Sermon Tone Analysis

INTRODUCTION

We relate with the Exodus story more than we realize.

We relate with the Bible stories more than we realize.

(1) There’s a misunderstanding that the Old Testament isn’t relevant or applicable anymore… But if we pay attention when reading these stories we will realize these are our stories, these are the stories of our lives.

The Exodus narrative is central to the Old Testament as a whole, and sheds light on major themes about God and how God relates to us

(2) Another misunderstanding we have is thinking God is absent in the world

You’ve heard the refrain, “how can God be good or real with all the suffering that exists in the world?”

So many conclude that either God is: (1) absent or worse (2) God isn’t good

(3) A third misunderstanding is that God wants to rob us of good experiences and of joy.

Many who think of God think about a set of rules to keep us bound and burdened.

In this view, religion is really about power and control.

Interestingly and I think, encouragingly, this is not what we see in this narrative.

So today I want to discuss the Exodus narrative in terms of three things:

(1) relevance to us… in other words, “what does this have to do with us modern, sophisticated people?”

(2) how this Exodus narrative depicts God’s presence… in other words, “is God present? is God good?”

(3) how this Exodus narrative depicts God’s purposes… in other words, “why the rules?

why the pain?

can God be trusted?”

[Let’s Pray]

Exodus 13:5b “to give you a land flowing with milk and honey”

ANCHOR TEXT

exodus 13:14b “by a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery.”

The Relevance of the Exodus Story

When we tell a story context is important…

When I say context, I am talking about who we are talking about, when it took, what is happening…

We don’t want to go over all this because it’s not ALL necessary to know for today…

But a couple points of context regarding the Exodus story & also our story, our context…

Here’s the deal, the people of Israel, God’s chosen people that he promised to build a great nation from have now spent 430 years in captivity in Egypt

For perspective, America wasn’t even a country 430 years ago!

430 years ago would have been November of 1592

America wouldn’t have been founded for another 184 years!

So for that whole length of time (430 years), God’s people were enslaved in Egypt… let that sink in, that is a long time!

God’s people were oppressed and beaten and forced into slave labor and they were NOT FREE!

Things were not going well for them, for a long time!

Too long for us to really grasp, I think!

And the reality is their story may feel like our story, or your story!

Because here’s the deal:

suffering,

tragedy,

loneliness,

addiction,

trauma,

abuse — these are universal experiences…

This story is relevant to us because there is a parallel between the Exodus story and our story

maybe you haven’t been physically enslaved, but maybe your life has felt that way for seasons and for moments.

Coming from someone who leads an addiction ministry, I can tell you… addiction looks a lot like enslavement to me.

And it doesn’t always have to be that severe… it does no good to compare our suffering to others...

Because maybe you deal with:

depression,

assaulted,

chronic anxiety or loneliness,

you fee abandoned by those closest to you…

stuck in a job or a marriage that feels lifeless…

maybe life just hasn’t panned out like you’d dreamed and you’re losing hope!

Personally, I remember 2018-2019, a dark season in my life… feeling alone, feeling tired, feeling stuck, feeling hopeless, no energy… I was going through some situational depression.

I wasn’t physically enslaved, but I felt all alone and like there was nothing I can do about it.

Maybe you have felt that way.

Maybe you feel something like that right now!

Yes, this story took place thousands of years ago, but it rings true today!

Without purpose, hope & a future human beings despair and resort to the worst kinds of behavior!

Maybe that is you today… life is feeling futile, “it all feels pointless!”

No future

Losing hope

No purpose

This story is relevant… because it is your story, it is my story.

The Bible meets us where we are...

What does the Exodus Story Reveal about God’s Presence?

Ok, so this story may be relevant, but how is it good news for us?

If we stop there… “okay we all suffer, so what now???”

Often, we think god is absent but that’s because we don’t always see the big picture!

We live in a world where humans (we) make choices and those choices have consequences and they’re not always good, right?

So suffering abounds, pain abounds, things don’t always go our way — and often we get so hyper-focused on that that we don’t see anything else.

You turn on the news and that’s all you see and hear… “everything is broken, everything is bad...”

But that is only partially true… We have been given the power to make choices and sometimes those choices lead to harm… sometimes we get sick, sometimes life doesn’t feel fair…

That is probably how the people of Israel felt as they were slaves in Egypt for 430 years… many generations lived and died in slavery… hundreds of years went by!

It seemed like all hope was lost!

But God made a promise to his people, that he would deliver them that he would make them a great nation and bless them!

And despite all their fumbling and bumbling around... God kept his promise to his people.

It didn’t happen exactly how they might’ve wanted or when they might’ve wanted… but God was faithful and remains faithful!

What looked like endless evil and a hopeless situation, God brought redemption and freedom and peace!!!

[Here’s what’s hard for us] We focus on the gross way more than we focus on the good!

We get addicted to negativity… We go through disappointments and traumas and it leaves us scarred: walking through life defensiveness and distrusting and angry!!!

We can’t help ourselves from only seeing what’s wrong… 10 things could be going right, and all of a sudden 1 disappointment happens and that is all we focus on!

We cry out, “How can God be good?

How can God be loving?”

We live from a posture of reactivity and anger and distrust!!!

And unfortunately, this only leads us towards more pain..

Unless we intentionally break the cycle of evil, it always goes the same way… pain begets pain which begets pain which begets more pain!

[Here’s the deal and here’s the crux of the Exodus story!] God is trying to redeem you just like he redeemed his people out of Egypt!

Moses, like all other OT figures, foreshadows Jesus…

Yes, God used Moses to lead the people out of Egypt… not because Moses was special… Moses was a murderer and he was selfish and troubled...

But Moses foreshadows the ONE who comes many many years later, who we are about to celebrate in this Advent season coming up — the Christ, Jesus himself.

And Jesus doesn’t stop at just delivering Israel out of Egypt — talk about presence — Jesus comes down from the perfection of Heaven, takes on flesh, lives amongst our suffering and mess and takes on Evil, Pain and Suffering once and for ALL!!!

Yes, we still deal with hard stuff — but we don’t have to do it alone!

We have a God, in Jesus, who has experienced what we have experienced, who has struggled as we have struggled, who knows what it’s like to be hungry and poor and lonely!!

And he didn’t give up on us!

In the same way God used Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, Jesus wants to lead you towards freedom from your addictions, your loneliness and your pain!

We have a God who suffers with us, who is present with us in our suffering and in our doubt —

Why???

Because we are loved by God!