Since Friday I have given the below talk in various ways seven times - once at Youth, three times on Sunday and at the three mid-week services our church runs. The Youth and mid-week services talks were about half this length. Below is pretty much the extended version I gave at the 8am and 10am service (at the 6pm service I cut a few of the extra Bible passages).
You can tell from the sources that this year's Easter Convention helped me out a bit. There was a theme of lament and trust. Peter Adams took us through the book of Habakkuk and Geoff Harper had some great talks on Revelations. Those talks are worth checking out (and are free) via their KCC app.
I love my parents. I think they raised me well and they instilled some good values in me. I am grateful for the upbringing and opportunities they allowed me to have. However, you know what really annoys me? When I go up to spend a weekend at my folks, I think it will be a good time to unwind, a chance for them to hang out with their grandchildren with me in the middle just reading. I can play with their fancy coffee machine and eat far too much.
But when I get there, they have a to-do list with my name on the top. As soon as I get there, while the car engine is still warm they are asking me to do things. Can you make my laptop print? Why does the wifi drop? I can’t get the tv digital recorder to work. And in every one of those problems, I only encounter more. Oh, it seems you have 147 windows updates needed to be installed. That digital recorder, oh the manual was in Chinese and we are using a different remote because we lost the original.
Expectations are a killer. Or I should say, unmet expectations are a killer. When things don’t go how you had hoped or planned do you get disappointed, annoyed, frustrated, moody? When your hopes have fallen to the ground and smashed what do you do?
What are your expectations in this present life? Are you seeing things clearly? Is everything going to plan?
I get annoyed when something creeps into my timetable, throwing off what I was going to do in that time. The unexpected annoys me. I have to adjust my plans and expectations.
There are certain words that you may not plan for that can change your whole life, perspective and circumstance. There are phrases that have had me cry out to God because things didn’t go to plan.
A girlfriend said, “I think we should break up.”
A uni student who was in my life group the previous year told me “I just don’t believe the Bible anymore”.
The ultrasound lady said “I can’t detect a heartbeat”
The NICU doctor told us “If you baby is born today and they survive there is an 80% chance they will have some form of disability”
You might have your own phrases you can remember. Words like retrenched, infertility, cancer, passed away, terminal, divorce, early onset dementia, etc…
Isn’t God meant to look after His children? What use is God if we still have struggles in this life? And not even in everyday struggles, what happens when the Bible says one thing and you are seeing and experiencing something different.
Romans 13:1 tells us that we should obey our government because
there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. (Rom 13:1)Did your team win last night?[2] Half the countries hopes have been met, which means the other half of this country’s expectations have been dashed. There are holes in our safety net in the shape of people[3]. What is this going to mean for our country now? Are some of you asking what is God doing here?
Isaiah 55 tells us that in the same way that rain comes for the sky and waters the land, Gods word will not return empty, and yet I know and you probably do, people who were youth leaders, on beach mission, your child, maybe even pastors who no longer believe the truths of the Bible. What is God doing here?
Do you tell your workmates that you go to Church only to be mocked? Do you not even say you go to church for fear of what others will say? Are you tired of the same conversation about Jesus getting derailed or shut down that you have just given up? Have you stopped praying for your mate or family member to become a Christian because it has been years?
Or what about Psalm 127 which says children are a reward from God, that you are blessed if you have lots of kids, and yet why did my child die? Why do I have Christian family members who cannot have children? Why do some of your children no longer walk with God? What is God doing here?
This list can go on and on and on and on.
We may hear the trope “His ways are not your ways” Well thanks for that, but who is He anyway? I get that God is big and that my brain only weights as much as a double quarter pounder[4]. I struggle with year 10 English but surly God should be able to help me out a little. If He is so big and smart can’t he find a way to let me know His ways in a way that makes sense to me?
In my life group a few weeks ago someone asked why does God cause so much suffering in Exodus? Why does He wait so long to intervene to recuse His people? And why does His intervention then cause so much suffering to the Egyptians? God says something about making His name being great, but why do I have to suffer to make His name great?
In our passage today Moses has probably hit rock bottom. His expectations of what was going to happen have been crushed and so he cries out to God.
The story so far
Before this passage, Moses has met with God at the burning bush. God has told Moses that he has heard His peoples cries and is sending him to go and speak to Pharaoh. God tells Mosses to go in His name, the Lord, to ask for God’s people to be freed. Moses is unsure of himself and wishes someone else was asked. But Moses does go.At the end of Chapter 4, we have Moses returning to Egypt telling to elders of Israel that God has a recuse mission for them. The elders believe Moses and worship God. Things are going well. Moses has come back in God’s name to his own people. They have believed his good news and they are praising God in the midst of their suffering.
Then at the start of Chapter 5 Moses talks to Pharaoh and it doesn’t go well. Pharaoh doesn’t recognise God and he will not let the Israelites go. In fact, Pharaoh makes their slave work harder. The Israelites now have to make the same amount of bricks for Pharaoh, but they have to find their own straw. This move makes the Israelites spread out across the country and they receive beatings when the daily quotas aren’t met.
The Israelites return to find Moses and Aaron and say to them in 5:21
“May the Lord look on you and judge you! You have made us obnoxious to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us” (Ex 5:21)They blamed Moses and Aaron for their suffering. This is not going to plan. At least this is not going to Moses’ plan. And to be fair, Moses is just doing what God has told him to do.
God said to go to Pharaoh and Moses did what he was told. The outcome is now not freedom, but harder conditions in slavery. Things are not better - they are worst! The Israelites no longer are appreciating Moses and his so-called help. It would have been better if Moses didn’t even show up. It would have been easier for the Israelites if God didn’t intervene here. They are suffering now, under impossible tasks, and this all seems to be orchestrated by God. What is going on here?
Is God like a politician?
Should we trust this God and His promises?
G K Chesterton said “When a politician is in opposition he is an expert on the means to some end; and when he is in office he is an expert on the obstacles to it.”[5]
Is God like that? Does He make promises but He can just never follow through with it? At times does God seem to fail you?
The Complaint 5:22-23
Moses clearly lays the blame for all of this on to God. Verses 22 and 23 Moses says to God:
“Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.” (Ex 5:22-23)He says it was you who have brought this trouble on the people. It was you who sent me. I have done what you have told me and you have not recused your people at all. What is going on? Moses is like, I have done what you have asked. I did it and you said you would rescue your people. But you haven’t. In fact, your people are suffering even worst. What is going on?
Are your prayers like this? Do you pray like this? Are they honest? Do you share your struggling with life and your unmet expectations and frustrations with how things are turning out? Some people may think a prayer like that is irreverent. God loves honest prayers[6]. If you are angry tell God. If you are confused tell God. If you are resentful tell God. Honesty is good for any relationship, not lest with the Almighty one who set this universe in motion. Your complaining to God will not knock Him off His feet. It will not catch Him by surprise and He will not be offended. God is big enough to take it.
This moment here, this struggle is not unique to Moses. This is a consistent theme of the whole Bible. There are loads of Psalms crying out to God for help
Psalm 13
How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?Psalm 80
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me? (Ps 13:1-2)
How long, Lord God Almighty,The book of Habakkuk is a conversation between God and Habakkuk. The book opens with:
will your anger smolder
against the prayers of your people?
You have fed them with the bread of tears;
you have made them drink tears by the bowlful.
You have made us an object of derision to our neighbors,
and our enemies mock us. (Ps 80:4-6)
How long, Lord, must I call for help,
but you do not listen?
Or cry out to you, “Violence!”
but you do not save?
Why do you make me look at injustice?
Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?
Destruction and violence are before me;
there is strife, and conflict abounds.
Therefore the law is paralyzed,
and justice never prevails.
The wicked hem in the righteous,
so that justice is perverted. (Hab 1:2-4)
There is a real struggle with trusting in God in the face of disappointment. And this disappointment with God may come from our unmet expectations on how we think things should be.
Let me ask you, honestly: Do you think God only works through nice people and nice experiences?[7]
The Comfort 6:1-8
Now in Chapter 6 God response to Moses’ complaint. It is interesting that God doesn’t give a defence or a retort to what Moses says. Instead of engaging with Moses’ complaint, God reminds and reveals Himself to Moses, again. God reminds Moses of his covenant and His character. Of his promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and that He is the Lord. God says, look now. See what I am going to do. Pay attention. The chess board has been set. I have made my first move and Pharaoh has moved his piece. Last week at the burning bush God told Moses only a mighty hand will compel Pharaoh. We haven’t seen this yet. All Moses has done is talk to Pharaoh. Everything is still on course[8]. God is still in control of the situation. Now God says His mighty hand will compel Pharaoh.
God’s covenant
Twice God reminds Moses about His covenant, His promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He had promised, he has sworn to give them the land of Canaan, and God is not in the business of forgetting His promises, even if we think He has. God repeatedly reaffirms what He will do in this passage. Have a look at all the I will’s. He says:I will bring you out from under the Egyptians.
I will free you from being slaves
I will redeem you with open arms
I will take you to be my people
I will be your God
I will bring you to the land I have promised
I will give you that land as a possession
Do you get it? God states He will do it. He will rescue Israel, He will be their God, and He will give them the promised land.
Do you believe that God hears, sees and remembers you in your plight, even if you think God is not acting? Do you trust in God’s word, even if it seems like nothing is going right?
God’s character
I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself fully known to them. (Ex 6:3)God is saying even back then to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob He was not fully known to them. Moses, on the other hand, is going to learn the full significances of God’s name. Moses and Israel and Egypt will see the saving power of God[9]. God and His name will be understood better. Everyone will know God through His character and deeds like no one else before[10].
Four times in this passage God says “I am the Lord”. Does God need to repeat this so that He doesn’t forget who He is? Or is it for Moses and us? Are we prone to forget who our God is, especially when our expectations are not met?
Our God is Almighty. Our God is before all things. Our God created all things. Our God has authority over all things. Our God sustains all thing. Our God has a mighty hand over people and nations. He rules over the destiny of every person and the destiny of every nation. Our new parliament will one day have to give an account to God on how they ruled. Our God calls a people to Himself with wide open welcoming arms.
Do we remember who our God is in our assessment of our situation in life[11]? Do we remember that our God is so big, so strong and so mighty – there is nothing our God cannot do[12].
The Challenge 6:9-13
In our passage, after God has reminded and revealed Himself to Moses after God has reminded Moses of his covenant and His character, Moses goes back to the Israelites and tells then what he has been told, and they do not listen. Their praising in Chapter 4 has ended. Their situation has cause discouragement. They think things are worst and that God can not save them. Moses is asked again to go to Pharaoh and he is not geed up about this. Moses doesn’t want to do it. This is not a happy ending to a movie. There is no 30-minute character arch here. This isn’t TV, life isn’t resolved in one-hour blocks at a time. There is a challenge here for Moses. He has had his complaint; he has heard the comfort from God but the situation hasn’t changed. There is a challenge. Will he believe what he has just been told by God?
Will Moses trust in God, in what God had promised in the past and what He has said He will do?
Will Moses live by faith? Will he trust in God in the face of disappointment and discomfort?
Do you live by faith? Do you wait on God, long term? When prayers are not answered, do you still wait for God to act? Faith looks to God even in times of disappointment and discomfort. Faith is waiting on God and nothing and no one else[13].
We are called to a persistent and a suffering faith. An enduring faith, a faithful faith in God’s promises and his character. Trials await us. Paul pretty much promised the Thessalians that trials and persecution would come their way (1 Thess 3:1-10). Moses’ challenge, Christians challenge, our challenge is will we stand firm in the faith when trials come?
Now we know a more of the story here and I feel for Moses as little. This is how he is feeling after his first meeting with Pharaoh. Moses doesn’t know this, but there are going to be ten more plagues. He is going to have to confront Pharaoh again and again and again after this. Why does God do that? Why not rescue them now or after the first plague? Why have ten?[14] Why so much suffering? God could have wiped the Egyptians off the face of the earth, God even says that in Exodus 9:15:
For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth. (Ex 9:15)And in the next verse we get God’s reason for not doing that:
But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. (Ex 9:16)This may be a hard pill to swallow, but the deliverance of Israel wasn’t the main thing. God had bigger plans. He wants to make His name known to all the Earth.
And this will happen. One day
at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,Jesus’ name will be known by all peoples for God’s glory.
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. (Phil 2:10-11)
We are told in Revelations, at the end of all things, that there will be
a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice:Jesus’ name will be praised. That is the end of all things. That is the end we are looking forward to.
“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.” (Rev 7:9-10)
God has called us for the purpose of making His name great, not to the purpose of making you comfortable, or safe or secure. Are you going after happiness or holiness? Success in life or sanctification in life?
What are your expectations of God?
Do we only keep trusting in God if we are doing ok? This is a polite prosperity Gospel[15].
In our circles, we don’t say the God will make you wealthy and healthy and that all your relationships will be fine, but I do wonder if a slightly toned-down prosperity gospel has crept into our thinking. God won’t make you rich, just comfortable and safe and happy. That the Christian life isn’t extravert wealth, but just pretty much the Australian dream. And this underlying idea may come out when we aren’t comfortable or safe or happy. When things aren’t going to our plan, we get frustrated. I hope when they do, you cry out to God for faith to still believe. I hope you aren’t using God to make yourself comfortable, safe and happy.
Tim Keller says[16] God is committed to your joy and pleasure if you seek Him, and yet if you come to Him in order to make you happy, then you are coming to a false God. If you say “well I’m interested in this Christianity and God, and maybe I might try it if it will reach my goal of making me happy”, if that is your approach then you are not coming to a god, you are coming to a butler.
When things go wrong do you think: “What good did it do me to read the Bible and come to church”? Do you think: “I did things for God and followed His rules. He owes me better than this”? If you think that, you know what that shows? You came to God on the basis of a condition. In other words, your number one priority is happiness or comfort and you are using God to get there.
Instead, do you think your number one priority is to serve God and if you get happy great, and to the degree it happens, great... and here is the irony. Keller says the less you are concerned about your happiness and the more you are concerned about Him, the happier you get. Under Christ, you can have joy in the face of suffering. Read the letter to the Philippians.
God is for you and does welcome his people with outstretched arms. God is for you and He is a saving God, but If you think God is ultimately for you, then you are going to have some serious disappointments with God. God is for Himself. God is for God[17]. He is the Lord. He is God Almighty. He lives to exalt Himself, not you. You are not at the centre of the universe, I am not at the centre of the universe. God is at the centre of the universe. There is nothing bigger or better than God, which is why He is for Himself. You are not the hero in the Bible, God is.
Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.Why does God guide you? For his name sake. He is the Lord.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake. (Ps 23:1-3)
Psalm 67:
May God be gracious to us and bless usWhy is God gracious to us? So that his ways may be known on earth and salvation among all the nations. He is the Lord.
and make his face shine on us—
so that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations. (Ps 67:1-2)
Ezekiel 36
‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake, people of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I am proved holy through you before their eyes. (Ezk 36:22-23)God says to His people “When I bless you it is not for your sake but for mine” so that the nations will know that He is the Lord.
God does bless his people and shows them love and grace, and welcomes them with outstretched arms, but not so that we can be comfortable or safe or happy. It is so that we can make His name great here on earth. He is the Lord.
We follow a guy who didn’t seek the riches of heaven but endure the human condition first hand. Our God knows what it is to suffer, see his friends die, to have people betray him, to have unanswered prayers, to submit to God’s will even if it means pain and sorrow and suffering. Our saviour suffered to make God’s name great.
In the Bible, we see God’s promises and fulfilment in the past. We see God’s caring, loving, welcoming character and we have a glimpse of the future. In the present, we may sometimes struggle to connect the dots. Our God does not save us from trials, pain, suffering or discomfort. Our God is Emmanuel. Our God is with us.
Will we give our lives in making Jesus known, regardless of our own happiness or disappointment, knowing that our saviour suffered to make God’s name great?
it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit (1 Pet 3:17-18)
In this life, we do not hope for our own peace and safety but in the resurrection of the dead[18].
May we cry out to God in our unmet expectations and disappointments, in the face of suffering. May we be trusting in the name of our promise-keeping God.
[1] I told my mother I was going to tell this story. She says she now feels guilty about making me do that garden bed and so she weeds and looks after that one the most. I feel bad about making her feel guilty. Sorry, mum for being so grumpy that day!
[2] It was the 2019 Australian election the day before this talk on Sunday
[3] This wasn’t in my notes, but I pulled this out thinking about the election. This line is taken from Shane Koyczan’s poem Places
[4] Hayden Smith (2019) said this in one of his talks at KYCK19 – I forget which one
[5] ‘Illustrated London News,’ March 6, 1918.
[6] Peter Adams (2019), How Long, O Lord? (Katoomba Easter Convention)
[7] Peter Adams (2019), How Long, O Lord? (Katoomba Easter Convention)
[8] Andrew Reid (2013), Exodus: Saved for Service, p 77
[9] Peter Enns (2000), Exodus (The NIV Application Commentary), p 174
[10] Andrew Reid (2013), Exodus: Saved for Service, p 81
[11] Peter Enns (2000), Exodus (The NIV Application Commentary), p 175, the book makes this point about Moses but I am turning it to us
[12] Yes that kids song is intended here
[13] Peter Adams (2019), Living by Faith (Katoomba Easter Convention)
[14] Geoff Harper (2019), Victory through Defeat (Katoomba Easter Convention)
[15] Peter Adams (2019) I think the Easter Convention talk he said this was In Wrath Remember Mercy (Katoomba Easter Convention)
[16] I use this exact same Tim Keller bit in a previous talk at St Matt's in 2012 on Genesis 47. The Tim Keller bit is from Tim Keller on True Happiness
[17] This whole bit, including the selection of verses is from David Platt, The Secret to Radical Leadership
[18] Geoff Harper (2019), Victory through Defeat (Katoomba Easter Convention)
May we cry out to God in our unmet expectations and disappointments, in the face of suffering. May we be trusting in the name of our promise-keeping God.
Heavenly Father,
We thank you that you are a promise-keeping God.
We thank you that you hear our prayers and call a people to be yourself and welcome them with outstretched arms.
May we trust in you and your name, even when things are rough, even when things aren’t making any sense.
May we wait on you, may we live by faith, trusting in who you are - a powerful, saving, promise-keeping God.
Amen.
[1] I told my mother I was going to tell this story. She says she now feels guilty about making me do that garden bed and so she weeds and looks after that one the most. I feel bad about making her feel guilty. Sorry, mum for being so grumpy that day!
[2] It was the 2019 Australian election the day before this talk on Sunday
[3] This wasn’t in my notes, but I pulled this out thinking about the election. This line is taken from Shane Koyczan’s poem Places
[4] Hayden Smith (2019) said this in one of his talks at KYCK19 – I forget which one
[5] ‘Illustrated London News,’ March 6, 1918.
[6] Peter Adams (2019), How Long, O Lord? (Katoomba Easter Convention)
[7] Peter Adams (2019), How Long, O Lord? (Katoomba Easter Convention)
[8] Andrew Reid (2013), Exodus: Saved for Service, p 77
[9] Peter Enns (2000), Exodus (The NIV Application Commentary), p 174
[10] Andrew Reid (2013), Exodus: Saved for Service, p 81
[11] Peter Enns (2000), Exodus (The NIV Application Commentary), p 175, the book makes this point about Moses but I am turning it to us
[12] Yes that kids song is intended here
[13] Peter Adams (2019), Living by Faith (Katoomba Easter Convention)
[14] Geoff Harper (2019), Victory through Defeat (Katoomba Easter Convention)
[15] Peter Adams (2019) I think the Easter Convention talk he said this was In Wrath Remember Mercy (Katoomba Easter Convention)
[16] I use this exact same Tim Keller bit in a previous talk at St Matt's in 2012 on Genesis 47. The Tim Keller bit is from Tim Keller on True Happiness
[17] This whole bit, including the selection of verses is from David Platt, The Secret to Radical Leadership
[18] Geoff Harper (2019), Victory through Defeat (Katoomba Easter Convention)
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