4th Sunday in Lent – Sermon 81

Prayer to start

May the words of my lips and the thoughts of our hearts be graciously received for the Glory and Honour of our Lord Jesus Christ

AMEN

Introduction

“I shall free you from your labours …and deliver you from your slavery. I shall rescue you with outstretched arm and mighty acts of judgment.”

Verse 6 from our OT lesson –

Freedom is something we all value very highly

As a society we openly condemn countries like Iraq – Zimbabwee – North Korea – where peoples freedoms are suppressed by violent dictatorships –

Yet even in our so called ‘free-society” – many of us feel trapped by our – lifestyle – by poverty – hardship – responsibilities – debt – by the many human prisons that we surround ourselves with –

We long to break free – go where we want – do what we want – be who we want to be –

For many escape is something hoped for – but never really expected – the once a week flutter on the National Lottery is the nearest they get to fulfilling their dreams –

But for Christians – freedom is available – free of charge – through the love and power of Jesus Christ – Our OT reading tells us of the promise – and our NT reading the fulfillment – of that freedom – given to us through Jesus

 

First Point       Faith – Promise made –

 

Last week – our OT reading concentrated on – Moses and Aaron’s visit to Pharaoh – to allow the Israelites freedom to leave their work and go into the wilderness to worship God –

They didn’t get very far –in fact – because of the visit – things got a lot worst –

Instead of letting the people go – Pharaoh increased their hardship – he made them to find their own straw for making bricks – and insisted their daily quota of bricks should not be reduced – this made things near impossible for them –

The people grew bitter – and cursed Moses and Aaron – accused them of putting a sword in Pharaoh’s hand to slay them –

Moses took the peoples concerns back to God – and asked Him what was going on – Why have you brought trouble on this people? – why me? – why now?

In our reading this evening we have God’s reply –

Who’s in control here? – me or Pharaoh?

Who’s behind all these things? –

“I am the Lord – I appeared to Abraham – Issac – Jacob – …….I established my covenant with them ……..And now I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, enslaved by the Egyptians ……… I am mindful of my covenant – I shall free you from your labours in Egypt”

As far as God was concerned – there must be no looking back – there’s more than just their present difficulties at stake –

They must trust God – and look to the future – focus on what was ahead the way ahead – focus on where God is going to lead

God often calls us to move forward – when it seems to us that – times are at their most difficult

The Israelites viewed their increased burden with despair – they saw it as a punishment – when in fact – the suffering they were experiencing was – preparing them – for a far greater ordeal – and a greater purpose

God’s promises are sure – and will be kept –

“ I shall adopt you as my people – I shall be your God – I shall lead you to the land – which I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham – Issac and Jacob – I shall give it to you for your possession”

and Like Moses and the Israelites – we too may be called to play a part in a much greater production – and have to meet whatever difficulties are placed in our path –

God used Moses in remarkable ways – he was the first person recorded in the Bible to work miracles – he met God in intimate ways – and – had a hand in the authorship of a large part of the OT – But in Jewish history he was primarily a liberator – who led the Israelites out of slavery to freedom – to the promised land

 

 
Point 2    Hope – Promise delivered

 

Which brings us on to our NT reading

That promised rescue act – made to His people through Moses – eventually saw fulfillment in the person of Jesus Christ –

“We have been justified through faith – we are at peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”

Paul lists five gifts that come to us as a direct result of being put right with God by faith –

First peace with God – This comes because Jesus has– reached down to the deepest point of our need – and taken on the burden of our sins – through His death on the cross –

Peace is hard to find in our fast paced world – we grab it mostly in bits and snatches – five minutes of peace before the children come in from school – that last half hour at work after the phones have shut down – a quiet moment watching he sun set in the evening –

When we know that God forgives us – and accepts us as we are – then we can find peace with Him –

we don’t have to pretend with God – as we sometimes do with the people around us –

when we are at peace with God – we can face ourselves and our situation without being driven to despair –

this leads on to – our second gift – a new relationship with Him – a relationship that gives us access to His grace –

Through Jesus – God has declared us innocent –and – righteous in His sight – and has accepted us into His family –

Through our relationship with God – we are able to grow – and discover what it is like to live with Jesus – to discover His love – and we are able to begin to become the people God meant us to be.

Our third gift is hope – hope for the future –
– we all have hopes- about our health – our wealth – for a better world – for a better life –

But Christian hope is not an uncertain hope – its a joyful – confident – expectation – almost a guarantee – secured in the promises of God – we know that such a hope will not disappoint us – because God loves us – and that hope rests in His Divine Glory

Next we have joy – a joy that is present even in the midst of suffering –

Unlike the Israelites who were driven to despair because of the burdens they had to face – when we suffer because of Jesus – and respond positively -without anger – we know that God is using our suffering – to transform our character – to bring us to maturity – and to make us more like Jesus

And last – but by no means least – is the wonderful gift – of the life-giving Holy Spirit – who pours out the love of God in our hearts –

Through the Spirit we have truth – power – and prayer – through the Holy Spirit and Jesus we can see what God is really like – we can see that accepting Jesus Christ as our Saviour means we have to change our behaviour – it means learning to love God and others with the love that God gives to us –

It is only through faith in Jesus and the love of God that we can be truly rescued

 

  

Point 3    What does it mean for us?

 

So we’ve heard the promises – and we’ve seen them fulfilled – what’s our response?

Are we prepared to go forward in faith and trust to God’s call as Moses did?

Are we prepared to face the cost of following – as Jesus did – to respond positively to God’s love and care through His Spirit?

In a few moments we will be re-affirming our faith in the words of the Apostles Creed –

Stating out loud that we believe and trust in God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit

How true will those words be for you?

Does our belief and trust match up to the belief and trust that God places in us? –

As Paul writes in our NT lesson;

“For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son – how much more – now that we have been reconciled – shall we be saved by His life!”

God’s faith in us is not a blind faith – He doesn’t see us with rose coloured glasses – He is fully aware of our fallibility – and our sinfulness – but despite all that – He sees something precious in each one of us – something special and worth saving – So much so that He was prepared to give His only Son to die for us –

If He is asking you to do something for Him – don’t turn Him down – after all He never turned you down –

 

Conclusion

 

When God speaks – He gets results –

When God spoke through Moses – He challenged and freed a whole nation

When God spoke through Paul – He challenged and freed a whole Empire.

Today God speaks through us – and challenges us to help free the whole world –

You can count on God to do His part
Can He count on you to do yours

  
Prayer to Finish

 In the name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit

AMEN