“Lost in the World, Found in the Lord”

Scripture: Exodus 23:20-33

Today is our 3rd message that addresses the differences between the way we exist in the world, verses our life in God’s Kingdom. For the past 2 weeks, we have looked at, first, God’s salvation from the dangers that the world throws at us, and last week, at the ways that God relieves our hunger – in both spiritual and physical aspects. Today, we look at how God leads us through the world, and the great benevolence that He shows to us all.

Whenever we think of Moses’ trek up the slopes of Mount Sinai, we usually are reminded only of the 10 Commandments that we find in Exodus 20. But the truth is that the descriptions of his 2 journeys up the mountain and his time in the presence of the Lord actually takes 15 chapters - from Chapter 19 through 34! In addition to receiving the 2 stone tablets twice, Moses received many other instructions, including laws regarding the obtaining and treatment of Hebrew servants, how to deal with personal injuries –those effecting both humans and animals, social responsibilities including issues surrounding justice and mercy, instructions on the building of the Arc of the Covenant and the Tabernacle, construction of garments that the priests would wear and how the priests are to be consecrated for service, and details regarding the 4th Commandment - observance of the Sabbath. Our lesson for today is part of this discussion, and looks at God’s word on how His people will be guided to the Promised Land, how they will take possession of it, and most importantly, God’s expectations of them.

Read Exodus 23:20-26

I have to admit that I’m a map kind-of-guy, and I have yet to buy a GPS. AAA Tip Tiks are good, but I also want to be able to see the options that extend beyond the highway, just in case construction traffic gets backed up and I need to take a detour, or if I just don’t like the route that AAA or MapQuest lays out for me. I guess I just like to not only be in the driver’s seat, but also in the navigator’s!
Israel would be running into all kinds of obstructions and detours on their journey to their new home, but they would receive far more than just a map to guide them. God was giving them an angel to go ahead of them – he would be a guide, a scout, a protector, an early warning device for dangers that would approach, and would be God’s own promise and presence for the people.
But the Lord also includes a caveat for the people – (:21) “Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him.”

That’s one of the problems that we all encounter as we move through this life – there are many voices that constantly call out to us, and with all the hubbub, there will always be times when it’s nearly impossible to hear God’s voice. But this passage seems to tell us that our own inclination toward deafness and confusion is no excuse! “Pay attention to me and listen to my words – don’t be distracted by the babbling of the world. They will do nothing but waylay you and lead you completely away from Me!”

And the Lord didn’t stop there! Don’t just listen to my words, take them seriously! He continues (:24) “Do not bow down before their gods or worship them or follow their practices. You must demolish them and break their sacred stones to pieces.” Since that moment on Mount Sinai, that commandment has existed – for the Jews and for Christians. And since that moment on Sinai, that commandment has been broken. Jewish men and women would soon be marrying into the faith of foreigners. And not only would they not demolish those false gods or destroy those sacred stones, they would bow down to, and embrace, these new and false beliefs and would worship those false gods, and they would willingly, and by their own appalling decisions, be lead astray.
And I have to tell you that people throughout the ages have done the same, and people continue to disregard those vital words of God, even today. For some strange reason, folks think that in order to show love to others that we have to love the things they think and believe and do, as well! The Lord, though, has told us otherwise! We are to love the people of this world, without exception, and we are to reject the things of this world, also without exception! (:25) “Worship the Lord your God, and His blessing will be on your food and water”, and, if I may add, upon your very life.

And this angel that God promised to put in the lead of Israel would be a holy terror to any who would dare to come against them, and in God’s time and plan, nothing would be able to prevent His chosen people from taking possession of the land that God had set aside for them years before.

Read Exodus 23:27-33

God would be all, give all, do all, love all, enable all that Israel would need, both then and throughout eternity, and all they were asked to do in return was to give God the honor and glory for all. (:32-33) “Don’t covenant with [people of other nations and don’t give honor to] their gods. And if you do not follow this commandment, you will know my anger!”

The journey had been joined, the expectations, the covenant had been set down, God would go, not just with them, but before them, He would guide them, protect them, promise them, love them,and the people were to follow Him and Him only. But Israel, and we, too, have always wanted to make our own way. Maybe it’s our sense of adventure - I don’t know - but it always seems to get us into trouble.
- “Gee, why can’t I have some input into the route our journey takes?”
- “How come I can’t sit in the driver’s seat once in a while?”
- “Why can’t I read the map and choose the route?”
The answer to all of these questions, and more, is that we don’t know the way to the ultimate destination – our view is too narrow and too limited, and if the truth be known, we only have a microscopic, an infinitesimal understanding of what the destination even is! Our view of the journey is finite, while it is actually infinite and eternal; our understanding of the journey is that we should be as good and pleasant to the world we live in as we possibly can, while this journey is actually only about one thing – honoring and glorifying the One who has given us everything, and is going ahead of us, to make our way to that glory possible.
And the way of the world is a dead end, and our way, the world’s way, can only lead to “Nowhere”.

In October 1965, John Lennon wrote, and the Beatles recorded, a song that would top the charts. And while it was definitely secular in nature, it also has a deeply profound message for Christians everywhere and throughout time. The song is “Nowhere Man”, and since it may have been a while since you’ve heard the words, listen to them once again, but this time, as a message from God:

He's a real nowhere man, Sitting in his Nowhere Land,
Making all his nowhere plans for nobody.

Doesn't have a point of view, Knows not where he's going to,
Isn't he a bit like you and me?

Nowhere Man please listen, You don't know what you're missing,
Nowhere Man, the world [eternity] is at your command!
He's as blind as he can be, Just sees what he wants to see,
Nowhere Man can you see Me at all?

Nowhere Man, don't worry, Take your time, don't hurry,
Leave it all till somebody else lends you a hand! Think about that one for a moment!

Doesn't have a point of view, Knows not where he's going to,
Isn't he a bit like you and me?

Nowhere Man please listen, you don't know what you’re missing
Nowhere Man, the world [eternity] is at your command!
He's a real Nowhere Man, Sitting in his Nowhere Land,
Making all his nowhere plans for nobody.
Making all his nowhere plans for nobody.
Making all his nowhere plans for nobody!

Have you ever felt that you’re on that path to “Nowhere”, making plans that “Nobody” will ever benefit from? Maybe you feel that today and you haven’t got a clue as to where you are or where you’re headed! A week and a half ago, when we were on our way to Niagara Falls, Christopher was sitting next to me in the car. I was taking some back road shortcuts that I had learned years ago, and Chris turned to me and asked, with some concern in his voice, “Are we on the right road?” I replied, jokingly, “I don’t know, but aren’t we’re making great time?” I don’t think he was impressed!
But that’s the way of the world. The scenery may be interesting, the road smooth, the travel expeditious, but it leads us absolutely nowhere, and we just may be getting “nowhere” in record time!!
- We need to stop trying to make our own decisions regarding life now and for tomorrow.
- We need to put our trust in God instead of in the false prophets of earth.
- We must learn to follow God and His glorious angel, and believe that His way is the only way for us.
- We need to believe that His Word, set down for us thousands of years ago, is still vibrant and vital and true, and that neither we nor anyone else, has the right to rewrite His instructions for life to make them more palatable and plausible for others.

If we keep His Way foremost in our life, we will never find ourselves hopelessly lost and at a dead end. Jesus Christ is God in the Flesh - and He alone is the guide for our journey through around and over the pitfalls of earth.
If we Trust in Him,
If we Believe in Him,
If we Walk with Him, and
If we Rejoice in Him, today and every day, then we will discover the glory of that eternal Promised Land, and we will never get lost!