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Sunday, June 15, 2008
Pastor Rod Pudell

Sermon Text: Hebrews 11: 8-10 Genesis 12:1-5
Sermon Theme: Driving Down The Road of Life…When You Have to Move!

Americans are movers. According to the U.S Census Bureau, over the past 50 years, 40% of all renters and 10% of all homeowners move every 15 months. Other surveys and studies indicated that renters move every couple of years and homeowners tend to move every ten to twelve years, depending on the age of their children. Here are some other eye-opening statistics on moving:
  • 42 million people move each year in the U.S - 1 in 4 adults
  • People who are moving spend more during the 3 months surrounding their move than non-movers spend in 5  years.
  • Relocating homeowners spend as much as $10,000 on “feathering the nest” purchases alone; relocating apartment dwellers spend around $4,000
  • Individuals move 11.7 times in their lifetime (and I guess I’m about as average as it gets since if you count “school moves”, I’ve already moved 10 times with a retirement or nursing home move looming somewhere in the future)
  • Over 15% of people moving are moving out-of-state.
  • The average homeowner sells his or her home every five to seven years.
  • Almost 40% of the families that relocate have two wage-earners.
  • Relocation ranks as the third most stressful life event.
Now that last statistic is one that I would disagree with, because I would rank moving as the most stressful event and worst job in the world. The only thing that makes it more tolerable is sharing this exercise-in-misery with good friends – after all, as you all well know, misery loves company!

Well, a couple of years ago I had to undergo that harrowing experience when my family moved from our home in Eagan to the Living Hope side of our ministry and to our present home in Prior Lake. And it was the many of your people sitting here who not only made it tolerable but actually enjoyable with your backbreaking efforts and endless enthusiasm. Some of you were gluttons for punishment, helping us at both moving sites so that we could accomplish this gargantuan task in just one day. And the fellowship that we enjoyed afterwards is something that I will never forget – something that really made me feel at home.

Oh, don’t get me wrong…I’m still not a fan of moving. I’m still having mail sent to my old address. I’m still discovering long lost items packed away in boxes – and this was last week! I’m still missing information and files that seem to have mysteriously vanished. No, I’m not a friend of moving. I don’t even like moving the furniture around and rearranging a room as my wife used to do at the drop of a hat. (By the way, that’s the advantage of moving to a smaller house. There are only so many different combinations that can work in those little rooms.) No, I like things comfortable and familiar – the reason most people give for NOT moving.

But in all honesty, there are some good reasons for moving to a new home, a new location, a new situation in life. Many times moves happen because of new beginnings – a new marriage, or the birth of children. They happen because new opportunities present themselves to us in life – a new job, a new career. And all of those can be rather exciting. But sometimes the situations surrounding and precipitating a move are less than favorable: failing health, a failing marriage, financial difficulty because of a strike or a work stoppage, or a loss of a job. And that kind of move – that new beginning – isn’t that exciting anymore. Instead we long for the good old days when life was comfortable and everything was familiar.

As much as we often enjoy the familiar and comfortable, and fear the unknown, God causes these new beginnings and these “moves” for a good reason – to carry out his plan in our life and fulfill his purposes. Today as we continue our sermon series, Driving Down The Road Of Life, we are going to join the patriarch Abraham in posing the question: What do YOU do…When You Have To Move?

Now in all likelihood, there probably is never a great time to move. It perhaps becomes even more difficult after you have become settled for some time. I know that in my move, we had lived at our Eagan house for over 15 years; and I was amazed at the amount of accumulated junk that had piled up in the garage and storage areas. And of course, I’m not getting any younger. My aching back bothered me for over a week. Yet aside from these physical challenges, it’s still never easy to move – to leave family and loved ones – to leave the security of everything that was so familiar behind you.

Now if it is tough for one of us, imagine how difficult it was for the hero of faith, Abraham, in our text. This wasn’t a move across the street or across town. His move would require a journey of weeks upon weeks through some of the most desolate country imaginable. What’s more, there would be none of the conveniences we expect or employ in our moves: no moving trucks – no McDonald’s, Motel 6, or rest areas along the way. I’m sure they were hoping just to find some water to survive this journey because many people didn’t back then! They didn’t even have a clue where they were going. Last week we talked about traveling off your triptik or your map, but at this time there weren’t even any maps of that region. They would have to navigate blindly. God had told then to just start walking and he would direct them and tell them when to stop. What’s more, Abraham was not getting any younger. He was 75 years old when God told him that he had to move. Talk about being comfortable and set in your ways! Abraham was retirement age when he’s asked to leave it all behind – his family, friends, his secure life, everything familiar to him – and start over in a totally new environment where he wouldn’t even speak the native language. I’m sure that his friends and family members probably thought that he was out of his mind to even contemplate such a move!

So how could he just get up and move as our text tells us? It was solely because of the promises of his God. God had a grand and glorious new beginning in mind for Abraham and all the people of the world. He said, “Don’t be afraid of this change – this move – because I will lead you and I will bless you every step of the way. I will make you into a great nation. Your descendants will be as the stars in the heaven and the sand of the seashore. I will make your name great. Even people halfway across the world in the year 2008 will be talking about the name, Abraham. I will bless those that bless you and curse those that curse you. And you’re going to be a blessing to others. In fact, there’s the great news: all peoples on earth will be blessed through you because the promised Messiah, the Savior of the world, will be one of your descendants and will be born from your family line. So don’t worry about the move. Everything will turn out all right!

That’s what allowed Abraham to leave Haran – to leave the safety and security of his comfortable and familiar setting. That’s what allowed Abraham to take that first step across the vast, uncharted wilderness. We are simply told in Genesis 15:6:
Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
Literally, Abram “leaned his whole weight” – that’s what the Hebrew actually means – on the promises of his God – that God would keep his promises and take care of him on each and every move – because there was no way that Abram could take care of himself and carry his own weight. He put his entire trust in the Lord not only for this life, but also for the life to come. He knew he was sinful – that He couldn’t be perfect and save himself. So Abram leaned his whole weight on that Promised Savior that would be a blessing for all people. And the Lord “credited” to him as righteousness – literally gave him the benefit. In our day and age, “credit” means to receive the benefit of something you don’t actually have. My credit cards give me the benefit of buying things for thousands of dollars even though I don’t have a nickel on me. Abraham leaned his whole weight not on himself or the good works that he would perform, but on this promised Savior who would perform the ultimate sacrifice on his behalf. And by faith in that promise, he received the benefit of Christ’s righteousness and salvation. Can you begin to understand why when God directed, Abraham could “move” while the rest of the world was standing still? As the writer to the Hebrews stated:
He was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. Hebrews 11:10
Each and every time Abraham would be called upon to make a move and take a step in faith, God would reassure him by repeating these precious promises. And He does the same for us! Odds are you are going to be called upon to do some “moving” during your lifetime – and it may not just be a change of residency. Donna Shalala, Secretary of Health and Human Services wrote:
In this rapidly changing world, we can no longer think in terms of a single job…a single career…a single calling for a lifetime. You will change careers – not jobs – but careers five to seven times over the course of your working lives. Today, the average 35 year old has changed jobs six or seven times since starting to work. Less and less of you will have predictable jobs or normal careers. That means far more flexibility and far less security than your parents enjoyed. And you may be working in a job tomorrow that doesn’t exist today – or, vice versa, in a job today that won’t exist tomorrow. This world of change, with all of its potential and promise, shouldn’t be seen as an unfortunate development. It surely will be a challenge – the most important of your lives!
These types of changes, challenges, and moves WILL take place throughout your life. And sometimes these changes may not be the most welcome. Sometimes these types of “moves” will happen because of a different or difficult life-altering situation that suddenly arises – an illness, injury, a disability – that makes your former “normal” existence seem like a distant memory; and you have to move on and make some major adjustments that affect so many people around you. Maybe because of age, you just can’t take care of the homestead or house like you used to. Maybe you can’t really take care of yourself and you need the care that an assisted living or nursing home can provide. Maybe the change that you will face will be that company buyout or bankruptcy when the plant that three generations of your family worked in suddenly closes down and you have to leave your former way of life and look elsewhere. You have to move on. Maybe the situation you might face could be a natural disaster like some of the families in the Lake Delton area experienced as they watched their homes tumble into the water and everything they ever owned in life get swept away. What’s left but to move – move in with family and friends – move on and start over like Abraham.

Those won’t be easy times when, like Abraham, you’re asked to move to a place in life that you’ve never been before – when you won’t know what to expect, where to turn, where you’re going, or how to get there. So how will it be possible for you to make such a move and take the first step? It begins by following Abraham’s example and trusting in God’s promises. The very same promises that God spoke to Abraham, he speaks to you constantly through His Word: I will bless you and work everything out for your good. I will be with you every step of the way. I will guide you through every twist and turn as Scripture continuously reminds us:
The Lord will guide you always. Isaiah 58:11
For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end. Psalm 48:14
Like Abraham it will require you to lean your whole weight on your God at times and understand that if God closes one door, He promises to open another that will be far better. As you’ve looked back, no doubt you have discovered this for yourself. And if you have any qualms and concerns as you face future moves, just consider how faithfully God has kept his greatest promise in sending his own Son, Jesus Christ, to live, die and rise again to pay for your sins and assure you of forgiveness, life, and salvation.

Life is a series of moves – from birth, growth, death, to eternity. It even goes back to the time when we were in the womb. It was nice and warm in there. We were comfortable and all our needs were being taken care of. Suddenly it came time for us to be born. And we fought and we cried. We probably didn’t want to make such a move at that time. But then we were born into a far brighter and more beautiful world then we could have ever imagined. So it is with so many of the moves that God will bring into our lives all the way to the point of our death. At that time we will once again struggle and cry; and God will use that move to bring us to the brightest and most glorious eternal home than we even could imagine. My friends, there will be times when we would just as soon prefer to stay in one place when life’s circumstances move us to a new place or a new location, for whatever the reason. But like Abraham, these unforeseeable and unplanned events in our life push us along in our faith journey with God. Like Abraham, they will be used by our God to draw us closer to him, refine our faith and relationship in Him, and make us into the type of followers we will need to be to make the next move. At such life-changing times, let’s remember the words of Psalm 121:
The Lord will keep you from all harm – he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. 121:7-8

Because then, regardless of what happens, we can cheerfully and confidently say, “It’s your move, Lord!”

        Amen

Sunday, June 8, 2008
Pastor Rod Pudell

Sermon Text: Hebrews 11:24-28
Sermon Theme: Driving Down The Highway of Life…When You’re Off the Map!

Before the days of GPS and Mapquest, there was the Triptik. Some of you fondly remember that book that AAA would produce for its members to map out their specific road trips. Every family vacation my dad would faithfully go to AAA to get his Triptik that would direct his every twist and turn along the highway. And that book was great. It assured you of worry free travel. All you had to do was to follow the green line and flip the pages and you were certain to get to your destination in the best possible way.

And it worked perfectly…until my mother would get her hands on it. Invariably she always wanted to go off the map, which would frustrate and sometimes infuriate my father to no end.

This is how it would often happen. We’d be traveling along so very nicely, following the green line, until my mom would see a road sign: Reptile Gardens, Largest Ball of Twine, Indian Trading Post, Alligator Farm next right. And suddenly she would insist that we could not live another day and still maintain some standard of happiness and quality of life without immediately deviating from my father’s Triptik and taking in such amazing attractions. And guys, you know how it works. In spite of his protests, all of his plans would be thrown out the window and we would be taking this most necessary detour. Sometimes we would be off the map for hours, because they would so very conveniently never tell you exactly how far you would have to travel along that right turn detour to get to these spectacular stops. We’d be traveling down dusty roads that led seemingly nowhere – roads that went from four lanes to two lanes to cow paths.

It was never what we planned. But what was always so surprising is that each and every detour was enjoyable and became a memorable part of the trip!

This should sound somewhat familiar because it happens to all of us in life. We often like to draw up our own Triptik for our life. We’ve made all the plans – all the stops along the way. We know exactly where we’re going and how we are going to get there. And then God takes us off the map to fulfill His purpose and to bring about His results. In Proverbs 16:9, Solomon puts it this way:

In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.

That was certainly true for Moses throughout his life as our text for this morning so clearly points out. Moses was the little Hebrew baby drawn from the water and adopted by the daughter of the Pharaoh of Egypt. He grew up royal with any and every advantage as befitting his high station in life. For 40 years he had the best teachers, the best education. No doubt he was being groomed to become another great statesman and leader for the country of Egypt. I am sure that Moses had every intention according to his own map for his life to remain royal, perhaps even using that position to help his enslaved people.

But then at 40 years of age, God took him off the map to follow a different route. Moses killed an Egyptian taskmaster who was beating a fellow Hebrew. He went from royal to radical – from privileged to public enemy number one. He had to flee for his life to the land of Midian – remain there as a nomad shepherd in the wilderness for another 40 years. Then at the age of 80, he’s called upon to take his life into his hands, go back to Egypt, and demand that the Pharaoh free God’s people from their slavery and allow them to return to the Promised Land – a message that certainly would not be warmly greeted. And when after a series of plagues that very thing happens and God’s people are freed, he’s the one who is called upon to lead this stubborn and sometimes faithless group of a million and a half people through the desert for another forty years. I’m sure that during this time Moses had to wonder why all this was happening? He had it all planned out – to live in a royal palace and enjoy all the finer things of life. He had it all mapped out – to live the quiet peaceful existence of a shepherd with his wife and two children. Why did his life take such a drastic turn?

It became very evident to this sometimes reluctant hero of faith that God had to take Moses off his own Triptik and map to carry out God’s plan and God’s purposes. It was necessary for Moses to grow up in a royal palace to learn leadership and governing a great amount of people. It was certainly advantageous to know your Egyptian adversary inside and out. It was important for Moses to spend those 40 years wandering as a nomad shepherd in the Negev. It would certainly come in handy in finding water holes and oasis when traveling with God’s chosen people through that very same region. It wasn’t coincidence but rather part of God’s plan and purpose that Moses would meet and marry a girl whose father was named, Reuel, which means “friend of God,” so that for 40 years Moses could become far more acquainted with this God who would play such a big part in his life. If Moses would have been drawing up his triptik, he probably wouldn’t have made any of these stops along the way. But God took him off the map to carry out his own plan and his own purpose.

In a lot of ways, I am also a great example of that. Those of you who know my background probably understand that all too clearly. Kind of like the Apostle Paul in our Scripture reading, I had mapped out a life that was leading me anywhere but the ministry. I was going to make big money, hang with my friends - perhaps get into a little trouble along the way. But God had a different purpose and plan in mind! He brought several teachers into my life to carry out a salvage mission to take me off my map and place me on His. He had a 7th grade teacher named Hans Johansen who was instrumental in getting me out of Benton Harbor – away from the family troubles, the gangs, the drugs, the violence – and enrolled in a school 200 miles away called Michigan Lutheran Seminary where I would be surrounded by a whole new groups of friends who weren’t into controlled substances or destructive behavior. It was there that he caused another teacher, Jerry Kruse, to become my advisor and one of my coaches. He wouldn’t give me the application blank to DMLC. No, he said I should go to our pastoral training school – Northwestern College – because then you could be both a pastor or a teacher throughout your lifetime. And that’s exactly what happened. My original map would never have me speaking to you this morning. But God took me off the map to accomplish His plan and His purpose.

How has God directed you off of your map? I always remember a quote from a sermon that Pastor Liesener preached some time ago when he reminded us: The question is not if you are going to take a detour in life. It’s when? All of us have been asked from time to time to take and make such detours from our plans. Looking back, you probably have to agree with me that some of those turns have been surprisingly enjoyable: The birth of children and later grandchildren that drastically change our lives in ways we could hardly imagine. Maybe it’s been a very fulfilling and rewarding occupation that somehow you just fell into. Maybe you experienced some unexpected turn of good fortune that has left you comfortable and financially secure. Those were some great turns and trips along the road of life.

But maybe you were called upon to make some sudden detours that have been a lot more difficult and scary. Maybe just when life was going smoothly you experienced a health issue that completely changed your course in life – a debilitating disease or injury. Or maybe it was the change of an occupation or career that was not as welcome or profitable – that was forced upon you because of strike, a merger, a consolidation, a bankruptcy.

Maybe some of you are still struggling with the detour you are presently taking – a detour that is still unexplained and difficult to understand. Why do I have diabetes, spinal bifida, MS, cancer? Why did I lose my job, my marriage, my loved one in death? I didn’t plan for this on MY map – to have to travel part of the way alone now! Why are you taking me off the map, God?

You’re not alone if you have those questions. Moses did as well. And it was his patient, kind, merciful, and loving God that answered them for Moses and for each of us today. When Moses had his fears and doubts, God reminded him that he would never be traveling alone. God would be with him every step of the way. He would bless him. He would give him assistance in sending his brother Aaron to be his spokesman. He would demonstrate his power and deliverance at each and every turn – working everything out for his good. And he would get him and his people to that ultimate destination – that Promised Land.

Those precious promises made it so much easier for Moses to let go of the steering wheel and go along for the ride. And it is that same God and those same promises that can and will do the same for us. It can be scary going off the map. You’re not sure where you are going – how things are going to turn out. But like Moses you have the promises of a faithful God – a God who says, “Cast all your care upon me, because I care for you!” – a God who promises to be with us and guide us on every twist and turn of life’s highway – a Savior, Jesus Christ, who lived for us, died for us, and has assured us of a prepared home in the heavenly promised land at the end of our journey here. With those kinds of promises, it becomes a lot easier to go along for the ride when God takes us off our map – a lot easier to follow the advice of the Psalmist David:

Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will do this. Psalm 37:5

God takes us off the map to accomplish his plan and carry out His purposes. At the end of his journey, I think Moses could look back and understand that all the detours were for this very reason. And I pray that it will be the same for you as well. Maybe right now you don’t see God’s purpose in turning your life upside down. Maybe he’s going to use this present detour and challenge to bring you closer to him than ever before – to rely on him more – to pray more fervently. Maybe he’s going to use this challenge and detour to demonstrate His power, His presence, His deliverance in you life like never before. And maybe his purpose is not just for you but for others – to draw them closer to God – to pray more fervently to God on your behalf. Maybe during this detour as you demonstrate faith, love, and trust in your preserving, providing, and saving God in such an amazing way, you will preach a far more powerful sermon to the people around you than I ever will from this pulpit.

At last Wednesday’s Bible Class, as I was explaining to them what I would be preaching on today, one of our members, Dean Conrad said, “Pastor, I have a quote you can use: “If you want to make God laugh, just tell Him your plans.” And the more I thought about it, the more I had to smile and realize how true that statement is. Maybe that’s why Solomon has such wonderful advice for us:

In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps….
Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. The Lord works out everything for his own ends…Proverbs 16:9. 3-4

Every hero of faith in the Bible, like Moses, had those times when God took him off his map. You will too. But like them God will determine your steps and work out everything for his own ends. My friends, at those times when you encounter those detours in life, let’s follow the example of Moses and the other heroes of faith. Let’s trust our God. Let’s allow Him to do the driving. And let’s enjoy the ride! Amen