A Matter of Trust / A Matter of Faith

The Sermon uses scriptures First Samuel 8:4-11 and Second Corinthians 4:13-5:1.  It was preached on June 10, 2018 at Red Spring Presbyterian in Red Springs, NC.

A Matter of Trust / A Matter of Faith

Have you ever wanted to stand out in a crowd?

Be different?

Be seen as special?

Well, there can be good and bad aspects to ‘being special’.

Sometimes it is easier to blend into the background

and not be noticed;

to be like everyone else.

When have you or I been inclined to want or do something just

to be like everyone else?

That is what the Israelites in First Samuel want…

       “to be like other nations”

They want a king and that is a problem…

Why do the Israelites want a king?

There are 2 answers…

First, they saw a king as having power,

if they were a nation with a king,

they could battle the Philistines,

they could be like the other nations.

But the Israelites are not like other nations.

The Israelites are special,

they are God’s chosen people:

God made a covenant with Abraham;

God assured Moses that the people

would be freed from slavery in Egypt.

Exodus 6

       “I will take you as my people,

         and I will be your God.”

God was with them on the journey in the wilderness.

They left Egypt,

left behind all they knew, and went out

in faith for the hope of something better:

the promised land.

The Israelites were chosen by God, transformed by God.

When Moses brought down the 10 commandments

from Mt Sinai, it had an impact of change on the Israelites.

One of my former professors in seminary,

Carson Brisson, explains it well:

They (the Israelites) as they flee Egypt

and approach Mt Sinai, (are)

little more than a horde of former slaves

at the mercy of each other and the wilderness.

But when they depart from Mt. Sinai

they are much more.

       They have received on that height

Yahweh’s divine law

                that will mold them into Yahweh’s people.

A people not like other nations.

The other answer of why the Israelites want a king

is they are searching for a way to improve their lives;

they think a king will do that.

When have you or I desired something

that we think will improve our lives?

                a new car;

                a better job;

                the latest technical gadget;

                something better and different;

                something to keep up with everyone else.

When the Israelites make their request to Samuel,

the people were not rejecting Samuel,

they are rejecting God as their king;

they are abandoning their identity as God’s people.

For “if the Lord is king then it is rebellion

to ask for a human king”.

Yes, wanting a king, wanting to be like other nations

is an expression of a loss of faith,

a failure in their trust in God.

Faith in God, faith in God’s plan for them, 

         and on some level faith in themselves;

         a king’s demands may be better than

their own choices for their lives.

When the Israelites decide to put their trust in a king,

         in human power, they are rejecting divine power;

         human authority over divine authority.

The Israelites have stumbled before in losing faith:

on their journey in the wilderness,

there was the golden calf;

they turned away from God,

the people lost their faith…

In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, he talks about faith.

     “So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.”

Do not lose heart; do not lose faith.

In the Letter to the Hebrews faith is defined as:

     “…the assurance of things hoped for,

the conviction of things not seen.”

Things not seen, Paul emphasizes the contrasts between

the seen and the unseen:

outer nature vs inner nature

wasting away vs renewed day by day

transitory vs eternal

earthly tent vs heavenly dwelling.

“…for what can be seen is temporary,

but what cannot be seen is eternal.”

The Israelites are interested in their present situation,

        their earthly situation, what is seen,

        and how they see themselves compared to other nations.

Samuel warns them of what having a king will mean…

       yet, they still desire a king.

God says yes to the Israelites’ request for a king…why?

Perhaps, God knew the people must learn

from their own mistakes.

The phrase ‘be careful what you wish for’ comes to mind.

As humans we make wrong choices,

we rely on our own judgements,

we are guilty of not listening.

What happens when our choices are in conflict with God’s will?

What are the consequences?

A harder path, confusion, sadness, loss…

Do we lose heart?

When you and I make decisions that will affect our lives,

how do we discern the right path?

We pray.

We put our trust in God.

But how well do we listen when God answers?

Paul’s words give comfort when we face our present anxieties:

     “ So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.

For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.”

Seen vs unseen; temporary vs eternal.

For us, how does the seen vs unseen challenge

our common ideas of ‘success”?

Do we have other ‘kings’ that we put our trust in

instead of trusting God?

I think that happens to all of us, more than we care to admit,

        things that are seen can give us the illusion of control.

In Henry Nouwen’s book Reaching Out,

he discusses moving from the illusion of control to prayer:

      “…it is only in the lasting effort to unmask the illusion of our existence that a real spiritual life is possible.”

In other words, you and I can have our inner nature

renewed day by day, if we are willing to put our trust not

in earthly things of security,

but in faith through prayer to God.

That can be a difficult task,

        for in our everyday lives,

we may be defined by our ‘outer nature’:

        what we drive, where we work, what we own,

how we are like everyone else.

Yet, the truth is not in the ever-changing world we know, but

in the world as it has begun to be transformed

by the power of the resurrection.

As God’s divine law transformed the Israelites

into a nation not like other nations;

the resurrection of Christ did so much more

to transform the world!

From the concerns of earthly kingdoms

to focus on God’s kingdom.

In Jesus’ time, the people were again looking

for a divine warrior,
someone to take charge,

this time to fight Rome,
to bring vengeance on their enemies,
someone to save them.

But who did God send?
   Not a warrior, yet, a savior. 

Not a king like the other nations,

not a king to make war against Rome,
but a prince of peace.

Jesus -a king, who is not like the other nations,

Jesus’ kingship is not defined by force, not like the Romans,

not like the other nations.

Jesus’ authority, his kingship, comes from God.

On this third Sunday after Pentecost, there is a focus

on the Spirit of God;

the same Spirit is in the Old and New Testament.

A spirit of faith that proclaims a trust in God.

The Holy Spirit is active in our lives today.

You and I trust in God;

we have faith in God’s power,

we strive to follow in Jesus’ footsteps,

we know the Holy Spirit is at work within each of us,

and the kingdom you and I long for

is not earthly, but eternal.

Where does God have a path/plan for us

as individuals,

as this community of faith,

and for the world?

And how should you and I discern what is God’s plan

for our lives?

Let go of the illusion of control and earthly power,

embrace the unseen, the spirit-filled life,

the renewal of our inner nature, and

the hope of God’s kingdom to come.

It all comes down to a matter of trust, a matter of faith.

                                                                Amen.