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God’s Gifts for God’s People:

THE GIFT OF PLACE

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Exodus 3:1-12

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G= od gives us Holy Ground on which to stand.

A sermon preached by

Rev. William O. (Bud) = Reeves

First United Methodist Church

Hot= Springs, Arkansas

April 13, 2008

Do you remember where = you were on the evening of February 28, 1983?&= nbsp; If you were like most of America, you were glued to your TV set, watching the finale of the M*A*S*H* TV series. The two-hour episode = was entitled, “Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen,” and it attracted 77% of the TV viewers in Am= erica that night, which is still a record. An estimated 50 million people saw that show. Karen and I were in seminary, and = we had friends over, all dressed in surgical scrubs, and watched the show together= .

Recently, to commemora= te the 25^th anniversary of the final M*A*S*H* episode, people gathered = at the Malibu Creek State Park in California, where the outside scenes f= or the series were shot. The mountain backdrop, the helicopter pad, even an old ambulance used in the show have b= ecome a memorial to one of the greatest TV shows ever. Cast members, crew, old fans, and = some who were not even born in 1983, but have come to love M*A*S*H* through reru= ns and DVD’s, gathered in that holy place to celebrate and remember.= = [1]

Some places are just h= oly ground, aren’t they? Mo= ses encountered a place like that on the side of the mountain of God—Mt. Horeb or Mt. Sinai, depending on which tradition you read. He saw a = bush burning, but not consumed. He turned aside to look at it. H= e heard the voice of God, and his life was never the same again. He had fled Egypt and was taking it easy, just taking care of his father-in-law’s sheep= in the land = of Midian. But God had a bigger plan for him.=

We have a spot of holy ground right here in Hot Sprin= gs. When Karen was doing a lesson for = the three-year-olds, trying to explain what holy ground meant, she told the kids that holy ground was wherever we feel close to God. That is a good definition, I think= . Holy ground is where we meet God, = feel his presence, hear his voice, and are transformed for mission. First United Methodist Church has been that kind of a place for over 150 years. Basically in this location for 94 = years, generations of people called Methodist have met and heard God on this little piece of the planet, and we have been changed in the process. God has given us this Holy Ground = as a gift.

If God has given us th= is holy ground, then we have to make some sort of response. We can’t just go about our d= aily business as if something extraordinary had not happened, any more than Moses could have continued to be a shepherd after seeing the burning bush. He set out on a journey. We are on a journey, too, a pilgri= mage of faith, and I want to suggest three R-words that will help us along the j= ourney today.

First, we have to realize our location. Every real estate agent can te= ll you, the three keys to success are “location, location, location.” The key to successful discipleship is the same idea: realize your location. We are standing on holy ground—right here, in this sanctuary, on this church campus, in your home, at your work. God has g= iven us the gift of a place in the world. God is present with us, every moment of every day. There is absolutely nowhere we can = be where God is not.

How often do we go thr= ough life without realizing that every moment, every day, every encounter, every place is shot through with the presence of God?[2] I read an interesting story about = Reeve Lindbergh, the youngest daughter of Charles Lindbergh, the pioneering aviat= or who made the first solo transatlantic flight in 1927. In 1997, Reeve was invited by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D. C., to speak at a commemoration of the 70^th anniversary of her father’s historic flight. The museum officials invited her t= o come early to the National Air and Space Museum, where Charl= es Lindbergh’s actual plane, The Spirit of St. Louis, is suspended from the ceiling. They arranged for a cherry picker = (a bucket truck) to take Reeve and her young son Ben up in the air to get a close-up look at the airplane. It was the first time Reeve had ever been that close to the actual plane her father had flown, and it was an awesome experience. She looked in the tiny window and = ran her fingers along the door handle that her father must have touched a thous= and times. She was on holy ground= .

Tears welled up in her= eyes as the memories flooded her mind. “Oh, Ben,” she said to her son, “isn’t this amazing?”

“Yeah,” Ben said, equally impressed. “I’ve never been up in a cherry-picker before!”= = [3]

Sometimes we fail to r= ealize our location, don’t we? We see the trees but miss the magnitude of the forest. We behold the beauty of a rock whi= le we stand at the edge of the Grand Canyon. We see a burning bush, but we fail= to hear the voice of God. Someti= mes there are moments in life when we need to lift up our eyes and look around = and see the glory and the wonder and the awesome reality of what is happening in the world. God is up to some amazing stuff; are you paying attention?

At First United Methodist Church, we are located on God’s holy ground.= People get close to God here; people hear God’s voice in this place; lives are transformed for the glory of God here. For a century and a half, we have = been in Hot Springs doing God’s ministry. W= e have a spot, right here on Cent= ral Avenue, that is connected to the Kingdom of heaven. We have a strong, well-known, excellent ministry going on.&n= bsp; The purpose of our Holy Ground campaign is simply to do the things we need to do with our facilities to keep doing in an excellent way what we ha= ve been doing all along, and to do it in this place.

The second thing Moses= did, once he realized he was standing on holy ground (Well, after he fell on his face!), was to hear the call of God= . So our second R-word is to receive the call. God doesn’t give us the = gift of a place without telling us what to do with it. Once we experience the prese= nce of the living God, we cannot expect to be the same old people we always were.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> God doesn’t come to confirm = the status quo; He comes to give us our marching orders. So get ready to receive the call t= o be in ministry in some way.

Think about Moses= , out there minding his own business, tending to the sheep. God spoke t= o him through the burning bush and told him, “I have heard the cries of my people in bondage, and I am ready to bring them out of Egypt i= nto a land flowing with milk and honey. Moses, I want you to go tell Pharaoh to let my people go!” Moses was never the same again.

I don’t know what God’s call on= your life might be. It may be some= thing local; it may be halfway around the world.= It may be something short-term; it may be a mission for the rest of = your life. It may be your full-time vocation; it may be volunteer ministry.&nb= sp; There are so many ways God can do this! But I believe that if you will open yourself up to God and seek his guidance for your life, then he’s goi= ng to give you direction.

Steve Sjogren, pastor of the Vineyard Church in Cinncinnati, was struggling with his call early in his ministry. In fact, he was ready to quit altogether. His wife Janie kn= ew Steve’s moods, and she suggested that he just go out and drive around= and think things through. Then she asked him while he was out if he would bring her a burrito.

Steve went out driving and had a long compl= aint session with God, and finally he made a “run for the border” to= get his wife a burrito before he went home.&nb= sp; Little did he know he was driving onto holy ground. As he waited in the drive-through = line, he felt God giving him a message. It wasn’t audible; it didn’t come over the drive-through speaker. But God was telling = Steve, “Open the door, and I will give you a gift.” It sounded silly, but with nothing= to lose, Steve opened the door, and sure enough, right there in the drive-thro= ugh driveway, was an old, tarnished penny, embedded in the asphalt.

Steve bent down to pull this treasure out o= f the pavement, feeling less than thankful for this “gift” from God.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> But then God spoke to Steve again = and impressed upon his consciousness the meaning of the gift. He said, “Many people in thi= s city feel about as valuable as discarded pennies. I’ve given you the gift of gathering people who seem valueless. Though these are the people the world casts off, they have great val= ue to me. If you will open your = heart, I will bring you more pennies than you know what to do with.”= = [4] And God did, because Steve received the call at the taco stand drive-throug= h.

At First United Methodist Church, we have rec= eived a collective call from God to be “a community of faith, connecting pe= ople to God, to each other, and to the world.” That’s our vision. We do this through our mission of proclamation—sharing the good news of Christ—discipleship—growing in our understanding and applicatio= n of our faith—and hospitality—reaching out to welcome others into o= ur fellowship. We do this as a c= hurch, and we do this as individuals within the church. We do this at the church and beyon= d the church. We take care of that = God has given us at the church so we can have a place to receive the call and a= ct on it. The Holy Ground campai= gn is not about money; it’s about the ministry we are called to do.

What God promises is that if we receive the= call and respond in faith, he will bless our ministry. He challenges us to give so he can= open up the floodgates of heaven and pour out his blessings upon us.= = [5] Jesus said, “Give, and it will be given to you. A g= ood measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”= = [6] These are great promises.

So the third R-word is to respond in faith. Once we receive the call, then we have to acknowledge it. We have to accept it. We have to act on it. God’s call always has an R.S= .V.P.; we have to respond.

We can relate to Moses here. He was a little reluctant to respo= nd immediately to God’s call. When God spoke through the burning bush, Moses questioned his identity as God’s chosen leader: “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?” The next chap= ter in Exodus includes a longer argument between Moses and God, because Moses didn’t want to hear what God was telling him. But God persisted, and finally Mos= es responded in faith and followed the call, and before long the people of the Hebrews were liberated and joined Moses on the holy mountain to worship the= ir God.

When we respond in faith, God does amazing things through us.= Several weeks ago I got an email from a dentist in Memphis named Solomon Christian. He was looking for details to fill= in the gaps of an incredible story of discipleship that stretched halfway arou= nd the world. Through our church historian, Joyce Thornton, we traced the story to our sister church on Grand Avenue. = In 1933, Laura Heist, a dedi= cated Methodist missionary to India, got to know a boy of twelve named Raiji Rathod. His potential caught her attention= . She asked if he would like to attend the Methodist Indian Boy’s Boarding School in a nearby city.

Laura Heist then obtained a commitment from the Victory Sunday School class at the Grand= Avenue Methodist Church in = Hot Springs to send Raiji to school. With an investment of $2 a month, = Raiji continued his education, accepted Christ as his Savior, graduated from high school, and received a call to preach. He then pursued college and seminary degrees in India and became the first Indian Superintendent of that boarding school. Later he came to America and earned master’s degrees = at Asbury Theological Seminary in Kentucky and Princeton University. He returned to India to build 15 Methodist churches, becoming a prominent leader in the Methodist Church in India= .

Raiji Rathod visited Hot Springs several times on his trips to America. Seventy-five years later, a pictur= e of young Raiji still hangs on the wall of the Victory Sunday School classroom.= He also served several times as a delegate to the General Conference of the United Methodist Church. This year a= t our General Conference, Rev. Raiji Rathod’s family is well-represented:

· His oldest son, Rev. (Dr.) Samuel Rathod, se= nior pastor of Faith United Methodist Church, Kearney, Nebraska, is a delegate.

· His grandson, Jason Rathod, is one of the yo= uth speakers, a “first” for General Conference. He is currently a l= aw student at Duke University.

· His son-in-law, Dr. Solomon Christian, the dentist from Memphis, is involved with the Judicial Council of the UMC and coordinates a dental mission project for the Memphis Annual Conference.

· His granddaughter, Monica Christian, is a seminary graduate and will be commissioned as a deacon in the Memphis Conference in June. She is serving as a page at General conference.

That “$2 a month” mission investment in 1933 began the fabulous 75-year faith journey for the Raiji Rathod family, a jou= rney that has been a part of the story of worldwide Methodism, a journey that has seen the transformation of thousands of lives for Christ through the United Methodist Church.= = [7]

In our Holy Ground campaign, we have an opportunity to m= ake an investment in the transformation of thousands of lives through the witne= ss and ministry of this Unit= ed Methodist Church. God has given us this gift. Realize your location. Receive the call. Respond in faith. And God will do great things throu= gh us. Amen!