found them 24:11 and clean up our own mess. 24:13 And it is still true, no matter how old you are 24:17 when you go out into the world, 24:18 it is best to hold hands and stick together. 24:24 God's commandments are not complicated, 24:28 they are simple instructions 24:30 for how we can live our life day by day 24:32 and experience the fullness and the completeness 24:35 that God has in store for us. 24:38 He wants to guide us, 24:40 He wants us to experience a full and complete life. 24:45 The lesson of Moses on Mount Sinai 24:50 gives us some great wisdom 24:52 that we can use in our lives every day. 24:55 First of all what is God saying to you? 24:59 Are you taking time everyday to spend in God's presence 25:04 to allow Him to speak to you? 25:06 Are you willing to listen 25:08 as He gives you guidance and instruction? 25:11 What are the commandments that God has for you certainly 25:14 there's a Ten Commandments that apply to us all 25:17 but often times there are specific question, 25:20 specific challenges that we face in life 25:22 and God has instruction in His word 25:24 that will help us to make wise decision. 25:29 What is the message that God is giving you to share? 25:32 Who was it that God is calling you to share with? 25:35 Who was around you in your home 25:38 where you work in your neighborhood 25:40 that God wants you to share the good news 25:42 of who He is and what His plan is? 25:47 Another lesson is that God wants to change 25:51 the course of your life. 25:54 He has a plan for you and He will lead you day by day 25:58 change by change giving you courage, 26:01 giving you strength in order to do it. 26:03 We need to have the wisdom to be willing to follow. 26:08 A school teacher once lost her life savings 26:11 in a bad business scheme 26:13 that had been explained to her by a swindler 26:15 and she had bought into it and decided to invest 26:18 and after everything 26:19 that she had spent her life working for was gone. 26:22 She finally went to the better business bureau 26:25 and she explained what it happened 26:28 and what she had lost. 26:29 And they said, why on earth did you come to us earlier? 26:32 You could have checked with us 26:34 the references on this businesses man. 26:37 Didn't you know about the better business bureau? 26:40 And this woman responded, oh, yes, she said, 26:43 I have known about you all my life 26:45 but I didn't come to you because I was afraid 26:48 you would tell me not to invest. 26:52 A foolish decision unwilling to hear the instruction 26:58 that could have saved her so much heartache. 27:01 And so often we approach God in the same way. 27:04 Unwilling to ask for His guidance 27:06 concern that He'll lead us in a way 27:10 that is unknown and yet God is our Creator, 27:14 He is our Savior and He is our soon coming King. 27:17 He knows every day of our lives, 27:19 He knows every event that will happen in the future. 27:22 And so when we come to Him for guidance, 27:25 He will take us and lead us in the way 27:28 that we would choose to go 27:29 if we knew the end from the beginning. 27:32 God wants to guide us just as He did with Moses. 27:36 And I encourage you to take time each day in His presence, 27:39 to seek the ways that God is wanting 27:42 to change the direction of your life, 27:44 to share the good news of who He is 27:47 and what He has with others around you 27:50 and experience the joy of knowing 27:52 that God is leading you everyday. |
Revised 2014-12-17