My latest sermon at my home church.
Here are my notes.
_1These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each with his household: 2Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, 3Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, 4Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. 5All the descendants of Jacob were seventy persons; Joseph was already in Egypt. _
Last week we spoke about Joseph, who through God’s guidance interpreted the Pharaoh's dreams and saved not only Egypt but his family from a famine. At the end of Genesis the children of Israel had moved into Egypt and God was continuing to keep the promise he made to Abraham.
6Then Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation. 7But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.
God had told Abraham was that his children would be as numerous as the stars and this was happening with each new child born. God had also told Abraham that his descendants would also face adversity, Genesis 15:12-14 and that part of the story was about to happen.
8Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. 9And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us.10Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” 11Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses. 12But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel.
God Calls a Redeemer
As the Egyptians attempted to destroy the nation of Israel a redeemer was born. His name was Moses. His very life was a miracle. His mother saved his life when he should have been killed by decree of Pharaoh. He lived right within the courts of the Pharaoh only to escape to Midian. It was there that God began to reveal himself to his people.
4When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. -ch3
God begins a progressive plan of revealing himself not just to his chosen people but also to the entire world. He start by Revealing His Name
_11But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”12He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” _13Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you.’” 15God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.
God revealed His Name and this overcame Moses’ objections. He said that He would be with Moses. There is a confidence when you travel with God. After Moses returned to Egypt and began to meet with the leaders in Israel as well as the Egyptians leaders. This is where God began the next step in revealing Himself. God Began to *Reveal His Power. * God’s goal was to reveal His Glory and He struck right at the heart of their culture.
At this time the idea of God was accepted. In fact in Egypt there were a lot of different gods. God wanted to reveal Himself in a way so that there would be no doubt that He was God. So God struck at Pharaoh through a series of plagues.
Water Turned to Blood
Overwhelmed by Frogs
The Dust Became Gnats
Overcome by Flies
The Egyptian Livestock Die
The Skin of the Egyptians is covered by boils
Heavy Hail falls form the sky
Swarmed by Locusts
An Oppressive Darkness covers the land.
Even through all of this Pharaoh’s heart would not budge. In fact God was hardening his heart.
27But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. 28Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me; take care never to see my face again, for on the day you see my face you shall die.” 29Moses said, “As you say! I will not see your face again.”-ch10
At this point God moves on to the last step of revealing Himself. God Reveals His Plan to Israel. Ch 11
3Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household. 4And 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. 5Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, 6and 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.
_7“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. _
13The 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.
Do any of you notice that this plan that God reveals to the Israelites in captivity foreshadows another shedding of innocent blood?
It is at this point that I want to talk to you frankly. Things are not going to get any easier for us. We are living in a culture that is becoming increasingly more hostile towards us. Christianity is going to be marginalized, ostracized and much of it is our own fault. The conversations that frustrate me the most are not the ones I have with unbelievers. They are the ones that I have with the family. We have marginalized God’s influence in our lives. TV, technology and entertainment has a greater impact on us than the Word of God. We are so weak that we don’t even know what we believe anymore.
This is why getting into your Bible is so important. It is God’s revealed Word for your life. This is where your purpose will be found. Not in the blowing of the wind or your feelings.
We are losing a generation because we are unable to explain what we believe. We are also unwilling to examine ourselves from the scriptures.
My challenge to all of us, myself included, is to love Him by keeping His commands. That means going and making disciples. I should be discipled and I should be making disciples.
If you knew that the destroyer was coming tonight. Wouldn’t you want to make sure that every house was covered by the blood. Becuase it will be exactly as the Lord said it will be for those who are not covered.
_29 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. 30And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians. And there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where someone was not dead. _Posted with Blogsy