September 14, 2008 -- "How to See God at Work"

(Exo 14:19 NIV) Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel's army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them,

(Exo 14:20 NIV) coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.

(Exo 14:21 NIV) Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided,

(Exo 14:22 NIV) and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.

(Exo 14:23 NIV) The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea.

(Exo 14:24 NIV) During the last watch of the night the LORD looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion.

(Exo 14:25 NIV) He made the wheels of their chariots come off so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, "Let's get away from the Israelites! The LORD is fighting for them against Egypt."

(Exo 14:26 NIV) Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen."

(Exo 14:27 NIV) Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the LORD swept them into the sea.

(Exo 14:28 NIV) The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen--the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.

(Exo 14:29 NIV) But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.

(Exo 14:30 NIV) That day the LORD saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore.

(Exo 14:31 NIV) And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.




First service introduction:
Video clip from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back – Yoda and Luke have a discussion about “The Force” – that the force is everywhere if you perceive it. In Christian circles, we know what “The Force” is – it is God! God is everywhere! Let me ask you a question: “Is the hand of the lord obvious to you? Let me put it another way: “Do you see His work?”

Second service introduction:
A man went into the drugstore. From the shelves he selected a bottle of extra-strength ibuprofen, twelve ounces of laxative, an elastic knee support, a supply of corn plasters, some sinus medication, a vaporizer, a remedy for sore gums and a tube of hemorrhoidal cream. He took these items to the counter, where they were totaled on the register. He could scarcely believe his ears when the clerk handed him the sack of items and said, “Have a nice day!” It was absolutely obvious that this fellow was not having a nice day, was it not? Let me ask you another question: “Is the hand of the lord obvious to you? Let me put it another way: “Do you see His work?”

The children of Israel saw God at work. When they noticed, they feared God and put their trust in Him. You might say, “Preacher, who would not notice a pillar of fire by day and a cloud of light by night? Who would not notice the water of the Red Sea divided? Who would not notice God drowning the enemy of His people?” Yes, it is true; they saw God work in a mighty way. However, it could have been overlooked, or rationalized, or even denied. As a matter of a fact, it did not take the children of Israel long to complain and wish that they were back in Egypt, as we shall see next week. I think that we need to go through Basic training in order to sense God at work. But first, we have to overcome some obstacles.

There are 3 obstacles that prevent us from sensing the hand of God:

1. An untrained eye.

This has to do with seeing God at work. Where is God most apparent? The Bible tells us in the works that He has made: “For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse” (Rom 1:20). It is very difficult to ignore God when we take a closer look at His creation. The detail, the intricacy, the delicacy, and even the shear adaptability are utterly amazing – possible only because of a higher power! We must train ourselves to appreciate nature – to even study it and to praise God for it. Creation itself is a miracle. Speaking of miracles, do we believe in them, or do we explain them away or deny them. The Bible says that you have to believe God first before you can even expect to receive something from Him. Belief that God is able to do anything and everything is the key to miracle power. The creator can do anything. Step one in basic training is opening our eyes and noticing the grand works of God – both the natural and the supernatural. The second obstacle that prevents people from sensing the hand of God is


2. An untrained ear.

This has to do with hearing God speak. One Gentleman found himself with too many commitments in too few days. He got nervous and tense about it. "I was snapping at my wife and our children, choking down my food at mealtimes, and feeling irritated at those unexpected interruptions through the day," he recalled. "Before long, things around our home started reflecting the patter of my hurry-up style. It was becoming unbearable.
"I distinctly remember after supper one evening, the words of our younger daughter, Colleen. She wanted to tell me something important that had happened to her at school that day. She began hurriedly, 'Daddy, I want to tell you somethin' and I'll tell you really fast.'
"Suddenly realizing her frustration, I answered, 'Honey, you can tell me -- and you don't have to tell me really fast. Say it slowly." "I'll never forget her answer: 'Then listen slowly.'" Bits & Pieces, June 24, 1993, pp. 13-14.

We must train ourselves to listen – and to listen slowly. God still speaks. We just aren’t listening. God speaks through His word, God speaks through prayer, and God speaks through people – to name some of the ways that God communicates. We would benefit greatly if we would slow down and ask God to help us recognize His voice. As a matter of a fact, part of every prayer ought to be our request, “Lord, speak to me through your Holy Spirit.” Listen for the voice. It takes practice. It takes patience. It takes a place of little to few distractions. But, Oh, what benefit.

God speaks to us directly through the Word, through prayer, even through random, day-to-day circumstances. When something happens, ask God what you are to learn from it. Even delay at the gas pump is an opportunity to slow down and listen to God.
God also speaks to us through others. Robert Hernon shares the following: Good listening is like tuning in a radio station. For good results, you can listen to only one station at a time. Trying to listen to my wife while looking over an office report is like trying to receive two radio stations at the same time. I end up with distortion and frustration. Listening requires a choice of where I place my attention. To tune into my partner, I must first choose to put away all that will divide my attention. That might mean laying down the newspaper, moving away from the dishes in the sink, putting down the book I'm reading, setting aside my projects. Robert W. Herron, Homemade, June, 1987.

Ask yourself, what is God saying through my spouse, my friend, and my complete stranger. I was reading in the book of Judges as I am thinking about a sermon series from that book. A complete stranger appeared to the wife of Manoah, the woman who would give birth to Samson. The stranger had a word for her from God. Had she ignored him she would have missed her own birth announcement. God works through others.

Another way that God works is through testimonies. My Mom was just telling me yesterday about a man who has been coming to her church. He just shared his testimony a few weeks ago. It blew away the Bible study group that she was attending. He was near death; he was abusing drugs and alcohol and was ready to take his life. God intervened and now he is studying to be a preacher. Neat thing is, he is a preacher’s son. We should never assume that because someone is a child of a religious leader that they get it. He finally did; he is a 50-year-old Lazarus. By the way, we should be praying for Lazaruses here at church – that God would send us people who have been brought to life so that we can be encouraged and reminded about the power of God.

By the way, when God sends someone, be sure that you are listening. Here are some things to consider:

1) Since you think about four times faster than a person usually talks, do you use this time to think about other things while you're trying to keep track of the conversation? If you are, you are not listening.

2) Do you avoid listening to things you feel will be too difficult to understand?

3) When someone is talking to you do you appear to be paying attention when you're not?

4) Do certain words and phrases prejudice you so you cannot listen objectively?

5) When listening are you distracted by outside sights and sounds? Leadership, Vol.1, No. 4, p. 99.

Listening takes practice. It involves looking a person in the eye, dropping what you are doing or politely asking for a better place or time to talk, and it involves proper feedback to ensure that you have heard the words spoken. One of my favorite lines after someone speaks is to say, “So, what I have heard you say is…” Finish the line by summing up what you think you heard. Sometimes, we mishear or misunderstand. This provides a way of ensuring that we hear the person. Finally, the last obstacle to sensing God’s hand is

3. An untrained heart__. (removing the effects of Sin to sense God more clearly)

This is a deeper, more pronounced situation. This is a sin-condition. Sin – the practice of wrongdoing according to God’s plan – clogs our spiritual receptors – dampening and even preventing communication from above. God will not be in fellowship with someone who commits persistent, willful sin. God still maintains the relationship, but the fellowship is removed. Now, I know what some of you are saying. Sin leads to death – spiritual as well as physical. Yes. But I believe that a truly born-again person does still have salvation when sinning, but a severely affected fellowship with God when sinning. This is a sermon for another day. Listen: we are always gonna be God’s children through Christ. This does not mean that we are perfect or that we do not disappoint God. It does mean that we are God’s – whether a supper-Christian or a sorry-Christian.

Regular sin – persistence in doing that which we know God does not approve of, leaves one powerless and even offensive to the body of believers as well as to non-believers. It can kill a testimony and even help others turn away from the saving grace of God.

I mentioned that this was a deeper issue. It is a spiritual one. We must train our hearts to behave according to the will of God. There is a very powerful verse in James: “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” It just may be that our prayers are ineffective because we are so full of unrighteousness. We need to confess and receive the cleansing that comes from forgiveness.

When we receive basic training in all 3 areas to recognize God – eye, ear and heart – then we have a prescription for a mature, power-filled Christian. I want some of that, don’t you?