[THIS SERMON WAS DELIVERED LIVE IN A FACEBOOK GROUP ON 11TH APRIL, 2020. IT IS POSTED HERE WITH MINOR EDITS. THE STARS **** INDICATE A TRANSITION IN THOUGHT AND INTENSITY OF DELIVERY]
Welcome to our live stream service.
My name is pastor________and I am so thankful for you joining us today.
If this is your first time tuning in I would like to welcome you in a special way.
There are many people and churches streaming live right now but you chose to stop by and worship with us.
I thank you for that.
Our message today is...
“Eisodus after Exodus”
And our Key text is from the book of Deuteronomy 6:23
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.(Deuteronomy 6:23)
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The book of Exodus is central to the nation of Israel and the theology of the Bible as a whole.
The word Exodus comes from the Greek word ‘exodos’ which means a way out or departure.
It is from this Greek word that the English language got words like exit, exude, exhume, etc.
Similarly, the word Eisodus also is a Greek word which means a “way in” or “entry.”
So, our message today literally means “a way in” after “a way out” or just “an entry” after “an exit.”
For the people of God, Israel, the exodus meant a departure from bondage.
This exodus started with a clash between God’s people and Pharaoh but it ended with hope.
It ended with God pitching His tent among His people.
The deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage echoes forward to a greater deliverance.
This is the final redemption of God’s children.
This second exodus also culminates with God pitching His tent among His people.
Follow along I don’t want to lose you.
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Our planet is in a spiritual as well as physical emergency.
Since the fall of our first parents - Adam and Eve - we have been in bondage to sin.
In the epistle to the Romans the apostle Paul aptly describes the wretched state of the fallen man in these words:
“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” (Romans 7:15, NIV)
This is the hopeless state of every human being since the fall.
Man is not alone in this hopelessness and despondency.
The apostle Paull in the next chapter of the same letter to the Romans describes nature as groaning and waiting for deliverance.
“For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.” (Romans 8:22, ESV)
So, both human beings and the whole creation are all in bondage and are waiting for the final deliverance. We are all under a curse.
Allow me to digress a little...
The word “lockdown” has been thrown about by the media lately
I read a story yesterday of a Fox News journalist who was forced to delete a tweet that compared lockdown to willful slavery.
Lockdown is a state of confinement and restricted movement because of an emergency.
In a jail environment, lockdown happens when a prisoner is confined to a cell to regain control over him or her after a riot or fight.
But lockdown is not the same as bondage or slavery.
The Israelites were put in bondage - a far worse condition than a lockdown.
A new Pharaoh ascended to the throne. A Pharaoh who knew not Joseph or who chose to deliberately forget Joseph.
Probably it was the memory of Joseph that had up to this point cushioned the children of Israel from the wrath and hostilities of the preceding Pharaohs.
So, this new Pharaoh chose to ignore the record of Joseph’s saving act.
He chose to erase the memory of Joseph from history.
He chose to forget how Joseph saved the nation from the starvation of a 7-year famine.
That’s the world for you.
Our good deeds are easily forgotten and our memories erased the moment we cease to be relevant or die
So, the new monarch put in place some brutal population control measures.
But these measures ended up achieving the opposite because God overruled them.
That’s God for you.
God overrules what has been designed against us.
God turns our adversities to blessings.
God’s favor overrules all evil devices set by man or the devil.
Man disappoints but God appoints.
And, so, instead of the population declining, the population grew exponentially.
The oppressive measures could not overrule or reverse what God had predetermined.
The Pharaoh doubled his effort to oppress the people of God
And the children of Israel cried to God.
And God heard their cry. God hears our cries.
Brother Moses composed a song to celebrate this in Psalm 107 verse 6.
“Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.”
They cried to God because He was their only way out.
And God heard their cry and He stepped in and with that an exodus was birthed.
It’s good to note here that the exodus was God’s initiative from the start to the end
You see salvation is always a God-story from the start to the end.
It is always God’s initiative.
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But then there is no exodus without a struggle.
Before the exodus there was a clash between Yahweh and the Egyptians gods.
Before the exodus there was a clash between the will of God and the will of Pharaoh.
Before the exodus there was a clash between Moses and the Egyptian magicians.
There is no exodus without a struggle!
Plague after plague the battle raged on.
And the stubbornness of Pharaoh pressed on relentless.
He pursued the ways of his heart even to his own death in the sea.
I believe Pharaoh was a type of the devil.
The devil will not release his victim without a struggle.
He relentlessly holds on to his victim.
He is a stubborn fighter but always losing to the Mighty Warrior.
And this was exactly the battle and the condition of the demoniac at Gadara in the New Testament.
This is the very reason why in your own strength, you can’t break away from the chains of addictions, alcoholism, and sexual immorality in your life.
It takes the power of God to release us from the chains of addictions.
To break away from any addiction you must let Christ fight these battles for you.
Maybe you feel overwhelmed by your sinful habits and feel like giving up.
I have good news for you. This battle is not yours, it's Lord’s.
It’s Christ and Christ alone who can effect an exodus in your life from these addictions.
The Israelites did not fight Pharaoh.
It is God who fought Pharaoh and won the battle.
It is only God who can win the battle for us.
God will do anything to rescue you if you just let Him win the battle for you!
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Back to exodus
Please note that it is faith in the blood of the Passover lamb that secured the release of the people of God.
You see, the Passover lamb must first be offered first before the exodus can take place.
Even today, it’s only through the blood of the slain Lamb of God that can we secure our exodus from sin and habits that hold us captive
The New Testament declares that Christ is our Passover in first Corinthians five verse seven:
Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb has been sacrificed. (1Corinthians 5:7)
Friends, Christ is our Passover!
On the night before Christ initiated our Passover the Bible says:
"Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, 'Drink from it, all of you.
This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.'" (Matthew 26:27-28)
There you have it. The blood of the covenant is not poured out for the chosen or select few but it is poured out for many.
It is the blood of the covenant that gives us access to God.
Friends, there is no exodus without the blood of the covenant.
I don’t know about you but the story of salvation still amazes me.
The story of salvation like I said before is a God-story not our-story.
God is the main character from beginning to end!
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The New Testament is also an exodus story.
There are echoes and figures of the exodus in almost every book and epistle of the New Testament.
Christ is the main character of the new Exodus. He is the New Moses.
In fact, Christ is greater than Moses.
Now, it is interesting to note that the usage of the word exodus in the New Testament also has a salvific dimension to it.
For example, the first occurrence of the word is found in Luke chapter 9 verse 31.
Before I read, remember the setting of this story is in the Mount of Transfiguration where Jesus spoke with Elijah and Moses about His departure. The Bible says,
“They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:31)
And, so, the word translated here as “departure” is again… you guessed it right... exodus.
Christ knew that His death and resurrection would usher in a new Exodus experience.
Yes, it would usher in an exodus from Judaism, paganism, law of sin and death into the eisodus of the Grace of God.
An Exodus will always lead us into and eisodous.
Brother Moses in Deuteronomy 6:23 records that:
“And he brought us out (exodus) from thence, that he might bring us in (eisodus) to give us the land which he swore unto our fathers.”
Friends this is the greatest news ever! God “brought us out” that he might “bring us in.”
It’s in the Bible. It’s in the Old Testament. It’s in the New Testament. I believe it!
God “brought us out” that he might “bring us in.”
Oh, I feel like rhyming!
God brought us out of darkness… that he might bring us into “His marvelous light.”
God brought us out of hopelessness… that he might bring us to “His blessed hope.”
God brought us out of the bondage of sin… that he might “set us free indeed.” (John 8:36)
God brought us out of nakedness of sin… that he might cloth us with His robe of righteousness (Revelation 19:18)
God brought us out of lostness… that he might crown us with “the unfading crown of glory” (1 Peter 5:4)
God brought us out of our old life… that he might make us a new creation. (2 Corinthians 5:17, ESV)
God brought us out of sickness… that he might remind us that, “I am the God who heals you.”(Exodus 15:26). And that with His stripes you are healed (Isaiah 53:5)!
He brought us out… that he might bring us in is the message of the bible!
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Friends the Bible teaches in the Book of Revelation chapter 20 that soon there will be a final departure or exodus.
God will exodus His saints to heaven for a period of 1000 years.
And at the end of this period our earth will be cleansed by fire and God will create a new one and eisodus us into a new world.
This final Exodus - just like every other exodus - will be inaugurated and consummated from the beginning to the end by Christ the Author and finisher of our faith. (Hebrews 12:1,2)
The exodus of the Old Testament concludes with God dwelling or pitching His tent with men:
“Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.” (Exodus 40:34)
Friends, the final exodus also culminates with God pitching His tent with men:
“And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. (Revelation 21:3 KJV)”
“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying; and there shall be no more pain (Revelation 21:4
What a glorious thought! God with Men. Emmanuel! God with us!
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Appeal:
Dear friend, God wants to give you an exodus from the shackles that bind you.
God wants to give you full release and bring you into close communion with Him.
He has good plans for you. He has a plan to prosper you.
He wants to give you hope and a future with Him as King and Lord of all.
He wants to pitch His tent in your heart today and save you.
If you only let him in.
Will you?
Let us pray.
(Closing prayer)
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