Redemption: The Exodus

Women’s Book Club

First meeting September 29

Registration is free — Receive weekly email — Reading “In His Image” Jen Wilkins — Purchase Book on Amazon

Missions Update: Lucas and Katy Matthews

I led two summer missions to San Diego - one week each in May and June. We taught our students how to share their faith, walk in the Spirit, grow in their faith through the Word and Prayer, and more. Each day we had a combination of training/development and time sharing our faith on the beach in San Diego. 11 people indicated decisions to trust Christ as our students shared the gospel on the beach with vacationers. 6 of those 11 were from other countries like South Korea, Canada, Ireland, and Argentina. The church can be praying for those people - that they would grow in their faith and get connected to other Christians and a church.

I led two summer missions to San Diego - one week each in May and June. We taught our students how to share their faith, walk in the Spirit, grow in their faith through the Word and Prayer, and more. Each day we had a combination of training/development and time sharing our faith on the beach in San Diego. 11 people indicated decisions to trust Christ as our students shared the gospel on the beach with vacationers. 6 of those 11 were from other countries like South Korea, Canada, Ireland, and Argentina. The church can be praying for those people - that they would grow in their faith and get connected to other Christians and a church.

As a team we just had a couple days of staff planning. We’re gearing up for Fall launch at Sac State and ARC. We are also hoping to get movements started at Sierra College, William Jessup, and Yuba College. If anyone from the church is interested in getting involved, we’d love help finding student leaders on those campuses. We’ll be visiting Sierra College in the next couple weeks to hopefully find some students so I can pass on that info once we solidify our schedule. The church can be praying that God would lead us to the right students who want to see their campus impacted by the gospel!

Personally, Katy is recovering from a foot injury that happened about a year ago. She’s been in physical therapy for the past year and is doing a lot better but isn’t quite at 100%. You can be praying for her health, especially as I go back to campus and won’t be able to help out as much with Ellie during the day. Ellie is 15 months old and walking. She is a joy and a handful! Here’s a recent picture of us as well.

September Sermon Series DNA

December three week break

Came across a tool that led you through an extensive assessment of all things church related

Over the last eight months, the elders have met to pray and discuss how we should go about making the necessary adjustments

I’m happy to say, we’re ready to share our findings with you and what changes we believe need to be made in order for Redemption Church to become a Great Commission, disciple-making Church

We think it is so important that we will be presenting it to you during the main teaching time during the month of September

We also think it is so important that we strongly encourage you not to miss any Sunday in September

If you’re not a member, but you call Redemption Church your home, you’ve been enjoying fellowship, and communion and shepherding we encourage you to be a part of this with the intention of becoming a covenant member at the end of the month

DisciplesPath beginning in September

One of the gaps that we discovered was that we had no unified way of making sure every teenager and adult had come to understand the basics of the Christian faith

So, we have decided that we would like all of our Gospel Fellowship Groups to complete a series of study books called the DisciplesPath starting the first week of September

If you are not a part of a Fellowship, we invite you to come at 9am, Sunday mornings where we will host as many groups as are needed in order to have the entire congregation on the same page

Introduction: What the Problem is; our contemporary cultural context: Here is what we face

The Bible is filled with lots of short stories that make up one unified story that leads to Jesus

Last week we looked at the most or one of the most popular stories in the Bible, David and Goliath

We learned that everyone needs courage, but counterfeit courage will not last. Only when we

recognize our need for a champion

and realize that Jesus has already won the big battle

will we have the courage to follow Jesus in the midst of even our greatest fears

Today we’re going to look at another really famous story from the Bible, the Exodus

Between Two Monsters

The Israelite army was up against the Philistine champion, Goliath

If they could defeat him, they wouldn’t have to be Philistine slaves

If they lost, they would. The fear of the giant and the fear of slavery made them freeze in fear

In the story this week, the problem they faced was similar, but perhaps even more scary

They were between the monster that Pharoah was and the monster that the Sea was

This is what you might call, Mount Impassible. A human monster and a natural monster

Going back meant slavery, going forward meant drowning

Being paralyzed wasn’t an option

What do you do in that situation?

You can’t just say, “Oh I would pray that God would miraculously split the waters and let us walk through on dry ground. And then when we’re all safe, to drown the enemy.”

Nobody was thinking that way.

That’s because no one ever has to make that decision. Those Israelites didn’t have to make that decision ever again.

But one thing that all humans have in common with this group is that we’re up against tough decisions all the time.

We all want to know ahead of time, “Is this going to work out?”

But when all is said and done, this story is not really about making the RIGHT decision.

Israelites didn’t make a good decision by walking through the Red Sea

This story is actually all about whether or not you are trusting in the RIGHT God

What the Bible says; the original readers’ cultural context: Here’s what we must do

The book of Exodus is a part of a five book series called TORAH or the Pentatuch

Many years after the Exodus happened, people would read and tell the stories they found in TORAH

Most Bible scholars believe that Moses was the human author of this five book series

But the purpose for the TORAH was to teach the Hebrew people what (The LORD - Sovereign KING) was like, what He was doing in the world and what He wanted His people to do

So in order to really understand what the LORD wanted for the original readers of this story to see, we need to rewind the story just a little

The Promise to Abraham

A lot happens between , but the story takes a huge turn in

After a long list of families, Moses talks about a very specific family, the family of Abram

YHWH (the name of Israel’s GOD, the GOD of the Bible) somehow speaks to Abram and tells him to uproot and go to an unknown location

And YHWH then issues a promise:

Genesis 12:2–3 ESV

And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Gen 12:

Abram actually obeyed YHWH and left… he was 70 years old

About 15 years later, Abram still had no heir, no son, so he speaks to the LORD and basically says, “My body clock is telling me, I’m running out of time to have a son… and my wife too.”

YHWH tells Abram, “Don’t worry, trust me, I’m going to give you your own son as an heir.”

About 15 years later, Abram and Sarah still had no child together… that makes Abram close to 100 and Sarah in her 90’s

But just as YHWH promised, Abram and Sarah gave birth to one son named Isaac

What does that tell us about the LORD? He keeps His promises...

Fast forward the story quite a bit

Joseph in Egypt

A lot happens between the time of Isaac’s birth and the Exodus

Isaac has two sons, Jacob and Esau

Jacob has twelve sons and through a series of events his eleventh son, Joseph is sold into slavery to the Egyptians

Egyptian people worshiped all kinds of different gods, but not YHWH

What is YHWH like?

Almighty Creator

Kind and personal

Keeps His promises

Chose Abram’s family to bless all the families of the world

GOD used Joseph to rescue not only the Egyptians, but all nations from the lack of food and rain

Once again we see YHWH working to bless all the families and keep His promise to Abram

All of Jacob’s family moved to Egypt

Exodus 1:7 ESV

But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.

Exodus 1:

Notice how Moses reminds his readers not to forget the God of all Creation who instructed the first humans to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth...

Joseph died and was forgotten in Egypt and there was a new Egyptian King who did not know Joseph

A New Pharoah in Town

Historically man Kings believed that they were chosen by the gods of their people and were themselves gods

They believed they had complete authority to do what they wanted and were accountable to no one

This Egyptian Pharoah was not like the last Pharoah who surprisingly acknowledged and respected Joseph’s GOD (YHWH) because Joseph was able to tell Pharoah what his dream meant which was how GOD spared the known world from starving to death

He saw the Hebrews flourishing and was afraid of what might happen if a war broke out and the Hebrews turned on the Egyptians

So he made them work really hard to build up his city

But the more the Egyptians pushed, the more the Israelites grew in number

So Pharoah made it harder on them and made them slaves

He commanded them to be treated very poorly and beaten

He also commanded that the doctors who helped the Hebrews give birth, kill their babies

Moses tells us that the midwives feared YHWH, so they didn’t kill the babies, but they paid for it

And Pharoah decided to command all of his people that if they saw a Hebrew baby boy, they were to throw him in the Nile river

Moses tells us that his mother gave birth to him and before he’s discovered places him in a basket and puts him in the Nile herself

And wouldn’t you know it, Moses is found by none other than the Egyptian King’s own daughter

She was not exactly like her father and she keeps and raises Moses

Moses ends up running away from Egypt in his young adulthood, but Moses writes this passage down to remind the people of something:

Exodus 2:23–25 ESV

During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.

Ex 2:2

Pharoah 3.0

Pharoah 3.0

So YHWH pays a visit to Moses and tells Moses to go back to Egypt and tell the new Pharoah that YHWH wants His people back

This Pharoah, believe it or not is the worst Pharoah yet

When Moses tells him that YHWH demands that the Pharoah let His people go, the Pharoah laughs and says, “I don’t know YHWH… get out of my face.”

In fact, he commands that the taskmasters make the job even harder for the Hebrews

Moses was very discouraged, it didn’t feel like YHWH was going to do what he said he was going to do

And every time the LORD told Moses to go and speak to Moses, Moses begged God not to make him go because no one was listening to him

I AM THE LORD

But YHWH patiently instructs Moses to go back and even tho Pharoah won’t listen and won’t let you go, keep going back, keep trusting me. And then YHWH tells Moses why He’s going to do it this way:

Exodus 7:5 ESV

The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.”

Ex 7:

So, Moses and his brother Aaron went to Pharoah and commanded for him to let God’s people go...

Pharoah did not listen and did not let Israel leave

So, YHWH brought ten plagues against the Egyptians, one for each of their gods

And then the very last plague, which was God’s response to the Egyptians killing the Hebrew first born was all the first born of the Egyptians being killed

At that low point, the Pharoah angrily sent the Hebrews away

The Israelites could not believe it, they were finally free

But it didn’t take long for Pharaoh’s heart to harden for the last time as he commanded his army to chase after the Israelites and bring them back to Egypt

So there they are, between two monsters. The monster of Egypt and the monster of the Sea.

What do you think the Israelites are supposed to do here? Trust in the deliverance of YHWH

What Prevents Us; current listeners’ inward heart context: Why We Can’t Do It

We know exactly what they’re supposed to do. Trust GOD!

He kept His promise to Abram and gave him a son.

He kept His promise to Isaac

He kept His promise to Joseph and spared them from starvation

He’s gonna keep His promise to you too!

Alright, put yourself back in their sandals, what are you thinking as you’re standing between two monsters?

Some are drawing their swords, some are removing layers preparing for the swim

Others are trying to hide somewhere and maybe you won’t be seen

What about Moses? Imagine what Moses is going through right now?

All the movies seem to portray Moses as this ultra confident, resolved leader...

Moses wanted nothing to do with this rescue plan

Moses was like, I can’t talk very eloquently, I guess I’m out...

Just Like the Israelites

I think if we’re honest, we’re again respond a lot like the Israelites

Exodus 14:10 ESV

When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord.

Ex 14:10

That sounds like the perfect response, right?

You see something and you’re afraid, so you cry out to God. A+ right?

Exodus 14:11 ESV

They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt?

Ex 14:11

They’re like, “We didn’t even want to leave, Moses. You’re the worst!”

They may have cried out to GOD, but it wasn’t in faith

And we struggle with faith and trust — because we can’t see a way out

So instead of crying out to God in faith,

we begin to complain

we actually call on other gods to save us — money, manipulation, control, anxiety, self

Now, we need to go one layer deeper, because failing to trust in God for everyday life is a byproduct of failing to truly trust in God for eternal life

The reality is, that we are incapable of ultimately rescuing ourselves

Of course we can rely on our minds, our money, our talents, our skills, but only for short sprints, but not when it comes to the ultimate monster

The ultimate monster is sin. The sin nature that we were born with isn’t something we can conquer using our own strategies

And as much as society wants to reject this idea, everyone has a moral compass and we all know that ours is broken

Every person wrestles within themselves before committing a crime even stealing candy

Sure, you can try to pretend that you’re morally upstanding and good, but if we were really to dig down deep, even our motivations to good to and for others is rotten to the core

Sin, in me, is the biggest monster we’ll ever face — bigger than Pharoah and bigger than the Sea is the monster of human sin

How Jesus Fulfills the Biblical Theme and solves the heart issues: How did Jesus do it?

So what are we supposed to do about it?

Exodus 14:13–14 ESV

And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

Ex 14:13

Moses was filled with God’s Spirit as he spoke these words, he was the mediator between GOD and His people

Jesus, is the better Moses

Hebrews 3:5–6 ESV

Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.

Moses did not lay down his own life in order to open up the Red Sea as a way for the children of Israel to cross through on dry ground, but Jesus did

Jesus said,

John 14:6 ESV

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

If we have any hope of ever seeing the monster of sin in our life being defeated, it’s going to be because of the redemption of Jesus Christ

But you must first acknowledge the depth of sin and your inability to cross over that Sea

Only then can we see the salvation of the LORD, Jesus Christ

How through faith in Jesus you should live now

And when the Israelites crossed over, were they home? Was their journey complete?

No, it was just the beginning

Exodus 14:15 ESV

The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward.

Ex

Exodus 14:16 ESV

Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground.

YHWH brought them to the point where their only option was total surrender and total trust in His ability to save them

And you know once they crossed on dry ground, they did exactly what every Christian community should do when ever anyone becomes a Christian… they stood in absolute amazement, then they celebrated! They sang and danced.

Ex 14:

Exodus 14:30–31 ESV

Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.

The last line of their song gave acknowledgement to the point YHWH was making in this story...

Ex 15:

Exodus 15:18 LEB

Yahweh will reign as king forever and ever.”

Communion

This is why communion is such an integral part of worship

Because communion was designed by Jesus to remember the salvation that He purchased for us

The bread and the cup is a story that points back to all the other stories

YHWH keeps His promise to bring blessing to the families of the earth… that’s us

YHWH is worthy of our faith

His life was for you

His death was for you

His resurrection life is given to you

Now go in faith and trust that YHWH, the LORD, the KING will do all that He says He will do

Which God will you put your trust in this week?