Flora First Christian Church - Flora, IN

February 10, 2008

John 8:54-58

Exodus 3.13-15

Spy Movies and the End of the World
What do the feature films “In Like Flint,” “You Only Live Twice,” and “Dr. Strangelove,” from the 1960’s have in common? They were movies with secret agents, spies and espionage. All three of these movies were made during the Cold War between the United States and the USSR. All three movies had plots about someone who had a “button.” The button could start W.W. III or blow up the world if they didn’t get what they wanted. In the whole secret agent genre there was usually a third button of power. Like in these three movies the U.S. and the USSR were pitted against each other, with each believing that the other was about to start war, when actually a third party was making it look that way. From these spy movies came the phrase “button, button, who’s got the button.” In other words, who’s really has the power?

A Push Button Society
The truth is we live in a push-button society. With the push of a button we can unlock our car doors, let the dog out of its house, surf 100 TV channels in a matter of minutes, order a pizza on-line and have it delivered to our home. With the push of a button we can purchase Christmas presents, make restaurant reservations, receive our kids’ grades from their college, make a money transfer from a bank in another country, or send an e-mail to the other side of the world in mere seconds. New homes are being built with computerized control panels that can command almost every non-human function in the house! I have a cousin who lives in a New Jersey gated community in New Jersey. He has a little remote device attached inside his car sun visor, all he has to do is drive up and the gate opens, the lights come on in his house, and he can drive through toll booths and the little button activates his charge account. NOW THAT’S POWER! In some ways this has made our busy lives easier. In other ways it has painted a false picture of reality.
We now think that we can control everything. If we don’t like something, “click, click, click,” and it’s on to another place. It’s easy to see why we feel we are in charge of our universe. That’s the problem and that’s the lie, as well.
The Biblical Center of the Universe
The Biblical corrective for human beings making themselves the center of the universe was seen in our first scripture reading from the book of Exodus. That passage told us that “THE GREAT I AM” is in charge, not us. How do we know that? Well . . . . ENTER MOSES with the answer!
You know, Moses . . . who was born a Hebrew slave in Egypt, but was fortunate enough to be raised in the palace by the Pharaoh’s daughter? As a young man Moses wandered away from the Palace one day and went down to where his people lived. There he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew slave. In his anger of the injustice, he killed the Egyptian and hid the body in the sand and told no one. The next day, Moses saw two of his own people fighting and tried to stop them. One of the men answered, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Are you going to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Uh-Oh, who else saw him do that? The word was out and Moses feared that he would be sought out for this costly mistake. So Moses ran far away to the land of Midian. Moses met Jethro, who became his father-in-law, and he took up the life of raising sheep. One day, Moses was out tending the sheep on the mountain of Horeb when an angel of the Lord appeared to him. A bush was on fire, but was not burning up. And the Lord said, “Moses, do not come near, take off your shoes, you are standing on holy ground.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. God told Moses of how the suffering of his people in Egypt had gotten worse and they had cried out to Him for help. God said that He was going to deliver them out of the hands of the Egyptians, and take them to a new homeland full of such abundance that it was described as a land flowing with milk and honey. Here was the clincher. God would send Moses to Egypt to go before the Pharaoh to free the Hebrews.
Moses response to this is, “Hey, if I go to my own people and say “The God of your fathers” has sent me to you’ and they ask me, “What is his name?’ what shall I say? Here God said to Moses, “I Am, who I Am. Say this to the people of Israel, I Am has sent me to you. Tell the people of Israel, The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac and Jacob has sent me to you; this is my name forever.” (Exodus 3. 13-15)
Moses wasn’t too thrilled about the idea of going to his ancestors and telling them what God had said. He made all kinds of excuses, like he wasn’t a good speaker, that they would think he was crazy or that the Pharaoh would laugh at him. Each time God made a provision which would show proof that God was with Him. Moses wasn’t in charge, God was!
God was the “Great I Am!”
In spite of all of the mistakes Moses and God’s people made on their way from slavery in Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land, time and time again, they learned that God—“The Great I Am”—was in charge.

Button, button, who’s got the button?
In spite of our spiritual and historical past we often still reply: “I have the control button of life and I’m going to keep it.” How do we give up control?
ENTER JESUS 1,500 years later. Once Jesus was speaking with the chief priest and Pharisees who were questioning him when He said “I AM the light of the world.” They said he was only bringing witness to himself, making himself the center of the universe.
Not God
Jesus replied by saying that even if he barred witness to himself; he was telling the truth and you can believe it! This was when he said that whoever had seen him had seen the Heavenly Father and that he wasn’t from this world.”

They put the question to him, “Well, then WHO ARE YOU?” And with an unusual answer he said, “Anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.”
That didn’t suffice so they asked if he was greater that their ancestor Abraham, the Father of their nation, whom God made the original holy covenant with, whom they first became God’s people. Jesus looked them straight in the eyes and said: “I tell you the truth, before Abraham ever existed I AM.”
At this point the scriptures paint a picture that the Pharisees’ rage almost turns to violence. How can He say he is greater than Abraham? He’s not in charge! They pick up stones to throw at him. But Jesus slips out of the temple before they can put him to death.

Button, button, who’s got the button? That’s the real focus of this episode between Jesus and the Pharisees. Jesus is putting the question to all who would follow him: Does he control our lives or do we keep the control for ourselves? We all know a few things about keeping the power for ourselves. It doesn’t always go our way.

Story of Rebecca Biasing Building Their House
Rebecca and Daryl told their own story in Guidepost a few years ago. They had dreamed of building their own home outside of their hometown of Columbia Falls that overlooked the Montana landscape, but they didn’t know if they could afford it. Rebecca suggested that she be the contractor for their own home. She had experience supervising work crews from her old job as a wilderness outfitter. Daryl had the building skills, but not the time after he put in a long day at the mill. David said to Rebecca: “If you really want to build, go ahead. I’ll do the electrical and plumbing. The rest is up to you.”
They bought the land they wanted and Rebecca laid out the blueprints using a computer program. They found two builders named Walt and Joe and had the foundation lain by mid-October. Then Walt was in a serious car wreck, no other builders were available, so it was up to Rebecca to work along side Joe, trying to beat the coming blustery Montana winter. Through January & February they worked even in the ice. Rebecca kept remembering the words in her head, ‘It’s up to you.”
In March, Daryl received news that he would be losing his job in June. Rebecca wanted to scream, “How can I get everything done if we don’t have money to pay for it?” That spring Rebecca was working on the house when she heard a thud against the kitchen window. She discovered a bird outside on the ground which had tried to fly through the clear window. She picked up the bird, saw that its beak was bent and she tried to bend it back. With that the bird came to and it flew away. That evening when she told Daryl about the bird’s beak he said, “You can’t fix everything.” Not long after that Rebecca discovered that the bird was a Red Cross Bill and its beak was naturally crooked. There was even a legend about the bird that said during the crucifixion of Jesus a bird came upon the cross and attempted to pull the nails from Jesus’ hands and feet. It tried so hard that its bill became bent. The story made her see how she had tried to control everything. No matter how difficult her struggle, there was someone else there willing to carry all of their burdens. Rebecca prayed, “Lord, forgive me for thinking I could take care of everything. You’re the only one who can. I’m leaving that job up to you.” With that they began to work with peace, and Rebecca & Daryl saw their house completed as it glowed in the Montana sunset surrounded by the skies of the Great I Am. (”Guideposts, January 1999, p. 25-27)
Our greatest sin is to stand in the middle and think that we are in charge like spokes in a wheel with everything revolving around us.
We forget that we have limits and one of those limits is that we were never intended to stand in the middle of the universe and control it.

Adelaide Pollard and “Have Thine Own Way”
A century ago, Adelaide Pollard was at the end of her rope. She was terribly discouraged and depressed. She had been trying to raise funds to underwrite the cost of a long voyage to Africa where she planned to work as a missionary. Her efforts left her short of her goal and she wondered “Why doesn’t God help me when I’m trying to do his work?” In desperation she went to a prayer meeting at a local church. An older woman in the group prayed first and Adelaide was surprised by what she heard. Instead of the usual prayer for blessings for good health, the safety of family or food upon their table, the woman simply prayed: “Lord, it really doesn’t matter what You do with us - just have Your way with our lives.” Adelaide was stunned when she realized that she was practically telling God what he must do to make her dream of missionary work happen!
She went home in silence and opened her Bible and it fell to the 18th chapter of Jeremiah. This is where God tells Jeremiah to go down to the potter’s house. There Jeremiah saw the potter was working at his wheel, and the pot he was making fell apart. But the potter reworked the damaged piece into another container. Then the Lord’s voice came to Jeremiah: “Can I not do this with you? Just like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in MY hand. I can reshape you and use you.” (Jeremiah 18:1-6 (NRSV)
That same evening Adelaide Pollard composed the words to a well-known hymn which we know as: Have Thine own way, Lord, have Thine own way. Thou art the potter, I am the clay. Mold me and make me after Thy will, while I am waiting - yielded and still.
Christ wants to be our Great I Am . . . the center of our universe, so much that He was willing to die on the cross to give us His control. This is love! This is real life! Button, button, who’s got the button?