Everything Must Go
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Welcome/Introduction
Welcome/Introduction
Thank you so much for joining us today. It is our hope that you feel welcome. If there is anything we can do to serve you, please don’t hesitate to let us know. As we dive into our series, The Exodus, Captivity to Promise. I sincerely believe that we are all on a journey where we are trying to get grab hold of all that God has for us. That is what this series is meant to help us recognize what God has for us and give us the faith filled steps to receive it. Because this is truly, in my opinion, one of the most epic stories in all of scripture, we want to resource you as you take this journey with us. I hope the journal has been a blessing to you. If you haven’t got your copy, download a digital copy and hop right in with us.
Our key verse is...
7 Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
Last week we talked about identity and calling. We looked at Moses, who is a central character in the narrative and how he had his fair share of issues but God still had a calling and purpose for his life. In fact, turns out God wanted to use even the flaws of Moses to show how he can truly use our broken pieces for His purposes. We ultimately walked away with this principle, you are called, but your response determines your reward. Are you going to answer the call? We have to use the cross as a ladder to rise above our past.
Last week we talked about identity and calling. We looked at Moses, who is a central character in the narrative and how he had his fair share of issues but God still had a calling and purpose for his life. In fact, turns out God wanted to use even the flaws of Moses to show how he can truly use our broken pieces for His purposes. We ultimately walked away with this principle, you are called, but your response determines your reward. Are you going to answer the call.
Context
Context
After Moses agrees to answer the call on his life, he is instructed to go and meet his brother Aaron, who will serve as his support and communicate on his behalf. Sometimes God will send people in your life that are gifted in the areas you are not so that, together you can have a greater impact. The brothers gather the people and tell them what God’s plan is; that their prayers have been answered. Their next step was to go to Pharoah and get the Israelites set free.
As we move to the
Scripture
Scripture
1 Afterward Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.’ ” 2 But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go.” 3 Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.” 4 But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people away from their work? Get back to your burdens.”
Exod 5:
Transition
Transition
As we continue on our journey, I want to talk about wholeness. This idea that God doesn’t want us partially free. He wants us completely free. That is what shalom or peace means, nothing broken, to be complete. God’s vision for His people is that they be complete, not lacking anything. Not be fragmented. In other words, He wants His people to have true peace or shalom or wholeness.
Today I want to take a different approach to this topic by addressing a few things to be mindful of that enemy does to keep us from having wholeness. Today’s title is: “Everything Must Go”
It’s Not Getting Better
It’s Not Getting Better
7 “You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as in the past; let them go and gather straw for themselves.
8 But the number of bricks that they made in the past you shall impose on them, you shall by no means reduce it, for they are idle. Therefore they cry, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.’
9 Let heavier work be laid on the men that they may labor at it and pay no regard to lying words.”
Illustration
Illustration
After Moses and Aaron have their encounter with Pharoah, not only does he refuse to let God’s people go, he actually makes it worse for them. They are required to have the same output but no support. Bricks without straw. Can you imagine how disheartening it must have been for the Israelites? They haven’t seen Moses in 40 years, he shows up with Aaron talking about God sent him there to be their savior and the moment they engaged the process, it got worse. There are moments when obedience escalates opposition.
Over the past 4 years, we have moved 3 times. I wish I could tell you we have gotten proficient at it but the truth is, it is exhausting. The process of packing and unpacking is tedious. Not to mention, what do you take and what do you leave behind.
It’s almost like going to the gym when you hadn’t been in a long time. When I broke my ankle it was a tedious process of over a year before I was normal enough to go to the gym. Man, I went the first day and acted like I was 21. Did my same routine and the next day, I literally thought I was dying. Each part of my body was in extensive pain. I couldn’t move at all. I know how growing pains work but this felt different. I used muscles that I hadn’t in a very long time and I could feel it.
The same can be said of us when we begin to exercise our faith. We experience the pain of rejection when we discover that once you remove sin from the equation, you don’t have as much in common with your friends. The pain of knowing that the vision for your life doesn’t line up with the person that you thought you were going to spend your life with. The pain of feeling like you don’t fit in with the Christians but God has called you out of the world, Egypt.
Compromise
Compromise
It’s when we are in this vulnerable place that if we don’t have the appropriate diet and supplements to help us to heal and grow, the discomfort discourages us and we compromise on God’s plan for our lives.
Compromise dilutes conviction. God’s plan for His people was consistent and clear, let the people go so that they can worship.
We see this played out with Pharoah and the Israelites as he offers three compromises in an effort to keep the Israelites from experiencing true shalom…true peace…true wholeness.
Freedom was connected to bondage. If you are not bond to Christ, you are bond to the world; there is no in between.
As God begins to judge Egypt, Pharoah wants to negotiate. We see this played out with Pharoah as he offers three compromises in an effort to keep the Israelites from experiencing true shalom…true peace…true wholeness.
PROXIMITY
PROXIMITY
25 Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron. “All right! Go ahead and offer sacrifices to your God,” he said. “But do it here in this land.”
26 But Moses replied, “That wouldn’t be right. The Egyptians detest the sacrifices that we offer to the Lord our God. Look, if we offer our sacrifices here where the Egyptians can see us, they will stone us.
27 We must take a three-day trip into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, just as he has commanded us.”
28 “All right, go ahead,” Pharaoh replied. “I will let you go into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord your God. But don’t go too far away. Now hurry and pray for me.”
So after the plagues of blood, frogs, gnats, Egypt was swarmed with flies. Pharoah couldn’t take it anymore so he summons Moses and Aaron and tells them they can go sacrifice to God WITHIN THE LAND. Moses retorts and says it would be inappropriate. Pharoah responds, go a little bit further; ONLY YOU MUST NOT GO VERY FAR AWAY. In other words, Pharoah wanted the Israelites to still be in close proximity to Egypt. Pharoah wanted to still be able to monitor and reach them whenever he wanted. Pharoah wanted to make sure there wasn’t too much distance between them. Pharoah knew if I keep them close to bondage, they will be far from freedom.
I believe Pharoah knew if they live close enough to their past, they won’t make it to their future. A few years back my family and I moved 1 mile down the street. 1 day I came home and pulled up at my driveway and noticed a car I didn’t recognize and when I got to the front door, I thought it was odd that my key didn’t work. I was just about to ring the doorbell when I realized that I was at my previous house. I was so distracted coming home that I pulled up in my old driveway. It’s crazy how quickly we can revert to old habits. How we can pull up in the driveway of our past because our past is such a short drive away. God’s vision for His people was for them to be set apart. For there to be a distinct difference.
9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.
Pharoah wanted to continuous access and I believe our enemy does as well. Here is a familiar monologue…go to church but don’t be weird. Don’t start lifting your hands in worship, that’s weird. Don’t start going to groups…that’s going too far. In other words, go but don’t go far. Our obsession with blending in comes at the expense of us standing out. It’s like living your life on a leash, we have the illusion of freedom until Pharoah yanks us back to remind us that we are still bound.
5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.
We have a form of freedom, but lack transformative power. Proximity to bondage creates distance from freedom. We must be uncompromising when it comes to distancing ourselves from the things that keeps the promises of God at a distance. Moses understood that partial freedom is total bondage; total freedom is wholeness.
Proximity to bondage creates distance from freedom
COMMUNITY
COMMUNITY
8 So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. “All right,” he told them, “go and worship the Lord your God. But who exactly will be going with you?”
9 Moses replied, “We will all go—young and old, our sons and daughters, and our flocks and herds. We must all join together in celebrating a festival to the Lord.”
10 Pharaoh retorted, “The Lord will certainly need to be with you if I let you take your little ones! I can see through your evil plan.
11 Never! Only the men may go and worship the Lord, since that is what you requested.” And Pharaoh threw them out of the palace.
exo
Next we get the plagues of livestocks, boils, hail, and locusts. Egypt is a mess. Pharoah offers another compromise: division. Pharoah thought to himself, if I can’t keep you all close, perhaps I can at least keep you divided. Divide your family, friendships, community. The Israelites were a tight nit group. It was made up of individual families and those families made up the community. Each person played a critical part. There was shared interest in the overall community and not as much an exclusive focus on the comfort of the individual. Pharoah sought to disrupt it by dividing the community. He knew a divided community can’t have consistent impact.
18 Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world.
19 And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth.
20 “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message.
21 I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.
22 “I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one.
23 I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.
21 The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind— Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, So they might be one heart and mind with us. Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me.
Jesus’ parting prayer was for unity. His disciples were tax collectors, pharisees, fishermen, scribes, zealots. That’s the equivalent of democrats, republicans, liberal, conservative, extremists; He pulled them all together and taught them how to work together for the kingdom. If you look at His life, Jesus modeled this principle: stop with the selective outrage and cancel culture; none of you have the copyright on grace. The early church obsessed over unity. Paul obsessed over unity because where there is unity there is strength.
Pharoah knew what unity could produce. Even while in bondage the Israelites had favor because they were united; his strategy to divide the family and community was his effort to sterilize growth. We inherited divisiveness from the fall. Adam blamed Eve, but Eve recognized there was a serpent. () Sometimes we get so caught up in pointing fingers at each other that we lose sight of the serpent that is in the middle of it all.
It may get worse before it gets better
Practical tip on unity: is this more important than us? Can we find common ground? I believe we have to be uncompromising when it comes to unity in our community. Moses refused to compromise.
RESOURCES
RESOURCES
24 Finally, Pharaoh called for Moses. “Go and worship the Lord,” he said. “But leave your flocks and herds here. You may even take your little ones with you.”
25 “No,” Moses said, “you must provide us with animals for sacrifices and burnt offerings to the Lord our God.
26 All our livestock must go with us, too; not a hoof can be left behind. We must choose our sacrifices for the Lord our God from among these animals. And we won’t know how we are to worship the Lord until we get there.”
27 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart once more, and he would not let them go.
After the locust comes darkness that can be felt. So dark that it could be felt. So dark that even their candles couldn’t penetrate it. Pharoah summons Moses and says, fine, take your family and community but your flocks and herds have to remain behind. That seems like a fair deal right? Moses has consistently said, “let my people go”, not let my people and the livestocks go. Why wouldn’t Moses compromise and move forward? Mainly because livestock were a source of worship and revenue. To leave them behind meant they couldn’t worship God with their resources. In other words, the people were free but their resources weren’t. Partial freedom is total bondage; total freedom is wholeness. Pharoah knew, if the people were free but their resources weren’t, the people weren’t free and eventually they would just come back to were there resources were. He wanted to viewed as their source. This is why Jesus paints the picture for us regarding our heart and our resources. He says where our treasure is, our heart will be. If my resources are in Egypt, my heart is in Egypt. It takes faith to move my resources into the kingdom but once you do, your heart is rooted. Don’t follow your heart, lead with your faith.
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Unfortunately, the greatest area of compromise for many of us is in this area. We trust God with every area of our lives but we’ve left our resources in Egypt. Are there areas of your life, gifts, talents, generosity that you’ve left in the world. Moses ultimately said, I would rather us stay in Egypt then go without our resources. Moses knew partial freedom is still total bondage. As long as we live in fragmentation, we will struggle to experience wholeness.
Closing
Closing
4 So Moses said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘About midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt,
5 and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the cattle.
6 There shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there has never been, nor ever will be again.
7 But not a dog shall growl against any of the people of Israel, either man or beast, that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.’
Still hardened, Pharoah and Egypt face their most extreme judgement yet, the death of every first born child. The Israelites are given some instructions on how to set themselves apart. They are to have a meal that we know today as Passover. They were to get a lamb, slaughter it, apply its blood on the doorpost, eat and be ready to leave. These random elements are part of a bigger narrative. It was a bit of foreshadowing. Let me say it this way. The lamb died, so that the Israelites could live, but not just live, but live in freedom and abundance. The lamb died, blood was applied and it changed everything.
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
Still hardened, Pharoah and Egypt face their most extreme judgement yet, the death of every first born child. The Israelites are given some instructions on how to set themselves apart. They are to have a meal that we know today as Passover. They were to get a lamb, slaughter it, apply its blood on the doorpost, eat and be ready to leave. These random elements are part of a bigger narrative. It was a bit of foreshadowing. Let me say it this way. The lamb died, so that the Israelites could live, but not just live, but live in freedom and abundance. The lamb died, blood was applied and it changed everything.
14 Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.
7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.
The blood of Jesus changes everything. When applied, God doesn’t see us through the filter of our flaws, He sees us through the finished work of Christ. We are free but everything must go. God didn’t call us to live fragmented, He wants us to live a life of wholeness.