Sermon 6-8-08

Heavenly Father in Your presence there is reason to be glad. The fruit of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control - is reason to rejoice. Thank You, Lord that we can be in Your presence this morning. And thank You, also, that You will now speak to us with words that help us in life, with words that guide us. Heavenly Father, help us to hear, help us to understand as you speak to us through the words of the Bible. And we pray all this in the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Scripture Readings-

In our first reading from 1^st Samuel, David needs an answer. He doesn’t know exactly what to do so he goes to the Lord and gets a very specific answer about what he should be doing. If only we could do that. Well, the good news is that we can! This will be the subject of our sermon today.

Old Testament – 1 Samuel 23:1-6 When David was told, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are looting the threshing floors:, he inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” The LORD answered him, “Go, attack and Philistines and save Keilah.” But David’s men said to him, “Here in Judah we are afraid. How much more, then, if we go to Keilah against the Philistine forces!” Once again David inquired of the LORD, and the LORD answered him, “Go down to Keilah, for I am going to give the Philistines into your hand.” So David and his men went to Keilah, fought the Philistines and carried off their livestock. He inflicted heavy losses on the Philistines and saved the people of Keilah. (Now Abiathar son of Ahimelech had brought the ephod down with him when he fled to David at Keilah.)

Epistle –Romans 4:18-25 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was a good as dead-since he was about a hundred years old-and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness”. The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness-for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.

It doesn’t matter who you are, where you came from or what you have done, Jesus wants you to follow Him. That’s s the message in the Gospel lesson for today. He called Matthew, a tax collector. In those days tax collectors were the lowest form of life walking the face of the earth. They were traitors to the Israeli government because they served the Roman government and they repeatedly cheated people because they charged more tax than was due and kept the surplus for themselves. The fact that Jesus asks a tax collector to follow Him – that was big news. The fact that Jesus wants you and me to follow him – that’s ever bigger news!

Gospel – Matthew 9:9-13 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man names Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me”, he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?” On hearing this, Jesus said, “it is not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Sermon –

Every day we need to make decisions. Sometimes they’re small decisions, but sometimes they’re pretty major decisions. And when there are decisions to be made we want to do God’s will. How do we know the will of God in each specific instance? How do we know what to do? How do we hear God’s “Yes” and God’s “No” answer? In the Gospel lesson it was pretty simple for Matthew; he knew exactly what to do. Jesus said “Matthew, follow me.” And we know that Jesus came for everyone so those words of Jesus to Matthew are His words to you, also. But sometimes things are a little bit more complicated. For example, David, in our Old Testament lesson, was wondering whether he should attack the Philistines. He said, “What should I do, Lord?” David couldn’t turn to his Bible for an answer because it hadn’t been written yet and he had to find out what God wanted Him to do.

Now for those of you who have taken the Experiencing God course that’s offered here, we’ve learned that there are several ways God speaks to us. First, God speaks to us through His Word. So often the answer is right there in the Bible even though we don’t think it is. Secondly, God speaks to us when we pray to Him. Prayer was part of what David did, because verse 2 says, “he inquired of the Lord”. Third, God speaks to us through other Christians. But sometimes other Christians can be wrong. Can we, as a congregation, think of a time when other Christians were wrong? When they told us we couldn’t build the school! David is facing that same situation. The people are saying, “David, are you nuts? We can’t go against the Philistines at Keilah. We’ll get wiped out!” Bad advice from other Christians! And fourth, God speaks to us through circumstances in life. Today we’re going to see how David used prayer and circumstances in life to get an answer from God; how he heard God’s “Yes” and God’s “No”. Today, we’re going to find out how we can use the same principles David used to get a specific “Yes” or a specific “No” from God for those situations in your life where you have to make decisions.

We get a hint of what David did in the last verse of our Old Testament lesson. Verse 6 says “Now Abiathar son of Ahimelech had brought the ephod down with him when he fled to David at Keilah.” The “ephod” was a vest that the high priest wore; in one of the pockets of the vest was something similar to dice called Urim and Thummim (Exodus 28). In Old Testament times people used Urim and Thummim to deduce what God wanted them to do. If you had a decision to make you would go to the high priest, he would bring the ephod with him and you would phrase the question in such a way that the answer would be “Yes” or “No”. There’s not a lot of information on Urim and Thummim in the Bible, but the Priest would shake them and look at the answer. That’s what David did to deduce God’s answer when he asked, “Alright, Lord, should we attack the Philistines at Keilah?”

Wouldn’t it be great if we had the same thing? If when we have a decision to make, we could get out the ephod, shake the Urim and Thummim and see God’s answer? We all want to serve the Lord and do what He wants us to do. Wouldn’t it have been great if, when we were deciding years ago whether or not to build the school out on Maple Avenue, we could have gotten out the ephod, shook the Urim and Thummim and saw God’s answer? Or how about some of those other things that are facing us as a congregation? We wonder if we should be building a new Sanctuary out on Maple Avenue. Those were the long range plans when we built the school. It would be great if we could get the Urim and Thummim, shake them and see God’s answer; then we would know. And when we were trying to decide whether to go to two services during the winter months, if we could just have asked God and do the Urim and Thummim, all of our questions would have been answered.

And it’s important to know God’s answer in our personal lives. Jan Foyteck will be leaving shortly to go on a Mission trip to China. How did Jan know that God was calling her to China? As we’ve talked before, it’s pretty easy to find out what God wants us to do in His Kingdom - all you have to do to is to look where God is working and join him. God is working here at Trinity in Keene, but then God is also working at the mission outpost in China. So if you were Jan, what would you do? God is working in both places. Wouldn’t it have been great if she could have used the Ephod and Urim and Thummim for an answer? And a year or two ago Steve Vekasy was wondering if he should retire early and go into full time church work with the Ablaze movement and serve as our Church Life Ministries Director. Wouldn’t it have been great if he could have used the Urim and Thummim for an answer? Another gentleman that we minister to in this congregation received a new job offer and had to make a decision about leaving the company where he had been employed for fifteen years. He wondered “Should I stay where I am secure or go to the unknown? What does God want me to do?” It would have been easy if we could have just shook the Urim and Thummim for the answer. It would all have been so easy.

In some respects we can shake the Urim and Thummim today and find out God’s answer. In fact, we, as a congregation, have already done the Urim and Thummim Principle in so many ways in our lives but we’ve never really talked about it and nailed down exactly what those principles are - so that’s what we’re going to do today. In the Lord’s Prayer we pray, “Thy will be done.” We all want God’s will to be done. The word “Thy” in the Lord’s Prayer can help us remember how to use the Urim and Thummim Principle. The “T” stands for “Trust in God”. Proverbs 3:5-6 says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.” That’s what David did; he trusted in the Lord, he trusted that God would give him the answer about attacking the Philistines. This congregation trusts in the Lord. That’s why you call me and say, “Pastor, I have a decision to make. Pray about it for me.” You’re trusting in the Lord.

The next part of using the Urim and Thummim Principle is going through the High Priest; as David did. The “H” in “Thy” stands for “High Priest” Whenever a decision needed to be made David would go to God the Father through the High Priest who had the ephod and they would use the Urim and Thummim. Now this presents a problem because we don’t have a High Priest anymore, right? WRONG! We do have a High Priest. Hebrews 3:1 tells us, “Therefore, Holy brothers who share in the heavenly callings, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and High Priest whom we confess.” And Hebrews 4:14 says, “Therefore since we have such a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we confess for we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way just as we are and yet was without sin. Let us approach the throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” It is through Jesus, our High Priest that we have access to God the Father. Ephesians 3:12 tells us, “In him, Jesus, and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.” Jesus is our High Priest. To go to God it is necessary is that we have confessed our sins and believe that Jesus Christ paid for them. In Jesus’ Name, through Him, and only through Him, can we approach God the Father in prayer and ask for an answer.

This next thing is very important. The “Y” in “Thy” stands for “Let God say ‘Yes’ or ‘No’”. You need to set up a scenario as they did with the Urim and Thummim where God can say “Yes” or God can say “No” through circumstances in life. That’s what this congregation has done in the past. Eight or nine years ago we wondered if it was God’s will for us to build a school out on Maple Avenue. We trusted in God to guide us and we went to God through Jesus Christ, our High Priest. And then we set up a scenario where God could say “Yes” or God could say “No”. If we were going to build a school, we needed the money to do it and only God Himself could provide that money. So we decided to have an Ice Cream Social and take pledges. We said, “OK God, if we’re supposed to build that school now, the pledges will yield enough money. If we we’re not supposed to build a school, the pledges will not amount to enough. Then we will know your answer, Lord.” God answered with enough pledge money to build the school so we knew His answer was “Yes”. Despite the fact that other Christians told us that building a school would be a bad decision, we knew that it was the correct decision.

Another thing that we are facing as a congregation is the decision about building the sanctuary out on Maple Avenue. We trust in God and say, “Thy will be done”. We go to God through Jesus Christ, our High Priest who paid for our sins and gives us access to God, and then set up a scenario where God can say “Yes” or God can say “No”. If we are going to build a sanctuary out on Maple Avenue, God is going to have to provide money, and you get money through selling the church building here on Arch Street. So we prayed, “OK God, if you provide money or a buyer for this church building here on Arch Street, then we know to build the sanctuary on Maple Avenue.” Has God provided a buyer yet? No, He hasn’t. Set up a scenario where God can answer “Yes” or “No” because God has to do something that only He can do.

And we used the Urim and Thummim Principle to determine if we should have two church services during the fall and winter months. We prayed, “Thy will be done”. Remember, the “T” stands for “Trust” and the “H” stands for “High Priest”, go to God through Jesus Christ, our High Priest, and the“Y” means “Yes” or “No”. Then set up a scenario where God has to do something. If we were going to have two church services there were five things God had to do that we could not do. We needed additional altar guild people and God provided. We needed additional ushers and God provided that. We needed an upgraded sound system because Rita, our organist, is physically unable to do music for two services. How were we going to have two services if we didn’t have music? God needed to provide music and only He could do it. Did He do it? Yes, He did ! And then we needed someone to manage the sound system and God provided that. So God provided all five of the things we needed to go to two services. God provided what was necessary so the conclusion was that we would go to two church services. We didn’t have to worry about figuring anything out, we let God answer.

How does this work for individuals? Jan Foyteck had a decision to make about leaving here and doing missionary work in China. We prayed, “Thy will be done.” The “T” stands for “Trust”, the “H” stands for “High Priest”, go to God through your High Priest, Jesus Christ. Then set up a scenario where God can say “Yes” or “No”. We prayed about it and our scenario was that if Jan passed all the interviews and the Missionary Board said, “OK Jan, we have just the place for you to do the mission work that your talents qualify you to do”, then we would know that God is saying “Yes”. That’s what happened; God decided.

Steve Vekasy had a decision to make about retiring early and going into full-time church work. If he was going to do that, God was going to have to provide enough money for Steve to live on. We did the Urim and Thummim Principle. We prayed, “Thy will be done”. the “T” stands for “Trust in God”, “H” is “High Priest” and “Y” is “Let God say ‘Yes’ or ‘No’”. Would God provide the money for Steve to live on so that he could retire early? God provided. Circumstances happened in Steve’s life and God provided the money through an inheritance so that Steve could retire early.

A person we minister to in this congregation got a new job offer. He had a secure job and was making a good living. All is well, he knows what to expect, he’s in his comfort zone yet out of the blue a job offer comes from another company. He used the Urim and Thummim Principle. He trusted in God, went through his High Priest, Jesus Christ to God the Father, asking for an answer and set up a scenario where the answer could be “Yes” or “No”. His scenario was, “Alright God, if you want me to take this new job, when I get the package they’re offering, it will just floor me. Then I will know I’m supposed to take this job.” Well, the package came this week from the new company and it just floored him! So he said, “OK God, I see that this is Your answer that I’m supposed to say “Yes” to the new job.” Set up those scenarios where God can say “Yes” or “No” and you will know God’s answer just as accurately as the Urim and Thummim.

Our first priority is doing God’s will. We pray “Thy will be done” in the Lord’s Prayer. We want to know God’s will so we can do it. It’s important that God decides because when times get tough, you need to know that you’re in that situation because God decided you should be in that situation. Let’s go back to the Old Testament with Abraham that we read about in the Epistle Lesson. If Abraham was to be a father of a great nation, he had to have an heir. But he and his wife were too old to have kids so God was going to have to provide. And God did provide! Then Abraham knew where God was leading him and what the plan was. This was important because God called him to sacrifice his only child. Because Abraham knew God had given him that child, he knew that he could sacrifice him because, as the Epistle Lesson says, he was convinced that if God gave him that child in the first place and he sacrificed that child, God could raise him from the dead.

Moses was a great leader and led the people out of slavery in Egypt. But Moses couldn’t do that by himself. He set up the scenario, “OK God, if I’m supposed to lead the people out of slavery in Egypt, You’re going to have to convince Pharaoh to let us go and when Pharaoh comes after us, You’re going to have to handle it.” And did God handle it. That was important because when they got out into the wilderness and it was not one, not two, but three days without food and water and everyone was saying, “Moses, you brought us out here to kill us in the desert”, Moses needed to know that it was God that put them in that situation. They were in that situation because God worked a miracle. Knowing that God did something that only God could do will get you through the tough times. When you’re in the desert with no food and water and you think, “This must have been a mistake”, you can be sure that it’s no mistake because you set up the scenario where God did something to get you in that situation.

When we encounter a deficit of thousands of dollars year after year after year in running the school, we know God did something that put us in the position that enabled us to build the school. That’s why the deficit doesn’t shake us up too much; we know that God put us there. For the two services as we look around on Sunday morning and sometimes see empty seats, we have to remember we have two services because we set up a scenario where God needed to provide. There’s no other conclusion than God wants us to have these two services. This is what is important to know – God made the decision.

The Urim and Thummim Principle. Pray “Thy will be done”. Remember, “T” means “Trust in God”. “H” means “High Priest”, go to the Father through your High Priest, Jesus Christ”, and “Y” means “Yes” or “No”. Set up a scenario where God has to provide something that will tell you either “Yes” or “No” and you will know exactly what to do. And when things get tough you will know that God did something to put you in the situation, you will know you’re exactly where God wants you to be, and you will have peace. You will always know God’s will. It’s just as accurate as the Urim and Thummim, it works!

Prayer –

Heavenly Father, if you had just forgiven us with the promise of Heaven, it would have been enough. But You do so much more in our lives. You say that when those decisions come up You are willing to guide us and direct us. Help us to remember that in those decisions, big and small to trust in You, to go through our High Priest Jesus Christ and then to let You, through circumstances in life, either provide or withhold so we know “Yes” or “No”. Help us to remember this, that we would always do Your will. And we pray all this in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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