1 00:00:13,360 --> 00:00:17,400 For all of us here, no matter who you are, at one stage or another 2 00:00:17,400 --> 00:00:22,040 in your life, you've had to learn a skill to do the job that 3 00:00:22,040 --> 00:00:24,640 you currently do or that you've done. 4 00:00:25,120 --> 00:00:28,760 And those skills have either been handed down from one generation 5 00:00:28,760 --> 00:00:29,440 to the next. 6 00:00:30,210 --> 00:00:33,650 Maybe it's in the home, maybe it's on the farm, or maybe it's out 7 00:00:33,650 --> 00:00:34,210 at sea. 8 00:00:34,850 --> 00:00:38,450 Other skills were picked up more formally through an apprenticeship 9 00:00:38,450 --> 00:00:41,610 or at college and university, while others have been developed 10 00:00:41,610 --> 00:00:45,810 over years of on the job training or refresher courses. 11 00:00:47,090 --> 00:00:52,290 We all have skills that we need for the work that we do. 12 00:00:53,410 --> 00:00:57,250 And these skills have equipped us to do our jobs and to do them 13 00:00:57,250 --> 00:00:59,010 well, because that's the whole point. 14 00:00:59,750 --> 00:01:03,110 It's the whole point of why we learn to do things so that in the 15 00:01:03,110 --> 00:01:04,870 end we can do them well. 16 00:01:05,750 --> 00:01:10,350 On the farm, no one plants seed in the morning and expects to 17 00:01:10,350 --> 00:01:11,830 harvest by the afternoon. 18 00:01:12,470 --> 00:01:14,390 We know that it takes time. 19 00:01:15,190 --> 00:01:19,350 The soil must be prepared, the seed must grow, and the farmer must 20 00:01:19,350 --> 00:01:22,230 wait patiently for the right season. 21 00:01:22,950 --> 00:01:26,590 And you know, you can replicate this idea to all of the 22 00:01:26,590 --> 00:01:32,340 work that we do in it takes time to ensure that the job is done 23 00:01:32,340 --> 00:01:32,700 well. 24 00:01:34,060 --> 00:01:38,780 For many of you here, you're a tradesperson, you ply your trade 25 00:01:38,780 --> 00:01:39,340 very well. 26 00:01:39,340 --> 00:01:42,780 I've seen you at work in the months whenever you've come to do 27 00:01:42,860 --> 00:01:46,580 different jobs, whether it be an electrician or a carpenter and 28 00:01:46,580 --> 00:01:47,900 joiner, or a plumber. 29 00:01:48,220 --> 00:01:49,220 It takes time. 30 00:01:49,220 --> 00:01:54,420 You can't just stop the leak, you can't just make the light work. 31 00:01:54,820 --> 00:01:59,660 You simply can't just clap your hands and a door appears in 32 00:01:59,660 --> 00:02:00,180 the frame. 33 00:02:01,060 --> 00:02:02,020 It takes time. 34 00:02:02,740 --> 00:02:09,060 It's a craft, it's a skill, and you all do it so very well because 35 00:02:09,540 --> 00:02:12,900 of the training and experience that you've had. 36 00:02:14,500 --> 00:02:18,460 Now, last week we learned that Moses was someone who was going to 37 00:02:18,460 --> 00:02:20,220 be a savior for God's people. 38 00:02:20,220 --> 00:02:23,490 Not the savior, but, but a savior. 39 00:02:24,450 --> 00:02:28,410 This was not a self appointment by Moses, but it was 40 00:02:28,410 --> 00:02:31,170 a role that God had given Moses. 41 00:02:31,890 --> 00:02:36,690 And God had ensured that Moses would be this savior for his people 42 00:02:37,010 --> 00:02:42,130 by preserving him for the day when he would rescue God's people. 43 00:02:42,130 --> 00:02:46,010 In the Exodus and in our passage this morning, we see that 44 00:02:46,010 --> 00:02:50,110 Moses wanted to reap the harvest of fruit for his people right 45 00:02:50,110 --> 00:02:50,430 away. 46 00:02:50,910 --> 00:02:54,390 But God still had a long season of preparation ahead before 47 00:02:54,390 --> 00:02:55,790 he would be ready to lead. 48 00:02:56,670 --> 00:03:00,910 He didn't clap his hands like a joiner might wish to do in the 49 00:03:00,910 --> 00:03:01,470 door appear. 50 00:03:02,510 --> 00:03:06,950 It would take time for Moses to be ready for the job and the task 51 00:03:06,950 --> 00:03:10,270 and the skill that would be ahead of him to lead God's people 52 00:03:10,590 --> 00:03:12,830 out of Egypt. 53 00:03:14,840 --> 00:03:18,360 From the very beginning, though, we know that Moses was different. 54 00:03:19,720 --> 00:03:24,280 The text describes Moses mother Jochebed as noticing this 55 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:26,840 as soon as he was born, because verse two of chapter two 56 00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:29,880 told us when she saw that he was a fine child. 57 00:03:30,199 --> 00:03:33,400 It's the King James version that renders this more beautifully 58 00:03:33,560 --> 00:03:36,840 that there was something of him that was in him that could be 59 00:03:36,840 --> 00:03:37,480 identified. 60 00:03:37,480 --> 00:03:41,620 This wasn't just a mother pouring out her love of over her 61 00:03:41,620 --> 00:03:42,180 baby. 62 00:03:42,500 --> 00:03:43,500 There was something different. 63 00:03:43,500 --> 00:03:48,460 And Even in Acts 7:20, as Stephen is standing before the Sanhedrin, 64 00:03:48,460 --> 00:03:50,500 he describes Moses in this way. 65 00:03:51,140 --> 00:03:55,700 At that time, Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child. 66 00:03:56,500 --> 00:04:00,340 For three months he was cared for in his father's house. 67 00:04:00,500 --> 00:04:01,700 And we know what that means. 68 00:04:02,660 --> 00:04:08,260 Moses was different, not just in a mother gushing over their baby, 69 00:04:09,300 --> 00:04:12,500 but in understanding the deeper meanings of the Hebrew language. 70 00:04:12,580 --> 00:04:16,460 Stephen was able to recognize that he was no ordinary child from 71 00:04:16,460 --> 00:04:17,300 the very beginning. 72 00:04:19,460 --> 00:04:20,580 What does he say? 73 00:04:21,140 --> 00:04:23,700 No ordinary child. 74 00:04:23,700 --> 00:04:28,980 Because for three months, hidden, not wanting to be discovered, 75 00:04:28,980 --> 00:04:31,180 he was cared for in his father's house. 76 00:04:31,180 --> 00:04:33,900 And so from birth, there's something that is supernaturally 77 00:04:33,900 --> 00:04:35,220 known about him. 78 00:04:35,610 --> 00:04:39,050 And so his journey of being kept alive begins. 79 00:04:39,290 --> 00:04:42,450 Because, as we know from last week, the decree had been made that 80 00:04:42,450 --> 00:04:45,050 all boys were to be thrown into the Nile. 81 00:04:45,130 --> 00:04:47,290 But Jochebed just couldn't do it. 82 00:04:48,010 --> 00:04:51,930 So Moses is placed in a basket, another word for an ark, 83 00:04:52,490 --> 00:04:54,570 and set adrift down the river. 84 00:04:55,210 --> 00:04:56,330 And who finds him? 85 00:04:57,130 --> 00:04:59,050 Only Pharaoh's daughter. 86 00:04:59,530 --> 00:05:03,130 And she takes him as her own, because it turns out she has a heart 87 00:05:03,130 --> 00:05:03,610 as well. 88 00:05:04,290 --> 00:05:08,730 She can't let this baby be left in the Nile and whatever crocodiles 89 00:05:08,730 --> 00:05:10,050 would come his way. 90 00:05:10,290 --> 00:05:13,890 And so his formative years are spent then with his mother. 91 00:05:14,450 --> 00:05:17,130 Although Pharaoh's daughter doesn't know the true identity of 92 00:05:17,130 --> 00:05:20,650 Jochebed, only that she is a Hebrew woman to whom Moses is entrusted 93 00:05:20,650 --> 00:05:20,930 to. 94 00:05:21,250 --> 00:05:25,450 But the time must come, as verse 10 tells us, when Moses is 95 00:05:25,450 --> 00:05:30,410 brought to the palace and grows up as a grandson Pharaoh. 96 00:05:31,130 --> 00:05:35,170 And in verse 11, we jump over many years, approximately 40, and 97 00:05:35,170 --> 00:05:37,610 see the man that Moses has become. 98 00:05:38,330 --> 00:05:41,330 And it appears that his upbringing by his mother has taught 99 00:05:41,330 --> 00:05:44,730 him, at the very least, to show concern for the Hebrew slaves. 100 00:05:45,690 --> 00:05:50,410 But this has developed so much that Moses knows who he truly is. 101 00:05:50,810 --> 00:05:52,970 He knows he's not an Egyptian. 102 00:05:53,690 --> 00:05:57,300 He looks different than his mother, adoptive mother. 103 00:05:57,300 --> 00:06:00,580 He looks different than his adoptive grandfather. 104 00:06:01,540 --> 00:06:03,700 And so he knows truly who he is. 105 00:06:04,180 --> 00:06:08,900 And in verse 11 we read one day, after Moses had grown up, he 106 00:06:08,900 --> 00:06:12,500 went out to where his own people were and watched them at their 107 00:06:12,500 --> 00:06:13,300 hard labor. 108 00:06:14,020 --> 00:06:18,420 He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. 109 00:06:18,980 --> 00:06:23,100 Now, do you notice here, twice in this verse, they are described 110 00:06:23,100 --> 00:06:24,100 as his own people. 111 00:06:25,140 --> 00:06:29,140 This is not a narrator trying to give us extra information. 112 00:06:30,260 --> 00:06:34,620 How this is constructed tells us that it is Moses who knows that 113 00:06:34,620 --> 00:06:35,940 these are his own people. 114 00:06:36,660 --> 00:06:40,820 And so, one other thing we must note before we get into too 115 00:06:40,820 --> 00:06:41,700 much of this. 116 00:06:42,020 --> 00:06:45,540 As Moses is out looking and surveying and seeing his people, 117 00:06:45,780 --> 00:06:49,380 it's important to know that from the outset of this passage, 118 00:06:49,380 --> 00:06:55,160 Moses has not yet been called, nor has he been commissioned to rescue 119 00:06:55,160 --> 00:06:55,920 God's people. 120 00:06:56,800 --> 00:07:01,680 We only know this because of the story that unfolds that we're 121 00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:02,400 familiar with. 122 00:07:02,720 --> 00:07:07,200 But to this point, Moses does not know what his commission and 123 00:07:07,200 --> 00:07:08,320 his calling will be. 124 00:07:11,600 --> 00:07:15,520 So what we're seeing here in this passage is Moses taking things 125 00:07:15,760 --> 00:07:17,200 into his own hands. 126 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:21,920 But we can identify with the sympathy that he has with his people. 127 00:07:22,760 --> 00:07:26,560 And as he identifies with them, we see him leaving behind the 128 00:07:26,560 --> 00:07:31,000 ways of Egyptian life, the life that he had come to know so 129 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:31,320 well. 130 00:07:31,800 --> 00:07:36,640 He had become an Egyptian, because there's no mistake in the 131 00:07:36,640 --> 00:07:40,920 text saying that he went out to where his own people were. 132 00:07:40,920 --> 00:07:44,240 You see, this is the first indication that he's turning his 133 00:07:44,240 --> 00:07:48,160 back on all the security of the Egyptian court, and he is being 134 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:51,160 prepared for the task that he will undertake in the years to come. 135 00:07:51,740 --> 00:07:57,260 And so, as he goes out, his own personal exodus from everything 136 00:07:57,340 --> 00:08:00,980 Egyptian, leaving the palace and going down to where the slaves 137 00:08:00,980 --> 00:08:04,620 worked, he observes how the Hebrews are being treated. 138 00:08:04,940 --> 00:08:09,100 He sees their hard work, and he sees the unfairness of the Egyptian 139 00:08:09,100 --> 00:08:10,060 slave masters. 140 00:08:10,780 --> 00:08:12,140 He sees the pain. 141 00:08:12,620 --> 00:08:13,860 He sees the suffering. 142 00:08:13,860 --> 00:08:17,340 And he witnesses one of the slave masters beating a Hebrew. 143 00:08:18,170 --> 00:08:21,530 And Moses reacts immediately to this, and he takes action. 144 00:08:21,530 --> 00:08:27,530 He says in verse 12, glancing this way and that and seeing no one, 145 00:08:28,250 --> 00:08:32,570 he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 146 00:08:35,290 --> 00:08:41,450 This is a condemning verse for Moses. 147 00:08:43,379 --> 00:08:45,539 What do you do when you don't want to get caught? 148 00:08:46,339 --> 00:08:51,499 You look this way, you look that way, you make sure no one's 149 00:08:51,499 --> 00:08:51,779 looking. 150 00:08:52,579 --> 00:08:54,019 And then what do you do? 151 00:08:54,739 --> 00:08:59,338 Well, you hide the evidence, be it something as simple as having 152 00:08:59,338 --> 00:09:01,699 a cookie out of the jar that you're not supposed to have. 153 00:09:02,259 --> 00:09:08,419 To this most grievous of sins in the murder of this Egyptian. 154 00:09:10,350 --> 00:09:15,390 Now, what is interesting is that the word here killed in verse 155 00:09:15,390 --> 00:09:20,550 12 of Exodus 2 is the same word used in the previous verse for 156 00:09:20,550 --> 00:09:21,070 beating. 157 00:09:21,950 --> 00:09:24,990 Now, whether Moses simply wanted to give the Egyptian a taste 158 00:09:24,990 --> 00:09:29,350 of his own medicine, and give him a lesson, or whether he was intent 159 00:09:29,350 --> 00:09:30,110 on taking his life. 160 00:09:30,110 --> 00:09:33,710 The outcome was the murder of the Egyptian. 161 00:09:34,600 --> 00:09:38,040 And we can see that Moses knows that he has done wrong. 162 00:09:38,600 --> 00:09:42,720 If he was justified as a prince of Egypt in the killing of 163 00:09:42,720 --> 00:09:45,680 the man, he wouldn't have been afraid at all. 164 00:09:45,680 --> 00:09:48,760 Because as a prince of Egypt, he had the right of wielding the 165 00:09:48,760 --> 00:09:49,160 sword. 166 00:09:49,240 --> 00:09:52,840 In other words, authority was given to him as a son of the royal 167 00:09:52,840 --> 00:09:56,840 court, adopted or not, to be able to give and take life, because 168 00:09:56,840 --> 00:09:58,600 remember, the royal family are divine. 169 00:09:59,080 --> 00:10:00,720 You were to worship the Pharaoh. 170 00:10:00,720 --> 00:10:05,590 And so from the Pharaoh came this right to give and to take life. 171 00:10:06,710 --> 00:10:09,510 But Moses knows he's not on the side of law. 172 00:10:10,550 --> 00:10:14,830 And this is revealed to us by his burying of the Egyptian so that 173 00:10:14,830 --> 00:10:17,510 his actions are not discovered. 174 00:10:19,190 --> 00:10:25,910 But be sure your sins will find you out, because there has been 175 00:10:26,550 --> 00:10:27,350 a witness. 176 00:10:28,640 --> 00:10:29,600 And isn't it funny? 177 00:10:29,920 --> 00:10:33,520 The times we think we can get away with things, it turns out we 178 00:10:33,520 --> 00:10:38,000 can't because there will always be a witness. 179 00:10:38,880 --> 00:10:43,200 The slave whom the Egyptian was beating has witnessed it all. 180 00:10:43,919 --> 00:10:48,000 And as Moses goes out the next day, once again to go out to where 181 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:51,960 his own people are, he is challenged by his actions. 182 00:10:51,960 --> 00:10:55,810 Because this time he sees two Hebrews fighting and he goes over 183 00:10:55,810 --> 00:10:57,290 to settle their argument. 184 00:10:57,690 --> 00:11:00,810 Now, this interaction doesn't go as Moses think it should. 185 00:11:01,370 --> 00:11:06,170 Rather than being the one to defuse the situation, he is challenged 186 00:11:06,170 --> 00:11:08,010 about his authority to intervene. 187 00:11:08,010 --> 00:11:12,570 Because verse 14 of Exodus 2 tells us, the man said, who made 188 00:11:12,570 --> 00:11:15,370 you ruler and judge over us? 189 00:11:16,090 --> 00:11:19,130 Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian? 190 00:11:20,010 --> 00:11:24,940 Then Moses was afraid and thought, what I did must have become 191 00:11:25,340 --> 00:11:25,740 known. 192 00:11:25,900 --> 00:11:30,100 Now, whether this man was the one whom Moses intervened the day 193 00:11:30,100 --> 00:11:33,260 before, or whether word has got around the Hebrew camp, we don't 194 00:11:33,260 --> 00:11:33,580 know. 195 00:11:33,740 --> 00:11:36,940 But in this one moment, everything changes for Moses. 196 00:11:37,340 --> 00:11:41,940 He thought he'd got away, quite literally with murder, but 197 00:11:41,940 --> 00:11:42,620 he hadn't. 198 00:11:43,420 --> 00:11:48,300 His action is known and it has not gone down well. 199 00:11:49,640 --> 00:11:56,840 The Hebrew who he is wanting to protect, doesn't respect the assumed 200 00:11:56,840 --> 00:11:58,520 authority that Moses is taking. 201 00:11:58,840 --> 00:12:02,800 In fact, it will be another 40 years before Moses will have the 202 00:12:02,800 --> 00:12:04,919 respect of the children of Israel. 203 00:12:05,720 --> 00:12:09,320 Moses panics and Moses flees. 204 00:12:10,120 --> 00:12:12,280 He knows that murder is wrong. 205 00:12:12,520 --> 00:12:16,730 And as word gets back to Pharaoh, great fear overcomes him. 206 00:12:17,210 --> 00:12:19,770 And so he heads out into the wilderness. 207 00:12:20,410 --> 00:12:30,050 His true exodus from Egypt to a place called Midian, located in 208 00:12:30,050 --> 00:12:31,529 southeastern Sinai. 209 00:12:34,170 --> 00:12:38,010 I don't know if you're familiar with the book and maybe 210 00:12:38,250 --> 00:12:41,370 more so the movie the Hiding Place. 211 00:12:42,220 --> 00:12:45,380 Well, there's a very bloody scene in that film that illustrates 212 00:12:45,380 --> 00:12:48,940 the danger of answering violence with violence. 213 00:12:49,980 --> 00:12:54,500 The movie shows how two Dutch Christians, Corrie Ten Boom and her 214 00:12:54,500 --> 00:12:59,260 sister Betsy, were taken to the Nazi concentration camp at Ravensbruck, 215 00:12:59,580 --> 00:13:03,260 where they were imprisoned for harboring Jews in their home during 216 00:13:03,260 --> 00:13:04,380 the Second World War. 217 00:13:04,940 --> 00:13:09,020 Now one day, as Betsy was savagely attacked by one of the guards 218 00:13:09,020 --> 00:13:12,900 for not meeting her work quota, Corrie imagined, only imagined, 219 00:13:12,900 --> 00:13:16,280 taking a pic axe and hacking the Nazi to death. 220 00:13:17,240 --> 00:13:20,520 By this point in the film, there's hardly anyone who's watching 221 00:13:20,520 --> 00:13:24,120 it who would not be willing to grab the axe handle and help. 222 00:13:25,080 --> 00:13:29,160 But that is not the way God wants his people to combat evil. 223 00:13:30,280 --> 00:13:35,960 And as that movie often portrays, it is Corrie's sister Betsy 224 00:13:36,440 --> 00:13:41,750 who stands more for the truth of Christ than at moments Corrie 225 00:13:41,750 --> 00:13:50,190 does, because as Betsy said to her sister, no hate, Corrie, no hate. 226 00:13:52,350 --> 00:13:54,430 Why does she say this? 227 00:13:55,710 --> 00:14:04,150 Because hatred is not the way of the cross, nor is violence the 228 00:14:04,150 --> 00:14:05,710 way of Christ. 229 00:14:07,020 --> 00:14:11,220 And if you don't believe me, listen to these words that Jesus 230 00:14:11,220 --> 00:14:15,740 tells us in Matthew 5, 38, 39. 231 00:14:16,140 --> 00:14:19,820 You have heard that it was said, eye for eye and tooth for tooth. 232 00:14:20,300 --> 00:14:24,860 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. 233 00:14:25,420 --> 00:14:29,900 If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other 234 00:14:30,300 --> 00:14:30,700 also. 235 00:14:32,150 --> 00:14:36,150 You see in this incident In Exodus chapter 2, it reveals to us 236 00:14:37,350 --> 00:14:42,710 what we need to understand through Moses, that there is a standard 237 00:14:42,710 --> 00:14:45,030 by which God calls us to live by. 238 00:14:46,070 --> 00:14:50,310 It is his standard and not the standard of the world. 239 00:14:51,030 --> 00:14:54,230 That's what it means to be his people, that we live by his way. 240 00:14:54,230 --> 00:14:56,550 And you've heard me say this again and again. 241 00:14:57,360 --> 00:15:01,360 There is a standard in Scripture that God calls us to. 242 00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:06,120 And that will be a standard that even Moses must follow. 243 00:15:06,120 --> 00:15:11,240 Because it turns out that 40 odd years later, he will be the one 244 00:15:11,240 --> 00:15:16,320 who will tell the people of God, you shall not kill in the ten 245 00:15:16,320 --> 00:15:17,040 Commandments. 246 00:15:18,720 --> 00:15:20,880 You see, Moses knows he hasn't done right. 247 00:15:20,880 --> 00:15:25,280 But Moses will learn and will become the man God will use to rescue 248 00:15:25,280 --> 00:15:25,760 his people. 249 00:15:26,640 --> 00:15:31,000 Like any of us who have a skill, it must be learned and it 250 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:32,080 must be practiced. 251 00:15:32,400 --> 00:15:34,720 And that's what's going to happen with Moses. 252 00:15:35,200 --> 00:15:39,920 He will learn and he will practice and he will be used by God 253 00:15:39,920 --> 00:15:42,320 to rescue the children of Israel. 254 00:15:42,880 --> 00:15:46,240 And this is the case for Moses. 255 00:15:47,040 --> 00:15:49,760 And so, as is the case with every text of Scripture, we let the 256 00:15:49,760 --> 00:15:51,440 Bible help us to interpret it. 257 00:15:51,770 --> 00:15:55,690 And in the great passage of faith in Hebrews 11, we get a greater 258 00:15:55,690 --> 00:15:58,170 insight into what is really going on here. 259 00:15:58,330 --> 00:16:05,050 Because in Hebrews 11, 25, 26, we're told Moses chose To be mistreated 260 00:16:05,050 --> 00:16:08,330 along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures 261 00:16:08,330 --> 00:16:09,050 of sin. 262 00:16:09,130 --> 00:16:14,730 For a short time, he regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as 263 00:16:14,730 --> 00:16:18,810 of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was 264 00:16:18,810 --> 00:16:21,650 looking ahead to his reward. 265 00:16:21,650 --> 00:16:24,930 Moses wasn't looking for a reward here on earth. 266 00:16:24,930 --> 00:16:28,690 Neither was Abraham, neither was any of those mentioned in this 267 00:16:28,690 --> 00:16:30,050 great passage of faith. 268 00:16:30,610 --> 00:16:33,450 They were relying on the covenant promise of God that would 269 00:16:33,450 --> 00:16:36,850 take them from this world and into the next, where they would truly 270 00:16:36,850 --> 00:16:38,530 look upon their Savior. 271 00:16:38,930 --> 00:16:43,170 And even though they did not know of Jesus Christ, they now look 272 00:16:43,170 --> 00:16:46,300 upon him and know him in their fullness. 273 00:16:46,300 --> 00:16:49,420 But it was by faith that they lived. 274 00:16:49,820 --> 00:16:54,580 It was by faith that they followed God's standard and not the 275 00:16:54,580 --> 00:16:55,580 standard of man. 276 00:16:56,620 --> 00:17:01,739 And so Moses left Egypt, just like how he would lead the people 277 00:17:01,820 --> 00:17:05,260 40 years later to be prepared by God. 278 00:17:05,260 --> 00:17:09,180 And from this moment on, he would be a despised Hebrew like his 279 00:17:09,180 --> 00:17:11,820 kin, rather than a privileged Egyptian. 280 00:17:12,730 --> 00:17:15,610 And this is an important truth for us to learn. 281 00:17:16,650 --> 00:17:20,490 We may not be in the same situation as Moses and have to flee 282 00:17:20,490 --> 00:17:27,130 Egypt because of committing a murder, but from Egypt we must flee 283 00:17:28,090 --> 00:17:32,010 because our Egypt is sin. 284 00:17:33,210 --> 00:17:38,170 We can become so comfortable in following the practices and the 285 00:17:38,170 --> 00:17:41,530 habits of the world that we don't even know that they're wrong. 286 00:17:42,880 --> 00:17:44,560 And it's not just our actions. 287 00:17:45,120 --> 00:17:49,120 The world shapes our thinking and the world shapes our attitudes 288 00:17:49,120 --> 00:17:49,600 as well. 289 00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:54,440 Because subtly the devil uses all that is around us to corrupt 290 00:17:54,440 --> 00:17:56,880 us and pull us away from the truth. 291 00:17:58,320 --> 00:18:03,120 He makes us second guess things so that we will be distracted 292 00:18:03,120 --> 00:18:05,760 enough from what is God's best for us. 293 00:18:06,400 --> 00:18:10,440 And as Moses fled Egypt, so we too must flee. 294 00:18:10,670 --> 00:18:12,030 Flee sin. 295 00:18:13,790 --> 00:18:18,510 We have the opportunity to be free from Satan's hold over us and 296 00:18:18,590 --> 00:18:21,470 know the loving kindness of a Father in heaven. 297 00:18:21,790 --> 00:18:24,830 And this is what Paul tells us in Galatians 5:1. 298 00:18:25,310 --> 00:18:28,190 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. 299 00:18:28,670 --> 00:18:29,950 Stand firm then. 300 00:18:30,030 --> 00:18:35,630 And do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. 301 00:18:37,640 --> 00:18:41,720 And let's be honest, if you're under 50, how many of you have quoted 302 00:18:41,720 --> 00:18:46,400 that word freedom as spoken by Mel Gibson in that great Scottish 303 00:18:46,400 --> 00:18:48,120 movie freedom? 304 00:18:48,360 --> 00:18:49,880 Isn't that what we want? 305 00:18:51,320 --> 00:18:54,840 Well, it turns out Scripture tells us there's freedom in no one 306 00:18:54,840 --> 00:19:01,160 else but Jesus Christ and him alone. 307 00:19:04,690 --> 00:19:09,010 I wonder, do you even realize that when you're not living God's 308 00:19:09,010 --> 00:19:15,010 way through Christ, then you are enslaved to the devil? 309 00:19:16,130 --> 00:19:19,210 Rather than being the one who frees you, it is the devil who keeps 310 00:19:19,210 --> 00:19:23,090 you away from what true life and true freedom are. 311 00:19:23,330 --> 00:19:27,010 Because it is only Christ who can release you from the penalty 312 00:19:27,010 --> 00:19:30,430 of sin and, and give you everlasting life. 313 00:19:31,390 --> 00:19:36,830 And when he does, then you know true freedom and a great confidence 314 00:19:37,470 --> 00:19:40,270 of living for him alone. 315 00:19:40,990 --> 00:19:43,070 I wonder this morning, will you flee? 316 00:19:44,350 --> 00:19:46,750 Will you flee from sin? 317 00:19:46,830 --> 00:19:51,670 And will you turn to the truth, the truth that is presented 318 00:19:51,670 --> 00:19:55,950 to us here, that it is only Jesus who can rescue us, and it is 319 00:19:55,950 --> 00:19:58,350 only Jesus who can keep us. 320 00:19:58,750 --> 00:20:04,750 And it will only be Jesus who will welcome us home. 321 00:20:05,790 --> 00:20:09,470 That's why at the start of our service today, my prayer was that 322 00:20:09,470 --> 00:20:16,310 we would make much of Jesus rather than any other, because he 323 00:20:16,310 --> 00:20:19,310 is the only one who can save. 324 00:20:22,680 --> 00:20:23,840 Now back to our passage. 325 00:20:23,840 --> 00:20:28,040 In Exodus 2, Moses is fleeing Egypt. 326 00:20:28,040 --> 00:20:31,800 And it leads him to 40 years, quite literally in the wilderness. 327 00:20:31,960 --> 00:20:35,000 Something that's going to be repeated for the children of Israel 328 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:36,280 later in life. 329 00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:40,120 Midian itself is a dry and desolate place. 330 00:20:40,760 --> 00:20:44,600 It is a stark contrast to his former home in the royal court. 331 00:20:45,240 --> 00:20:48,560 And for all his good intentions towards the Hebrews, Moses 332 00:20:48,560 --> 00:20:50,360 has sinned against God. 333 00:20:51,150 --> 00:20:53,710 It was not his place to kill an Egyptian. 334 00:20:53,710 --> 00:20:56,910 And when the time would come for the Hebrews to leave Egypt, they 335 00:20:56,910 --> 00:21:00,910 would be led by a man who was ready and equipped for the task. 336 00:21:01,710 --> 00:21:07,470 And Moses almost immediately gets to demonstrate what he has learned 337 00:21:07,470 --> 00:21:08,550 from this incident in Egypt. 338 00:21:08,550 --> 00:21:11,390 Because as he comes into the land of Midian, he is immediately 339 00:21:11,390 --> 00:21:13,070 faced with another injustice. 340 00:21:13,950 --> 00:21:16,510 We're told in verses 16 and 17. 341 00:21:17,250 --> 00:21:20,090 Now, a priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came to 342 00:21:20,090 --> 00:21:23,410 draw water and fill the troughs to water their father's flock. 343 00:21:23,890 --> 00:21:27,970 Some shepherds came along and drove them away, but Moses got up 344 00:21:28,050 --> 00:21:30,930 and came to their rescue and watered the flock. 345 00:21:31,810 --> 00:21:34,850 It seems that there's a long standing conflict here between the 346 00:21:34,850 --> 00:21:37,010 daughters of Midian and some local shepherds. 347 00:21:37,890 --> 00:21:40,930 And it revolves around the most precious commodity in the desert, 348 00:21:41,490 --> 00:21:41,890 water. 349 00:21:42,860 --> 00:21:46,540 Moses steps in and helps the daughters of Midian to not only get 350 00:21:46,540 --> 00:21:50,220 the water, but he also helps them in giving it to their flock. 351 00:21:50,460 --> 00:21:54,340 He fills the troughs for them and this is reported back to their 352 00:21:54,340 --> 00:21:57,540 father whenever they get home, because he wants to know why they're 353 00:21:57,540 --> 00:21:58,700 home so early. 354 00:21:59,100 --> 00:22:01,260 They're not usually home this soon. 355 00:22:01,980 --> 00:22:04,780 And so he asks, well, who was this person? 356 00:22:05,580 --> 00:22:09,580 And he says, they answered, an Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds. 357 00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:13,960 He even drew water for us and watered the flock. 358 00:22:15,240 --> 00:22:20,240 Now, Raul is taken very much by the action of a stranger and inquires 359 00:22:20,240 --> 00:22:21,720 where this Egyptian is now. 360 00:22:22,440 --> 00:22:27,080 And for Raul, he must show kindness to the rescuer of his daughters 361 00:22:27,080 --> 00:22:27,640 and his flock. 362 00:22:27,640 --> 00:22:29,720 But there's so Much more going on here. 363 00:22:29,720 --> 00:22:32,920 And I'm not even talking about one of Raul's daughters given to 364 00:22:32,920 --> 00:22:34,200 Moses in marriage. 365 00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:36,200 What is God doing? 366 00:22:36,830 --> 00:22:39,070 That must be the question that we're always asking. 367 00:22:39,070 --> 00:22:43,190 What is God doing while God is establishing and settling Moses in 368 00:22:43,190 --> 00:22:48,030 a foreign land so that he will be prepared and ready to return and 369 00:22:48,110 --> 00:22:49,950 lead the people in Exodus? 370 00:22:51,870 --> 00:22:55,710 You see, for Raul, though, this kindness is more than a meal. 371 00:22:56,270 --> 00:22:58,750 Moses is given a wife and they have a son. 372 00:22:59,230 --> 00:23:02,990 So Moses now settles in Midian and his time of preparation begins 373 00:23:02,990 --> 00:23:04,670 for God's great rescue of his people. 374 00:23:05,600 --> 00:23:08,160 Moses is truly a refugee in the land. 375 00:23:09,280 --> 00:23:13,440 But God will use this time as being an alien, as Moses describes 376 00:23:13,440 --> 00:23:17,520 himself, to get him ready for the great exodus that will rescue 377 00:23:17,680 --> 00:23:18,800 the people of God. 378 00:23:20,320 --> 00:23:24,480 But before this passage closes out, we are reminded of the plight 379 00:23:24,480 --> 00:23:25,440 of God's people. 380 00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:30,080 Because even though Moses is 40 years away from what's going to 381 00:23:30,080 --> 00:23:32,560 happen, things in Egypt don't simply pass. 382 00:23:33,740 --> 00:23:34,540 They get worse. 383 00:23:35,260 --> 00:23:37,900 The Pharaoh who was Moses grandfather dies. 384 00:23:37,900 --> 00:23:41,060 And it appears that the new Pharaoh takes an even harder hand 385 00:23:41,060 --> 00:23:42,060 against God's people. 386 00:23:42,540 --> 00:23:48,060 Because in verse 23 tells us that they cry out to God. 387 00:23:49,020 --> 00:23:52,940 He hears the cry of his people to rescue them. 388 00:23:52,940 --> 00:23:57,140 And in verse 24, it's confirmed to us that God heard their 389 00:23:57,140 --> 00:24:02,150 groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac 390 00:24:02,550 --> 00:24:03,590 and with Jacob. 391 00:24:04,390 --> 00:24:07,350 Now, please don't think that this verse is telling us that God 392 00:24:07,350 --> 00:24:09,510 forgot his covenant promises. 393 00:24:09,910 --> 00:24:12,870 God is not able to forget those promises. 394 00:24:13,510 --> 00:24:14,670 He didn't forget them. 395 00:24:14,670 --> 00:24:18,430 But when the text says God remembered, well, it's telling us 396 00:24:18,430 --> 00:24:22,390 that God has heard and will answer their prayer, because that's 397 00:24:22,390 --> 00:24:23,990 what he always promised to do. 398 00:24:24,950 --> 00:24:29,670 And action has been taken long before their cry went up, when Moses 399 00:24:29,670 --> 00:24:33,450 was preserved in the royal court of Egypt, and now he is preserved 400 00:24:33,450 --> 00:24:37,410 in the land of Midian, being made ready for the task that he will 401 00:24:37,410 --> 00:24:40,690 undertake to answer the prayer of the people, that God will use 402 00:24:40,690 --> 00:24:41,890 him to rescue them. 403 00:24:42,610 --> 00:24:46,290 Now, would the people have wanted it much sooner than 40 years 404 00:24:46,530 --> 00:24:47,650 that it's going to take? 405 00:24:48,450 --> 00:24:49,250 Of course they would. 406 00:24:49,250 --> 00:24:51,570 I imagine they wanted it done there and then. 407 00:24:52,690 --> 00:24:57,570 And so we finish this passage knowing that we have the confidence 408 00:24:57,570 --> 00:24:59,970 to trust in God and his timings. 409 00:25:01,390 --> 00:25:04,510 You see, we are much like the people of Israel. 410 00:25:05,070 --> 00:25:09,150 We cry out to God because we are in a land that is not our own, 411 00:25:10,430 --> 00:25:12,910 as that great passage in Hebrews tells us. 412 00:25:12,990 --> 00:25:18,230 We are looking for a better country, a heavenly one that will 413 00:25:18,230 --> 00:25:23,630 be brought in when Christ will return, and so are we. 414 00:25:23,630 --> 00:25:31,080 Longing for home is our cry for rescue whenever we're angry, 415 00:25:31,880 --> 00:25:37,320 whenever we're angst, whenever we're unhappy, whenever we're sorrow 416 00:25:37,320 --> 00:25:40,840 filled, whenever we're simply off kilter. 417 00:25:41,560 --> 00:25:43,080 Do we cry to God? 418 00:25:43,080 --> 00:25:47,960 Because this cry and this passage assures us that God hears 419 00:25:48,920 --> 00:25:51,000 and we should have the confidence to believe that he will 420 00:25:51,000 --> 00:25:51,280 answer. 421 00:25:51,280 --> 00:25:54,880 Now, it may not happen in the timescale that we want because it 422 00:25:54,880 --> 00:25:58,000 was 40 years in God's timing for the people to be rescued. 423 00:25:58,480 --> 00:26:03,200 And so our expectations may not be much, but that does not negate 424 00:26:03,280 --> 00:26:07,360 the authority, the power and the sovereignty of God. 425 00:26:07,360 --> 00:26:11,600 Because God will always be the One who rescues when we cry out to 426 00:26:11,600 --> 00:26:11,920 him. 427 00:26:12,800 --> 00:26:16,200 Because he is the One who hears and he is the One who answers 428 00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:16,960 our prayers. 429 00:26:17,920 --> 00:26:20,240 He is the One who remembers his good to us. 430 00:26:20,240 --> 00:26:23,940 Because that covenant promise has been sealed in the blood of Jesus. 431 00:26:24,660 --> 00:26:28,340 He's not forgotten us, nor has he forgotten his promise to us, but 432 00:26:28,340 --> 00:26:32,860 he assures us that he has done it all in Jesus. 433 00:26:32,860 --> 00:26:36,020 And in fact, it's Jesus Himself who tells us this in John 434 00:26:36,020 --> 00:26:41,660 16:33 I have told you these things so that in me you may have 435 00:26:41,660 --> 00:26:42,100 peace. 436 00:26:42,660 --> 00:26:45,300 In this world you will have trouble. 437 00:26:46,020 --> 00:26:48,030 But take heart. 438 00:26:49,630 --> 00:26:51,710 I have overcome the world. 439 00:26:53,470 --> 00:26:57,510 So as we finish Exodus 2 this morning, as we take a break for a 440 00:26:57,510 --> 00:27:01,990 couple of weeks because of the harvest and BB enrollment, we finish 441 00:27:01,990 --> 00:27:05,630 with each and every one of us needing to be drawn closer to Christ. 442 00:27:06,990 --> 00:27:08,710 We need to flee Egypt. 443 00:27:08,710 --> 00:27:10,030 We need to flee sin. 444 00:27:10,590 --> 00:27:12,670 We need to live by God's standard. 445 00:27:12,670 --> 00:27:15,950 Because Jesus here at the end says, in this world you will have 446 00:27:15,950 --> 00:27:17,580 trouble, but take heart. 447 00:27:18,300 --> 00:27:20,380 What wonderful words from the Savior. 448 00:27:20,380 --> 00:27:21,260 Take heart. 449 00:27:21,660 --> 00:27:24,300 I have overcome the world. 450 00:27:25,500 --> 00:27:30,580 Whether things go your way or not, Christ is ruling and Christ 451 00:27:30,580 --> 00:27:35,660 is reigning, and we can come to him for rescue and salvation. 452 00:27:37,900 --> 00:27:40,380 But we also need to be confident in that. 453 00:27:41,260 --> 00:27:46,080 We also need to cry out to God just as the people did, knowing that 454 00:27:46,080 --> 00:27:47,640 he is the God who will act. 455 00:27:48,280 --> 00:27:52,520 And because of Jesus, he is the One who will lead us home. 456 00:27:54,040 --> 00:27:59,160 So as I learn from this passage this morning, I need Jesus 457 00:27:59,400 --> 00:27:59,800 today. 458 00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:05,400 I need him to soothe my aching soul. 459 00:28:08,120 --> 00:28:12,680 I need him to assure me that whatever the news brings, whatever 460 00:28:12,680 --> 00:28:17,510 politics brings, whatever I like and whatever I don't like, I 461 00:28:17,510 --> 00:28:23,630 have a Savior who is over every king and president, over every 462 00:28:23,790 --> 00:28:25,870 government and every authority. 463 00:28:26,270 --> 00:28:31,230 And he is coming back to take me home. 464 00:28:33,310 --> 00:28:36,910 This world is not my home. 465 00:28:38,670 --> 00:28:39,950 I love this village. 466 00:28:40,350 --> 00:28:41,390 I love this building. 467 00:28:41,790 --> 00:28:44,110 I love you as God's people. 468 00:28:46,870 --> 00:28:48,070 But this is not the end. 469 00:28:49,590 --> 00:28:51,750 My home is in heaven. 470 00:28:51,750 --> 00:28:56,670 And each day I look to the Savior to get me ready to Bring me 471 00:28:56,670 --> 00:28:56,950 there. 472 00:28:57,750 --> 00:28:59,750 That is my only confidence. 473 00:29:00,710 --> 00:29:05,430 And so I must ask you this morning, is it your confidence? 474 00:29:06,630 --> 00:29:10,710 Because if you are trusting in anything other than what God's word 475 00:29:10,710 --> 00:29:15,230 tells us, then your confidence is on shaky ground. 476 00:29:16,270 --> 00:29:17,950 Because nothing else will deliver. 477 00:29:18,750 --> 00:29:24,430 Only God through his Word, come to the Savior. 478 00:29:24,990 --> 00:29:29,070 What does he tell us in this closing verse as we read it in John 479 00:29:29,150 --> 00:29:31,950 16, take heart. 480 00:29:32,430 --> 00:29:33,830 He has done it all. 481 00:29:33,830 --> 00:29:35,950 He has overcome the world. 482 00:29:36,990 --> 00:29:41,140 And so we can confidently trust in Him. 483 00:29:42,100 --> 00:29:42,980 Let us pray. 484 00:29:43,780 --> 00:29:47,820 Our Father God, we thank you that in this world of trouble and 485 00:29:47,820 --> 00:29:55,420 toil we are called to flee the Egypt in which we live, that Egypt 486 00:29:55,420 --> 00:30:00,660 of sin, sin that people see and sin that people don't see, that 487 00:30:00,660 --> 00:30:05,260 sin that holds us back from you, that sin that will never save 488 00:30:05,260 --> 00:30:06,660 us and never satisfy. 489 00:30:07,600 --> 00:30:10,880 And so may your Word speak to us, Father. 490 00:30:10,880 --> 00:30:15,240 May we know its truth and may we plant it deep within so that we 491 00:30:15,240 --> 00:30:18,960 will live ever by your way and by your goodness. 492 00:30:20,080 --> 00:30:24,600 So may we respond well to you this day, ever looking with great 493 00:30:24,600 --> 00:30:29,040 confidence to the Savior, so that indeed we will live by faith 494 00:30:29,280 --> 00:30:31,520 in Christ and in him alone. 495 00:30:31,760 --> 00:30:33,200 And it's in his name we pray. 496 00:30:34,160 --> 00:30:34,640 Amen.