you Oh. Good morning, everyone. It's really good to have you here in our service this morning, and we give everyone a very warm welcome. If you're a visitor here, it's great to have you this morning. We just trust you'll feel very much at home. We don't have enough, a lot of announcements this week. First of all, can I welcome our speaker this morning, and that's David Goode. I think, David, this is the first time you've preached in the church. So we welcome him and trust that the Lord will bless his ministry this morning and again this evening because David will be our speaker at six o'clock. Now at five o'clock, we have our prayer meeting. Everyone's welcome to come along now to pray, not only for our evening service, but for the vacancy that we have in our church at the minute. So five o'clock, our prayer meeting, six o'clock, David will be speaking again. Tuesday, we have our prayer meeting at half past seven. Again, you're all welcome to come to that meeting. Looking forward to next Sunday at both of our services, that's 11 in the morning and six in the evening, our speaker is the Reverend Frank Bennett. Some other announcements on our church prayer calendar today, we are thinking of our catering team, that's the group of ladies who just look after all the catering functions in the church and we're very thankful for all that they do. Can I also on behalf of the church extend our sympathy to Arthur Parks on the death of his sister Sally. We've been praying for her for some time now and so just pray for the family circle at this time. Well these are all the announcements, they're all made God willing and I'm just going to ask Jeff to come and he's in prayer now. Let's pray. Just in the quietness and stillness of the church, if the Lord has laid something or someone on your heart, just bring it to Him now before we pray. O God, our most gracious, heavenly and loving Father, again, Father God, we come into your presence on this another new day. For this is your day. This is the day that the Lord has made, and we shall be glad in it. And again, Father God, we just come before the throne of grace to praise, to glorify, to uplift, to worship. and magnify your holy name for who and what you are. You're the creator of the universe. You're the giver of every good and perfect gift. You're the great I am. And Father God, because of Calvary, we can come before you with our prayers and our petitions because we know that you are a listening and an answering God. And we thank you that No matter what situation we find ourselves in, you're there ready to wrap your loving and protecting arms around us. You'll not let us bear any more than we're able to bear. And Father God, we thank you for all the goodness and mercy that you bestow upon us on a daily basis. Father, we thank you for our homes, the food on our tables, the clothes we wear, our family, our health, and our friends. But Father God, may we never ever take these things for granted. And Father, we wouldn't be unmindful of those who are less fortunate, some indeed who have very little or nothing, but we know that they are still your children and that you love them dearly. And Father God, we would just bring the work and the witness of the church at this time before you. Father, we thank you that what you're doing through this time of vacancy. Thank you, Father, how we're being blessed Sunday by Sunday by the messages that we are being brought to by your servants. And Father, we would just pray. We don't want any man, Father. We want Your man, Father. And we know whenever the time is ready, that name will be brought to us, Father. And until then, we would just look to You for guidance, Father. We pray for the Diagnet, that You would bless each brother on it, that You would give us wisdom when we meet. You would be one of our number. And as we discuss the different business of the church that you would guide us, and whatever is discussed and decided, it would be sometimes difficult decisions have to be made. But whatever is discussed and decided, it would be ultimately to bring glory and honor to your name. And Father, we would just pray for all those who attend the fellowship, whether they be member or adherent. We thank you that you would just bless them, you would undertake for them, watch over them, supply their every need. But Father God, may we all look to you because we know that you're in total control. You know the end from the beginning and your will will be done in your time. And Father God, we would bring the sick of the fellowship before you. Father, there are many who need a touch from Yourself, Father. Whether they need a touch physically or spiritually or both, Father, we just bring them before You. We know that You're the Great Physician and with You all things are possible. And yes, You are the God of miracles. Father, we would lift them up collectively. They're all known to You by name. And we just pray that Your will would be done in each of their lives today. Just thinking of a few, Father, we think of Clifford and Maisie Johnson once again, of Sammy and Mae Robinson, of Charlie and June Cosgrove and Billy, and Margaret Weir, Father. Just be all that they need you to be at this time. And we would think to you of Billy and Sylvia Brazier over there in Germany, both of them needing major surgery. Just be with them and bring that peace within their heart. And Father, we would just pray for all the activities of the church that go on. during the week. We would thank you that through these ministries, boys and girls, adults are being reached. We realise that this is maybe the only time that they will ever hear the gospel. We would pray and thank you for the leaders and for all those who help. that they're giving of their time to serve you in this way. And we would remember also the musicians and the praise team. We thank you that so faithfully, week by week, they lead the worship. We would just pray for James as he will come and lead the worship, and also for the AV team as they work away there in the background. And Father, we would just pray for our brother David. We welcome him to our midst, and we would just pray that you would anoint him from on high. We're looking forward to hearing that the message that you have laid upon his heart, and that we can all say that it was good to have been here, because it was here that we met with the Lord. And now we would just pray that you would bless us all, and that you would make us all a blessing. For it's in your name, and for your mercy's sake, we would ask these things. Amen. Well, good morning, everyone. Nice to see you here. Nice to see so many people out this morning. And good morning to those at home who are watching online. And it's great to have you too. We're just going to open this part of our service with a good old favorite. Burdens are lifted at Calvary. Jesus is very near. Burn your lips and bow your knees, Jesus is very near Pass your hair on Jesus' head, He will hurry and be In Calvary, in Calvary, in Calvary The Savior can see, every heart in a tear. Burdens are heavy and cowardly, He does His every deed. Burdens are heavy and cowardly, Cowardly, cowardly. Okay, you can sit down, I'll give you a break this morning. Since we're doing a lot of singing, we'll not keep you on your feet the whole time. This next one is a little, I nearly said melody, medley of two songs squashed in together, which is Leaning on the Everlasting Arms and My Troubled Soul. oh ah ah Salvation This morning, that you like me are leaning on is as we all know we've all tried it and it doesn't work This time, this is for the kids. So if the kids want to make their way up to the front. Elizabeth, you're trying to... This one's called My Lighthouse. Put your hands up, kids, if you know it. A good few who keep you right. Well, she hasn't a clue either, so... I bless the evening, light of hope will lead me through. This was an easy one, so easy. I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, You are my jealousy, my heart's a merry-go-round. You are the peace in my soul. I like that, I like that, I don't have to comment. There's a pattern he changes, oh, oh, oh, changes, oh, oh, oh, My lighthouse, my lighthouse, shining angel I am, I will follow you. My lighthouse, my lighthouse, I will come to call you in the happy evening. Well, I think we should give the boys and girls a round of applause, because they've done so well. That's us, boys and girls. You can now head on out to Summer Sunday School. And it's back for us again, adults. I know you were helping them there, but we'll sing along with this one, too. This one's Have You Any Room for Jesus. Thankfully, it's a slower tempo than the last one. Oh Oh Ready fight for Jesus, rising, raising all to Him. Alleluia, alleluia. ♪ One time I'll give to Jesus ♪ ♪ Soon the blasphems they'll praise ♪ ♪ Soon my heart will be cold and silent ♪ ♪ And the swing of glory to raise him high ♪ And we'll probably maybe get you to stand for this last one. That's if you're able to. If you need to sit there, that's fine. is here God is great, for He is my Father, will still be in the ages, I'll fill my days with righteousness, coming through the night. He waters, He calls me to flow. The rivers of grief shall not be overflowed, For He will be with me in my last distress. Our brother comes to speak. We'll just bow for a word of prayer. Our dear Heavenly Father, we thank you, Lord, that you are with us, Lord, that you're here now in the midst of us. And Lord, we thank you that we can bring prayer. We pray that you will bless our brother this morning as he brings your word, Lord, and it is your word, Lord, that you would help us to listen and to retain it, Lord, and to learn from it. Well, good morning, everyone. And because I've been in the connections here over many years, but this is the first time it's been my privilege to be in the pulpit. We're going to take a special subject this morning. In the will of God, we'll be with you for two Tuesdays in August and two in September. And there's a subject that we intend to preach through on those four Tuesday nights. And although the ministry this morning and our gospel message this evening will be standard old messages, we will be laying the foundation for what we consider And Exodus means what it says, and it was not theirs. And after 400 years, he would lead them out with great substance. And that 400 years had almost run its course. And there went a man's son. And when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. And when she could no longer hide him, she took and she led it in the flags by the river's brink. And his sister stood afar off, and walked along by the riverside. And when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her mate to fetch it. And when she had opened it, she saw the child. And behold, the babe wept. and she had compassion on him and said, this is one of the Hebrew's children. Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter, shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew woman that she may nurse the child for thee? And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, go. And the maid went and called the child's mother. And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, take this child away and nurse him unto Pharaoh's daughter. And he became her son. And she called his name Moses. And she said, because I drew him brethren, and looked on their burdens. And he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren. And he looked this way and that way. And when he saw that there was no man, He slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand. Did the wrong, wherefore smitest thou thy fellow? And he said, Who may thee, a prince and a judge over us? Intendest thou to kill me, as thou sought to slay Moses? But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian. And he sat down by a well. Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father's flock. And the shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and helped them and watered their flock. And when they came to rule their father, he said, how is it that water enough for us and watered the flock? And he said unto his daughters, and where is he? Why is it that ye have left him? And she bore him a son, and he called his name Gershom, for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange reason of the bondage. And they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. and God heard their groaning, and God respect unto them. Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the backside of the desert and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of the bush. And he looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said to see God called unto him out of the midst of the bush and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, here I am. And he said, draw not now hither. Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thy standest is holy ground. Moreover, he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God. And there God tells him, all that he has observed in the land of Egypt, and he says, I'm sending you, I'm sending you to deliver my people. There's much more we could read, but we have a lot of ground to cover, and we'll begin. I've given my message the title, the providence of Collins' Old English Dictionary, and you'll get remarkable definitions. The protective care of God, his timely care, his foresight, his beneficence, his divine intervention, then there's omnipotence. Now, the providence of God is more easily explained from the narratives that are recorded in scripture than by simply words of definition. For instance, let me just give you two illustrations. Remember the people of God were under threat of death in the book of Esther, and Haman had made a gallows to hang Mordecai, and he had an edict from the king to destroy the whole Jewish nation. The king didn't get a good night's sleep that night and asked for the records to be opened. He found that a man called Mordecai, who sat in the king's gate, had unearthed a plot to murder the king. He asked, what has this plot to destroy the Jews? He made the gallows to kill Mordecai. And they said, who's in the court? And they said, Haman's in the court. You remember, the king asked Haman that question. What shall be done to the man whom the king delights to honor? And Haman thought, egotistically, for Mordecai. And the end of that story was that Mordecai. Now in the book of Esther, the name of God is not mentioned, but the providence of God is written large on every page. What about Slahim? Then they decided to sell him as a slave and the Lord prospered him in the house of Potiphar. And then he was falsely accused by Potiphar's wife and he found himself in prison. What could the providence of God, what would it have to do with that? Well, everything, because it was in the prison that he met the chief butler and the chief baker of Pharaoh, who had offended their king, and they dreamed, and Joseph interpreted the dreams, and the baker was hanged, and the butler said, be, when it is well with you, because I was sold, I was taken from the Hebrews and sold as a slave and put in prison. But Pharaoh had a dream. In fact, he had two dreams. And the butler said, I remember my faults. I was in prison. And he was a young Hebrew. And of course, he said, he interpreted the dreams. And the baker was slain, and I was restored to office. And Pharaoh said, fetch him. And Joseph prepared himself. He shaved, and he changed, and he stood before Pharaoh. And Joseph was promoted to be prime minister. In fact, William Taylor's book about Joseph, he calls it Joseph, the Prime Minister. And by way of the pit and the prison, Joseph became not just the savior of Egypt, but primarily to preserve the patriarchal family because they were sent by their father Jacob to go to Egypt to buy corn. and remember when ultimately for good. Now those two great narratives of scripture illustrate the providence of God. And that chapter we have read together, a new king had arisen, we learn in chapter one, who knew not Joseph. Now that tells us that he was a bad king. If he'd have been a good king, he would have been absolutely fully aware of this young Hebrew who was brought from prison, and it was his interpretation of the dreams, and then the strategy. He actually told Pharaoh Hardison Jeltine, he says, a man in whom the spirit of God is. What a testimony that was. Joseph's very demeanor and the knowledge he had of the West was this, The children of Israel were in the land of Goshen. Goshen was in what we call the Nile Delta, one of the most fertile areas of Egypt, even still today, as the Nile Delta flows into the Eastern Mediterranean. They said, the children of Israel are multiplying, and if war comes and they join themselves to our enemies, then we're in trouble. So we put the pressure on. And of course, he had them building palaces for him and other buildings. And of course, it says that the land was filled with them. And this new king realized there was trouble ahead. And you know the story, what happened? They had to serve with rigor. And I could, if I had time, turn to that chapter where they come to Moses and said they saw that they were in an evil case. and the provision turned to perplexity. But there were also principles at work in the land of Egypt. The king's edict was that every male child of a Hebrew woman had to be killed. Now, here's the serious thing. I want you to grasp this. What would have happened if that edict had been fulfilled? Well, the royal line that the Lord would come out of Judah would have been broken. Remember the wise man asked the question, where is he that is born, a man, king of the seed of David, of the Jews, the seed of Abraham? And that promise, that covenant promise, he's the all-powerful God, he's the mighty God. We need to grasp that. We look around the world today and the situation in our world, and it seems to be a mess, and it is a mess. Men's hearts are filling them for fear, looking after the things that are coming on the earth. But God is still in control. Ephesians 1, 11 tells me this, that God is working out all things after the counsel of his own will. And of course, there were two Egyptian midwives. Shebra, a woman, and sealed upon the stools, if it be a son, kill him. But if it be a daughter, the midwives feared God, and did not, as Pharaoh had said unto them, and saved the male children alive, and the king of Egypt called for the midwives, why have you not done this thing, and have saved the male children alive? And they said, because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women. They are lively, and they are delivered, and the midwives come in unto them. In them that honour God, the Lord honours them. Therefore God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and waxed very mighty. And because the midwives feared God, he made them houses." It's interesting, Shepherd's name means beauty, and Pewis means splendor. Today, all things Even our world in this mess that we're in, God is still in control and working out all things after they're to be seen in Egypt. And this is where we see the evidence of the providence of God. There were things that concerned Moses, the other Hebrew male baby. But God had other plans. And as I've already said, God's plans may be frustrated by man. Man may try to hinder them, but his purposes can never be ultimately thwarted. Kill him. But God saw to it that shepherd and pure would not do that. Then the second thing we hear of him is hide him. When Moses' mother saw that he was a goodly child, she hid him. She hid him three months. And when she could no longer hide him, then she made the Ark of Bull Rushes. Let me say something to parents. You need to hide your children today. The heading in the quarterly newspaper, the Daily Telegraph yesterday, genderism. which is vile. Everything to do with the LGBTQ plus and the letters go on is vile. God calls it an abomination in his word, and if God calls it that, that should be our view. You see, my dear friends, we're living in a day, the Bible talks about a day when good will be called evil and evil good. I believe we're in that day. Did we ever think, when I was growing up as a young Christian, And I began to preach when I was 18. If someone had told us that in Northern Ireland, of all places, we have a gay pride parade, we would have thought, but you think it was 80%? And we have to realize that in our situation today, we need to hide our children. We need to protect them, set an edge about them. It was said of Timothy, and we need to instruct him. The psalmist said, thy word have I hid in my heart, that I may not sin against thee. Paul said to the Colossians, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly and all wisdom. We need to do that. We need to protect our children from the evil that is around. Then, of course, nurse him. Ulysses, among the great Reverend Isles, And Pharaoh's daughter comes by the riverside. She may have come to bathe, or to wash clothes, or to do whatever she wanted to do, or just to have a walk by the riverside. But it says the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river. And her maidens walked along by the riverside. She was the king's daughter. She had her maidens. And she saw the ark among the flags. She sent one of her maids to fetch it. And when she had opened it, she saw the child. Without our Lord Jesus Christ was not anything made that was made. God is, first of all, he made a woman's heart. The woman is particularly sensitive, isn't she? Women, our women folk have something, we haven't men and we need to admit that. He made a woman's heart and he made a baby's tear. and she had compassion on him and said, as one of the Hebrew children, the natural thing would have been said, my father has said he should be killed, kill him. But she didn't. And then Miriam, his sister, Jochebed, his mother, had sent Miriam down to the riverside to see what would become of him. And Miriam comes in the scene. And his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew woman that she may nurse the child for thee? And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, go. And the maid went and called the child's mother. And Pharaoh's daughter said, take this child away and nurse it for me. And listen to this, and I will give thee thy wages. During the verse in Ephesians 3 and 20, it tells us that our God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think. Not only is his mother his nurse, And in the midst of that ungodly palace of Egypt, it's his own mother who bore him who's going to be his nurse. You know, I sometimes smile in my study when I read those words. Only God could do that. Let me say, my dear friends, whatever your situation may be in your life, And the more I preach around the country, the more I realize many of the people of God are going through difficult, difficult times. Problems that seem intractable problems, unsolvable, and family situations, financial difficulties. employment loss, all sorts of difficulties. The people of God are not immune to that. But you know, to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus. David said in the Psalms, I've been young, now I'm old, but I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. And here's this baby Moses, just three months old, and he's being brought up as an Egyptian prince, no less. and it's his mother who is his nurse in the palace of Egypt, and she's getting paid to do it. Only God can do that. There's a plaque that someone, a place where I minister regularly, presented it to me, and it's a modern version of that, that verse, Ephesians 3.20, it says, he is able to do more, imaginably more than we can even think or imagine. You see, my dear friends, our God is the God of the impossible. The hymn that we'll be singing at the close of our service was written by Alfred Smith and Eugene Clark. Alfred Smith has written many gospel songs, but Eugene Clark was a man who was profoundly disabled. And he wrote a great gospel song. Nothing is impossible when you put your trust in God. Hearken to the voice of God to thee. Is there anything too hard for me? Then put your trust in God alone and rest upon his word. For everything, yes, everything is possible with God. Then there's also in this sovereignty, train of thought, train him. Where did I get that? Well, in verse 11, and 40 years have passed between verse 10 and verse 11, it came to pass in those days when Moses was grown that he went out unto his brethren. Look at that, I've underlined that in my Bible. He didn't go out unto the Egyptians. Wait a minute, he's an Egyptian prince. If anything happens to Pharaoh, because he's Pharaoh's daughter, he's the son of Pharaoh's daughter, he's going to be the king. But do you know what the Bible says? in the Hebrew letter, by faith Moses, when he was come to years, that's it here, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. How did Moses come out of the palace of Egypt with that philosophy of life? Because his mother was his nurse. Moses no doubt had learned from his mother's lips about God's covenant. He had heard about the God of creation. He had heard about God's covenant with Abraham and how at this juncture in Israel's history, God was going to intervene. The 400 years were nearing an end. God had said, after 400 years, I will bring them out with great substance. And Moses knew. He wasn't an Egyptian. He was a Hebrew. How do we know that? He sees an Egyptian smiting a Hebrew, and he looks around and he saw his knower, he slew the Egyptian. Now he's just come out of the palace of Egypt. He's been brought up as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He's an Egyptian prince, but he wasn't an Egyptian. He was a Hebrew. He knew whose side he was on. It was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who was his God, and he hid this man in the sand. And he went out the second day, and two men were striving together, two Hebrews. And he said to one that did the wrong, why are you smiting your Pharaoh? And he said, who made you a judge? You're going to kill me the way you killed the Egyptian. And Pharaoh heard about it. And Moses feared and said, surely this thing is known. And Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Miriam. And he sat down by a well. The Egyptian dream is over. But this is the providence of God written large. Moses may have thought himself, when he killed that Egyptian, God's gonna use me to deliver Israel from the Egyptians. But Moses wasn't ready. I'm sure, imagine you had come from Egypt, and you come to Midian, and you see Moses there, and he's feeding his father-in-law's cattle. You say, Moses, what are you doing here? You were trained to be an Egyptian prince. You could have been king of Egypt because that fellow's dead. What a waste. Let me say this emphatically. Nothing is a waste in the economy of God. There's a lovely hymn, a lovely poem that somebody, and I think the actual author is unknown. My life is but a weaving between my Lord and me. I cannot choose the colours. He worketh steadily. Sometimes he weaveth sorrow, and I am through his pride. Forget he sees the upper, and I the underside. Not till the loom is silent, and the shuttles cease to fly, will God unroll the canvas and reveal the reasons why that the dark threads were as needful in the skillful weaver's hand as the threads of gold and silver in the pattern he has planned. From sovereignty, let's come to solitude. Moses is now in the desert. He's in the desert of Miriam. You know, there is such a thing in our Christian lives as a desert experience. The Lord Jesus knew what the desert experience was. He was led by the devil, led by the Lord to be tempted of the devil. And he was in the desert 40 days and 40 nights. 40 in Scripture, interestingly, is the number of testing. And of course Moses was 40 years in the backside of the desert. Our Lord Jesus Christ was 40 years, 30 years in obscurity before he began his public ministry. Paul spent three years in obscurity. Maybe a lot of people don't know that. It's in Galatians chapter one that Paul reveals that when he was saved, God took him into the Arabian desert for three years. Why? Because this arse persecutor had to learn about the mysteries of God. That's why Paul so often in the New Testament will say this, behold I show you a mystery. A mystery in the scriptures is a truth that has been hitherto concealed but is now revealed. Where did Paul learn that? In the Arabian desert. At the end of that first chapter of Galatians, he says, they heard about him, that he who preached the faith, he who persecuted us, preaches the faith that he once destroyed, and they glorified God and me. What a man. But Paul needed that desert experience. And Tom, sometimes we need it. It's a place of solitude. David had been anointed by Samuel to be king. There was that day when he went to the sons of Jesse. In fact, remember, David wasn't even brought. All the sons and two of them were generals in Saul's army passed before and God said, don't you look at a stature, I've refused him. Man looks in outward appearance, I look in the heart. And Samuel knew that God had sent him there to anoint a king among the sons of Jesse. And he says to Jesse, are all your sons here? Oh, the youngest one, he's out minding his sheep. Even Jesse didn't think to bring David in, but he brought him in. And when David appeared before Samuel, God said, arise, anoint him, this is he. And yet David was hounded like a fugitive on the mountains by Saul out of envy and jealousy. The spirit of the Lord had long since left Saul. In fact, twice David spared Saul's life. And yet after that, he said, one day I'm going to perish by the hand of Saul. I'm finished. Wait, I said, David. Do you not remember God's promise? You know, when God gives us promises from his word, my dear friends, we can stand on them. It's better than money in the bank. The promises of God are yea and amen in our Lord Jesus Christ. And of course, in the desert, he has to wait 40 years. That must have seemed like an eternity. the eastern sun remorselessly beating down, the dryness of the desert, sense of despair that must have at times overwhelmed him, sense of disappointment, going to be no crown in Egypt, and yet Hebrews makes it clear where the heart of Moses really lay. And of course, he's in the backside of the desert. And one day, the angel of the Lord appears. He's in the backside of the desert, that's the scriptural phrase. He came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. In spite of being in that state of desertion and loneliness, he still had a relationship with God. Sometimes it's in the darkness and shadows. We used to sing a lovely chorus, standing somewhere in the shadows, you find Jesus. And he can give us treasures in the darkness. And Moses sees the booths burning, and it's not consumed. The spectacle The situation, the sovereignty, the solitude, the spectacle. This bush is burning, but it's not being consumed. And he said, I'll go and I'll see this great sight. And when the Lord saw that he turned aside, God called to him out of the midst of the bush and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, put off your shoes from off your feet for the place whereon you stand is holy ground. and the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God. Now most of the conservative evangelical scholars believe that this was a pre-incarnate appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ. Some people don't believe that, and some people have never heard about it. But don't forget the prophecy that Isaiah made about the Lord Jesus said two major things while he was wonderful counselor to the mighty God. He said, unto us a child is born, that's Bethlehem. Unto us a son is given, that's eternity. He was the son given. In fact, when the angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah, that was another incarnate appearance, pre-incarnate appearance of Christ. Because Manoah said, tell me your name so that we can honor you. And the man, the angel of the Lord said, why do you ask my name, seeing it a secret? Now that word secret is exactly the same Hebrew word as is used in the prophecy of Isaiah, thou shalt call his name wonderful. And this is then Manoah knew that it was the angel of the Lord. And it was the angel of the Lord that spoke to him. And he said, I am come down to deliver my people out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land onto a good land and a large, onto a land flowing with milk and honey. unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites." You may wonder why when Joshua got to the Promised Land, God told him to exterminate the inhabitants of the land because they had polluted the land with their immorality and their sin. And God knew that they would be a hindrance to his people. That's why when there's sin in our lives, it has to be rooted out. And of course, Moses was now commissioned to lead the people of God to spectacle. God still speaks today. He spoke to Abraham. He spoke to Gideon. He spoke to Manoah. He spoke to Joshua. Remember, you got that pre-incarnate appearance of the Lord Jesus at the end of Joshua. He saw this man with a sword in his hand. And Joshua said, are you for us or for our adversaries? They were about to engage in the beginning of the conquest of Canaan by going to flatten Jericho. And he said, as captain of the Lord of hosts, I'm an icon. And Joshua fell on his face and worshipped. Joshua would not have worshipped anybody but God. And we need to understand that in these circumstances, here is Joshua about to lead the conquest of Canaan, and his heart is filled with fear. How can I follow a leader like Moses was, but God had commissioned him to do it? I have a little thing, a little plaque just on my bedside cabinet, and it says this. The will of God will never lead you, for the grace of God cannot keep you. Maybe you're being led along stony pathways today. It's not an easy road. We are traveling to heaven for many are the thorns in the way. Doug Barrett said this once, the Christian life is a bed of roses, thorns and all. I think most of us would say amen to that, the spectacle. And God called Moses. He said, I'm sending you. What we hope to do when we're with you at the end of August and the beginning of September is deal with the subject from the house of bondage to the heights of blessing. That's why I'm preaching in this today and we'll be on coming out the Exodus from Egypt tonight to lay a foundation for what we'll be looking at in Exodus 13, 14, and 15 when God willing we're with you at the end of August. Finally, his service. God said to him in chapter three in verse 10, he said this, I will send thee unto Pharaoh that thou mayest bring forth my people, the children of Israel out of Egypt. Sometimes we think God isn't in control in our circumstances. At the very end of chapter two, God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and he looked upon the children of Israel and God had respect. God doesn't forget, we do. But God never forgets his promise or his covenant. You know, Moses had now completed 40 years in the backside of the desert. His life is in three phases. There's that first phase in the palace, that was education. Then there was the Second phase, in the desert, where it was consecration, God was setting him aside. And then there's the last one, phase, was activation. Someone has put it like this. God had segmented Moses' life in three sections. The first 40 years were spent in the palace of Egypt learning of a something. Then there was 40 years in the backside of the desert, learning to do nothing. And the last 40 years of his life were spent leading the people of God through the wilderness on their way to the promised land, proving that God was everything. Something, nothing, everything. Let's look at the excuses he made. He said, who am I? that I should go on to Pharaoh, and he made all these fusions, and God said, certainly I'll be with you. One of the things that I remark about the people that God called, so often they protested their own inadequacy. They never said yes or no, straight, I'm your man. The Bible tells us if a man thinks himself to be something when he's nothing, he deceives himself. And Moses knew that he couldn't. Later on, he said, Lord of your presence, go not with us, carry us not hence. He knew that he needed the Lord. There was the excuses he made. He said, who am I? And then verse 11, he said, what will I say unto them? But of course, God had the answers. In verse two of chapter 40, he said to Moses, what's that in your hand? Moses, oh, a rod. And Moses threw it down and it became a serpent. And he fled from it. Then he lifted it by the tail and it became a rod. And that rod, we've been talking about that rod. That's one of the many things we've been talking about, God willing, when we're with you at the end of August and into September. What is that in thy hand? Just a wee rod. but in the hand of God, it would do wonders. You know, my dear friends, God is all-powerful. Then God's second question was, when Moses said, I'm slow of speech, I can't really speak, I have a slow tongue. God said, who made man's mouth? I made it. God has the answer for every excuse we make. I don't know, maybe among some of the younger element, or even the older element, God has challenged you to do some work for him, and you say, I can't do it. But when he calls, he equips. There was the excuses he made, the answers God gave, and there's the response the people gave in verse 31. It says, When they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped, and worshipped. Interestingly, when God allowed Job to go through all the trials that he did, do you know the first thing that Job did? He said he fell down on his face and he worshipped. He didn't start crying to the Lord, deliver me from this. I said he worshiped. And the people, what a start this was, that they worshiped. And of course, there was the pathway he traveled. The whole way from Exodus 5, right to Numbers 36, where the wilderness wanderings end. During that whole 40 years, he traveled that pathway. You know, it was hills and valleys. There's a verse of scripture, it's in Kings, and the Assyrians had said that their God is the God of the hills, but he's not the God of the valleys. 1 Kings chapter 18. I'm not going to take time to turn to it. I want to tell you today, our God is the God of the hills and the valleys. It was the psalmist who said, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, thou walk with me. It's the God of the dark days. It's the God of the valleys as well as the mountaintop experience. and our Moses was to learn that. And you know, during that 40 years, God actually was going to destroy the children of Israel. Listen to this. How long will this people provoke me? How long will it be or they believe me for all the signs that I've showed among them? I will smite them with pestilence, disinherit them, and make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they. Imagine the Lord saying that to you. I tell you most Christians today would say, that's a great idea Lord. Children of Moses, it's a nice ring of that. Moses didn't say that. He said, Then the Egyptians will hear of it, because you brought up this people in thy might from among them, and they will tell it to the inhabitants, for they have heard that thou, Lord, are among this people. You are seen face to face, and your cloud standeth over them, and thou goest before them by daytime in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night. And the Egyptians will say, because the Lord was not able to bring this people onto the land, which were unto them, therefore he slain them in the wilderness. And I beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be great according as thou hast spoken. He says, pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of thy mercy. And the Lord said, have pardoned according to thy word. That was real power with God. that God hearkened to the voice of Moses. When he turned down that promotion, it wouldn't have been the children of Israel, it would have been the children of Moses. And let's be honest, and we'll see some of this in our future studies, they were a disobedient and gainsaying people. There's much more we can say, but there was singing, there was sighing, there were sorrows, but there was salvation. But let me come to Moses' final message to them. We leave a lot out. Deuteronomy. And the book of Deuteronomy is comprised of the wilderness wanderings are over, they're on the plains of Moab, they still have to cross Jordan. Joshua is going to take them over to Jordan. That's a wonderful story in itself. And Moses is giving them a series of messages. He's reviewing the way they feel the Lord, but he's telling them what the Lord can still do for them. And don't forget where they are. They're in the plains of Moab, and they know that Moses is about to die. And when they think, Abraham's gone, Isaac's gone, Jacob's gone, the patriarchs are gone, now Moses, our great leader, he's going! What is Moses' final message to him? The eternal God. The eternal God is thy refuge. and underneath are the everlasting arms. Child of God, the days aren't always bright. Sometimes our skies are cloudy and dreary, and sometimes our hearts are burdened with care, but we may know whatever may befall us, Jesus is always there. People say Moses, it cost him a lot. And it did. Let me turn to a verse in Romans. This is what Paul says. Who hath first given to the Lord, and it shall be recompensed unto him again. For of him and through him and to him are all things to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. We trust the Lord will bless what we have and perfectly try to share with his people. May God bless this world. We're going to sing a closing hymn. It's 425 in Songs of Victory. I do not know what lies ahead the way I cannot see. Let's sing that great hymn as we close this morning. yeah yeah That's my place in Harlem, in his broad wings, wide and small. And just to hold a miracle in my heart. My heart, my distress. But one little word cares for me, will lead me to the end. I know you hold the future, and you guide me with it's plan. When all things go, there's a plan, everything I need My day is tomorrow, when the proud and the fine and the small Have just built a world of miracles in my home. I'll go the course I've led, the hard and the weak side of it. yeah yeah yeah Let's pray. Our Father, we want to thank you for the sense of your presence in our midst this morning. We ask, Lord, that you will write thy word in all our hearts. Thank you for the words we have been singing. We do not know what lies ahead, but we thank you that we know, although we know not what the future holds, we know who holds the future. take us to our homes in safety, bring us back this evening in the gospel hour, and grant, Lord, that it will be a night of salvation. And as we wend our way home, we ask that we might do so in Thy fear and favour and with Thy benediction upon us. In Jesus' name we pray.