INTRODUCTION:
Get up…eat breakfast…head to work…work all day… return home…eat some supper…watch a little tv…go to bed… and then repeat those same steps tomorrow.
Some of us may have a few more steps; some of us may have a few fewer steps. No wonder people ask the question: “Is this all there is to life?” And it’s not just unbelievers who ask that question; there are many who know Christ as their Savior that ask that same question.
God tells us in John 10:10 (NKJV)
10 … I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
God says there is more, and if we don’t see it, or more so if we are not living that way then we are missing something. And so we began looking at places in our life where we miss the “more.”
Today, I want to share with you we have a guide; His name is Jesus. And, if you are not trusting the Guide to walk you through this life, then you are missing the “more” of the Christian life.
I have been living for 67years and a Christian for forty-four of those years and I still need to be guided through the steps of life. I need to be guided how to deal with people because let’s face it; people are weird. I need to be guided through marriage because sometimes, I don’t know where Anne comes up with her thought process. And this thing I do called pastoring, every day there is a new issue or new problem and how do I deal with that. I must be guided. Situations occur in the family, and I need to be guided how to deal with them. Questions come up as to what is right and what is wrong, and I need someone to guide me to the correct answer. I need a Guide that I trust to get me through this life. And you need a guide you can trust.
So, let’s set out and learn what we can about our Guide.
SCRIPTURE READINGS
Numbers 9:15-23 (NIV)
15 On the day the tabernacle, the Tent of the Testimony, was set up, the cloud covered it. From evening till morning the cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire.
16 That is how it continued to be; the cloud covered it, and at night it looked like fire.
17 Whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped.
18 At the LORD's command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained in camp.
19 When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the LORD's order and did not set out.
20 Sometimes the cloud was over the tabernacle only a few days; at the LORD's command they would encamp, and then at his command they would set out.
21 Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening till morning, and when it lifted in the morning, they set out. Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out.
22 Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out.
23 At the LORD's command they encamped, and at the LORD's command they set out. They obeyed the LORD's order, in accordance with his command through Moses.
POINT #1
OUR GUIDE IS ALWAYS THERE, BUT THE WAY THAT HE CHOOSES TO REVEAL HIMSELF MAY BE DIFFERENT IN DIFFERENT SITUATIONS. MY JOB IS TO FIND THE GUIDE.
15 On the day the tabernacle, the Tent of the Testimony, was set up, the cloud covered it. From evening till morning the cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire.
16 That is how it continued to be; the cloud covered it, and at night it looked like fire.
Some of you in the room might not be old enough to remember the days before the smartphone. Anne and I would head out on vacation, and it was inevitable that at some point in our journey, she would look over at me and say: “You are lost. Ask someone for directions.” After her repeated insistence, because no man wants to ask for directions, I roll down my window and say to some stranger: “hey, how do you get to so and so place?” And that stranger starts rattling off: “go up there a mile turn right, stay on that road until you see the house with the white picket fence and turn left; stay on that road until you come to the blinking red light. Cross over that road, go two blocks turn right, and the place is on your left.” I roll up the window and look at Anne and ask: “now which way did he say turn after we went one mile.” Those directions never worked for me because the guide never hopped in the car and brought me to the place I wanted to be. The stranger was a guide but not one I can fully trust it because I couldn’t remember everything he told me and he had no personal interest in me getting there. He won’t see me again after I roll up that window.
But Jesus is the perfect guide. If I stop and ask Him, He would say “pushover”, and I will drive you there. Listen to what He says in Psalm 23. Psalm 23:1-3 (NIV)
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
He does not tell me the directions to the still waters; He takes me there. He does not tell me directions to the path of righteousness; He guides me there.
What I have to do is find the guide and put my trust in Him. The hardest part is that we don’t always find the perfect guide because He takes on different appearances at different times. By day, He was the cloud; by night, He was the appearance of fire. He is not hard to be found, (The Bible says search for Me, and you will find Me) but we don’t put in the work to train ourselves to find Him and not be satisfied until we do find Him- the One who will guide us through this situation.
POINT #2
YOU MAY TAKE OFFENSE AT THIS NEXT POINT, BUT DON’T TAKE IT UP WITH ME TAKE IT UP WITH GOD. YOU HAVE BEEN ENROLLED IN GOD’S SPIRITUAL SPECIAL EDUCATION CLASS BECAUSE YOU ARE A SLOW LEARNER.
17 Whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped.
20 Sometimes the cloud was over the tabernacle only a few days; at the LORD's command they would encamp, and then at his command they would set out.
21 Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening till morning, and when it lifted in the morning, they set out. Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out.
22 Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out.
The Israelites are in a delay mode because they did not follow the guide into the Promise Land. Instead, they send in spies, and those spies came back with the negative report that there are giants in the land. And so they decided they were not going to enter the Promised Land.
So it is at this point, God set up His slow learner class. And He kept working with the Israelites to teach them one basic lesson. You move when I move. If I don’t move, you don’t move; but if I move you move with Me.
We get to verse 22, and I am saying to myself, I get it. Can’t we stop this cloud moving, cloud staying exercise? But then I think about my own life. How many times has God had to do the same thing over and over in my life because I didn’t get it?
Let me tell you one area I struggle with: trusting God has it all worked out if I take the step to go to the place that He wants me to go. I fought going to seminary, but when I took the step, God had it all worked out. When I came to Mississippi, I was scared because I didn’t know what it would be like, but when I got here I discovered God had it all worked out. And if God would move me again, I will probably fight it because I just don’t learn very easy, but I would imagine God will have it all worked out.
And the truth is everyone has areas in their life where they are slow learners. Therefore, welcome to God’s special education class.
And you know what is so wonderful about this point. When the cloud moved, where were the Israelites going: wandering around in circles in the desert. And so what was important was not where they were going but what they were learning- to trust the guide.
POINT #3
AS I READ THIS PASSAGE OF SCRIPTURE, I NEVER NOTICED THE CLOUD ASKING THE PEOPLE, “DO YOU FEEL LIKE MOVING TODAY?” I NEVER NOTICE THE CLOUD GIVING ADVANCED NOTICE THAT I WILL BE MOVING IN A COUPLE OF HOURS. AND SO THE LESSON IS IF GOD IS READY TO MOVE IN MY LIFE, I NEED TO BE READY TO MOVE WITH HIM.
20 SOMETIMES THE CLOUD WAS OVER THE TABERNACLE ONLY A FEW DAYS; AT THE LORD'S COMMAND THEY WOULD ENCAMP, AND THEN AT HIS COMMAND THEY WOULD SET OUT.
21 SOMETIMES THE CLOUD STAYED ONLY FROM EVENING TILL MORNING, AND WHEN IT LIFTED IN THE MORNING, THEY SET OUT. WHETHER BY DAY OR BY NIGHT, WHENEVER THE CLOUD LIFTED, THEY SET OUT.
22 WHETHER THE CLOUD STAYED OVER THE TABERNACLE FOR TWO DAYS OR A MONTH OR A YEAR, THE ISRAELITES WOULD REMAIN IN CAMP AND NOT SET OUT; BUT WHEN IT LIFTED, THEY WOULD SET OUT.
As I read this Scripture, it would have been so nice if the cloud moved every Sunday at 11:00 a.m. But here is the problem with that: I would start to think that God could only move at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday. And I would quit looking for Him to move on Monday, Tuesday, Friday, or Saturday at whatever time He pleases.
Let’s be honest there are people who think God moves in a person’s life only on Sunday morning. If you want the “more” of the Christian life, you have got to be ready for Him to move at a moment’s notice. And you know what that means you got to keep your eyes on Jesus.
My closing question is simple: are you willing to keep your eyes on the perfect Guide?
