Down to the River

I hope you have seen God in your life this week. Sunday we had a Spirit-filled time of experiencing God moments. We watch a clip from “O Brother Where Art Thou?” and the sermon was called, “Down to the River.”

Downlaod it here: http://www.mediafire.com/file/2cwfynmiwb3/Down to the River.mp3

or read the text below.

“Down to the River”
Brimfield Faith UMC
April 25, 2010

Acts 9:1-6; Ruth 1:16-18

INTRO – GOD MOMENTS
We are going to begin this morning by watching a movie clip from, “O Brother Where Art Thou?” The movie is loosely based on Homer’s The Odyssey, and is about three escaped convicts who set off in search of a buried treasure. In the scene we are going to watch, Everett, played by George Clooney, Delmar and Pete are on the run when they encounter a congregation going down to the river for baptism. Let’s watch now… [BAPTISM CLIP]
As we continue “Gone Country,” we turn to from country music to movies. The goal of “Gone Country” has been to find Christ in the culture and to talk about spiritual issues in non-spiritual ways. This baptism scene is one of my favorites in an excellent movie. It presents an obviously spiritual act in a creative and engaging way. This movie without being heavy handed, depicts what can happen when God is active in the world and when we become aware of God’s presence.
While the Holy Spirit is constantly active in the world, there are times when the Spirit seems to move in special ways. During these times when the Spirit chooses to break into our world, we have the opportunity to experience a God moment. A God moment happens when our spirits become tuned to God’s Spirit and we enter into the experience. These types of God moments happen all throughout the Scriptures: Moses and the burning bush, Jesus’ healing miracles, Pentecost, etc… These mountaintop experiences have the potential to radically change the trajectory of a person’s life. Several things happen as we enter into the God moment that I’d like to mention this morning.

THE WAYWARD
#1. Every God moments make us aware of our sinfulness.
The scene we watched shows the gang of three escaped convicts going about their business eating roasted gopher. As they are eating a congregation of believers dressed in white robes approaches the river singing. The atmosphere of the woods shifts. Once a refuge to fugitives the woods are transformed as they are invaded by the Spirit of God. As this happens, we see the stark contrast between the godliness of the congregation and the ungodliness of the gang.
As the gang watches the congregation begin the act of baptism, there arises an awareness of their sin. These are bad men. They have committed crimes. They have been in jail. They are not only are they criminals, but escaped criminals. Being in the midst of the congregation, they are fully aware of their transgressions and wayward ways. As they become aware of their sin, the gang’s God moment has begun.
In Acts 9, we encounter another God moment in the Scriptures. Acts 9:1 reads, “Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.” Paul, like the gang, was a bad dude. He was religious zealot, who had gone completely wayward. Not only did he fail to recognize Jesus as the messiah, he distorted his religion for personal gain. He persecuted, jailed and killed Christians for their beliefs.
On his way to Damascus to persecute the Christians, God’s Spirit breaks into his midst as well. “Suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” In this moment, Paul becomes aware of his sinfulness and his wayward ways. Paul’s God moment has begun.
Every God moment starts when the Spirit of God breaks into world. When people come in contact with the holiness of God, they become acutely aware of their unworthiness, their sinfulness, and their shortcomings. The reality of Romans 3:23 becomes self-evident: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We don’t talk much about sin these days. In a pluralistic society, sin has become taboo. In a God-moment, we don’t have to talk about sin. Instead the presence of the Holy Spirit will bring an acute awareness of your sin. This awareness isn’t condemnation or judgment, it simply becomes a reality. We can feel nothing else except like dirty rags in the presence of pure holiness.
If we sense God’s Spirit has broken into a situation, this awareness of sin will shortly follow. As we embrace and acknowledge our own sinfulness, we are invited to fully enter into the God moment.

THE INVITATION TO REPSONSE
#2. Every God moment involves an invitation to respond.
As God breaks into a situation, there will always be an invitation to enter into the moment. God moments are never meant to simply be observed because God wants us to relate to him. God moments beacon us to take an active role in the work God is doing. The invitation demands that we respond to what God in doing in the situation.
The invitation in the movie is heard in the song that the congregation sings on their way to the river. “O sinners lets go down. Let’s go down, come on down. O sinners lets go down. Down in the river to pray.” As Delmar watches the event unfold, he gains a keen sense of God’s presence. The longer he watches, the strong the invitation gets, until he can no longer resist and leaps into the waters of forgiveness. Delmar and then Pete enter into the God moment by stepping into the waters and being baptized. In contrast, Everett witnesses the same events but doesn’t experience the God moment because he doesn’t respond to the invitation.
To return to the story of Paul in Acts 9 hears the invitation in the form of a question: “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Paul responds by asking, “Who are you, Lord?” In this response, Paul is acknowledging the presence of God. Then, “The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” Paul chooses to respond to invitation and enters fully into the God moment. He gets up, goes to Damascus, and waits for further guidance from God. He actively responds to the invitation and participates in the work of God in his life.

Every God moment, involves resistance to the response.
In Revelation 3:20 Jesus says: “Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me.” In every God moment, we have the choice as to whether we will open the door and dine with Jesus. There are a number of reasons that we don’t respond to the invitation. For some, we have been taught that religion is a passive pursuit. Others miss God moments because we heed to voices that discount the experience as it happens. The voices of the evil one will attempt to mislead and distract us during every God moment.
While the voice of the Lord invites us to engage in the experience of God, there will always be voices telling you to resist. In each of these situations, there was a choice as to whether they would participate in the event or not. Delmar could have stood on the side and mocked the people in their robes along with Everett. Instead, he rushes into the waters and engages with God’s Spirit. Paul in a similar way chooses to obey the voice of the Lord by going to Damascus and waiting for God. Instead, he could have listened to the religious leaders he was trying to gain favor with and ignored it.
The reality is that we must participate with God to create God moments. The voices are different for each of us. Although we don’t actively reject the invitation to enter into the God moment, we also don’t actively respond to it. As a result we miss the potential impact of the moment because we don’t act.

THE RESULT
When we choose to resist the voices of opposition and to actively enter into a God moment, our lives will be forever impacted. The invitation to respond to God is an invitation to a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ. Each time we choose to interact with God’s Spirit, we become more like him. For each person and for each experience something different happens. We might know his love deeper. We might experience his forgiveness more fully. We might be healed by his presence. We might be renewed in spirit. The possibly results of a God moment are truly endless.
God moments cannot be manufactured, but I prayed this morning might turn into a God moment for us. So instead of talking a bunch more about God moments, I want to pray and invite the Holy Spirit to show up in this place. The baptismal is placed up front. You are invited to come forward during and after the last song. Remember your baptism if you’ve been baptized. If you are so moved, kneel around the altar in prayer. Allow God to move in the moment and to touch your heart.

Let’s pray… COME HOLY SPIRIT!