what are we here for?

What are we here for? A deep question which many people ask themselves every day they are alive, and some never feel they ever find the answer.

Sex, drugs, Rock and Roll, football, religion, work, the list is endless when it comes to the many possible answers that are given but do any of these satisfy and are any of them actually the correct answer, if there is one.

I have to admit to struggling with today’s sermon, I felt the readings were the correct readings for the service and the hymns were easy to pick, but I just couldn’t work out what it was God wanted to say, which is a major hurdle to get over when preparing a service.

Then I realised what I had forgotten to do, I had not prayed and listened to God to hear his voice. Now as I write this I believe I know what God wants to say to us all today, and I’m afraid it is pretty simple to say it but it’s often very hard to actually do it. Put into two simple words God wants us to “Remember him”.

Moses, possibly the greatest Bible hero and one of the first freedom fighters, started his journey by spending time with God and not only listening to him but also by having a full open and honest discussion with him. Yes Moses saw a burning bush and was called by name, which possibly made him feel like he was cracking up under the pressure of looking after all those sheep, but he didn’t run away, he didn’t even try to put the fire out, he stayed and listened to what God wanted and then said why me, amongst other things, and had a long discussion bringing up every possible reason why what God wanted was unrealistic and unfair.

God didn’t mind though, infact I think God was probably happy that Moses was thinking through what might happen, Gods response was to listen to Moses’ concerns and say, I will give you all you need and here are two miraculous signs which will help you, and if that’s not enough don’t worry because I will be there alongside you to teach you. God only got angry at the point that our reading stopped, when even after getting all the proof and protection he needed Moses still begged God to send someone else.

Surely this model should be a model for our prayer lives, and our lives in general. Respect and honesty were vital for this part of Moses’ life to get of the ground. Moses approached God with the respect he demands and deserves but was still willing and able to almost argue with God and challenge him saying “yes but why me” or “I am afraid” or “what if this happens”. Often we can get so preoccupied with respecting God that we forget he wants us to be totally honest to him, and to the same point we can also get so caught up with the honesty factor that we forget about the respect. There obviously is no one right way of praying but it must be important, however we communicate with God, to get this balance right.

The other thing Moses done was listen and respond to God. He didn’t throw all his questions and concerns at God at once, he gave time for God to respond first, and then he responded. He had a conversation with God. Although I don’t for one minute want you all sat in silence waiting till you hear voices I do feel it’s important to question how much time we spend waiting for answers, or put simply listening to God. I once took a group of young people away for a few days and on the final night I challenged them all to have one hour of silence where they didn’t sleep or anything like that but they actually asked God to speak to them and they waited for the answer. Nearly all of them put that as the time which most touched them during the few days and they all said they truly felt God speak to them through the silence.

Today we are all so busy, many of us work 6or 7 10 hour days each week, Sundays are now more often the housework day than actually being a day of rest, and don’t get me wrong I am definitely not condemning anyone for that being the case. But what I am saying is how do we expect to hear God and to have the type of relationship God wants with us if we are not prepared to put some time aside to listen to him?

Imagine you never spoke to your husband or wife, yes it might lead to less arguments but it would also lead to a much weaker relationship. “Honour the Sabbath and keep it holy”, maybe today is the day we all need to look at our lives and find a space to do this, look at our schedules and put aside some time as our time of rest but also make sure that this time is spent resting in Gods presence, listening to him and allowing him time to speak to us!

Our New Testament reading started with the words “So we have stopped evaluating others by what the world thinks about them.” And this sums up what I believe God wants us to do today, stop focusing so much on the world and focus a bit more on him. In counselling there’s an approach called “the person centred approach” we are called to live using the “God centred approach” but this is only achievable if we follow Moses’ lead and find some time to commune with God in our busy lives.

Life is a challenge, time is precious and money and work is vital for us all to be able to live our lives in the way we have become accustomed to, but in the same way that God was challenging Moses to completely change his way of life and risk getting laughed at and possibly arrested and killed, I believe God is challenging us to do the same, to get out of the safety zone and into the fire.

This may be scary but we can have confidence, confidence in the fact that when Moses told God all his fears and concerns God said he would give him all he needed to do the tasks he had been given, “"Who makes mouths?" the LORD asked him. "Who makes people so they can speak or not speak, hear or not hear, see or not see? Is it not I, the LORD? Now go, and do as I have told you. I will help you speak well, and I will tell you what to say”, he didn’t say nothing will happen to you, he didn’t say it would be easy, but he did say he would give all Moses needed to do the job he had been given.

God will give you the tools you need to do the things he wants you to do but we will only know what he wants us to do if we spend some time listening to him. This afternoon please don’t think I am saying quit your job and spend your life in silent contemplation, what I am saying is that in the same way as I shouldn’t have expected to be able to write a sermon without spending some time listening to God first we all shouldn’t expect to live up to our mission of being Christ’s ambassadors if we don’t have any time to listen to God.

Moses didn’t feel that he was the right man for the job; he was scared, concerned for his own wellbeing, and worried for the safety of those he was being asked to free from slavery. God listened to his fears and responded. What fears are going through your head right now? Have you told God about them? Have you given him time to repond?

Moses found out why he was here when God revealed it to him in such a major fashion, if you’re asking the question that I asked at the start of this sermon then maybe you’re asking the wrong person, and if you are asking God then maybe you need to spend some time listening for the answer.

This weekend was about Remembering people who have fought for freedom for themselves and other people. We stood and reflected upon their sacrifices we wore poppies as a sign of our reflection, and we would never consider forgetting the meaning of the weekend because it is so important to never forget.

I believe God is using this year’s remembrance Sunday to ask you to never forget what the cross around your neck represents and how important its meaning is to us. I believe God is asking us all to make some space in our busy lives to remember His sacrifice and to spend some time with him, and I believe God wants us all to use all who have fought for freedom from Moses to the soldiers that we have remembered today to inspire us to be prepared to step out of the safety zone and into the fire.

Let us pray

Lord thank you for the sacrifice you have made for us
Guide us in our lives, giving us the prompts we need to ensure we remember to spend time with you, listening to your voice.
Enable us to model our prayer lives following Moses’ example, being Respectful and honest to you.
Help us to find a time to rest in your presence.
Amen