How many of you like attention? I don’t expect everyone to admit to that, but during self-examination be honest with yourself. There are some people who love to be the center of attention. They want to be seen and heard, and if no one is giving them the attention they’re seeking they become upset.
• Now I’m not talking about anyone at this church, but some people are purposely late to church just so that they can be seen as they walk to their seat. There are even some extreme cases where individuals have it real bad, who harm themselves in order to get someone’s attention.
The truth is that we all like some type or some degree of attention. As children we did all kinds of crazy dances, and made funny noises just to get the attention of our parents. We wanted them to see everything we did.
• Now some of you parents are being paid back, because now your children are doing the same thing to you and it always seem like they want your attention when your favorite television show is on, or when it five seconds left in the ball game and your favorite team is about to score.
• But parents just stand in front of the TV while your children are watching it and I bet you’ll get their attention.
In relationships, we desire attention from those we’re dating or married to and when the desire for attention isn’t met, you start pouting (that may be more true for women than men), but let me move on before I get myself in trouble.
• The reason why a lot of children and teenagers get in trouble at school is because attention is desired.
I personally, don’t believe that there is anything wrong with wanting attention as long as it isn’t taken overboard and as long as receiving that attention doesn’t get us into trouble, or shall I say into sin, which is self inflicted non-sense.
• I mean we all want to know that someone cares about us. We want to know that we are loved. We want to know that our voice is being heard and that our opinion matter.
When we’re sick, we want someone to come and see about us. When we’re lonely we want to hear from friends and loved ones. When we’re struggling in life, we want to know that someone is concerned and willing to give us a listening ear or a helping hand.
• And the desire for attention isn’t just something we experience in the physical world, but in our relationship with God, we want to know that we have His attention.
• We want to know that our Father is standing right beside us every step of the way. When we pray to God, we like to know that he has heard our prayer.
• When we fall on hard times and life seems unbearable, we want to know that God sees us in our distress.
And I’m not going to wait until the end of the sermon before I encourage you this morning; I want you to know that you have God’s attention. God does hear your prayers. God sees your pain. God is concerned and He cares about you.
• You’ve had God’s attention before the foundations of the earth were formed. You’ve had God’s attention before you were even conceived, before your parents were conceived, and their parents were conceived.
I’m also not going to wait until the end of the sermon before I take you to Calvary, because the fact and the evidence that we have God’s attention is found in the sacrificial gift of God’s only Son Jesus Christ, who died in our place just so that we may live, and if that isn’t God giving you attention, then I don’t know what is!
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In the biblical pericope, we find the Israelites crying out for God’s attention. They had been in slavery for nearly 400 years as was prophesied to Abraham by God in Genesis 15:13.
• But in order to understand the big picture of our text we need to go back to the story of Joseph, who was one of the 12 sons of Jacob, Jacob being the son of Isaac, and Isaac the promised son of Abraham.
• But Joseph was the son who Jacob loved more than his other children, and because of that and Joseph’s dreams that one day his older brothers would bow down to him, caused his brothers to envy him that originally resulted in a plot to murder Joseph, their own brother.
But Rueben, one of Joseph’s older brothers, pleaded with the rest of the brothers not to kill Joseph, but that they should allow him to return home. Partially ignoring that request, instead they threw Joseph in a pit.
• While eating lunch they looked up and saw a group of Ishmaelite traders traveling to Egypt and decided to sell Joseph for twenty pieces of silver while Reuben wasn’t around.
• It seemed like Joseph was being moved farther from the will God, but the reality was he was right in line with God’s will.
While in Egypt, Joseph was accused of rape, went to prison, but eventually made his way to the palace because of his God-given ability to interpret Pharaoh’s dream.
• The favor of Pharaoh upon Joseph, who was a foreigner, made him second in command only to Pharaoh. When God shows you favor, it doesn’t matter what your life story is, God’s favor will allow you to accomplish things you never dreamed of.
• But when the famine hit the land, Joseph’s brothers had to come to Egypt to purchase food. Joseph being in charge of food distribution in Egypt recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him.
• And after playing a series of pranks on his brothers, Joseph finally revealed who he was and his brothers became afraid. They figured Joseph would die in slavery, but you can’t stop the will of God.
Joseph forgave his brothers and never sought to seek revenge on them. Eventually Jacob, who name was changed to Israel by God, heard that his son Joseph was alive, and Joseph invited his entire family to come and live in the suburbs of Egypt.
• There were a total of 70 of Joseph’s family members who moved from Canaan to Egypt. But as time passed, the Israelites grew.
• The promise to Abraham by God that his descendants would grow into a great nation was coming to pass.
• Jacob, Joseph, and his brothers are now off the scene and a great nation of Israel now exists.
After the death of Joseph, a new Pharaoh came to power who did not know Joseph and because the Israelites were more and mightier than the Egyptians, they decided to place them in bondage forcing them to do hard labor in fear that they would continue to grow in number and overtake them which now brings us back to our text.
In verse 23, we are told that one of the Kings of Egypt had died. Since the Israelite nation had been in slavery for nearly 400 years at this point, they had been under bondage by several Egyptian kings.
• But after the death of this king, the Israelites had reached a point in their bondage where they just couldn’t take it anymore and they cried out to God.
After 400 years of slavery, I can imagine that a nation of people who had come to know the Lord, for the most part, would begin to wonder why their God would allow them to be enslaved for so long.
• They probably felt like God wasn’t there for them and that they didn’t have God’s attention. They felt that there wasn’t an advocate for them.
• They felt like no one had come to their rescue. They didn’t feel like they were loved or that anyone cared about them.
Have you felt like this before? Have you wondered why you’re still going through your current situation? It’s been years and it doesn’t seem like God has heard your prayer.
• Nothing seems to change and you’re getting close to letting go of your rope. Yes, you’ve tied a knot and continue to hold on, but you’re running out of room and can’t tie anymore knots.
• Your relationship isn’t getting any better, your children continuing to give you problems, and your job situation is making it harder to come in to work every week.
• You believe in God, but you’re starting to wonder to yourself, do I have God’s attention?
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If you don’t remember anything else I’ve said this morning, I want you to remember this one thing, you have God’s attention. In the latter part of verse 23, the Bible says the Israelites cried out for help, and their cry rose up to God.
• Idolatry and the worship of many gods were a strong temptation and stumbling block for many in biblical times.
• And keep in mind that the Israelites didn’t have a national leader during their 400 years of bondage, and although generation after generation was taught about God, there were still many Israelites who didn’t really have a belief in God.
The Egyptians had their gods in which some Israelites had accepted, so notice that the Bible says they cried out for help. It didn’t specifically say who they cried out to, but that the affliction was so great that they cried out for help, but notice also the Bible says that their cry rose up to God.
• In others words, some of them did cry out to the Lord, but many others cried out to other gods. But it was God who their cry for help came before, because they were His chosen nation.
As we examine our text, we want to take note and be assured that we have God’s attention because He hears us. Look at verse 24a, it says, “God heard their groaning.” After hearing the Israelites cry for help God heard their grief and displeasure.
• He heard their stress and strain, their heartache and pain. God’s ears were open to their cry for help and plea for relief.
• The Israelites weren’t just being afflicted with hard labor, but their sons were being killed. Remember the command from Pharaoh was that all sons born to the Hebrews were to be thrown into the river.
• This command is what led Moses’ mother to place him in a basket in the river in order to save his life. So they were really going through, but God heard them.
God didn’t just hear their cry at that moment, but throughout the years no earnest faithful prayer went unheard. God treasured all their prayers in His memory.
• God was not slow to respond to their prayers, but some things had to take place before He could act. He had to wean them from their attachment to Egypt.
• He had to discipline them and form their character. They had to be prepared to endure the hardships of the desert and to face the fierce tribes of Canaan once they were delivered from Egypt. But it was the experience of suffering that led Israel to cry out to God for help.
You have God’s attention because he has heard your prayers also. He’s heard your cry for help and your prayers for deliverance. Have you felt like God isn’t listening to you and that your prayers are unheard and not being answered?
• We’ve all been here before and there are some of you at that point right now. As a child of God you have to have faith and know that God has heard your prayer, but what messes us up is that we expect God to answer us in our time.
• Generation after generation I’m sure the Israelites wondered when they would be free from their bondage, but it wasn’t until 400 years later that God delivered them.
God answers our prayers in His time because He knows what’s best for us. If God answered our prayers in our time, 9 times out of 10 we’ll be back prayer for the same thing a month later.
• God has to develop some things in us before some prayers can be answered, and yes there are some prayers that God answers immediately.
• The timeframe our prayers are answered in isn’t important, what’s important is that we know that God has our attention and hears our prayers, and that His timing to answer them is dependent upon God knowing what’s best for us.
God heard you when you told Him you desired to be married, but your time isn’t God’s time. He hears your cry for help with the behavior of your child. He hears your plea for deliverance from that which is holding you back, so be assured that you have God’s attention because He hears you.
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We also have God’s attention because He remembers His promises to us. In the latter part of verse 24 it says, “God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” The covenant that God remembered is the one first established with Abraham that one day he’ll have an innumerable amount of descendants, they’ll possess a great land, become a great nation, and that all the families of the earth will be blessed through him.
• This promise was also reasserted by God in the lives of Isaac and Jacob as well.
So God remembered His covenant, but this doesn’t mean that God had forgotten the Israelites or that He had lost track of His promises to them.
• God never forgets, but this word “remember” used here means that God’s covenant with Israel was recalled with a focus on responding in an appropriate manner.
• In other words, God knew what He had promised, and was ready to act in order to begin to bring that which He promised to fruition.
Thank God that He doesn’t forget the promises He has made, but we do. Have you ever had to remind someone that they were suppose to do this or that, but they had no knowledge of what you were talking about.
• Sometimes our memories are just that bad and sometimes people just play dumb so that they won’t have to fulfill their obligations to you.
• We remember what we want to remember. One day we say one thing and the next it’s something else, but I’m glad that God isn’t fickle; if He said it then you should believe it.
• God will never go back on His word and He also expects us to do what we say we’re going to do for Him.
We never have to remind God about His promises to us, He remembers them, but if it feels like He has forgotten, that’s because once again, you’re operating in your own time and not in God’s.
• If you prayed for a spouse and God told you that He’ll bless you with one, you don’t have to tell God every day, “Now Lord, remember what you said to me, I been waiting for a while now, do you think that’s the one right there?”
• But, oh how the tables are turned when we told the Lord that we would help with the youth ministry or sing in the choir, but that was 5 years ago and we’re still not active.
God remembered His covenant with the Israelites and He remembers His promises to you as well. Instead of wondering when God’s promises will come to pass, we should ask God to prepare us for the arrival of those promises.
• One thing about God is that He won’t give you anything you’re not ready for. But we can be assured that we have God’s attention because He remembers His promises to us.
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God does not only remember His promises, but we have God’s attention because He sees us. In verse 25a it says, “God saw the sons of Israel.” We have to come to the conclusion that we serve a powerful and mighty God.
• We serve a God who’s awesome and great. God is all- powerful, all-knowing, and all-seeing.
• There is nothing that happens under the sun nor in the heavens that God does not see and isn’t aware of.
• God’s eyes are fixed on all of His creation and have been that way since the beginning of time.
When God said, “Let there be light,” the Bible says He saw that the light was good. When He created the land and the seas, He saw that it was good.
• When God created the vegetation, plants, and trees, He saw that it was good. When the sun and moon was created, He saw that it was good.
• When the animals were created, he saw that it was good. God saw all that He made and it was good.
• God never slumbers or sleeps, His eyes scan the earth both day and night, and when the Israelites were in bondage in Egypt, God saw every day of those 400 years of slavery.
God saw their pain and suffering. He saw their sons being killed. He saw the abuse of the taskmasters and evilness of the Pharaohs. He saw everything that was happening to His people and it was time to act.
• Sometimes it’s difficult for us to understand why an all-seeing God would allow some things to happen.
• We must know that we’re not going to understanding everything that God does, but we must trust that God knows best.
We must also know that God’s children will one day come out on top and claim the victory. It may not be on this earth, but the ultimate victory and rewards will be ours.
• At times we get to caught up in this world system and earthly things, but we have to realize that this earth is not our home, but Jesus left to prepare a place for us that’s much greater than what we’re experiencing on this earth.
But God saw the sons of Israel and all that they were going through, and I want you to know that God sees you too. You have God’s attention because He sees your struggles in life. He sees your marriage that has fallen apart.
• He sees your child who has went astray. He sees that your job is about to come to an end. He sees that sickness that is ailing your body.
• He sees that sin that you can’t shake. He sees your weaknesses that you can’t overcome. He sees that you’re at the point of giving up and throwing in the towel.
• God sees everything in your life and knows all about it, and I want to encourage you this morning by letting you know that God doesn’t just see you, but He’s right by your side to help you.
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Yes, God sees us, and as I get ready to sit down and be happy, we should know that we have God’s attention because He knows us. The last part of verse 25 says, “And God took notice of them.”
• God understood the condition that the Israelites were in. He had always observed their bondage and was intimately aware of their situation.
• God knew every detail about them and what was going on with them, but what makes this knowledge God had of the Israelites so special is because it was a knowledge that moved God to respond.
It was now in God’s timing to begin to deliver them from their bondage. It was now in God’s timing to respond to their cry.
• It was in God’s timing to continue to fulfill the covenant He had made with Abraham. It was time for God to help them by freeing them.
During this time of slavery, God was preparing Moses who had fled the king of Egypt who had just died in verse 23. Moses was a sheppard in the land of Midian where God was developing his character in order for him to be the one who would eventually lead the Israelites out of Egypt, freeing them from their bondage.
• And just as God took notice of the Israelites and knew them, He knows you too.
God’s omniscience is what allows Him to know intimate details about you. He knows how you’re going to respond to certain situations, and he knows how much you can bear.
• You have God’s attention and he has taken notice of you. God is willing to help you through your heartache and pains; He’s there through your sunshine and rain.
• You been wondering where God is during your troubles, but He’s been next to you the entire time. God is ready to fulfill your promises and deliver you from your troubles.
• And let me say this, it may have seemed like it had taken God 400 years to respond to the cry of the Israelites, but the truth is every time they cried out throughout those 400 years, God had responded.
From the beginning of their bondage it was the Pharaoh’s intention to eventually wipe them out as a nation, but God allowed them to greatly multiply and become mighty.
• If God was not responding to their cry, then they would have perished as a nation, but throughout their bondage God was showing them favor.
• Throughout their affliction God’s grace and mercy was showering them.
• It may seem like God isn’t answering your cry for help, but pay attention to those not-so-evident blessings. You’re praying that God takes care of your manager who’s making your life a living hell and it doesn’t seem like he’s answering your prayer, but the not-so-evident blessing is that you still have a job.
But God knows us and He has taken noticed of our situations which will lead God to help us in His time. We have to remain faithful while waiting, knowing that God will never leave nor forsake us.
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I’m so glad that I have God’s attention and that I don’t have to jump and do flips in order to get it. God always knows what I’m going through and what I need.
• Just as the Israelites cried for help, our cries come up before God, but as humans often times we feel like our cries aren’t being noticed.
• We feel that God has somehow turned away from us and refuses to answer our prayers. The only way that God will not grant your request, is if what you’re asking for isn’t in His will, or if what you’re asking for will cause you harm.
We serve a loving God who cares about us. The word of God tells us to cast all our cares upon Him, because He cares for us.
• In other words, God invites us to give Him our stresses and strains; He invites us to give Him our problems and troubles.
• He wants us leave our burdens at His feet, and He wants us to allow Him to wipe the tears from our eyes.
• This let me know that we have God’s attention.
We can be assured that we have God’s attention because He hears us. We have God’s attention because He remembers His promises to us. We have God’s attention because He sees us, and I’m so glad that we have God’s attention because He knows us.
• Yes, we have the attention of our God, and that was focus of this sermon, but can I flip the script?
• This thing isn’t a one-way street, but God wants our attention as well. God wants us to hear His words and obey them.
• He wants us to remember and keep our promises to Him.
• He wants us to see Him for who He is and give Him reverence, and he wants us to know Him.
• Not just know of Him, but know Him intimately and personally.
He wants us to know Him in the pardon of our sins, and because He gives us so much attention, why should we give Him anything less?
I took you Calvary earlier in the message, but can I stop by there one more time? Because God gives us attention, he noticed that we were sinking deep in sin and that we needed someone to come to our rescue.
• Abraham couldn’t go, because He didn’t always trust in God. Jacob couldn’t go, because He was a trickster.
• Moses couldn’t go, because he had excuses. David and Solomon couldn’t go, because they had too many women.
• Peter couldn’t go, because he couldn’t control his tongue.
But I’m so glad that Jesus came to our rescue. Jesus could go, because He was God’s only Son.
• Jesus could go, because through all His temptations, He was without sin.
• Jesus could go, because He was the only one willing to bear the cup alone. Jesus went and He died for our sins….
