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1 A Way Through the Wilderness Lenten Preaching Series Part 3: Walking with Others in the Wilderness Galatians 6:2-5; Matthew 22:37-39 Third Sunday in Lent February 28, 2016 A sermon by Rev. Dr. Ivan H.M. Peden Copyright: 2016, I. Peden LUMC, Lewisville, NC =================================================================== Today we are in Part 3 of our Lenten Preaching Series entitled A Way Through the Wilderness which based on Rob Renfroe s book of the same title. We have seen that a wilderness period in a person s life is when his or her soul is parched and dry; when today is hard and the future appears barren; when as far as we can see there is nothing but devastation, and we wonder if we will ever find a way out. We have also reviewed the lessons that all of us experience a wilderness in life at some time or another and that God does not cause such experiences in our lives but may use them to prepare us for blessing and battle. Last week we considered what causes us to enter the wilderness: things such as wrong decisions, poor choices, or mistakes we make but also the ripple effect of the wrong decisions and poor choices of others that affect us negatively. And then there are simply those circumstances that are beyond our control that impact our lives and we find ourselves in the wilderness of poor health, or loss of a job or a loved one, or some other serious adversity. This week Renfroe wants us to remember that we are not alone in the wilderness. Sure, we have already affirmed that God is with us, but so are other sojourners. We walk with others in the wilderness. It may be hard for Americans, who regard rugged individualism as an important value, to accept that we are in any way dependent on others. This is especially true in the realm of spiritual growth and our faith in Christ. We need to hear this clearly again: the idea of living for God without living in community is foreign to what the Bible teaches. There is no such thing as a lone ranger Christian. When we are related to Christ as Lord we are joined with fellow Christians. This is a given, not an option. Renfroe reminds his readers that the Bible teaches us to love one another (John 15:12), serve one another (Gal. 5:13), bear one another s burdens (Gal. 6:2), instruct one another (Rom. 15:14), and encourage one another (1 Thess. 4:18; Heb. 10:25). Why? Because life is about relationships our relationship with God and our relationships with others. When Jesus was asked what matters most in life his answer was about relationships. In our Gospel lesson

2 today we heard Jesus say that what is essential is to love God with our heart, mind, and strength and to love others as ourselves (Matt. 22:36-40). Healthy, sound relationships are not only important but critical for our spiritual wellbeing not least in the wilderness. Renfroe states that in the most difficult times of life when our hearts are heavy, our spirits are depleted, and the future looks bleak and barren our relationships with other people can make or break us. If anyone could teach us about this in the Bible it is Moses. For forty years Moses walked with Israelites in the wilderness. Some of his fellow Israelites encouraged and assisted him, but alas, many more misjudged his motives, complained about his leadership, and even attacked his integrity. Moses was not a perfect person, but how he walked with the Israelites, trusted in God, and continued to love those who often were ungrateful and angry has much to teach us about walking with others in our own wilderness. Some of the lessons that we can learn from Moses, according to Renfroe, are: 1. Look to the people who can help you; 2. Forgive the people who hurt you; 3. Let God correct those who judge you. Last Sunday I used a chunk of time on the second point: forgiving those who have wronged or hurt us. So if you missed the point about forgiving others last week or need to review it, may I refer you back to my February 21 sermon which you will find on our website or request a copy of the sermon transcript through the church office. Here and now I will spend the rest of the time of my message on point number 1 and 3: Look to the people who can help you; and let God correct those who judge you. Moses was a strong leader. Moses was a smart person. Moses was a humble person. His humility served him as much as his strength and knowledge in the wilderness. He was not too proud to seek the help of others on several occasions. When we are in the wilderness God is going to be gracious and bring into our lives people who can help us people who know what we don t know; people who have been there before us. God will bring into our lives people who know the terrain and challenges we are facing. Maybe you have entered a wilderness when the doctor said: You have cancer, or You have Alzheimers, or You need prolonged psychotherapy. Maybe it began when someone close to you betrayed or rejected you. Maybe you went into a wilderness when you lost a job. Maybe you entered a wilderness when your child began to make self-destructive choices. Listen, please listen to this: However your wilderness began, there is someone who has

3 been there before you, and who has learned the lessons you need to learn. Saying to yourself, I don t need that kind of help and even if I do, I won t ask for it, does not make you strong. Actually, it makes you weak and foolish especially if others are counting on you just as the Israelites were depending on Moses. And whether or not you know it, someone is depending on you to make it through your wilderness the right way. There are some pitfalls to attempt to avoid if one is to get the help one needs from others in the wilderness. For example, self-pity again, I talked about this last Sunday, saying: Stop feeling sorry for yourself! In other words, stop focusing on your problems instead of your resources both human and divine resources. After suffering some kind of great hurt we are inclined to think we have lost everything and have no one to help us. What we need to hear again today is that we still have much to live for we have more strength than we may know or feel we have and there will always be those who will stand with us and help us to fight our battles if only we will ask. Hear this: we are not meant to handle the wilderness alone. No one is. Let s not allow self-pity to blind us to the people God has put in our lives who care about us and are waiting to help us. Also, let us not allow pride to be an obstruction to receiving help from others in the wilderness. Renfroe says that pride makes us afraid of reaching out, opening up, and being found out. As a result it makes us lonely. It closes us off to the people who could help us if only we would ask, and it causes us to stay longer in the wilderness than we have to. For some of us, pride keeps us in the wilderness all our lives. Getting over the pride that says we don t need any help is critical. Life isn t intended to be lived alone. We will need to let go of pride if we want to step out of the wilderness and take hold of the life God intends us to live. Other obstacles that can hinder us from allowing others to love or serve or encourage us in the wilderness are false humility or false spirituality. Even Jesus took three disciples to be with him as he wrestled in prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. His example tells us that when we come to our wilderness, we should not try to face it alone. There are those who have been in the wilderness and have come out of it with a heart to help those who are in the same kind of wilderness. They understand. They don t judge. But they will tell us the truth when we need to hear it and encourage us to face the reality of our wilderness. They will walk with us through the wilderness. Let us look to the people God places with us in the wilderness for help.

4 In chapter 3 Renfroe s last lesson from the example of Moses is this: Let God Correct Those Who Judge You. We all need constructive criticism the kind of criticism that actually honors us like: Ivan, I heard you saying something and it just doesn t square up with the kind of person I have come to know and respect. Have you asked yourself what you were thinking when you said that? When someone knows us and loves us, we need to pay attention to his or her correction. We should honor the kind of criticism from friends and family when they come to us in the right spirit and their criticism comes from a place in them where they respect us yet recognize that we are human and prone to make mistakes. That said, there are times when we are unjustifiably attacked and verbally abused, judged, and condemned. No one should be treated with such disdain and disregard, but it happens. In fact, it happens far too often. It even happens in the church among God s people who should know better. The appropriate reaction is not an eye for an eye, or a tooth for a tooth, but rather to defer judgment of others to God. It s God s business to judge, not ours. Like Moses, we should let God correct those who judge us. The most difficult challenge Moses faced to his leadership was when 250 elders, led by three malcontents, leveled a series of charges against him that attacked his integrity. They told him that he was a failure as a leader; they accused him of being arrogant, deceptive, and dishonest. He had every right to vindicate himself, to say: Without me, you would still be slaves in Egypt. With me, you re on your way to the Promised Land. I could take everything you own, and you would still owe me. But I haven t taken a thing of yours. Instead of turning against the people who had turned against him, Moses turned toward God and poured out his heart. God heard him and responded. You can read this story about Moses in Numbers 16. Then there is the example of Jesus. Renfroe writes: I cannot think of a single time that Jesus was concerned with what others thought about him. He realized that his presence and mission in this world would divide people into two groups: those who were for him, and those who were against him. Jesus spent no time trying to convince those who attacked him unfairly that he was right and they were wrong. He simply continued to teach the truth, do the Father s will, and open his arms to all who would receive him. Here is the lesson: In your wilderness when people criticize and condemn you don t have to prove yourself to people who are unfair and condemning. Put your focus on God in the

5 wilderness. Be faithful to what you believe God has directed you to do. Accept help from the people you know you can trust. Live for the approval of the One to whom you will one day answer. And God, with the help of others, will see you through your wilderness. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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