WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.980 since I speak with faltering lips. So, we're thinking this evening about Moses and the power 00:00:08.980 --> 00:00:18.359 of God, but I think this text reveals a common Christian struggle. In many ways, probably what 00:00:18.359 --> 00:00:23.379 we're thinking about tonight parallels what we were thinking about, or Derek was leading us into, 00:00:23.379 --> 00:00:32.939 in Mark chapter 6. That Christian experience when we are faced with trials and suffering and setbacks, 00:00:33.619 --> 00:00:40.960 when we find faith can so easily give way to doubt and fear, when our focus shifts from God, 00:00:41.099 --> 00:00:49.060 His power, His goodness, His glory, to me, to my weakness, my inability, my failings, 00:00:49.060 --> 00:00:57.820 to go to a different story of Jesus on the water. Remember that time when Jesus comes to the 00:00:57.820 --> 00:01:04.659 disciples walking on the water, and Peter asks to come and also walk on the water, and he's invited 00:01:04.659 --> 00:01:12.939 to do that. And he's walking by faith, but then fear comes when his gaze shifts from Jesus to the stormy 00:01:12.939 --> 00:01:20.359 water. Perhaps we've had that experience either on a boat or on a plane. We pass through stormy water, 00:01:20.459 --> 00:01:26.640 or we go through turbulence, and we can find ourselves panicking. What's going to happen? What am I going to 00:01:26.640 --> 00:01:32.819 do? And in that moment, the best thing to do, of course, is to trust to the skill of the pilot, 00:01:33.519 --> 00:01:40.280 to look to them to guide us. Well, just like us, what we see in this passage, and we're going to focus 00:01:40.280 --> 00:01:48.079 especially on chapter 5, verse 22, to chapter 6, verse 12, we see Moses, and we see Israel wrestling 00:01:48.079 --> 00:01:55.000 with doubts and fears of a whole range of different kinds. And we see as well that those doubts and 00:01:55.000 --> 00:02:02.859 fears can be really hard to shake off. So, they're discouraged, and yet God reveals wonderful truths 00:02:02.859 --> 00:02:08.039 about Himself. And we might expect, and then Moses and Israel were full of faith, and they were courageous, 00:02:08.039 --> 00:02:14.319 but no, they're still discouraged. It can be really hard to shake that off. But the answer, 00:02:14.919 --> 00:02:20.459 when we find ourselves shaken, when our faith is struggling, the hope that God gives remains the 00:02:20.459 --> 00:02:30.599 same. I am the Lord. We're called to trust in this God, the God of powerful acts, the God of the mighty 00:02:30.599 --> 00:02:40.919 hand, the God of powerful love, the God of covenant loyalty. And what we need to know and to rest in 00:02:40.919 --> 00:02:49.039 are these realities of God's power and love for His people, especially as we see them demonstrated in 00:02:49.039 --> 00:02:57.500 the gospel and in Jesus. So, our theme tonight is this. When God's people feel weak, we need to know 00:02:57.500 --> 00:03:06.199 and trust our powerful and loving Lord. So, let's begin here when God's people feel weak. 00:03:06.879 --> 00:03:12.699 So, Moses wrote the book of Exodus a number of years after this event. So, what we have 00:03:12.699 --> 00:03:20.780 is a really honest reflection. Here is Moses talking about his own personal struggles. Here is Moses 00:03:20.780 --> 00:03:28.420 revealing the size of the people of God. Slavery and oppression that doesn't seem to change is 00:03:28.420 --> 00:03:36.460 squeezing out hope. The section then provides a very helpful diagnosis for ourselves. What causes 00:03:36.460 --> 00:03:42.819 doubts and fears to rise in the hearts of God's people then? There's a good chance we're going to 00:03:42.819 --> 00:03:49.780 recognize the same in ourselves, the challenges to faith. The first one that we can identify 00:03:49.780 --> 00:03:57.640 is all about delay. So, you go back to Exodus 5, verse 22 and 23. We have Moses asking, 00:03:57.840 --> 00:04:05.539 why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me? Pharaoh's bringing trouble. 00:04:05.659 --> 00:04:13.159 You've not rescued your people at all. What's the problem here? Moses' timing doesn't match God's timing. 00:04:13.159 --> 00:04:21.639 In chapter 5, we read it, the beginning, he's sent with that message, let my people go. Here is the 00:04:21.639 --> 00:04:28.759 God of the universe promising salvation. But what happens is that that's met with a negative response. 00:04:28.920 --> 00:04:36.180 Pharaoh says, I don't know who God is. I'm not interested in listening to the Lord. And in fact, 00:04:36.180 --> 00:04:42.340 he says to the people, you are lazy. This desire to worship is because of laziness. So, he makes 00:04:42.340 --> 00:04:49.420 their life much, much harder. God promises salvation, but things don't get better. They get worse. 00:04:50.920 --> 00:04:56.120 Remember how the people spoke to Moses, verse 21, may the Lord look on you and judge you. 00:04:56.660 --> 00:05:00.100 We're obnoxious to Pharaoh. He's put a sword in our hand. He wants to kill us. 00:05:00.100 --> 00:05:07.280 And so, Moses asked, why there's trouble? Why has there not been a rescue? Now, we know, 00:05:07.760 --> 00:05:12.879 the end of the story, God will demonstrate his glory, and this delay will serve that purpose. 00:05:13.900 --> 00:05:19.100 We're going to see all those mighty acts of judgment and salvation. Israel and Egypt are going 00:05:19.100 --> 00:05:24.620 to see who the true God is. They're going to discover his glory. We know that freedom will come. 00:05:24.620 --> 00:05:33.420 But for them, they were stuck in the grind and in the misery, and God's delay, all it does is add pain. 00:05:35.280 --> 00:05:44.319 Now, I imagine some of us recognize this. God doesn't change our circumstances, or they seem to get worse. 00:05:46.300 --> 00:05:51.399 God doesn't change a heart. Resistance to Jesus continues. 00:05:51.399 --> 00:05:52.939 God doesn't change a heart. God doesn't change a heart. God doesn't change a heart. 00:05:52.939 --> 00:05:59.759 God doesn't seem to be hearing and answering our prayers. God's delay can cause grief. 00:06:00.959 --> 00:06:09.879 It tests our faith when we come to a point like Moses where we have to recognize that God's ways are not the same as our ways. 00:06:10.919 --> 00:06:16.139 It tests our faith when we find ourselves living in the waiting place. 00:06:16.139 --> 00:06:25.099 It tests our faith when we understand that God could change things, but he doesn't. 00:06:26.399 --> 00:06:29.719 Delay can cause doubt and can cause fear. 00:06:31.219 --> 00:06:35.519 Here's a second thing we see. This is in chapter 6, verse 9. 00:06:35.959 --> 00:06:39.079 We see a people who are discouraged. 00:06:39.079 --> 00:06:45.399 God's given wonderful words through Moses. 00:06:45.599 --> 00:06:52.099 Moses reported these words to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement. 00:06:52.219 --> 00:06:53.199 Why are they discouraged? 00:06:54.240 --> 00:06:58.079 They're discouraged because God seems absent. 00:07:00.299 --> 00:07:04.199 In their story, there's this movement that's happening all the time. 00:07:04.199 --> 00:07:05.819 There was a great spiritual high. 00:07:06.479 --> 00:07:10.120 Just before the passage we read in chapter 4, verse 29, 00:07:10.779 --> 00:07:14.079 we find Moses bringing all the people of God together, 00:07:14.199 --> 00:07:16.819 reporting God's plan to save them. 00:07:17.740 --> 00:07:19.219 And the people believed. 00:07:20.240 --> 00:07:23.579 And when they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, 00:07:23.699 --> 00:07:24.879 they bowed down and worshipped. 00:07:25.139 --> 00:07:26.620 Here's a high point for them. 00:07:26.939 --> 00:07:29.180 God has seen and God has heard and God's going to answer. 00:07:29.180 --> 00:07:36.220 But now there's this great low as they're faced with discouraging reality. 00:07:36.680 --> 00:07:42.420 How to keep going when the gap between promise and reality to them seems as wide as the River Nile? 00:07:44.560 --> 00:07:49.899 Isn't it easy sometimes to become like another character from the Old Testament, 00:07:50.120 --> 00:07:51.740 Naomi in the story of Ruth. 00:07:52.399 --> 00:07:53.600 She came back to her hometown. 00:07:53.740 --> 00:07:54.600 Don't call me Naomi. 00:07:54.740 --> 00:07:55.860 That name means pleasant. 00:07:56.360 --> 00:07:58.139 God hasn't dealt pleasantly with me. 00:07:58.139 --> 00:07:59.079 Call me Mara. 00:07:59.180 --> 00:08:02.220 Because God has dealt bitterly with me. 00:08:03.600 --> 00:08:08.100 Living in the gap can be so tough. 00:08:09.079 --> 00:08:10.600 We know the promises of God. 00:08:10.740 --> 00:08:11.939 God has promised peace. 00:08:12.740 --> 00:08:14.620 But my heart and my life feels like chaos. 00:08:16.280 --> 00:08:18.840 God promises to be present with us always. 00:08:20.220 --> 00:08:21.519 Sometimes we don't feel it. 00:08:22.680 --> 00:08:24.000 He promises His power. 00:08:24.460 --> 00:08:27.759 But often we're so conscious of how fragile we are. 00:08:27.759 --> 00:08:32.679 Faced with a whole range of different challenges in our lives. 00:08:32.679 --> 00:08:39.120 Challenges in our relationships, in our work, in our studies, with our health, with our finance, even in the church. 00:08:39.120 --> 00:08:40.120 These can all dominate our view. 00:08:40.120 --> 00:08:47.620 These can all dominate our view, and they can be profoundly discouraging to faith, as Israel discovered. 00:08:47.620 --> 00:08:57.759 Here's a third reason why God's people can struggle and hold on to faith. 00:08:57.759 --> 00:08:59.759 And it's to do with distress. 00:09:00.179 --> 00:09:01.720 Again, it's there in verse 9. 00:09:01.720 --> 00:09:09.820 They weren't able to listen to God's word through Moses because of their discouragement and their harsh labor. 00:09:10.720 --> 00:09:12.440 They were facing distress. 00:09:12.440 --> 00:09:26.780 There's an organization called the International Justice Mission, set up by a group of Christian lawyers to look to rescue people from modern-day slavery, to advocate for them. 00:09:27.440 --> 00:09:37.200 There was a story they published recently from Rajasthan in India of 33 slaves rescued from a brick. 00:09:37.200 --> 00:10:07.180 It wasn't even a factory. 00:10:07.179 --> 00:10:09.939 That Israel as a nation was feeling. 00:10:10.819 --> 00:10:22.839 Back-breaking work driven on by slave drivers in the intense heat of the Egyptian sun with no rest, with no provisions, and with no hope. 00:10:24.239 --> 00:10:27.879 Physical distress and spiritual distress. 00:10:27.879 --> 00:10:28.240 Distress. 00:10:28.980 --> 00:10:30.200 God said He would come. 00:10:30.600 --> 00:10:31.600 He would set us free. 00:10:31.720 --> 00:10:35.600 But still, there's the whip, and still, there's the grind. 00:10:37.899 --> 00:10:38.500 Distress. 00:10:40.320 --> 00:10:41.740 Like the prophet Elijah. 00:10:42.179 --> 00:10:48.439 Remember, after his spiritual high of showing up there on the mountain who the one true God was. 00:10:48.440 --> 00:10:52.860 Well, after coming down the mountain, hears the threat of the wicked queen Jezebel. 00:10:53.460 --> 00:10:55.200 Jezebel wants to kill Elijah. 00:10:55.520 --> 00:10:58.880 And all of a sudden, he feels so exhausted, and he feels all alone. 00:10:58.940 --> 00:11:02.120 Am I the only worshiper of God in this place? 00:11:02.440 --> 00:11:04.320 And he says to God, take my life. 00:11:04.880 --> 00:11:06.100 It's too much for me. 00:11:06.100 --> 00:11:16.879 This side of eternal rest, of glory with Jesus, circumstances can feel like a crushing burden. 00:11:17.540 --> 00:11:23.680 Wave after wave can crash in, and faith can be a struggle. 00:11:23.679 --> 00:11:26.339 We see it even with Moses. 00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:32.000 Even after all that Moses has heard God save himself. 00:11:32.359 --> 00:11:37.579 Look at verse 12, and we sense something of despair in Moses. 00:11:38.799 --> 00:11:45.419 Moses said to the Lord, if the Israelites will not listen to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips? 00:11:47.899 --> 00:11:50.500 God, I did what you asked, and look how it's turning out. 00:11:50.500 --> 00:11:53.980 Your people are beginning to give up. 00:11:54.039 --> 00:11:55.039 How will Pharaoh listen? 00:11:55.159 --> 00:11:56.000 Nothing's going to change. 00:11:56.080 --> 00:11:57.460 Why would anyone listen to me? 00:12:00.120 --> 00:12:02.480 Feeling so small. 00:12:03.600 --> 00:12:13.879 Years later, after God had delivered his people, secured their freedom, met with them on Mount Sinai, took them towards the promised land. 00:12:13.940 --> 00:12:16.919 There was that moment where some spies were sent into the land. 00:12:17.440 --> 00:12:18.779 This was the land of promise. 00:12:18.779 --> 00:12:21.059 They came back. 00:12:21.899 --> 00:12:23.259 Oh, it's a wonderful land. 00:12:23.319 --> 00:12:28.100 You should see the fruit and the vegetables, but there's giants. 00:12:29.639 --> 00:12:31.779 And they made us feel like grasshoppers. 00:12:32.679 --> 00:12:34.419 And that's how we look to them. 00:12:36.799 --> 00:12:39.259 There's a classic story, Pilgrim's Progress. 00:12:39.259 --> 00:12:44.319 And the main character, Christian, has this long journey. 00:12:44.580 --> 00:12:52.120 And one of the characters he encounters is a man called Giant Despair, who imprisons Christian. 00:12:52.259 --> 00:12:56.539 He's gone off his path, and he gets locked in Doubting Castle. 00:12:56.539 --> 00:13:03.860 And he finds himself there imprisoned with no way out and no hope. 00:13:04.500 --> 00:13:11.699 Capturing a sense that we can have as believers those times when the future can look hopeless. 00:13:11.700 --> 00:13:16.020 Or when the present can seem unbearable. 00:13:16.020 --> 00:13:20.300 And when we doubt anything will ever change. 00:13:20.299 --> 00:13:28.319 Isn't it wonderful that Moses is honest enough to show us his heart and his feelings in this text? 00:13:29.620 --> 00:13:34.259 Because they probably speak to our own, at least in some points. 00:13:35.099 --> 00:13:36.419 The Bible's an honest book. 00:13:36.419 --> 00:13:39.899 Jesus was an honest teacher and Savior. 00:13:40.059 --> 00:13:42.199 In this world, you will have troubles. 00:13:43.099 --> 00:13:46.319 There will be storms that would shake our faith. 00:13:46.379 --> 00:13:50.379 And as the Israelites would discover, these troubles can be varied. 00:13:50.759 --> 00:13:52.439 For us, they're varied. 00:13:54.819 --> 00:14:02.299 Moses and Israel, in that sense, they're right to understand their sense of their own weakness and their personal inability. 00:14:02.299 --> 00:14:11.039 But what they are failing to do and need to learn, as do we, is to trust in our powerful, loving God when we are weak. 00:14:11.219 --> 00:14:14.120 God is strong. 00:14:14.279 --> 00:14:18.579 He's the God who has promised to go before us and to be with us. 00:14:20.339 --> 00:14:24.579 John Bunyan, as he tells the story of Christian locked in Doubting Castle. 00:14:24.580 --> 00:14:30.500 And despair moves to hope when Christian is moved to look to God and to pray. 00:14:31.379 --> 00:14:34.639 And then to remember that he's been given a key. 00:14:35.360 --> 00:14:38.220 And that key is the promises of God. 00:14:38.740 --> 00:14:43.180 And it's the promises of God that unlocked the door and gave way to hope. 00:14:44.020 --> 00:14:48.980 That's what I want us to think about next, is that when God's people feel weak, 00:14:48.980 --> 00:14:55.220 we need to trust in the power and the promises of God. 00:14:56.600 --> 00:14:58.940 I love the book of Exodus for so many reasons. 00:14:59.039 --> 00:15:03.620 One reason I think it's wonderful is because it represents the start of a relationship. 00:15:03.779 --> 00:15:07.360 Think about the start of any relationship, whether that's a new friendship, 00:15:07.539 --> 00:15:09.220 whether that's a romantic relationship. 00:15:09.560 --> 00:15:12.560 In a good relationship, when we're talking about a good relationship, 00:15:13.139 --> 00:15:16.300 we know that the more that we get to know this person, 00:15:16.299 --> 00:15:21.459 the more we get to trust them, as we see their character, their reliability, 00:15:21.799 --> 00:15:24.879 we recognize here is someone that we can rely upon. 00:15:25.000 --> 00:15:29.679 Here is somebody that we can share life with, share our hopes with. 00:15:30.339 --> 00:15:32.459 Children, I think, are born with that instinct. 00:15:34.179 --> 00:15:35.019 We have needs. 00:15:35.439 --> 00:15:38.819 I can and I should trust my parents to provide. 00:15:39.639 --> 00:15:43.559 Well, what we have in the book of Exodus is Moses and Israel 00:15:43.559 --> 00:15:47.719 people at the start of a relationship with their God. 00:15:48.759 --> 00:15:53.559 They have lived through hundreds of years of slavery in Egypt, 00:15:53.559 --> 00:15:57.839 and with that has come a loss of knowledge about who God is. 00:15:58.500 --> 00:16:04.959 They have been unable to worship their God for decades and generations, 00:16:05.219 --> 00:16:09.539 and so what they need to learn, and we see it's a hard process, 00:16:09.539 --> 00:16:12.939 is that God is the one to trust. 00:16:13.839 --> 00:16:17.480 He is the one who will never let his people down, 00:16:17.919 --> 00:16:22.179 that his power and his promises are for his people. 00:16:23.639 --> 00:16:28.000 So, so far what we've done in our text is we've studied the outer frame. 00:16:28.339 --> 00:16:30.919 So, we've seen the doubts and we've seen the weak faith. 00:16:31.000 --> 00:16:34.659 Now, what we need to do is to see the beautiful portrait 00:16:34.659 --> 00:16:37.839 that God draws right here in the center. 00:16:39.059 --> 00:16:41.579 I am the Lord. 00:16:42.219 --> 00:16:44.819 Or to put it another way, we've heard the presenting symptoms 00:16:44.819 --> 00:16:49.839 of a spiritual sickness, a faith that is weak and full of doubts, 00:16:49.839 --> 00:16:54.039 and God, the great physician, the great spiritual doctor, 00:16:54.679 --> 00:16:55.759 prescribes the remedy. 00:16:56.480 --> 00:16:57.100 Look to me. 00:16:57.819 --> 00:16:58.519 Trust in me. 00:16:59.199 --> 00:17:01.179 I am the Lord. 00:17:01.179 --> 00:17:05.079 Verse 1 of chapter 6 is wonderful. 00:17:05.299 --> 00:17:06.440 The Lord said to Moses, 00:17:06.700 --> 00:17:12.139 Now, now you'll see what I will do to Pharaoh. 00:17:13.099 --> 00:17:14.859 Transformation will come. 00:17:15.319 --> 00:17:17.879 They will see God as he really is. 00:17:17.980 --> 00:17:20.139 God is wonderfully gracious and patient, of course, 00:17:20.480 --> 00:17:22.559 with his doubting people. 00:17:22.980 --> 00:17:27.279 Their weakness is met by his almighty strength. 00:17:27.279 --> 00:17:32.119 The promise of his mighty hand. 00:17:32.700 --> 00:17:36.359 Because of my mighty hand, he will let them go. 00:17:36.599 --> 00:17:40.160 And he will do it because of his covenant love, 00:17:40.299 --> 00:17:45.579 to show covenant loyalty to his people and to his promise. 00:17:45.740 --> 00:17:48.279 And so, we're going to hear God speak, 00:17:49.019 --> 00:17:50.819 and speak of himself. 00:17:51.079 --> 00:17:52.359 And that's what we need most of all. 00:17:52.399 --> 00:17:54.059 We need to hear God speak of himself. 00:17:54.059 --> 00:17:59.960 And he's going to speak of himself both in the past and in the present and in their future. 00:18:01.639 --> 00:18:02.779 And as we listen in, 00:18:03.440 --> 00:18:05.319 we're going to hear wonderful gospel connections. 00:18:05.599 --> 00:18:09.119 We're going to hear the timeless remedy for weak faith. 00:18:09.220 --> 00:18:12.200 We're going to have this glorious portrait to gaze upon 00:18:12.200 --> 00:18:15.019 that we too might like to trust and to find joy, 00:18:15.619 --> 00:18:18.359 even in the hardships of life. 00:18:19.419 --> 00:18:21.700 What does God say about himself in the past? 00:18:21.700 --> 00:18:23.140 He says, 00:18:23.220 --> 00:18:25.319 In the past I reveal my power and my love. 00:18:25.400 --> 00:18:27.220 Look at verses 2 to 4. 00:18:27.360 --> 00:18:28.279 God said to Moses, 00:18:28.420 --> 00:18:29.100 I am a lord. 00:18:29.940 --> 00:18:33.799 I appear to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God almighty. 00:18:34.420 --> 00:18:37.299 But by my name, a lord, I did not make myself known to them. 00:18:37.539 --> 00:18:40.640 I also establish my covenant with them. 00:18:42.420 --> 00:18:46.400 Moses is being invited to take out the family photo album. 00:18:46.400 --> 00:18:52.860 The photo album of the family of faith to flip through different scenes to recognize 00:18:52.860 --> 00:18:59.620 God almighty being with and for the family of Abraham. 00:19:01.220 --> 00:19:06.380 With the promise that in looking to this God, 00:19:06.460 --> 00:19:08.600 that is the one who makes up for weakness. 00:19:09.400 --> 00:19:12.060 The one who makes up for our inability. 00:19:12.780 --> 00:19:15.860 The one who is the answer to our fears. 00:19:16.400 --> 00:19:20.160 Because think about the story of Abraham. 00:19:21.259 --> 00:19:22.019 Abraham was told, 00:19:22.100 --> 00:19:23.519 You be the father of many nations. 00:19:24.259 --> 00:19:27.180 But if you know the story, you know that he was childless. 00:19:27.700 --> 00:19:30.800 Him and his wife were old and unable to have children. 00:19:30.880 --> 00:19:34.560 But wonderfully, there was no barrier to God. 00:19:35.759 --> 00:19:37.080 God had made a promise. 00:19:38.160 --> 00:19:41.400 And God would act in power to make sure that promise was kept. 00:19:41.400 --> 00:19:45.960 And the fact that Israel is this great nation living in slavery, 00:19:45.960 --> 00:19:52.019 but a great nation is proof that God has kept his promise with his power. 00:19:52.019 --> 00:19:53.019 The story of Jacob. 00:19:53.019 --> 00:19:54.960 The story of Jacob. 00:19:54.960 --> 00:20:03.240 A wonderful story of God's providence protecting that family. 00:20:03.240 --> 00:20:08.740 And even when the brothers of Joseph sinned and sold him into slavery. 00:20:08.740 --> 00:20:13.240 And even when Joseph suffered injustice and was thrown into prison. 00:20:13.480 --> 00:20:16.359 And even as the family faced famine. 00:20:16.700 --> 00:20:21.120 And even as they journeyed to Egypt unsure of how things would turn out. 00:20:21.220 --> 00:20:21.799 We know. 00:20:22.440 --> 00:20:27.680 Moses knew that God did work all things for good. 00:20:27.680 --> 00:20:30.000 He did show his power. 00:20:30.700 --> 00:20:32.160 He did keep his promise. 00:20:32.840 --> 00:20:36.140 He did demonstrate his love. 00:20:37.980 --> 00:20:39.860 God says to Moses, look back. 00:20:41.160 --> 00:20:43.160 God says to us, look back. 00:20:44.019 --> 00:20:45.620 This is our family story as well. 00:20:45.680 --> 00:20:47.539 This is our family photo album. 00:20:47.960 --> 00:20:50.400 God is unchanging. 00:20:50.400 --> 00:20:58.000 We look back to Jesus as God's provision for us. 00:20:58.500 --> 00:21:01.400 In our weakness and in our failure. 00:21:02.120 --> 00:21:04.680 Where we do not and cannot keep the law. 00:21:04.759 --> 00:21:06.380 Jesus perfectly kept the law. 00:21:07.920 --> 00:21:11.540 Jesus is God's complete answer to our sin. 00:21:11.800 --> 00:21:14.259 The complete and perfect substitute. 00:21:14.259 --> 00:21:19.240 Who takes on the role of being the sin bearer. 00:21:19.480 --> 00:21:20.500 Bearing our sin. 00:21:20.960 --> 00:21:23.839 From his birth all the way to his death on the cross. 00:21:24.900 --> 00:21:27.519 And so we fix our eyes and we set our hope on Jesus. 00:21:28.759 --> 00:21:32.299 Resting in the promise that it is finished. 00:21:32.559 --> 00:21:34.119 His atoning work is done. 00:21:34.539 --> 00:21:37.859 Sin has been paid for by faith in Jesus. 00:21:38.140 --> 00:21:39.279 We are justified. 00:21:40.680 --> 00:21:43.180 And so we can claim those promises of Romans 8. 00:21:43.180 --> 00:21:44.779 If God is for us. 00:21:45.680 --> 00:21:47.440 Who can be against us. 00:21:48.279 --> 00:21:52.180 That nothing can separate us from the love of God. 00:21:52.180 --> 00:21:54.380 That is in Christ Jesus. 00:21:54.580 --> 00:21:58.080 As we look back to see God's faithful love. 00:21:58.200 --> 00:21:59.160 His power in action. 00:21:59.519 --> 00:22:03.100 It gives us strength for our faith today. 00:22:04.299 --> 00:22:06.460 But think about how God spoke to Moses. 00:22:06.460 --> 00:22:09.200 Of what he was doing in the present. 00:22:10.480 --> 00:22:13.160 That he was giving a fuller revelation. 00:22:13.180 --> 00:22:15.500 Of his power and love. 00:22:15.580 --> 00:22:17.039 So remember there in verse 3. 00:22:17.160 --> 00:22:17.400 He said, 00:22:17.519 --> 00:22:18.400 I appeared to Abraham. 00:22:18.799 --> 00:22:20.279 Isaac and Jacob is God Almighty. 00:22:20.440 --> 00:22:21.960 But by my name the Lord. 00:22:22.380 --> 00:22:24.980 I did not make myself known to them. 00:22:25.480 --> 00:22:26.580 His point is, 00:22:26.779 --> 00:22:28.420 I am the same God. 00:22:29.340 --> 00:22:32.200 But I am now going to show my power. 00:22:32.200 --> 00:22:34.440 And my love in a new way. 00:22:35.539 --> 00:22:38.180 You're going to see a revelation. 00:22:38.180 --> 00:22:41.180 You're going to discover something about God's salvation. 00:22:41.900 --> 00:22:44.140 That the people in past generations didn't have. 00:22:45.680 --> 00:22:46.640 Same God. 00:22:47.420 --> 00:22:48.779 Same faithfulness to his people. 00:22:48.960 --> 00:22:50.360 But it's going to look different. 00:22:51.200 --> 00:22:52.840 Maybe one way to think about it. 00:22:53.640 --> 00:22:55.340 It is the movement that happens. 00:22:55.900 --> 00:22:57.720 Say when a couple are dating. 00:22:58.720 --> 00:23:00.820 And then there is a proposal. 00:23:00.819 --> 00:23:04.119 And then there's a wedding. 00:23:04.960 --> 00:23:06.259 It's the same couple. 00:23:07.259 --> 00:23:11.639 But there's these new demonstrations of commitment and love along the way. 00:23:11.799 --> 00:23:13.159 In the bended knee. 00:23:13.399 --> 00:23:16.480 In the marriage vows given and received. 00:23:17.039 --> 00:23:19.419 What's God doing here for Moses? 00:23:19.960 --> 00:23:20.579 For Israel? 00:23:20.799 --> 00:23:22.919 He's putting his covenant love on display. 00:23:23.759 --> 00:23:24.859 In a new way. 00:23:25.759 --> 00:23:26.319 Verse 5. 00:23:26.319 --> 00:23:29.460 I have heard the groaning of the Israelites. 00:23:29.779 --> 00:23:32.559 And I have remembered my covenant. 00:23:33.399 --> 00:23:35.579 Whenever the Bible says God remembers something. 00:23:35.659 --> 00:23:36.599 He hasn't forgotten it. 00:23:36.639 --> 00:23:38.319 Like we forget and then we remember. 00:23:38.639 --> 00:23:40.480 It means now I'm going to act. 00:23:41.159 --> 00:23:42.399 I've remembered my covenant. 00:23:42.559 --> 00:23:47.639 What's going to happen is going to be a response to the covenant I promised. 00:23:48.439 --> 00:23:51.500 And he's going to graciously respond to their need. 00:23:51.500 --> 00:23:52.819 I am the Lord. 00:23:53.019 --> 00:23:55.819 And I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. 00:23:56.319 --> 00:23:59.700 I will free you from being slaves to them. 00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:06.519 And I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. 00:24:07.639 --> 00:24:11.799 This word redeem is a payment word. 00:24:13.200 --> 00:24:15.599 Somebody is sold into slavery. 00:24:15.779 --> 00:24:17.939 Someone has got themselves into debt. 00:24:17.939 --> 00:24:22.759 And there is a price that must be paid to secure freedom. 00:24:22.759 --> 00:24:27.319 And God says I will pay the necessary price to secure my people's freedom. 00:24:27.539 --> 00:24:32.200 And I will do it in a display of my power and my glory and my love. 00:24:35.140 --> 00:24:36.839 And we turn to the cross. 00:24:38.079 --> 00:24:39.220 And we think about Jesus. 00:24:39.879 --> 00:24:44.819 Who describes himself as the bridegroom of his church. 00:24:44.819 --> 00:24:46.980 He loves his bride. 00:24:46.980 --> 00:24:49.279 He loves his church. 00:24:49.279 --> 00:24:53.839 He gave himself for her to make her holy. 00:24:54.919 --> 00:24:59.179 Jesus pays the ultimate price to save us. 00:24:59.700 --> 00:25:04.059 As his body is broken and his blood is shed. 00:25:05.339 --> 00:25:09.319 Jesus, the eternal son of God, becomes one of us. 00:25:09.319 --> 00:25:15.319 So that in human nature, he might take the punishment that humans deserve as sinners. 00:25:16.859 --> 00:25:18.579 That's why Jesus became one of us. 00:25:18.679 --> 00:25:20.319 To die in our place. 00:25:22.220 --> 00:25:24.500 To take the punishment that we deserve. 00:25:24.500 --> 00:25:32.099 And in that sacrificial act, as the substitute, he changes our status. 00:25:33.220 --> 00:25:40.480 Where previously were slaves to sin, enemies to God, now we have freedom in Christ. 00:25:41.660 --> 00:25:43.440 Now we are children of God. 00:25:43.440 --> 00:25:58.820 And as we discover and as we consider again and again God's redeeming love, it becomes for us the answer, the antidote to those doubts and fears. 00:25:59.720 --> 00:26:00.759 When trouble comes. 00:26:00.820 --> 00:26:01.460 Does God know? 00:26:02.340 --> 00:26:03.120 Does God care? 00:26:03.840 --> 00:26:04.680 Does God love? 00:26:05.660 --> 00:26:10.180 We go to the foot of the cross and we find our wonderful answer. 00:26:10.180 --> 00:26:18.759 Let's think now about how God speaks of what he will still do in the future. 00:26:19.539 --> 00:26:24.340 Because verses 7 and 8 are wonderful promises contained here. 00:26:24.779 --> 00:26:30.340 Where we see something of the goal of God revealing his power and his love. 00:26:30.460 --> 00:26:36.180 There is this movement anticipated from slavery to freedom. 00:26:36.180 --> 00:26:40.700 I will take you as my own people and I will be your God. 00:26:41.519 --> 00:26:47.039 Then you will know that I am a Lord your God who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. 00:26:47.039 --> 00:26:49.480 So they would know God as Redeemer. 00:26:49.620 --> 00:26:53.259 They would enjoy that new relationship. 00:26:54.460 --> 00:26:55.140 And in verse 8, 00:26:55.220 --> 00:27:00.340 I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and Jacob. 00:27:00.880 --> 00:27:02.640 I will give it to you as a possession. 00:27:03.120 --> 00:27:05.000 I am the Lord. 00:27:06.180 --> 00:27:07.980 So they are going to be brought out of slavery. 00:27:08.620 --> 00:27:10.539 So that they can enjoy life with God. 00:27:10.620 --> 00:27:13.360 So they can enjoy covenant with God. 00:27:14.799 --> 00:27:17.279 And they can experience the goal of that promise. 00:27:18.039 --> 00:27:20.980 That they might live in God's promised land. 00:27:20.980 --> 00:27:22.759 And enjoying God's presence. 00:27:24.900 --> 00:27:29.140 And there is a really helpful book, Von Roberts' God's Big Picture. 00:27:29.140 --> 00:27:33.900 Thinking about God's goal in the story of salvation. 00:27:34.460 --> 00:27:43.440 God's goal is that God's people would be in God's place, under God's rule, and knowing God's blessing. 00:27:44.300 --> 00:27:45.800 That's what we see in Eden. 00:27:46.940 --> 00:27:49.759 That's what the people were promised in the promised land. 00:27:51.220 --> 00:27:52.480 Ultimately, that's our hope. 00:27:52.480 --> 00:27:54.160 That's the gospel hope. 00:27:54.599 --> 00:27:57.019 It's what Jesus talks about in John 14. 00:27:58.279 --> 00:28:03.460 As he's just about to go to the cross, he talks about going home. 00:28:04.980 --> 00:28:06.700 Don't let your hearts be troubled. 00:28:07.960 --> 00:28:08.700 Believe in God. 00:28:08.819 --> 00:28:09.599 Believe also in me. 00:28:09.660 --> 00:28:11.319 In my Father's house are many rooms. 00:28:11.500 --> 00:28:13.200 If it were not so, I would have told you. 00:28:13.200 --> 00:28:15.559 And he talks about going to prepare a place. 00:28:15.660 --> 00:28:19.900 He talks about going through the death of Jesus on the cross. 00:28:19.980 --> 00:28:20.980 And then his resurrection. 00:28:21.220 --> 00:28:22.140 Return to heaven. 00:28:22.700 --> 00:28:23.860 That's his preparation. 00:28:25.299 --> 00:28:27.100 But now that he's gone and prepared, he says, 00:28:27.180 --> 00:28:28.480 I'll come back and I'll take you. 00:28:28.519 --> 00:28:31.259 So that you might also be where I am. 00:28:33.059 --> 00:28:34.440 And so there's this preparation. 00:28:34.860 --> 00:28:37.200 So that we might enjoy our promised land. 00:28:37.900 --> 00:28:38.860 Eternal rest. 00:28:39.279 --> 00:28:41.700 With the Lord Jesus. 00:28:43.200 --> 00:28:49.460 And so Moses is hearing. 00:28:49.680 --> 00:28:50.720 And Israel is hearing. 00:28:50.819 --> 00:28:51.819 And we need to hear. 00:28:51.940 --> 00:28:52.880 And to keep hearing. 00:28:53.539 --> 00:28:55.360 That I am the Lord. 00:28:56.279 --> 00:28:57.380 Is the answer. 00:28:58.340 --> 00:28:59.519 For our weak faith. 00:29:00.220 --> 00:29:01.360 When we feel doubts. 00:29:01.680 --> 00:29:02.360 And concerns. 00:29:02.460 --> 00:29:03.460 When things go wrong. 00:29:03.819 --> 00:29:04.840 When we feel discouraged. 00:29:04.960 --> 00:29:07.140 When there are delays that we didn't anticipate. 00:29:07.140 --> 00:29:08.880 Where there is despair and distress. 00:29:08.880 --> 00:29:12.340 What we don't do. 00:29:12.820 --> 00:29:14.440 Is give in and give up. 00:29:15.720 --> 00:29:16.800 What we don't do. 00:29:16.900 --> 00:29:17.960 Is roll our sleeves up. 00:29:18.020 --> 00:29:19.480 And resolve that we're going to do better. 00:29:19.560 --> 00:29:20.300 And try harder. 00:29:20.400 --> 00:29:22.000 And our faith will be stronger next time. 00:29:22.060 --> 00:29:22.740 The answer. 00:29:23.880 --> 00:29:25.020 Is we look to our God. 00:29:26.060 --> 00:29:27.620 We listen to Jesus. 00:29:27.620 --> 00:29:29.640 Who says, I am the Lord. 00:29:29.720 --> 00:29:30.680 Do not be afraid. 00:29:31.220 --> 00:29:31.620 Do not be afraid. 00:29:31.619 --> 00:29:33.579 What do we discover. 00:29:33.959 --> 00:29:35.099 About our Savior. 00:29:35.500 --> 00:29:36.759 Even in this passage. 00:29:38.199 --> 00:29:39.559 He would say to us. 00:29:39.819 --> 00:29:40.319 Trust me. 00:29:40.519 --> 00:29:42.139 I keep my words. 00:29:44.219 --> 00:29:44.959 Trust me. 00:29:45.039 --> 00:29:47.439 I feel the distress of my people. 00:29:49.019 --> 00:29:49.819 Trust me. 00:29:49.959 --> 00:29:51.479 I have set you free. 00:29:53.259 --> 00:29:53.959 Trust me. 00:29:53.960 --> 00:29:56.640 I bring you new life with God. 00:29:58.079 --> 00:29:58.940 Trust me. 00:29:59.059 --> 00:30:01.319 I will lead you home. 00:30:02.039 --> 00:30:03.180 In the end. 00:30:05.680 --> 00:30:08.740 Let's keep this portrait in view. 00:30:09.680 --> 00:30:11.360 Of our wonderful God. 00:30:11.900 --> 00:30:14.180 Let's keep this gospel remedy. 00:30:14.940 --> 00:30:16.380 Close at hand. 00:30:17.940 --> 00:30:19.120 So that we'd come. 00:30:19.460 --> 00:30:20.240 And come. 00:30:20.740 --> 00:30:22.279 And come to Jesus. 00:30:23.019 --> 00:30:23.620 Let's pray. 00:30:23.960 --> 00:30:24.460 Lord. 00:30:25.160 --> 00:30:25.640 Lord. 00:30:25.759 --> 00:30:26.480 Our God. 00:30:26.600 --> 00:30:27.460 We thank you. 00:30:27.779 --> 00:30:28.500 And once again. 00:30:28.640 --> 00:30:29.480 For the honesty.