So You Wanna Go Back To Egypt Part 3
It’s A Manna Of Safety
In the story of the Exodus,
Egypt is the place of oppression for God’s people.
The Egyptians plan was to work them to death,
But it seemed the harder the Egyptians worked Jacob’s
descendants the more numerous they grew.
Persecution always seems to be fertilizer for God’s people.
The Egyptians even started a genocide against the Israelites
Exodus 1:22 (MSG)
So Pharaoh issued a general order to all his people: "Every boy that is born, drown him in the Nile. But let the girls live."
That’s a pretty harsh environment by anyone’s standards.
God finally intervenes.
Exodus 3:7-8 (MSG)
God said, "I've taken a good, long look at the affliction of my people in Egypt. I've heard their cries for deliverance from their slave masters; I know all about their pain. And now I have come down to help them, pry them loose from the grip of Egypt, get them out of that country and bring them to a good land with wide-open spaces, a land lush with milk and honey…
God chooses Moses as His ambassador and through Moses God performs miracle
after miracle, finally securing the liberation of His people.
Exodus 13:21-22 (MSG)
God went ahead of them in a Pillar of Cloud during the day to guide them on the way, and at night in a Pillar of Fire to give them light; thus they could travel both day and night. The Pillar of Cloud by day and the Pillar of Fire by night never left the people.
The Egyptian Pharaoh has a change of heart and sends his army out to retrieve his
slaves and corners the Jews at the Red Sea.
Now you would think that trusting in God to provide at this point
would be a slam dunk.
But that’s not the case.
Exodus 14:10-12 (MSG)
As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw them—Egyptians! Coming at them! They were totally afraid. They cried out in terror to God. They told Moses, "Weren't the cemeteries large enough in Egypt so that you had to take us out here in the wilderness to die? What have you done to us, taking us out of Egypt? Back in Egypt didn't we tell you this would happen? Didn't we tell you, 'Leave us alone here in Egypt—we're better off as slaves in Egypt than as corpses in the wilderness.' "
God makes a way for them to escape and crushes their pursuers,
and the people are in the deserts of modern day Saudi Arabia.
Soon they run out of water,
They start reminiscing about all the drinking water they had in Egypt.
God miraculously provides water.
They run out of food,
They start reminiscing about all the food they had in Egypt.
God Miraculously provides manna,
A cracker like bread that tasted like honey and meat from quail.
They start to complain about variety
reminiscing about all the different kinds of food they had in Egypt
Every time the people run into a difficulty they start talking about wanting to go
back to Egypt.
They make it to the very doorstep of the Land of Promise,
close to the borders of modern day Israel.
Moses sends out a survey team,
Only two of the twelve sent out have an encouraging word.
Ten say—no way, the inhabitants of the land are too
many and to strong for us to take on.
Numbers 14:1-4 (MSG)
The whole community was in an uproar, wailing all night long. All the People of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The entire community was in on it: "Why didn't we die in Egypt? Or in this wilderness? Why has God brought us to this country to kill us? Our wives and children are about to become plunder. Why don't we just head back to Egypt? And right now!" Soon they were all saying it to one another: "Let's pick a new leader; let's head back to Egypt."
To this day, it seems when things get difficult,
when God doesn’t do what we want Him to do,
there is a strong temptation to go back to Egypt.
Last time I asked you to rate our self on a 1 to 10 scale with a one being that you
trust in yourself and a ten that you trust in God to provide for your needs.
I think the secret of being able to rate yourself with a 10 is the complete buy into
God’s agenda.
Today we’re going to look at what God’s agenda is for His people,
What it means to be His child,
And when you leave here today to know that you are safe in God’s
care.
God’s Agenda
In my opinion God’s agenda has to do with restoring everything in righteousness.
Righteousness is best understood as the way things God intended for them to be.
For human beings righteousness is all about right relationships.
We were created with a right relationship
to God, to Others, to Self and to the Earth.
Right relationships allow for community and communion,
For intimacy and connection.
Sin causes an estrangement in all those relationships.
God’s agenda has to do with reconciliation,
restoring fellowship with His creation,
empowering us to be righteous.
It seems that God has a “relentless obsession of forming a family to gather at His
dinner table, with Himself at the head and each of us thrilled to be there.”
(Crabb, The Pressure is Off, p. 77)
“He is committed to building a community where He is our God
and we are His people.” (Crabb, p. 77)
The Apostle John in his revelation of Jesus wrote:
Revelation 21:3-4 (NIV)
Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
I believe God’s agenda is our salvation.
Nothing seems to matter more than that.
Love moves God to redeem His lost creation. (Luke 19:10)
Because of that agenda
God is more concerned about your holiness than He is your happiness,
It is by living a devout and holy life that you will enjoy
fellowship with God for eternity.
A devout and holy life is one that resembles Jesus.
It is a life motivated by love and devotion to God.
What it means to be His child?
Our response to God’s agenda is
“to love God, love others, and to glorify God through our obedience.”
(Stan Toler, God Has Never Failed Me Yet, p. 37)
Let’s take that thought and apply it to our Spiritual Egypt and our Spiritual Desert.
First, to be His child, to be one of His people means
we must leave our spiritual Egypt.
God does this for us in the new birth.
When we acknowledge the fact that we are not His child.
When we believe that only faith in Jesus can make us His child.
When we commit to living like His child.
God graciously accepts our faith and makes us His Child.
Our sins are wiped away,
We are reconciled to God,
God adopts us as His own
We are empowered to live righteously.
Second to be His child, to be one of His people,
will require you to unlearn the lessons of Egypt.
God begins this work in us,
He makes us aware of wrong thinking and wrong behavior,
Then He empowers us to change,
so that we become more and more like Jesus.
One of the lessons we learned in Egypt is the desire to live American Dream.
In the American Dream there is a certain
“tranquility of a life that works reasonably well
decent relationships,
adequate health,
enough resources to enjoy life,
meaningful work.”
(Crabb, The Pressure is Off, p. 79)
Following the basic principles of the American Dream you gain your
goals and enjoy a certain amount of success and prosperity.
(Colossians 2:8 , 20 and Crabb, The Pressure is Off, p. 79)
The American Dream, promises that you are in charge,
you are in control,
you are the master of your own destiny,
you call the shots,
you do what you determine to be right.
In the American Dream you build your empire and rule it well.
Your wealth becomes the fortress against all enemies. (Proverbs 18:11)
You trust in your own resources to weather any storm.
This type of control and prosperity has crept into the Church.
We think if God is for me then He should help me live the American Dream.
We think like Egyptians,
if He truly had our best interest at heart,
if He truly could be trusted to protect us,
He will answer our prayers the way we know He should.”
(Stirratt, p. 39)
When things don’t turn out the way we want
We think like Egyptians “How could He let this happen? (Stirratt, Manna, p. 37)
Maybe we start to accuse God
“How can You explain why You didn’t do what You promised?
We prayed, we were anointed, we believed!
But You didn’t”—and I will let you fill in the blank.
(Stirratt, p. 42)
That’s when the temptation comes—
Maybe it was better back in Egypt?
Another thing we learned in Egypt is having a security blanket.
Parents have you dealt with the “blanky” issue with your 4-5 year old?
Kid just wants the comfort of his or her blanky.
Some of us never grow out of the need for a tangible security blanket.
“We want a bank account that is large enough to handle the financial crisis.”
“We want a spouse who is capable enough to encourage us through any difficult days or seasons.” (Stirratt, p. 44)
We want children competent enough to make us proud or
at least not embarrass us.
We want the nice clothes, car, house, the corner office, the reserved parking
place, the name on the door, to feel like we’re successful.
“We want toys that will validate our success.” (Stirratt, p. 44)
Egypt is a material world and we learned to find safety and security in
material things.
Things even have power over how we feel.
The right stuff makes me happy
When our stuff doesn’t make us happy,
when we don’t have our safety blanket or
worse its taken away
then we start to wonder why God has abandoned us.
A security blanket, not only do we want provision for today, we want to have stuff
on hand for tomorrow too.
Reminds me of manna.
The Children of Israel were given very specific instructions.
Gather what you need for a single day,
Don’t get more than a single day’s provision,
Except on Friday in preparation for the Sabbath.
Exodus 16:20 (NIV)
However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell.
When God doesn’t give us the material security blanket we think He should
That’s when the temptation comes—
Maybe it was better back in Egypt?
The lesson of the desert is this: God provides enough for today,
And after the days provision runs out, God will provide enough tomorrow.
Here’s a thought about God’s provision:
God’s provision may not be what you want,
but it will be what you need in order for you to partner with God in
His agenda.
And what’s His agenda:
Reconciliation, Restoration, Righteousness.
My experience in the desert has taught me:
When things are not what I want them to be
“The Spirit exposes a problem in my soul worse than my suffering,
then reveals the God of grace.” Crabb, The Pressure is off, p. 73)
The Spirit tells me my problem isn’t really my problem,
My lack of provision is only a symptom of a soul problem,
And sets me off seeking God with all my heart.
The greater the suffering the more invested in the
search and the greater the temptation to
return to Egypt.
The Sprit tells me I can know this God;
I can know His heart,
rest in His power,
and hope in His purposes.”
(Crabb, The Pressure is off, p. 73)
Because of my need I am driven to seek Him.
When I seek Him with all may heart it results in
“… an empowering, enlivening, pride-destroying,
self-effacing, joy-giving encounter with God.”
(Crabb, p. 84)
And some how through encounter I become satisfied and content,
Knowing that God alone is enough.
The lesson of the desert is this:
“The supreme blessing God longs to give us is Himself.
And no other blessing is guaranteed until heaven.” (Crabb, p. 84)
Bad things happen to good people.
Nobody gets through this life without trouble.
In the desert you learn that since stuff happens,
Its best to go through that stuff walking with God,
Than without Him.
I find these difficult desert lessons in the words of Jesus:
Mark 8:36-37 (MSG)
What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for?
Could it be the struggles and challenges,
The trials and troubles,
The scarcity of resources, the frustration, the disappointment,
And the conundrums life throws at us,
Are all necessary so that we don’t lose our soul?
Might it be that all the craziness is the only way you will ever become the
real you?
The temptation of Egypt is to
Value the provision, the tangible security,
more than knowing God.
The temptation of Egypt is to discover the formula,
The methodology to secure what we want from God.
(Crabb, p. 83)
The sin of Egypt is trying to use God to get what we want.
Do you really want to go back to Egypt?
God’s agenda is our salvation.
To be His child means that we love God, love others, and seek to glorify
God through our obedience.
To be His child means we unlearn the lessons of Egypt,
And learn to think, walk and talk like Jesus.
Those desert difficulties are necessary.
You may be tempted with a desire to return to Egypt but remember
what the Apostle James told us about those tough times.
James 1:2-4 (MSG)
Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.
God doesn’t do what we want so that we can be happy,
God does what is necessary so that we can be holy.
Finally we all need to be assured that we are safe in God’s care.
One of the questions of the desert is:
Am I safe following God?
Things seemed safe back in Egypt where you at least thought you had some
control over your life.
“There is a difference between taking responsibility for what is within our
control, and buying into the idea that we are only safe when we are ‘in
control.’” (Stirratt, p. 48)
The environment of the desert itself prevents you from being in control.
You can’t control what happens in the desert,
You can only control your response to it.
Your response is your responsibility.
One thing you can be sure of,
As you follow God in the desert no matter what happens you are safe.
Safety doesn’t mean God is going to give you what you want.
Safety doesn’t mean a life of abundance and ease.
Safety doesn’t mean free from persecution.
Safety doesn’t mean you or your loved ones
survive the material world.
Regardless of what happens, what befalls, what horror happens,
Safety means God will carry out His agenda for your life.
Romans 8:38-39 (NIV)
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
As you follow God through the desert,
When your heart is set on loving God, loving others, and seeking to glorify
God through your obedience,
Nothing can happen that will remove you from fellowship with
God, the fellowship and commune that results in eternal
life.
In this world you may lose everything,
Wealth, health, influence, loved ones, even your own life,
But what matters most is your soul, the real you,
Your eternity is safe as you partner with God in His
agenda.
“The safety God gives isn’t dependent on the abundance of His provision,
It depends entirely on the one supreme blessings He guarantees to all His
followers:
the opportunity to draw near to Him,
to experience His presence in our lives and
to depend on Him to be doing a good work in us even when everything that happens seems bad.” (Crabb, p. 79)
The secret to trust is buying into God agenda
God’s agenda is reconciliation, restoration, and righteousness
Our response to God’s agenda is loving God, loving others, and
seeking to glorify Him through obedience.
As long as we continue to follow God we are safe,
Even from death.
One last thing, real quick.
I don’t want you to think that God doesn’t want to give you good gifts.
But the reason I don’t win the lotto is because I would trust in the
money and not in God to get me through this life.
God loves to give His children good gifts
(If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
Matt 7:11 (NIV)
Because we happen to live in The United States of America we have one the
highest standards of living in the world.
Even the poorest in America are better off than the majority of
people on the planet right now.
I think being born here can be considered a gift of God.
When God does give us good gifts:
“We must be very careful to enjoy the blessings,
to utilize the resources at our disposal,
but at all times maintain a proper relationship between
ourselves, God, and the resource.” (Stirratt, p. 45)
Gifts are great,
But a gift with out love motivating the giving…
Better to have nothing, than not being loved.
Enjoy the gifts God has given you,
Just remember it His love that makes you safe, not His provision.
Now a point to ponder
On a scale of 1 to 10, with a one being the desire to live the American
Dream, and a ten being the desire to follow God, rate yourself.
I want to live the I want to follow God
American Dream
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Let’s finish up by reading the Word of God together.
1 Peter 1:3-5 (NIV)
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.