This is an exposition of Exodus 1:1-22. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, April 8, 2018.
Intro:
If I’m to believe some of what I hear in Christian media, God always wants us to be happy, healthy and victorious. If I’m sick it’s because of a lack of faith.
[sections collapse="always"][section title="Read More"]
If I’m struggling financially it’s due to my failure to practice seed-faith giving. If I’m not walking in victory it is because I’m not exercising my rights as a true son of the kingdom. That all sounds well and good but that doesn’t seem to fit with what our brothers and sisters in Christ are experiencing in most of the world. It is not consistent with what most believers have experienced throughout the 2000 year history of the church and most importantly it doesn’t fit with Scripture! I would suggest that the apostle Paul was a genuine man of faith yet Paul wrote of his life as a minister of the gospel,“..[a life of ] great labor, [with many] imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.” (2 Corinthians 11:23-28)
Jeremiah was a great man of faith yet he is called, the “Weeping Prophet” because his was a difficult life of great heartache and trouble. Our Lord was a man of sorrows, well acquainted with grief. Yes, I know we are blessed with every spiritual bless in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. I know that we are more than conquerors through Christ who strengthens us. In Christ we are doubtlessly blessed beyond measure, my concern is that we are so tied to this sin-cursed world we think too often of blessing in terms of this world rather than the world to come! I like comfort. I want to have a good standard of living with good health and a nice bank account. I’m not suggesting that such things are wrong or sinful, I’m merely calling for some perspective. I’m grateful for all that I have. God has been gracious to me, I’ve got it way better than I deserve and that is wholly due to the grace of God but this world is not our home. This world is a training ground for our future glory. In this world we will have tribulation. In this world there will be tears and heartache. This world demands a life of faith. Our text this morning is found in the first chapter of the book of Exodus.
Text: Exodus 1:1-22
This morning we begin our journey through the 2nd book of Moses. Moses is the author of the Pentateuch, the books of the law, the first 5 books of the Old Testament. Exodus is the story of the birth of the nation of Israel. It is born out of adversity. The title, “Exodus” comes to us from the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament. The word means, departure of going out. The Hebrew title is, “And these are the names” taken from the opening lines of the Hebrew text. Demonstrating that the book is a continuation of the drama begun in the book of Genesis. Genesis ends with Jacob and his family down in Egypt. In fact the book ends with Joseph in a coffin in Egypt. Exodus continues the story.
Pastor Mark Dever outlines the book beautifully with a simple outline. There are just three points:
- God works sovereignly
- God works sovereignly to save a special people
- God works sovereignly to save a special people for His own glory
That last point is really the key to the whole book. Throughout God is the central actor. He is the focus, not Israel, not human freedom, not religion or ritual but God himself. God does what He does so that Israel will know that He is the LORD (6:7), so that Egypt will know that He is the LORD (7:3-5), so that all the earth will know that He is the LORD (18:8-11).
We begin this morning by looking at the opening chapter.
I want us to walk away understanding that…
Thesis: The life of faith trusts God to do what is good and right regardless of the circumstance and despite confusion and even doubt.
Faith is not about our believing for some reality we desire and create. Faith is about trust, belief and reliance upon the God who is. The object of faith is always God himself. I want to look at three things in our text.
- A life of faithful obedience does not guarantee a pain-free existence. (1:1-11)
- Our Sovereign God providentially works in our pain and sorrow ultimately for our good and His glory. (1:12-14, 22)
- God graciously delivers His people in extraordinary ways through unexpected means. (1:15-21)
Conclusion:
Life in this world is often hard. To us it even appears that we experience great heartache and pain without explanation. We face adversity without purpose and hostility without protection. “God, where are you? Why is this happening? Why are you silent?” This how it looks to us, this is how it feels but The life of faith trusts God to do what is good and right regardless of the circumstance and despite confusion and even doubt.
[/section][/sections]