Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / Exodus

Introduction

Introduction: There was a show on TV starring Sarah Jessica Parker called ‘Square Pegs’. Anyone remember it? It wasn’t on very long but the premise involved a small group of high school kids who were, well, nerds. The show was about how they didn’t fit in to the high school social scene and what they did to find a place in high school life.

There have been numerous movies with the same plot, most of them comedies, most of them youth oriented and most of them involving high school students trying to fit in by experimenting with alcohol, drugs or sex.

But the truth is, this happens in real life and when it does, it’s not funny, it’s often devastating. And it’s not just high school students who often feel like a square peg in a round hole, adults too want to find a place where they can fit in…a place like ‘Cheers’ where everyone knows your name.

Unfortunately, the bar scene is one of the first places people go, and they are almost always disappointed.

     -Do you ever feel out of sorts with your surroundings?
     -Do you ever feel like you don’t fit in to your social environment?
     -Do you ever wonder if there truly is a place for you, where you are welcomed, accepted, loved, and fit in?

Explanation: There is, a place for you. A place where you matter, where you are loved, where you are accepted, where you fit in…that place is the house of God.

Now, you may be sitting there thinking ‘We are beginning a study of the Book of Exodus, why is the text Jn 14:1-3?”  Because Jn. 14:1-3 is the fulfillment of what happens in the Book of Exodus. You see, both Exodus and Jn 14 are about God providing a place for those who don’t fit in anyplace else. Let’s take a look.

‘Do not let your hearts be troubled.’ Why would the disciples hearts be troubled?
     -Jesus revealed that he was leaving.
     -Jesus revealed that Judas was a traitor
     -Jesus revealed that Peter would be a  coward.
They had reason to be troubled.

‘You trust in God, trust also in me.’ This was Jesus’ answer to the disciples trouble. He acknowledged their trust in God and encouraged them to trust in him in the same way, with the same passion.

‘In my Fathers house are many rooms.’ This is not speaking of the temple, but of the dwelling place of God. And where God dwells there is a multitude of space. The idea is that there is room for you.

‘If it were not so, I would have told you.’ Jesus was saying ,This is real. Trust me. You know I love you, I would not lie about this. The place where my Father is, his house, his dwelling place is real.

‘I am going there to prepare a place for you.’ In my Fathers great dwelling place, with it’s many, many rooms, I am preparing a place…just for you Peter, just for you John, just for you Mitar, just for you Millie, I am preparing a place…for you. Think about this. All of creation took only 6 days, and it was good God declared. Yet for the past 2000 or so years, Jesus has been working on a place for you for all eternity. How good do you think his place for you will be?

‘And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.’ God has  promised that not only do we belong to him by faith in his Son Jesus, not only is there a place for us in his presence where we are loved and accepted, he will send Jesus to bring us to the place he has been preparing for us.

Summary: Let me give you the big picture.

Jn 14:1-3
     -Is the picture of family life in heaven
     -It is a picture of fitting in.
     -It is a picture of knowing that we matter,  that we are loved and accepted by God.
     -It is a picture that we are not forgotten by God.
     -It is a picture of God’s provision of a place for you, with him, through faith in Jesus Christ.
     -It is the promise of Exodus, fulfilled.

Transition: The Book of Exodus, like Jn 14,  is about God saying to his people, both then and now, I have a place for you.

In the moments that remain, I want to give you an overview of the revelation of God’s plan found in the Book of Exodus, to provide a place for you, in his presence for all eternity. A place where you are loved, accepted, and fit in.

Title: The word Exodus comes from the Greek version of the OT. And was taken from the main event of the book, the Exodus. Exodus means a going out or departing from.

Author: Moses.

Date: Although debated, is between 1450-1400B.C.

Key Terms:
 Deliver: 16 times
 Command: 60 times
 Redeem: 10 times
 Tabernacle: 91 times

Key People:
 Moses and Aaron
 

Outline:
Section 1: Ex. 1:1-15:21 Redemption from Bondage
  Here, God redeems his people from their bondage to slavery, he restored them to their intended purpose, to be his people.

Section 2: Ex. 15:22-24:18 Revelation of God
  Through the giving of the Law, God not only revealed to his people instructions for holy living, He revealed who he was, a holy God.

Section 3: Ex. 25-40 Response of Worship
  In giving the instruction for the building of the tabernacle, God was showing the Israelites and us that Corporate Worship is the appropriate response to the revelation of who God is.

Themes:
 
-God is sovereign. He is portrayed as the unseen controller of all history and all circumstances.

 -God is personal. The revelation of God’s personal name, YHWY is foundational to our relationship with him.

 -God is holy. Therefore the place where God is, is holy.

 -God remembers. Specifically he remembers his promises to His people.

 -God acts in salvation. He is a living God who acts in behalf of people who can not do for themselves. Exodus introduces the biblical concept of salvation.
 
 -God acts in judgment.  Exodus shows God’s unchanging attitude toward sin..it is judged and punished.

 -God’s judgment can be averted. God’s wrath and punishment for sin can be turned aside by repentance and intercessory prayer.

 -God speaks. The living God reveals himself to his people with words.

 -God is transcendent. He can not be fully experienced by humanity. He is holy other.

 -God is immanent. He lives in the midst of his people. To Moses the greatest distinction between Israel and all other nations was the presence of God in their midst.
 
Summary: Many would say that the problem with the bible is that it is so much of it is the Old testament. And the Old testament is, well, old.  Yes, the book of Exodus and the event of the Exodus are ancient. Yet, we will find that they are always new. It is in this foundational event that Israel came to know God and to recognize themselves as God’s people.

The progression from bondage to freedom, from death to life is the story of every Christian. The revelation of God as personal and powerful, onew who acts in history to bring people to freedom and life, is central to the Christian faith. The Exodus was and still is a crucial event.

When we hear the Exodus story, we are called to a new and vibrant hope. As God heard the cries of his children in bondage so long ago, he will hear the cries of those in bondage today.

By retelling the story of Exodus, Israel’s past becomes our present. The God of the Exodus continues to intervene, rescuing people in desperate times and directing them to a new understanding of his purposes.

Just as the God of Exodus reveals to his people, oh so long ago, that there is a place for them, he will remind us as we explore the Book of Exodus in the coming months, that he has a place for you as well.

And in that place, is God’s presence and power.
And in that place, is God’s love and acceptance.
And in that place, is God’s assurance that you will fit in.

Through our study of the Book of Exodus, you will find that God has a place for you.