Insanity is (Sermon 1; September 15, 2013)

Insanity is (Sermon 1; September 15, 2013) Did you ever see the movie, Groundhog Day? It s pretty good. Bill Murray gets stuck in a time loop, repeating the same day over and over and over again. Ever felt like kind of like that, like you re in the same old rut day after day, week after week, month after month? Now, repeating just about anything over and over and over again would eventually get old, wouldn t it? We repeated the opening of our worship service this morning. Well, what if we did that same song, those same announcements, those same video clips every Sunday from now on. Even if you like that song, Freedom is Here, that s going to get really old. Eventually it won t fire you up any more. It would be crazy to keep on doing the same thing over and over again, especially if you want your life to get any better. That s a definition of insanity usually attributed to the great psychologist, Albert Einstein. He says, Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. (Repeat) But that s pretty much how we live! Do you want to talk about insane? Insanity is rooting for UK football year after year, thinking this is the year! You can replace the Cats with the Cubs or the Bengals or the Browns if you want. In fact, I m about ready to add the Cowboys to the list. Insanity is coming up to an elevator, and seeing that they ve already pushed the button, it s already lit up, but you have to push the button yourself, two or three more times. It doesn t speed it up, guys! Insanity is dropping 5 quarters into a vending machine, pushing the button and nothing happens; so you dig out 5 more quarters and try again maybe this time it will work, right?! Insanity is ordering the pizza with everything on it knowing you are going to pay for it with serious pain even before you get back to the car. It is insane to do the same thing over and over again knowing it has never worked out well before, but maybe this time will be different, we think. Now, if it was only about Cats fans and elevator buttons, the principle would be harmless, but it s not! We do the same junk over and over again even when we know the results in the past have been really bad. And we think, stupidly, maybe this time it will be different. Page 1 of 10

Insanity is telling your kid, Stop it or else, Stop it or else, Stop it or else. And he doesn t stop it; and there is no else. And yet we keep yelling Stop it or else thinking it eventually will work! Just a tip, parents: it won t. Insanity is eating too much and exercising too little and then getting frustrated with your bathroom scales! I ve tested this one. If you keep eating the same, and exercising the same, you don t get any skinnier no matter how bad you want to. Insanity is trading one jerk boyfriend, for another jerk boyfriend, for another jerk boyfriend and then telling yourself, the next guy who picks me up at the bar will be different! Insanity is convincing yourself that you are going to get better grades in school, while you continue to blow off your homework refuse to study seriously for your tests. Insanity is thinking your marriage will eventually improve, while you keep treating him with disrespect, or while you keep neglecting her for your video games, or whatever else you put before her. Insanity is going to work day after day with the same bad attitude, the same marginal effort, the same marginal ethics, and thinking that you ll eventually get ahead. Insanity is buying a little more than you need, and a little more than you can afford, and charging it because you want it now, while convincing yourself that eventually you ll give your first back part to God, and how eventually you ll have enough money to be generous. Insanity is drinking to dull the pain, or eating to dull the pain, or popping pills to dull the pain, or sleeping to dull the pain, and thinking that eventually the pain has to go away. It probably won t, that way. If insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results, t then it s an epidemic. Because this isn t just the folly of a few, we re all infected, I think! Christians, non-christians; white, black; male, female; the young and stupid, the old and only slightly less stupid it s an epidemic, isn t it? I ll bet you re not the exception. It s how we do life in this world. In fact it s how we do life with God. We fall into these ruts, we develop these defaults, we do the same thing over and over again, hoping, eventually, somehow, magically we ll get different results. It doesn t work: never has, never will. To change the result you have to change the path. Different actions are required for different results. Page 2 of 10

It s been this way for millennia. I want to take us back to an old, old story about a guy who does the same thing over and over again, I guess he keeps expecting different results. It doesn t work out so well for Pharaoh; just like it doesn t work out so well for us, when we do the same thing. It s the story of the Exodus; you already know something about the story. So, if you have your Bible or your Bible app with you, find Exodus 5. The confrontation between Pharaoh and God starts in Exodus chapter 5. The Israelites are slaves in Egypt; and God is going to free them from their slavery; so God sends a guy named Moses to the Pharaoh with this message. Exodus 5.1, he says: This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the wilderness. Now I want to show you something kind of interesting. If you look up there on the screen or look carefully at your Bible or your Bible app, you ll notice that the word LORD is written kind of funny. It s the only word that is in all capital letters, all caps. It s because the Hebrew word there isn t the word Lord. In Hebrew, Lord would be Adonai. The word here is Yahweh. It s the word the Israelites used as God s name. It means something like I Am, (Jesus called himself I AM. Or it may mean, The one who is, or The one who causes everything else to be. It was a name so precious, so holy, that eventually the Jews wouldn t even speak it. Instead of saying Yahweh, they d just say, Adonai, the Lord. So out of respect, every time you see The LORD in all caps, that s actually Yahweh, the word they took to be God s name in the Hebrew. So Moses says to Pharaoh, This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel says: Yahweh says, Let my people go! And Pharaoh says (verse 2), (Who?!) Who is (this Yahweh) the LORD, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know (Yahweh God,) the LORD and I will not let Israel go. That s Pharaoh s first No to God. Now this No kind of makes sense to me. You shouldn t obey just any God because some other twit tells you too. So Pharaoh kind of doubles down. He tells his slave drivers, These Israelite slaves are getting lazy. They must not have enough to do. Keep their quota of bricks the same, but make them find their own straw. I like the way the Message puts it. Pharaoh says, Crack down on them, guys. That ll cure them of their whining, and their god-fantasies. Now I think Page 3 of 10

Pharaoh s response is quite reasonable. He doesn t know this so-called God yet; so why should he listen to him, why should he fear him? Well, God is about to introduce himself to Pharaoh. (Show 6.1 NLT) Yahweh says to Moses, Watch now. Not only is this little twit going to let my people go, he s going to drive them out. You see, when God decides that something needs to be done, it s going to get done. He is God, and we re not. Now God starts out kind of gentle with Pharaoh he usually is gentle, at first. The more stubborn we get, the more powerful he nudges; but he starts out kind of gentle. So, turn over to chapter 7. Now I m going to go over this stuff really fast, so if you are going to follow along in your Bible, hang on. In chapter 7 God gives Pharaoh a little demonstration of his power this is God s first nudge after Pharaoh tells him No. Moses and his brother Aaron tell Pharaoh again, God says, Let us go. And to show Pharaoh that he needed to listen to God, Aaron throws his staff onto the ground, and it turns into a snake, it says. Now guys, I m not going to go into how people explain all these miracles this morning. Some people get really creative with their explanations, and others get really hung up here. If you want to explore that part of the story, I can give you some resources to study. But that s not where I m going this morning. I want to focus on how Pharaoh keeps telling God No, over and over again, I guess expecting different results I want to see how Pharaoh goes gradually insane. Well Pharaoh wasn t impressed. It says, verse13, Pharaoh s heart became hard, he got stubborn, he wouldn t budge. God says, Let them God; Pharaoh tells God, take a hike. Okay we still kind of sympathize with Pharaoh. Maybe this Yahweh is real, and he may even be kind of powerful, turning sticks into snakes, but it hasn t cost Pharaoh personally, yet, to push God away. It s easy to push God away when you don t feel the cost. But that s going to change, fast. You probably can t name them all, but you ve heard of them 10 plagues. God sends 10 plagues against the Egyptians to force Pharaoh to let his people go. Now again, I m not going to focus on how people explain these miracles. And I m not even going to focus on how God hardens Pharaoh s heart sometimes. That stuff is kind of interesting, but I Page 4 of 10

want to look at this rut Pharaoh digs for himself, that keeps getting deeper and deeper. If you keep telling God No, it gets harder and harder to tell him Yes, even though telling him No keeps getting more self-defeating. Plague 1: if you are following along, I am at Exodus 7.14. Plague 1: God transmogrifies the water of the Nile River into blood. The fish die, the water becomes undrinkable. It spreads to the streams, the ponds, the reservoirs. In other words, telling God No is starting to get costly. Listen, guys, it is always self-defeating to get stubborn with God always! God says, Let my people go. Pharaoh says, Keep dreaming. Verse 22(-23): Pharaoh s heart remained hard. He refused to listen, like most of us. So God turns up the heat. God does that sometimes when we get stubborn. In chapter 8 we get Plague #2: God sends a plague of frogs. Frogs everywhere, in their houses, their bedrooms, their beds, their sinks, their ovens. It s so bad that Pharaoh tells God Yes for just a moment. He actually begs Moses, Plead with (your Yahweh God) the Lord to take the frogs away from me and my people. (And then) I will let your people go. Now look at what he says really carefully. If God fixes my problem first, then I ll do what he wants. This is one of those If Then prayers. Ever pulled one of these on God? You give me what I want first, then I ll do what you ask. Pharaoh tries to negotiate with God, like we do. And when fixes the problem, Pharaoh reneges on God, like we do. We make promises to God when we are in trouble, and as soon as we get out of trouble, we look for loopholes. Verse 15: When Pharaoh saw that relief had come, he became stubborn. He refused to listen God says, Let my people Go. Pharaoh says, Okay well, I don t think so. Now, we ve got the beginnings of a rut. Pharaoh is becoming pretty comfortable with telling God No. Sounds pretty normal to me. I ve done it; I suspect you ve done it too. So God sends Plague #3: Gnats -- billions and billions of gnats. Now they can be a real nuisance. This plague of gnats was the first miracle Pharaoh s magicians couldn t duplicate. In fact the magicians tell Pharaoh, This (has to be) is the finger of God! (8.19) This isn t a game anymore. But Pharaoh wouldn t budge. God says, Let them do; Pharaoh says, I don t think so. I guess he thinks he can wear God down. I guess he thinks that he can do the same thing with God over and over again and Page 5 of 10

eventually he d get a different result. Verse 19: Pharaoh s heart remained hard. He wouldn t listen to them. Now Pharaoh is starting to be more than a little stupid. Pharaoh says, I d rather endure swarms of gnats, and mosquitoes, and ticks, and chiggers than say Yes to God. And we still live that way! When we get in the rut of telling God No, we would rather endure the failures of our poor choices than say Yes to God. Why is that? At some point our stubbornness starts moving towards insanity. So God keeps upping the ante. He ll do everything necessary to get our attention. Plague 4: billions and billions of flies kind of like the gnats on steroids. The Greek Old Testament calls them dog flies, which were probably biting flies. Billions and billions of flies that are kind of like oversized mosquitoes! Now it s kind of amusing to watch Pharaoh this time. God says, Let them go. Pharaoh says, How about a compromise (which is another way to tell God No.) (Verse 25 on screen) He says, Okay God, (I guess) I ll let your people go (daggone it); but they can (only) go where I tell them to go, not where you tell them to go. I ll do what you want, God, but I ll do it my way. Ever been there with God? Ever prayed that prayer? I guess I ll do what you want, God, but I ll do it my own way. Guys, God won t compromise. Eventually Pharaoh just tells God No again. The rut s getting deeper. Guys, the more you tell God No, the harder it is to tell him yes, even when the results are awful. Plague #5, Exodus chapter 9. Now it s getting serious; now things will start dying. God says, I ve told you, Let my people go, or I ll send a plague on your livestock. Your horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep, goats, they are going to start to die. Now that s hard, isn t it? Guys, that s how serious this stuff is. This is God, this is our Creator, this is the Holy One, giving orders. Do you think it s a little thing to tell God No? The next day, the livestock of the Egyptians start dying. And yet, here s what it says, Pharaoh s heart remained stubborn, he still refused to let the people go. (9.13) How deep is his rut by now? Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. Has he crossed the line yet? Does he really think God is going to bend, that God is going to give in, that God is going to wear out? But I m telling you, the more we tell God No, the harder it gets to tell him Yes. Our ruts get really deep. Page 6 of 10

So God keeps upping the ante. Plague #6: God causes boils to break out on the skin of the Egyptians. Now the pain is personal. How could God do that? How could God cause anyone physical pain, we wonder. But sometimes personal pain is what it takes to get us out of the rut of telling God No. Sometimes it takes pain before we will bend our wills to God. C. S. Lewis called pain God s megaphone. But it doesn t always work. But even when it hurts, we still tell God no. Even when our No to God is selfdestructive, we re still stubborn. We know our catting around is destroying our family but we still do it. We know our drinking is destroying our bodies but we still do it. We know our spending habits are causing our ulcers but we still spend more than we can afford. Pharaoh still won t budge. So God sends plague #7: a plague of hail that decimates whatever livestock are still left, and their crops, and even kills some people. This part is actually kind of funny: 9.20-21: Some of Pharaoh s officials were afraid because of what the Lord had said. (So) They quickly brought their servants and livestock in from the fields. Well I d think so: after rivers of blood, and frogs, and gnats, and biting flies, and a plague! But (it says,) those who paid no attention to the word of the Lord left theirs (servants and livestock) out in the open. Now that s stupid! That s insane. Do they think God doesn t mean it this time? Do they think he doesn t have the power, or the resolve? Do we actually think we can keep saying No to God, and eventually he ll give up? Well the hail comes, and livestock dies, and crops are wiped out. And Pharaoh almost says Yes. I love this part. He summons Moses and Aaron, and this time he doesn t blame God. He says, This time I have sinned. Well Duh! The Lord is the righteous one, and my people and I are wrong. Huh a glimmer of sanity! He says, Please beg the Lord to end this terrifying thunder and hail. We ve had enough. (I give in!) I will let you go; you don t need to stay any longer. (9.27-28) But as soon as the hail stops, do you know what he does? You know what he does, because you ve been there and done that. When Pharaoh saw that the hail had stopped, he and his officials sinned again, and Pharaoh again became stubborn. Because his heart was hard, Pharaoh refused to let the people leave (9.34-35) Page 7 of 10

He s in deep now, guys. But you ve been there, done that. You ve come into this room and felt God s conviction of your sin. You have confessed your sin and begged God s forgiveness. And then you have walked out those doors to the same old all over again. In fact, for some of us, that s pretty much what Sundays are all about. We admit that God is right; we confess that we are wrong; but we are so stuck in our sins, so stuck in our rut of telling God No, that we never really change anything. Guys, getting a different outcome requires choosing a different path. Getting different results requires trying some different actions. I m going to have to speed this up. There are 10 of these plagues as God keeps upping the ante. Plague #8: Locusts, a gigantic swarm of locusts. By this time Pharaoh s people are begging him to let the Israelites go, but he still doesn t budge. Have you ever been so entrenched in your rut, that people begged you to give in to God, but you feel like you re in too deep? Plague #9: Darkness, a darkness so thick it was almost as if they could feel it. Pharaoh says, Okay, okay, you can go; but you have to leave all your animals behind. Are you serious? We re at plague 9 and Pharaoh is still trying to negotiate with God! I m telling you guys, entrenched sin makes people stupid. It s crystal clear to anyone who is watching you. There s just one more plague, Exodus chapter 11: God says, If you don t let my people go, it will cost you your firstborn. And we are horrified! How could God? How could God kill? And God says, Well, I started with a snake, then blood, then frogs, then gnats, then flies, then a plague on your critters, then boils on your bodies, then hail, then locusts, then darkness and your question is, How could you? What does it take to get your attention? What does it take to get you to bend to will your God? And finally Pharaoh lets them go. Someday every person will bend their knees to God. It s what you do with him now that will make that the greatest, or the worst day of your life. Now this is kind of a weird story, isn t it? It s the story of a descent into sin, a descent into insanity. The digging of a rut so deep Pharaoh keeps on doing the same thing over and over again, knowing that the outcomes were repeatedly terrible, and yet, I guess, thinking eventually he d win. Page 8 of 10

When did Pharaoh cross the line into insanity? How many times do we tell God No before we dig a rut so deep that it is nearly impossible to get out? You see, our life with God isn t all that different. We see the evidence for God all around us. We sense his presence, his power, we feel his nudges and we are still way too comfortable telling him No. We negotiate with God. We look for some compromise. I guess I ll do what you want me to do, God, but I m going to do it my way! Guys, that s just another way to tell God No. We pray those if-then prayers. God, if you do this for me, I guess I ll do something for you. God, if you fix this for me, I ll go to church more, I ll clean up my language more, I ll start giving back more. And then, when the crisis is over, we look for loopholes, we renege on our promises. We know our behavior is self-destructive, and we keep on going anyway. We know our sin is hurting our wife, our kids, our friends, and we just keep on. We know our behavior is breaking God s heart, and we get so stubborn, our ruts get so deep Sometimes we even will admit that we are wrong, and God is right. We admit that the problem is not with God, it s with us. We agree with God, and yet we keep on doing what he hates, and what we hate, too. We come to church and feel all convicted. We come to church and are filled with remorse. We come to church and confess our sins to God. And then go out those doors to the same old. We fool ourselves into thinking, Next time it will be different This is next time. Here s the deal, guys. We see this pattern so clearly in others, sometimes we don t see it so clearly in ourselves. We see the impact of sin on the lives of others our parents, our kids, our friends, our colleagues. We are so good at rationalizing, and justifying, and making our excuses Isn t this an awful sermon! It s so dark, and so gloomy. Well, we re not going to leave it there. There is a way out. We re just not going to get to it this week. That s next week. This week all I m trying to do is to get us recognize the problem. That s the first step to getting out of our ruts; we Page 9 of 10

have to recognize that we re in one. We have to see it before we can break out of it, with God s help. Next week I want to do two things. I m going to talk about how important it is for us to break the insanity. You see, how I deal with my sin will shape how my children deal with their sin, and how my grandchildren deal with their sin. They are watching us, they are learning from us. And we are going to do something in our worship next week that you are going to remember, for a long, long time. And then we ll talk about how break the insanity. We have to change our actions to change our results. If you want a different outcome, you ll have to choose a different path. That s hard. But with God s help, we can do it. That s next week. Guys, it s going to take God s help. The only way to break the insanity of sin is to call on God s power, to submit to him. That s what we re going to do in the next few minutes. Steve s going to lead us in a song of submission; then we re going to go to the Lord s Table where we get to taste grace all over again. Let s pray Page 10 of 10