By The Rev. Dr. Paul A. Leggett
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Sermon Text: Numbers 14:1-11
Sermon Theme
God is described as being “longsuffering.” This means, among other things, that God is patient and “slow to anger” (Numbers 14:18). It further signifies the fact that God does indeed suffer. This is more than saying that God grieves over us because we turn away from his love. To say that God is long suffering is to say, quite literally, that God “suffers long.” God in his suffering expresses more than his love. It is through his suffering that God transforms and ultimately recreates us. The fact that God chooses to suffer in order to be our savior should change the way we see our relationship to God and even the way we understand our own suffering.
Sermon Outline
- Passionate. God has chosen to be in relationship with his people. God is described in Scripture as a father, a mother, a husband, a wife and a friend. God chooses to be with us, to be involved in our world and all that it contains. God in his freedom enters into human history. God however is not present as an observer or even as a teacher or guide. God is passionate in his love and involvement with us. God then is susceptible to suffering. God is with us personally and intensely. We need to be conscious of God’s passionate presence all around us.
- Pain. The children of Israel have received enormous benefits from God. Yet the people complain against God. They question his actions and even go so far as to say that they should return to Egypt. God says that the people despise him. This is an astonishing statement. God is despised by the people he has loved with an everlasting love. Jesus is despised. He goes to the cross for a world that rejects him. This includes even the disciples. In the darkness of Gethsemane and Calvary all three persons of the Trinity suffer. God’s suffering in Christ is the full encounter with sin, evil and death. We can never lose sight of the suffering which God experiences on our behalf. We need to learn that in suffering ourselves, we are being given the option of drawing closer to God.
- Patient. To say that God suffers or is “long suffering” is also to say that God is patient. God’s patience in fact is astounding. Even though the people of Israel “despise” him, he still forgives them. God’s patience is not indifference or apathy however. God executes judgment. Yet his judgment is always far less than his mercy. God’s patience should be evident in all of us who believe in his Son as Lord and Savior. We should be patient with everyone, believer and non-believer alike. Finally, we should be patient with ourselves. Our lives should show the patience and mercy of God. By so doing we will demonstrate Jesus Christ to a desperate and needy world.
Questions for Us
- How would we describe our relationship with the Lord? Do we experience Him as father, mother, lover, friend, companion, or aspects of all of those? What does it mean for us to say that God is passionate about His relationship with us?
- How do we understand the fact that God chooses to suffer on our behalf? Does God continue to suffer because of the sin and evil in our world? What would it mean for us to stay and pray with Jesus in his suffering (Mathew. 26:40-41)?
- What are some of the ways in which we can show the patience of God in our lives?
