“NOW YOU WILL SEE” Exodus 6:1-13
FBCF – 5/2/21
Jon Daniels
INTRO – Ever had your heart broken? All of us have experienced that at some point in our life:
- Your first boyfriend broke up w/ you & you cried all night
- Your best friend moved away
- Your favorite pet dies
- The QB of your favorite football team fumbles the ball as time runs out & your biggest rival wins the game
- Your child rebels against you & against the Lord & chooses a path, a lifestyle, or an addiction that goes against everything you believe & everything you taught him/her
- You had great plans for your retirement, but your health failed, or your spouse’s health failed, & your plans got derailed
- Your husband or wife decides that the marriage is over & leaves, or chooses to get involved in a relationship with someone else
There are lots of different ways that people respond to those moments of heartbreak:
- Jump into another relationship – possibly an illicit, sinful relationship
- Pull away from all relationships – friends, family, work associates
- Turn to a bottle – alcohol, pills
- Lash out at those around them – even at those who are trying to help
- Immerse themselves in their work
- Fall into an addictive behavior or activity
- Run TO God & find their faith strengthened
- Run AWAY from God
- Abandon their faith altogether – walk away from the Lord & from the Church
o Saw an ad on FB this week for a book written by a guy who abandoned the faith
o I would venture to say that there was some moment in his life that was a heartbreak moment where his faith was shaken & the enemy came in & pulled him away in his moment of vulnerability.
Maybe you’re in a place of heartbreak right now, a place of disappointment or disillusionment. You’re hurting so much that you don’t really think that you can be delivered. You’re wondering how God is going to deliver you from this. You may even feel like your hope & trust in God has been betrayed, that God has let you down, that all this stuff that you’ve heard all your life might not be as true as you’ve been taught – that God might not be as good as you’ve believed for so long – that God might not be as real as you’ve thought all these years.
- Like a lady whose husband was diagnosed w/ a brain tumor one year after they got married. And now she is a caregiver to a husband w/ profound disabilities that make it impossible for him to function on his own.
- Dreams of a fairytale marriage gone.
- Dreams of a normal, happy family demolished
- No hope of fixing this problem – at least not in this life.
- She may be angry w/ God – feel betrayed by God – losing trust in God
- Where do you turn w/ those feelings & thoughts? How do you function w/ those feelings & thoughts?
In our passage today, we will see an Israel who is so brokenhearted, crushed, & oppressed by Pharaoh that they don’t really believe that God is going to deliver them.
- They’re angry w/ Him
- Feel betrayed by Him
- Losing their trust in Him
Let’s continue this series in “The Life of Moses”, as we move into Moses’ first encounter w/ Pharaoh & see how God is going to begin working in this lives of His people.
EXPLANATION – Exodus 6:1-13
Walk through what has brought them to this point:
Israel’s hope & trust in God is crushed by Pharaoh. They had been so beaten up & beaten down by their oppressors that they were having a really hard time believing that God was going to come through for them. Remember what has transpired up to this point:
- Their male babies have been killed
- They’ve been enslaved
- They’re laboring under harsh conditions
- Their hay for making bricks has been taken away. Now they have to find their own.
- They can’t keep up w/ the required quota of bricks
- They’re punished w/ beatings for failing to meet the unfair quota
- They just couldn’t catch a break!
That’s a lot to have to deal with! A lot of reasons to grow despondent, discouraged, downtrodden, & depressed. A lot of reasons for the heartbreak that they are experiencing in their lives right now. Even Moses expressed his distress w/ the situation when he said, “O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all.” (Exodus 5:22-23)
And then God uses the word “NOW.” What a great word to hear at this point! God promises that the tide is about to begin turning.
But even w/ this strong word from the Lord, the people still struggle to believe (v. 9).
- They had a “broken spirit” – Different translations used words like, “despondency” (NASB), “too discouraged” (NLT), “anguish” (NKJV), & “complete exhaustion” (CEB).
They are so brokenhearted that they do not believe that God can actually deliver them. And They are so exhausted and oppressed that that can’t see how God is bigger than Pharoah. (https://sermons.faithlife.com/sermons/614847-(exodus-6:1-9)-help-me!-deliverance-for-the-brokenhearted.)
Ever been there? Are you there right now? Let’s remember the word “NOW.” God said, “Now you will see me working.” And I believe He wants us to see Him working NOW.
APPLICATION – When we are brokenhearted, we need to look to God & see how He’s working.
Faith – believing without seeing.
- Hebrews 11:1 – “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
This is where a lot of people get stuck. They’ve got to see to believe when, sometimes, God says, “You’ve got to believe me, whether you see or not.”
One of my favorite writers, Jerry Bridges:
“I acknowledge it often seems more difficult to trust God than to obey Him. The moral will of God given to us in the Bible is rational and reasonable. The circumstances in which we must trust God often appear irrational and inexplicable….Obeying God is worked out within well-defined boundaries of God’s revealed will. Trusting God is worked out in an arena that has no boundaries. We do not know the extent, the duration, or the frequency of the painful, adverse circumstances in which we must frequently trust God. We are always coping with the unknown.” (https://gracequotes.org/topic/faith-god-in/)
But in our times of heartbreak, we can see God’s hand at work:
SEE HOW HE’S WORKED IN THE PAST – Moses & the children of Israel certainly had plenty of evidence of God’s work.
- God had worked in Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob’s lives (v. 2-3).
- Moses’ life spared b/c his mother put him in the river when all the male babies were being killed
- God heard the groanings of His people (v. 5)
- God spoke to Moses from the burning bush
- God gave clear command & commission He gave Moses
- God gave to Moses ability for miraculous signs for his encounter w/ Pharaoh
Our memories of how God has worked in the past – whether in the lives of those in the Bible, in the lives of our family & friends, & in our own life – is a great source of encouragement & strength in our times of heartbreak. It was one of the frequent commands that God gave to His people.
- At least 9 times in book of Deut. alone
The Psalmist reminds us to remember.
- Psalm 78:35 – “They remembered that God was their Rock, the Most High God their Redeemer.”
- Psalm 105:5 – “Remember the wondrous works He has done…”
- Psalm 143:5 – “I remember the days of old; I meditate on all you have done; I ponder the work of your hands.”
Jonah, after he had rebelled & run from the Lord, & found himself in the belly of fish, prayed, “When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord; And my prayer went up to you, into your holy temple.” He definitely was in one of the lowest times in his life, & his response was to remember the Lord.
Remember how God has worked in the past!
- Remember your salvation experience – unless you’re not saved. Then TODAY needs to be that day!
- Remember how He has met all of your needs.
- Remember how He has given you strength in those times of weakness; comfort in those times of sorrow; wisdom in those times of confusion; healing in those times of sickness.
When we remember:
- It cultivates a thankful heart
- It creates trust
- It causes us to give glory to God
TRUST THAT HE’S WORKING RIGHT NOW – There’s that word again: “NOW.” God is working right now! He’s not some dead deity, some immovable idol, some false god. He’s our God – THE God – who is alive, active, amazing, awesome, & almighty! And, whether you see Him or not; whether you feel Him or not; whether you believe it or not; He’s working. This is where our faith has to kick in, no matter how small our faith may be.
- Jesus – “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ & it will move.” (Matthew 17:20)
Many times, when we are experiencing heartbreak in our lives, the enemy will begin launching his sneak attacks on us, tempting us to become cynical, bitter, unbelieving, harsh, inwardly-focused people. We’ve got to be ready for those attacks when they come. Some ways to be prepared for those attacks:
- Look for ways that He’s working in your life & in our world
- Surround yourself w/ people who are strong in their faith
- Gather prayer warriors around you – and BE a prayer warrior for others who are struggling. This isn’t all about YOU!
- Get planted & stay firmly planted in a family of faith – the church
- Sometimes, you just have to step out in faith & do what you believe God is telling you to do, & then you’ll see Him working.
o Ask a stranger if you can pray for them.
o Invite someone to church on Sun or Wed
o Invite someone to your Life Group
o Carry a tract w/ you or wear an evang bracelet & give it to someone
o Perform a random act of kindness for someone
LOOK FORWARD TO HIS WORK IN THE FUTURE – Even though they didn’t believe it, there was one thing that the people of God could be sure of – God was going to work in their lives! He had promised them that He was going to & He’s never broken a promise. Look at all the promises in v. 6-8:
- “I will bring you out from under the burdens”
- “I will deliver you from slavery”
- “I will redeem you”
- “I will take you to be my people”
- “I will be your God”
- “You shall know that I am the Lord your God”
- “I will bring you into the land”
- “I will give it to you”
And we know that God DID fulfill all of these promises. And we can look forward to all the promises He’s given to us being fulfilled.
- John 14:3 – “…I will come again…”
- Revelation 21:4 – “He will wipe away ever tear…”
CONCLUSION/TAKEAWAYS – Is there something that has broken your heart today? Here’s the good news: Psalm 51:17 says that God will not reject or ignore a broken heart. You’ve got His full attention today. Come to Him!
