Without a King – Part 6

August 30, 2020

(Note that this is Pastor Rob's manuscript and not a transcript of the sermon.)

 Have you ever been overwhelmed with bad news?

• Imagine living downtown or being a business owner in Portland, OR for the last 90 days.
• Imagine living downtown or being a business owner in Kenosha, WI for the last few nights.
• Imagine living downtown or being a business owner in Seattle this summer.
• Imagine hearing that the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.
• Imagine a military aide announcing your child's death in a foreign war.
• Imagine an ER doctor delivering the news that your loved one didn't make it.
• Imagine the Doctor confirming the diagnosis of terminal cancer.
• Remember how you felt when President Kennedy was assassinated.
• Remember how you felt when Martin Luther King junior was killed.
• Remember what you felt when you saw the planes crash into the World Trade Center.
• Remember what you felt as cities and states shut down over COVID-19.

Bad news can quickly overwhelm us and impact our view of the future—especially in a connected culture where news is not only immediately reported, but sometimes is streamed live on social media.

Some of the things you thought and felt about the scenarios I just presented may have been some of the same things thought and felt by the people of Israel during the times of the judges.

• In chapter one, we read repeatedly that the tribes failed to do what they were supposed to do.
• In chapter 2, we read these disappointing reports
  • After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel. The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight and served the images of Baal. They abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They went after other gods, worshiping the gods of the people around them. And they angered the Lord. They abandoned the Lord to serve Baal and the images of Ashtoreth. This made the Lord burn with anger against Israel, so he handed them over to raiders who stole their possessions. He turned them over to their enemies all around, and they were no longer able to resist them. Every time Israel went out to battle, the Lord fought against them, causing them to be defeated, just as he had warned. And the people were in great distress, (Judge 2:10-15)
  • Israel did not listen to the judges but prostituted themselves by worshiping other gods…. When the judge died, the people returned to their corrupt ways, behaving worse than those who had lived before them. They went after other gods, serving and worshiping them. And they refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways, (Judges 2:17-19)
• We read this sad commentary in both chapters 17 and 21.
  • In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes, (Judges 17:6; 21:25)

However, there is something interesting in the Hebrew language that we don’t get in many of our English translations. In Hebrew Judges begins with these words, “and it was.”

I love that it is past tense; not just that it happened in the past, but that it wasn't the end of the story. Some English translations use the phrase, “and it came to pass.” (It didn't come to stay. It came to pass.) I love the fact that a member of our Trinity family uses this for a password, “this too shall pass.”

When news is bad and the outlook is bleak, we need to remember that God hasn't finished the story yet! We also need to remember that he's written a part for each of us!

Just as God raised up judges to deliver his people, he is still looking for people who are available to hear his word, receive his power, and do his will. He is looking to use all kinds of men and women. He is not looking for perfect people; He is looking for people who are open and willing. He is not looking to call the qualified but to qualify the called.

That brings me to the point of this message, it is phrased as two questions: Why not me? Why not now?

Remember, when the news is bad and the outlook is bleak, God isn't surprised, and he isn't wringing his hands wondering what to do. He is still writing the story and he has a part for you!

Why not me? Why not now? Say that with me: Why not me? Why not now?

If you’ve never heard this before, let me quote from The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren: “It’s not about you. The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness. It’s far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God. You were born by his purpose and for his purpose.”^[1]

Let me also quote this from Rick Warren: “The last thing many believers need today is to go to another Bible study. They already know far more than they are putting into practice. What they need are serving experiences in which they can exercise their spiritual muscles.”[2]

The Prophet Isaiah writes about a time when the news was bad, and the outlook was bleak. He tells us that in the year that King Uzziah died, he saw the Lord…And that encounter with the Lord, during that dark time, changed his life. He described it this way:

“It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”

Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.”

Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?”

I said, “Here I am. Send me.” (Isaiah 6:5-8)

When Isaiah turned his attention from the bad news to the Lord, he found that the Lord was ready to work and the Lord wanted to use Isaiah.

Folks, if, for a few minutes, we will turn our attention from the bad news in our nation, I believe we too will find that the Lord is ready to work and wants to use us. He wants to use me, and he wants to use you. This isn’t some idea that just popped into God’s mind during COVID-19 and this summer of protests and riots. This is a plan that’s been in the works for you since the very beginning—before you were born and before you began following Christ.

The Apostle Paul explains it for us, “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (Ephesians 2:8-10, NLT)

What are you doing for God today? How are you serving his purposes with your life? He did not call you to be an armchair quarterback who sits back and questions every decision without gearing up to participate. He has called you to be involved in his work.

He created you and shaped you to use you. He did not create you and shape you to sit back and watch others do the work. He created you to be a participant in his work.

Some of you feel like your heart is going to beat out of your chest as you listen to me because my words are confirming what God has already been speaking to your heart. Now is the time for you to say yes to what God has been leading you to do.

This pandemic has changed the church, not just Trinity but the church in general. We cannot do everything we used to do the way we used to do it. That is frustrating to be sure, but it is reality. We can whine and cry and complain about it or we can say, “God, what would you have us do now?” That’s the approach I’m taking.

In the Sunday morning sermon on January 4, 2015, I laid out the new vision for Trinity that God had placed on my heart during the summer of 2014. In that sermon, I referenced the story of how the religious leaders in Jesus’ day questioned him as to why his followers didn’t fast and why he shared meals with sinners. They were asking Jesus why he did things differently than they were accustomed to and Jesus’ answer was striking. He basically told them that he’d come to meet God’s expectations, not theirs.

Folks, I believe God is in the process of starting something new during this ordeal that has been 2020. You’ve heard me say it before and I’ll say it again—he isn’t surprised by any of this; he’s using it.

I believe one of the things he’s doing is calling members of his family to service—some to vocational service and some to volunteer service.

• God is calling some of you to vocational ministry meaning your career will be ministry—pastor, missionary, teaching in a foreign country, youth pastor, worship leader, etc.
• God is calling most of you to volunteer ministry. He is calling you to serve the ministry of your local church family so that it can have the greatest possible impact on the greatest number of people with the intent of seeing many folks come to know Christ as savior.
  • This local church family needs you! We need workers for our tech team, we need workers for our boys and girls ministries, we need workers who will be ready when we start Sunday children’s ministry again. We need singers and musicians. We need artists. We need content creators. We need servers.
  • We need people who will answer the questions, why not me? Why not now? Like Isaiah did, “Here I am, send me.”

Remember Paul’s words that I read a few minutes ago? We are God’s masterpiece…created…anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

          God has a plan for you. Will you follow it, or will you follow your own? My prayer is that you’ll say yes to God’s plan—vocational or volunteer—today. This plea is to all of you, young and old alike.

• We need grandparents who will volunteer to work in kids and youth ministries because our children need to learn from your life and faith experiences.
• We need students who will answer the call and commit their lives to serve God’s purpose.

Why not me? Why not now?

          There are some next steps in the notes and on the screen. I invite you to step and step out into the part God has written for you.

[1] Warren, Rick. 2002. The Purpose Driven Life. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, p. 5.

 [2] Ibid, 231, emphasis his.