GIG244 The Difficulties of Deliverance

Web Description: At the Passover God delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt to bring them into the land He had promised their fathers. But their focus was on the difficulties that this deliverance meant to the life they had adapted to. Moving from our present age into God’s Kingdom can also feel like a disruption to the life we are comfortable with in this world. Our focus must be on His Kingdom and not on the difficulties of deliverance.

 

Show Notes: Passover celebrates the deliverance of Israel from their slavery in Egypt. When they first heard that the Lord had come down to deliver them, the children of Israel rejoiced and worshipped God. They were so thankful that He had heard their cries and was going to do something for them. Then Pharaoh made their bondage more severe. Suddenly, the process of deliverance was not as wonderful as they thought it would be.

 

The Israelites had a difficult life in Egypt, but they were conditioned to being slaves. As difficult as their situation was, it had been their lifestyle for around four hundred years. When God began to deliver them, they faced major disruptions to what had become their comfort zone. As Christians today we too have adapted to a world that has grown increasingly wicked and oppressive. We want deliverance from the bondage of this age. But when God begins to move, that will inevitably mean disrupting our comfort zones.

 

People tend to be fearful of the end-times. But the end-times are when God delivers us from the bondages we have to this age as He brings the age of His Kingdom. During these days we might go through many difficult things. And our deliverance at times might disrupt us and confuse us because we have adapted to life under this bondage. Let us therefore keep our focus on the Lord and what He has promised in His Word, not murmuring and complaining about our circumstances but rejoicing in His Kingdom.

 

Key Verses:

 

•       Exodus 3:7–8. “I have … given heed to their cry. … So I have come down to deliver them.”

•       Exodus 4:29–31. “They heard that the LORD was concerned about the sons of Israel.”

•       Exodus 5:1–2. “I do not know the LORD, and besides, I will not let Israel go.”

•       Exodus 5:10–19. “Complete your work quota, your daily amount, just as when you had straw.”

•       John 12:31. “The ruler of this world will be cast out.”

•       Exodus 5:20–23. “You have made us odious in Pharaoh’s sight.”

•       Exodus 14:11–12. “It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”

•       Psalms 106:6–12. “Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders.”

•       Deuteronomy 6:20–23. “He brought us out from there in order to bring us in.”

 

Quotes:

 

•       “For the last seventy or more years, we have seen things moving in a negative direction as far as things about society and morality, about Judeo-Christian values no longer being a focal point. There's a lot that's gone on, and yet it's happened over a slow period of time. And as it has happened, we have gotten more and more used to it.”

•       “God is delivering us and yet at the same time there are a few difficulties with deliverance. And those difficulties really are found within our own hearts and what has happened to us by the influence of what we've lived under for our lifetime.”

•       “They couldn't remember the wonders of what God had done in delivering them from Egypt. And this is the attitude that we find sometimes ourselves fighting. It can be very uncomfortable to really face what's necessary in being delivered by God.”

 

Takeaways:

 

1.    God is bringing the end of this age to bring us into the age of His Kingdom where Messiah reigns as King. We may not find this process or even His Kingdom in alignment with our comfort zone.

2.    It might be a difficult transition. But God in His love, grace, and kindness is bringing us out of all our conditionings to a dying age. And He is reconditioning us to be able to live in the days of His Kingdom. We open our hearts to this experience of Passover.

3.    When God brings deliverance, we cannot be so focused on our temporary circumstances that we murmur and complain against God. Let us stay focused on the promises of His Kingdom.