Without doubt, other than creation, The Exodus is the single greatest event in the Old Testament. It is an incredible story. It is a story of rescue and release. It is a story of God rescuing Israel from Egypt. He not only rescues them from Egypt he leads them through the desert to the Promised Land. It is a story full of the miraculous work of God on behalf of his people. They are on their way from slavery to freedom. They are on a journey! It is a story that is lived not only by Israelites but by every person who has ever sought to follow God. In this sense, the Exodus is a New Testament story as well.

Let me show you what I mean.

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It is always a great privilege to speak here at Oakridge. You have been such faithful friends to Marguerite and me from the very first days of our ministry in Russia right to and including today. It has been a long journey together—and I want to emphasize that term “together”. For if we understand anything these days—we understand that this matter of togetherness is a key issue for believers. Rightfully so! You see we were never meant to be alone. God said it! “It is not good for man to be alone” —so God created a being fit for him. The creation story is not simply about sex and marriage—it is a story about the need for social contact. And, if Covid has shown us anything it has shown us the importance of people contact.

Now I have no intention today of speaking on marriage. And, for that matter, I have no intention of speaking on creation either! Though there is hardly a more important topic than creation to consider in this world of so called SELF-MADE men and women. Talk about delusion! One could only wish that the great Babylonian King, Nebuchadnezzar, were here to offer a little reality therapy. He had thought that he was a self-made man too. But listen to him at the latter part of his life.

At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever.

His dominion is an eternal dominion;
    his kingdom endures from generation to generation.
 All the peoples of the earth
    are regarded as nothing.
He does as he pleases
    with the powers of heaven
    and the peoples of the earth.
No one can hold back his hand
    or say to him: “What have you done?”

Daniel 4:34–35

So much for the idea of self-made individuals!

But let me return to what I was saying before—you as a church and we as a couple have been on a journey! We have done things together. We have seen God at work together. We have bonded. We have a deep and lasting relationship. We have gone to Russia together. To Kazakhstan together. To Ukriane together. To Poland together. To Romania together. To Egypt together. The list could go on—but the last word would always be the same—TOGETHER! So as you can imagine I am tempted to speak on this matter of Christian togetherness—fellowship and the like.

But I am not going there today either. I want to speak to you today about ‘EXODUS’. You are not surprised that I am speaking from the Old Testament. Some of you are thinking I knew that he would get to the Old Testament somehow. But give me a chance—just cut me a little slack.

Without doubt, other than creation, The Exodus is the single greatest event in the Old Testament. Most of you know the story of the Exodus even if you only know it from a movie. The story is quite simple. God had made a promise to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. He was going to create a great nation from them. They were going to live in the land of Canaan. It was a land of abundance. A land of Blessing! They were going to be an example to the world of what God’s kingdom would look like. They were to worship God. They were to obey God. They were to reflect God. They were to honour God. They were to be holy like God. They were a people, a CHOSEN PEOPLE, chosen for a specific task. They were to reflect God’s glory and God’s grace to the nations of the world. This was the plan! BUT SOMETHING HAD GONE TERRIBLY WRONG. Rather than living in Canaan in victory and blessing—Israel was living in Egypt in slavery, in misery.  

It is here that the story of the Exodus begins. It is an incredible story. It is a story of rescue and release. It is a story of God rescuing Israel from Egypt. He not only rescues them from Egypt he leads them through the desert to the Promised Land. For forty years God leads them. Feeds them. Waters them. Clothes them. Protects them. Gets them to the Promised Land. It is a story full of the miraculous work of God on behalf of his people. They are on their way from slavery to freedom. They are on a journey! From Egypt to the Promised Land!

Now it takes Moses several Old Testament books to record this story in full. After all—it is an actual story. It is a historical happening. But, it is much more than that! It is a pictorial story as well. It is a story that is lived not only by Israelites but by every person who has ever sought to follow God. In this sense, the Exodus is a New Testament story as well. You heard me right! A New Testament story as well.

Let me show you what I mean.

Luke

Let’s turn to the 9^th chapter of the Gospel of Luke. This is a very strategic chapter in the Gospel of Luke. The mind of the Disciples is contrasted with the mind of Jesus. And, it is not a pretty picture! The disciples need help. Even the best of them need help. In this chapter Luke takes us to the Mount of Transfiguration. On that mount, Jesus is radiant. Jesus is with Moses and Elijah. The three of them are deep in conversation. And guess what Moses and Elijah and Jesus are talking about. THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT JESUS’ EXODUS! That is right—Jesus’ Exodus. The term used in the English text is “departure” but the term used in the Greek text is Exodus. Jesus is on a journey. He has come from Heaven to rescue his people and to lead them to the “Land of Promise” —to help his people be the light of the world.

 And what is of special interest in this 9^th chapter of Luke is this: after the dialogue with the disciples—Luke records that Jesus, RESOLUTELY SETS HIS FACE TOWARD JERUSALEM. [Luke 9:51] The Son of God is on a journey, he is on a mission. He is living and leading an Exodus! He is taking his people from slavery to the place of promise. From slavery to freedom. From Sin to salvation.

And you say to me today—really? Yes—really. Now let’s think about the Gospel of Matthew for a moment.

Matthew

We at Oakridge have been studying Matthew for a long time now and we have been studying it text by text. It has been a great study. Pastor Josiah has done a great job. But there is another way to study Matthew—it can be done by themes or motifs if you will. And there is little doubt that in Matthew’s Gospel Jesus is presented as the new Moses, who survives testing in a new wilderness, who comes with a new law which is given on a new mount. Who is leading his people to a new rest. And, that is but a brief overview. But you get the point! Exodus is there!

We turn to the writings of Paul

Paul

 In 1 Cor. 10:1–6 Paul points the believer to the history of the Exodus to show how Israel failed on its journey to the Promised Land—and Paul warns believers not to commit those same errors.

Hebrews 2–4

 In the same way that Paul has just warned believers to stay the course—the author of Hebrews says this. “Harden not your hearts as in the days of provocation!!!” That’s the Exodus! Don’t be like Israel who died in the desert, who failed to go up into the land. Enter into God’s rest.

 You get the idea that this Exodus model is never very far from the New Testament writers. And this is true in the writings of Peter as well.

Peter

Today in the time that we have I want us to focus on the Epistle of 1^st Peter. It is an incredible little book. This little book focuses on two things—

First, it focuses on the issue of suffering. How is a believer to live in a world that is full of suffering? Remember that at the time of Peter, Christians are living under great persecution. Peter himself is going to be martyred. His message is not just for the church, it is for him too. Tradition tells us that Peter was crucified for his commitment to Jesus and the Gospel. So what he has to say about suffering carries a bit of weight. Peter spends two whole chapters talking about how the Christian is to live during times of suffering. It is important instruction. But, it is not his primary instruction. When I say it is not his primary instruction, I mean this. Suffering needs to be dealt with in a context! And so before Peter begins to speak about suffering he speaks about the life of the believer. He speaks about the journey.

We might say that Peter speaks about THE BELIEVERS’ EXODUS. And I say that because as we come to the first one and a half chapters of 1 Peter there are all sorts of references to the Exodus. They may not be obvious to you. But if you have spent much time in the Old Testament—you will hear echoes from the Exodus.

1. He speaks about the fact that the believer is a stranger or a traveler, sojourner, foreigner. Exodus language in 1:1; 1:17; 2:11. The believer doesn’t belong here. They are headed somewhere! They are on a journey.
2. He speaks about “girding up the loins of our minds” a clear reference to how Jews were to eat the Passover in 1:13 “ready to leave Egypt at a moment’s notice”.  [cf. Ex. 12:11]
3. He speaks about being Holy as God is Holy (the Levitical command for Israel) in 1:16 [cf. Lev. 11:44, 45]
4. He speaks of the lamb without spot or blemish in 1:19  [cf. Ex. 12:5]
5. He speaks of the Rock (which is a dual reference here to Isaiah and the Exodus) in 2:4 [cf. Ex. 17:6]
6. He speaks of the believer as being a “royal priesthood” in 2:9, a clear reference to Exodus 19:6 where Israel was invited to become a kingdom of priests.

Clearly the Exodus as a picture is on Peter’s mind. It might not be obvious to you but it would have been obvious to any serious Jew! And remember this: Peter is the Apostle to the Jews. And now Peter does something very interesting in this first chapter and a half of this epistle. He uses a verbal repetition. This is very common in Biblical writing to use a repetitive word or phrase. It is common in the teaching of Jesus. It is common in the Gospel writers. It is common in Paul’s writings. It is common in Revelation.

But in the text before us today, the word used is so common that you might not notice it. And yet the word is used in a strange way—the word is LIVING.

1. Look at 1:3—there is the living hope
2. Look at 1:23—there is the living word
3. Look at 2:4—there is the living stone followed by living stones

Now you might be wondering what this has to do with an Exodus. But think of it this way. These LIVING THINGS that Peter describes point to 3 important steps in THE BELIEVER’S EXODUS. So let’s take a look at the first step.

In the same way that Israel was headed for the Promised Land the believer is headed for the LIVING HOPE. The Living Hope is our destination. It is the finale of the trip. It is our point of reference. It is our orientation. It is the TARGET of the journey.  

Step 1: Set Your GPS

Now Peter does not tell us a whole lot about this hope. He does not give us the great pictures that John gives in the Revelation with streets of gold and rivers of life. He does not give us a description of heaven.  He is not focusing on the beauty of the Christian Hope. He is focusing on the certainty, the surety, the guarantee of our hope.

 Simply put, we have a living hope because:

1. We have a living Christ. Jesus is risen. He is risen as he said.  
2. It is kept in heaven for us. And when I say kept, I mean kept. It is incorruptible; it is undefiled; it is reserved in Heaven. Kept by God!
3. We as believers are kept for it. We are shielded by God’s power.

God has it covered both ways. The inheritance is kept for us. We are kept for it. In Exodus terms—this is the Promised Land. Paradise Regained!

But, just as there is an end to this journey—there is a beginning to the journey as well. There is a crisis moment. There is a moment when something significant happens. There is a moment when the Exodus begins—when the journey begins.

Step 2: Start Your Journey (Press Go)

 So, what is that moment? It is the moment when you are changed. Changed by the Living Word! The Living and Enduring Word! The Final Word! It is the moment when Biblical Truth changes your life! It is the moment that when you understand that human ideas about God and reality are but fluff. As Peter puts it, quoting Isaiah 40—all flesh is grass. The grass withers, the flowers fade—but the word of the Lord endures forever. The journey begins when you submit your life to the truth of God, the Word of God. So much could be said here.

It is Peter who declares in Acts—there is no other name under heaven give among men whereby you must be saved! And in the nine messages given by Peter in the book of Acts he stresses 5 Biblical truths that are at the heart of the faith:

1. Jesus is the fulfillment of prophecy
2. Jesus Christ is the Son of God
3. Jesus Christ was crucified for sin
4. Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, and
5. Jesus Christ is returning in judgment

This is the living truth. People will mock. People will say—cute little story. Peter says—it is not a little story. We have not followed cunningly devised fables! Holy men of God spoke as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. [2 Pet. 1]

It is this word that starts you on the journey. It is this word that puts you on the path. It is this word that continues the cleansing work in your life. And as Jesus said— “it is this word that sets you free”. It is this word that rescues you. Your spiritual Exodus begins with Jesus—He is the Way, He is the Truth, He is the Life. He is the New Moses on the way to the Real Promised Land.  

 We come now to the third living thing—The Living Stone. To this point, we have destination—the Living Hope. We have a starting point—the Living Word. Now we come to the third step—The Living Stone.

Now there is much we could say about this Living Rock today. But, sometimes simple is really good. Whatever people say about him—Jesus is the Living Stone. He may be rejected by humans but he is chosen by God. And he is the foundation of our lives. He is the Rock on which God will build his church.

Now Peter says in this text that we too, believers, are living stones. And we are built into a spiritual house. And as that spiritual house—we have a special function. We are a holy priesthood and we are to offer spiritual sacrifices. Let me read to you what Peter says.

As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
    a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
    will never be put to shame.”

Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,

“The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone,”

and,

“A stone that causes people to stumble
    and a rock that makes them fall.”

They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for. But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

1 Peter 2:4–10

1. We are founded on Jesus
2. We can never be shaken
3. We live lives of service
4. We are a royal priesthood

 And that of course is the third step

Step 3: Stay the Course

Founded on Jesus

Serving Jesus

Heading for the Living Hope

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