Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20090426.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
Exodus: God's Forming The Nation Israel For His Abrahamic Covenant
Part I: God's Deliverance Of Israel From Egypt, Exodus 1:1-15:21
C. The Encouraging Revelation Of God's Eternal Sovereignty For Israel
(Exodus 3:1-10 et al.)
Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

As I was typing up these sermon notes, I noticed that, from the human view, we could be tempted to feel a sense of hopelessness:

(1) The April 23, 2009 Republican-American editorial, "New setback for traditionalists," set a doleful tone when it claimed that even though Senate Bill 899 that encoded same-gender marriage was signed into law as amended to guard the liberty of religious groups, "defenders of morality will lose sooner or later, in the legislature or the courts."

The editor noted: "With same-sex marriage encoded, opposition to homosexuality by definition must be hateful and discriminatory," so "if you speak your sincere moral beliefs about marriage being the union of a man and a woman, or worship in a church that believes homosexuality is a sin, or are a clergyman who preaches against homosexuality, you are a bigot and at risk of the legal consequences."

Such a claim can tempt one to feel a sense of hopelessness!

(2) In the last three weeks, two different Christians have called us asking for advice on oppressive circumstances they face. In both cases, the issues were so great, the health of the afflicted was at stake!

The threat of a sense of hoplessness marked these calls!

(3) Thursday evening, we received an e-mail requesting prayer for a Bible-believing Church in our state that is in upheaval. Problems abound in relationships, the pastor fears he may lose his job, slander is abundant, and the Church needs to select new officers. The temptation for this group to feel a sense of hopelessness is very real!

(4) Brad Davis, a local "legendary" radio talk show host, is so concerned about the discouraging effects of the economic and political trials American citizens are facing, he is planning to give a talk in the near future in various area venues on "Passion, Inspiration and Hope"!



Accordingly, we may ask, "In view of current events, how can I regain a sense of HOPE for the future?!"

Need: "How can I hope for the future in a very oppressive present?!"

  1. In Exodus 2:11-22, Moses and Israel faced a sense of hopelessness:
    1. Moses who was raised and educated in Pharaoh's court had been motivated to help Israel, but he failed to gain a following, and fled to live as a disheartened foreigner in the Sinai wilderness, Ex. 2:11-22.
    2. Israel had failed to accept Moses as God's deliverer, so she remained in unbearable Egyptian bondage, Ex. 2:14-15, 23a; Acts 7:35a, 52.
  2. Yet, Exodus 2:23b-25 reports God planned to deliver Israel, and Exodus 3:1-10 records His FIRST step was to CALL Moses to lead Israel, and ENCOURAGE him in His ETERNAL SOVEREIGNTY:
    1. In calling Moses, God showed His hopeful past sovereignty, Ex. 3:1:
      1. God arranged for Moses to lead his father-in-law's flock to Mount Horeb, the mount of God, Exodus 3:1. This was also Mount Sinai where God later had Moses lead Israel to worship Him, Ex. 3:12.
      2. Yet, God's past sovereignty had already widely prepared for it all:
        1. The Sinai was initially connected to Africa and Saudi Arabia, but catastrophic changes in the earth's crust at the Noahic Flood (Genesis 7:11b) formed the Great Rift Valley that parted the Sinai into a peninsula separate from Africa and Saudi Arabia, pushing up its land mass and widening it to form a place for Israel's use (www.newworldencyclopedia.com [s. v. "Sinai"])!
        2. Indeed, at the foot of Mount Sinai, a 2 1/2 mi. wide by 1/2 mi. deep plain fed by 4 streams was formed where Israel's 2 million people could later camp, I. S. B. E., 1929, v. IV, p. 2802-2804.
        3. This forming of the Sinai Peninsula was essential to God: (1) as God led Israel out of Egypt, He knew she would flee if she soon faced war in Canaan, so the Sinai had to exist nearby as a peninsula parted from other nations so God could lead Israel there to mature her by trials, Ex. 13:17-18! (2) God had also given the Abrahamic Covenant to form Israel (Gen. 12:1-3) (3) and send Christ (Gal. 3:13-16) (4) in response to Nimrod's Genesis 11:1-4 apostasy (5) that in turn was a revolt against the Genesis 9:24-27 Noahic Covenant (6) that had been God's reply to Ham's Genesis 9:22 sin! So, (7) foreknowing Ham's sin and ALL its complex effects, God formed the Sinai Peninsula at the Flood before Ham had left the ark to prepare for Moses and Israel in SOLVING the COMPLEX EFFECTS of SIN!
    2. In calling Moses, God showed His hopeful present sovereignty, 3:2-9:
      1. God showed His present sovereignty in the burning bush event:
        1. Moses was attracted to a bush in the wilderness that was on fire, but that was miraculously not being destroyed, Exodus 3:2-3.
        2. God was in the burning bush, preserving it as a symbol of His preservation of Israel in the midst of her fiery trials, Exodus 3:4.
        3. Thus, God had Moses stop his approach and remove his sandals before his Superior, for the ground under his feet was holy, 3:5.
      2. God showed His present sovereignty in His claim about being the God of the deceased patriarchs, Exodus 3:5-6; Mark 12:18-27:
        1. The Lord stated He was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, using the present tense of the elliptical Hebrew verb, "am", cf. Exodus 3:6; Kittel, Biblia Hebraica , 1962, p. 81.
        2. These patriarchs had long been dead, so God indicated He was still preserving their souls, a fact Jesus noted in Mark 12:18-27 to show God's present work to preserve the fathers' souls in hope of their resurrection at Christ's Kingdom, cf. Daniel 12:13!
      3. God showed His present sovereignty in His persistent work of preserving His centuries-old Abrahamic Covenant, Exodus 3:7-9:
        1. The Lord told Moses He intended to deliver Israel from bondage in fulfillment of His covenant with Israel's patriarchs, Ex. 3:7-9.
        2. That promise dated back four generations to Abraham in Genesis 15:13-14, so God was persistently keeping His Word!
    3. In calling Moses, God showed His hopeful future sovereignty, 3:10:
      1. God pledged to take Israel out of Egypt AND into Canaan (Ex. 3:8), but Moses was ONLY to lead Israel OUT of Egypt, Ex. 3:10!
      2. God foreknew of Moses' future sin that would keep him out of Canaan (Deut. 32:48-52), implying He was sovereign over the future to use Joshua to lead Israel INTO Canaan, Joshua 1:1-2!
Application: To HOPE for a BLESSED FUTURE regardless of a DISMAYING PRESENT, (1) we must realize God is ETERNALLY SOVEREIGN over ALL things regarding us, and first (2) trust in Christ for salvation to become God's child, John 1:11-12. (3) Then, we must (a) realize God has LET our CURRENT circumstances arise in view of BOTH His PAST oversight AND His FUTURE plans, and (b) DO His will NOW in HOPE of a blessed FUTURE!

Lesson: God displayed His hopeful eternal sovereignty over the past, the present and the future to encourage Moses to lead Israel out of Egypt!

Conclusion: (To illustrate the sermon lesson . . . )

In our sermon introduction, we noted that the April 23, 2009 Waterbury Republican-American editorial, "New setback for traditionalists," claimed that even though Senate Bill 899 that encoded same-gender marriage was signed into law as amended to guard the liberty of religious groups, "With same-sex marriage encoded . . . if you speak your sincere moral beliefs about marriage being the union of a man and a woman, or worship in a church that believes homosexuality is a sin, or are a clergyman who preaches against homosexuality, you are a bigot and at risk of the legal consequences."

Though this news can tempt us to feel a sense of hopelessness, encouraged by Exodus 3:1-10 to heed God's call to obey Him in leading you as God called Moses to lead Israel, I affirm as follows:

(1) Acts 5:29 calls me " . . . to obey God rather than men" when rulings by authorities differ with God's commands for us.

(2) Second, 2 Timothy 4:2 with 1 Peter 5:2 commands pastors, in view of our accountability to God and Christ at His appearing and His kingdom, to "Preach the word . . ." unto the flock God "among" us!

(3) Thus, in obedience to our Lord, I reaffirm in your midst that Leviticus 18:22 KJV with 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 of God's Word declare that homosexuality is an "abomination" to Almighty God!

(4) I also reaffirm that 1 Corinthians 6:11 of God's Word claims that homosexuals, like all the rest of us sinners, myself certainly included, are justified and sanctified by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ!

(5) In reaffirming these stands, I heed the example of Martin Luther who in 1521 said: "Unless I am convicted of error by the testimony of Scripture or . . . by manifest reasoning, I stand convicted by the Scriptures to which I have appealed, and my conscience is taken captive by God's word, I cannot and will not recant anything, for to act against our conscience is neither safe for us, nor open to us.

On this I take my stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen." (Henry Bettenson, Documents of the Christian Church, 1966, p. 282-283 ["The Diet of Worms, 1521: Luther's Final Answer"])



May we all trust the ETERNAL SOVEREIGNTY of our LORD to handle ALL issues of concern that we face, that we might HOPE in HIM as GOD called Moses to do in Exodus 3:1-10!