Exodus 5 Unused Content

Big Idea

We often expect God’s presence to result in immediate, positive external results when the pattern is more often the opposite.TakeawaysExercise Your Role as an AmbassadorExpect Opposition & SufferingDon’t underestimate the enemyMeditate on Truth & Don’t Let GoYou cannot repeat the actual promises of God to yourself enoughRepeat the Gospel

Intro

Quick refresher on this book of ExodusMoses wrote this probably when the people are in the desert (we’ll see this in weeks ahead)He most likely wrote this to remind

​The New American Commentary: . AuthorshipWe may reasonably conjecture that the first audience for whom he wrote was the second postexodus generation, the one that had grown up in the wilderness during the days described in the book of Numbers. He would have written the book for them as that generation was preparing to enter the promised land as a reminder of who they were and what their origins (i.e., the events and instructions their parents had experienced) had been and what was required of them in the covenant God had made with their parents.

A couple things just to clarify here at the beginning

Moses and Aaron are themselves slaves, they are property in the eyes of Egyptian law

How is it they they are suddenly in a place to deliver this pretty brazen message to what might be the most powerful leader in the world at this time?

It’s NOT because Moses was the Prince of Egypt (sorry Disney) and Pharaoh is happy to see him

Most likely this is just part of common courtesy of kings and pharaohs at this time to be seen as leaders of the “people”

Anyone can come before the king or pharaoh

Moreover, God is orchestrating this

Fallen Conditions

ControlPride / ArroganceApproval of ManConditional TrustSuffering as a condition of a broken worldThe brutal master of sinRoot vs Surface Idols explainedBelieving God’s Words are lies meant to keep you from conforming and enjoying life on your own termsExpecting when we carry out God’s commands, we’ll get more comfortable

ControlPride / ArroganceApproval of ManConditional TrustSuffering as a condition of a broken worldThe brutal master of sinRoot vs Surface Idols explainedBelieving God’s Words are lies meant to keep you from conforming and enjoying life on your own termsExpecting when we carry out God’s commands, we’ll get more comfortable

The Unexpected Results of Following God

Suffering Exposes Expectations

Main Points

We expect things to get better when we obey

Gospel Expectation

No one ever expected Jesus to die our death and give us his life.Expect suffering but never alone.Expect God to finish what he startedAre your currently or future unmet expectations of God causing you to miss his presence here and now?Are you holding God at a distance until You see what He does? Open your eyes! See the cross! That’s what He’s done. See Jesus there with a savagely destroyed body, who’d been lashed and beaten worse than the Israelite slaves covered in his own innocent blood, through tears crying out to His Father “why have you forsaken me?” declaring “it is finished.” Jesus was forced to make bricks without straw so you don’t have to. He was forced to suffer and ultimately die at the hands of OUR master, sin, who wouldn’t stop until blood had been shed.And while the bricks the Israelites used to build with would ultimately crumble one day, Jesus blood became once and for all the solid foundation for anyone to stand on if they just surrender and trust him.The cross has already spoken the final word. Look back. Look ahead to his return. He will wipe the tears. He will end the suffering. He will bring justice to Pharaoh and to any of the countless cruel masters that have overtaken and enslaved us.Here’s our final expectation and this you can bank your entire life on: God will finish what He started.

Threats to our Control Expose Belief

Who’s word is final in your life?When and how do you make statements like Pharaoh (“thus says [YOUR NAME]”)?

Suffering Exposes Faith

What is your first response to suffering? Worship? Complaining? Blaming? Extremism?What are your expectations with suffering? Are you under-expecting suffering? Over-expecting?This isn’t meant to be depressingOur tendency to be shocked when suffering happens stems from a misunderstanding of how broken A) our hearts really are and B) the world really isSin is not just a blemish, it’s a fracture, it’s a disruption, a severing, a massive riftSIN IS WORSE THAN YOU THINK IT IS

Disproval Exposes Identity

Can your faith handle the pushback of others?Where are you functioning like a pawn instead of a son or daughter?Do you see yourself as a messenger? A student? A preservationist? A parent? Before you see yourself as a completely undeservingly loved son or daughter?