God Loves You As You Are, But Will Not Leave You Where You Are
Who’s In Charge Here? - Rev. Peter Heinrichs
Sunday, June 23, 2019, South Freeport Congregational Church
1 Kings 19:1-4, 8-15a (NRSV)
19 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the
prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying,
“So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life like
the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” 3 Then he was afraid; he got
up and fled for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah; he
left his servant there.
Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “What are you doing here,
Elijah?” 10 He answered, “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of
hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your
altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are
seeking my life, to take it away.”
11 He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD, for the LORD is
about to pass by.” Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was
splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the LORD, but
the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but
the LORD was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but
the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer
silence. 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went
out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him
that said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 14 He answered, “I have been
very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken
your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the
sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.” 15 Then
the LORD said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of
Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram.”
Intro to Scripture 1 st Kings: The passage from the Old Testament book of
First Kings is one of the most interesting and significant texts in Scripture.
Why? One, it’s about Elijah, considered by Christians to be a prophet and
harbinger of the coming of Jesus Christ in the New Testament. Two, because
the story takes place on Mt. Horeb, another name for Mt. Sinai, where Moses
long ago received the tablets of the 10 Commandments. Mt. Horeb is,
therefore, a place to expect……well, commandments from God. Three, the
story is the source of the famous phrase, “the still small voice” of God which
is how the King James Bible tried to make sense of Hebrew words that
literally should translate “the sound of utmost silence.” But most importantly
for today, the story of Elijah’s eerie and highly unusual confrontation with
God is also an inquiry into the expectations you and I bring to God. The
answer is a question: Who or what is in charge of my life?
Psalm 139: 1-12
I have chosen Psalm 139’s first twelve verses today to underline the text
from 1 ST Kings about Elijah and God. Psalm 139 is a song of praise and
wonder and recognition that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” in the
image of God. Embedded in the praise is an awareness of our dependence on
our Creator. If we are to look for authority over our “now and always”, look
first to that which, according to the Psalm, knows every word on our tongue
before it is spoken and is acquainted with all our ways. Turn to God then,
who searches and knows our hearts, before we seek answers anywhere else
in our lives.
Who’s In Charge Here?
I am going to do something different with the sermon this morning by
getting you involved in what I am saying more than asking you just to listen.
If for any reason this doesn’t work for you, you have my absolute permission
to zone out! So let’s begin.
I want to say to you this morning that I trust God with all things in my life,
but I’d like to ask you to hold me accountable. Here’s what I would like
you to do. Please ask me OUT LOUD the following: Peter, do you trust God
in all things in your life? Got it? Go ahead, please ask: PETER, DO YOU
TRUST GOD IN ALL THINGS IN YOUR LIFE? Ready? Go.
Here’s my honest answer: As long as my life – and may I say, the world
around me – seem to unfold along lines that I expect, more or less, I am
very comfortable saying I trust God. On the other hand, when life takes a
detour and I want to say: This shouldn’t be happening to me, my trust level
drops. A lot.
When I was in the Atlanta airport a few months ago, I saw a older man,
probably about my age, wearing a t-shirt that said the following: Inside
every old man is a young man wondering what the hell happened. (Hell, of
course, being a perfectly good theological word often used in the Bible). Can
we generalize a bit and say that this isn’t just about men and aging, but
about any of us coming to terms with change?
Now, my own default position as life takes an unappreciated detour from my
expectations and my trust level drops, is as follows:
1. I want answers. Why did this happen?
2. I want a plan and a map. How do I fix this?
3. If all else fails, who can I blame?
Sound familiar? So here you can hold me accountable again. Ask me: Peter,
how’s your default position working for you? Ready? Go.
My answer? Not so good. Why? Because seeking answers and plans as
though I am in charge of my life doesn’t actually get me anywhere. It
certainly doesn’t make me happy. The truth is – this is where the sermon is
headed – the truth is that I am not in control of my life. And, as long as I
think that I should be in control and seek ways of being in control, there will
be no answers.
{Pause} It’s a frightening thought: there are no answers when I put myself
in charge of my life.
I’d like to invite you to do something with me. You don’t have to, but you
are invited to. Close your eyes if you will. Imagine with me for a moment
that you are on top of a mountain. Don’t worry about heights; you’re quite
safe. Imagine that you are looking out at your life from your mountaintop
view – seeing the highs and lows, the cloudy places and the sunshine, the
distant and near, the memories and hopes. Take a brief moment to check it
all out from your mountaintop. No need to focus on any particular thing. Now,
imagine with me that everything before you suddenly disappears in a flash
and there’s nothing left to see. Gone. Nothing to remember or to plan on.
What remains? Does anything remain for you – even if you cannot say what
it is?
You can open your eyes. Perhaps now we can understand Elijah on Mt.
Horeb, the traditional mountain where commandments are given to
prophets, as he, Elijah, having begged for answers and a plan, is faced with
a blank wall of silence.
Let me put this question to you. If, like Elijah, your living takes place in a
threatening and chaotic world where your default plans have dissolved and
blame gets you nowhere, what remains to you? The bible story does not
explain itself. But is it too far-fetched to say that Elijah realizes I am not in
charge here – but something is. Is it too far-fetched to wonder whether
Elijah says to himself, Something is in charge. What have I to lose in waiting
for it to speak?
This we do know about Elijah. When Elijah is ready to listen, something
speaks. A voice sends him back down the mountain, back into the heart of
everything Elijah is afraid of. The voice sent him with a new mission: not to
be the hero in charge of his own story, but to be a messenger. A messenger
to a new generation. With a message that says There is someone into whose
hands you can put your life and trust.
And so Elijah does – put his life in the hands of God.
So, one more time. I invite you to ask, invite you to ask out loud these
words: Can I trust the voice of God? Please ask it. Let me hear you.
I say back to you that if you can even ask the question, you have traveled a
long way to your own answer.
Amen
Who’s In Charge Here? - Rev. Peter Heinrichs
Sunday, June 23, 2019, South Freeport Congregational Church
1 Kings 19:1-4, 8-15a (NRSV)
19 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the
prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying,
“So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life like
the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” 3 Then he was afraid; he got
up and fled for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah; he
left his servant there.
Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “What are you doing here,
Elijah?” 10 He answered, “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of
hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your
altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are
seeking my life, to take it away.”
11 He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD, for the LORD is
about to pass by.” Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was
splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the LORD, but
the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but
the LORD was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but
the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer
silence. 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went
out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him
that said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 14 He answered, “I have been
very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken
your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the
sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.” 15 Then
the LORD said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of
Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram.”
Intro to Scripture 1 st Kings: The passage from the Old Testament book of
First Kings is one of the most interesting and significant texts in Scripture.
Why? One, it’s about Elijah, considered by Christians to be a prophet and
harbinger of the coming of Jesus Christ in the New Testament. Two, because
the story takes place on Mt. Horeb, another name for Mt. Sinai, where Moses
long ago received the tablets of the 10 Commandments. Mt. Horeb is,
therefore, a place to expect……well, commandments from God. Three, the
story is the source of the famous phrase, “the still small voice” of God which
is how the King James Bible tried to make sense of Hebrew words that
literally should translate “the sound of utmost silence.” But most importantly
for today, the story of Elijah’s eerie and highly unusual confrontation with
God is also an inquiry into the expectations you and I bring to God. The
answer is a question: Who or what is in charge of my life?
Psalm 139: 1-12
I have chosen Psalm 139’s first twelve verses today to underline the text
from 1 ST Kings about Elijah and God. Psalm 139 is a song of praise and
wonder and recognition that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” in the
image of God. Embedded in the praise is an awareness of our dependence on
our Creator. If we are to look for authority over our “now and always”, look
first to that which, according to the Psalm, knows every word on our tongue
before it is spoken and is acquainted with all our ways. Turn to God then,
who searches and knows our hearts, before we seek answers anywhere else
in our lives.
Who’s In Charge Here?
I am going to do something different with the sermon this morning by
getting you involved in what I am saying more than asking you just to listen.
If for any reason this doesn’t work for you, you have my absolute permission
to zone out! So let’s begin.
I want to say to you this morning that I trust God with all things in my life,
but I’d like to ask you to hold me accountable. Here’s what I would like
you to do. Please ask me OUT LOUD the following: Peter, do you trust God
in all things in your life? Got it? Go ahead, please ask: PETER, DO YOU
TRUST GOD IN ALL THINGS IN YOUR LIFE? Ready? Go.
Here’s my honest answer: As long as my life – and may I say, the world
around me – seem to unfold along lines that I expect, more or less, I am
very comfortable saying I trust God. On the other hand, when life takes a
detour and I want to say: This shouldn’t be happening to me, my trust level
drops. A lot.
When I was in the Atlanta airport a few months ago, I saw a older man,
probably about my age, wearing a t-shirt that said the following: Inside
every old man is a young man wondering what the hell happened. (Hell, of
course, being a perfectly good theological word often used in the Bible). Can
we generalize a bit and say that this isn’t just about men and aging, but
about any of us coming to terms with change?
Now, my own default position as life takes an unappreciated detour from my
expectations and my trust level drops, is as follows:
1. I want answers. Why did this happen?
2. I want a plan and a map. How do I fix this?
3. If all else fails, who can I blame?
Sound familiar? So here you can hold me accountable again. Ask me: Peter,
how’s your default position working for you? Ready? Go.
My answer? Not so good. Why? Because seeking answers and plans as
though I am in charge of my life doesn’t actually get me anywhere. It
certainly doesn’t make me happy. The truth is – this is where the sermon is
headed – the truth is that I am not in control of my life. And, as long as I
think that I should be in control and seek ways of being in control, there will
be no answers.
{Pause} It’s a frightening thought: there are no answers when I put myself
in charge of my life.
I’d like to invite you to do something with me. You don’t have to, but you
are invited to. Close your eyes if you will. Imagine with me for a moment
that you are on top of a mountain. Don’t worry about heights; you’re quite
safe. Imagine that you are looking out at your life from your mountaintop
view – seeing the highs and lows, the cloudy places and the sunshine, the
distant and near, the memories and hopes. Take a brief moment to check it
all out from your mountaintop. No need to focus on any particular thing. Now,
imagine with me that everything before you suddenly disappears in a flash
and there’s nothing left to see. Gone. Nothing to remember or to plan on.
What remains? Does anything remain for you – even if you cannot say what
it is?
You can open your eyes. Perhaps now we can understand Elijah on Mt.
Horeb, the traditional mountain where commandments are given to
prophets, as he, Elijah, having begged for answers and a plan, is faced with
a blank wall of silence.
Let me put this question to you. If, like Elijah, your living takes place in a
threatening and chaotic world where your default plans have dissolved and
blame gets you nowhere, what remains to you? The bible story does not
explain itself. But is it too far-fetched to say that Elijah realizes I am not in
charge here – but something is. Is it too far-fetched to wonder whether
Elijah says to himself, Something is in charge. What have I to lose in waiting
for it to speak?
This we do know about Elijah. When Elijah is ready to listen, something
speaks. A voice sends him back down the mountain, back into the heart of
everything Elijah is afraid of. The voice sent him with a new mission: not to
be the hero in charge of his own story, but to be a messenger. A messenger
to a new generation. With a message that says There is someone into whose
hands you can put your life and trust.
And so Elijah does – put his life in the hands of God.
So, one more time. I invite you to ask, invite you to ask out loud these
words: Can I trust the voice of God? Please ask it. Let me hear you.
I say back to you that if you can even ask the question, you have traveled a
long way to your own answer.
Amen