Moses

If you're able, would you like to stand, please?

This is no purpose whatsoever, only that was a long reading,

and I kind of thought I would try and get you out of a coma before I put you in one.

So you can sit down again now.

We read in Exodus chapter 14 that that day,

Exodus 14 · chapter mention

the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians.

As Russ has told you, we're in the middle of a course of messages about great journeys of the Bible,

and surely this must rank as one of the greatest journeys ever.

And if you'll allow me for a moment, just a little bit of background to that particular journey.

In Exodus chapter 1, we read that the Israelites were in a terrible situation.

Exodus 1 · chapter mention

They had basically been taken off to Egypt and held in captivity there as slaves.

Just to give you a flavor of that, in Exodus chapter 1, we read this,

Exodus 1 · chapter mention

So they put slave masters over them, that is the Israelites, to oppress them with forced labor.

And they built Pithom and Ramesses as store cities for Pharaoh.

The Israelites carried a very strong reputation of being hardy and hardworking people.

Indeed, the women of Israel were envied by the women of Egypt

because they clearly found childbirth less of a problem than the Egyptian women did.

They gave birth easily and in numbers.

And because of that, Pharaoh, who clearly had a touch of the paranoid about him,

decided that he would instigate a rather brutal form of birth control.

And he did that by declaring that any son born to a Hebrew woman would be killed.

That is why Moses' mother decided this is very risky business.

And you remember the story.

She took him down to the river, River Nile.

And she put him in a basket, which she sealed around the edge with tar.

And she put a little baby in there and hid him in the rushes.

And one of Pharaoh's daughter's slave girls found him and took him back.

The slave girl wet-nurced him till he grew up and then he was handed over to Pharaoh's daughter.

I imagine that after a slightly sticky start,

life was fairly easy for Moses as the daughter of Pharaoh looked after him.

But Moses was a Hebrew and knew himself to be a Hebrew.

And what we read about in chapter 2 is an unfortunate incident in the life of Moses.

He saw two Egyptians beating an Israelite.

And he took the law into his own hand and killed the Egyptian.

This is serious stuff, is it not?

And in these days of identity politics,

there's an interesting example of somebody who was found in the rushes,

who was brought up amongst the Egyptians,

knew himself to be an Israelite.

And then this amazing story in chapter 3,

where God calls Moses to lead his people out of bondage towards the promised land.

You remember that Moses himself would never lead the people into the promised land.

It would be Joshua who would do that.

And the reason that Moses would not lead them into the,

across the Red Sea,

sorry, would not lead them into the promised land,

was that Moses had been disobedient to the Lord.

And the Lord made it clear,

it is because of your sin that you will not enter the promised land.

Just as a kind of bonus point this morning,

I just want to remind you of something really important.

And that is,

God is not looking for spiritual or moral perfection in people

before he speaks to them and calls them into his service.

The reason I'm saying that to you is,

I just had a real sense to this morning,

that some of you need to know,

that if you wait till you're spiritually perfect,

or morally perfect,

before you hear the voice of God call you,

I'm afraid, friends, you'll have a very long wait.

Just think about Moses.

Moses must have had some kind of confusion in his life.

Abandoned, in a sense, by his own mother,

found by somebody else who was not his mother,

brought up in a foreign culture.

There isn't a psychologist living

who wouldn't like to get Moses on their couch.

And then,

he commits murder.

He kills an Egyptian.

And some of you,

saying to yourself,

well, I'm not that bad, you know.

But then when you think about it,

what you do is you exclude yourself

from the calling that God has for you individually,

by worrying about whether you're good enough,

whether you're spiritual enough.

Why, I even know saints

who won't come to prayer meetings

because they're frightened if they prayed aloud,

people might judge them.

This is important stuff.

And if you think about it,

when Jesus came to choose his disciples,

he chose people like insurgents,

zealots, as they were called in those days.

He chose tax collectors,

hated by their own people.

See, if you sit there and preclude yourself

on the basis that you're not good enough,

that is the tragedy.

of an unopened life.

A lot of you sit in church on Sundays.

I know this.

It's out of a dogged persistence

and faithfulness that you come.

And we thank God that you're here.

But actually,

you're a little frustrated.

You might talk with your friends

and say stuff like,

I didn't get much out of church today.

Maybe God's whispering in your ear

and asking you what you put into it today,

this past week.

What are you going to do this coming week?

And Moses was not only uncertain

when God called him

that he'd be the right person.

You remember he had this

fascinating dialogue with God

where he says,

I can't go out

because I don't even know your name.

And God says,

I am.

I am.

Moses feels the inadequacy

of God's call upon him

to take on this great task

and says,

who is going to take any notice of me?

Least of all,

Pharaoh.

And God empowers Moses

by giving the staff

that he carried

to look after the flocks

in Midian

as a kind of supernatural tool.

Heard a sermon

many years ago

where it was referred to

as the rod of God.

Remember,

he threw it on the ground

and it turned

into a serpent.

And at the edge

of the Red Sea,

he stretched out his arms

with his rod.

And the waters divided.

And also,

Moses said to God,

I'm not a speaker.

I have no eloquence.

So God said,

well, I'll give you Aaron,

your brother,

to come alongside you.

I mean, as it transpires,

Aaron was a bit

of a mixed blessing.

Listen,

here's my point.

Don't preclude

what God might do

in your life

by wondering

if you're worthy enough,

spiritual enough,

ready enough.

God loves people

who say yes,

not yes,

but.

And so we come

to this reading

in chapter 14,

one of the most

remarkable pieces

of history

ever recorded

as far as I can see.

and it's a story

that reminds us

of three fundamental truths

which we need today

if we are to negotiate

this secular world

in which we find ourselves.

The first point is this.

God shows us

in this story

that he is a liberator.

He is a God

who sets people free.

Someone say amen.

Amen.

The second thing is

this story shows us

that God has a particular love

for his people.

And it also tells us

that God has a life

for us to live

when we have faith

in him.

In chapter 14,

this is not entirely evident

from the text,

but what has happened is

the Jews,

the people of God,

have found themselves

in this narrow

and foreboding valley.

At one end of the valley

is the Red Sea

and at the other end

of the valley

is Pharaoh

with what sounds to me

like a very technologically

advanced army

ready to capture the Jews

and take them back

to Israel.

They are trapped.

And we thank God today

that God is a God

who liberates.

In Luke's Gospel

in chapter 4,

we read there

this amazing agenda

that Jesus sets

for himself.

The so-called

Nazarene agenda.

Jesus is teaching

in the synagogue.

He picks up

the scroll of Isaiah

and says this,

The Spirit of the Lord

is on me

because he has anointed me

to preach good news

to the poor.

He sent me

to proclaim freedom

for the prisoners

and recovery of sight

for the blind,

to release the oppressed,

to proclaim the year

of the Lord's favour.

Don't tell me

that God

isn't in the business

of real liberation,

of setting people free.

And today,

there are lots of people

who feel trapped.

Trapped by circumstances

around them.

Psychology

as a discipline

has a number

of controversies,

always had to stun,

and probably always will do.

I suppose today

a good example

of that would be

there are some

eminent psychologists

who really support

the idea of ADHD

and some who really don't.

Or the treatment

of people

who have

gender dysphoria.

At what age

do you start

to treat children

and give them

gender-altering drugs?

These are controversies,

but one thing

psychology

is entirely clear about

is that if you are trapped,

this feel trapped,

this will have

awful consequences

in your life.

You are likely

to suffer from anxiety.

You are likely

to be depressed.

And that stands to reason,

I mean,

it's generally intuitive,

isn't it,

that if you're a person

who feels trapped

in life,

you are not going

to feel great

every day.

What are the kinds

of things

that trap us?

Well,

lack of economic resources

would be near

the top of the list.

Or being trapped

in an abusive relationship.

Or trapped by illness

or disability

or addiction

or anxiety.

God

wants to set people free.

And this is,

in a sense,

a kind of living out

live parable

of that truth.

Here are the Israelites

trapped.

No choice whatsoever

as to what to do

other than

to believe God.

Jesus liberates

people then.

And he liberates

people today.

And I just want you

to note this strange

bit in chapter 14.

When the people

of God

start to,

to use a golfing

phrase,

waggle on the tee,

they're starting

to wonder

whether it was

a good idea

to follow Moses

out of bondage

in Egypt.

People have short

memories,

we say,

don't they?

And they've clearly

forgotten what a brutal

and terrible regime

they lived under

in Egypt.

They were given

quotas to make bricks

but not given

enough raw materials

to even make

the lowest figure

of the quota.

And if they didn't

make the quota,

they were ritually

beaten.

This was not

fun.

And so they say

to Moses,

it says they were

terrified and cried

out to the Lord,

was it because

there were no graves

in Egypt that you

brought us to the

desert to die?

What have you done

to us by bringing

us out into Egypt?

Leave us alone,

let us serve the

Egyptians.

It would have been

better for us to

serve the Egyptians

than to die

in the desert.

Amen.

Friend, I wonder

if you've ever

known that terrible

desperation, a feeling

so trapped that you

have no idea which

way to turn.

Listen, if that's

you, you need to hear

what Moses responds

to the people.

He says this to them,

don't be afraid,

stand firm, and you

will see the

deliverance the Lord

will bring you

today.

The Egyptians you

see today, you

will never see

again.

Could we believe

that the God who

liberates could take

our desperation and

turn it round?

Interesting little

point here.

Moses says to them,

stand firm.

Actually, the Hebrew

word there means

stand still.

You know, when

you're in panic

mode, you become a

bit frenzy, don't

you?

I mean, the obvious

thing would be in

this situation would

have been for the

people of God to

run away.

And Moses says,

stand still.

You know, I

couldn't read that

verse without

thinking of Psalm

46.

Be still and

know that I

am God.

Maybe those of

you who are

feeling trapped,

those of you who

are feeling

desperate, before

you do something,

maybe the wise

thing to do

would just be to

take a deep

breath and

remember Psalm

Psalms 46:10

46, verse

10.

be still and

know that I

am God.

I will be

exalted among

the nations.

The God who

will be exalted

among the nations

is the God who

knows you

intimately.

Psalm 139.

Read that.

God who

will be

God.

It even

says in the

New Testament,

Jesus says,

God even

knows how

many hairs

on your

head are

counted.

I know

that's not a

big challenge

in my case.

Take a

breath.

Be still

and know

that I am

God.

Second thing

is it's a

story of

God's love

for his

people.

These people

had in a

sense been

in a kind

of spiritual

vacuum while

they had been

held in

Egypt.

And at the

end of it,

in chapter 15,

which we

didn't read,

there is this

amazing,

poetic song

of Moses.

You can read

it,

Exodus chapter

Exodus 15 · chapter mention

15.

This is

what Moses

sings to

God.

In your

unfailing

love, you

will lead

the people

you have

redeemed.

In your

strength, you

will guide

them to

your holy

dwelling.

The nations

will hear

and tremble.

Anguish

will grip

the people

of Philistia.

In your

unfailing

love.

I wonder

if there

are people

in the

house today

who know

that truth

inside out.

They can

recite

John chapter

John 3 · chapter mention

3 and

verse 16.

God so

loved the

world that

he gave

his only

son that

whoever

believes in

him should

not perish

but have

everlasting

life.

But actually

there's a

little voice

in the

other ear

saying,

but does

he love

me?

I'm thinking

about those

of you

who feel

that life

has been

very tough

and very

challenging

and very

difficult.

And there's

a little bit

of you

that when we

sing songs

about God's

love,

when we pray

prayers expressing

God's love,

just feel a

few percent

resentful.

Notice

this,

Moses,

in your

unfailing

love,

you will

lead the

people you

have

redeemed.

God still

loves you

even though

you may

not feel

it right

now.

There's a

children's

book just

come out.

I haven't

read it

myself but

I read,

I heard a

brother give

a very moving

analysis.

It's a

children's book

which adults

love to

read.

And it's

called

The Moon

Is Round.

And the

point is,

the example

that the

writer uses

is that we

look into

the sky

30 days,

29 days

of a month

and we

see a

different shape

than a

round moon.

And the

month starts

with the

moon which

is a

crescent.

The point

being,

when we

look at

the moon

and only

see the

crescent,

it doesn't

mean that

the moon

isn't round

anymore.

it means

we only

see a

little bit

of the

moon

through the

sun's

light.

We need

to remember

those of

us who

are feeling

a little

resentful,

maybe a

little

questioning

as to

whether

God

loves us,

that our

experience

of life

is like

looking at

the moon

and only

seeing a

little bit,

but the

moon is

round.

God

loves you.

And the

evidence for

that we

shall be

bringing to

mind in

this service

of Holy

Communion.

And thirdly

and finally,

it's a

story about

God's

gift of

life.

It was

after the

people of

Israel had

crossed over

the Red

Sea in

that remarkable

way that

God gave

them the

Ten

Commandments.

You remember

the story

where Moses

climbs up

Mount Sinai.

Has

anybody in

the house

been at

Mount Sinai?

It is a

terrible climb

at the end

of it.

I mean,

goodness knows

how he

staggered down

with tablets

of stone.

I think

the last

bit of

climbing it,

I've done

it,

is nearly

800 steps,

uneven steps.

I went

halfway up

on a camel,

I'll never

do that

again.

It's a good

job Anthony

and I

decided we

didn't want

any more

children.

and we

walked to

the top

and Moses

goes up

Mount Sinai

and comes

down with

the Ten

Commandments.

If you're

unaware of

this, and

you certainly

would have

been taught

it if you've

been to

university in

the last

25 years,

these Ten

Commandments

form the

basis of

our legal

system,

to some

extent our

culture,

both here

and in the

wider

Western world.

You might

like to try

an experiment,

go home and

look at

Exodus chapter

Exodus 20 · chapter mention

20 and look

at all those

Ten Commandments

and ask

yourself,

who in this

world in which

we live today

believes in

any of these?

your answer

might be,

well, you

know, we

don't think

that murdering

people is a

good idea.

Let me tell

you that we

still live in a

world, although

violence is

diminishing,

violence against

women and

girls in

2023, there

are over a

million reported

crimes, 20%

of all reported

crime was

violence against

women and

girls.

Why did

God give

the Israelites

Ten Commandments

and subsequently,

of course, the

rabbis added

loads and

loads of

extra laws to

them?

Why would

the God

who's here to

set us free

tie us down

with laws?

That's a

great question.

Theologically,

philosophically.

And the

answer is

that in

God's mind,

we will live

lives to

the full

when we

live how

he wants

us to

live.

That's not

just a kind

of out-there

theory.

That is

where it

depends on

you.

God

will

do.

It

flies

completely

in the

face of

the current

idea of

freedom.

I can

do what

the heck

I want

as long

as it

doesn't harm

anybody else.

No.

God

elucidates

through the

Ten Commandments

a really

important reality

about our

nature.

And it's

this,

that to

live a life

with God,

you have to

limit your

options.

If you

claim to

be a

disciple of

Jesus Christ,

adultery is

no longer

an option.

If you

claim to

follow Jesus

Christ,

idolatry is

not a

problem.

Sorry,

it's not an

option.

If you

claim to

follow Jesus

Christ,

coveting your

neighbor's

ox,

well,

maybe it's

BMW,

is not

an option.

God

thinks

that if

we live

as he

wants us

to live,

our life

will have

some

limitations.

Surely,

that is

self-evidently

true.

Moses

was one

man who

stood up

and saved

a nation.

And we're

here at

Holy Communion

this morning

to worship

the man

Jesus,

the Son

of God,

who will

save and

set free

anyone who

trusts in

him.

John 8,

John 8:36

verse 36,

if the Son

shall set

you free,

you should

be free

indeed.

John 6,

John 6:37

verse 37,

Jesus said,

I will

never,

never turn

away anyone

who turns

to me.

I think

today,

friends,

we have

some thinking

to do.

What about

those of

you whom

God has

whispered in

your ear

and told

you,

no more

precluding

myself for

what I want

for you by

believing you're

not good

enough,

not spiritual

enough.

Stop

that now.

two is,

for those

of you who

are trapped,

never believe

that there

isn't a

way out.

But there's

only one

way,

and that is

to reorientate

your life

around following

God in

Jesus Christ

our Lord.

It's a story

that reminds

us that

God's love

for us,

even though

he knows

us intimately,

is profound.

It is

unending,

it is

never

ceasing,

it is

relentless.

Maybe

God's

whispering in

the ear of

those of

you who

come to

church,

but actually

the truth

is,

you're just

a little

bit resentful.

You know,

I know God

loves most

people,

I don't

know if

he loves

me.

And it's

a story

about God's

gift of

life.

Life in

its fullness,

but life

with a

difference.

Life that

willingly

lays down

some options

in our

lives in

order that

we might

live holy

lives.

And,

listen,

if you're

frightened about

that,

if you're

frightened by

the idea that

there is a

habit in your

life which

you know is

wrong,

which you

would love

to be

released

from,

then don't

forget that

God sent

his Holy

Spirit to

help us,

to set us

free from

those things

that disrupt

our relationship

with God.

On that

day,

God delivered

Israel from

the hands of

Egypt.

Maybe on

this day,

God will

deliver you

from whatever

is trapping

you.

Let's pray.

our God

and Father,

this is such

an amazing

story.

A story

of freedom,

a story

about your

amazing and

relentless

love,

and a story

about the

life you

have for

each of

us,

provided,

provided,

we trust

you.

And

Father,

I want to

pray this

morning that

for anybody

who has

been spoken

to by you,

Lord,

they wouldn't

just go home

and eat

lunch,

but Lord,

today they

might do

something,

tell a

friend,

join the

prayer team,

go to the

prayer team

and be

prayed with.

Lord,

we know

this is

too

important

for us

just to

mildly

let your

voice

pass us

by.

Speak,

Lord,

in the

stillness

as we

wait on

thee.

be still

and know

that I

am God.

Even so,

come Lord

Jesus and

the people

who agreed

said

together,

said

together,

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.