"Lovingkindness for the People of God"
March 3, 2013
The 3rd Sunday of the Christian Season of Lent
Exodus 3: 1 – 15/Psalm 103: 1 – 11/1Corinthians 10: 1 – 13/Luke 13: 1-9
His Eminence
The Most Reverend Archbishop Loren Thomas Hines D.D.
Archbishop of Manila
and
Primate
of the
National Church in the Philippines
and
the Territorial Church of Asia
International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church
The purpose of Lent is not a time when we belittle and beat ourselves, but instead it is a time wherein we meditate on the things of God, the things that Christ has done for us. We evaluate our own lives: where are we comparing ourselves to what God has given to us?
Our attitude and thoughts of God in too many cases is seeing God as cruel, mean, and judgmental or condemning. Scriptures are very clear in what it says to us: His lovingkindess draws us to Him. God is love which is a character that is all that He is. Everything He does is done by that which He is. It is not an event that comes once a year. It is not the things that He done that make us see that He is love. It is His very character, His very heart, His being, all that He is love. He is understanding, compassionate, merciful, graceful, loving and kind.
We see the character of God in Scriptures. In Exodus, God, talking to Moses on the mountain through the burning bush, says to Moses, “I want to deliver My people. I want to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians to bring them up. I have seen their afflictions. I have given heed to their cry.”
In this portion of this Scripture, does it talk about the righteousness of Israel in Egypt? Does it talk about their goodness, of them performing great deeds? No, it does not. They have not earned deliverance. After all, they deserted God. They went to Egypt in the beginning to be preserved during a period of famine. Rather than retreating after that famine, and after the famine was gone, going back to their relationship with God and to the land God had given to them, they maintained themselves in Egypt with an attitude that Egypt is their answer, their source and supply.
For a while, perhaps this was true. When the Pharaoh died that was involved in Joseph, the whole scene changed. Instead of them being the source for Israel, Israel became the slaves of Egypt. The more they complained, the more that Egypt gave them difficult times. Their cries, their pain, their sorrow, God heard. Out of God’s kindness, He delivered them.
We need to comprehend and understand the love of God. We cannot earn it. We don’t deserve it. It is God’s gift out of the heart of love. “I have seen the affliction. I am aware of their suffering. I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians.” They were under slavery to the Egyptians.
This is the story of mankind, the story of the redemption of Jesus Christ. Man, being under the bondage of sin and the slave of the enemy, this story tells us what God is going to do and what He has done through Christ. It brings to us of the awareness of the very character of God – not earned, not deserved – but His compassion and mercy. “I want to take them out of their place and take them to a land that is flowing with milk and honey.”
See the heart of God – the lovingkindess of God. The people have turned against Him, putting their trust in another form, in another source, and yet He does not desert and turn His back on them. Instead, He came to deliver them from their slavery for four hundred years plus and placed them in land of milk and honey –flowing with abundance. He has heard the cry, the pain of the people. He sensed their sorrows. These are not the things He wants to think about that His people are going through. Instead, He desires that His people be set free and He comes to do this.
Moses is the one He has chosen to go to Egypt. Moses questioned his ability because of a problem he had with Egypt in the beginning. God said, “I will go with you. If I am with you, this should be a sign to you that I have sent you.” Moses was questioning whether Israel would receive him as their deliverer. Moses had killed an Egyptian, and the Israelis, the Jews had seen this happen. When he went back to settle a problem between the Hebrews, they turned to him and said, “What are you going to do, kill us like you did with the Egyptian?”
Moses had a reputation that was not good. He had to flee in order to save his life because the Pharaoh was after him. He went out into the wilderness, perhaps, in a state of fear, oppression, anxiety. He went out there knowing that he could not be with his own people because of what he had done.
Who does God go to get the job done? He goes to this one who has failed. He goes to this one who has committed murder. He asked him to help Him deliver the people. Moses knowing that if he goes back to Egypt, they are going to question him, “You think you can save us after what you have done?” Moses asked God, “How am I going to tell them?” God said, “You tell them that I sent you.” They will say, “Who is your God? What is the name of your God?” God says, “You tell them, I AM what I AM.”
Such a powerful statement: I AM who I AM.” Most of us don’t understand it because we can’t comprehend what God was trying to say. God says, “I AM.” He is not “I was”; “I will be”; He is, “I AM.” He is the answer to every question. He is the solution to every problem. He is the deliverance from every circumstance. He is “I AM” not yesterday, tomorrow but today and forever.
God will never be less that present. He will never be history because He is “I AM.” He will never be future because He is “I AM.” We need to comprehend this because He is not far from us, but He is with us. He is the same today as He was yesterday. He has not changed. His commitment, His provision is not different. Culture has changed. As people, we have changed. God has not changed. His lovingkindness is the same. His provision for man is the same. He is the First and the Last, Who was, Who is, and Who will always come.
This is His identity, giving to us awareness that whatever comes our way, the “I AM” is here with us. God is here to solve the problem. He is here to bring deliverance. He is here to set us free. He is here to supply our needs. “I AM” is not the past even though He was in the past. He is not the future even though He will be. It is not yet something to come that we look forward but something now with us, which is the very presence of God, the provision of God.
This is the lovingkindness of God. He was sending Moses to bring forth His people. He had promised this in the past; now, He was going to bring it into reality. We must recognize and be aware of the “I AM.” “I AM” the solution; “I AM” the healing; “I AM” your provision; “I AM” the answer.
God is here with us today. He walks and talks with us if we listen. He strengthens us today. His provision in creation is the same as it was then today. All of His gifts are still valid and vital today. What He did in the past, He will do for us.
Maybe the reason we don’t see the same things is because we don’t have the same faith. We don’t have the same need because we have solved our own problems. We have not looked to Him but He is still there. He is still the “I AM.” He will never fail to be the “I AM.” He does not grow old. He does not forget. He is the provision of all.
In God’s creation, His plan and His purpose of man is still the same. He will never give up because He is “I AM.” To Him, His creation of man, His gifts to man are still valid and still vital if only we would wake up and realize all that He has given to us. It is the fullness of His very character. We are not Him, and yet He has revealed His whole purpose to us nor has He revealed His whole power to us. He is the very Source of all that we are and all that we will ever be.
In 1Corinthians 10, He shares and challenges us to realize what happened at that time of Moses – why did they have to die. Why would these things be as they were? This is because they rejected what God had given. They all ate the same food that Moses had. They all drink the same drink of Moses which was Christ.
Christ was there as their Redeemer. Christ was there as their Savior. He fed them; He protected them; He watched over them; He guided them; He promised them that He was taking them to the Promised Land. But they did not trust Him. They tried God. They murmured, complained and grumbled about their circumstances, committed adultery rather than maintaining a faith and trust in what God had promised; rather than maintaining an assurance that God would not fail them. They looked at their circumstances as more powerful than what God was leading and guiding them.
Can you imagine the miracle of the manna and yet they would complain? They were not satisfied that God was not supplying. They wanted more, the things that they had in the past in slavery and in bondage. They were so spoiled by those things that they couldn’t get away from them. God had to break their attitude, their hunger, and their desire for those things. He fed them by manna and they did not die. They were nourished and strengthened. They got tired with the same clothes, but they did not wear out. They were living out miracles but they did not recognize and acknowledge what God was doing.
Scriptures says, “These things are examples for us.” We are not to get our trust and our confidence in other gods and other sources. We are not to be enslaved by them. Our faith is in God. Our confidence is in God. Our source of supply is God. Israel was craving evil things. They were craving things that we in the past. They wanted the same things. They did not recognize that these things were the temptations that got them in trouble.
Scriptures says, “These things are recorded so that we would understand what happens when we turn against God.” It isn’t God who does these things to us. It is our own actions. We deny Him; we put our confidence in the world around us, in the ways of man. We think that these are the things that are going to give us security. These are the things that are going to give us supply, source, rather than looking to God as the answer. He is our Source. He is the One who gives us the power to make wealth. He is the One who is our Wisdom, our Counselor, and the very life that we have.
Do we acknowledge this? Do we recognize this? Do we sense the things around us are a part of our lives and we allow them to maintain their hold upon us rather than denying them? They became idolaters. They sat down to eat and drink and they took the things that God supplied, and they went out and did their own thing.
Is this not our life today? Do we not see the provision of God? Do we not see the lovingkindess of God in all that He supplies for us? Do we acknowledge Him as the Source of our lives, of all that we have – our strength, and our wisdom? All that we are is Him, and yet many times, we give the credit to another source. We say, “I was wise enough to have enough knowledge to put these things together. I have become secure because of what I have done.”
The recognition of God being involved in the middle of our lives is vital and important. We look to the world to prepare us to be successful. God is the One who gives us security, serenity and success. When we find success in other things like Israel in the wilderness, they lost their lives because they did not trust in God. He was their provision but they did not appreciate it. They complained and murmured. He was giving them drink; it was of Christ that they were drinking, and yet they did not receive it.
Christ was the Rock and from the rock came the water. It was the water that gave them the vibrance of life and the strength of life, but they murmured and complained. They did not maintain their thankfulness. They grumbled and so they were destroyed by the destroyer.
1Corinthians 10:11 says, “All these things happened as an example, and they were written for our instructions upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” Here is God’s mercy and grace in our behalf. We think that we can handle these with our own ability. Verse 13 says, “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man.” These are things that are not unique just for you. You are not the only one that has gone through these things. These things are common to man and God is faithful.
We forget that it is God who is our strength. We forget that it is God who is our understanding and our wisdom. He is the One who delivers us. He is the One who provides for us. He will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able. We have the power to overcome the temptation because God is with us. If God is with us, no one can overcome us. No one can destroy us.
Do we understand the kindness of God, His commitment to us? He does not run when we are in the midst of temptation. He is there if only we would recognize His presence – “I AM” is here with us. The “I AM” is in the midst of that turmoil, in the midst of that problem, in the midst of that sickness, in the midst of that financial situation. He is right there with us. “I AM” is with you. Do we recognize that He is the strength of our lives? Do we recognize Him as that which is able to deliver us? With the temptation, He will also provide the way of escape so that we may be able to endure it.
We give up our hands too often. We just push aside any ability to rise up and come out of the turmoil. God is there with us. He wants us to survive and to rise up! He wants us to bring forth His glory. He wants us to be a witness to the world.
When Israel was finally taken across the Jordan River into the Promised Land, the people were fearful and anxious because they have seen God’s favor upon Israel. Did Israel see it? The enemy saw it and they were fearful. They went to Jericho and were afraid. They saw God’s people. They went inside in order to hopefully secure themselves. They had heard what God is doing, and yet Israel, the goal of God’s kindness, was denying it and they lost their lives.
May we have our eyes open. May we not lose sight of what God has done for us. May we be ready to put our faith and our confidence in all that He allows to come in our way knowing that He will not fail us. He will not forsake us. Sometimes, we look at others and we think, “Look at what God has done to them because they are so evil.”
The gospel today talks about two situations where that perhaps people had looked at them and said, “They got what they deserved.” Herod was having a party. His daughter danced for him and he was very pleased and told his daughter, “Just ask anything up to half of my kingdom. I am so pleased with what you have done. I will give it to you.” The mother told her daughter to ask for the head of John on a platter. When Herod had John beheaded, he presented it to his daughter and she gave it to the mother.
It was event that was sad and tragic. Pilate was an enemy of Herod. Pilate killed those who were in the party where John was beheaded. He did not destroy Herod but he took away Herod’s joy and glory by destroying the people who were in the party. He mingled their blood with their sacrifice. It was a mockery to Herod. Pilate was belittling Herod and taking away his glory. Some would say, “They deserve it.”
Jesus says, “Do you think that you are better than they? Do you suppose that they were greater sinners than all other because they suffered this fate? They were so evil.” It also talks about a tower in Siloam that fell and killed eighteen people. Jesus asked the same question, “Were these worst culprits than all the men who lived in Jerusalem?
Sometimes we judge others because of the mistakes that they have made and the consequences. Does it mean that they are worst than we are? Are we not just simply covered by the grace and the mercy of God in our own lives? If it wasn’t for that grace, for the mercy, for that His kindness, where would we be? Can we see the ability of God to bring to us His provision? His desire as it was with Israel, “I want you in the Promised Land. I want you in a land of milk and honey. I want you to prosper.” But we put our confidence and our faith in other ways. We don’t trust God. We trust what we can do. We trust what man can do for us. So therefore, we are denying the very work of God in our behalf.
Jesus says, “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” This is the repentance of our source of trust. Who do we believe is our source? Who do we believe is the supply of our lives? Who is the one who has given much to us? Who is the one who will protect and guide us? Do we recognize Christ as the Source?
Here is the love of God. He tells this parable, “A certain man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it, and did not find any. ‘And he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up of the ground?’” There was no fruit, so the man said, “Get rid of it.” “But the vinekeeper, a man of compassion, a man of mercy and grace, answered and said to him, ‘Sir, leave it alone. For this year, too, I dig around and put in fertilizer; and if it bears fruit next year fine, but if not, cut it down.”
In our lives, we are like this fig tree. Are we producing fruit? All that God has given us, all of the provision of God through Christ, that is ours, has taken our sin, iniquity. “He who knew no sin became sin, that we might be the righteousness of God, in Him.” He has given to us His righteousness. He has clothed us in holiness. He has wiped away all the things that will put us down. Are we now producing fruit? Are we now bringing forth the gifts that He has given to us in such a way that we are manifesting the very presence of God with us? In our words, in our work, in our actions and thoughts, do we reflect the very gifts of God, His kindness, and His love toward us?
Are we like the fig tree with no fruit? “If there is no fruit after a year, cut it down.” The vinekeeper said, “Wait, Lord. Let me first cultivate the soil. Let me give it fertilizer and see that next year it does bring fruit.” Is this not what God does to us on a regular basis? Does He not cultivate the soil around us? Does He not fertilize the soil in which we are planted? Are things around us not coming toward us or focus toward us so that we bring forth fruit?
We come to worship God every week. We are given that fertilizing, that cultivating. Are we then taking what we are receiving so that we are able to bring forth fruit? Do we go out and live out a life that brings glory to Him? Do we go out and let our light shine so that the greatness of God can be recognized by others? Do they know our faith in God? Do they recognize that those things which speak well of His presence with us?
God is the “I AM”. “I AM” with you. “I AM” will never leave you. “I AM” the Source of your prosperity. “I AM” the Source of your wisdom. “I AM” the source of your healing and strength and deliverance. The “I AM” to you is that being seen to others?
In Lent, we are challenge to prepare ourselves that His manifestation of life is made real all around us. May we, as His people, begin to look at our lives: are we manifesting who we are? Are we bringing out His character? Are our words filled with the love that He has given to us? Or are we condemning, judging and putting down others? Do we have compassion for them in their failures? Do we have compassion for them in their rebellion? Do we want to see them restored? Do we want to see them brought back? Are we willing to forgive? Are we willing to forget?
We have been created in His image and likeness. All of these are the characters that God has implanted within us. This is who we are. When we don’t live this out, we are masquerading in false façade. We are pretending to be something that we are not. We have been created like Him and His lovingkindness supports that which He has done. He is merciful to us. He is patient to us. If He wasn’t, none of us would be here today because we fail many times.
God is giving us this opportunity to us – the cultivation; the fertilization so that we have an opportunity to still bring forth the fruit even though the majority of our lives, seventy-five percent according to the parable, has been wasted. Are we ready to bring forth fruit at this point? Are we ready to apply ourselves to let Him be the Lord of our lives? Do we recognize His lovingkindness?
God desires the best for us. He has prepared the best for us; He has given to us the best. Are we like Israel in the wilderness murmuring and complaining? Eating what He gives, but then going out and forgetting Him, committing adultery and doing other things that are not the character that He is?
May we be challenge in Lent to evaluate where we are. Evaluate what we are bringing forth in our lives so that as we come to Easter, and we are reminded of the gift that we have been given that we are ready to walk fully in the provision of God and bring glory to Christ for all that He has done for us.
How blessed we are! We are a blessed people. We are God’s people. God hears the cry of our murmuring, the cry of our stress and anxiety. He wants to save us. As He comes to our rescue, as He has through Christ, are we thankful? Do we reflect that in our lives? Do we give Him all the glory? This is our life – the lovingkindness of God.
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