Responsible Love

The Nature of Grace

November 17, 1996

Joshua 24:15-25

Synopsis: We have followed the Exodus, from the Burning Bush and the call of Moses ... to the Passover Night .. and the Giving of the Law at Sinai. We come to the end of the biblical account. The story entered a new phase with Joshua, and the trauma of changing leadership. Moses climbed the mountain and viewed the Promised Land and died without himself ever entering. Joshua was charged with taking the generation of survivors of the wilderness into Canaan. Joshua, whose name is the same as our Savior, completed the Exodus journey.

Moses brought the people OUT, and Joshua led them IN. A generation died in the 40 years of wandering. The ones who were children and youth led the way into the Promised Land. And now even Joshua is ready to retire, and calls a new generation to covenant, to renew what they already believe.

The Exodus story is tremendously important. [You may have heard of the book, "All I ever really needed I learned in Kindergarten"? Well, the Exodus story is a lot like that!] It tells more than we can ever fully understand about how God loves and calls people to be his own. It tells about the church- even the church we know today. It tells us about ourselves and how we can relate to God. If we had to sum up the lessons of Exodus, MY list would include:

  1. God hears when people cry for help.

    The LOVE of our great God responds!

  2. God usually sends people to help people find His salvation.

    Moses' call— was God's answer to a cry for help in Egypt! Sometimes we are "Moses" and God calls us to go— Sometimes God sends a "Moses" to answer our cry . . .

  3. "Salvation" is a journey as well as a time or two of crisis.

    Passover - - Red Sea - - Pillar of cloud/fire - - Manna - - Sinai - - all these necessary, but "salvation" meant staying with God right on through . . .

  4. God's grace is personal, but is always in the context of the community of faith.

    We Americans, particularly, often miss the total sense of community that permeates the Bible, Old Testament and New. The word "saint" does not appear in the New Testament! It is always in the plural. God cares about you as much as anyone in the world. But God has no favorites! We are brothers and sisters— in this together!

  5. The GOAL of Exodus, and thus the goal of "salvation" is God Himself.

    The real GOAL of the Exodus was God Himself. When we settle for His gifts, and make them ends in and of themselves, they fail to satisfy. The paradox of the call of God to Himself is that while we are seeking Him He is with us. The Exodus "ends" when we leave

    Egypt (we are "saved"), and yet it "continues" even after we have entered Canaan.(We are still seekers after God!) The mystery of Exodus is the wonder of the Incarnation. It is God seeking a home in His people. . . . and finally

  6. (Conclusion) Grace demands a choice, and on-going obedience.

    Joshua 24:15-30 (a dialogue between Joshua and the people at the end of Joshua's time of leadership)

    Joshua: Grace demands a response of LOVE for God! I will serve the Lord!

    People: So will we!

    J: You CANNOT serve the Lord! HE is holy!

    P: We will lay aside lesser things! We WILL!

    J: You are witnesses against yourselves!

    P: Yes, we ARE witnesses!

    And so the covenant was renewed again.. another generation accepted the challenge to be God's called people!

    • At the close of last week's series of meetings many of you came forward, as I did, to the altar, to tell the Lord we really are available to Him— we really do love Him. We were saying, in effect, like these people when Joshua challenged them: We want God more than anything else!
    • That service was moving to me! I caught a glimpse of tremendous power waiting to be released. Power, not because you are strong, or I, but because when a group of people are willing to simply obey, and seek God on His terms, there is no human way to understand all God can do. Dwight L. Moody is supposed to have said, "The world has yet to see what would happen if someone gave himself completely to God, and I intend to be that person!"— only here it is "This world has yet to see what God might do with a community of faith that is wholly dedicated to Him, and we intend to follow the Lord with all our hearts!"
    • There will be plenty to DO— but what is important now is letting go, and letting God have all of us! The struggle is not to make ourselves holy, or strong, or gifted. The struggle (agonidzomai) is to say to God— "At any cost, O God, I want YOU!"

At the funeral for Esther D. Williamson I chose a poem to sum up her life, which had many achievements.

My goal is God Himself— not joy, nor peace,
Nor even blessing, but himself, my Lord.
'Tis his to lead me there, not mine, but his,
At any cost, dear Lord, by any road.

So faith bounds forward to its goal in God,
And love can trust her Lord to lead her there.
Upheld by Him, my soul is following hard
Till God fulfills my deepest prayer.

No matter if the way be sometimes dark;
No matter though the cost be ofttimes great;
He knoweth best how I can reach the mark;
The path that leads to Him must needs be straight.

One thing I know, I cannot say Him nay.
One thing I do, I press toward my Lord;
My God, my glory here from day to day,
And in the glory there, my great Reward.

Prayer

497 - I'll Live for Him Who Died for Me