Sermon On Overcoming

Apologia Studios

Subscribe

Download

Share

00

00:00

What a glorious time to be alive What a wonderful reality to live in a world that God himself and his great kindness has made

00:11

Fashioning us in his own image and giving us the privilege of living one with another

00:18

Particularly those who are Christians and living in the context of a local church What a glorious reality the privilege of privilege of showing forth the gospel by our lives

00:32

However in a very real sense we could have never

00:38

Predicted that we would actually be living in a society where so -called same -gender marriage was legal

00:47

Where gender confusion and rejection was normal and where killing and dismembering infants was financially profitable

00:57

Yet at the same time in another sense we would Why would we not assume?

01:03

Why would we not assume that we were on the fast track to a post -christian America?

01:10

Especially if we back up and gaze carefully assessing the state of evangelicalism in the past few decades the

01:24

State of our current situation in our land Specifically is not the result of a few rash decisions that were made over the past several months

01:37

If it seems that way to you you've been asleep for far too long

01:45

The church generally and broadly speaking Has been far too content to set back and To allow the world to sit as it were in the driver's seat of our country and of our land among our culture in our society

02:06

Though it seems almost impossible to fathom the area that we are guilty of being the most passive and the most silent is that of abortion as Evangelicals as Christians in our country we have been too silent

02:29

For too long. We've been too passive for too long as Untold millions of little lives have been snuffed out

02:41

While still in the womb of their mothers the womb

02:48

One of the most dangerous places in our country for children Snuffed out right from the place where there should be the greatest safety it is not

03:03

It is not just the right to choose It is an attempt to overthrow

03:11

The king it's an attempt to overthrow Christ the atrocity that is happening all around is an attack against God It's an attack against his word

03:23

He himself is the creator of life Now for our purposes this evening

03:31

I want to point out that this is not at all the first time in history that things have been so bad it's not the first time in history that we have as Mankind have attempted to topple heaven's grand regime

03:49

Unfortunately, it's not likely to be the last but oh that it would be Let's look at a previous situation and learn from their response

04:02

The response that they had to their own cultural chaos Open with me to the book of Exodus Exodus chapter 1

04:20

Exodus as a whole is a book About the relationship between God and his people

04:31

Throughout the book God is continually revealing himself to his people through signs through wonders

04:41

Again, and again page after page making clear his sovereign majesty

04:47

Putting on display his holiness and his power magnifying his awesome glory his wonderful righteousness and his kind compassion

05:02

Exodus holds significant hope for the entirety of the human race

05:09

It offers every captive The hope of freedom it offers every one of you

05:17

Who are in bondage to sin it offers you? freedom and hope

05:23

Through the promised Savior who is Jesus? Let's begin reading in verse 1 and read verses 1 through 7

05:32

Initially Exodus 1 1 now These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob they came each one with his household

05:43

Reuben Simeon Levi and Judah Issachar Zebulun and Benjamin Dan and Naphtali Gad and Asher All the persons who came from the loins of Jacob were 70 in number, but Joseph was already in Egypt Joseph died and all his brothers and all that generation but the sons of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly and Multiplied and became exceedingly mighty so that the land was filled with them

06:14

This is the death of a dynasty They had known kind Providences in the lives of Jacob and Joseph kind providences of God And the kindness from God was expressed in the midst of the judgment that they were under Think with me about why they were actually in Egypt Yes, it's true.

06:40

The Lord was sustaining them there and he sustained them there for a long time But what required them to go to Egypt?

06:48

Genesis 43 1 tells us because the famine was severe in the land

06:56

Why would there be a famine in the land? The psalmist tells us because God called for a famine upon the land some 105 16

07:05

God called for a famine upon the land and he broke the whole staff of bread

07:11

Why would God call for a famine on the land? They weren't short on rain.

07:16

They weren't short on sunshine. Why a famine? God called for it as a judgment on their sin

07:25

Many of the circumstances that the people of God were experiencing were a result of Egypt's sin

07:31

That's true, but not all the famine covered their homeland as well as Egypt The point here for us is that The spiritual climate that we live in today is a direct result of our disobedience

07:48

We must not be content pointing out there at all the problems that exist out there

07:57

Our problems are in here as Individuals our problems are here

08:04

It is a completely wrong assumption if we think that the lack of flourishing in Churches today is because of how secular the society has become or how left the media is

08:17

Or how outspoken? liberals are Our churches

08:23

Generally speaking are failing because they're failing to live sensibly righteously and godly in this present age and Because of this it's given way for these things these atrocities that are happening all around Not only that but in many instances

08:42

Professing Christians have begun following in the ways of their wickedness The present spiritual condition and climate in which we live is a direct result of our own disobedience

08:57

Jacob died Joseph died, but not without leaving a lasting impact

09:04

They were fruitful. They increased greatly. They multiplied they were exceedingly mighty.

09:10

They filled the land However Simply Outpopulating the enemy was not sufficient.

09:20

That's not what God had commanded them to do Yes, they were commanded to be fruitful and multiply but not to trust in that for overcoming their enemies

09:28

Egypt may have seemed like a promising place to mature into a godly nation

09:36

Initially, but it quickly grew into a place of bondage for the people of God Let's pick up reading in verse 8

09:45

We began with the death of a dynasty And as we read the rest of the chapter, we see that the days were very dark

09:56

Now a new king arose over Egypt Who did not know? Joseph He said to his people behold the people of the sons of Israel are more and mightier than we

10:06

Come let us deal wisely with them or else they will multiply and in the event in the event of war

10:13

They will also join themselves to those who hate us and fight against us and depart from the land So they appointed taskmasters over them to afflict them with hard labor and they built for Pharaoh's storage cities

10:24

Pithom and Ramses But the more they afflicted them the more they multiplied and the more they spread out

10:30

So they were in dread of the sons of Israel the Egyptians compelled the sons of Israel to labor vigorously and They made their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar and bricks and Did all kinds of labor in the field all their labors which they rigorously imposed on them

10:48

Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives one of whom was named

10:53

Shipra and the other was named Pua and He said when you're helping the

10:58

Hebrew women to give birth and see them upon the birthstool if it is a son Then you shall put him to death

11:05

But if it is a daughter then she shall live But the midwives feared God And did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them, but let the boys live

11:17

So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them. Why have you done this thing and let the boys live?

11:23

the midwives said to Pharaoh Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife can get to them

11:33

So God was good to the midwives and the people multiplied and became very mighty because the midwives feared

11:40

God He established households for them then Pharaoh commanded all his people saying

11:45

Every son who is born you are to cast into the Nile and every daughter

11:51

You are to keep alive dark days marked by oppression slavery infanticide a new king arose

12:03

Joseph who I Don't I don't know this man that you speak of that saved our country

12:11

And they begin to crack down on the people worried that they were expanding greatly Imposing slavery they call it in verse 10 dealing wisely with them

12:21

Oppressing them with hard labor five times in verses 11 through 14 difficult labor hard labor

12:29

Imposing labor on them to oppress them When we look at it through the eyes of a sovereign kind King this oppression that the people were experiencing is very likely what actually preserved their purity if Pharaoh would have just left them alone

12:50

It's very likely they would have blended right into the Egyptian race We see that as when they get out of Egypt, it takes a long time to get

12:58

Egypt out of them They did not seem to really mind all that much being in Egypt they had become content there

13:10

Adopting many of the local superstitions and idolatries And the more they were afflicted the more they multiplied the more they were afflicted the more they were put in the vice the more

13:20

They spread out and we can see the hand of God evident here in Pharaoh's harsh dealings

13:29

It's not working Pharaoh's strategy of oppression and slavery and hard labor isn't working.

13:35

So he switches strategies from slavery of the people of God to slaughtering the infants

13:46

I'll finish them Death was demanded versus 15 and 16

13:55

Pharaoh tells the Hebrew Midwives if it's a boy if it's a son you shall put him to death

14:06

Pharaoh was anti life Clearly rejecting the promises that God had made to his people

14:13

Paying zero attention to the covenant that God had made with Israel He had said to them be fruitful and multiply.

14:22

I will make you a great nation Pharaoh was flying right in the face of that by attempting to slaughter the sons at birth

14:32

Pharaoh would even go on and reject God's plan for his people to have a land of their own and not let them go if You're familiar with the rest of the book

14:43

Pharaoh was not just anti -life as I've mentioned already his problem wasn't with little boys.

14:48

His problem was with God. He was anti Christ anti God Not altogether unlike Herod who we would see later

15:01

Who heard that a king had been born in Jerusalem or pardon in Bethlehem? And he was troubled in all

15:07

Jerusalem with him and he gathered together the chief priests and the scribes of the people And he inquired of them where the

15:15

Messiah was to be born You remember what he said because I too want to worship him

15:24

We know he didn't want to worship him he eventually issues an edict to have all of the male children killed

15:32

But though death was demanded by the Pharaoh to the Hebrew midwives. They responded with what we might call dutiful deception righteous deception

15:43

We're familiar with this from the book of Acts we must obey God rather than man

15:50

They were willing to do what God had commanded they were committed

15:56

To allowing the little boys to live when that plan fails the covert infanticide

16:08

That Pharaoh was promoting fails it becomes outright gender -selective genocide then verse 22

16:17

Pharaoh commanded all his people saying every son who is born you are to cast in the

16:22

Nile and Every daughter you are to keep alive Pharaoh's sin once hidden From the people not from God now exposed.

16:33

It's clear. Just throw all of the boys Into the river Initially a command simply to the midwives now to everyone.

16:41

He commanded all his people verse 22 says Commanded all his people every son who is born you are to cast him into the

16:50

Nile sin has this natural tendency to grow In severity and in boldness we know that experientially

17:02

We know it in our own lives Experientially when we open up and give just just a little bit of room

17:10

When we give in to the temptation and we give in to sin It's a quick track down.

17:16

It's a fast spiral. So we're overcome continually With the growth the severity the boldness

17:25

This is also clearly evidenced by the recent events Most of you remember that abortion was once considered safe legal and rare Now late term even post -birth abortion promoted and celebrated

17:42

These were dark days. We live in dark days. No doubt But with the same change as we continue in in the book of Exodus here

17:52

Hope is quickly sensed Look at the transition from Chapter 1 verse 22 to chapter 2 verse 1

18:01

He commanded all his people saying every son born to you should be cast into the Nile In chapter 2 now a man from the house of Levi went and married a daughter of Levi the woman conceived and bore a son and When she saw that he was beautiful she hid him for three months

18:21

Surely the suspense then is growing right? She's disobeying the king immediately. This is good news

18:28

When she could hide him no longer She got him a wicker basket and covered it over with tar and pitch then she put the child into it and set it among The reeds by the bank of the

18:36

Nile His sister stood at a distance to find out what would happen to him the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the

18:43

Nile with her maidens walking alongside the Nile and She saw the basket among the reeds and sinner made and she brought it to her

18:50

When she opened it She saw the child and behold the boy was crying and she had pity on him and said this is one of the

18:58

Hebrews children Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the

19:04

Hebrew women that she may nurse the child for you? Pharaoh's daughter said to her go ahead

19:11

So the girl went and called the child's mother Then Pharaoh's daughter said to her take this child away and nurse him for me and I Will give you your wages so the woman took the child and nursed him the child grew and she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter and he became her son and she named him

19:29

Moses and Said because I drew him out of the water from the dark days to the dawn of a deliverer

19:43

Jochebed and Amran Moses's parents they saw his beauty and They put him in the closet for three months and then in the basket in the river

19:51

And then he's in the arms of Pharaoh's daughter and then he's back to his mom to nurse and then he's back to Pharaoh's daughter

19:58

And goes into the house of Pharaoh God's remarkable amazing orchestration of all these things

20:06

The laws of the land the Pharaoh himself the parents of Moses his sister the princess the daughter of Pharaoh The basket the river the reeds

20:16

God controls them all The same is true in your life and mine

20:22

Friend don't waste your time and energy Worrying about every little thing

20:29

Don't toss and turn all night Reliving your day or planning the next one.

20:34

He knows what is best. He controls everything and he's kind and compassionate in his orchestration

20:45

William Cooper said it best God moves in mysterious ways

20:51

He moves in mysterious ways his wonders to perform We see it demonstrated in the life of Moses here

20:58

God planting his footsteps in the sea and riding up on the storm Deep in his dark and hidden minds with never -failing skill.

21:08

He fashions all his bright designs and works his sovereign will he moves in mysterious ways a baby in a basket

21:22

Amidst the reeds in the river mysterious Moses the

21:28

Deliverer in The river that was the grave of all of his contemporaries

21:36

Mysterious Did his mom leave him to be murdered before Miriam his sister?

21:43

His sister is sent to watch and see what happens Would Moses's mom send his sister to witness the incident?

21:53

mysterious Did Moses's mom send him to be massacred by Pharaoh's daughter?

22:01

It was the intent of Moses's mom for Pharaoh's daughter to find the princess. She knew that he was there every day

22:09

The daughter of the king who who issued the edict? Mysterious by faith when

22:18

Moses Was born was hidden for three months by his parents because they saw he was a beautiful child

22:26

And the writer of Hebrews tells us they were not afraid of the king's edict

22:32

Because they trusted in God the River Nile and the royal house

22:40

Both subjected to God's hand of good providence But with the dawn of deliver the dawn the

22:50

Deliverer on the dawn It proves to be a false dawn and the deliverance

22:58

Delayed let's pick up reading in verse 11 of chapter 2 Now it came about in those days when

23:03

Moses had grown up that he went out to his brethren and looked on their hard labors And he saw an Egyptian beating a

23:09

Hebrew one of his brethren So he looked this way in that and when he saw that there was no one around he struck down the

23:15

Egyptian and hit him in the sand He went out the next day and behold two Hebrews were fighting with each other and he said to the offender

23:21

Why are you striking your companion? But he said who made you a prince or a judge over us.

23:28

Are you intending to kill me as you killed the Egyptian? Then Moses was afraid and said surely the matter has become known

23:36

When Pharaoh heard of this matter He tried to kill Moses But Moses fled from the presence of Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian and he sat down by a well

23:45

Now the priests of Midian had seven daughters and they came to draw water and filled the troughs

23:50

To water their father's flock then the shepherds came and drove them away But Moses stood up and helped them and watered their flock

23:58

When they came to Ruel their father He said why have you come back so soon today?

24:04

So they said an Egyptian delivered us from the hand of the shepherds and what is more?

24:10

He even drew the water for us and watered the flock He said to his daughters. Where is he then?

24:16

Why is it that you have left the man behind invite him to have something to eat? Moses was willing to dwell with the man and he gave his daughter

24:23

Zipporah to Moses And she gave birth to a son and he named him

24:28

Gershom for he said I've been a sojourner in a foreign land

24:36

The reason that it's a false dawn It's very hopeful when you get to the first part of chapter 2 and you see

24:42

Moses is born and he's saved there There's something around the corner with this little boy who was rescued

24:49

But as soon as Moses has the ability takes things into his own hands.

24:55

He's aware of his role At some level, but he incorrectly understands it Resulting in another 40 year delay of God's will being accomplished and his people being rescued

25:10

It's as if Moses has given up even he names his son I'm a sojourner in a foreign land

25:17

No, there's a bit of irony in the story up to this point. That's worth noting the irony of Pharaoh Allowing the daughters to live and killing the son and I say irony because It's the midwife ladies who defied

25:37

Pharaoh's orders it's Jacob ed Moses's mom who's

25:43

Levi's daughter and Miriam Moses's sister Who are playing a part in this great rescue of Moses the saving of Moses?

25:53

It's the Pharaoh's daughter who defies her father the king it's

25:58

Jethro's daughter who are meeting Moses admittion It was not the sons alone that posed a threat to Pharaoh Wasn't really the sons at all any more than it was the daughters

26:09

The fact is Pharaoh was unaware who exactly he was dealing with He was dealing with the king.

26:17

He was dealing with God Now reviewing up to this point we see that the people of God have no hope in family lineage

26:28

Who is Joseph? He's dead. Now. Jacob's dead. They've expanded They've blossomed

26:35

There's no hope in human leadership There's a new king on the scene a new pagan king.

26:41

That's no help for God's people There's no hope in sanctification by suffering misery does love company, but it doesn't produce godliness not for ungodly people

26:52

And there's no hope in a mere man like Moses who attempted to take things into his own hand rather than trusting in God Now we've seen that in the different passages with the death of a dynasty

27:06

Marked by the dark days that followed death being demanded the dutiful deception of the

27:12

Hebrew midwives The dawn of a deliverer in Moses in that very deliverance then being delayed quite a miserable situation all that for this

27:29

It's their response. We can identify with the difficulties of life With the atrocities that are going on But how do we respond rightly to it?

27:41

Verse 23 of chapter 2 now it came about in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died and the sons of Israel sighed

27:52

Because of their bondage and they cried out and their cry for help

27:59

Because of their bondage rose up to God So God heard their groaning and God remembered his covenant with Abraham Isaac and Jacob God saw the sons of Israel and God took notice of them.

28:15

Here's their response Desperate desires for God they sighed they groaned they cried out for help and God heard them

28:26

He remembered his covenant with them. He saw his children. He took notice of them

28:34

He even says verse 7 skip down to chapter 3 verse 7 I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt.

28:41

I have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters I am aware of their suffering verse 8

28:47

I've come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians verse 9 I've seen the oppression with which the

28:53

Egyptians are oppressing them. God is not far off He is very much intimately acquainted and in tune with what's going on among his people

29:01

After 400 years of bondage in the midst of terrible oppression as a result of horrific

29:07

Genocide when hope in Moses turns to disappointment when days are dark and deliverance seems only to be a dream

29:15

Then verse 23 happens then they cry out to God. They recognize that they're helpless without him

29:22

Hopeless apart from him. What will it take for us friends?

29:27

Do we not live in a society ravaged by sin? Are we not ourselves in bondage to it too often?

29:38

We've been made even more aware in recent days of the genocide that is happening all around us

29:43

Are our days not dark and does deliverance not seem distant? Should we not is there any real reason why we would not be at the end of our?

29:57

attempts to bring about change in our own strength The way that the people of God did of old by outpopulating the enemy

30:07

Again they were faithful to be fruitful and multiply, but there's no hope in a multi -generational strategy

30:13

Joseph died in the whole generation with him Nor do we want to be guilty of simply outwitting them in our dealings

30:22

Yes, be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves, but there's no real hope in a different national ruler

30:30

Joseph was completely unknown in chapter 1 verse 8 chapter 2 verse 23 brings yet another

30:37

New king with the same old results same song third verse

30:46

Nor are is there any hope in politically out strategizing our enemies? There's no lasting hope in a mere great human leader

30:54

Moses blew it from the outset Delaying deliverance for 40 years and he blew it again in the end by not making it to Canaan But though there's no hope in you and I operating in the strength of our own flesh.

31:07

There is immense. Hope in God a God who orchestrates every detail of our lives so that we might cry out to him

31:19

Friends what will it take for us to sigh and groan and cry out to God?

31:27

This is what we need. This is all we need for him to hear us for him to remember his covenant with us for him to see us in our affliction and to take notice of us to Intimately acquaint himself with us.

31:41

We must lay hold of this principle. We must lay hold of this God We must come to the conclusion that nothing else will suffice then for God himself to intervene

31:54

To rain down righteousness from on high God saw the sons of Israel chapter 2 verse 25

32:04

And God took notice of them Now Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro his father -in -law the priest of Midian and he led

32:13

The flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to horrid the mountain of God nice cool transition by the author

32:22

But look at verse 2 The angel of the Lord appeared to him now.

32:30

It's incredibly encouraging for God to hear to remember

32:36

To see to notice But all those things can happen from a distance from far off Here we have displayed for us what it means

32:51

For our God to hear to remember to see and to notice

32:59

It is far more than a mere glance in our direction This is not a vague notion of our situation that our

33:07

God has this is not some foggy idea of the circumstances surrounding us

33:15

When God hears the cries of his people when God sees his people in their distress

33:20

He doesn't stand back and hope for the best He doesn't just sit and feel compassion and pity from a distance

33:30

Look at chapter 3 verse 8. So I have come down I've seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt for seven says

33:38

I've given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters I'm aware of their sufferings. How will God Most High respond to the suffering the affliction of his people how

33:47

I've come down I've come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians To bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land to a land flowing with milk and honey

33:59

God comes down to rescue and deliver surely we hear the glorious gospel overtones of Christ coming down to save sinners of Robing himself in flesh the fullness of God enveloped in frail human flesh the angel of the

34:19

Lord coming speaking to Moses What I'm willing to argue is

34:27

Christ himself the pre -incarnate one Whether you agree that the angel of the

34:35

Lord here is a Christophany or not Surely you can at least agree with Gregory of Nysa in the late 300 suggesting that Moses saw the transcendent

34:45

Essence and cause of the universe on which everything depends alone subsists

34:56

God came down note That this messenger of the

35:02

Lord did not speak for God But as God whether or not it's

35:11

Christ in the bush. This is certain Moses was in the presence of God and that's what we need

35:20

To recognize the situation around us and to cry out to him for help

35:29

Briefly in closing look at verse 10 of chapter 3 Therefore this is

35:34

God speaking to Moses therefore come now And I'll send you to Pharaoh so that you may bring my people the sons of Israel out of Egypt God commissions

35:46

Moses to rescue his people This is an ever -amazing paradox a paradox that we are given the privilege of participating in God uses

36:02

Sinners to carry out his saving purposes and plans

36:09

Moses had failed initially and in God's mercy he comes back around Visits Moses there in the burning bush

36:22

Commissions him to go to be used to deliver and to rescue

36:29

God is using Moses here in quite a remarkable fashion

36:39

Moses who was born at a time when all of the sons Should have died based on the king's edict

36:49

Moses who was put in a basket on a river found by the king's daughter and saved

36:59

Moses Whose life Every detail of it was orchestrated by God In order to prepare him to be used by God Not as not a whole lot is different for you and me

37:19

God uses the uncommon faithfulness of very common people

37:27

God uses People like us To go on campus and preach the glad tidings of Jesus Christ to go into the community and proclaim

37:41

Christ as King to go to the clinic and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ that he's come to save sinners

37:53

But he has not determined that we do it in our own strength He has determined that we cry out to him for help as we go

38:06

May God help us To be increasingly

38:13

Convinced that we can do nothing apart from him that we must have him

38:23

Let's pray Our father we thank you for your word we pray

38:31

God now that you would use it Use it for the glory of your son for the good of us your people in Jesus name.