Delivered from Egypt

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This is a sermon offered in relation to July 4th Independence Day that considers a few questions about Israel's deliverance from Egypt as related in Psalm 78 and then attempts to make some appropriate spiritual applications for us in our individual walks of faith.

Written excerpts:


Psalm 78:7 ^(NKJV) That they may set their hope in God, And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments.

Introduction:

This week we are commemorating the birth of our nation and our independence from tyranny. I thought it would be appropriate to share a couple bits of humor related to the holiday before going into the message.

Nicholas took his four-year-old son, Bryan, to several baseball games where "The Star-Spangled Banner" was sung before the start of each game.

Later, Nicholas and Bryan attended St Bartholomew's church on the Sunday before Independence Day.  The congregation sang The Star-Spangled Banner, and after everyone sat down, Bryan suddenly yelled out at the top of his voice, 'Play ball.' 

“You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism.” - Erma Bombeck (http://www.fourth-of-july-celebrations.com/4th-of-july-jokes.html)

When I began to consider the topic of freedom and liberty for the sermon today, I soon began to think about the deliverance that God gave to the people of Israel as He brought them out of slavery and bondage in Egypt. Psalm 78 is a brief review of God’s miraculous deliverance and is a good spiritual application of the theme that we can still benefit from today.

With the help of God’s Spirit, I want to suggest a few questions and answers about the deliverance from Egypt and then attempt to make some appropriate spiritual applications for us in our individual walks of faith.

I.    Why did God deliver the people of Israel?

A. Because of covenant promises.

Exodus 2:24-25 ^(NKJV) So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them.

Exodus 6:3-5 ^(NKJV) I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name LORD I was not known to them. I have also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, in which they were strangers. And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant.

The people of Israel were not delivered because they were so special. They were delivered because of a covenant that God had established with their ancestors – Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Even those men were not so different or special, they were recipients of God’s wonderful grace.

Application: Every one of us are also recipients of God’s grace and God’s covenant promises.

If you have experienced the divine deliverance from sin and all of its bondage, it wasn’t because you’re someone great or someone special. It was because God’s grace is so great and special! My deliverance and your deliverance is because of a promise or covenant that was established way back in Genesis 3 – God will provide a remedy for the fall of man into sin and all of the resulting destruction sin caused. That initial prophecy, promise or covenant has been repeated in various forms throughout biblical history and God kept His Word by sending His only Son into our world to die for our redemption.

B. Because of His compassion.

Exodus 3:7-8a ^(NKJV) And the LORD said: "I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians….

The word “compassion” is not used in these verses, but the principle is implied. God’s heart was moved because of the suffering of His people.

In Ps. 78 we are reminded that it was the compassion of God that moved Him to continue working with them and taking them to the Promised Land rather than completely destroying them and wiping them out.

Psalm 78:38 ^(NKJV) But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, And did not destroy them. Yes, many a time He turned His anger away, And did not stir up all His wrath;

Application: Over and over we are told in Scripture that the love of God is what prompted the plan of salvation that He completed.

Our sinful condition made us the most unlovable people, but God still loved us and sacrificed His own Son for us. See Rom. 5:8 “God commendeth His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

II.  What are the lessons it communicates?

As we take a brief look at Psalm 78 I believe we can see that the psalmist, Asaph wanted the people of Israel to understand some important lessons from this great historical event. In fact, the author explicitly states that in the opening verses of the psalm.

A. God’s power

One of the vivid lessons expressed in the Psalm is the power of God. Every one of the miracles described give us a glimpse of God’s infinite power and ability. See Ps. 78 verses 13, 15, 23-24, 27, 43-48, 53, 55, etc.

Over and over when the situation seemed hopeless, God performed another miracle to display His divine power and to overcome the attempts of their enemies to destroy them.

B. God’s faithfulness

Another lesson that is highlighted in Psalm 78 is the unusual faithfulness of God.

Asaph describes many opportunities for God to give up on the Israelites and just abandon them because of their repeated resistance, but God remains faithful to His own promise to bring them out of Egyptian bondage in order to establish them in their own land. See Ps. 78 verses 37-39

Yes, there are several places in the psalm where the author talks about the wrath of God and the punishment He brought upon them when they blatantly disobeyed His commands, but He doesn’t turn completely away from Israel.

God’s faithfulness is ultimately revealed at the end of the Psalm when it describes God’s choosing David to become the king of Israel, who then “shepherds” the people of God.

C. Man’s unfaithfulness

One of the lessons we can learn from this psalm is the unfaithful nature in man. Look at Ps. 78 verses  9-11, 17-19, 22, 32, 36-37, & 56-58. In all these verses, the people of God are repeatedly described as those who readily forgot what God had done for them and what God expected of them. It is a reminder that their obedience and commitment to carefully follow the Lord is expected and if they do not, then there are going to be consequences.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, there are a few final points I would like to stress for our benefit.

1. Based on what God did for the people of Israel, I want to remind us that there is no bondage, addiction, or any other type of sin-baggage that God cannot deliver from. He may not choose to do it in a moment. He may use various people and circumstances. But God will faithfully bring you out of your Egypt and plant you in the Promised Land He has for you.

2. For the deliverance to be full, complete and final, you must allow God to not only “take you out of Egypt” but you must allow Him to “take Egypt out of you!” Just look at the many times in Ps. 78 that we read about the people complaining, resisting, and forsaking, all the while God is at work transplanting them from Egypt to Canaan. It stems from the fact that the things they learned in Egypt were still embedded in their hearts.

Full and complete deliverance also depends on gratitude and obedience for what God has already done. Throughout the story related in the Psalm there are points where the resistance of the people is recorded and God’s dealings with them in judgment.

3. God wants to use your story to impact your sphere of influence. (See Ps. 78:4-7, especially 7)

Happy Independence Day!

Let’s close by standing and singing Glorious Freedom