"Averages Joes"

Sermon Preached By Rev. Kendrick D. Weaver - November 27, 2005

Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19

Many of the biblical accounts that are examined from Sunday to Sunday refer to extraordinary people, whether they are from the perspective of extreme good or evil.  It is not uncommon for us to hear about people who have demonstrated tremendous leaps of faith, made unbelievable acts of self-sacrifice, embodied commitment, and stretched the boundaries of human compassion.  Neither is it uncommon for us to hear about people who have committed inconceivable acts of cruelty, boldly rejected God’s ordinances, epitomized deceitfulness and personified greed and self-ness.  It is not uncommon for us to hear about people throughout the Bible who are on one extreme or the other, who are regard as the ideal protagonist or antagonist.  However, in this account of the Psalms, we get the rare opportunity to explore a biblical account that speaks on behalf of some average Joes.

I.  Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh Commonality

The Psalmist says, “God come forth and assist us, Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.”  Benjamin was caught in a feud between his full brother Joseph and his half-brothers.  When Benjamin and his half brothers arrived in Egypt to secure grain, Joseph told his servants to plant a cup into Benjamin’s sack.  Then Joseph’s servants were sent to retrieve the cup and Benjamin was found guilty of stealing.

Ephraim and Manasseh found themselves in the midst of a disagreement between their father, Joseph, and their grandfather, Jacob.  After Joseph’s family had been moved to Egypt, Joseph took his two sons Ephraim and Manasseh to Jacob.  Jacob viewed the two boys and wanted to give the birthright, the largest inheritance, to Ephraim, the youngest, but Joseph wanted to give it to Manasseh, the eldest.

Benjamin, Manasseh and Ephraim all were in the midst of chaotic circumstances, which they did nothing to deserve.  They did not do anything exceptionally bad to be placed in their situations and neither did they do anything exceptionally good to warrant immediate rescue.  They were just some average Joes caught up in an unfortunate situation.

The psalmist says, “Lord, I saw that you delivered Joseph, and he was someone who was partly responsible for his predicament, so surely you will deliver us, who just happened to come into some bad times.  Surely, you will show some mercy on us average Joes.”

 II.  Awake your might

The psalmist says, “Lord we are just simple people. We don’t have any large bank accounts. We don’t know any influential people. We don’t have striking good looks.  We are not exceptionally charismatic or intelligent. Lord, all the resources that most people possess to bail them out of a situation are not available to us; therefore, we want to appeal to your power.”

There has been instance after instance when a person did not have the physical, mental, social or emotional capacities to make it, but somehow they made it anyway.  There has been instance after instance when a person simply was not smart enough, not strong enough, did not have enough support and stability, did not have enough resources to make it, but somehow they made it anyway.  Somehow they were able to awaken a power apart from all the normal places where power resided.

As a Christian, even when you have no options, you have an option. When everyone looks at the bleakness of your situation and the depletion of all your resources and capabilities, you begin to draw on a power, which is rarely considered.

III. Face Shine

The psalmist says, “God we don’t want just to be able to draw on your power to assist us, but we want your face to shine on us also.”  God’s face is associated with his presence, and shining is associated with God’s glory and magnificence.  The psalmist says, “God we want to be close enough to you to experience and be transformed by your glory.”

There is more to deliverance than you being delivered.  Some of us want God to intervene in situations.  We want to awaken a power to deliver us when all other powers have been exhausted.  However, after the situation is gone and it is no longer an issue, we want God to go away and we want to continue on as business as usual.   It is not good enough just to draw on God’s power, but you should grow closer to God and more spiritually mature as a result of your deliverance.  If your relationship with God is exactly the same after your crisis as it was before your crisis, then you haven’t been delivered.

You think God is trying to deliver you from a particular medical condition, emotional distress, depression, financial burdens or failing relationships, but actually God is trying to rescue you from that spiritual island on which you placed yourself. 

IV. Restoration

“Lord, deliver us in such a way that we appear to everyone else as if we haven’t been through anything.”  You do not want your scars and bruises to tell your testimony for you.  You do not want to come out of a situation and have your physical condition so battered, your emotional state so scattered, family and social life is such disarray that someone can just observe you from a distance and know you have been through something.  That is not to say that you won’t ever have emotional and physical scars, but how you handle a crisis and exit a crisis should draw more attention than the scars you incurred.

You want God to deliver you in such a way that when you tell people what you have been through they won’t believe.  “You have been in the hospital how long? You lost who? You suffer from what? You grew up how?” You then respond, “I know it is pretty unbelievable, but I serve an unbelievable God.  By the grace of God I stand before you restored.”

V. Son of Man

The psalmist makes these three requests to God: for God’s power to be awakened, for God’s face to shine, and for them to be restored.  Why doesn’t the psalmist just stop there?  The psalmist could have just appealed to God, made the requests and ended the psalm.  Why does the psalmist even mention this son of man, which refers to the Christ, the Messiah, the foreshadowing of Jesus? 

The psalmist is speaking on behalf of some average Joes.

Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh were not Moses, Elijah, Samuel, Isaiah, Jeremiah or Enoch.  They did have any special relationship with God.  They didn’t possess any special traits of righteousness.  They said, “Lord we are just regular people and there is such a great distance between us and you.  How can you, God, as great and infinite as you are possibly relate to us?  Lord, how can you deliver us if you don’t even have an intimate understanding of what we are going through?”

Have you ever been dealing with a difficult situation and people notice that you are struggling and they say, “I know what you are going through”? Although you appreciate their support and their words of comfort, in your mind you're saying to yourself, “No you don’t know.  Unless you have wrestled with the same addiction that I wrestled with, cried the same tears that I have cried, suffered the same loss that I have suffered or felt the same pain that I have felt, you don’t know what I’m going through.  Therefore, there is only but so much you can do.”

Only a God that has experienced what you need saving from can save you. Only a God that has felt the sting of humiliation, suffered the lost of loved ones, endured physical pain, been heart broken, experienced failure, been hurt by betrayal, can save you. Only a God that has lived as a human can save you. That is why we say only Jesus can save you.  Only Jesus saves.

Some people say that is too narrow.  There are many paths to one destination.  That is a very interesting way of thinking, but very rarely do we adopt that thinking in any other aspect of our lives.  In every other aspect of our lives we want specialization, expertise, narrow and precise truths, but, when it comes to God, we are comfortable with being vague and general.  The psalmist says,

“Raise up the son of man, raise up a God that is capable of relating to me and therefore saving me.”

          No matter how much power, money or influence we can demand, we all enter sectors of life where nobody knows our names, where our alliances and resources are useless.  We all enter sectors of life where we are just average Joes.  But even in those places a power beyond all others resides which we can access.  Amen.

THE CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER

Eternal God, we desire to have you dwell among us during our most difficult periods.  Your presence is urgently demanded when needs persist.  Yet, we conveniently by pass all reminders of you when our lives are fine.  We forget too often that you will never forsake us nor leave us.  You are present during our weakest moments and greatest triumphs, whether we choose to acknowledge it or not.  Dear Lord, may our hearts and minds be in position to seek you continually.  When we do not feel you near or doubt your concern, may we first question our ability to see you clearly, rather than your presence. Continue to lead us to new points of faith in our spiritual journey.  Amen.