I AM…Still Here
Exodus • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 1 viewSecond sermon in the Exodus sermon series. Jordan opened up the sermon series last week.
Notes
Transcript
Announcements:
Saturday, May 11th we will be handing out water in Hayesville at their community yard sale. If you are able to help us with donating bottled water, we will be receiving donated bottle water starting next Sunday. Once we get a number we are needing, we will update everyone.
2. Starting this week, we will be doing a devotion or two during the week in place of Wednesday evening Bible Study. We will be planning some other events throughout the summer such as gathering at a local park, a cookout, etc. We will keep everyone updated. Feel free to make sure you are on our texting service so you don’t miss anything. We will resume Bible study on Wednesdays in the fall.
3. Please pray for the ministry team going to a women’s center this week to minister.
Worship:
God You Reign
2. God I look to You
3. Same God
4. Great is Thy Faithfulness (Chorus)
Introduction:
I want us to consider some scenarios this morning and see if maybe you can relate or even have a similar story of your own:
Imagine a skilled craftsman diligently working on a delicate piece of art, pouring hours of effort and care into every detail, only to watch it fall to pieces in front of their eyes.
Or the story of Joseph in the Bible, who faced numerous trials and hardships even though he held onto his integrity and faith in God.
Imagine a dedicated worker who consistently gives their best to their job, only to be overlooked for promotion or recognition.
Think about the life of the apostle Paul. He experienced immense opposition and suffering, despite his commitment to spreading the Gospel and serving the Lord. Maybe we experiene something similar with unsaved loved ones?
Imagine a dedicated teacher who tirelessly invests in the lives of their students, yet faces constant criticism and challenges from both students and parents.
Reflect on the experience of missionaries who selflessly dedicate their lives to serving others, only to encounter significant obstacles and opposition in their mission fields. Their commitment to doing what is right doesn't guarantee a trouble-free path.
I believe we can safely say we have experienced situations that when we are doing our best, following the instructions to the best of our ability and then out of nowhere (or continually) something unexpected happens that derails everything.
Putting together a piece of furniture and following the instructions only to be left with “extra” pieces at the end or your end product doesn’t look like what the picture on the box looks like?
You may not be in the process of putting together furniture at your house or dealing with being overlooked at your job for a raise or promotion, but I believe there are some here this morning and online that are struggling with living this thing out called the Christian Life.
Pastor Jordan did an amazing job last week talking about “But God?” Moses had to confront his weaknesses he saw in himself and believe in the calling and strength of the God who had called him.
And there are those of us here this morning that may still need to do that. I want to invite you to stop majoring on your weaknesses and flaws (what you can’t do or don’t know) and put your trust in the strength of a God who can help you become the person He created you to be which starts with accepting the price Jesus Christ paid on the cross.
But for those of us who have put our trust in God and have surrendered our life to Him, you may have experienced the excitement of knowing God’s got your back and nothing can take you down with God on your side. Then it happens.
Things don’t happen the way you think they should. In all actuality, things seem to be getting worse since you have surrendered your life to God! Now things are getting discouraging, frustrating, and aggravating.
Transition: This morning I would like to continue following the story of Moses as he just received the commission from the Lord to go to Pharaoh and tell him to let God’s people go. After giving God excuses for why God shouldn’t use him, he finally goes with Aaron. I think, like us, he may have had the wrong mentality though moving forward. Let’s turn to our passage (Exodus 5:22-6:13) this morning and walk through what I believe God is wanting to speak to us today:
Body:
22 So Moses went back to the Lord and asked, “Lord, why have you caused trouble for this people? And why did you ever send me?
23 Ever since I went in to Pharaoh to speak in your name he has caused trouble for this people, and you haven’t rescued your people at all.”
I. Moses is Frustrated/Discouraged (5:22-23)
A. God told him what to say and he said it (“Hey everyone! I AM sent me so everything will be alright!”) and it didn’t go the way he thought it should (maybe he thought God was going to do everything once Pharaoh said no initially?)
Maybe his expectations were unrealistic from what God told him in (but no miracles):
19 “However, I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go, even under force from a strong hand. 20 But when I stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all my miracles that I will perform in it, after that, he will let you go.
B. Maybe God allowed it to happen that way so he and the people wouldn’t trust in Moses but in God alone?
C. Have you done exactly what you know God wants you to do according to His Word and godly counsel and it still seems to get worse?
D. Is our mentality wrong? Maybe we think following God means that everything should go together smoothly and there will be no problems. That’s wrong! Jesus Himself tells us the same thing in:
33 I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”
E. When we are frustrated, don’t run to social media or to others! Follow Moses’ example and run back to God!
Transition: When we are frustrated and discouraged, we need to run to God as our first resort; not our last resort. He is the One who can walk through what we are facing and give us the strength to hit things head on. Be honest with Him as He can take it and knows anyway! He wants a relationship and part of that relationship is communication with is two ways!
1 But the Lord replied to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: because of a strong hand he will let them go, and because of a strong hand he will drive them from his land.”
2 Then God spoke to Moses, telling him, “I am the Lord.
3 I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but I was not known to them by my name ‘the Lord.’
4 I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land they lived in as aliens.
5 Furthermore, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are forcing to work as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.
II. Reminder of Who God Is (6:1-5)
A. God keeps His promises as He has done with previous generations
B. If God keeps His promises, then what He said WILL come to pass in HIS time; not ours!
C. God sees our current situation and knows exactly what we are going through!
D. Maybe some of us need a reminder this morning of who God is and what He has already done!
-brought you through difficult financial situation?
-reconciled a relationship that was considered to be irreconcilable?
-provided a job for you when you unexpectedly lost yours?
-healed your body when the doctors gave up hope?
-pulled you out from the pit of addiction when you were so hopeless and ready to die because there was nothing else to live for
E. Again, it seems Moses had to fail first in order for God to show Moses and all the people what God can do
10 Do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be afraid, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you; I will help you;
I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.
Transition: When we find ourselves in difficult situations even when we are being obedient to what the Lord is telling us, we need to go to God when we are discouraged and need to let it all out; not social media or yes men! We also need to remember who the God we serve is and what He has done. If He brought us through difficult and unexpected situations and circumstances before, then He will do it again and won’t leave us now!
6 “Therefore tell the Israelites: I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from the forced labor of the Egyptians and rescue you from slavery to them. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and great acts of judgment.
7 I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. You will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the forced labor of the Egyptians.
8 I will bring you to the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.”
III. Reminder of What God Will Do (6:6-8)
A. The Seven “I Wills” for them and us today! (Four Promises)
Promise of Liberation (6:6)
“I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians”
“I will rescue you from slavery to them.”
Jesus is the liberator who has freed us from our sins by His blood
Just as God rescued the Israelites from the Egyptians so they could worship Him in the wilderness, Jesus has paid the price for us to be rescued from sin so we can have a relationship with Him; not to do whatever we want to.
Promise of Redemption (6:6b)
“I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and great acts of judgment.”
Redemption is a financial term which was used to describe the release of a slave by the payment of a ransom.
It later became Biblical law so if an Israelite had to sell himself into slavery in oder to pay a debt, his own family members (a near kinsman) would redeem him by paying the price for his freedom (cf. Lev. 25:47-52)
Jesus is the Redeemer who paid the costly price of our sin by suffering and dying on the cross
Since we are bought with a price, our life is not ours! We can’t do whatever we want to and expect to still be in service to our Redeemer!
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace
3. Promise of Adoption (6:7a)
“I will take you as my people, and I will be your God.”
The word “take” here really means to adopt the same as when God told Abraham in:
7 I will confirm my covenant that is between me and you and your future offspring throughout their generations. It is a permanent covenant to be your God and the God of your offspring after you.
c. It is through Jesus that we are able to part of His church and His body (2 Cor. 6:16b)
d. Since we are adopted into the family of God, that means we have all the benefits of being heirs of God! We have access to all that is His!
12 But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name,
4. Promise of Possession (6:8)
“I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob.
“I will give it to you as a possession.”
Jesus is the One who will bring us to eternal glory through His resurrection (1 Peter 1:4)
d. We are His precious priceless possession and He will help us get to where He wants us to go!
Me taking care of my expensive things with the utmost care and even going above and beyond in some cases in order to protect what I have paid for and how much more does God want to take care of us!
In summary, the Bible says in: (2 Cor. 1:20a)
20 For every one of God’s promises is “Yes” in him. Therefore, through him we also say “Amen” to the glory of God.
Transition: We have talked about going to God when we are discouraged and that discouragedment may be due to some unrealistic expectations. We talked about making sure we remember who God is and what He has already done. Then we just talked about being reminded of what God said He will do and we can hold Him to that! After all of that, just as Moses needed to do so in chapters 3-4, we also need to respond to this!
9 Moses told this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their broken spirit and hard labor.
IV. The People’s Response (6:9)
A. They would have missed out on what God had if it wasn’t for His promises to previous generations, His grace and His mercy!
B. If we respond out of our situation and not out of our relationship with God, then we could miss out on what God is doing as well!
C. This is the same response of those who are still enslaved to sin and seem like there is no hope and no escape.
Conclusion:
In spite of all of this, we often need to be reminded from time to time. And, just as he did in Exodus 3-4, Moses again comes with the excuses of why this plan of God’s won’t work.
10 Then the Lord spoke to Moses,
11 “Go and tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go from his land.”
12 But Moses said in the Lord’s presence, “If the Israelites will not listen to me, then how will Pharaoh listen to me, since I am such a poor speaker?”
13 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them commands concerning both the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt to bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.
God doesn’t address the worries of Moses like He did before. Instead, God reminds Moses of what he was called to do: go to Pharaoh to let His people go.
A. In spite of what we see or don’t see, we need to keep going and doing what God has called us to do!
B. Just as Moses tried to give excuses so he could get out of continuing with the mission, God didn’t change His charge to Moses and He won’t change His charge to us either!
C. All God did for Moses (and what He is doing for us this morning) is remind him that He is still here! He hasn’t gone anywhere!
5 Keep your life free from the love of money. Be satisfied with what you have, for he himself has said, I will never leave you or abandon you.
Sometimes the best thing we can do when things don’t make sense and our situation seems to get worse is to have faith in knowing who God is, what He has already done and that He will do what He has promised to do!
1 Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.
Listen closely this morning as He is saying to us: I AM Still Here!