What A God We Serve

Today, in our passage of just three verses, you're going to understand the character of our God. It's imperative that we get a grasp of God's character. Let me read those three verses to you.

They're found in the book of Exodus, the second chapter, verses 23, 24, and 25. It says, Now it came about in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died, and the sons of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and they cried out, and their cry for help because of their bondage rose up to God. So God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and God saw the sons of Israel, and God took notice of them.

You will remember that there are 40 years of silence between verses 10 and 11 of chapter 2 and verses 22 and 23. chapter 2. 40 years of silence, meaning that 40 years of things that take place that we don't necessarily know what's going on. All we know is that there is 40-year lapse between those set of verses. God is working in the life of Moses, and God is working in the life of the Israelites. And now, when you come to verse number 23, we're going to see once again the condition of the people.

Once we see the condition of the people, we'll see the character of our God. And once we see the character of our God, we will take note of the considerations for our church. Those that are three points today. Three points, three verses sounds pretty good to me. All right? You with me? Point number one: the condition of the people.

Two things you need to know. Number one, they were enslaved, and number two, they were end. The text tells us. That there was a new king on the throne. That's good news because the old king wanted to kill Moses. Now this king is not going to be any nicer than the other king was, but at least his sole purpose in life wasn't to kill Moses. So we see from the outset that God is already at work. There had to be another king on the throne in order for Moses to go back to Egypt. In order for Moses to address this king without fear of his life, God was paving the way for the return of Moses.

But notice this. The enslavement of these people was giving them an attitude adjustment. God had to adjust their attitude. God had to change their attitude. You'll recall that they rejected Moses and his leadership style. They re the fact that Moses had come to them, had demonstrated to them that he was the powerful one, that he was their deliverer. And they rejected him. They did not want Moses to be their deliverer. So God was in the process of changing their attitude. For Moses, it would take 40 years of preparation for him to be the leader God wanted him to be.

For Israel, it would take 40 years of enslavement for their attitude to be adjusted. And take note of this: that sometimes we are in situations because God is preparing somebody else to come alongside of us to deliver us from that situation. Like he did with Moses and the nation of Israel. Moses was a Nidian. And while he was a Midian for those 40 years, the mindset of the multitude was being transform. From enslavement, you'll also notice that they were endangered.

Back in Deuteronomy, or over in Deuteronomy, the 26th chapter. Moses says this in verse number 6, The Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us and imposed hard labor on us. Then we cried to the Lord, the God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction. and our toil, and our oppression. And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a might hand and an outstretched arm. And with great terror, and with signs and wonders. That phrase, a mighty hand, will be revisited over and over again in the book of Exodus.

And it will be revisited in our Wednesday night series in Peter's epistle in 1 Peter chapter 5 because that might hand is the hand of God's deliverance. As well as God's discipline of his people. It's the mighty hand of God. It's the outstretched arm of God. And Moses is reminding the people of Israel that it was in the midst of their affliction, in the midst of their oppression, in the midst when they were being harshly treated. That it was when they cried out to God that God would deliver them with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm.

But the point is, they were endangered. Things were not going well for them. And all this had been prophesied way back in Genesis 15, verses 15 and 16. When God told Abraham that for 400 years the people would be enslaved in Egypt, but God would deliver them. He would bring them back to the promised l. And yet, it wasn't until they cried out to God that God would then deliver them. Their oppression had to become so severe that, as a unit of two million Jews, They would all cry out to God, realizing that their situation was enormous, that they couldn't handle it any longer.

You would think. You would think that 80 years earlier, with the killing of all the newborn babies, except for Moses, of course, that that would be enough to cause them to cry out to God. In the midst of their enslavement, in the midst of the king's harshness to kill all the babies, they would cry out to God, but it wasn't bad enough for them yet. It wasn't severe enough. Now, 80 years later, it was so bad, they cried out to their God for Him to hear them, for Him. To deliver them. This morning, I wonder what is your condition?

Are you enslaved? Are you in danger of losing your soul for all eternity? Because you've been taken captive by Satan to do his will, as 2 Timothy 2:2 says? Or have you been delivered out of the domain of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear Son, as Colossians 1, 13 and 14 states? What is your condition this morning? Are you in a lost condition? You would think that man realizing the fact that he is a sinner separated from God would cause him to cry out to God, to seek his God. But there are people all over the world in that situation that don't cry out to God.

And yet. When a man recognizes that he is a sinner, separated from God, lost for all eternity, that should cause him to cry out to his God and ask him. To provide the rescue that only God Himself can provide. On the flip side of that, as a believer, What is your condition this morning? Maybe you're distressed. Maybe you're depressed. Maybe you're in fear of something. God wants to provide a deliverance for you as well. And God wants to do a mighty work in your life. And the way He's going to do that is through your comprehension of who He is and how He works in the life of His people.

So we move from the condition of the people to number two, the character of our God. There are four words that help us understand our God, His character, His nature, what He does, how He acts, and I want to show them to you this morning. God, our God, hears, listen, hears, this is point number one, the cry of his people.

He hears the cry of his people. They would make sounds that words could not express because of their Condition and they cried out to their God. And the Bible says that God he them.

Folks, I want to let you know something. It's important for you to know that God hears your groanings, your cries, your sighs. He does hear. And every time I read about God hearing something, I'm taken back to that story in the book of Genesis, the 16th chapter. Where Abraham and Sarah had this conversation concerning this child that would be the promised seed. Sarah was barren. She could have had no children. They'd been trying for years to have children, and God had made a promise to them that through this child, the nations of the world will be blessed.

And that God was going to multiply Abraham's seed as the sands of the sea, as the stars in the sky, and yet they had no children. So Sarah had a great idea. They had gone down to Egypt in disobedience to God back in Genesis chapter 12. And they had received a handmaid by the name of Hagar. And so she went to Abraham and said, I got an idea. You can go into my handmaid Hagar. You can have relations with her. And through her will be born a son, and that son will then be the promised seed that God has given to us.

Abraham thought for a moment and thought, sounds like a good idea to me. Why not? So that's what he did. Hagar conceived. She had a son. But the Bible tells us in Exodus, excuse me, Genesis chapter 16, that Sarah became enraged at Hagar. She would go to Abraham and say, Hey, Abraham, every time Hagar sees me, she looks at me with disdain because she had a child and I can't have one. And now I don't want that in my house any longer. You need to get rid of Hagar. You need to get her out of our house.

Abraham says, Well, wait a minute, Sarah, this is your idea. This is what you wanted to do. Now you want me to get rid of her? No. Sarah, you do. You do what you think is best for her. So Sarah kicks her out. Get out of here. You're gone. Take your kid, leave. In Genesis chapter 16, listen to what it says. So Sarah treated her harshly. And she fled from her presence. And now the angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring, on the way to Shur. And he said, Hagar, Sarah's maid, where have you come from and where are you going?

And she said, I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress, Sarah. Then the angel of the LORD said to her, Return to your mistress, and submit yourself to her authority. Moreover, the angel of the LORD said to her, I will greatly multiply your descendants, so that they shall be too many to count. The angel of the Lord said to her further, Behold, you are with child, and you shall bear a son, and you shall call his n Is. Because the Lord has given heed to your affliction. The Lord has heard your affliction.

You will name your son Ishmael, meaning God hears. God hears you, Hagar. God has heard your groanings. God has heard your sighs. God has heard about your problems with Sarah. God hears all about that. And I want to let you know something, Hagar. Your son's name is Ishmael. For everybody will know that God has heard of your condition. That's important. Because God hears the cries of his people. Now, I want you to note something. Hagar was groaning and crying, but the text never says she cried out to God, it doesn't.

But God heard, because that's the way our God is. He hears the condition of his people. But not only that, the Bible says back in Exodus chapter 2, not only did he hear their groanings, he said, God remembered his covenant.

So not only does God hear the cry of his people, but he remembers the covenant with his people. He remembers the covenant with his people. It's not the fact that you forget something and then when you hear it, you remember it. That's like us. I had forgotten about what I said. Oh, yes, now I remember.

God's not up in heaven saying, wait a minute, didn't I make a covenant with these people somewhere somewhere down the line? Oh, yes. Oh, how? Oh, I can't believe I forgot about it. That's not God. The very fact that He remembers speaks to the fact of His faithfulness. The Hebrew word for faithful and the Hebrew word for true come from the same root word. Faithfulness flows out of the truth of God. God is faithful. The Bible says in Isaiah 11, verse number 5, that faithfulness is the belt of his waist.

Psalm 33:4 says that all of God's work is done in faithfulness. Psalm 89:8 says that God's faithfulness surrounds him. Revelation 19: says he has a name. And that name is that he is faithful and true. See, God never forgets a thing, he always remembers what he said he would do, and he will always do what he promised he said he would do. Because that's the way our God is. In fact, the Bible says in Psalm:, In faithfulness thou hast afflicted me.

You see, God had to afflict His people. Because he made a promise to Abraham way back in Genesis 15 that they would all be enslaved for 400 years. He had to be true to his word. So, in faithfulness, he afflicted the people of God. That's important to note because God doesn't needlessly afflict you. God doesn't needlessly bring trials into your life as if He has nothing else to do but cause upheaval in your home. No, God in His faithfulness afflicts us because God is faithful to Himself and God promises to accomplish His purposes in your life.

You see, God wants to make you just like Him and will spare no expense. To make you just like him. And God will do all he can to mold you and to shape you into a character that pleases his name. That's what God wants to do. He hears the cry of his people. He remembers the covenant he has with his people. Number three.

He sees the condition of his people. It says, So God heard their groaning, God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and God saw the sons of Israel. He sees the condition of the people. That's important. Why? Because you need to understand that this phrase to look upon is used many times in the Old Testament. To speak of the fact that God does more than just happen to look down and see, but it has to do with the experience of knowing the condition. So he sees what's happening. He sees what's going on.

The psalmist said it this way, excuse me, Solomon said this way in Proverbs 15:3. The eyes of the Lord Are in every place watching the evil and the good. God sees everything. Over in Psalm 33, it says this: verse number 13: The Lord looks from heaven, he sees all the sons of men. From his dwelling place, he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth. Verse 18: Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope for his loving kind, to deliver their soul from death and to keep them alive in famine.

You see, God sees in order to do. He doesn't see just to observe and to watch what's happening from a distance. He sees in order to accomplish a purpose in your life. He sees the condition of his people. He remembers his covenant with his people. He hears the cry of his people. He is a faithful. kind, compassionate, loving, merciful God who is concerned more with you than you'll ever dream of. And then notice what it says.

It says, and God took notice of them. Literally, God knew. God knew. You see, that knowledge, listen, that knowledge of God is going to comfort me in every crisis. And give me confidence in every circumstance. That knowledge of God. Is so wonderful. That's why the psalmist said in Psalm 139: your knowledge, your understand is way beyond anything I can ever imagine. It goes way beyond my thoughts, and it does. God just knows. And whatever your condition is today, and whatever situation you will face tomorrow, or in the weeks and months ahead.

God knows. God knows. And he knows how to comfort his people. God knows because God is compassionate. He is kind. He is caring. He knows exactly what to do with his very own people. That's the way our God is. Point number three: What are some considerations for our church?

Two things. One is real who God is. Realize who God is. He is a God who hears, who remembers, who sees and knows. Job said in Job 23:10, He knows the way that I take. Psalm 103 tells us. That he remembers we are but dust. He knows. And he remembers that we're fragile. And you know what? You know what's so interesting about this as I was studying this whole thing? Remember that story of Hagar and Sarah? Hagar realized she named the well Bel Halar, which means the God who sees. The God who sees. Hagar realized, this pagan Egyptian woman realized that not only did God hear about her situation, but God saw her situation.

And she realized she finally saw the one who saw her. And she would say, This is the one who sees me, he knows of me. He has heard me. Now, listen, this is so important. I bet you never saw this ever before. Listen, in Genesis 37. When Joseph was sold by his brothers, remember when he was down in the pit? His brothers were having dinner while he was down the pit? And the text doesn't tell us, but you can imagine what Joseph was saying: hey, guys, you know, get me out of here. What are you doing? And they were up on top, having dinner, discussing what they were going to do with Joseph.

Some of them wanted to kill him. But notice what they did. You follow me so far? They sold him to a caravan of people. And who were they? They were Ishmaelites From the son of Ishmael. Listen to this. When nobody else hears, God hears. I bet you never saw that before, did you? Why was he sold to Ishmaelites? Well, because they were there. No! The Bible just doesn't put things in here because they happen to be there. Everything is orchestrated by God. The point of Genesis 37, when he's crying out, hey guys, why do you do this to me?

When they wouldn't hear him, when natural man refuses to hear and to respond to your situation, the point of the lesson is God. Years, and although he was sold into slavery and didn't necessarily understand all what's happening, when you know the end of the story, you look back and say, Man, God had a marvelous plan for Joseph. Because God heard. That's why he was sold to the Ishmaelites. Because his name means God hears. And Joseph would know that even though his brothers didn't hear his cry, God heard his cry.

And when your family doesn't hear your cry. When your spouse doesn't care about your cry, God hears. God hears the cry of his people. And God remembers his covenant with his people. And God sees their condition because only he know how to comfort his people. Nobody else does, only God. So realize who He is. Realize who he is. The Bible says in Jeremiah chapter 9, verses 23 and 24, that God doesn't want us to boast in our riches or our might.

or our wisdom. He wants us to boast and glory in one thing that we understand and know our God. Realize who he is. And number two, respond in worship.

Respond in worship. That's what Israel did. In Exodus chapter 4, listen to what it says. Verse number 31. So the people belie, and when they heard that the Lord was concerned about the sons of Israel, and that he had seen their affliction, then they bowed low. And worship the nation of Israel when Moses would finally come and explain to them the whole burning bush scene.

They bowed low in worship because God had seen their affliction. When you realize who He is The only legitimate res is to fall down and worship Him and glorify His name.