Sidney UMC - 16th Sunday after Pentecost - 09/20/20 - Sermon - “Don't Be Ungrateful To God!” (“Exodus: The People of the Covenant” Series: Part 3 of 7)

Sunday 09/20/20 - Sidney UMC

Sermon Title:                “Don’t Be Ungrateful to God!”

                (“Exodus: The People of the Covenant” Series: Part 3 of 7)

Old Testament Scripture: Exodus 16:2-15                                         

New Testament Scripture: Philippians 1:21-30

Gospel Lesson: Matthew 20:1-16

          Welcome again my brothers and sisters, my friends, on this the 16^th Sunday after Pentecost.

          For the past two Sundays I have been preaching parts of a seven-week sermon series on the Book of Exodus, called “Exodus: The People Of The Covenant”. More specifically, this sermon series is about the story of the Israelite or Jewish people, or “The Covenant People,” and their journey from slavery to freedom, the promised land, or the land of milk and honey.

This sermon series, once again, was preceded three weeks ago on Sunday August 30th, when we had the scripture reading from the Book of Exodus where God spoke to Moses through a burning bush. God told Moses through this burning bush that he would lead the Israelite or Jewish people out of slavery in Egypt to freedom.

          In the first week of this sermon series, I talked about “The Blood Of The Lamb”. This sermon picked up at the climax of the ten plagues that befell Egypt. These plagues occurred, because the Egyptian Pharaoh would not free the Israelite or Jewish people from slavery in Egypt, despite Moses asking the Pharaoh over and over, to let his people go. The final or tenth plague was the death of all first-born children and animals in Egypt. Yet prior to this final or tenth plague occurring, God told Moses and his brother Aaron to tell the Israelites, to take a pure and spotless lamb from among their animals, sacrifice it, and then take some of the blood of this lamb and put it on their doorposts and lintels of their homes. On this first Passover holiday, or this tenth plague, death passed over the first born of the Israelites that night. They first born were saved by the blood of lamb, as we are all saved by the blood of the lamb that is Jesus Christ.

          After this tenth plague or the first Passover, the Egyptian Pharaoh then reluctantly let the Israelite or Jewish people go from slavery in Egypt. This is where we picked up last Sunday, in my sermon called, “We Were Once Slaves In Egypt”. In this sermon series, I talked about God parting the Red Sea through Moses. Moses then led the Israelite or the Jewish people through the parted Red Sea towards freedom. Towards the land of milk or honey, or the promised land.

          Even though the Egyptian Pharaoh let the Israelite or Jewish people go, reluctantly, the Pharaoh then changed his mind. The Pharaoh then sent the whole Egyptian army to pursue the Israelites or Jews. As the Israelites fled ahead of the Egyptian army, the waters of the Red Sea fell in on the Egyptian army. The entire Egyptian army was wiped out, and the Israelites or Jews crossed safely to the other side of the Red Sea.

          This is where we pick up this sermon series for this morning. So, the Israelites or Jews are now freed from slavery in Egypt. God has called Moses to lead the Jewish people to the promised land, or the land of milk and honey. Much of this land by the way, is what many Jews believe to be the modern-day country of Israel, including the holy city of Jerusalem. This city is often referred to in the Old Testament as “Zion”. This is in part what the subject of the hymn “Marching to Zion” is about (UMC Hymnal, no. 733).

           Now the Israelites or the Jews are not going to get to the land of milk and honey or the promised land right away. In fact, it is going to take a long time, and there will be much struggle and suffering along the way. Given all of this, let us pick up again where we read this morning from the Book of Exodus. Once again, this reading says:

“² The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. ³ The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger” (Ex. 16:2:15, NRSV).

As one of my Bible commentaries, the Africa Bible Commentary says,

“It is one thing to liberate a people from slavery (or from subjection to some dictator or colonial power); it is quite another to govern the freed people (or to run a democracy in Africa). How will the Israelites react now that they have entered a new situation that will place new demands on them?”                                          (Africa Bible Commentary, pg. 105).

          The Israelites or the Jewish people are now freed from the Egyptian Pharaoh, yet they are running out of food. Some of them then have the audacity to say to Moses, it was better in slavery in Egypt! We should have died in Egypt or stayed in Egypt they argued, because at least we had a lot of food there.

          So the Israelites or Jews trusted Moses through all ten plagues, including the lamb’s blood on there doors, trusted Moses to lead them through the Red Sea, but once things get hard on the other side of the Red Sea they are ready to throw in the towel? Really! Go back to slavery in Egypt! Really!

          Moses had told his people to trust God, and already they have lost faith and heart. Anyone here know someone who has courage and strong faith when things are going well, but falls apart when things go bad? Anyone here ever get exactly what they wanted and hoped for, and then were ungrateful for it? Ever see a kid open a Christmas gift and be upset because they got a sweater instead of an RC car? Ever get frustrated when some people have no idea the sacrifices that were made to give us the opportunities that we have today?

          For all these reasons, and others, my sermon this morning is called, “Don’t Be Ungrateful to God!” We have all questioned God, and all push backed at times in our life.

          For example, I remember when I was about 24-25 years old, and I was serving as a leader on a Walk to Emmaus men’s spiritual retreat weekend. On this weekend, I was talking to a much older and highly respected pastor. This pastor is still serving United Methodist Churches in his 80’s. In talking with this pastor, I was telling him about the job that I had and loved, but that I felt I wanted more, and a higher salary. He asked me if all my bills were paid? I said yes. He asked me if Melissa and I were able to save some money? I said yes. I told him that Melissa and I owned a house, had two nice cars, and a blessed life. He just listened intently. After getting through these questions and listening to me, this much old and wiser pastor asked me a question that I will never forget. He asked me, “Paul are you ungrateful to God or do you believe that God’s provision in your life is not enough?”

          I remember when I went to bed that night thinking and praying about that question. What I realized, was that if I chased stuff, money, and possessions, I would never fully be fulfilled, because all these things can never be enough if all you want is more. I found that on some level I was being ungrateful to God and doubted that God’s provision in my life was good enough. Yet God has provided Melissa and I with everything we needed and then some. This is also why I have never asked a church that I serve for a raise, because God has blessed Melissa and I with so much. Who am I to question or doubt God’s provision in my life? Plus, if I did get a raise, I am just going to give most of it away any!

          I tell you this story of my own life because this morning the Israelite or the Jewish people are doubting God and are ungrateful to God. They believe that they have been freed from Egyptian slavery under the Pharaoh, and that God will just drop them and let them starve. Isn’t it amazing how quickly people can turn on each other and even God?

          How is this food shortage solved then? Let us pick up in Exodus 16:4 once again, where it says:

“⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not. ⁵ On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on other days.” ⁶ So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, ⁷ and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your complaining against the Lord. For what are we, that you complain against us?” ⁸ And Moses said, “When the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening and your fill of bread in the morning, because the Lord has heard the complaining that you utter against him—what are we? Your complaining is not against us but against the Lord.” ⁹ Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, ‘Draw near to the Lord, for he has heard your complaining.’” ¹⁰ And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. ¹¹ The Lord spoke to Moses and said, ¹² “I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’” ¹³ In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. ¹⁴ When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. ¹⁵ When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat”                          (Ex. 16:4-15, NRSV).

          All is well again with Moses and the Israelites or Jews. They have manna from heaven, and quail to eat every day. Does this mean that they will never question God or Moses ever again? No, they will all the time. How many of you have kids that have only questioned or doubted you once? Probably not. Much like this, the Israelites will continue to not fully follow what God is asking Moses to tell them to do. They will then wander the wilderness for 40-years, eating the manna from heaven, and the quail. They then finally come to the border of Canaan, the promised land, the land of milk and honey (Ex. 16:16-36, NRSV).

          Next week, the Israelites or Jews will get unruly with Moses yet again, and we will evaluate that great phrase that maybe you all have heard, “You Can’t Get Water From A Rock”! But that’s next week.

          In general, in the Book of Exodus, God walks the Israelites through a period of testing and trusting. Do God’s “Covenant People” truly trust Him, or do they only trust Him when things are good? Do we trust in God, or do we lean on our own understandings? Do we really believe that God has brought us this far in life to drop us? So, the trust of the Jewish faith, and our Christian faith through Christ, is not in us alone, it is in God. It is in Jesus. It is in the power of the Holy Spirit. Our hope is not in us, nor things of this world, but in the Lord Jesus Christ. We can make the world much better than it is now, but we lack the ability to build a perfect and flawless utopian world. It is not that we have not tried, but we are all broken and sinful by nature. Only through God and His love can this world prosper and look better. True earthly perfection will only be achieved when the Lord Jesus Christ returns, and the world is made into everything we have tried and failed to make it into. An example of humanity trying to do this, is the story of the tower of babel, where the people try to build a literal tower to heaven. It did not go well (Genesis 11:1-9, NRSV)!

          In our reading from the Book of Philippians for this morning, the Apostle Paul tells us once again, to love each other. He tells us to have compassion, sympathy, joy, humility, care, concern, and love for others. Even though Jesus was God on this earth, the Apostle Paul says that even Jesus humbled himself and went to the cross. The Apostle Paul tells us that God is at work in us, and to work for him (Phil. 2:1-13, NRSV).

          Can we build a perfect world on our own? No, but we can make it much better. Yes. The scripture tells us that humanity on earth will be perfected when Christ returns, and until then we are to love, care, give, and do all we can to follow God and serve Christ. God is in control in and us through us. We are not in control of God.

          In looking briefly at our Gospel of Matthew lesson for this morning, which certainly can connect with being “Ungrateful To God,” let us look once again at this reading. It says once again:

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. ² After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. ³ When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; ⁴ and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. ⁵ When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. ⁶ And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why are you standing here idle all day?’ ⁷ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ ⁸ When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.’ ⁹ When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. ¹⁰ Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage.  ¹¹ And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, ¹² saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ ¹³ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? ¹⁴ Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. ¹⁵ Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ ¹⁶ So the last will be first, and the first will be last”                              (Mt. 20:1-16, NRSV).

                    A couple things about this scripture reading from the Gospel of Matthew, first the workers entered into an agreement with a landlord to labor in his vineyard. As you will notice, the landlord pays his workers all the same amount of money, even though some work many more hours than other workers. The workers who worked more than other workers grumbled against the vineyard landlord. Yet, the vineyard landlord said, this is what you agreed to, and you have been paid. Perhaps that vineyard landlord could ask them if they were ungrateful for a fair day’s wag. I mean what difference is it to the workers what the vineyard owner does with his money? After all it is his money, right?

          Second, the biggest take away from our gospel reading from Matthew this morning is this, whenever we repent of our sins and come to Christ, it doesn’t matter if it is early in life, mid-way through, or towards the end of our life, the reward is the same. God’s reward for coming to him and putting our trust in Christ is the same whenever we do it. This scripture reading from Matthew also blows a hole in the incorrect believe that Jesus was some sort of a Marxist or a Communist. No Marxist or Communist I know advocates paying people the same wage for different amounts of work.

          We are called to be loving, generous, caring, kind, and Godly. So, may we all be “Grateful To God,” and be extremely loving and generous to others. Amen.