He
Brought Us Out ...to Bring Us
In
Part
1
Text: Deut
6:4-9
"Hear,
O Israel: The Lord our God, the
Lord is one!* 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with
all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 "And these words which I command you
today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to
your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk
by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your
hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts
of your house and on your gates.
Deut 6:20-25
"When your son asks you in time to come,
saying, 'What is the meaning of the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments
which the Lord our God has commanded you?' 21 then you shall say to your son:
'We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a
mighty hand; 22 and the Lord showed signs and wonders before our eyes, great and
severe, against Egypt, Pharaoh, and all his household. 23 Then He brought us
out from there, that He might bring us in, to give us the land of which He
swore to our fathers. 24 And the Lord commanded us to observe all these
statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that He might preserve
us alive, as it is this day. 25 Then it will be righteousness for us, if we are
careful to observe all these commandments before the Lord our God, as He has
commanded us.'
NKJV
Introduction:
Have
you ever prayed like this, “Lord, bring me out…?” Bring me out of this unhealthy
relationship…this addiction…this depression…this meaningless job…destructive
habit…emotional pain…this financial debt…this spiritual confusion.
God
brings us out to bring us into something greater. The great type of salvation is
the exodus of Israel from Egypt, the wilderness years, and the possession of the
Promised Land.
Here
is the scenario: the children of Israel have been in slavery for 400 years. They
have been beaten, starved, worked to death, and have had to watch their newborn
sons murdered before their eyes, and they are crying out to God for help. These
folks are desperate for help, can you relate?
God
hears their cries and sends them a deliverer by the name of Moses, and can I
tell you this morning that God hears your cries and He has sent you a deliverer
by the name of Jesus, the name that is above all names, Hallelujah.
This
morning here in the presence of the Lord we have to understand this concept from
verse 23 (23 Then He brought us out from there, that He might bring us in, to
give us the land of which He swore to our fathers.) Moses
not only brought them out, but he was preparing to bring them in. Likewise the
Lord Jesus has brought you out of the bondage of sin and is preparing you to
bring you in to His glory.
The
Christian life is not a negative, it’s a positive. The Christian life is not a
subtraction it is an addition. The Christian life is not a division it is a
multiplication. It is not a diminishing of life, but an enhancement of life.
Jesus said, “I have come to give you life and life more abundantly.
When
God takes something away He replaces it with something better. When there is an
ending there is a new beginning, for he makes all things new.
Here
is what we need to do. We need to get in the Word of God and discern what needs
to happen for you and me to enter God’s Promised Land or His abundant life.
When
I talk about abundant life, I am not talking about more possessions. I am not
talking about a bigger paycheck. The abundant life I am talking about is when
all hell is breaking lose and coming against you and all you experience is the
peace of God which passes all understanding. I am talking about living in joy
unspeakable and full of glory. I am talking about living in a land where no
weapon formed against you shall prosper, that my friends is the abundant life.
Transitional
Statement:
Lets go and discover how the children of Israel took hold of the Promised Land,
and we will discover how to grab hold of God’s abundant life.
I.
When
God Delivers Us, He Expects Us to Develop
a.
The
deliverance of Israel from Egypt was a great event, but they did not develop in
their faith.
i.
They
failed to learn the lesson of the Exodus and doubted God at the Red Sea.
1.
God
supernaturally delivered them, and told them He was going to bring them into the
Promised Land.
2.
After
all He had done to Pharaoh in Egypt all the wonders, when they came up against
an obstacle they doubted God.
3.
When
Jesus was with His apostles what was He always chastising them for? Their lack
of faith.
4.
They
had seen all the miracles He had done and still when things got tough they
doubted Him.
ii.
They
rebelled when Moses was at Mount Sinai receiving the Law.
1.
We
will never enter God’s abundant life living in disobedience. James said this
Word is not just to hear but it is to be obeyed.
2.
God
will never call you or command you to do something He will not empower you to
do.
3.
God
had told them to conquer the Promised Land and God enabled them to do
it.
4.
God
said obey my Word, be holy for I am holy. What kind of a God would require you
to do something and not enable you to do it?
iii.
They
complained constantly and rebelled against the leader God gave them.
1.
I
want you to remember this when you go to the restaurant or home for you Sunday
dinner and you decide to have roasted preacher for lunch.
2.
We
will not enter God’s abundant life if our life consists of constant complaining.
3.
This
is what happened to the Israelites. They complained constantly. They complained
about Moses they complained about God. They told Moses they wanted to go back to
Egypt where they were slaves, enduring beating, and starvation, worked to death,
and even put to death. They complained about the food. Finally, God had enough.
He was going to wipe them out. He was going to kill them all except Moses. Then
Moses pleads with God or more accurately begs God not to do it, and God
relents.
4.
There
are a few times in the Bible where God swears, one is when He makes a covenant
with Abraham. Another time is here when God is angry and He swears that these
complaining people will never enter the Promised Land. They will all die in the
wilderness.
5.
Ps
100:4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. NKJV
b.
We
need to grow up in our salvation. We need to get out of the quick-fix mentality.
We need development.
i.
The
development of Israel
1.
The
Lord brings them miraculously out of Egypt.
2.
He
parts the Red Sea.
3.
Travels
in their midst with the SHEKINAH glory, the cloud by day and the fire by
night.
4.
He takes care of all of their material
needs while they are traveling through a desert; manna from heaven and water
from a rock.
5.
He
even defeats a couple of kingdoms on this side of the Jordan one king was a
giant.
6.
So
you would think through all of this their faith would be developed and they
would be strong ready to take God’s Promised Land.
7.
But
no, that is not the case; they doubt God and are scared to go even after they
have seen all the wonderful things the Lord had performed on their behalf.
ii.
What
else did they need? What else could God have done for them to convince them He
was with them and would see them through?
1.
How
about us? Well Pastor we haven’t seen the miracles that they did coming out of
Egypt.
2.
No
we haven’t, all we have seen is a cross with the Son of God nailed to it. What
else does He have to do before we will believe Him and live by faith in Him?
iii.
They
weren’t developed; they should have been but they weren’t.
1.
There
are a lot of Christians in the same boat. They have been in Christ for years and
they are still not developed.
2.
Heb 4:1-2Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest,
let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. 2 For indeed the
gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did
not profit them,* not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.
NKJV
3.
Heb 5:12-14 of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since
you have become dull of
hearing. (The
Word in their life was not very sharp) 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need
someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you
have come to need milk and not solid food. 13 For everyone who partakes only of
milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. 14 But solid
food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use
have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
NKJV
4.
As
a Pastor you have newborn babies in the Lord you expect to have to change a few
diapers, give them a bottle, clean up a few messes, and pat them on the back.
5.
But
come on, when you have to do that to people that have been in the Lord a long
time, say ten, twenty, or thirty years it gets a little
ridiculous.
6.
When
you have to change a grown man’s diaper, let’s face it that is just plain gross.
7.
I
mean when you got 50 year old hairy bubba and you got to rub his back so he will
go to sleep because somebody hurt his feelings.
8.
Or
you have Sister Doris who is upset because some guest sat in her pew that she
had been in for 30 years, so you have to pat her little head to calm her down.
It doesn’t matter that this couple came in out of desperation their marriage is
all but over and they came to church as a last ditch effort to save their
marriage and family. That doesn’t matter though after all they set in sister’s
pew.
9.
Some
of the first words that a baby says with any conviction is NO and MINE, we have
a lot of that going on in the church today.
10.
You
say Pastor your exaggerating and I know I am, but sadly I’m not exaggerating
that much.
iv.
It
is high time we allow the Lord to develop our faith, because it we don’t we will
not live the abundant life Jesus died to give us.
Conclusion:
This
morning we have seen that God has brought us out to take us into something
better. Let us not be unbelieving as the children of Israel were.
This
morning if your desire is to grab hold of the abundant life, let the Lord
develop your faith.
Let
Him develop your faith by learning the lessons He teaches
you.
Let
Him develop your faith by being obedient to Him
Let
Him develop your faith by not complaining and grumbling but by being
thankful.
If
you do these things you will do the very opposite of what the children of Israel
did to not inherit the Promised Land.
Are
you ready to receive all that God has for you?
