Exodus 3 “19 But I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand. 20 So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wonders which I will do in its midst; and after that he will let you go. 21 And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be, when you go, that you shall not go empty-handed. 22 But every woman shall ask of her neighbor, namely, of her who dwells near her house, articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing; and you shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.”’
Any TV show or movie that involves someone having knowledge of the future- it seems to always be connected to saving the world. But somewhere in there they want to know the winning lottery numbers! What if I could send you back in time to meet your younger self… what advice would you give yourself for the future?
God knows… He knew then… He knows now… He will know in the future.
Here are two more attributes of God:
God is both ETERNAL and OMNISCIENT – God has always existed (pre-existant) and He will continue to exist forever (Infinity). He knows everything - past, present and future. "And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. 7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son." Rev. 21:6-7
Does God always knowing give you hope or fill you with dread? Moses needed hope, so God tells him that he doesn’t have to do it all by himself. God tells Moses that he will not work alone (like us). Exodus 3 "16 Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them…" 18 Then they will heed your voice; and you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt…"
So, God had a plan for them to work together. I believe that God has a plan for today, for here, for right now, and He DID NOT (let me repeat that) – GOD DID NOT send me to do it, all alone. How long will it take us to see that we are all in this together?
So then, if God wants us to do something and we say “YES”… then it’s all going to be easy peasy lemon squeezy. Right? Ministry? Life? Relationships? Work? Actually, it’s all hard! No where in God’s Word do you read it’s going to be easy when we are in His will.
God knows that Moses will face trouble (like us) Exodus 3:19 "But I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand."
It bothers Church folks when we get to the point in this story that we read “God hardened Pharaoh’s heart.”(Ex. 10:27) Why? There will be 10 plagues that will fulfill the promise of Ex. 12:12 “…against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord.” They will leave Egypt only after 10 plagues – from blood in the Nile to blood on the doorposts. We are going to cover each one.
Everybody has it hard. An easy life is no guarantee of being in God’s Will, but the opposite – be in God’s Will and be blessed – that’s the message of the Prosperity Gospel. You will never hear it from me! NEVER! If you are suffering it does not mean you are out of God’s Will – it definitely means you live in fallen world. That’s looking at the Whole Counsel of God’s Word. How long will it take us to realize that life is hard… no matter who you are or how much you have?
God goes on to tell Moses exactly what will happen! This is not the Prosperity Gospel when God tells Moses that the people in Egypt will give them anything they ask when they leave. The riches they receive will be used for 2 purposes in the wilderness:
• Some will be used to make the Golden Calf. What happens to that? It was ground into powder and they drank it (Ex. 32:20) – it was gone.
• There was large amounts of the plunder that was used to construct the Tabernacle – some estimates put the amount of gold, silver and bronze needed to be as much as 8 tons. It was used to bring Glory to God!
It’s just like money, that’s neither good nor evil. It all depends on how it is used.
God has shown us exactly what is coming! We live in the end time… ever since Jesus ascended until He comes back – that the End Times.
There are a series of events that are laid out in Scripture. They will happen – that’s sure, but there’s disagreement about how or when(Left Behind Series – fiction).
1. Christ will remove all born-again believers from the earth in an event known as the rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Corinthians 15:51-54). Here is where there is disagreement – most fall into three camps: pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation, and post-tribulation. Full disclosure – I’m in the mid-trib camp but that is not the most popular view among Christians.
2. The Antichrist will come into power for seven years (Daniel 9:27). This seven-year period of time is known as the "tribulation." During the tribulation, there will be terrible wars, famines, plagues, and natural disasters. God will be pouring out His wrath against sin, evil, and wickedness. The second half of the tribulation is known as "the great tribulation" (Revelation 7:14). During this time there a series of judgments from God (seals, trumpets, and bowls – 6 each) that operate as the 10 plagues in Exodus – they will be judgements against the gods of today that many others choose to follow. These judgements can be lined up in a circular pattern to see the connections between them. Now the second half of the Tribulation is marked by God opening the pit where most of the fallen angels have been held. It says that people will want to die and won’t be able to (Rev. 9:6). No born-again believer will be there – who makes the choice if you will be there? YOU DO!
3. At the end of the seven-year tribulation, the Antichrist will launch a final attack on Jerusalem, culminating in the battle of Armageddon. Jesus Christ will return, destroy the Antichrist and his armies, and cast them into the lake of fire (Revelation 19:11-21). Christ will then bind Satan in the Abyss for 1000 years and He will rule His earthly kingdom for this thousand-year period (Revelation 20:1-6). This known as the Thousand Year Reign of Christ.
4. At the end of the thousand years, Satan will be released, defeated again, and then cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:7-10) for eternity. Christ then judges all unbelievers (Revelation 20:10-15) at the great white throne judgment, casting them all into the lake of fire. These will not have their names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, only born-again believers. It’s not a set number and that’s why light and dark are locked in battle. The Church was put here on earth to get names in and Satan battles to keep names out. Name not in there – lake of fire forever. Those in the Lamb’s Book of Life will be residents of the New Jerusalem!
5. Christ will then usher in a new heaven and new earth and the New Jerusalem-the eternal dwelling place of believers. There will be no more sin, sorrow, or death (Revelation 21-22).
The people in Egypt needed deliverance and God sent Moses. God sent Jesus to deliver us – and our names get written in the Lamb’s Book of Life… but He left us in a fallen world where there is suffering and life is hard. This is a world where good people fall on hard times and bad people prosper. He will come again to deliver us from this fallen world.
Until that time, we have the Church – born-again believers – we are in this together until Jesus returns. I will be with you… part of you. That’s how we do this together. We gather in this place on Sunday and have opportunities every day to be about God’s work. Nobody knows the day they will die! We have to be about the work of the Church and be diligent. Jesus warned that the master would return at an unexpected time: “But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Matt. 24:43-44
I pray that when Jesus returns He will find us doing the work of the God! Working together! These are our marching orders and God will give us the strength and unity we need. Amen!
TEACHING SHEET:
(Date)
Sermon Series: Exodus
Exodus 3:19-22
“God Reveals the Future”
God is both ETERNAL and OMNISCIENT
He knows everything - past, present and future. “And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. 7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.” Rev. 21:6-7
God tells Moses that he will not work alone (like us)
Exodus 3 “16 Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them…”
18 Then they will heed your voice; and you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt…”
How long will it take us to see that we are all in this together?
God knows that Moses will face trouble (like us)
Exodus 3:19 “But I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand.”
How long will it take us to realize that life is hard… no matter who you are or how much you have?
God goes on to tell Moses exactly what will happen!
God has shown us exactly what is coming!
• Christ will remove all born-again believers from the earth in an event known as the rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Corinthians 15:51-54).
• The Antichrist will come into power for seven years (Daniel 9:27). This seven-year period of time is known as the “tribulation.” During the tribulation, there will be terrible wars, famines, plagues, and natural disasters. God will be pouring out His wrath against sin, evil, and wickedness. The second half of the tribulation is known as “the great tribulation” (Revelation 7:14) and “the time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jeremiah 30:7).
• At the end of the seven-year tribulation, the Antichrist will launch a final attack on Jerusalem, culminating in the battle of Armageddon. Jesus Christ will return, destroy the Antichrist and his armies, and cast them into the lake of fire (Revelation 19:11-21). Christ will then bind Satan in the Abyss for 1000 years and He will rule His earthly kingdom for this thousand-year period (Revelation 20:1-6).
• At the end of the thousand years, Satan will be released, defeated again, and then cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:7-10) for eternity. Christ then judges all unbelievers (Revelation 20:10-15) at the great white throne judgment, casting them all into the lake of fire. Christ will then usher in a new heaven and new earth and the New Jerusalem—the eternal dwelling place of believers. There will be no more sin, sorrow, or death (Revelation 21–22).
The people in Egypt needed deliverance and God sent Moses
God sent Jesus to deliver us – and will again
