How We Become the People of God

Good morning. Today we continue in our series of the wonderful works of God and we're leaving

Genesis and Abraham behind and we're going to look at this in the life of Moses and what God did

in that generation. We'll be reading selected portions of the text so please follow along on

the screen or in your bulletin starting in chapter two we read. During those many days the king of

Egypt died and the people of Israel groaned because of the slavery and cried out for help.

The 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.

Then in chapter six. But the Lord said to Moses now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh

for with a strong hand he will send them out and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his

land. God spoke to Moses and said to him I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham to Isaac and to Jacob

as God Almighty but by my name the Lord I did not make myself known to them. I also established my

covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan the land in which they live as sojourners.

Moreover I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves and I

have remembered my covenant. Say therefore to the people of Israel I am the Lord and I will bring

you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians and I will deliver you from slavery to them and I

will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. I will take you to be my people

and I will be your God and you shall know that I am the Lord your God who has brought you out from

under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham

to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you for possession. I am the Lord. From chapter 7 to 11 we read of God's great acts of judgment in the form of nine terrible plagues upon the Egyptians.

Despite this Pharaoh continued refusing to let the Israelites go and the tenth and final plague was imminent.

So in chapter 12.

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt

this month shall be for you the beginning of months.

It shall be the first month of the year for you.

Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month

every man shall take a lamb according to their father's houses.

A lamb for a household.

And if the household is too small for a lamb

then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons.

According to what each can eat

you shall make your count for the lamb.

Your lamb shall be without blemish

a male a year old.

You may take it from the sheep

or from the goats

and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day

of this month when the whole assembly

of the congregation of Israel

shall kill their lambs

at twilight.

Then they shall take some of the blood

and put it on the two doorposts

and the lintel of the houses

in which they eat it.

They shall eat the flesh that night

roasted on the fire

with unleavened bread

and bitter herbs

they shall eat it.

Do not eat any of it raw

or boiled in water

but roasted

its head

with its legs

and its inner parts

and you shall let none of it

remain until the morning.

Anything that remains

until the morning

you shall burn.

In this manner

you shall eat it

with your belt fastened

your sandals on your feet

and your staff in your hand

and you shall eat it in haste.

It is the Lord's Passover

for I will pass through

the land of Egypt that night

and I will strike

all the firstborn

in the land of Egypt

both man and beast

and on all the gods of Egypt

I will execute judgments.

I am the Lord.

The blood shall be a sign for you

on the houses where you are

and when I see the blood

I will pass over you

and no plague

will befall you

to destroy you

when I strike

the land of Egypt.

At midnight

the Lord struck down

all the firstborn

in the land of Egypt

from the firstborn of Pharaoh

who sat on his throne

to the firstborn of the captive

who was in the dungeon

and all the firstborn

of the livestock

and Pharaoh rose up

in the night

he and all his servants

and all the Egyptians

and there was a great cry

in Egypt

where there was not a house

where someone was not dead

and he summoned Moses

and Aaron by night

and said

up go out from among my people

both you and the people

of Israel

and go serve the Lord

as you have said

take your flocks

and your herds

as you have said

and be gone

and bless me also.

This is the word of God.

Great.

Thank you Margot and Celeste.

Well great to be back with you

and if you are new

great to have you

with us this morning.

Let me pray for us briefly

and then we're going to dive in.

Father God

we say this every week

but as we come to your word

we want to hear you speaking to us.

We are not in the slight bit interested

in the opinions of man.

We're not here for a pep talk

just to encourage us.

We're not here just to

hear some wisdom

to help us in our lives.

We want to encounter you

the living God

through your word.

And so God we pray

by your spirit

may your spirit

and your word

work together God.

As we look at your word

may your spirit

be writing it on our hearts.

God come and reveal yourself to us.

Make us known

and make yourself known to us

this morning

through your word we pray.

We want to love you

and know you better.

We want to trust you

and follow you.

And so come and help us to do that.

God build our faith

build our love for you

build our trust in you

this morning.

We pray this in your great name.

Amen.

Well we are

continuing the series

as solicit

the wonderful work of God

and what we're doing

is we're zooming out

and looking at the

whole storyline

of the Bible.

We want to

see the narrative arc

of the Bible

from beginning to end.

And the reason

we're doing this

is we want to understand

what the Bible

is about.

We don't just

come to the Bible

to learn a little bit

of wisdom

some insight here and there

some bits of advice

to help us get along

with our lives.

God is wanting

to speak to us.

But in order to understand it

we need to know

what's going on.

Incidentally

one of the things

you find

when you read

the whole Bible

is you discover

it's actually not about you.

We tend to think

the Bible is about us.

God's giving us

some wisdom

some advice.

Actually the Bible

is about God

and what He's doing.

It's about the

wonderful work of God.

But the other thing is

many of us will know

little sections of the Bible.

We'll know some stories.

We'll know some teaching.

Maybe some of the words

of Jesus.

But it's really hard

to make sense

of those individual parts

unless you know

where into the big picture

they fit in.

It's easy to misinterpret them.

To misunderstand them.

To think they're saying

one thing

but actually in light

of the context

it's saying something else.

And so we're doing this series

you want to see

what is God

saying in His Bible.

And so two weeks ago

we started in Genesis

1 to 2

1 to 3

and we saw

that God has a plan

for humanity.

He has a design.

And His design

is that God's people

live under His rule

experiencing His blessing

and His favor

as they live in the place

that He's assigned for them.

But we also saw

that unfortunately

this plan

has got messed up

because of humanity's sin.

Sin has ruined everything

in our world.

It's ruined our experience

of the world.

and so now

God's plan

is kind of

out of kilter

in a way.

We are no longer

God's people

no longer living

under His rule

and therefore

no longer

experiencing

His blessing.

The world is nothing

like what it's meant to be.

But then last week

we saw

but just because

humanity

messed things up

doesn't mean

that God's plan

is off course

or in trouble.

God is still

working all things

according to the purpose

of His will.

God is sovereign

and His plan

will come to pass.

And so

we saw that

God is still

going to form

a people

bring them

under His rule

so that they can

experience His blessing

and His favor.

And the way that God

does this

is He starts off

He chooses a man.

A man by the name

of Abram

and God makes him

a promise.

And the promise

is that through

Abram

and his descendants

his offspring

God is going

to form a

community of people

a new community

of people

and these people

will live under

His rule

and experience

His blessing

and His favor

but it won't end

with them

through this

community

this tribe

this family

all the nations

of the world

will one day

ultimately be blessed.

From Hong Kong

to South America

every nation

will be blessed

through what God

is going to do

through this

family of Abram.

And so God

is starting

to reverse

the effects

of the curse

and the fall.

Humanity lives

kind of under

sin's curse

God is going to

bring a group

of people

out from under

that

under His rule

to experience

His blessing

and His grace.

And so the rest

of that's what we

looked at last week

Neil's looked at

that the rest

of Genesis

is the story

of Abram's family

and Abram

has a son

Isaac

and they have

a son Jacob

and eventually

the family starts

to grow

and grow

and grow

and we see

God's plan

starting to bear

fruit.

Well today we come

to the second book

of the Bible

Exodus

and the beginning

of Exodus

it starts off

and it tells us

that this family

tree of Abram

is growing

and it's a sizable

tribe

and so we start off

in chapter 1

verse 7

says this

the people of Israel

that's the descendants

of Abram

were fruitful

and increased greatly

they multiplied

and grew exceedingly

strong

so that the land

was full of them

shows that God's

promise to Abram

is starting

to take shape

this childless couple

Abram and Sarah

have become

a sizable tribe

but the problem

is the rest

of the promise

about coming

under God's rule

and experiencing

his favor

and his blessing

that still seems

like a very far

way off

it seems like

a bit of a pipe dream

that nobody really

knows how it's

going to happen

because they are

sizable

but they're not

living in God's

promised land

they're living in Egypt

and they're not

under God's

gracious rule

they're under

the rule of Pharaoh

and Pharaoh

is a bit of

a tyrannical king

and they're not

experiencing God's

favor and his

blessing

no they're experiencing

Pharaoh's hardship

and so God's people

the Israelites

are in misery

they are suffering

they are in hardship

and so the question

is this

what is God

doing

how is God

going to bring

his promises

to bear

or maybe

has God

forgotten

his promises

were his promises

an exaggeration

that are maybe

just one step

too far

what is God

doing

and how is he

going to keep

his promises

what we see

today

is God

is slowly

working

all things

according to

the purpose

of his will

and the first

thing he's going

to do

is he's going

to form

a people

he's going

to form

a people

he's going

to take

the descendants

of Abraham

this rather

sorry bunch

of murderous

deceitful

backstabbing

broken family

and these

people that

are a bit

of a mess

he's going

to form

them into

his people

his chosen

people

and so

how's God

going to do

that

well he's

going to do

a couple

of things

but maybe

before we

look at

youth

let me

ask you

if you

are a

high

schooler

maybe

I can

ask you

what does

it mean

to be

part

of

God's

people

how would

you know

whether you're

part of

God's

people

maybe you're

not sure

if you're

a Christian

this morning

how would

you know

what it would

look like

to be part

of God's

people

well I think

this passage

is going

to tell us

and so

God is going

to form a

people

he's going

to do

it

in a bunch

of stages

look at the

first thing

he does

the first

thing is

revelation

God reveals

himself

before God

does anything

for them

the first

thing he's going

to do

is he's going

to reveal

himself

to them

so in

chapter 3

we didn't

read it

but the

story picks

up like

this

Moses

is out

in the

wilderness

he's in

the desert

and there's

a story

how he gets

there

I'll tell

you that

in a few

minutes

time

he's out

in the

wilderness

looking

after sheep

not a very

exciting job

and one

day

God chooses

to reveal

himself to

Moses

in the most

unusual way

Moses is

following a

sheep

and there's

a tree

that's on

fire

but it's

not burning

up

it's just

the leaves

are still

green

but it's

on fire

and Moses

draws near

and as he

does

God calls

to him

audibly

Moses

Moses

and then he

says this

I am the

God of your

fathers

the God

of Abraham

the God

of Isaac

the God

of Jacob

now notice

Moses is not

looking for

God

he's just

looking for

his sheep

but God

is looking

for Moses

God takes

the initiative

when Moses

is not

interested in

God

takes initiative

and reaches

out and calls

him to

himself

and what

does he

say

how does

he reveal

himself

to Moses

he says

I am the

God

of your

fathers

five or

six times

he says

I'm the

God

of Abraham

Isaac

and Jacob

he's saying

I'm the

God

of the

promise

I'm the

one who

all those

400 years

ago spoke

to Abraham

I haven't

forgotten

in fact I

think we

read it in

chapter 6

it says

God

remembered

his

covenant

to Abraham

that doesn't

mean that he

had forgotten

and suddenly

he's like

oh yeah

actually I

made a

promise

no it

means God

is about

to fulfill

it

God reveals

himself as

the God

of the

promise

says that

chapter 2

God heard

their cry

he remembered

his covenant

that's what

God does

he draws

near and he

says

Moses I

want you

to know

me

now

incidentally

it's not

only Moses

that God

wants to

reveal himself

to

he also

is going

to reveal

himself

to all

the

Egyptians

in the

plagues

that Margot

told us

about

we didn't

read about

all of

them

but almost

every time

there's a

plague

God says

this is being

done

then all the

world will

know that I

am the Lord

in the midst of

all the earth

God wants

Pharaoh to

know who he

is

he says

Moses says to

Pharaoh

God is sending

these plagues

that you may

know that there

is no one

like the Lord

our God

why does God

keep on bringing

plague after

plague after

plague even

though he's the

one who's hardening

Pharaoh's heart

sometimes it

feels a bit

unfair

right

God keeps

on doing

this

the reasons

he wants

to reveal

himself to

Israel and

to Egypt

to all the

watching world

that he is the

one true God

above all the

gods of Egypt

so Egypt have

multiple gods

and each plague

God is picking

them off

saying no no

I'm actually

the God of

that

no I'm

the God

of the

water

I'm

the God

of creation

I'm

the God

of the

sun

the moon

and the

stars

I am

the one

true God

but it's

not only

Moses and

Pharaoh who

need to

know

so do

God's

people

and so

Moses

God says to

Moses I'm

going to

send you

back to

Egypt and

you are

going to

deliver my

people

and Moses

says okay

so I go

back and

who do I

tell them

is sending

me

I mean

Egypt's got

lots of

gods

what is

your name

and God

gives himself

the most

unusual

name

it's the

name

I am

or I am

what I am

I am

who I

am

it's a

very unusual

name

who is

sending

you

I am

is sending

me

in

Hebrew I

think we'd

say Yahweh

or in

English sometimes

we say

Jehovah

but it

really in

English it

means I

am

it's an

unusual name

but what

does it

mean

well it

means many

things

on the one

hand it

means I

am the

limitless

God

I'm the

God who

has no

restraints

no

constraints

I'm not

the God

of this

nation

or this

nation

of this

culture

or this

people

group

I simply

am the

one true

God

I'm not

the God

of the

sun

or the

moon

or fertility

or the

crops

or the

water

I

simply

am

I am

the one

divine

being

over all

existence

I am

who I

am

I'm

simply the

self-existing

God

I am

the one

true God

I

am

but

in addition

to that

scholars

say there's

something else

going on

here

in almost

all

ancient

civilizations

the gods

were defined

by their

characteristics

about

certain

characteristics

so

the God

who

does this

the God

of this

aspect

of life

when

God

says

I

am

he

seems

to be

saying

if you

want to

know

who

I

am

you

won't

find out

by any

words

or description

or by

going to

the temple

or through

any priest

the way

you find

out

who I

really

am

is by

watching

my

actions

God

who

are

you

I

am

the

God

who

acts

in

history

God

will be

found

out

or reveals

himself

not through

any

description

or through

any

sacred

text

but

through

his

actions

I

am

who

I

am

and

what

they

will

come

to

know

God

through

what

he

is

about

to

do

and

what

is

God

about

to

do

well

he's

about

to

rescue

them

who

is

God

he

is

the

rescuing

God

so

when

Moses

says

who

are

you

God

in a

sense

answers

by

saying

this

is

who

I

am

watch

what

I

am

about

to

do

and

what

is

he

going

to

do

he's

going

to

rescue

his

people

and

that's

the

second

thing

we

see

how

is

God

going

to

form

his

people

what

does

it

mean

to be

part

of

the

people

of

God

well

firstly

he

reveals

himself

to

them

he

calls

them

he

makes

himself

known

to

them

but

secondly

he

rescues

them

he

is

the

rescuing

God

look

at

if

you

got

your

bulletin

chapter

6

verse

6

to

7

we

are

going

to

look

at

this

scripture

quite

a lot

this

kind

of

shapes

much

of

the

sermon

God

says

this

in

verses

6

and

7

he

says

Moses

so

what's

happened

here

Moses

has

gone

back

he

spoken

to

Pharaoh

and

Pharaoh

has

made

things

worse

and

now

the

Israelites

are

upset

with

Moses

because

Moses

is

making

things

Yahweh

or

I

am

who

I

am

I

will

bring

you

out

from

under

the

Egyptians

I

will

deliver

you

from

slavery

I

will

redeem

you

with

an

outstretched

arm

with

great

acts

of

judgment

then

you

will

know

that

I

am

the

Lord

your

God

so

how

are

God's

people

going

to

know

who

God

is

how

they

are

going

to

figure

out

who

is

this

God

well

they

are

going

to

see

what

he

is

going

to

do

and

what

is

he

doing

well

he

says

here

three

times

I

will

bring

you

out

I

will

deliver

you

I

will

redeem

you

the

way

they

are

going

to

know

who

God

is

is

not

through

description

but

through

watching

his

actions

he

is

going

to

rescue

them

and

of

course

that's

the

whole

point

of

exodus

isn't

it

that

God

is

going

to

who

are

under

Pharaoh's

slavery

and

things

are

getting

worse

the

more

Moses

speaks

to

Pharaoh

to

say

let

God's

people

go

the

worse

things

get

Pharaoh

cracks

the

whip

even

harder

until

one

point

even

Moses

has

his

doubts

and

Moses

cries

out

and

says

God

what

are

you

doing

where

are

you

I

thought

you

meant

to

save

your

people

and

things

are

just

getting

worse

but

look

at

what

God

says

I

will

deliver

my

people

I

will

redeem

them

I

will

bring

them

up

I

will

set

them

free

one

of the

reasons

why

it

takes

so

long

for

God's

people

to

get

delivered

and

why

the

more

they

try

things

get

worse

and

why

Pharaoh

keeps

on

saying

no

no

no

no

ten

times

or nine

times

is

because

God

wants

his

people

to be

under

no

illusions

as to

who

rescued

them

and

Niels

pointed

this out

to me

this

week

but

imagine

if

God

had

changed

Pharaoh's

heart

so

after

the

first

instant

Pharaoh

said

sure

okay

you

can

go

no

problem

I

mean

what

would

the

Israelites

have

thought

oh

Pharaoh

is

such

a

nice

guy

I

mean

he

was

a

little

harsh

in

the

beginning

but

no

he

is

actually

not

such

a

bad

guy

after

he

let

us

go

right

or

maybe

they

would

have

thought

Moses

is

great

diplomacy

I

mean

they

go

into

wilderness

and

they

build

a

golden

statue

of

Moses

and

they

would

bow

down

to

Moses

right

this

great

leader

that

set

them

free

God

wants

them

to be

under

no

illusions

who

it

is

that

sets

them

free

it

wasn't

Pharaoh

and

it

wasn't

Moses

it

was

the

one

true

God

God

is

the

one

who

rescued

them

if

you

know

the

story

of

Exodus

in

chapter

2

this

is

how

Moses

ends

up

in

the

wilderness

in

chapter

2

Moses

is

a

prince

in

Egypt

he

actually

grew

up

in

Pharaoh's

household

and

one

day

he

sees

an

Egyptian

attacking

an

Israelite

and

he

thinks

this

is

not

right

his

heart

stirs

up

and

he

runs

to

the

defense

of

the

Israelite

and

he

beats

the

Egyptian

he

ends

up

killing

the

Egyptian

and

he

rescues

the

Israelites

from

this

cruel

hand

of

the

Egyptian

and

Moses

thinks

my

people

are

going

to

recognize

me

I'm

a

deliverer

they're

going

to

thank

me

but

what

happens

the

next

day

the

Israelites

turn

on

him

rather

than

thanking

him

they

turn

on

him

and

things

end

disastrously

because

Pharaoh

hears

that

Moses

has

killed

an

Egyptian

and

Pharaoh

puts

a

Moses

runs

for

his

life

and

flees

from

Egypt

and

ends

up

in

the

wilderness

for

40

years

looking

after

his

father

in

his

sheep

and

so

here's

Moses

thinking

I'm

going

to

be

this

great

deliverer

I'm

going

to

rescue

God's

people

no

no

if

you

try

you

will

mess

it

up

God

says

the

point

is

God

will

use

Moses

but

Moses

will

not

deliver

God's

people

God

is

the

one

who

rescues

and

what

does

God

rescue

them

from

on

the

one

hand

he

rescues

them

from

slavery

right

you

read

that

earlier

I

will

deliver

you

from

slavery

right

in

the

beginning

God

says

I

have

seen

my

people

suffering

I've

heard