God Knows Our Suffering

INTRODUCTION:

Name is Adam Jones

Pastor at Connect Christian Church (Carl Junction & Joplin)

Wife is Grace Jones - works at OCC

Son is Andrew - student at OCC

Roughly 30 foster kids / foreign exchange kids

Have you ever felt like you were “suffering in the wilderness”???

And maybe “no one seemed to hear you or care”???

Story: Pleasant View Church of Christ

Moved into the early stage of an ongoing church split

Describe experience

Describe reason for split — PLAQUES ON TREES

My home church sent a group of men to rent and load a truck to move my family back to CJ

This week, I am praying that...

We will find hope…and confidence…and a future as we listen for God to speak…

We will hear God’s Word with open ears…and receive His instruction with soft hearts…so we can live with obedient lives…

That this will be a moment when you find a lifeline BACK to safety and healing…

PRAY

Context: How did we get to this point???

Brief telling of Joseph’s story

Beloved son…hated brother…slave…imprisoned…second in charge of Egypt

Famine came…Joseph was positioned to rescue his people…along with the nation of Egypt

God worked ahead of His people to provide in the midst of their suffering

There is a cycle throughout history:

God provides

People thrive

Broken world breaks

People suffer

God hears and rescues

As we step into the book of Exodus together, we are at the point in the process where the people are suffering and crying out for God to hear and rescue…

Exodus 1:8–14 (NIV)

Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt. “Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become far too numerous for us. Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.”

So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly. They made their lives bitter with harsh labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly.

God is faithful in pain.

Story: Back Surgery // The Greatest Loss

2012 - had spinal fusion

God was certainly faithful throughout the pain

Recovery forced me to be off work and at home - by myself

At first, it seemed GREAT…

Read books

Watched movies

Took naps

As it went along though, the isolation actually became more painful than my actual back — PAIN CAN BE PHYSICAL, EMOTIONAL, MENTAL, SPIRITUAL…

House fire down the street

Went to see it…

Wearing pajamas and t-shirt, with house slippers

Had a robe over the whole thing

Needed a walker to get down the street

I shuffled all the way down just so I could be where the people were

I needed a complete restoration - from physical pain, emotional isolation, mental anguish, and spiritual desperation

I eventually had to come to terms with the fact that none of the healing I needed was going to come from people…it would only come from God…and I discovered that, yes, God is indeed FAITHFUL IN PAIN

As much as we all hate pain, it’s impossible to fully recognize the faithfulness of God until it’s been put to the test in the midst of heartache.

Exodus 2:23–25 (NIV)

During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.

God is faithful in covenant.

Explain Covenant:

God’s character

Our identity

Obedience

While this is all playing out, God is at work preparing a leader…

Moses was born to Hebrew slave…placed in river

Rescued by daughter of Egyptian king…raised in royalty

Saw Egyptian beating a Hebrew slave…killed the Egyptian

Ran away to hide from consequences…spent 40 years as a shepherd in wilderness

It was there in the wilderness that God approached the now-humbled Moses

Moses saw a bush on fire but it wasn’t burning up…so he went closer to see what was going on

Exodus 3:5 (NIV)

“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”

Even in the middle of a broken and unholy world…wherever God is becomes holy ground.

Exodus 3:6 (NIV)

Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

Sidenote: I understand the invitation to freely approach God but I wonder if we have occasionally grown a bit lax in our approach, treating Him more as a buddy and less like the I AM who created the universe.

Exodus 3:7-9 (NIV)

The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them.

God is faithful in rescue.

But before we celebrate too quickly, let’s make sure we understand the method of His rescue…

Exodus 3:10 (NIV)

So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”

In Exodus…

God is faithful in pain. He’s faithful in covenant. And He’s faithful in rescue.

And in Exodus…

He’s faithful in rescuing His people by sending Moses with a great responsibility, as His ambassador to the king of Egypt.

Can I paint a picture for you???

In our world, there is an enemy (the devil) who thinks he has power over this whole place…

And you mean NOTHING to him…

He has oppressed you with sin growing out of temptation and has worked overtime to convince you that your shame and guilt will never go away…

You (and everyone you know) has desperately searched for an answer…a relief from the suffering…

God has heard you and remembered the covenant He offered you in Jesus…

He will give you His character…His heart

You will surrender yourself to Him…gaining a new identity in Him

You will commit to obeying His will…and serving His Kingdom mission

As God continues to see the pain, misery and brokenness of the world you are in, He unveils a plan to you…

You’ve been living in a spiritual wilderness for a long time but one day (maybe THIS DAY) you came to an encounter with God and can’t deny His holy presence

And then, as you lean in to listen, you hear Jesus utter these words…

Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)

Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

God sent Moses to set His people free from a broken world.

And Jesus then sent YOU to set His people free from that same broken world.

And Jesus finished by saying, “I’m in it with you until the end!”

The question is not, “Will God be faithful to rescue His people?”

HE ABSOLUTELY WILL!!!

The question is, “Will you be faithful to GO as God rescues His people?”

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

What does it mean when we say that 'God is faithful in pain'? How can we trust God during our own difficult times?

Can you think of a personal time when you felt God’s faithfulness in your pain? How did that shape your faith?

How does the concept of covenant determine our identity and direct our obedience?

In what ways do you think understanding God's covenant can impact the choices you make in your life?

In Exodus 2:23-25, we see that God hears the cries of the Israelites. What does this say about God's character and His concern for our suffering?

How can knowing that God hears you in your struggles change the way you approach challenging situations in your life?

What responsibilities do we have when God calls us to help others, as demonstrated by God sending Moses to rescue the Israelites?

How can you identify and respond to opportunities where you can help others who are struggling in your community?

In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus commissions us to go and make disciples.

What are some specific Next Steps you can take to live out this commission right now?

Can you identify some people in your life who need a leader like you to introduce them to Jesus?

Can you identify some places you frequently go that are opportunities to share your faith?