Turnaround...Going back to move forward

August 12, 2007 message by Pastor Rich Doebler

How many of you have ever attended one of your class reunions? I've lived long enough that I've been to a few high school class reunions, traveling back to Mora, Minnesota, where I graduated in 1967. It's fun to see old friends, but it's also sobering to see how they all have aged: Where did all my classmates go? There's nobody here but a bunch of bald, overweight, sagging, wrinkled grandparents. We were supposed to have a 40-year reunion in September, but not enough people responded to the invitation, so the reunion was canceled. Maybe they didn't want to go back because they didn't want to face the truth.

Going back can be difficult—especially when you're running away from something, especially when you don't want to be discovered or caught. How can you go back and face the music? How can you go back and pay the price? But there comes a time when—if we're going to go forward—we have to go back. There comes a time when we have to stop running.

Perhaps you remember the story that broke a couple years ago. Early on Saturday March 12, 2005, when 26-year-old Ashley Smith returned to her suburban Atlanta apartment from a nearby convenience store, she was ambushed by Brian Nichols. Nichols was the focus of the biggest manhunt in Georgia history, wanted for the murders of four individuals in a killing spree that began the day before.

In the hours that followed Ashley engaged the fugitive in conversation. She told him her husband had died four years earlier and that if anything happened to her, her five-year-old daughter wouldn't have a daddy or a mommy. Nichols untied her.

Then Ashley pulled out her Bible and a copy of The Purpose Driven Life, which she had been reading. She asked if she could read to him, and Nichols agreed. Opening Rick Warren's book to where she'd left off, she began to read the first paragraph from Day 33 of the 40 Days of Purpose. The passage deals with the gifts and talents God gives each person to fulfill a unique life purpose.

Ashley looked into his face and told him he needed hope for his life. Nichols responded, "Look at me, look at my eyes. I am already dead."

She countered, "You are not dead. You are standing right in front of me. If you want to die, you can. It's your choice."

Then Ashley said, "You are here for a reason. You're here in my apartment for some reason."

Attempting to get him to turn himself in, she said, "You need to be caught for this. You need to go to prison, and you need to share the Word of God with them, with all the prisoners there."

After hearing Ashley read from Warren's book and observing her faith in God and genuine interest in his life, Nichols was willing to contemplate turning himself in. Nichols told Ashley he believed she was an angel sent from God because he was lost, and that God had led him right to her. When he allowed Ashley to leave the apartment, the brave woman called 911. [Source: CNN.com (3-14-05)]

Today I want to look at the story of another fugitive—a man who was running away from his past, hiding from the authorities. His name was Moses. God had a plan for his life. But before he could fulfill the plan, he had to respond to God's call to return from the desert where he'd been hiding. He had to turn around and go back to Egypt and pick up where he left off. Moses had to deal with his past before he could move forward.

Exodus 3:7-10 - 7 The LORD said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt."

Do you remember Moses' story? Remember how he ended up in the desert for 40 years? He was born to a Hebrew family while the Jews were slaves in the land of Egypt. Pharaoh had commanded that all the Jewish baby boys should be put to death, but Moses' mother hid him in a floating basket in the marsh. When Pharaoh's daughter saw the basket and discovered a little baby in it, she decided she wanted to keep the baby. A nurse was found (Moses' own mother) and his life was spared. So Moses, a Hebrew, grew up in Pharaoh's palace, educated in all the ways of the Egyptians.

Exodus 2:11-15 - 11 One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. 12 Glancing this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13 The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, "Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?" 14 The man said, "Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?" Then Moses was afraid and thought, "What I did must have become known." 15 When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian, where he sat down by a well.

Exodus 2:21-22 - 21 Moses agreed to stay with the man, who gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage. 22 Zipporah gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, "I have become an alien in a foreign land."

Exodus 4:19-20 - 19 Now the LORD had said to Moses in Midian, "Go back to Egypt, for all the men who wanted to kill you are dead." 20 So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey and started back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand.

"Picking up where you left off"—Moses had to backtrack. He had to return to Pharaoh's palace before he could move toward the Promised Land. After 40 years trying to escape his past, Moses had to go back to it so he could begin his work among the Hebrews (again). Having tried to take matters into his own hands, he had to start over again—this time putting matters into God's hands.

Have you found it difficult to go back and start over again? It can be a hard thing, but it's necessary if we want to "move forward." Going back to Egypt was difficult for Moses for several reasons:

1. Moses lacked confidence that he could actually accomplish what needed to be done. He had failed in the past trying to do something good; why should he dare believe anything would be different this time? He had nothing but excuses about why he could not return to his calling.

If we lack confidence in our abilities...if we lack faith in God's gifts to us, we'll resist going back and starting over.

We don't need confidence in ourselves so much as confidence in God—faith that he can use even us!

2. Moses didn't like the feeling of going backwards. He wasn't eager to retrace his steps from Midian to Egypt; it seemed a waste of time and energy to go back over the same ground.

It can be humiliating to go backwards in life. It doesn't feel good to lose ground. We talk about a "spiritual journey"—and we assume each step is about making progress. But the fact is, we may need to regress before we can progress.

It can be a positive thing at times to go back—to take remedial steps...go back to right a wrong, to go back and take a different turn. Sometimes we have to repeat something to finally get it right.

Practicing a musical instrument, you may have to "take it from the top"—start back at the beginning and go over the piece another time to get it right.

God's will and purpose often requires perseverance and hard work. A good thing is not necessarily an easy or convenient thing. The best things often require sacrifice.

3. Moses didn't want to rehash the past—who wants to? Moses was a no longer a member of Pharaoh's family. He'd become a fugitive—in hiding—wanting to forget his record. He was trying to hide from his past and his old identity. But his rap sheet prevented him from fulfilling his new identity.

It's no fun rehashing the past—remembering our old mistakes. It's an unpleasant task to have to return to the scene of our failures.

I have a friend who bombed the first time he preached a sermon. His mind went blank. All his preparations went down the tubes. He sputtered a few nonsensical sentences and walked out the side door of the church. He wandered the streets of New York for hours. Nobody could find him. Humiliated and defeated, he begged God to not make him a preacher. He was determined never to preach again. But eventually he had to go back to face his humiliation so he could fulfill God's call on his life.

Moses had to return to his roots, however, if he was going to finish God's call. Sometimes we have to reconcile with our past—make restitution, reconcile with someone, right our wrongs.

The only way we can get on with our life is to deal with our past. We have to right our wrongs. We have to stop running from our history, from our family, from our dysfunction, from our failure, from our pain, from our embarrassment. When we stop running away and face our past, then God can finally give us a new future.

4. Moses didn't want to accept his calling. It was easier to run away, but God prevailed until finally Moses had to stop making excuses.

God calls each of us—not just to salvation, but to an eternal purpose. Even if we've tried and failed, even if we've undermined God's call by trying to do our own thing, even if we've run away from God's plan for us, God still wants to do his work in us. God still wants to use us for his purpose. God hasn't given up on us! It's never too late to stop making excuses; it's never too late to obey God; it's never too late to accept calling.

I'll never forget hearing my grandfather tearfully telling me how he'd failed to answer God's call. "Don't run from God's call," he told me.

5. Moses needed a transformation. Going back required major change within Moses. Changing his attitude and his behavior was not something Moses could do on his own—a complete and radical heart transformation could occur only if God did it in him.

The picture of this change is Moses' shepherd's staff. His staff became God's staff—the staff of God. God's power replaced his best efforts, his skills, his training, his experience. Moses quit his job; he walked away from the sheep; he left Midian and everything that had become familiar and comfortable; he let go of 40 years to start all over again.

Because Moses met God at the burning bush, he was changed. Because he had an encounter with God, he could go back to where he had left off. Because God did a work in his life, he could stop making excuses.

Moses went back to his roots, but he went with God—with God's resources and authority. Moses spoke with authority to Pharaoh; he delivered God's Word; and he led God's people out of Egypt.

God calls us to deal with our past—but he promises to go with us and transform us so we can start all over again.

Excuses:

(1) Exodus 3:11 - But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" This is the "I'm-not-good-enough" excuse—self-esteem so low that it denies God's call and purpose. It's an insult to God who created us in his image, who equips us with his power and resources, and who designs us with an eternal purpose and plan. The devil says you're not good enough. God says you are!

(2) Exodus 3:13 - Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, ‘What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" This is the "I'm-not-smart-enough" excuse—I won't know what to say. This also is an insult to God because we're saying he can't teach us or show us.

(3) Exodus 4:1 - Moses answered, "What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you'?" This is the "it-might-not-work" excuse—and there are two problems with this: (a) too little faith (questioning the God's plan) and (b) missing the point (he calls you to go—he doesn't make you responsible for what others decide or do).

(4) Exodus 4:10 - Moses said to the LORD, "O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue." This is the "too-many-obstacles-and-hindrances" excuse—it's saying that your problems cannot be solved; that God is unable to overcome the challenges.

(5) Exodus 4:13 - But Moses said, "O Lord, please send someone else to do it." This is the "it's-too-much-hassle" excuse—it's copping out, it's rejecting God's call and purpose because it's too inconvenient, because it's too difficult, because it may require a sacrifice. Think of the great men and women of the faith who have been obedient to God's call—Jan Hus didn't just preach the truth, he was burned at the stake; Martin Luther didn't just reform the church, he was vilified and put on trial; John Wycliffe didn't just translate the Scriptures into the common language, he was martyred for his work; Jim Elliot didn't just go to a foreign land, he died on the end of a spear.

No wonder Moses wanted someone else to go! There is a price to pay...but there are far more benefits and rewards than there are sacrifices. Because of the joy he knew was coming, Jesus willingly endured the cross! (Heb 12:2)

For every challenge that threatens to interfere with your call, God always has an answer. "God will never lead you where his grace cannot keep you." Moses had excuses, but God had promises...

Promises:

(1) Exodus 3:12 - And God said, "I will be with you..."

(2) Exodus 3:20 - I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians...

(3) Exodus 4:12 - Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.

(4) Exodus 4:15 - I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do.

(5) Exodus 4:17 - But take this staff in your hand so you can perform miraculous signs with it.