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The Search for the Tangible God
“The Search for a Tangible God”
Corey Fields
October 12, 2008
Exodus 32:1-14
George Barna says that there has been a 92% increase in the number of Americans who don’t attend church since 1990. Beyond just the sheer number growth here, one interesting thing to see has been the changing reasons that these Americans give for not attending church. Several decades ago, if you were to ask a non-church-goer why they don’t attend, you would most likely get answers that have to do with laziness, personal shame, or a past bad experience with church. But today, more and more people are giving a different answer. The fastest-growing reason given by the unchurched for their non-attendance is…disbelief. “There’s no evidence for the existence of God,” they say. They need something tangible.
I’m reminded of a song by Caedmon’s Call, a Christian music group. In a song called “Shifting Sand,” a song that talks about the struggles of faith, one part says, [[SLIDE 1]] “I hear it all depends on my faith so I’m feeling precarious. The only problem I have with these mysteries is they’re so mysterious.” Later, the second verse says, [[SLIDE 2]] “I’ve begged You for some proof for my Thomas eyes to see. A slithering staff, a leprous hand, and lions resting lazily.” Now, this is not new. Ever since the Enlightenment, humans have needed something tangible. We need something we can taste, touch, see, hear, or smell. Not necessarily to prove to us that our faith is true, but just to give us something to hold onto, something to look to. Not all of us need proof. But I would venture to say that all of us need something tangible to help us get a handle on a God who told Moses that His name is “I AM.” Think of the symbols we use. Why wedding rings? Why pictures? Why degrees and diplomas? Why paintings of Jesus or nativity scenes? Why trophies? Why baptism? This is different from saying that everyone needs evidence of God’s existence; that does not seem to be true. But we all DO seem to need visual representations of things that are otherwise intangible.
In my opinion, this is how we need to understand this story from Exodus about the golden calf. After the Israelites asked for and made this golden calf, look what they say in verse 5: “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the LORD.” They haven’t given up faith in their God, and they are still planning on having a festival that God has commanded them to have. No, they weren’t switching God’s or being fickle. They needed something tangible, and they need something immediate. Before, Moses was God’s voice and presence for them. But now he’s been up on the mountain for a while. They’re in the desert, they’re lost, they’re frightened and anxious. And they say to Aaron, “You’ve got to give us something.”
The problem was: they took it too far. The calf was not treated as a symbol but as an idol. Something becomes an idol when it diverts your attention from God instead of pointing you to Him. [Repeat] Modern day Christians have done this with several things. The Bible is supposed to be something that points us TO God, but when we start arguing about it, as some Baptists have done, it diverts our attention FROM God. Same thing with music. We all search for concrete ways to understand and relate to God, but the Israelites, during this desperate and anxious time in their lives, ended up making God much less than He was. God is indescribable. God is uncontainable. No matter how we think of Him or describe Him, He is bigger than anything we come up with. They reduced God. They localized God. And God would have none of it.
God’s response: He was angry with the Israelites, but in the end, after Moses put himself in a precarious position of intercession, He continued to shepherd them and lead them, and show them just how big He is. God told the Israelites again and again that He was bigger than they could imagine; bigger than any idol, bigger than any of the other localized gods so popular at the time. He told Moses, “My name is I AM.” Deuteronomy 10:17 says “For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes.” Isaiah 55:8-9: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts…”
We come to this time of pledging in the life of our church. In 3 weeks, we will be asking all of our members to turn in pledge cards with an amount of money that you promise to give to the church in the year 2009. This passage of the golden calf has something to say in this regard. There’s something to notice about the story. The Israelites gave up expensive possessions for Aaron to make this golden calf. When it comes time to give to the church, we have a decision to make. Will our need for something tangible limit God, or will we freely give trusting in both His spirit and His people?
It takes a faith that goes far beyond our vending machine culture (as I call it). It goes back to that need for something tangible, and something immediate. How does a vending machine work? You put your money in, press a button, you get what you want. If you don’t get what you want, you shake the machine. There are people who will treat the church this way. But the church doesn’t work that way and God doesn’t work that way. God invites us to give generously and give in faith, believing His promise that His word “will not return unto Him void.” Look what has already happened at our church because our faithful members have given in faith without the promise of an immediate, tangible return. You can now go downstairs and see 2 whole hallways that have been transformed into a 3D forest. You can watch boxes and boxes of supplies and materials go out from our White Cross group to those who need it. You can come to our gym on Saturday mornings during the winter and watch over 1000 people come in and out for Upward Basketball. All because you gave without the promise of an immediate, tangible return. [[SLIDE 3 – “We give to God without the promise of an immediate, tangible return”]] Thank goodness God doesn’t work like a vending machine. At a vending machine, you get exactly what you pay for. When God’s at the desk, He does more with what we give than we can ask or imagine. (Remember the feeding of the 5000). You can’t trace your dollars on a spreadsheet from the offering plate down to the Faith Forest hallway, or the gym, or our Sunday School classes. You can’t trace your dollars from the offering plate to the Shawnee Lake where we baptized 6 people this past August. You gave in faith. And once again, this year, we must pledge and give in faith. (And I say “we” because it includes my wife and I…we pledge and give to the church too).
And what a time it is to have to ask ourselves a question like this. The economy is all messed up; I’m not going to even go into it because I’m sure you’re already tired of the news headlines. Our church itself is in flux – we have an interim pastor and are searching for a full-time senior pastor. But in a time like this, what an act of faith it requires to continue giving to your church, or even to increase your giving to the church. But First Baptist, we know that God will be faithful. This year, more than ever, we are going to feel that need for a golden calf, so to speak. We are going to feel that pinch and that need for an immediate, tangible return. But God has been faithful. And He will be again.
I started my sermon by telling you about those who don’t come to church, saying that they don’t believe. There are many people who say that they will not believe until they see. But our Christian faith says, “Believe, and then you will see.”
MTTN (Mission Trip To Nicaragua) Fundraising Breakfast