Encounter Exodus 3:7-7 The LORD said, I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt. 11 But Moses said to God, Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt? 12 And God said, I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain. God said to Moses, I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you. God also said to Moses, Say to the Israelites, 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. 1 I. God gives me spiritual eyes to see and a heart full of compassion. Vs. 7 & 9 7 The Lord said, I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. Revelation/Praise God s heart is breaking for those who are suffering and in spiritual bondage. Request / Petition Give me eyes to see and a heart to feel the suffering and bondage of those around me. A. Unpack the text. 1. Tell the story of Egypt. a. Bondage and slavery. b. They learned to live under the constant tyranny of a task master.
2 c. They were born into this condition. d. Every day they were reminded that their existence was to serve the powers that held them hostage. 2. OT story paints a picture of a New Testament reality. 3. Egypt represents a place of suffering from the bondages of sin. 4. Pharaoh represents Satan and demonic powers. 5. This is a picture of what life is like without Jesus. 6. No hope, no freedom, no peace, no joy, no eternal reward. 7. Ultimately it is meaningless and hopelessness. Ephesians 2:1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. (ESV) Ephesians 2:12 In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. (NLT) B. How can we see and feel what they are seeing and feeling? 1. Practical ways. 2. Scripture C. Heart of compassion Vs. 7 & 9 7 The Lord said, I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 1. God sees the misery of sin. 2. God sees the pane and hurt and suffering as a result of fallen humanity. 3. He sees the heroin addict with the needle in their arm. 4. He sees the mother filled with bitterness and rage because of how she has been mistreated.
3 5. He sees the crafty tentacles of the enemy choke out the life of young people who believe the lies of the enemy and miss their destiny. 6. He sees the business man who consumed with materialism and is striving and striving at any and every cost for one more dollar as the pursuit of Things blinds him to the real meaning of life and the reality of God s love for him. 7. He sees the bondage of pornography addiction that is wreaking havoc on our culture. 8. This week I was made aware of one more marriage torn apart by it Demonic appendages. 9. There is no sin that only effects the sinner. 10. Do not be deceived -- All sin brings with it a lateral damage. Colossians 3:12 Therefore, as God s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. (NIV) Ezekiel 36:26 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. (ESV) II. God rescues the lost by sending me. Vs. 8 & 10 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt. A. Unpack scripture 1. God reveals to Moses his plan. a. Rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians. b. Moses knew their plight. c. Moses knew their difficulty. d. Moses knew their bondage. e. He had seen it first hand and at one time was moved by it. f. But he had settled into the desert with his new life. 2. Now God tells Moses his plan. a. I have come to rescue them. b. Come on God! c. Go God!
4 d. This is awesome! 3. Last week I said. a. Moses encounter with God and the Exodus are the first theological events in the Bible. b. Wrote the Pentateuch c. God reveals himself to Moses 1.) Fire 2.) Holiness 3.) Saving delivering power. B. God s plan for a fallen, sinful, rebellious, world is I am coming to rescue them. 1. He will not sit by and not do anything. 2. He is moved by his love and compassion to sweep down and rescue them. Illustration Mark Rutland Thailand Knock on the door. Man standing with a scared looking young Thai girl. For $20 dollars she is yours for the night. Taken back and Appalled he closed the door in disgust. As he stood in the room and the episode rolling around in his head he got more and more upset - his offense turns to anger and he charges for the door. He told me he didn t know what he was going to do when he opened the door but just went. By the time he got into the hallway there was no sight of the man or the young girl. Tossed and turned all night upset. The next day he shares his experience with the Thai leadership he is working with. Dr. Rutland says he told them the story and how appalled he was. Couldn t believe it. Somebody needs to do something! He says that little Thai pastor listened to him rant and rave and walked over to him and put his finger in Rutland s chest and poked him saying Why don t you do something Cried the whole way home thinking about what happened. In 1988, Global Servants opened the first House of Grace in Thailand as a preventative work against the horrors of child prostitution. House of Grace accomplishes this through housing and tenderly raising young girls a loving Christian atmosphere. In addition to this, House of Grace provides the girls with the opportunity to attend school and continued education. House of Grace Thailand has rescued hundreds of girls and has grown into a first-rate facility. Having been called the finest children s home in Thailand,
5 House of Grace currently has a total of buildings on two properties. In addition to this, a new House of Grace was opened in Ghana in 2012. Thanks to the work of House of Grace and the partnership of sponsors, girls who would have been trapped in a life of sexual slavery have found careers in education, business, law and medicine. Today, these young professional women of God are making a positive difference in their communities. III. God gives me confidence, boldness and power to accomplish his work. Vs. 11-11 But Moses said to God, Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt? 12 And God said, I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain. God said to Moses, I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I am has sent me to you. God also said to Moses, Say to the Israelites, 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. A. Unpack. 1. Who am I? Have you ever asked yourself that question? 2. Moses is discussing his inferiority complex with God and God s answer to Moses excuse of I m not qualified or capable is I will be with you! 3. All excuses and weaknesses are swallowed up with PRESENCE. B. Moses did not feel qualified. 1. God s answer to insecurity is his presence. 2. The presence of God is a promise to all followers of Christ. Matthew 28:19-20 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. C. God promises his presence and his name.
6 God said to Moses, I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I am has sent me to you. God also said to Moses, Say to the Israelites, 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. D. God gives us his presence. E. God gives us his name. Exodus 3:- God said to Moses, I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I am has sent me to you. 1. There is power in the name of Jesus. Mark 16:-18 And he said to them, Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover. Matthew 10:5-8 5 These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And proclaim as you go, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. 2. The lost are saved everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 3. The sick are heal 4. The dead are raised 5. Those in demonic bondage are set free 6. Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is lord.
7 7. That name is a name of hope and help and power. F. We have been given the promise of the presence and the power of the name. Our father which is in heaven hallowed be your NAME! Application Jesus gives me confidence. Jesus gives me power. Luke 24:49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high. Luke 1:4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.