By A Strong Hand Series

Some time ago (2004), The Cape Times reported on a South African man, who surprised nine men robbing his home. Eight of the robbers ran away, but the homeowner managed to shove one into his backyard pool. After realizing the robber couldn't swim, the homeowner jumped in to save him. But once out of the pool, the wet thief called his friends to come back. Then he pulled a knife and threatened the man who had just rescued him.

The homeowner said “We were still standing near the pool and when I saw the knife I just threw him back in. But he was gasping for air and was drowning. So I rescued him again. I thought he had a cheek (or the nerve) trying to stab me after I had just saved his life” (Kashiefa Ajam, “Homeowner Threatened by the Robber He Saved,” The Cape Times, 3-23-04; www.PreachingToday.com).

God has saved so many of you from drowning in your sins. So how do you respond to such mercy? Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Exodus 13, Exodus 13, where God shows a rescued and redeemed people how to respond to His mercy. He had just brought the people of Israel out of Egypt.

Exodus 13:1-3a The LORD said to Moses, “Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine.” Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by a strong hand the LORD brought you out from this place (ESV).

That’s how you respond to God’s mercy. 1st…

REMEMBER THAT GOD SET YOU FREE.

Keep in mind that His strong hand delivered you, not your own. Remind yourself that God graciously saved you by His own power.

That’s what He did for the people of Israel. They had been slaves in Egypt for 430 years without any way of escape. Then God miraculously brought them out. Through a series of 10 plagues, and through the blood of the Passover Lamb, God overturned the stubborn will of an Egyptian pharaoh, who not only let them go; He demanded that they leave Egypt right away.

Through no effort of their own, God graciously rescued His people, and that’s what He did for you, as well. Through no effort of your own, the moment you put your faith in Christ, God saved you from slavery to sin.

Al Masters in Pennsylvania had a little boy and a small business and considered himself very blessed. Then just before Christmas some years ago, a 15-year-old kid driving a car without a license killed Al’s little boy. It sent Al Masters into a rage with a deep desire for revenge. The law exempted the 15-year-old from the maximum penalty, because he was a juvenile, but Al Masters wanted the very book thrown at him.

Then, on Christmas Eve, his wife got him to go to church. There, he heard the story of the angel’s announcement to the shepherds of Christ’s coming and realized that he was one of the world’s “ungood.” He began to weep over his own sin. The next day, on Christmas, he set out to find out more about the boy who killed his son. He found that he came from a broken home, that he lived with his mother, who was an alcoholic. He went and he met the boy. He gave the boy a job in his shop, and then later took him into his home (Bruce Thielemann, “Glory to God in the Lowest,” Preaching Today, Tape No. 75; www.PreachingToday.com).

That’s what God did for you when you trusted Christ with your life. His wrath burned against your sin, which killed His Son on the cross. But instead of enacting revenge and the full penalty of the law, God made you a part of His family and gave you a job in His kingdom.

Please, don’t forget what He did for you. Remember that God set you free. Then…

CELEBRATE YOUR DELIVERANCE.

Commemorate your rescue from slavery. Regularly rejoice in the freedom God provided for you. That’s what God told the people of Israel to do.

Exodus 13:3b-6 No leavened bread shall be eaten. Today, in the month of Abib, you are going out. And when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall keep this service in this month. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the LORD (ESV).