GOD MOMENTS
(EXODUS 13:1-10)
INTRODUCTION:
HAVE YOU CONSIDERED THE AWESOME POWER OF TIME? OFTEN WE TAKE MOMENTS FOR GRANTED, BUT SOME MOMENTS CAN BE LIFE TRANSFORMING. TAKE JAMES CAMERON FOR EXAMPLE.
IT WAS AN AVERAGE NIGHT IN MARION, INDIANA IN 1930. THERE ARE, HOWEVER, NO AVERAGE NIGHTS FOR A BLACK PERSON IN INDIANA IN 1930. JAMES CAMERON, WAS WITH HIS FRIENDS THOMAS SHIPP, AND ABRAM SMITH, AND THEY DECIDED THAT NIGHT TO COMMIT ROBBERY.
JAMES CAMERON IMMEDIATELY RECOGNIZED THE PERSON THEY WERE GOING TO ROB AS A FREQUENT CUSTOMER OF HIS SHOE SHINE BUSINESS, AND RAN AWAY. A FEW HOURS LATER HE WAS ARRESTED ALONG WITH HIS FRIENDS FOR THE CUSTOMER’S MURDER, AND THE RAPE OF THE MURDER VICTIM’S GIRL-FRIEND.
A FURIOUS MOB ASSULTED THE JAILHOUSE WHERE CAMERON AND THE TWO OTHERS WERE BEING KEPT. UNPROTECTED BY THE SHERIFF, CAMERON AND THE OTHERS WERE SEIZED BY THE INCENSED CROWD AND BEATEN. THEN THOMAS SHIPP AND ABRAM SMITH WERE LYNCHED, AND THE NOOSE WAS AROUND JAMES CAMERON’S NECK.
CAN YOU JUST IMAGINE THE TENSION. THE BOY’S MUSCLES, THE CROWD’S FISTS, THE ROPE GETTING TIGHTER AROUND HIS NECK, JUST WAITING FOR SOMEONE TO SHOUT”PULL HIM UP, LET’S GET IT OVER WITH.” EVERYTHING IS WILD AND OUT OF CONTROL, THE SHOUTING, THE CURSING, THERE WAS NO SUCH THING AS CALMNESS.
THEN, IT HAPPENED. A GOD MOMENT. A SWEET, UNDEFILED, AND DISTINCT VOICE, UNLIKE ANY HE HAD EVER HEARD, CLEARLY CALLED OUT: “TAKE THE BOY BACK. HE HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH ANY RAPING OR KILLING.”
ALMOST IMMEDIATELY AND FOR NO APPARENT REASON, THE CROWD CALMED DOWN. THE WHITE CROWD SLOWLY PARTED, AND THE BEWILDERED, BEATEN JAMES CAMERON MADE HIS WAY, FROM A HANGMAN’S NOOSE, BACK TO THE CONFINES OF THE JAIL. HE WAS LATER GIVEN A FAIR TRIAL, FOUND GUILTY OF ACCESSORY BEFORE THE FACT TO VOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER AND SERVED FOUR YEARS IN PRISON.
TO THIS DAY PEOPLE DON’T KNOW WHO’S VOICE WAS HEARD. SOME SAY IT WAS A WOMAN, OTHERS A MAN. SOME SAY IT SOUNDED LIKE A YOUG VOICE, OTHERS AN OLDER PERSON. NOONE IN THE CROWD SAW ANY STRANGER THER THAT NIGHT. TO THIS DAY THERE IS NO EXPLANATION FOR IT, OTHER THAN THE ONE EIGHTY-SIX YEAR OLD JAMES CAMERON BELIEVED STARTING THAT NIGHT AND SHARES WITH PEOPLE TODAY. CAMERON SIMPLY SAYS, “IT WAS A VOICE FROM HEAVEN. IT WAS A MIRACLE. GOD SAVED ME FOR WHAT I’M DOING TODAY.” TODAY JAMES CAMERON HAS WRITTEN BOOKS, SPEAKS TO CROWDS, AND EVEN FOUNDED A MUSEUM. ALL BECAUSE OF A GOD MOMENT.
JAMES CAMERON IS NOT THE FIRST TO HAVE A GOD MOMENT. PLENTY OF PEOPLE HAVE HAD LIFE-CHANGING MOMENTS, CLOSE CALLS, NEAR ACCIDENTS, BUT THEY ALL HAVE ONE THING IN COMMON. GOD USES THE MOMENT TO SCULP AND SHAPE THE DESTINY OF AN INDIVIDUAL SHOULD THAT INDIVIDUAL CHOOSE TO LISTEN TO THE CALL OF GOD. A GOD MOMENT WILL FUEL THE FIRE OF A PERSON’S SPIRIT, AND FEED THE GRATITUDE OF HIS SOUL.
THE WORD’S ROOT “MOVERE” MEANS “TO MOVE”, GOD MOMENTS ARE PIVOTAL MOMENTS AND MEANT TO MOVE US. THE LATIN DERIVITIVE OF THE ROOT IS “MOMENTUM” AND WE RECOGNIZE THAT AS A PHYSICS TERM, BUT IN SPORTS IT IS RECOGNIZED AS THE UNSEEN FORCE THAT TURNS THE TIDE OF A GAME.
GOD MOMENTS ARE ETERNITY INVADING TIME AND CHANGING A PERSON’S LIFE. IT IS A SUPERNATURAL MOMENT WHEN WE REALIZE GOD IS SPEAKING TO US. GOD MOMENTS COULD BE THE TIME YOU ACCEPT CHRIST, OR YOUR BAPTISM, OR THE TIME YOU REALIZE GOD IS CALLING YOU TO A SPECIFIC VOCATION.
HERE ARE JUST FIVE EXAMPLES OF GOD MOMENTS THAT MANY OF US MAY HAVE SHARED:
1. AMAZING RESCUE: A MOMENT WHEN GOD GUARDED YOU, HEALED YOU, RESCUED YOU, OR MADE A WAY OUT FOR YOU.
2. HOLY ATTRACTION: A MOMENT WHEN GOD LED YOU TOWARD A HEALTHIER PATH, ENABLED YOU TO RESIST A TEMPTATION, OR INSPIRED YOU TO TAKE A HIGH ROAD.
3. UNEARNED BLESSING: A MOMENT WHEN GOD GAVE YOU AN UNEXPECTED BLESSING OR AN UNDESERVED GIFT.
4. REVEALED TRUTH: A MOMENT WHEN GOD SPOKE TO YOU THROUGH THE BIBLE, INNER PEACE, WISE COUNSEL, CONVICTION OF WRONG, OR A GOD-INSPIRED MESSAGE
5. VALUABLE ADVERSITY: A MOMENT IN WHICH GOD SUSTAINED YOU IN A DIFFICULT TIME OR MADE YOU STRONGER THROUGH THE TEST OF ADVERSITY.
THERE IS ONE OTHER THING TO SHARE IN INTRODUCTION ABOUT GOD-MOMENTS. TRUE GOD-MOMENTS ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN. IF IT HASN’T LED TO A RECOGNIZABLE CHANGE IN YOUR LIFE, IT IS NOT A GOD-MOMENT. WHILE IT IS POSSIBLE TO HAVE MORE THAN ONE GOD-MOMENT IN YOU LIFETIME, IT IS ALSO TRUE THAT YOU WILL NOT HAVE MANY SUCH DEFINING MOMENTS. T6HE DEFINING ELEMENT OF A GOD-MOMENT IS NOT THAT YOU WILL HAVE SUCH MOMENTS BECAUSE YOU WILL, IT IS WHAT YOU DO WITH THOSE MOMENTS WHEN THEY PRESENT THEMSELVES.
LET’S LOOK BACK ON A GOD-M0MENT NOW FOR ISRAEL AND SEE HOW THIS CAN HELP US RECOGNIZE AND ACT ON TRUE GOD-MOMENTS IN OUR LIVES.
BIBLICAL BACKGROUND:
THE BIBLICAL BACKGROUND FOR EXODUS CHAPTER THIRTEEN ACTUALLY BEGINS AT THE FIRST OF THE BOOK. A NEW PHAROAH COMES TO THE THRONE OF EGYPT WHO DOES NOT KNOW JOSEPH AND WHAT HE HAS DONE FOR EGYPT. BECAUSE OF THEIR NUMBERS HE FORCES THE ISRAELITES INTO SLAVE LABOUR AND GIVES THE LAW THAT ALL MALE ISREALITE CHILDREN ARE TO BE PUT TO DEATH AS A FORM OF POPULATION CONTROL. THEY WERE BEATEN ABOUSED AND OPPRESSED AS A PEOPLE.
THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL WERE SO DEEP IN BONDAGE THAT ONLY GOD COULD SAVE THEM. HE SENT MOSES TO PHAROAH WITH THE MESSAGE TO LET GOD’S PEOPLE GO. PHAROAH REFUSED, AND SO GOD SENT THE TEN PLAGUES AGAINST EGYPT TO SHOW HIS POWER. AFTER EACH ONE PHAROAH SOFTENED HIE HEART FOR A MOMENT AND THEN HARDENED IT AGAINST THE ISRAELITES AGAIN.
THE FINAL PLAGUE INSTITUTED THE PASSOVER FOR THE ISRAELITE PEOPLE. IT SAW THE DEATH ANGEL KILL EVERY FIRST-BORN MALE WHOSE FAMILY HAD NOT PREPARED BY BEING READY TO LEAVE AND HAVING THE SACRIFICE’S BLOOD ON THE DOORPOST AND OVER THE DOOR.
THIS BRINGS US TO CHAPTER THIRTEEN. GOD BEGINS BY TELLING MOSE TO “CONSECRATE THIS DAY FOR I HAVE DELIVERED YOU.” “CONSECRATE” OR “COMMEMORATE” MEANS TO MAKE A PLANNED EFFORT TO REMEMBER. REHEARCE IT. TAKE PRACTICAL STEPS TO MAKE SURE YOU DON’T FORGET IT.
THE COMMAND TO REMEMBER IS FOUND OFTEN ON THE PAGES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT.
DEUTERONOMY 4:9: Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.
DEUTERONOMY 8:18: But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.
PSALM 77:11-12: I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember our miracles of long ago. 12 I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds.
REMEMBER REMEMBER REMEMBER, IS ARGUABLY ONE OF THE MOST BASIC COMMANDS OF SCRIPTURE.
FOR 430 YEARS THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL HAD BEEN HELD ENSLAVED BY EGYPT. NOW THEY WERE FREE BY THE POWER OF GOD. THEY HAD WITNESSED GOD IN ACTION IN POWERFUL WAYS. THEY KNEW THEIR RELEASE AND FREEDOM WAS BROUGHT ABOUT BY GOD AND GOD ALONE.
HERE IN CHAPTER THIRTEEN MOSES IS CAREFUL TO GIVE DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS AS TO HOW THIS DELIVEREANCE, THIS GOD-MOMENT IN THEIR LIVES IS TO BE REMEMBERED. NOTE THE INSTRUCTIONS. IT IS POSSIBLE TO FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS ON A CONTINUAL BASIS YEAR AFTER YEAR. Its IMPORTANCE IS SHOWN IN THE FACT THAT PASSOVER WOULD BE HELD ALMOST EVERY YEAR UNTIL WELL AFTER THE DEATH OF JESUS.
APPLICATION:
FOR US THE IMPORTANT THING TO REMEMBER IS THE WORD “REMEMBER.” THE WAY YOU REMEMBER YESTERDAY DETERMINES HOW YOU WILL LIVE TOMORROW. REMEMBERING YESTERDAY’S GOD MOMENTS BUILDS YOUR FAITH FOR TOMORROWS TESTS. CONSIDER THE FAITH HEROS OF HEBREWS CHAPTER ELEVEN: NOAH
ABRAHAM
JOSEPH
DAVID
PAUL
AND DARE I SAY JESUS HIMSELF
DO WE NOT DRAW STRENGTH FROM HOW THEY DEALT WITH THEIR GOD-MOMENTS, AS WE SEEK TO DEAL WITH OURS? WE CAN BUILD OUR LIVES EITHER POSITIVELY OR NEGATIVELY BASED ON HOW WE DEAL WITH GOD-MOMENTS.
RIGHT NOW WE CAN ALL BE DEALING WITH DIFFERENT FORMS OF STRESS IN OUR LIVES. A POLITE ANSWER MAY BE TO SAY “HAVE FAITH” OR “DON’T WORRY. GOD’S IN CONTROL.” WHILE THE STATEMENT IS TRUE IT DOESN’T HELP MUCH. I MAY WANT TO HAVE “MORE FAITH” BUT TELLING ME TO HAVE “MORE FAITH” IS NOT GOING TO GIVE ME “MORE FAITH.” WHEN WE SEEK TO BUILD FAITH IT MAKES MORE SENSE TO LOOK TO THE PAST, RATHER THAN AN UNKNOWN FUTURE. WE LOOK TO WHAT WE KNOW, NOT WHAT WE DON’T KNOW.
SHOW ME HOW GOD MOVED IN YOUR LIFE. WHERE DID HE TAKE YOU? HOW DID YOU DEAL WITH YOUR GOD-MOMENT? THAT WILL HELP ME DEAL WITH MINE.
“REMEMBER”
CONCLUSION:
There is a true story of two prisoners in a Russian prison. They never saw each other; they were separated by a wall. But they learned to communicate by taps on the wall. They made up their own language. One day one, Joe, asked the other, Bill, to share communion with him. Bill agreed. Bill later related the story; he pretended to tear off a piece of the bread. He could feel the hard curst and with his fingers he pinched the soft insides. He held his empty hand to his nose and could smell the sweet aroma of the fresh baked bread. His mouth watered at the thought. In his mind’s eye he could see the preacher standing there, and hear him talking about the body, the flesh and how it was torn, pierced and sacrificed for our sins. As Joe tapped on the wall…”This is my body, broken for you… Bill raised the pretend bread to his lips and placed it in his mouth. It was the same old flavor, the flavor he had tasted a hundred times before…just as sweet and just as real as it ever had been in that small church back home.
Then Bill tapped on the wall and said, “Let me offer the cup.” They both picked up their little imaginary cup … they had felt that cup a hundred times. Bill tapped… “This is my blood of the new testament, shed for many for the remission of sins. Drink ye all of it.” As he raised the cup to his mouth the aroma of the grapes filled Bill’s nostrils. It was so comforting, so warming. It took him back to his own church, where he sat with his family and enjoyed the communion. Then he slowly tilted the cup and the taste buds watered as he could actually taste the sweet flavor. He remembered the pastor’s words about the blood that Jesus shed on the cross, blood that was shed by a sinless lamb to pay for the sins of a sinful world. Tears ran down Bill’s cheeks as he held the cup and remembered the pictures of Jesus hanging on the cross.
Could you have shared in that pretend communion that day? Could you have tasted the juice, felt the bread and heard the preacher?
THOSE WHO MEDITATE ON WHAT GOD HAS DONE FOR THEM MOVE FORWARD WITH ASTOUNDING HOPE. THEY HAVE OTHER GOD-MOMENTS. THOSE WHO INTERPRET THEIR PAST AS BEING VOID OF GOD STAND STILL WITH HOPELESSENSS AND DESPAIR.
IF YOU PRIMARILY REMEMBER YOUR SUCCESSES AND TRIUMPHS, DOESN’T IT MAKE YOU THINK THAT TOMORROW MIGHT HOLD SUCCESS OR TRIUMPH AS WELL? WE LEARN AND GROW BEST WHEN WE BUILD ON POSITIVE MEMORIES. AN UNEMPLOYED BUSINESSMAN WAITS OUTSIDE A MANAGERS DOOR FOR A JOB INTERVIEW. HE HAS A CHOICE. HE CAN REHEARSE THE PAINFUL MEMORY OF LOSING HIS JOB, RELIVING IT AGAIN AND AGAIN, OR HE CAN THINK OF THE TIME HE WAS OFFERED THE JOB IN THE FIRST PLACE AND HOW GOOD IT FELT TO WORK. THE RELATIONSHIPS AND FRIENDSHIPS HE MADE. THEN HE REALIZES HE CAN HAVE THEM AGAIN AT THIS NEW JOB, AND HE TAKES HEART.
BIBLICAL FAITH IS BORN FROM THE MEMORY OF POSITIVE MOMENTS OF DIVINE INTERVENTION, OR REMEMBERING GOD-MOMENTS. IT’S ROOTED IN AN ETERNAL PROMISE:
PHILIPPIANS 1:6: being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
