Exploring Faith - What is God like? (Part III)

by Jeff Fry

I.       Intro

A.   Exploring Faith Series: we are looking at questions pertaining to the Christian Faith

B.   Review of Exploring Faith series:

1.     What Should we do? (Luke 3:1-18)

2.     Who is this man? (Mt 8:23-28 - Jesus calms the wind and waves)

3.     How do I enter the kingdom of God (John 3:1-15 Nicodemus)

4.     What can keep me from entering the kingdom of God (Luke 8:4-15 : Parable of the Sower)

5.     What kind of person is fit for the kingdom? (Luke 15:11-32 : Parable of the Prodigal Son)

6.     what is God like - part 1 (Luke 12:22-32): God values us much more than the birds who He cares for

7.     What is God like - part 2 (John 15:1-8): God is like a gardener who prunes - he prunes the dead wood off believers to make them more holy (sometimes this is painful)

C.   The Urgency of Getting God Right

1.     This week a BBC news article revealed that the British Humanist Society will be running posters on 60 London buses proclaiming "There probably is no God.  Now stop worrying and enjoy your life".

2.     £5500 in funding for the posters was to be matched by atheist professor Richard Dawkins, but they have already raised £36,000 on their own!

II.    God is our deliverer

A.   State

1.     Read Exodus 6:1-8

2.     Review of the passage (while the passage stays on the screen)

a)    what is the background to the passage?

(1)  where are the people of God? (location-wise they were in Egypt due to the famine: Eden-> Haran -> Canaan -> Egypt -> Mt Sinai -> Wander in wilderness 40 yrs -> Moab which is doorway to promised land of Canaan)

(2)  what were they doing there? (they were enslaved and being mistreated by a new Egyptian Pharaoh - harsher and harsher conditions)

(3)  so God sends Moses and Aaron to set them free.  Moses warns Pharaoh to let the Israelites go (Exodus 5:1) but instead Pharaoh increases the demands of his labor (making them get their own straw for their bricks).

(4)  And Moses says to the Lord, "Why have you turned Pharaoh against us making our life/work harder?

b)    who is speaking in the passage?

c)     to whom is he speaking?

d)    What does God say he will do? (6:1)

e)     Then in vv. 2-3 God says something unexpected about himself - what is it? (6:2-3)

f)      Then in vv. 4-5 God talks about another thing - what is it?

g)    then in v. 6 He uses the key word "therefore" to make his conclusion (based on the previous info in vv. 1-5 that is what "therefore" is "there"  "for" !) - what is God going to do because of all the previous info in vv 1-5?

3.     God reveals to them His name, "Yahweh". 

a)    Up to this point, God is only known to the Israelites as "El-Shaddai" (God Almighty).  Now He is known as "Yahweh".  So what?

b)    Biblical names were more than labels.  At conferences we wear labels to tell others our name.  But Biblical names expressed something of the nature of their bearers.

(1)  In 1Samuel. 25:25 Abigail excuses her husband Nabal by arguing "As his name is, so is he; Nabal (fool) is his name, and folly goes with him".  Phew I'm glad I'm only named Jeff!!

(2)  characters are given new names when their character is transformed.  Jacob's name is changed to "Israel" meaning "blessing".

c)     What's true of Biblical names is true of God's name

d)    So God is telling us something in this passage through this new name Yahweh:

(1)   If you just take the Hebrew root of the word alone it means something like :

(a)    "I am" or  "I will be" which denotes that God's essence is unchangeableness or faithfulness.

(2)  the next important idea in the passage is that Yahweh is the covenant name of God (Exodus 6:4-5):

(a)    a covenant is an agreement between two parties which is mutually binding in which certain obligations are contracted.

(b)   God had made a covenant with Abraham recorded in Genesis 15:13-15 which said that after 400 years of slavery in another country God would punish the oppressors of His people and bring His people out with great possessions.

(c)    Yahweh is the ever-faithful covenant God.

(3)  The result of God being "Yahweh" is that He will deliver His people from the bondage of the Egpytians

(a)    Of all the moments in the OT God chose to reveal His name "Yahweh" during the Exodus.  This fills this name of God with tons of meaning!

(b)   See what God is saying: " you are my people and I will not let you suffer in bondage"

B.   Illustrate - video ("Prince of Egypt" clip)

1.     we pick it up as the Israelites are on their way out of Egypt and all of a sudden the Egyptians appear behind them pursuing them to the death …

C.   Apply

1.     The Israelites obeyed God in faith and He delivered them

2.     what do you need deliverance from today?  If you trust God, He can deliver you from …

a)    anger

b)    impatience

c)     feelings of rejection

d)    unsubstantiated fears

e)     feelings of low self-worth

f)      critical spirit

g)    worry or anxiety

3.     we've all been there just where the Israelites were …

a)    enslaved

b)    in bondage

c)     suffering

d)    pinned in from both sides (by whatever type of oppression we suffer from)

e)     nowhere we can go

f)      feeling trapped

g)    wishing our circumstances were different

h)    can't seem to get a break

i)       no light at the end of the tunnel

j)      under attack

k)    defeated

l)       wanting to start over

m)  surrounded by what seems to be the worst circumstances

n)    everything seems to be going wrong

4.     While we may not have a staff of wonders like Moses, we have the truth of the Word of God by which to renew our mind. 

a)    Jesus said, "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free" (John 8:32).

b)    Quick Advert: Our church does this through an excellent course called "The Freedom in Christ Course" put together by Dr Neil Anderson which we've already run twice through our Growth Groups.

c)     "… it helps people resolve personal and spiritual conflicts through genuine repentance so that they can take hold of the truth of who they are in Christ and move on to greater maturity" ("Freedom in Christ Discipleship Manual" by Neil T. Anderson).

d)    We'd like to start up another course in January and so if you are interested please let me know or sign-up on the sign-up sheet.

5.     So, the answer is to not focus on your circumstances, but focus on being the covenant people of God because the covenant people of God will see the covenant faithfulness of God.  That's God's promise.

6.     Disobedient people have no such promise from God.  In fact in this story the disobedient were destroyed.  At every turn Pharaoh repeatedly refused to grant God's request to let His people go.  And finally they were destroyed by their own greed - they went to get their slaves back and were washed away!

7.     2 Corinthian 6:16 says, "What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols?  For we are the temple of the living God.  As God has said, "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people."

a)    our part of the covenant is to be God's people - holy, set apart.  Whatever we do we do it to His glory.

b)    And God is always faithful to those type of people because He is "Yahweh"

c)     So what is God like?  He is our always-faithful deliverer.