12th Sunday after Trinity – Sermon 90

Prayer to start

May the words of my lips and the thoughts of our hearts be graciously received for the glory and honour of our Lord Jesus Christ

AMEN

Introduction 

Impossible Jams – we’ve all experienced them –

One minute we’re cruising down an open road – not a car in sight – next minute we’re jamming on the brakes – and we are in a 10 mile traffic queue –

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could just wave a magic wand – and unclog the whole mess –

Life’s a bit like that – one minute everything’s fine – next – we’re in the middle of a crisis – and there seems to be no way out –

How do we cope?
What can we do about it?
Where do we go for help?

Our reading from the Book of Exodus – tells us of an impossible jam – the Israelites found themselves in – when their – flight to freedom was shattered by an advancing Egyptian army behind – and an un-crossable sea in front – with the help of this and our NT reading we are going to see what we can learn from their experience – to help us today

 
Point 1   The Red Sea experience 

They must have been traveling for about a week – there would have been time – to talk about and marvelous things that God had done for them – the plagues – the Passover – the pillar of cloud by day – and the pillar of fire by night –

It was all going so well – until they’d realized that the road they had taken was leading to a watery end – And to make matters worst – the Egyptians had mustered an army – to chase after them – and were right behind them –

What shall do they do – what would we do – if we were in their shoes? – panic!?

The first thing they did was – point the finger at Moses –

“Were there no graves in Egypt, that you have brought us here to perish ….– see what you have done to us by bringing us out of Egypt – Better for us to serve as slaves … than to perish in the wilderness”

Faced with a choice between the devil and the deep blue sea – they opted for the devil –

The problem was – they’d become so used to living in slavery – that they’d become almost comfortable with it – and were willing to go back to it –

It can be a bit like that with us too – we can get so used to our past ways – that sometimes its a wrench to change

Sometimes – like the Israelites – we have to go through a red sea experience – in order to leave the past behind –

If we read through the last 6 verses of chapter 13 and the first 2 verses of chapter 14 – we will see that God has in-fact directed them to this spot – their predicament was no coincidence – it was all planned – God clearly – had something to say to the Israelites and the Egyptians.

Because the Israelites – had made that first important step towards freedom – God wasn’t about to let them turn back again – If we too are serious about following Him – and the freedom He offers – then there must be no U-turns for us –

God commands – the pillar of cloud to move to the rear of the convoy – and cover the Egyptians with darkness – while the Israelites were still in the light

Moses raised up his staff – held his hand over the sea and divided the waters – A strong east wind blew – and the Israelites walk across on dry ground – with the sea forming a wall either side of them –

When the Egyptians try to follow – through that same opening – the wheels of their chariots clogg up – in the mud – and send them – into confusion and panic-

when the Israelites reached the other side – Moses held out his hand again – and the waters returned to their usual place – sweeping the Egyptians away

Dramatic stuff – And not one Egyptian survived –
the eyewitness account reports – dead bodies lying on the sea shore – signaling the final end of their former life in Egypt

Their deliverance is complete – there is no turning back now – the only way is forward – to wherever God was leading –

One thing the Israelites were absolutely convinced about – was that they couldn’t have got through their ordeal – without God’s help –

And it’s the same for us – today – when we are faced with a seemingly impossible situation – the only way we can get out of it – is for God to take charge – so to help us face our problems – we need to ask for His help –His deliverance – which brings us on to the subject of our NT lesson – prayer –

 

Point 2      Powerful Prayer

Ask any Christians what they find hardest in the Christian life – and they’ll probably answer
“prayer” –

we can’t find the time
we can’t find the words
we can’t see any answers from it

Prayer is probably the most under-used, under-rated, unknown source of power that has been given to us by God —

In our NT lesson – Jesus tells us – there’s a right way – and a wrong way to pray –

The first thing we have to realize is – that we are not on parade –

“Do not announce your intentions with a flourish of trumpets” – says Jesus – “do not be like the hypocrites who stand in synagogues and street corners for everyone to see – do not make your face so that everyone can see what you are doing”

“Instead pray to the Father – who is in secret: and your Father who sees what is done in secret – will reward you” –

In other words – give God His proper place –

When His disciples asked Jesus what words thye should use – He gave them a simple framework to follow –

He begins with the word “Father” – to show that our prayers must be entered upon in child like trust

As a dad my children know that they can come and talk to me anytime – they are part of the family – my family – and the door is always open – it’s the same with God –

"Your kingdom come – your will be done " – We need to invite God’s power into our situation – submit ourselves totally to Him – – As Jesus says – “Not my will Father, but yours”–
in other words – we have to give Jesus the car keys – and go and sit in the back seat – (with our mouths shut)-

“Give us our daily Bread” – what we ask for is important – Jesus tells us to bring our needs before God – all of them – and tell Him how we feel – prayer should come from the heart – not from the head –

One evening a father over-heard his young daughter praying in her bedroom – the door was open – just enough to hear – what things she was bringing before God

A –B –C –D – E – F- G – -she went through all the letters of the alphabet – after a few minutes she started again – A –B –C –D – E – F- G –he didn’t want to interrupt her – but eventually his curiosity got the better of him and he went in – and asked her what she was doing –

“I’m praying daddy”- she said – but why are you praying the alphabet he asked –

I started my prayers – but wasn’t sure what to pray – so I decided to say all the letters of the alphabet – and let God put them together -however He thinks best –

God’s grace is free – but its not cheap – we’ve got to be serious about what we are saying – we’ve also got to pray as Jesus would pray –

Sometimes what we ask for – is not the best thing for us – we pray for sweets – without realizing that what we need is food – sometimes – like the Israelites – we feel He’s letting us down – when in fact – He’s providing a solution that is best for us – at this point in our lives – as our true Father – He puts our real needs first – we have to trust and believe in His answe

 

 
Point 3     Go forward with God –

Trust and faith – are easy words to say – but hard words to live up to – and the trouble with big problems – is that they’re hard to give away – Like a warning light – the – anxiety keeps coming back –
when this happens we have to keep going back to God – again – and again – until we can finally leave it with Him –

“forgive us our sins, as we forgive all who have done us wrong" – we cannot do any other than pray for forgiveness – forgiveness is the first of God’s gifts to us through Jesus – and its our first duty – to forgive those around us –

we must forgive to be forgiven – forgiveness doesn’t make the other person right – but it sets us free

when we refuse to forgive we allow the sin that was committed to hurt us twice – once when it was made – and again by keeping us from receiving God’s forgiveness –

Just as we trust Him to stand between us and our sins – so we must trust Him to stand between us and our circumstances –

Prayer comes easiest when we are in a desperate situation – when our needs and our prayers are intense – that’s when we show God that we’re really serious about what we pray –

No doubt you’ve all heard the story of the three rectors – discussing the most effective way of praying –

One thought the best way to pray was with your hands together and pointed upwards – The second one said the only way to pray is on your knees –
The third one said the only position worth its salt – was to be stretched out flat – on your face –

Behind them – listening to their conversation was a telephone repair-man working – on top of his pole – he decided he couldn’t stay out of the conversation any longer –

“I found the most powerful prayer I ever prayed – was while I was dangling upside down by my heels suspended forty feet above the ground.”

"And put us not to the test" – we know our weaknesses – and we have to pray to be delivered from them – when we journey with God – He is our protector – and provider – And in the end – just like the Israelites – we have a choice to make – whether to follow Him or not

 

Ending

When God says “yes’ to our prayers – is a great boost to our faith – we feel like telling the whole world – others may say its just a coincidence – we know its not –

Jesus has given us the secret of getting our prayers answered with a “yes” – ‘If you dwell in me – and I dwell in you –ask whatever you want – and you shall be have it’

In other words – we can’t do anything great for God – unless He does something great in us – through Jesus Christ – we must repent – and obey –ask God – to fill us and change us – with the Holy Spirit – to help us go forward – His way –

In the end – there’s only one way out of impossible jam – and that’s the way of Jesus Christ –

Prayer to finish

AMEN