Scripture Passage
Sermon Audio
The Road we Take
Last week we talked about how worship is total immersion. Total immersion is when you enter into God’s presence, but you cannot enter into God’s presence only through the intellect. You can enter into God’s presence through total immersion. Today, I would like to say that worship is my spirit meeting God’s spirit or collectively our spirit meeting God’s spirit. When we meet God’s spirit, because God is spirit and where there is a spirit, there is freedom. We become free. And as we become free we enter into the glory of God. Have we experienced the glory of God? That’s what worship is. If this doesn’t happen, it is just a worshipful act. The worshipful act is not worship. Worship is a spiritual thing. It’s not a physical thing. So when we meet God and our spirit becomes free and we enter into the glory of God and their worship happens, and that’s what we are trying to do every week.
People think of life as a way. A lot of philosophers talked about life as a way and a lot of poets like Robert Frost, who wrote about roads less travelled and they talk about life as a way. Our Lord Jesus also said, “I am the way.” In other words, life is way, I am the way. And also he said there is a narrow road and wide road. He kind of used this metaphor of way to describe our life. We may take a very different road in a different way. Every one of us takes a different way and the way that we choose leads us to a different place.
The Path We Make
I’ve seen my own children growing up, Josh and Grace, they are both my children and they lived under the same care, but the way they chose their way was radically different. I realized how different every person’s life is. We cannot necessarily say that one way is better than other ways. We cannot say that everyone should follow one way because that is the best way. And also in life, there is no right order. Always. Life doesn’t happen. One, two, three, four. Sometimes four comes first and the rest of it comes at a different time. Even the order of life is very different. The reason we choose a way depends on many things, for example, our circumstances at that time or our feelings and emotion or the kind of people that we meet and sometimes even our blindness and ignorance. These things affect us in choosing our way sometimes as we look back, I was so stupid. I was so ignorant, I didn’t know anything, and in blindness, I’ve chosen many things. Sometimes we feel that but all these things affect which way we choose, but whatever the reason may be, the way we chose shapes us, defines us and makes us a person who we are right now. We didn’t just come here accidentally. We came here by the way that we chose and we came to this place. We don’t need to blame others or our circumstances. The important thing is we still have a way to choose in front of us.
No matter what you have chosen. Still, we have a way, the road that we need to choose. I’m not talking just talking about our careers or work. I’m talking about the way we live our lives, but I’ve realized that the way is not necessarily something I choose. That’s something I realize the way it’s shown to us. I thought all this time I thought that the way the road I choose, but sometimes the way is opened up for me. You just kind of shown to us.
The problem is we’re not spiritual enough. We don’t pray enough. We don’t have quiet time enough, and so we don’t see what road, what way is opened up for us. Many times we just choose the easy way because that is most convenient. We choose a way because we just feel like it. We just choose a way because that is the only way that I know. I don’t know any other way to choose. I just live my life by the given kind of lifestyle that is given to me or because we are so used to living in a certain way. We just continue living that way. The easy way is not always my way. The secret of life is to always create a new path. I believe that that’s the secret of life. To create a new path there is no way that is already paved. Well for you. There is no way. We just have an illusion that there is a way that is paved for me, but there is no way that is paved specifically for you. You have to create that path, that way on your own. We have to find a way that God opens for us. Today Isaiah said, I’ll make a way in the wilderness.
That’s a very strange statement. I’ll make a way in the wilderness. Wilderness is not a place where there is a way. There’s no road in the wilderness. That’s what wilderness is. But God is saying, I will make a way in the wilderness. We didn’t read it today, but in verse 16, Isaiah described it more dramatically. He said, “thus says the Lord who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters.” I mean, where is there a way in the sea where is water in the mighty waters, but God is saying, I’ll make a way, in the sea. God will create a way where there is no way. That is the kind of God we have. God does not want you to continue your way because you don’t see a new way.
Don’t Give up
When people hit the dead end, they always try to go back to the old ways. That was what the Israelites did in the wilderness. Every time they did that, not just once or twice. Every time they faced challenges and they experienced the dead end, “We can’t go any further here. There’s an ocean in front of us and there’s no food. There’s no drink, there’s no way out” and every time we’re in the experience of life challenges, “Oh, let us go back to Egypt. Let us go back to Egypt.” I mean every time God made a way for them, but still when a new problem comes they automatically say, “let us go back to Egypt.” That’s what they did.
In Isaiah. God said to the Israelites, “do not remember the former things were considered the things of old.” What he’s saying is don’t try to go back. Don’t give up. Don’t cut your journey short and then God said, “I am about to do a new thing.” Now it springs forth. Do you not perceive it? Don’t just see the way, the new way that I created for you do not, don’t you perceive it? I’ll make a new thing for you, don’t you see it? And then he said, I’ll make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
No Maps, No Directions
My friends, in life, there is no map for you. I’m sorry to tell you that, but there is no map for you. That is the difference between the literal way and the metaphorical way. When we think about the literal way, we always think about map, these days GPS. If there is no road in GPS there, if there’s no road in the map, then there is no road, but in a metaphorical way, there is no GPS. In the way God creates for us, there is no GPS. You cannot find a way by turning on your GPS. You are not a map follower. You are a map maker. Our map is not complete yet. So far we have created a map for us, but in front of us there is a road that is not yet on the map and you have to draw that map from this point on. God always makes a new way for you, just because yesterday you lived in this way. You don’t have to live today in the same way, and tomorrow your life will not necessarily be the same. Keeping it the same is not the best strategy of life, It’s not the best thing to do, maybe safest, but it’s not the best thing to do or a most exciting way to live your life.
Don’t just complain because you don’t see the way. Don’t just give up because you don’t see the way. Get used to searching for the way and creating the way. It probably won’t be you who created the way but God will open up the way and then you will search for it. While writing this sermon this image came to me. That image is: you make a way you live all your life you make a way and then you come to the dead end. So there. “Oh my goodness, I have nothing. I have no place to go further.” But right there you have to create a path, but it’s very short. When you create a path, a new world opens up. But most people, when they see the dead end, they are so scared, they don’t create a path and they just give up there and then life ends right there, at the dead end.
Reflection
Instead of just sitting down at the dead end, you have to now create a path. Then you will enter into a totally different world. A new world. And I was thinking about death because I have a lot of KSM members who are aged people, they are probably facing the last five years, ten years. And I told them when you face death you may not be able to see the road any further. You think that that’s the dead end, that’s the finish. But when you’re used to seeing what is not, what is hidden, then maybe at the end you’ll be able to see the road that connects the whole thing. And I realize the way that we create, it should not end here, you have to create a path and you have to get there. The whole way will make sense it makes sense. Ah, this is how the road begins and this is how the road ends. Don’t give up in the middle of it. You have a way that you need to create to make the whole way meaningful. Your way is not complete yet. This is the moment that, okay, what way should I create? What way should I search for? Day by day we have to live like that. You may be able to see the map behind you, but you don’t have a map in front of you, but that’s exciting because God will create a way for you.
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