All right, Exodus chapter 12 and verse number 40. And if you're thinking about context, obviously this is in the middle of the children of Israel being led by Moses out of Egyptian bondage. And it's their transition time when the Lord is speaking to Moses. Notice if you would, chapter 12, verse number 40. Now the sojourning of the children of Israel who dwelt in Egypt was 430 years and it came to pass At the end of the 430 years, even the self same day, it came to pass that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. It is a night to be much observed unto the Lord for bringing them out from the land of Egypt. Statements like that is where this book gets its name, its title of Exodus. Notice, if you would, verse number 41. All the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. It is a night to be much observed unto the Lord for bringing them out. That's the idea of the word Exodus that gives the name to this book. Bringing them out of the land of Egypt. This is that night of the Lord to be observed of all the children of Israel. in their generations. In other words, it's to set a precedent, a mindset, a significant marker, if you would, in the thinking, the significance of the work of God bringing the children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage. So I'd like us to consider the subject of Exodus tonight. And I believe that you're gonna be shown something from the scriptures that's gonna help you in several ways. And I'm looking forward to being able to communicate this to you tonight. Let's pray. Father, thank you. For this time together, help us as we trace this significant theme from the beginning of the scriptures to the end of the scripture and learn better how you work. And I trust to, Lord, get a better understanding of the Bible as well that will help us in our Christian lives as we move forward for you to learn more about you and your word and how you have worked and will continue to work in the lives of your people both in history past and in the present and in the future. And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Understandably, for most of us, when we hear the word Exodus, we think of the very book where we are. We think of the book called Exodus, the second book of the Bible. We think of the 430 years of bondage in Egypt that the scripture addresses here that Moses wrote about. We think about God hearing the cry of his oppressed people and the story of his raising up Moses as the deliverer. We think about the 10 plagues. and Pharaoh throughout the plagues further hardening his heart and refusing to let the children of Israel go. We think about it culminating in that 10th and final plague, the death of the firstborn, and where in order to protect their own people, God had the Israelites to slay the Passover lamb and to apply the blood to the doorposts and the lentil of their home so that when the death angel passed through, he would pass over. the house of those who had trusted in the Lord. We think about the children of Israel being sent out of Egypt, led out, brought out under Moses' leadership. We think about them being enriched by the people of Egypt, so glad to get rid of them that they just gave them silver and gold and it became important in sustaining them in the coming months. We think about their coming to the Red Sea and Pharaoh changing his mind and mustering his chariots and armies wanting to bring them back into slavery, and then God further demonstrating His power by parting the Red Sea, bringing the children of Israel through on dry ground, and then swallowing up the armies of Pharaoh. We think about their being led by the Shekinah glory of God, the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night. We think about all of these things, and it is significant for us to recognize the place that this single event, if you would, if we view it as a single event, has in the whole of Scripture. And it really would become a basis for God's interaction with His people for a long time. But I want us to consider tonight The idea of the Exodus is more than just this single event, but it really is a theme throughout Scripture, what we might call, if we were speaking in musical terms, a motif. As a matter of fact, I've actually read books that describe this motif. How many of you have heard as it relates to music? And if you haven't, it's okay, but you've heard the term motif. Okay, it's a French word that translates to our English word motive. Okay, it speaks of the purpose of a song and it refers to a brief portion of a song that is maybe four or five notes depending on the motif and it's a repeated sound throughout that song that really ties it all together and the music communicates the author's intent or purpose. For instance, da da da da. Da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da, Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. He was in the middle of losing his hearing, and so he was experiencing some darkness in life. And literally that sound is meant to communicate the inevitability of fate. And he wanted the sound of knocking, fate's knocking at the door, there's nothing you can do to get away from it. So, da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da. And it literally communicated the purpose of the song. That was the message he wanted, and over and over and over, ad nauseum, you're in da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da, and it sticks in your mind. What about this one? Da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da-da-da-da. Da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da-da-da. How great thou art. You hear the motif, those three notes, da, da, da, da. And what is it communicating? Throughout the song, this ascendancy is communicating the majesty of our God and the wise decision that it is to just place your complete trust in him. We're gonna close with how great thou art tonight. But here's the point. If the Bible, the story of the Bible were a musical score, I want you to understand this evening that the theme of Exodus would be something of the motif, if you would, or the recurring purpose that is over and over mentioned or considered in scripture, and it does two things. Number one, it teaches us more about the character of our God. Get this, our God is a delivering God. He is a delivering God, and that truth about Him is meant to create within us a trust in Him, a comfort that no matter what difficulty, trial, captivity, struggle I may be in, our God is a delivering God, and He's always bringing out. He's always making a way out. And you can make application physical infirmities, struggle, interpersonal relationships, whatever it is. And this motif, this motive, if you would, this recurring statement of purpose, this theme over and over and over throughout scripture. So repeatedly, as we think about the Exodus, the actual event that we just read about in Exodus chapter 12, repeatedly throughout history, throughout the Psalms, throughout the prophets, the actual event of the Exodus is brought up in relationship to God and his people as a basis for teaching them more about his care, his capabilities and his claims on Israel in particular. Because he delivered them, because he is the God who is bringing out, and because specifically he brought the nation of Israel out, he has a claim on them. And they should remember that he is the one that cares for them. And as they think about the power that it took for that to take place, they should be reminded of his capability to deliver whatever the situation is. And so I want us to get this tonight, the concept of the exodus, a way out or God bringing out, views God as, and I love this, there's a song that refers to God as the way maker. He's the waymaker. Where there isn't a way, He makes a way when it comes to His power as a deliverer. And so God as the waymaker is far more than just a single event recorded in the book of Exodus that occurred in history in 1486 BC under Moses' leadership. It is a recurring theme, a motif, if you would, that weaves all through scripture to teach us that our God is a God who brings his people out, and we can trust him and find great comfort in that. It is the repeated way of God working. It's the guiding motive, if you would, behind why God does what he does, how he works, and it gives marvelous, comforting insight into his character. The events and patterns that we're gonna consider in Bible history tonight and the remainder of our time are too clear and too consistent to be coincidental. They're purposely tied together as a theme in scripture. And so I want you to understand tonight, it is God's nature to be a way maker. It is God's nature to bring his people out. to be involved in regular exoduses, so to speak. He always has a way out for those who are His. Now, the timing may be in His sovereign plan. It may not be my timing, but it's His timing. The means are His. The purpose is behind His work in an exodus and bringing us out of a situation or bringing His people in history out. The purposes are His. The glory belongs to Him. But we can rest assured, because of who our God is and how He works, that He's always at work for our good as well in the end. We're not going to turn to every passage of Scripture. I want you to go with me, though, to Genesis 3. This is where we'll start tonight. And here's what I want you to be thinking. I want you to be noticing how this is just a common theme throughout all Scripture. We're going to view this theme, this motif, if you would, of Exodus and God bringing His people or individuals out at different times. We're going to see it's too related, too much related, too clear, too consistent throughout all Scripture to be coincidental. And then I want you to be learning more about your God so that in whatever situation you may be in, you can be learning that God is in the process of bringing out. He's in the process of leading through. He's in the process of being a way maker in your life and in mine. Genesis chapter 3, here we are right at the very beginning. And it's really the first of what we might call a type of exodus in the Bible. Adam and Eve are created, they're placed in a garden, they're given instruction not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Under the temptation of the Satan, they disobey. Eve's deceived, Adam knowingly disobeys. They do so. They plunge themselves and their descendants under the curse of sin. Not just spiritual death, separation from God, but physical death will eventually come to them. And I want you to notice what the consequence of that is. They cannot stay in the garden. And we might think, man, they have subjected themselves to sin, they're gonna die physically, their spiritual death in picture now as far as being separated from the life of God, it's gonna hinder their fellowship, but God in his grace slew an animal, gave them coverings of skin as a picture of his redemptive work and his covering of righteousness so that some level of fellowship can still be experienced. but he is going to kick them out of the garden and a cherubim is gonna stand at the entrance to the garden so they can't get back in. We might think bad. God exits them. He expels them from the garden. It's a kind of exodus. But I want you to notice his purpose. Chapter three, verse 22. And the Lord God said, behold, the man has become as one of us to no good and evil. And now lest he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat and live forever. Wait a minute. What condition is he in? Is he still innocent and free from sin or is he under the curse of sin? He's under the curse of sin. So to eat and live forever would mean to live forever in a sin-cursed dying body. How many of you are signed up for that one? Notice this, therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man and he placed him at the east of the garden of Eden, cherubims and a flaming sword which turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life. What would seem a bad thing was actually one of the most merciful things God could have done. because it would only be through physical death that eternal life could eventually be experienced. And so one of the most merciful things that God did is expel Adam and Eve from the garden. And it really is the starting point, if you would, of this theme of Exodus. As we move forward in the scripture, we come to Genesis chapter 6 and verses 5 through 8. I'm not going to take the time to turn here just for the sake of time, but I would encourage you to write these down. The world is wicked. The imaginations of man's heart is evil only continually. The world is corrupt and God finds one man named Noah who found grace in his eyes God calls Noah raises Noah up Noah under God's direction builds an art get this that would provide an exodus Way out of the coming judgment the worldwide flood that would destroy the wickedness of man from the earth and so there was deliverance from wickedness and it was a kind of exodus a removal from a bringing out get this so that the life of Righteousness the seed line of Messiah could go on and yet God still would judge the earth We move forward in time Noah and his three sons come off the ark Genesis chapter 12 and Genesis chapter 12, notice verse number one. And the Lord had said, past tense, unto Abram. Would you notice the next three words? Get thee, what? Out. Get thee out of thy country and from thy kindred. If you read back up in chapter 11, that's Ur of the Chaldees, a place of idolatry and paganism. Get thee out from thy country and from thy kindred and from thy father's house and to a land that I will show thee and I will make of thee a great nation. And I will bless thee and make thy name great, and thou shalt be a blessing. And I will bless them that bless thee and curse him that cursed thee. And in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. So Abraham, what's the word? Departed. A kind of exodus that really would be the focusing of God's attention on a single man that a family would come from Abraham's descendants that would turn into a nation carrying on the seed line of Messiah. And it's woven together with this theme of exodus. God bringing Noah out of the wickedness of the world through the ark, protecting him from judgment. God bringing Abram, out of Ur the Chaldees so he could begin to focus his work of redemption, the seed line of Messiah, through the descendants of Abraham. And so a man would be brought out. He would be chosen. A family would be prepared. We'll not look at this passage specifically, but in Genesis chapter 28 and verse number 10, we read of Jacob, Abraham's grandson, who when he stole his brother's birthright, he stole Esau's birthright, chapter number 28 and verse number 10 tells us that Isaac, his father, sends him forth. Might as well just look at, let me read chapter 28 and verse number 10, and Jacob, Went out, do you see the thematic terminology? Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran, and he lighted upon a certain place. He would hear revelation from God about his future on his way to be with Laban, where he would find his wives, Leah and Rachel. And from those two women and their handmaids would come the 12 sons of Israel, the tribes of Israel, the nation of Israel that we know of today. And it began with a way out. Even, and this is encouraging to me, even when Jacob had blown it, even when Jacob had done some things that were wrong, God in his mercy and his grace is still providing a way out. And you'll notice that as you see these themes in scripture, we don't get a way out because we're awesome. But God, in his mercy and his grace, has a way of providing a way out to his people. When they humble themselves before him and they are wanting to submit to his big plan, God has a way of being a way maker, if you would, a God who brings his people through, brings them out, even when sometimes they're in the consequence of their own wrong choices. You move forward to Genesis chapter 39. Now Jacob has all of these sons that would be the 12 tribes of Israel. He has an 11th son by the name of Joseph. Genesis 39 and really Genesis 37 to 39 tell us that Joseph was really loved by his brothers. Right or wrong? Okay. No, they hated him. They plotted to kill him. They were envious of him and his relationship with his father and that coat of many colors. It was like a lightning rod. And when they did try and kill him, do you remember, Reuben stepped in, they ended up throwing him in a pit, and they decided instead of killing him, let's profit off of this, let's sell him into slavery. Here comes this band of Midianite traitors. Notice if you would, Genesis chapter 39, verse number one. And Joseph, after his brothers had sold him to these Midianite traders to haul him down to Egypt as a slave, Joseph was brought down. You see that terminology of went out, brought out, brought down? God moving, bringing out of a difficult situation. And God brought Joseph out of a difficult situation in his big plan. And here's something that's important. Our God is a way maker. Our God is a God who is the God of an exodus. It shows his care for us. It shows his capability, his power, and what he can do. And it shows his claim on our life, but he doesn't always, when he is working like this, he doesn't do it on our time clock. And I think about situations that you and I can be in and we're like, God, an exodus right now would be very helpful. But God's operating by His own time plan. And we see this in the life of someone like Joseph, who was taken down to Egypt, went through all that he did, and it would be 22 years before he would see the fulfillment of his dreams. And yet God was bringing him out of that difficult situation with his brothers in order to continue this theme of Exodus. And it's interesting. We think of Genesis chapter 46. A famine comes that affects Jacob and the rest of the family back in Israel. And it's a famine that has the potential to bring death. But then Joseph is discovered. He sends with the Pharaoh's help. He sends for Jacob. Get this, for Jacob and the whole family to come down into Egypt. Notice Genesis chapter 46 and verses one through four. And Israel took his journey with all that he had and came to Beersheba and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac. And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, here am I. And he said, I am God, the God of thy father. Fear not to go down into Egypt. Here's another kind of exodus. being delivered out of a famine. For I will there make of thee a great nation. I will go down with thee into Egypt and I will surely bring thee up again. And so even in giving an exodus or bringing Jacob through an exodus out of famine down into Egypt, he's prophesying of yet a future exodus that is really the big one that we know about. Keep your hand here and look with me if you would at Psalm 105. Psalm 105 is a parallel passage of scripture to this. Psalm 105. Verse number 16. The psalmist here is recounting Israel's history. Jacob and his 12 sons, the tribes, the sons that would become the tribes that would become the nation. And notice what the psalmist says, moreover he, speaking of the Lord, called for a famine upon the land. This famine is gonna be used in order to get Jacob and the rest of the sons down into Egypt to reunite with Joseph for the next 430 years so they can be formed into a nation. Okay, he called for a famine, he break the whole staff of bread. Notice verse 17, Joseph may have sat in that prison wondering, why did God allow this to happen? Yeah, he delivered me from the difficulties with my brothers in a kind of exodus, but what is his purpose in bringing me here? Verse number 17, God, the Bible tells us God was at work. He sent a man before them, them who? Jacob and the rest of the family. that would include Judah, through whom the seed line of Messiah would come and the kings of Israel, okay? He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant, whose feet they hurt with fetters. He was laid in iron until the time that his word came. The word of the Lord tried him. The king sent and loosed him, even the ruler of the people, and let him go free. He made him lord of his house and ruler of all his substance. And really, for the rest of the psalm, I'll not take the time to read it, for the rest of the psalm, the psalmist recounts how it's this theme of Exodus, if you would. whether it's Joseph's exodus and getting him out of that difficult situation with his brothers and down into Egypt, or whether it's God using Joseph to prepare the way so that Jacob and the rest of the family can experience this exodus out of famine to come down into Egypt, all the way leading up to what would ultimately take place 430 years later when the Exodus would take place and God would bring his people as a nation out of Egyptian bondage in order to fulfill his plan through them. And so that leads us back to where we started, Exodus 1 through 15. the Exodus as we know it. Of course, when God would use Moses to lead the children of Israel out of that 430 year captivity, Egyptian bondage, they would be two years in the wilderness. They would come to Kadesh Barnea. They would refuse to obey God and follow him to bring them into the occupation of the promised land. Remember the story, 12 men went to spy on Cain and 10 were Bad and two were good. What do you think they saw in Canaan? And the people refused, they believed the evil report of the 10 spies, and they refused to follow God, to trust God. That generation that had seen the 10 plagues, that had walked through the Red Sea on dry ground, that had experienced that exodus, they refused to believe God. And so the Bible tells us that God in judgment on them sent them back into the wilderness for another 38 years so that for a total of 40 years they wandered in the wilderness. But God wasn't done with His being a way maker. He wasn't done with His being a God who brings His people out. Because the Bible tells us that in Joshua chapter number three, verses seven through 10, that he's gonna raise up a successor to Moses, a man by the name of Joshua, who's gonna lead the people, get this, out of the wilderness wandering, another miraculous water crossing, and into the land of promise. Joshua chapter 3, verses 7 to 10, and verses 15 to 17 speak of that. And I will not take the time to read that, but I would encourage you to write those references down. And it really is yet another occurrence of an exodus, God bringing His people out of a type of bondage or a difficult experience, the wilderness wandering, into the promised land. Why? So that the second generation of Israelite children that had grown up in the wilderness, they themselves, before they crossed into the promised land, they too could see the miraculous power of God. It's an interesting parallel in scripture to do a study, and I would encourage you to do this sometime. Study the parallels between Moses and the crossing of the Red Sea, and Joshua and the crossing of the Jordan River. The parallel of the two, and the significance that it would have had, especially in the lives of that second generation. Children of Israel, under Joshua's leadership, occupy the promised land, modern day Israel. Palestine, as it's sometimes called, the land of Israel. And when they go in, the children of Israel will obey the Lord and follow the Lord for the rest of Joshua's life and all the elders that were contemporaries with Joshua. But once Joshua and the elders die off, the Bible tells us that the children of Israel entered into a very dark time in their history, a time when there was no king in Israel and every man did that which was right in his own eyes. And they would go into this downward spiral, six cycles of apostasy. And yet God is still the waymaker. He's still the God of the Exodus. And do you remember that as dark, as dark as Judges is, It's a great testament to the faithfulness of God to His covenant people. Because the children of Israel, they would be tempted to go into idolatry, and then God would send judgment on them for idolatry, oppression from some Canaanite nation, and they would cry out for deliverance. And what would God do? God wouldn't go, na-na-na-na-na-na-na. What would He do? He would hear, And in mercy, he would raise up, get this, a man that would, or in some cases like Deborah, a woman, a judge, a deliverer who would bring them out of that time of oppression. All in keeping, consistent keeping with the character of God as a way maker. A God of exodus. A God who in His power and His love and care is constantly bringing His people out. Even when sometimes it's a mess of their own making. And so the book of Judges really is one exodus after another, after another, if you would, but it's a testament to the faithfulness of God until the relative stability of the monarchy would come. And yet the monarchy, the kings of Israel, would not provide or be the ultimate remedy because many of the kings were good, but many were bad. Some were good and bad and in different orders. And so, ultimately, it would lead, get this, to another captivity, the Babylonian captivity, where for 70 years, from 605 BC to 537 BC, God, in judgment on his people, would send them to Babylon. But God is the waymaker. He's the God of the Exodus. bringing his people out and in fulfillment of his promise through Jeremiah and his promise through Daniel and Ezekiel. He would do just that in 537. He would stir in the heart of the Persian King Cyrus to make a call to any of the Israelites that want to go back and rebuild the temple and God would raise up a man by the name of Zerubbabel and a scribe by the name of Ezra and these men would be used of God as leaders to bring back out of Babylonian captivity some 50,000 Israelites in the first move and they would come back and through a process of time, rebuild that temple. Eventually God would bring Nehemiah. Nehemiah would be used to rebuild the wall in 52 days, 53 days. And so it's yet another exodus, bringing the people out of the Babylonian captivity. They return, they rebuild. After the city is rebuilt, the walls are rebuilt, the temple's rebuilt. They enter into really a time of weakness. They're still under the authority of other nations, waiting the 400 silent years. And as you study history, those 400 silent years between the close of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament, the Gospel of Matthew, you'll find that at different times they were under the authority of the Empire of Greece. under the empire of Syria, under the empire of Rome, and that's who their oppressor would be when Jesus came. Now, I want you to turn to Luke chapter 9. Luke chapter 9. Of course, we're jumping now from the last part of the Old Testament, having begun all the way back in Genesis, folks. Jumping now into the New Testament, the life of Christ, Luke chapter 9. At a particular time in Jesus' ministry, the earlier stages of His ministry, Jesus intentionally takes Peter, James, and John up on a mountain for a very specific purpose. And I want you to notice, beginning in Luke chapter 9, verse number 28, And it came to pass, about an eight days after these sayings, He, that is Jesus, took Peter, John, and James, and went up in a mountain to a mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering. And behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias," or Elijah. Moses representing the law, Elijah the prophets. It's significant. It's as if to symbolize the law and the prophets culminating in Jesus, okay? And so the disciples witnessed Jesus talking with Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spake of His... What's the word? Decease. That's the English word. They spake of His decease, which He should accomplish at Jerusalem. Now, I don't want to get too technical here, because I would get beyond my abilities very quickly. But you know that before our Bible was in English, the New Testament was in Greek, okay? The Greek New Testament, can I pronounce for you the word that is translated deceased? When these men, Peter, James, and John, hear Jesus standing with Moses and Elijah, they hear him speak of, they hear them talking about his deceased, which he would accomplish at Jerusalem. The Greek word, are you ready for this, is exodus. Peter, James, and John overhear Jesus speaking of the way out that He was going to accomplish through what He was about to go through at Jerusalem. His death on the cross, His body being buried in a grave, and His resurrection and power on the morning of the third day, Jesus called it an exodus. It's a way out. It's an exodus. led by a new Moses, bringing his people out of a far greater bondage than Egyptian bondage, a far greater captivity than Babylonian captivity, but bringing his people out of the bondage of sin, delivering them from the wage of death, the ultimate exodus. that Jesus was going to accomplish through the work of His cross and resurrection. And it really sets the precedent through what Jesus discusses with Moses and Elijah, sets the precedent for how we should view the whole of Scripture and His work on our behalf. Psalm 40, I waited patiently for the Lord and He inclined unto me and heard my cry and brought me up also out of a horrible pit. I think about 1 Corinthians, look at 1 Corinthians chapter 15. 1 Corinthians chapter 15. There's an interesting description given to Jesus as it relates to the work of his resurrection. 1 Corinthians 15 and verse number 20. 1 Corinthians 15 and verse number 20. But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the, what's the word? Firstfruits. Okay, what does firstfruits imply? It implies that it's the first of what? More to come. And when you tie that together with the idea of His exodus, the point that Scripture is making is this, is that Jesus is a new Moses, if you would, who's leading his people through the work of his cross and his resurrection. He is leading his people. He is the firstfruits. John in Revelation 1 would identify him as the first begotten from the dead, implying there are more that are coming who are gonna be born, if you would, delivered out of death unto eternal life. And so the point is, is we consider this theme, this motif of scripture, that Jesus, through his work on the cross and his resurrection, he called it an exodus. And like a new Moses, he's gonna lead his people, he has led his people, out of the bondage of sin, out of the victory of death, into eternal life, and it's the ultimate exodus. And so he can be described as the firstfruits from the dead. And Paul uses the same term again. Notice 1 Corinthians 15, 20. But now as Christ risen from the dead, become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order, Christ the firstfruits. Afterward, they that are Christ's at his coming. His coming for what? His coming to bring about another kind of exodus. This theme just keeps rolling out further and further in scripture. God being the way maker, the one who brings out different kinds of bondage or difficulty. And so as we think about Christ that is coming, we think about another exodus that we call in theology the rapture. When Jesus comes to take his bride to heaven, we'll be caught up together with dead saints who have been resurrected to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 1 Thessalonians 4. It's another kind of exodus, caught up, caught away, brought to dwell in the presence of the Lord forever. Jesus prophesied it to his disciples in John 14. I'm going to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again. Okay? I will come again. And He's going to bring us to be with Him forever in His presence and in His home. And we're going to be exodused, if I can say that, out of here. We're going to be brought out by the new Moses, the Lord Jesus. Even those who experience physical death, look at 2 Peter 1, and we're winding this down. Stick with me, okay? 2 Peter 1. Peter's coming to the end of his life. This is powerful to me, because you remember, Peter was one of the three disciples that was on the Mount of Transfiguration, saw Jesus transfigured, and overheard his conversation with Moses and Elijah when he was talking about the exodus that he was gonna accomplish at Jerusalem. Notice what Peter says, 2 Peter chapter one and verse number 15. Moreover, I will endeavor that ye may be able after my, what's the word? That's the English word. But Peter, following his Lord's leadership, the Greek word is exodus. The same word that Jesus used that Peter, James, and John overheard Jesus using on the Mount of Transfiguration. Peter, because he was one of Christ's own, could take that same certainty and apply it to his life that his death was not an end. His death was a way out. It was a way of God bringing us out of this life, this sin-cursed life, and into new and eternal and glorified life. And Peter said, my own decease, my own exodus is coming. Not only about you, but having faced death, and having stood at the bedside of loved ones and watched them pass into the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, and knowing that barring the rapture happening in my lifetime, there will be a day when someone will lay my body on a deathbed. that it is not an end. It's an exodus. It is a bringing out where God, who is the waymaker, will bring us out of the trials of life, bring us out of the difficulties, bring us through death, and yet another exodus. Another is Revelation. I'm going to give this and finish. Revelation 11, 15. The Bible tells us that there's a time coming when all the kingdoms of this world are gonna be issued into, brought into the kingdom of our Lord and his Christ and he shall reign forever and ever. And then time and history is going to experience an ultimate exodus into the eternal kingdom of Jesus Christ, a new heaven and a new earth. Do you see what's happened here? We started in Genesis with an exodus out of a garden. And we've traced, through highlights of scripture, we've traced this recurring motif, this theme of exodus, one after another, after another, after another, all the way to a final exodus when we, who are the people of Jesus Christ, the new Moses, will be brought into the ultimate promised land. The new heaven, I'm telling you what, folks, when you see something like this, I don't know, this just makes me, I wanna go to heaven tonight, okay? But it makes me love Jesus all the more. It makes me love my Bible all the more. Because I realize, oh, that God is wanting to communicate to us. And so when we get a grip of something like this, it should help us as we study the scriptures to be looking for, hey, the character of my God, he's a way maker. Where is this happening in this story or this passage? What's God in the process of doing to bring someone out? 1 Corinthians 10, verses 12 through 13. There's no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man. But God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you're able, but will with that temptation or that test also make a way to escape. An exodus. In other words, in the daily trials and tests, temptations of life, whether it's a difficulty where God is drawing me into greater dependence upon him, whether it's a temptation to sin, God in his faithfulness is always at work making a way through and out. It's his character, it's his nature. 2 Peter 2 verses 8 through 11, God knows how to deliver his people out of their temptations. It's the character of God. I won't take the time to turn there, Psalm 34 verses 4 through 8 and 17 to 22 over and over and over in Psalm 34, read it, it'll encourage you. The Lord knows how to deliver his people out of their troubles. It's his character, it's his nature. And so, if we understand that this is one of God's themes, that he's woven into the scripture to teach us more about himself, it gives us a way of understanding the Bible, it gives us a way of better knowing our God, so that in whatever situation I may be in, you may be in, I can look at the scripture and I can know, regardless of what it is, my God is a way maker. He's a God who works traditionally, habitually, historically. He works through bringing his people through and out. It is the way he works. So whatever situation we're in, he's not finished. You're not finished. He always makes a way out. He is the God of exoduses. And so we're gonna close by singing a song with that motif. Da-da-da-da. Da-da-da-da-da-da. Da-da-da-da. Hear that repeat? Da-da-da-da-da-da. Da-da-da-da. Da-da-da-da-da-da. Da-da-da-da. You say, okay, pastor, we get it, okay? But that's the point. It's become one of the most beloved songs of God's people, and much of it has to do with that motif. It's the music that says what it says. Oh Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder consider all the worlds thy hands have made. I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, thy power throughout the world displayed. Then sings my soul. And that music ties together with the theme over and over and it embeds it in our hearts and reminds us of the power, the majesty of our God. He is a way maker. He's a God who works through exoduses. And he works in the same way in our lives. Father, thank you for your word. Thank you for how you've challenged my heart over the last couple of days in preparing for this and how over the last several months in reading on it, you've really taught me so much more about yourself and your word and how it's opened things up for me. And I pray that you would use your word in the lives of your people here at Liberty Baptist Church tonight. Amen. Hymn number 22, it's the top of the hour. And Hunter's gonna come and lead us in. Let's sing the first and the last verses. Hymn number 22. Is that the right number? Did I get it right? How Great Thou Art. Join us in standing if you would and let's sing. Let's lift up our voices and just really sing it out and praise we conclude our service tonight.