Easter Sunday 2015

We all have a sense of the divine. Of their being something more than just what we see or hear or touch. We can feel a greater purpose, a greater meaning behind life. This life is not all there is. There is more to our lives than just what we see.

Throughout history many have come claiming a revelation from God or a revelation about the spiritual or our greater purpose. Nitsche, Russel, the unknown founders of Hinduism and Shinto, Muhammad, Bhudda Guatama, Zoroast, and so on, to the modern TV evangelist who sees in your future that you will give money to him for his new jet....

But 2000 years ago a man came on the scene who did not claim a revelation about God or a revelation from God – he claimed to BE the revelation of God. To know him was to know God. Repent and believe he said, for the Kingdom of God is here. That’s how he started his ministry! What a ridiculous claim! God’s Kingdom is here. Ha. You? The King of the Kingdom? Ha.
But there was power – this man, Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth – he had power. Power to heal, power over evil spirits. Power over even creation. Be still he says to a storm – and it was still. Have you tried that? He walked on water, he produced food out of thin air. This was no magic trick, some illusion that fooled the simple backwater peoples – no. The best brains from Jerusalem came down to find him out. Those who could sniff out a faulty argument or a false teaching – those who could spot a law breakers and a blasphemer from a mile away – keen minds, sharpened by years of religious inquisition… and they were stumped, nonplussed, amazed, confused. How can this be? They could not deny his power, but they could not agree with his claims- he saves sinners! He claims to forgive sins! He hangs out with the scum: law-.breakers and sinners, not good people like us. So they decided to kill him.

But that was expected. Jesus said so. Told his disciples that is why he came:- it was planned by the decree of God, as revealed to his prophets hundreds of years before: by his stripes we are healed.

And so he willingly went to his death – this man of power who merely spoke his name and the soldiers fell over, who had power to tall the ground to open up and swallow them – Jesus went willingly to his death. And he died

And it was all over.

The disciples, his followers, were all depressed. They thought he was the Messiah, the rescuer, but he clearly wasn’t. He was dead. Oh, he had said he’d rise again, but who believed that?

And then he rose from the dead. And that changed everything.

He had power... over death! He suddenly was not just a man, but clearly the Living God – the one from outside who had control over what happens here on earth. He had power over creation because he was the Creator. And the amazing message he came with was not that he had come to destroy us, but that he had come to forgive us. He had come to bridge the gap between us and him. He had come to make himself known so that we could KNOW God. And not only know him, but live with him as our God. The resurrection changes everything.

In 1 John 1:1 the Apostle John (apostle means a close friend and follower of Jesus), writes We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He [Jesus] is the Word of life.

But surely it was just a myth? It can’t actually be true. Can it?

Well, let’s examine some of the common objections to the resurrection.

Myth no. 1 “It was made up by Emperor Constantine in 325 at the Council of Nicaea, the first Church Council”. This is very popular – Dan Brown used it in his novels, and if you type it into Google you’ll get a massive amount of websites claiming this to be the SECRET TRUTH NOW REVEALED. The fact that they’re all wrong doesn’t stop them. It makes a great story – but doesn’t fit the facts. This theory was popularised in the early 1900’s and gained some ground because we didn’t have any documents from before the Council of Nicaea. So it could be possible, however unlikely, that Constantine managed to change the beliefs of 318 bishops plus all the Christians of the time who up until that moment had been willing to die for their beliefs (and over 800 000 had already died for their faith – the first 300 years of Christianity was martyrdom and persecution) but these people who had stood strong suddenly caved into the Emperor, claim those who like this theory. So, not very likely. Do you think Obama could call all the Christians in the US together and say “we’re changing Christianity”. How well do you think that would work?
And, anyway, in the last 100 years or so we’ve discovered nearly 100 manuscripts from before 325. And these manuscripts had exactly the same text as the manuscripts after 325, and indeed the same as our Bibles today. Oh dear.

So the theory that Constantine just made Jesus up to unite Rome is just wrong. The evidence points the other way. It is not possible for him to have made it up.

Myth no. 2 “The disciples made it up.”
Okay. Why?

There’s nothing in it for them. They gain nothing by it. All of them were persecuted, tortured, rejected for it. They gained no power, no wealth. In the gospel narratives – which they are supposed to have made up – they look like complete idiots! Would you do that? I’m going to make up a story to give me power, but in the story I will look like an absolute fool, get everything wrong and even abandon my God.
This myth “they just made it up” has no plausibility. There is no motive for the disciples, no upside, no gain.

The other problem is that in their supposedly made up story everything happens publically. Their main character Jesus: his death happens in a major city - Jerusalem – not some deserted cave. And so does his resurrection! What’s more, they claim multiple people seeing Jesus after his resurrection – around 500 at one time! All it takes is going to speak to one of these people and asking “is it true” “no it was made up” -. And the whole thing comes crashing down

“Oh the disciples made it up” sounds good, but as soon as you start to examine it just falls apart. It fails the test of plausibility – where’s their motivation? It fails the literature test – because people didn’t write historical fiction like we do today. That style of writing has developed over hundreds of years – the gospel writers doing it would be astounding – in literary terms like discovering the atom 2000 years ago.
And if they were so clever they would have made it more convincing for their audience: they had huge cultural problems, like women being the eye-witnesses of Jesus’ death and resurrection – women weren’t even considered reliable witnesses in a court of law at the time – so why would you have them as your first eye-witnesses in a story you’re making up – unless, embarrassingly so, it was the truth. I could go on – there are many such details in the gospel narratives that make it highly unlikely that the disciples made it up. They really did see Jesus die, and they really did see Jesus risen from the grave. As I read from John’s letter “We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands”.

Ummm, but maybe they hallucinated, or really, really wanted it to be true that they forced themselves to believe it. Or maybe Jesus just swooned on the cross, not actually died, and then reappeared to them….

Do any of those sound convincing? Sounds like someone desperately looking for a reason to reject Jesus other than the real reason: I want to be God in my life, and so I don’t like it when the real God makes himself known. So I block my ears and make up stories...

Mass hallucinations? Maybe once, for 11 guys in a room, maybe smoking some weed. Yeah, man, I see Jesus…. But Peter’s out fishing and Jesus calls to him. Peter’s given up, you see, as a failure – he betrayed Jesus before his death. So he thinks even if Jesus is risen from the dead, he won’t have me. He wasn’t wanting to see Jesus! So he goes fishing. And then a figure calls to him from the beach. “Peter!” And Peter rows the boat closer. It’s Jesus. And they talk, and have breakfast together. Later 500 people see Jesus. And later still they are all gathered together and Jesus rises up into the sky after telling them to make disciples. For forty days Jesus appeared to different people at different times – once on the road to Emmaus, a village a few hours walk from Jerusalem, and then immediately after that, to the disciples in a home in Jerusalem. How’d he get there so fast?

And his appearances weren’t like a man in the shadows speaking in a muffled voice saying “hey, I’m Jesus”. No, he was amongst them saying touch me, feel the scars in my hands and feet, he was with them in daylight on the beach eating breakfast, and he was with them on the mountaintop in Galilee when he rose up to heaven before their very eyes. He was not a ghost because they could touch him, touch his hands and feet. He was not a twin or some other weird trick – he really had died on the cross because here was the wound in his side where the spear had pierced him. Here were the scars from the nails driven through his hands. It was Jesus. The same Jesus who had died.

But, but maybe Jesus swooned (fainted) on the cross. Yes, and the Roman soldiers didn’t know the difference between a man who has fainted and a man who is dead? Oh, and they stabbed him in the side with a spear to make sure. And then they wrapped him in a burial shroud. So this theory means that you believe that a man beaten to a pulp, crucified, then stabbed and bleeding, regained consciousness two days later in a cold dark tomb, fought his way out of the burial cloths, rolled away the huge stone, overpowered the guards, then broken, bleeding, half dead, appeared to his disciples... and they responded “my Lord and my God”.
Then you must have great faith indeed. And if you then say oh, the disciples made it grander then the question is why? Again, they have no good motivation to tell this story unless it is the truth. The only plausible rational reasonable explanation is that this man Jesus truly was who he said he was: God Himself. Come from the outside to us to reveal God to us and to open the way so that we could know him.

In the gospel of Luke, Luke writes to his sponsor, Theophilus “Many people have set out to write accounts about the events that have been fulfilled among us. 2 They used the eyewitness reports circulating among us from the early disciples. 3 Having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I also have decided to write a careful account for you, most honourable Theophilus, 4 so you can be certain of the truth of everything you were taught.”

Any other questions?

What’s your objection? Because you do have one. You must have one to explain it way because otherwise you are forced to consider the truth. That Jesus really is the revelation of the living God. That he made you. That you belong to him. And that the only rational, logical thing to do it to serve him.

You know when a building is demolished, there’s the moment when the demolitions guy presses the button and you hear whooom and see a bit of smoke – and then nothing happens. There’s a pause. The building’s foundation has been blown away but it’s still standing, just for a moment. And then WHOOOOOMFFF it collapses in a huge pile of rubble and dust.

Well, the cross was that explosion on the foundation of this world. Jesus’ death and resurrection blew out any ideas we might have that there is no God. And we live now in the pause, the pause before the fall – before Jesus returns, this time not as Saviour, but as Judge. We live in the pause before the fall. And in this pause, we have an opportunity to be rescued. To know God, and to serve him living a life of great meaning and purpose.

Two implications, two results of Jesus’ death and resurrection being true:

1. We can know God!

I started off by saying that we all have a sense of the divine – of there being something or someone out there. Something more to life. Well, Jesus confirms that. “Here I am” he says. “You cannot reach me – so I have reached down to you.” And through his death and his resurrection we can know God – personally. Each of us.

Because the reason we can’t know God is because we have sinned against him. Like a barrier between us and God, my rebellion, my sin, my pretending to be God and ignoring the real God, means I cannot know him. I am cut off from him. I cannot reach him. Even if I try to be really really good, the Bible says it is no use. He is perfect. I am not. He is holy, I am unholy. Religion is a waste of time. Being good is useless. We cannot know God

Praise God that he then did what we could not. He bridged the gap, broke open the barrier, so that we could know him.

Every other religion or worldview says do! You must do this or do that to achieve a higher consciousness or be a better person or please God or the gods. Christianity does not say “do” it says “done”. Christ said on the cross “It is finished” it is done – and then proved it by rising from the dead.

Because of what Christ has done, we can know God! He has wiped away our sins, covered over our filth (like the donkey on Friday, remember?), paid the penalty for our rebellion of God and our ignoring Him. It is done. We don’t have to do anything to try to win God’s favour – it is done. He did it. It is His gift to us.

We can know God. You can know God.

2. Our life has great meaning and purpose

The fact that there is a God means that our lives are not just lived out here, on this stage, and we die to be eaten by worms and eventually forgotten. Jesus reveals that our lives are lived before Almighty God: before Him. He is raised up, seated on the throne in Heaven. Everything we do reflects back on our relationship – or lack of relationship – with him. We are eternal creatures, created with a spark of the divine – we are created, made to be with God. And so what we do here matters. In the movie Gladiator the main character Maximus utters a great line just before they ride into battle “What we do in life echoes in eternity”
“What we do in life echoes in eternity”
It’s true. What is your life echoing into eternity? Are you bringing glory to God? Is every moment of your life consumed with Him, honouring him, bringing him glory, doing what you were created to do?

Or are you in rebellion against him? Ignoring him? Bringing glory to you and your petty and small ambitions?

Because everything is done. The way to know God is open. But just like getting married or having kids - or even getting a dog - changes your life, knowing God changes things completely. You now live life in a different reality. The reality of heaven and hell. Ter reality of eternity.

Be warned, dear friends. Heaven and hell are real. The resurrection shows that. Jesus went through the pain of death – to rescue us from HELL. He believed in Hell. He knows it. Where is your life leading you? What is your echo in eternity? Heaven? Or Hell? Are you trusting and obeying Christ? Or yourself?

And are we telling others this? This is real, this is urgent! People around us are dying and going to hell! Jesus came to DIE in order to rescue people from Hell and we claim to be his followers yet can’t be bothered to even tell people. Risk inviting our neighbours to church because ooo they might think I’m weird. On that Final Day when we see them condemned to Hell will we still be worried about what they think of us? I say this to myself, to increase the pressure on myself to not be so apathetic, so lazy, to get myself to do what I know I should. This is reality. God forgive us for our laziness and disobedience! Praise Jesus that he came to die for sinners like us, that even our failures are taken care of – but that should drive us to proclaim all the louder!

I heard a story recently of a woman who’d just become a Christian. Overjoyed she said “does this mean I’m forgiven. Completely forgiven?” “yes, Jesus has taken your guilt and shame”. Overjoyed she just was bursting to tell people, and so opened her phone book and starting ringing systematically, every single person in her phone book to tell the joyous news: Jesus is alive, and he has forgiven me, and he can accept you too!

This Easter, let us be gripped by the joy of the good news: Christ really DID rise from the dead, and so we can know God, and live a life filled with meaning and purpose – a life lived in the reality of eternity, a life lived with heaven and hell in mind. Friends, as we go out this door, may God grant that we see this world, see our friends, neighbours work colleagues and family through his eyes – eyes that saw people heading to hell to eternal death – and so he came Himself to die, to rise again, to rescue us. Amen.

Death, the Final Enemy

1 Cor 15

Death. We have a funny relationship with death. It’s a natural part of life. Everybody dies. Nature is based on death. Yet we fear and hate death.

Why?

It will happen to all of us, without fail. Statistically speaking: living is the most dangerous thing you can do: 100% of people who are alive, die! It is the circle of life.

It is natural, it is inevitable, but it feels unnatural, it feels like a curse, and we hate it.

But why do we die? Why do we fear death?

1. We die because we are sinners

God says through His Word, the Bible, that we die because we are sinners. Romans 6:23 : For the wages of sin is death.

Death is our just reward for being sinners. If you are a sinner, you die. Alright then, I’ll just stop being a sinner, I’ll clean up my act, wash my face, brush my teeth, put on my Sunday best, and be nice.

That’s what many of us think, isn’t it, when we come face to face with the reality of death. And the problem of sin. But we have got it totally wrong. “Being a good person” – that’s not Christianity. That’s humanism or Hinduism or even Islam. Humanism: Act well, and then you will live a good life and live on in people’s hearts; Hinduism: act well and then you will be reincarnated higher up the spiritual chain; Islam: act well and follow the Five Pillars and then God will have mercy on you. You see, none of those work because the problem is not sins – what we do; but sin – what we are. We need to be fundamentally changed from the inside out. And that’s what Christianity is about. You see, if you get the problem wrong, you’ll get the solution wrong. So let’s stop here and ask “What is sin?” Because all of us will have very different ideas of what sin is. But what does God say sin is?

Sin is not naughtiness, or like the adverts like to use it “oh, that’s sinful”. Sin is not primarily what we do or say or think, either. Those are sins: wrong behaviour, wrong thought, wrong words – but they themselves are not the root cause. The root cause is sin: the fundamental distance between us and God. It is a broken relationship. It is a rebellion against our creator. We have taken God’s moral laws and broken them into pieces. We have covered ourselves in shame by our thoughts, words and actions.

To illustrate: here we are, here is God, and here is the gulf of sin, cutting us off from him. There is life, eternal life. Here is death, eternal death.

Now you might not think you’re a sinner. You might be a very good person. I know some of you, and I know that you are very good people. Most Norwegians are.

But that’s not sin. Sin is that state of our heart, your inner being, towards God. Jesus Christ summed up all of God’s law like this “love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind”. Oh dear. Sin is not naughtiness. It is our relationship to God. It is our attitude to God.

There were three men who got married. The first man beat his wife, wasted their money, and never gave her anything. The second man tried to give his wife a good home and generally provided what she needed – but he totally ignored her. He never even spoke to her. The third man loved to make grand romantic gestures for his wife. He would do all the right things – but he never once asked her what she wanted or needed – all the romantic gestures were for his sake, not hers. None of the men actually loved their wives. None of the men were good husbands.

And that’s kind of like how we are towards God. None of us want to listen to God. We all want to do things our way. Some of us are the first husband: we rant and rave and trash our lives. We’re the “bad” ones, the ones we see on the news.
Many of us are like the second husband: we kind of muddle along doing the best we can, trying to do what is right and making excuses for ourselves when we get it wrong (I was tired, I had a headache, that person was so annoying) – but we totally ignore God. And some of us are like the third husband: the religious people who try to win God over by their actions, by performing good works.

But none of us are listening to God. We’re all doing things our way. Even the religious people are insulting God because they’re not listening to him. He says you cannot please me with good works, you must humble yourself and come through my Son – and they ignore him and try to impress him with good works.

Outright evil, doing our best, pious religion. All useless.

How do we know that none of these ways of living work? Because we all die. Death shows us that we are sinners. It reveals that none of our little schemes to beat God or please God actually work. And that is why we fear and hate death. We don’t even want to talk about death because it pulls the wool off our eyes and makes us face reality. Nothing I do is good enough. I cannot be right with God. I will die. And I will die forever.

Death is our enemy, and we cannot defeat it. We have tried. And we have failed.

One day I will die. One day you will die. And the verdict stamped on our life is “sinner”. On this side of the canyon.

But that is why it is so important to face up to the reality of death. No one achieved anything by hiding their head in the sand and pretending there is no problem. If you’re standing in the street and the garbage truck comes around the corner, closing your eyes and saying there is no truck, lalala, I won’t think about the truck, lalaaa, let me distract myself with thoughts of pleasure: ah a nice hike in the mountain- urk!

So well done for being brave enough to come this morning. It takes great courage to face up to your fears. And for many of you it took great courage to come to a church in case we were a bunch of wierdos... J

So, the problem we’ve got is death. And death is caused by sin. So if we can deal with sin, we deal with death. Beat sin and we beat death. But we already know that sin is a state of being. We are sinners – we can’t suddenly turn that off. It’s like a cat wanting to become a dog. We are sinners. It is our nature. And so we will die.

So how can we beat death? Well, like every good adventure story we need someone to swoop in at the right time and rescue us. Indiana Jones with his whip. Tarzan swinging in. Your “one true love” appearing in a coffee shop at just the right time. We need a rescuer, and that rescuer is Jesus Christ.

We die because we are sinners - but

2. Christ died for our sins and so defeated death

Ok. V3 says I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said.

Hooray. All done. Right, give your life to Christ, and then let’s have tea and cake.

Woah, woah, woah, you might say – not so fast. I’m not just going to leap in and change my whole life to follow this Jesus fellow! What if it’s a pile of nonsense? I mean, even the guy who wrote this thing here says in v17 “And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. 18 In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! 19 And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.”

And that’s absolutely right. There is no room for blind faith when we are dealing with matters of life and death. There is no room for blind faith in “science” just as there is no room to have blind faith in “God” or “Jesus”. To live for Jesus, to obey Jesus, to give your whole life over to him if he did not rise from the dead – well that’s foolishness indeed. Because if he did not rise from the dead then nothing he said was true and then we’re a bunch of idiots wasting our time here in church! That’s why I really cannot understand people who don’t believe in the resurrection but still want to call themselves Christians. Why would you do that? Your life is based on what you believe to be a lie. It’s utterly bizarre. Worse still are those who are ministers yet do not believe. Why would you give your whole career over to something you don’t believe in? As it says here in v19 if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world!

And pity them I do. Because they do not know Jesus, and therefore they are still dead in their sins, and all their religion counts for nothing. Because they’re depending on themselves, on their own performance – instead of what Christ has done. You see – back to this illustration: only Christ and his death on the cross can deal with sins and therefore bridge the gap. Only Christ. Nothing else. All other religions, all our good works, fall short. And what happens when the rope is too short to get to the other side? You fall.

I pity them because they are building a bridge that will fall, trusting themselves instead of the completed, secure, perfect work of Christ. I mean why try and rebuild the bridge when he’s already done it?

For if they looked into the evidence for the resurrection, their lives would be transformed from dead religion to a living relationship.

Evidence. Particularly 2 sources of evidence, and you can see them there in v3-8: the scriptures and eyewitnesses. 3 I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. 4 He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. 5 He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. 6 After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. 7 Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him

The Scriptures he’s talking about are the prophets who prophesied what the Christ would do (just by the way, Christ isn’t Jesus’ surname, but his title. It means rescuer, anointed one, or King and is the same word as Messiah).
There are many prophecies, between 100 and 300, depending on how you count them, and some are extremely specific. Psalm 22, for example, has by itself 11 specific prophecies that were fulfilled when Jesus was crucified. The Psalm was written by King David of Israel about 1000 years before Jesus was born. He wrote it because he was under such extreme pressure from his enemies that he felt like he was going to die – but the way he described what he was going through was so strange. People thought nothing of it until Jesus’ death on the cross - and they realised that this Psalm written 1000 years previously described exactly what happened to Jesus on the cross. 11 different events which happened exactly as written. And that’s just one of many prophecies. Too many to just be coincidence or someone trying to twist the facts to make them fit. But don’t just take my word for it, go read it yourself. Investigate. People have battered away at the resurrection since the day it happened – and after two thousand years of battering the evidence still holds up. So fulfilment of prophecies is one huge body of evidence.

The other big piece of evidence is the eyewitnesses – those people who saw Jesus die, then saw him raised to life again. Many of them literally did not believe their eyes. I mean, would you? Just like you and I, they were not gullible people, and they knew that when someone dies they stay dead. But there was Jesus standing in front of them. He was not a ghost – he was flesh and blood. He ate with them, talked with them, touched them. It was Jesus since he bore the wounds of his crucifixion: scars on his hands and feet where the nails were driven in, a gash in his side where the sword pierced him through to his heart. They could not find any other way to explain it away. It really was true. Jesus has defeated death. Our great enemy has been conquered. He really was dead. And now he really is alive again.

And we, too, have the same evidence. We can examine the prophecies and compare them to the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus. We can read the eye-witness accounts in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John of what Jesus did and said and how he rose from the dead. And we can see how his follower’s lives were changed, and see how they gave their lives to tell others about the good news: death is defeated. Christ has won!

But what if they were lying – making up this story? Well, that could be a possibility except there was no upside, no advantage for them. I mean, we lie only if it is for our own good. We never tell a lie to put ourselves in a worse position. And proclaiming the gospel got them nothing except hardship, suffering, persecution and a brutal death. There was no reason for them to tell this story – no power, no riches, no fame, no glory – except for the fact that it was true. Jesus defeated death. And so the way they lived their lives after the resurrection showed they believed it to be true. They were totally unafraid, even willing to die brutal deaths in order to get the truth out. Our sins are dealt with. Death is defeated. Christ has won.

We die because we are sinners – but Christ has dealt with our sins and so defeated death. And so

3. If we belong to Jesus, we do not fear death!

51 But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! 52 It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. 53 For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. 54 Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56 For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. 57 But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.

When we die we sleep until we are raised to life again on the last day, judgement day. And our bodies will be made new, ready for the new creation, the perfect world – no sin, no pain, no mourning, no death – only life. So through Christ we can say “Where O death, is your victory”. Death is defeated. Death has lost. We have been given the victory over death because on the cross Jesus took our sins upon himself. There he swapped places with us – he took our sin, and gave us his perfection.

Let me illustrate: if this Bible was my sin, this is me, and the light is God – sin blocks my relationship with him. I cannot get to God. This is what Jesus does – he takes my sin upon himself – and now I am in the light while he goes through the darkness of death for me.

In Christ, death is defeated. And we do not fear death!
But be warned: that is only for those who belong to Jesus. If you are His, if you follow Him, if He is your Lord and Saviour and all of your life belongs to Him – then do not fear death. You have eternal life, won for you by Him on the cross, your sins have been wiped away, He has swapped places with you.

But if you do not belong to Jesus, if you have never come before him and said please save me, please let me follow you, please take all of me, all my sin, and give me eternal life, not because I deserve it but because of your great mercy. If you have not done that.... then fear death. Fear it! For death is a terrible thing, and you will face it alone.

There are only two ways to live. Fear death, or come to Christ.

Skype names for Bible study:

Skype names for Bible study:
rocknotodden.menn
RockChurchLadies1

Exodus 1-20 overview: The God who rescues

Exodus 1-20

An Australian preacher called David Cook tells the story of the time he invited a friend of his who was very legalistic, very religious - thought you could earn salvation by obeying God and by being good – he invited him to a talk on the ten commandments. The next day David asked his friend what he thought and his friend said “you know what really struck me: you said 2 comes before 3” “What?” thought David “that’s what he got out of it? 2 comes before 3? What a useless....” But he’s right and it’s a deep insight. Look at chapter 20. 2 comes before 3

2 “I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery.

3 “You must not have any other god but me.

Rescue before law. Salvation before obedience.

God does not save the Israelites because they were good obedient religious people. He saved them while they were disobedient slaves – and then called them to obedience. Obedience is the result of salvation, not the cause.

And if we get that the wrong way round we do not believe the gospel, but man-made or Satanic religion. You cannot please God through obedience but only through his sovereign grace. 2 comes before 3.

That is why Jesus came to seek and to save the lost – as we’ve been reading in Luke’s gospel. He came for sinners, not religious performing monkeys. Praise the Lord.

We’ve learned a lot from Exodus these past few months, but this morning I want to zero in on the central themes of Exodus and particularly what they reveal about the God whom we serve.
God’s sovereign power to save.
God’s sovereign power to judge.
God’s sovereign demand over our lives.

And we see illustrated in the great works and miraculous signs of Exodus the greater work, the greater miracle, the greater rescue in Jesus.

1. God’s sovereign power to save

Exodus opens with the Israelites very quickly in trouble. A new king comes to power, sees the Israelites as a threat, and decides to enslave them and to kill all the baby boys.

The Israelites are in trouble. And so in 2:23–25 [T]he Israelites continued to groan under their burden of slavery. They cried out for help, and their cry rose up to God. 24 God heard their groaning, and he remembered his covenant promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 25 He looked down on the people of Israel and knew it was time to act.

And we go yay! It’s kind of like the moment in Die Hard when Bruce Willis’ character, John McClane, now has a machine gun. Ho.Ho.Ho. The turning point. The advantage has swung to the hero. Or in the recent men’s 50km at the World Cup in Sweden when Petter Northug was in fourth place – and then suddenly starts his sprint.

Something’s going to happen. Something magnificent. God knew it was time to act.

Actually, we lose a little bit in the translation. Because the original Hebrew just says “God saw the people of Israel... and God knew”

God saw. And God knew. And it’s just another indication of the character of God. He does not watch from a distance. Like in Genesis 16 when the Lord “sees” Hagar, whom Abraham and Sarah had just terribly abused. In her suffering – the Lord sees her, and knows her situation and meets her. He is the God who sees. The God who knows.

It is one of the great mysteries of our faith that we find revealed in the Bible a God who knows us. A God who shares our pain and suffering. A God who became human in order to save us.

John 1:14 So the Word became human and made his home among us.

Luke 1:35 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.

Our Lord Jesus laid aside his majesty, was born as a baby, in order to live as one of us, to be the Son of Man as well as God’s Son, so that he could rescue us. He heard our cries as we groaned under our slavery to sin, with our king, Satan, the devil, seeking to kill us and destroy us. And he saw. And he knew.

You see, Exodus, for all its displays of power: plagues, pillars of fire, the sea rising up and parting – all of that is just a shadow, a mere shadow, of the reality of Jesus Christ and his saving work. That is where we really see God’s power to save. The Exodus is just a picture of that.
Want to know if Jesus can save? Look at what he does in Exodus, as he leads his people out – the angel of the Lord in the pillar of fire.
Want to know if Jesus can sustain us, provide for us? Look at how he provides for his people in the wilderness. Manna from heaven – every day for forty years, without fail. Water from the Rock, miraculously given at the right time.
Want to know if Jesus can protect us? Look at the waves crashing down on the Egyptian army as His people go through the same waters safely. Look at the ring of fire protecting the people from their enemy. See them arrive safely at Mount Sinai, just as He promised Moses.

God has sovereign power to save!

But wait there’s more. Because his salvation plan starts before we are even aware that we need saving. That’s how in control he is! The people cry out to God at the end of chapter 2 “Please save us”. But look at the beginning of chapter 2, and what do we see? Ex 2:1 About this time, a man and woman from the tribe of Levi got married. 2 The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She saw that he was a special baby and kept him hidden for three months.
Before the people even cry out to God their saviour has already been born. Moses was the chosen saviour, kept miraculously safe through, ironically, Pharaoh’s own daughter. The plan to save was already in motion even before the people cried out to God. 2 Ti 1:9 For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus.
Rom 5:8 (NIV) But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

God saw our helpless situation. God knew us. And he set his plan in motion planned from before time even began: to save sinners like you and me. He himself would be the miraculous saviour. He himself would take the judgement we deserve upon his shoulders. He would face darkness and death and go through it.

The first thing we see in Exodus is God’s sovereign power to save. He decided out of his own great love, to rescue us. He is our saviour.

But the second thing we see in Exodus is God’s sovereign power to judge.

2. God’s sovereign power to judge

Ex 7:4-5 [The Lord says:] ...Pharaoh will refuse to listen to [me]. So I will bring down my fist on Egypt. Then I will rescue my forces—my people, the Israelites—from the land of Egypt with great acts of judgment. 5 When I raise my powerful hand and bring out the Israelites, the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.”

Ex 7:17 So this is what the LORD says: “I will show you that I am the LORD.” Look! I will strike the water of the Nile with this staff in my hand, and the river will turn to blood.

Ex 8:22 But this time I will spare the region of Goshen, where my people live. No flies will be found there. Then you will know that I am the LORD and that I am present even in the heart of your land.

God is the judge of the world. He made us. He owns us. And his judgement on our sin is therefore right. His judgement, however, is not without a purpose: then you will know that I am the Lord. I am Yahweh.

We are made to glorify God. That is our purpose. All of creation calls out “glory to God, glory to God”. Look up at the stars on a clear night and you can almost hear the Milky Way, millions of stars crying out “glory to God”. You drive through Telemark and see the beauty around you crying out “glory to God”.

But we? We rebel against God. We ignore God. We don’t want to give God glory but to glorify ourselves. I am the great I am. I am number one in my life. I am all that matters.

Ex 10:1–2 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Return to Pharaoh and make your demands again. I have made him and his officials stubborn so I can display my miraculous signs among them. 2 I’ve also done it so you can tell your children and grandchildren about how I made a mockery of the Egyptians and about the signs I displayed among them—and so you will know that I am the LORD.”

Ex 12:12 On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn son and firstborn male animal in the land of Egypt. I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt, for I am the LORD!

Ex 14:18 When my glory is displayed through them, all Egypt will see my glory and know that I am the LORD!”

Ex 20:2 “I am the LORD your God...You must not have any other god but me. You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. 5 You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods.

To set ourselves up in opposition to God is foolishness indeed. Pharaoh did – and the Lord took his rebellion seriously. Time had run out for him: the Lord, horrifyingly, said you will now not repent, you will be stubborn and you will face my judgement. There is no way out. And what a judgement he faced!

Opposing God = FAIL! But that’s what I do every time I disobey his commands. Every time I look at his word and think, naah, I disagree. Every time I ignore him and dishonour him. Our attitude is like that of Boromir of Gondor in the Lord of the Rings. When Boromir finds out that the King is in front of him, the heir to the throne of Gondor, he says “Gondor has no King. Gondor needs no King”.
Is that not the attitude of so many around us? Is that not the default attitude of our own hearts? Oh what fools we are when we, like Pharaoh, fancy ourselves as equals to the Almighty God.

For one day all of us will know that HE is the Lord, and not me. A pastor in the US called Mark Driscoll said that we need to understand 2 things: 1. There is a God. 2. You are not Him.

Funny, but very very true. 20:3 I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods.

You see, the Lord God will be glorified whether we like it or not. He will either be glorified in salvation and joyful obedience – or he will be glorified as he destroys those who rebel against him. Israel – saved, brought out by His mighty arm – glory to God. Egypt – in rebellion, refusing to acknowledge God – who is this God – instead turning to other gods, worthless idols which cannot speak and have no power. Judged. Destruction, darkness, and finally death covered the whole land of Egypt.

It is a stark picture and a sober warning to us here in Norway, thousands of years later. Learn from the Egyptians. Their voices cry out to us across the ages – do not rebel like we did. For one day, suddenly, God’s judgement will fall and there will be no chance of repentance. Suddenly you will stand before the Holy God whether through your death or the return of Jesus, and he will open up the book of your life and what will it say? Perfect obedience to God? Honoured him with every breath? No. It will say “sinner”. Rebel. Imperfect. Unholy. And you will be cast out into the outer darkness where, Jesus says, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Yes, it is meant to be scary! It is meant to make us afraid. It is meant to make us act! To seek God. To cry out for mercy. Yes God is sovereign to judge, but he is also sovereign to save, and if he can save people like the Israelites, if he can save a failure like Moses – a murderer, a coward, running away and hiding in the desert – well, there is hope that he can save you and me is there not? So if you haven’t asked him, fall to your knees and plead with him to have mercy on you. And so on that Final Day when the judgement falls “sinner, OUT!” – suddenly Jesus will step forward and say wait, not thi one, his sins are covered by my blood, the price has bdeen paid, I have taken his life and he gets my life. And the gates will open to Eternal Life. Will Jesus step forward for you? Do you know him? If not, ask him now. If you need help to pray Christian will be at the back of the room. Go to him and he will help you pray and ask Jesus to save you.

I’m now going to spend some time talking to the Christians. Those of us who have been saved – 2 comes before 3, salvation before obedience. But, 3 does follow 2 – obedience follows salvation, and so I want to end off by challenging us with

3. God’s sovereign demand over our lives

20:1 Then God gave the people all these instructions (commands).

In chapter 3 God calls Moses to be the rescuer of his people. Moses says no. God says oh yes you will. Moses belongs to God. Ex 3:14 God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you.”

6:6 “Therefore, say to the people of Israel: ‘I am the LORD. I will free you from your oppression and will rescue you from your slavery in Egypt. I will redeem you with a powerful arm and great acts of judgment. 7 I will claim you as my own people, and I will be your God.

Now there is a great comfort in belonging to God, in being saved by him – but there is also a great demand there. To belong to God means that you belong. To God. All of me, all that I am, my thoughts, my actions, my reputation, my future, my money, my family, my time – belong to you O Lord. Of course, everyone belongs to him anyway – we’ve just stopped pretending that we don’t. We know that we belong to him.

So, if you belong to him, then live like it. Make decisions in the light of the fact that you belong to him. The Israelites have been a crushing disappointment haven’t they? Moaning and groaning, longing to go back to slavery in Egypt – what is wrong with them? And so they pierced themselves with many unnecessary sorrows. Why?

Brothers how often do we do the same thing – deliberately do what is wrong when we know it is wrong and suffer the consequences. Or take so long to do what is right. Even simple things like find a church, find a place to live near the church, then find a job near where you live – so simple. Priorities right: spiritual food, a place to serve God’s people, people who will encourage you to keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. That’s what we NEED. But no we panic and we seek a job first, yes I’ve got that, then we find a nice house because we need that and then we thing Oh, oh dear, I need to find a church. Oh that one will do. And we suffer the consequences because we’re not thinking Christianly about these things. Who do you think provides “your” job, provides “your” salary? Is it not the Lord? Of course it is. He is sovereign over us. He is our Father. So trust him. Risk obeying him. It is glorious when you do and dull when you don’t.

What does Jesus say “seek first the Kingdom, and all these other things will be added”.

Oh Lord, expand my vision of you to fill my mind. I am so stupid when I make decisions, so blind, so hard-hearted. Lord, be my wisdom, be my faith, because I just can’t seem to trust you. I need to pray that kind of prayer more, and, I’m sure, so do you.

The Israelites were in the desert for goodness sake. There is nothing there but rocks and dust. You are in serious trouble if you’re there with no food or water (or a car to get you out of there. The desert can KILL you. And they were about two million people, plus herds etc. Panic, panic. But the Lord knew. The Lord saw. The Lord is sovereign. And so for forty years the Lord provided food and water sustained the people. Shouldn’t this be a lesson to us. Oh, that was then we say, as if that excuses our lack of faith now. Same God. Same ability to provide. And Jesus said “don’t worry about what you will eat or wear but seek first the Kingdom” and “your Heavenly Father knows you need these things”

Time to wrestle yousrself to the ground and say “Time to repent, time to change. Confess your sins, plead with the Lord to help, and then trust that his Spirit is at work in you – and He is – and then make deliberate decisions to change the way you live.”

And remember as you do this that you do this as a beloved child of God because 2 salvation, comes before 3 obedience. Praise God that he is sovereign to save, sovereign to judge, and sovereign over us.

Exodus 19 Be prepared to meet the Holy God!

Exodus 19:1-20:3

Why are you here?

Why do you come to church?

Because this is what you always do? Because you’re trying to impress God? Because your Dad told you to? Because you must? Because without God’s Word you will die? Because you are desperate to be with the Lord and his people? Because you fear the Lord, and want to avoid his anger?

Why are you here?

Today’s passage is about being ready to face the Lord. Are you prepared? Who is this LORD that Israel is about to meet? Unapproachable. Dangerous. Terrifying. Holy.

The first thing we learn from this passage is that
The Lord will destroy you because you are unclean
The Lord will destroy you unless you have a representative
The Lord will destroy you unless your representative is Jesus – so listen to Him!

1. The Lord will destroy you because you are unclean

Today the rescued people of God, chosen by Him, kept safe by Him, fed by Him, lead by Him, watched over and protected by Him - finally are gathered to hear from Him at His holy mountain. And yet they cannot approach Him. 12 Mark off a boundary all around the mountain. Warn the people, ‘Be careful! Do not go up on the mountain or even touch its boundaries. Anyone who touches the mountain will certainly be put to death.

21 Then the Lord told Moses, “Go back down and warn the people not to break through the boundaries to see the Lord, or they will die. 22 Even the priests who regularly come near to the Lord must purify themselves so that the Lord does not break out and destroy them.”

Why would the Lord warn his own people that he will destroy them? What’s up with that?

Well, as I mentioned at the start, God is a HOLY God. Holy. What does that actually mean? We talk about the Holy God, Holy Bible that kind of thing – but what does it mean? So I looked it up. And “holy” basically means who God is. It is his nature, his selfhood. These are some of the descriptions of holiness: power, glory, transcendence, uniqueness, exclusiveness, pureness, dangerousness. He is other. He is pure. He is power. He is perfectly good. But that goodness is not a kind of “oh, how nice” goodness – it is goodness like a blade of sharpened steel, goodness like a blazing fire – goodness that will cut through and burn up anything that is not equally good.

And that makes him unapproachable. But God’s holiness is also expressed in his saving work and being with his people. So how can unholy people (that is people who are not-God) meet with the Holy God. Can not-God and God meet?

Well, yes, but only because God has made it possible, and (and this is important) only in the way that he has made it possible. There is only one way to God – His Way. Any other approach will end up with you dead, destroyed by his holiness.

As all of you know, we’ve just got a dog. And she’s great. Dogs are great. They’re such cool animals. Because a dog exists to please its master. That’s what they live for. A dog’s role, a dog’s job description is to serve and obey his master.
But a dog who doesn’t do that, a dog who is disobedient and running wild – a wild dog – is a problem dog, a bad dog, we say. He’s not doing what he should be doing. Instead of a faithful companion the dog becomes a menace, a nuisance, even dangerous to those around him. A bad dog is bad for those around him – and bad for the dog himself. He is not happy, but angry. He is alone, isolated, friendless, snapping at the world around him. Living in fear, anger – ready to attack to defend what little he has.

We were created to please God. He is our master and we were made to please him, to serve him and to love serving him. It’s in our nature. But like wild dogs we have gone astray. Bad dog. Stop pretending to be God (Ex17) and let God be God.

As Christians, we should know better. In everything we are to please God – all of life belongs to him. And yet so often we are like bad dogs, disobedient dogs – running away from our master when he calls, eating rotten fruit or cat poo even when our master is saying no (true story). Weeing on the floor inside (true story). We march around demanding our rights, demanding that he, our master, does what WE want him to do.
Dear friends, I am not God. You are not God. Like Israel we march around demanding water and food and comfort – our rights – instead of trusting him to provide what we need. Dear brothers, we have no rights. We belong to Christ – twice! He made us and he bought us back. We are his. My life is his. Your life is his.

Are you still trying to approach God on your own? Sneak around the back of Mt Sinai. Hide under Moses’ coat as he goes up. Pretend to be a bush. Poof! That’s the end of you. We know what God does to bushes! (Burns them!)

You cannot approach God. You cannot manipulate God. You cannot demand of God. Who do you think you are? Who does your life belong to?

It’s worth us stopping and asking the question: when did I last give my career over to God? Or my marriage (or future marriage)? What if God calls me to give up my career? Or calls me to be single? The key is: it’s not your career. It’s not your future. It’s His. We belong to him.

Have I given up my family? For some of you this is a reality of following Jesus – rejection by your family.

We talk about choice, rights, disappointment with God. This is supremely arrogant. We were created to serve him. That is our job.

And so as the people gather before this unapproachable God, they are gathered to hear from him how they are to live as his people. The next chapters of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and on to Deuteronomy are filled with God’s Law – God’s commands to say “this is how you will live your life”. Because our lives are not ours – they are his. And that’s a good thing because he is a good master and gives us good gifts and looks after us, like we look after Eowyn, our dog, and feed her and keep her warm and give her lots of love and affection. And in return she obeys us. Most of the time.

You see, I am her Master. She is my Dog. God is our Master. We are his people. We are not the same. He is Other. He is Holy. Do not touch the mountain, for you will surely die.

16 On the morning of the third day, thunder roared and lightning flashed, and a dense cloud came down on the mountain. There was a long, loud blast from a ram’s horn, and all the people trembled. 17 Moses led them out from the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 All of Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the Lord had descended on it in the form of fire. The smoke billowed into the sky like smoke from a brick kiln, and the whole mountain shook violently.

The Lord will destroy us because we are unclean, like disobedient dogs.

But that’s not the whole story, is it.

2. The Lord will destroy you unless you have a representative

19 As the blast of the ram’s horn grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God thundered his reply. 20 The Lord came down on the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses climbed the mountain.

How is it possible for unholy people, sinful people, to get into contact with a holy God? We need a representative. We need someone to bring us the word of God. And we need someone to clean us – make us ready to meet with God.

10 Then the Lord told Moses, “Go down and prepare the people for my arrival. Consecrate them today and tomorrow, and have them wash their clothing. 11 Be sure they are ready on the third day, for on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai as all the people watch.

Moses could go to meet with God. Why? Because God chose him to be the representative. Remember way back in chapter 4, at the Burning Bush? God says to Moses “Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.”

Moses’ job was to be the mouthpiece of God. Not to add anything to it, but to simply repeat the words of God. What he heard his Heavenly Father say, he would say.

And Moses’ words, which were really God’s words, could make the people ready to meet with God.

14 So Moses went down to the people. He consecrated them for worship, and they washed their clothes. 15 He told them, “Get ready for the third day, and until then abstain from having sexual intercourse.”

Why sex? I don’t know. Perhaps, like fasting, to control your bodily desires simply to honour God? But they were washed, they were cleaned – and only then were they ready to hear the voice of God. 20:1 Then God gave the people all these instructions: 2 “I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. 3 “You must not have any other god but me.

Moses prepared the people to meet with God, and then they met with God.

What we’re doing today is not so different. We are God’s people, gathered together to hear God’s word. This, in Exodus 19 and 20, is the first church. The word “church” (ekklesia) simply means meeting or assembly or gathering. That’s what church is: the gathering of God’s people to hear God’s word. A gathering of Christians without God’s word is not a church. A Christian by himself reading the Word is not a church. But coming together, gathering together, to hear the word of God –that is a church.

This morning we are gathered together to hear God’s word. We are a church. But we did not wash our clothes or abstain from sex to come here this morning. Because we have been made clean not by Moses – but by the one who is greater than Moses: Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God. As we saw last week He does not just bring the word of God – he IS the word of God. To know him is to know God. HE is the wisdom of God. He is the perfect representative of God to man – to see Jesus is to see God. And he is the perfect representative of man to God. And he can make us ready to meet God – cleanse us – so that we can be called the people of God.

He can make the unholy, holy.

3. The Lord will destroy you unless your representative is Jesus – so listen to Him!

9 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will come to you in a thick cloud, Moses, so the people themselves can hear me when I speak with you. Then they will always trust you.” Moses told the Lord what the people had said.

Why did God do this? I mean the people already knew Moses spoke for God – after all they’d just had ten plagues when Moses said “God says this will happen!” and it happened. They had the Red Sea, when Moses raised his arms and the sea parted. They fought the Amalekites and Moses raised his arms and they won. It was quite clear that Moses brought God’s word. Duh! So why this extra thing now? Why a cloud on a mountaintop and a voice from Heaven that proves that Moses speaks for God so that the people will always trust him?

Well, those of you who know the gospels will know why! We did Mark last year in this church – and in Mark chapter Mk 9:2–8 Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up a high mountain to be alone. As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance was transformed, 3 and his clothes became dazzling white, far whiter than any earthly bleach could ever make them. 4 Then Elijah and Moses appeared and began talking with Jesus. 5 Peter exclaimed, “Rabbi, it’s wonderful for us to be here! Let’s make three shelters as memorials—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6 He said this because he didn’t really know what else to say, for they were all terrified. 7 Then a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son. Listen to him.”

God does this with Moses so that when he does this with Jesus, his Son, we know that HERE is the true representative of man to God. Here is our Moses, the perfect Moses, the greater Moses. (And if you noticed also the true Elijah, the greater Elijah, the perfect Prophet). Jesus is the one whom Moses foreshadowed. Moses was the image – Jesus is the reality.

And just like the Israelites with Moses, the way we need to respond is to LISTEN and then obey what is being said.

With Moses we need stay back from the mountain or we will die. We need to trust Moses to go and be our representative. We need to wash our clothes and abstain from sex for three days to get ourselves ready, trusting God’s word that that will make us acceptable to him.

Some may question “why would that make them acceptable – washing clothes doesn’t deal with sin”. No, it doesn’t. It’s a symbol. It’s saying to God we need you to wash us, we trust that by obeying you in the symbol, in the ritual, you will do the reality. It’s like communion – we just eat a bit of bread and drink some juice. That can’t save us. But we trust the reality behind the symbol, behind the ritual, that God will forgive our sins because of the body and blood of Jesus. We are saying to God we need you to wash us by the blood, we need you to rescue us, forgive us. It is a symbol or ritual of our need for God. It is an act of humility. The symbol cannot save. But the reality of Jesus’ death and resurrection CAN save.

Heb 12:18 You have not come to a physical mountain, to a place of flaming fire, darkness, gloom, and whirlwind, as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai.... 21 Moses himself was so frightened at the sight that he said, “I am terrified and trembling.” 22 No, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering... 24 You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel.
So...25 Be careful that you do not refuse to listen to the One who is speaking. For if the people of Israel did not escape when they refused to listen to Moses, the earthly messenger, we will certainly not escape if we reject the One who speaks to us from heaven!

The Lord will destroy us unless our representative is Jesus – so listen to Him!

I started this morning by asking why you were here. Why have you come? Because if we are coming trusting in anything other than JESUS as our representative, we will be destroyed.

Why? Because we are not perfectly good. We are not holy. Particularly in our culture, raised on the idea of the grace of God, this idea that God will reject us is very culturally inappropriate. But who are we dealing with. Fluffy little God, the grandfather in the sky? The God of the Bible is HOLY. He who dewells in unapproachable light. He is vast and majestic. His voice thunders. The ground shakes. When Christ returns he will not return as the Suffering Servant, but as the King, huge and awesome, body like flaming fire, and a sharp two-edged sword coming out of his mouth. He will return to judge the living and the dead, and if you are not ready you will be destroyed,. Are you ready? Are you ready to face the Living God?

You know, when we talk about sin, we often think about the news stories. And they are a big evidence for that we, as the human race, have sinned against God. But we can often be fooled by the news into a false sense of security – well, I’m not as bad as them, I’m not a sinner like them. And the unspoken idea sneaks in that I’m better, surely God wouldn’t reject ME. I’m... holy. But are you? Am I?

Do I live every day consumed by the glory of God? Do I pursue holiness? Do I seek every day to know God better? Does my life belong to Him – or me? Do I think of MY future, MY reputation, MY career, MY money, MY time.

Well, I know myself. I know many of you. And I know that we don’t live for Christ every minute of every day. Too often we sin. Too often we don’t share the gospel. Too often we are not interested in even going to church or Bible study. We do it if there’s nothing better to do. Nothing better than meeting with God? Spending time with our Lord and Saviour? Yup, that’s how sinful we are. That’s why in the confession we confess as sinful the good things that we haven’t done as well as the bad things we have done.

Like Israel, we are all different people, with different pasts, some good, some bad – but ALL of us are on the outside, barred from God’s holy mountain. God’s holy fire has come down upon the mountain – but we cannot get close. We cannot see God. We are outside.

We need someone to go to God for us. We need a representative. We need someone to clean us, to make us ready to meet with the Living God. Praise God that our representative is Jesus.

Let us use this time now to confess our sins before the Lord. We’re going to have time now to kneel or stand before God in humble confession, and ask him to forgive us for being disobedient dogs. For running away from what he has called us to do. For keeping our career or our money or our friends or our family or our reputation out of his hands. Let us confess our sins to him, and ask him to be Lord of ALL of our life.

And then let us celebrate together the great joy of our perfect representative. The One who went through death and back again to buy us back, to win for us the right to go up on to the mountain, to meet with the Living God like Moses did, and to hear his voice, to know HIM. Our Lord and Master. Our Life.

Exodus 17:8-18:27 How will you respond to the God of Israel?

Exodus 17:8-18:27

I have a confession to make. I must confess that I have struggled with this passage for the past two weeks. I started preparation already last week, together with chapter 17, because I was pretty unsure about this one. It seems so random. Jethro suddenly appears again, out of the blue. He brings Moses’ family. He seems to be a priest of God offering sacrifices, but isn’t part of Israel. And then he sits Moses down and tells him how to lead the people and Moses listens to him. Huh?
This is not a passage I wanted to preach. Not at all! But we are convinced that 2 Timothy 16-17 is correct: All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

So chapter 18 is breathed out by God and profitable, useful to us, for teaching and correcting us. There’s another reason why we can’t just jump over chapter 18: God wrote Bible books as Bible books. They have a beginning, middle and end. They progress. And we need to respect the way God has written it. So we preach passages like this, trusting the Spirit to lead us and teach us. And knowing that we as men of God (and women of God) will be equipped for every good work, and we will not be lead astray by those who seek to twist Scripture to say what they want it to say – because we know the context of the verses they use, and know the themes of the books, and know that the focus of Scripture is Christ, Jesus, the Son of God, not you or me or politics or Israel or Jehovah or health and wealth or anything else people try to make it about! The man of God, complete, equipped for every good work.

So let’s dive in and see what we can learn from this passage. And we’ll start by putting it in context.

Last week’s lesson was for the Israelites: stop pretending to be God. Let God be God. Only God can be God. It’s the same lesson we struggle with. That’s why Paul writes in 1 Cor 10:11 These things happened to them (the Israelites during the Exodus and desert wanderings) as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age. 12 If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall.

Because as we read these stories we see ourselves reflected there. We are quick to complain when things don’t go our way – just like them. We forget what God has done for us. We long to go back to our sinful lives – our pre-Christian lives, forgetting what it was actually like to be ruled by our desires, forgetting what a blessing it is to KNOW the Father, and to have His Spirit with us, in us, at all times.

So last week we looked at the attack of the Amalekites. It was a cowardly attack, attacking those lagging behind at the back of the camp. They attacked without warning, and for no reason. It was a new challenge for the Israelites, a new lesson to learn how to trust the Lord. Who fights for Israel? The Lord fights for Israel. Moses’ hands are raised to the Lord – they win. Moses’ hands are lowered, they lose. Your strength comes from Him. Trust the Lord.

But there is a second thing we learn from the Amalekites, and that is to contrast them with Jethro. Here we have two foreigners, non-Israelites, with two very different responses to God’s people and God’s blessing of his people. The Amalekites fight, they rebel, they seek to destroy the Lord’s people before they can become a threat. Jethro, however, praises the Lord, sacrifices to him, and blesses and helps the people of God.

1. Two responses

17:8 While the people of Israel were still at Rephidim, the warriors of Amalek attacked them.

18:10 “Praise the LORD,” Jethro said, “for he has rescued you from the Egyptians and from Pharaoh. Yes, he has rescued Israel from the powerful hand of Egypt! 11 I know now that the LORD is greater than all other gods, because he rescued his people from the oppression of the proud Egyptians.” 12 Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God. Aaron and all the elders of Israel came out and joined him in a sacrificial meal in God’s presence.

Two responses to God’s people that couldn’t be more different. Both the Amalekites and Jethro were also descended from Abraham. Amalek was the son of Esau, brother of Jacob who God renamed Israel. But Amalek and his descendants had turned long ago from the Lord. They would have known the promise to Abraham. They would have known that Esau, their ancestor, gave up that promise. They would be afraid that Israel was coming to claim their birthright, their promised land – because guess where the Amalekites lived? That’s right, in Canaan, the promised land.

You know, I wonder what would have happened if they had responded like Jethro did? If they had come to offer sacrifices and praise to the Lord. To rejoice for the rescue of their relatives? Could they not have lived side-by-side with the Israelites? Perhaps they could have been grafted back in? For we know the Lord’s name is “the gracious and compassionate God” (Ex34:6). We certainly see that in the way he treats his people!

But, no. They stay on the path laid down by their ancestors. Their brutality and ferocity towards the Israelites tells you a great deal of how they feel towards the Lord. They hate Him, they do not want to bow the knee, they want to wipe Israel out. And so they march out of their own land, into the desert, and attack the defenceless Israelites.

But they forgot that they are not fighting the Israelites. They are fighting the Lord.

Jethro, however, praises the Lord. He rejoices at the rescue of his people. Jethro, too, is a descendent of Abraham. Jethro, too, is a son of Esau. But he and his descendants after him chose to obey the Lord instead of reject him. Later we find Jethro’s son, Hobab, has joined the Israelites. And the descendants of Jethro, known as the Kenites, we later find as part of the nation of Israel, living alongside Judah and sharing in all their blessings!

What a contrast! The Amalekites reject the Lord, and fight against his people. And their judgement is destruction.
The Kenites, Jethro’s people, embrace the Lord, rejoice at his blessing his people. And their reward is to join with his people in the Promised Land. Remarkable.

Be like Jethro, seems to be the obvious application. And it is. But there’s one more thing we need to notice before moving on. And it’s to do with the names of God. Have a look at v8. Moses tells of what the LORD has done – that small capital letters stands for YHWH (Yahweh) God’s personal name in the Old Testament. Jethro, too, in v9, 10 and 11 praises the LORD “YHWH”. But in v12, when he offers sacrifices as worship to God, he offers them to God – the Hebrew word Elohim, not the LORD, Yahweh. Why? Because Jethro is not part of the people of God. He is still an outsider. He can be part of the blessing of God, but he is still outside – and Moses cannot bring him in. Moses, for all his greatness, is a limited saviour.

2. A limited saviour

17:12 Moses’ arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset.

18:17 “This is not good!” Moses’ father-in-law exclaimed. 18 “You’re going to wear yourself out—and the people, too. This job is too heavy a burden for you to handle all by yourself.

What do we make of this story? Well, I think there’s some truth in the application that leaders need help. We need to carry each other’s burdens, says Ephesians. I need you to keep my arms upraised towards God, as you pray for me and the other leaders in this church that we would remain God-focussed and God-dependent. In your prayers you are like Aaron and Hur, supporting my arms. It’s a bit like that famous picture of the soldiers together raising the flag on Iwo Jima. Working together. Or the rugby scrum. Working together as a team. Honouring the Lord. I think that’s a fair application. As Jethro says “You cannot do it alone”

I think another is certainly that wisdom comes from many areas, even outside the camp! And the wise man accepts good counsel, no matter where it comes from (Prov 19:20).

Those are probably good secondary applications - but I don’t think those are the main applications.

Because we need to let context drive our application – what has come before, AND what comes after. What has come before is Moses leading the people, rescuing them from slavery and taking them through the sea. Raising his arms and giving them victory in battle. Moses has been the voice of God.

And what comes after is the first church – the gathering of God’s people before God Almighty, hearing God’s word. The mountain shakes, there is smoke and fire and thunder and lightning. It is GOD who has rescued the people. It is God’s power, God’s word.

And in between a couple of stories which reminds us that Moses is weak. That Moses is not the saviour. That God is the saviour. 8 Moses told his father-in-law everything the LORD had done to Pharaoh and Egypt on behalf of Israel. He also told about all the hardships they had experienced along the way and how the LORD had rescued his people from all their troubles. 9 Jethro was delighted when he heard about all the good things the LORD had done for Israel as he rescued them from the hand of the Egyptians.

I think that the point the text is making must be that Moses is great, yes, but he is not the Messiah. His family’s sudden return – the last time they were mentioned was in chapter 4, before he approached Pharaoh - reminds us of his past. Moses who was Gershom, the foreigner, the outcast, is no longer. He is now Eliezer, the one rescued by God.
We are reminded, after all of Moses’ triumphs, of Moses’ failure before God met him at the burning bush, and like Israel, rescued him. Moses is not the rescuer, but the rescued.

Moses is one of the greatest leaders ever, because he was humble before the Lord. But he is just a man. In case we were putting our faith in Moses – perhaps thinking that “Here’s the serpent-crusher promised in Genesis 3:16, the one who will overturn evil - after all, he overturned the evil Pharaoh.” Here we are reminded that He is just a man. We’re still waiting for the Messiah, the serpent-crusher. We’re still waiting for Jesus. And I think that’s the main point of this whole chapter. Jethro’s arrival, Moses’ family suddenly back in the picture, Moses’ folly, Jethro’s wisdom – all points us towards the perfect leader, the perfect Messiah, the one who does need to be rescued.

3. Jesus is greater than Moses

You see, Jethro had to remind Moses of what his job was: 19 Now listen to me, and let me give you a word of advice, and may God be with you. You should continue to be the people’s representative before God, bringing their disputes to him. 20 Teach them God’s decrees, and give them his instructions. Show them how to conduct their lives.

Moses was to be the people’s representative – the mediator between man and God. But Moses was limited. He couldn’t handle the pressure of a couple of million or so people.
But Jesus! Jesus is our mediator, our representative before the throne of God. The Son of Man is before the throne – we have a human representative in the court of Heaven. But because he is also fully GOD – he is the God-man, born of the Virgin Mary, by the Holy Spirit (as we’ve been reading in Luke’s gospel in the Bible study) – because he is fully man and fully GOD, he can be our perfect representative, and mere numbers are no problem for him. He does not need to divide us up into manageable groups and have a massive bureaucracy to handle our prayers!

Moses was the mediator between man and God – he stood between the people and God. Jesus brings us into the very throne room of heaven. Heb 9:24 For Christ did not enter into a holy place made with human hands, which was only a copy of the true one in heaven. He entered into heaven itself to appear now before God on our behalf.

Jesus is the greater mediator (representative).

In the same way, Moses brought the word of God (v20 Teach them God’s decrees): but Jesus is the word of God. John 1:1 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Jesus is the very Word of God.

Moses needed the wisdom of men. Jethro says in v19 Now listen to me, and let me give you a word of advice, and may God be with you. But Jesus is the very wisdom of God. 1 Co 1:24 But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.

Jesus is the very wisdom of God.

And Jesus does what Moses could not. Jesus brings the nations in, so that people like Jethro can know God not just as God (Elohim) but in person (Yahweh). We who are Gentiles have been grafted in to Israel (made part of Israel), and so we can know Israel’s God personally. In fact, he comes to live in us by His Spirit. Praise God. That is what Jesus has accomplished.

Jesus is greater than Moses. He is the greater mediator. He is the very word of God. He is the very wisdom of God.

Heb 3:3 ... Jesus deserves far more glory than Moses, just as a person who builds a house deserves more praise than the house itself. 4 For every house has a builder, but the one who built everything is God. 5 Moses was certainly faithful in God’s house as a servant. His work was an illustration of the truths God would reveal later. 6 But Christ, as the Son, is in charge of God’s entire house. And we are God’s house, if we keep our courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ.

So, if Jesus is greater than Moses, how are we to respond? Not like Amalek, but like Jethro.

Heb 3 continues 7 That is why the Holy Spirit says, “Today when you hear his voice, 8 don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled, when they tested me in the wilderness..... 12 Be careful... , dear brothers. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. 13 You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. 14 For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ.

There are only two responses to the Lord and to his work. Amalek, or Jethro. Praise God that Jesus is the better Moses, so that if we like Jethro call out to him, he can save us, bring us in, make us one of his people. And if we belong to him, then we belong to him. Brothers and sisters, by His grace we are the people of God! Praise God. Amen.

Exodus 17 Stop pretending to be God!

Exodus 17

1. Testing the Lord (Who will be God?)

Well, Exodus has been quite a roller-coaster ride hasn’t it? Imagine you were an Israelite in those days. From slavery without hope, to a great and dramatic rescue, to being trapped at the Red Sea, to being miraculously given a way out, and the most powerful army of the day being destroyed – to then, a few days later, moaning to the Lord for food and water. “I want an ice cream” indeed! (If that reference makes no sense, download last week’s sermon and listen to it!)

If we were under any illusions that God saved the Israelites because they were somehow better, more holy, than anyone else – chapters 15 and 16, and now 17, today’s chapter, soon show us otherwise. What a bunch of faithless, ungrateful, whiny windbags. I mean just LOOK at the end of verse 7 the people of Israel argued with Moses and tested the LORD by saying, “Is the LORD here with us or not?”

Is the LORD – Yahweh – here with us or not?
Are you INSANE? What has just happened? 10 plagues. Huge rescue of millions of slaves. Pharaoah’s army utterly destroyed. Sheep and cattle and goats, gold and silver, fine clothes provided by the Egyptians. And not to mention the very waters of the sea parting in front of your eyes! Is God with us? Yes! There he is! See, the cloud in front of us. The pillar of fire by night. How can you miss it? Oh, yes, not to mention the bitter water which turned sweet, and the manna you go out and pick up EVERY DAY. Is the LORD with us? Really?

But how often are we like the Israelites. A tiny little problem appears, a bit of pain, a bit of sickness, a bit of heartache. And suddenly our world comes crashing down. Our faith flies out the window and we say “Is the Lord with me”?

I know a number of people in this church are suffering at the moment. Some with chronic illness, which stops them from being who they are. Others with potential serious, life-threatening issues. Others with deep psychological scars. Others have lost loved ones or beloved pets.

And those things can cause us to wobble. Like the Israelites we murmur. We forget the Lord. We forget what he has done for us. All we feel is the PAIN we feel now. WHY, O LORD! Have you forgotten me? Do you not care? Don’t you exist?

Like the Israelites, who only felt their thirst, we cry out like v3 But tormented by thirst, they continued to argue with Moses. “Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Are you trying to kill us, our children, and our livestock with thirst?”

Lord, do you really care about me?

How quickly we forget his past mercies to us. How quickly we forget how we were slaves to our sinful natures. How we were children of wrath. How our lives lacked purpose and direction. How we walked in darkness. And then the Lord saved us. He broke in. He opened our eyes. He flooded our lives with light and life! He gave us a new hope and a new purpose. He is with us, right with us! His Spirit lives inside of us – how much more intimate can you get? We are free! We are loved! We have a hope and a future! Praise the Lord.

And then “thirst” hits. Sickness. Heartache. Financial difficulties. What is it that you are struggling with now? Last week we wrote it on our hands as a symbolic message and gave it to the Lord. Did you give it to him? Or did you take it back, worrying over it? Do you really trust the Lord? Do you have faith?

The answer is sometimes no, we don’t have faith. Sometimes we let the problem fill our minds – become so big we can’t see anything else. The solution, of course, is what Exodus 13 told us to do: Remember the Lord. Remember what he has done. Remember his salvation, his love, how he has rescued ou. Remember how he has blessed you so abundantly in the past. Remember the Lord. Then you will not be swayed to despair, disbelief, and ultimately disobediently testing the Lord. Remember what he has done.

Sounds easy enough. But there’s a problem. And the problem is me. My own heart. But often I don’t want to remember. Because actually I WANT to have a greiveance against God. I want to play the victim, to manipulate Him into doing what I want, when I want!
In short, I want to be God. I want an excuse to go back to my old life, to justify some sinful behaviour. Haven’t you done that? Or is it just me? Oh God, I’m suffering now, I deserve to indulge in this... I know it’s a bit wrong, but you understand, right. Just a little sin....

Oh, because “Egypt” is so tempting. Our old life often seems easier. Or a different life, where I can just do what I want when I want it. Sin and selfishness is soooo tempting sometimes isn’t it. What did they say last week 16:3 “There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted” What a lie! What a total fabrication! Egypt was where they were beaten, forced to work hard labour. But in their minds it has become paradise. Pots filled with meat.

How often do we look back with longing at sin. Oh, it’ll be so good (or it was so good). Forgetting what it was actually like when we were in the grip of it. Thinking about lying because it seems the easy way out. Just change a few words here and there on an insurance form or on a tax form. Leave this or that out. Or even talking ourselves out of an opportunity to share the gospel! I’ve been there. We all have. “We sat around pots of meat”, we say. “It was so good to live in Egypt” we lie to ourselves.

But we know in our heart of heart that it’s not true. We’re just angry. We are frustrated with our circumstances and so we lash out at God. Why aren’t you doing things my way?

 

This is not unexpected. You see, the root of sin is selfishness, it is the desire to be God. What did Satan say to Adam and Eve? “Take this fruit and you will be like God”. We want to be God in our lives. We want everything to go our own way. We are just like little children, just that we’re cleverer at covering up our tantrums and are able to make our demands sound reasonable and cultured. But when you strip all that away we’re saying “boo I’m thirsty” “I’m hungry” “I want an ice cream!” “I want” I demand that you, God, do what I want right now.

And so we test the Lord’s patience. It is amazingly rude. We question his goodness. We question his love. Is the Lord with me?

How do we get through this? How do we stop wallowing in self-delusion and self-pity? How do we put God back on the throne? Well, we follow Moses.

2. Let God be God

4 Then Moses cried out to the LORD, “What should I do with these people? They are ready to stone me!”

Moses was under tremendous pressures. In today’s passage the people are ready to stone him! That’s job pressure! “Give us water or we’ll kill you” says the angry mob. Good grief.

But Moses does not sit down in despair. He does not look longingly back to a dream world of life back in Egypt (even though he actually DID have a good life in Egypt in Pharaoh’s palace). No. He goes straight to the Lord. Your problem big guy!

This is a habit for Moses. This is what he always does. It is part of his character. When we first met Moses he was a hothead, and did things his way, in his time. Which ended up with him murdering an Egyptian, fleeing the palace, and hiding in the desert! Moses has learnt obedience, learnt that God’s man needs to be GOD’S man before he can be useful to God (and others).

4 Moses cried out to the Lord

My Dad has a phrase which he uses a lot “Bow yourself out and bow God in”. It means deliberately acknowledging your own weakness, your own need, and asking God to intervene, to take over. It is the very opposite of sin (I am God) – it is saying to God: “Please would you be God here in this situation”.

And then you listen to Him.

5 The LORD said to Moses, “Walk out in front of the people. Take your staff, the one you used when you struck the water of the Nile, and call some of the elders of Israel to join you. 6 I will stand before you on the rock at Mount Sinai. Strike the rock, and water will come gushing out. Then the people will be able to drink.” So Moses struck the rock as he was told, and water gushed out as the elders looked on.

Moses cried out to God “I can’t do this”. And God answered him. Come to me, he says. Walk to the rock where I am standing, and strike it. Now it’s unclear if everyone could see the Lord or just Moses. It may have been the pillar of cloud – in fact it probably was. In which case everyone would see that it was the Lord who provided them with water.

He provides. The situation was too big for Moses. He realised it was beyond him. And so he asked God to be God.

What areas to you try to be God? One area might be suffering and evil. Do you ever get weighed down by it? Well, bow yourself out and bow God in! DO not despair. YOU see no solution – but you are not God. He has it in hand. Leave it in his hands. Let Him be the solution. Let water gush out of the rock.

Ah, but what if you disagree with his solution? Moses could have said “bang the rock? No God, that’s dumb. I’ll look like a complete idiot, smacking a rock in a dry river bed. No.”
God’s solution, God’s way, is the only way. If you find yourself telling God that his plan basically sucks...then repent, stop trying to be God. How arrogant can you be, thinking that your solution is better? Who are you, O man, to question God? Were you there when the foundations of the world were laid? And so on.

It’s like when a toddler is going to decide what to do. We had Jon Espen and Colleen visiting on Friday. Jon Espen with his 18 months of wisdom was determined to touch the fireplace. Colleen patiently said “no, hot!” every time he went near. A bit like how God provided the Israelites with food and water every time. A bit like how God blesses us, provides for us, cares for us, forgives us, every time.
Jon Espen is thinking “WHY can’t I go near the fire. It is warm. It is inviting. This is what I WANT. Mom is such a killjoy. Mom hates me.” Actually, Mom loves him. Loves him very much. And so she says “No”. Jon Espen needs to trust, to have faith in Colleen. And the more he grows and matures, the more he knows that his Mom does love him, and does have his best interest at heart. Mum knows best.

God is our Father. He is a good father. Trust him. Remember what he has done in the past. Remember how he has saved you, rescued you, provided for you, grown you carried you. And trust him.

Who will be God? Let God be God.

Of course, we tend to be a bit dull, so the rest of the chapter just repeats the message. You are not God. God is God. Let God be God.

3. Let God be God

Verse 8 introduces a new problem, a new test for the Israelites: 8 While the people of Israel were still at Rephidim, the warriors of Amalek attacked them.

In Duet 25:17 we find that the Amalekites attacked the weak and weary who were lagging behind the main group of Israelites. It was a cowardly and unprovoked attack. God, do you care? Is the Lord with us? Different problem. Same question. Lord, do you see our suffering. Are you with us?
We say to the Lord: Lord, we are sick. Lord we are grieving. Lord, we are in need. Lord, we are lonely. Lord we are under pressure. Lord, are you with us in Rock International Church? Are you with your people?

And the answer is an overwhelming YES! Because God takes it personally! Just look at verse 14 After the victory, the LORD instructed Moses, “Write this down on a scroll as a permanent reminder, and read it aloud to Joshua: I will erase the memory of Amalek from under heaven.”

It reminds me of Jesus’ words to Saul (later Paul) when he was attacking Christians. “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me”. The Lord is with his people. The Lord is with his people. Be comforted. He is with us.

And during the battle the people of Israel got a big visual aid. If they tried to do things their own way – that is, when Moses’ hands were not raised in obedience to God’s command – they would lose. But if Moses’ hands were raised in obedience to God’s word – they would win. It was clear that the battle was the LORD’s. That just like at the Red Sea, the LORD would fight for them (Ex 14:14). They had to “be still”. That is, close their mouths, stop their moaning, and trust him for the rescue. Bow themselves out, and bow God in.

Oh yes, they had to fight the battle. But they fought it not trusting in their own strength and their skill with the sword. They fought it trusting in the Lord. Moses’ hands raised: they win. Moses hands fall: they lose. It’s quite a strong visual picture isn’t it?

And so when the battle is won, 15 Moses built an altar there and named it Yahweh-nissi (which means “the LORD is my banner”). This victory over the Amalekites belongs to the Lord. He has won the battle. It is his banner over the battlefield. The battle is the Lord’s.

Only God can be God. I cannot be God. I cannot win the battle. I cannot make water gush from the rock. I cannot make manna appear every day. I cannot provide for myself – my provision comes from the Lord. And I cannot save myself from slavery and death.
And, unless you’re Jesus of Nazareth, neither can you!

Only God can be God. Why oh why do we struggle so much with that. So often we try to take the reigns. SO often we forget the Lord, and struggle along in our own strength. I’m going to end by sharing my own story – a time when the Lord tested me like he tested the Israelites. And I did about as well as they did!

And it was about food and water. God’s provision. Did I really trust that my daily bead comes from the Lord?
At work a few years back I was pressured, squeezed into a dishonest situation. My boss asked me to keep things secret from his boss – and his boss in turn was asking me to keep things secret from my boss. And people were being hurt, and things were nasty. The thing is, I allowed myself to be pressured because I didn’t want to lose my job. I needed my salary. I needed to earn it. It was something I did, I provided. Kind of like an Israelite going out and saing “look at all this manna I gathered” or going to the water gushing out of the rock – look at this water I am collecting. Duh!
Until one day the Lord showed me that “my” salary came from his hand, not from the company. That my salary was a gift from him, not a result of my great efforts. He is my Father. He is my Provider. And I was suddenly set free from fear, and the pressure to keep silent. And so I immediately confronted my boss, told him to repent and shared the gospel with him. True story! I’d love to tell you he repented with tears of joy... but he didn’t. I did actually keep my job in the end, but even if I hadn’t the Lord would have provided.
When we moved here to Norway we had to have in faith that He would provide. He called us, he must provide. It’s his problem. Lord I can’t do this, bow myself out, bow God in: you are the provider and protector of my family. You are the Father and Husband no.1. I just follow behind. You see, Daniel can’t be God. Only God can be God.

So whatever it is you are facing – if it feels overwhelming – if you cannot cope. Good. You have a very strong indication that the problem is not something you can handle so hint, hint, take it to the Lord. It is His problem to deal with. Let God be God.