Exodus 5:22-6:8 The purpose of the church is to deliver people from crises to experience the prosperity of the kingdom
Exodus 5:22-6:8 The purpose of the church is to deliver people from crises to experience the prosperity of the kingdom
Then Moses returned to the Lord and said, “O Lord, why have You brought harm to this people? Why did You ever send me? Ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done harm to this people, and You have not delivered Your people at all.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for under compulsion he will let them go, and under compulsion he will drive them out of his land.”
God spoke further to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord (Yahweh); and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as God Almighty (El Shaddai), but by My name, Lord (Yahweh), I did not make Myself known to them. I also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they sojourned. Furthermore I have heard the groaning of the sons of Israel, because the Egyptians are holding them in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant. Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, ‘I am the Lord (Yahweh), and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession; I am the Lord.’”
Background
Moses’s actions seemed to have caused greater harm to the Israelites. The Pharaoh remained defiant and the crisis spiralled. At this crucial moment, God revealed for the first time His name, “the Lord”: the Lord who redeems, the Lord who sanctifies, and the Lord who rules with His children. As God explains the meaning of His name, He lays down the elements that are required of the people to experience prosperity: trust, divine virtues and authority. As we know it, the Israelites could not enter the promised land because they did not possess divine virtues or take up divine authority. Indeed, trust without virtues and authority cannot bring enduring prosperity. Today’s devotion teaches us: The purpose of the church is to deliver people from crises to experience the prosperity of the kingdom.
Observation
Then Moses returned to the Lord and said, “O Lord, why have You brought harm to this people?
The backlash was severe and unexpected. Even though God had previously warned Moses of the Pharaoh’s intransigence, Moses had not fully understood its impact. He questioned the meaning of his mission and accused God of intensifying the people’s suffering. In short, Moses alleged that while he had kept his end of the bargain, God had not kept His.
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh…”
God’s answer was short, giving no explanations for Himself, but only what He would do in the immediate future. God would now satisfy all of Moses’s queries with the demonstration of divine power.
“I am the Lord; and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as God Almighty…
All of God’s actions are derived singularly from His divine nature. He is the sovereign Actor and Mover of human history. He is never caught by surprises, neither does he succumb to men’s demands. To establish the basis of what God was about to do, He proceeded to make known His divine nature through His name: the Lord (Yahweh). God’s actions are inextricably tied to His name. And because He is Yahweh, what He has determined will come to pass.
The name “Lord” (Yahweh in Hebrew) is pregnant with His essential nature. Here, God gave a fresh revelation of His character to Moses (… but by My name, Lord (Yahweh), I did not make Myself known to them). To Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, God was only known as Almighty (El Shaddai): the omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient God.
Now, God proceeded to give Moses a new revelation of His name (Yahweh) by detailing what He was about to do for Israel.
I am the Lord (Yahweh), and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians…
Firstly, Yahweh means I am the Lord who redeems, to deliver men from all oppression and bondage. Because His name is Yahweh, it is in His nature to deliver. And He will not rest until all men are delivered and saved from poverty, sicknesses, sin and death.
Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God…
Secondly, Yahweh means I am the Lord who Fathers, who seeks to reconcile all men to Himself as His children. Thus, it is God’s nature to forgive and to save all men regardless of their heritage and background. God will not only deliver men from their bondages, He adopts them as His own, to give them an inheritance, a future and a hope. To be adopted as God’s children is to bear His image: His virtues, wisdom and authority.
I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob…
Thirdly, Yahweh means I am the Lord who crowns men with glory and honour (Hebrews 2:7). By bringing the people to the land as their inheritance, God gave them the authority to rule over it. Thus, it is God’s nature to entrust His power to men, so that they may rule with Him. Because God’s name is Yahweh, He is always looking to delegate His authority to faithful men to rule creation according to His righteousness.
Truth
The purpose of the church is to deliver people from crises to experience the prosperity of the kingdom.
The purpose of Moses is to bring the Israelites from the crisis in Egypt to prosperity in the promised land. Likewise, the purpose of the church is to deliver people from crises, bondage and sin to live abundantly. Many today are afflicted by protracted financial crises. They live from hand to mouth on months on end. Many live on the edge being subject to frequent family violence. Still many are tormented by chronic illnesses and various addictions unable to break free.
The flawed notion of church growth
We see in the church today, only a minority actually experience some deliverance leaving the rest wondering when their time will come. The problem facing today’s churches is a misplaced ambition or a misguided notion of church growth. They supposed that while it is the believer’s job to preach, it is God’s responsibility to instill faith and deliver the people. This view is seriously flawed. For God requires an earthly vessel to carry out the work of deliverance. Thus, He uses the church just as He used Moses. But the church has also shied away from the task as Moses had. Indeed, it is irresponsible to preach the gospel without actually delivering the hearers from their crises. The fact remains that many in the church are trapped in the bondage of sin while they live from crisis to crisis. Unless people are delivered, there is no victory and no souls are won. Consequently, many will leave the faith unable to experience what is promised in the bible.
The church must turn their focus back to Jesus.
The church must acquire the anointing and the truth to engage the devil in battle and deliver the people one soul at a time. Many leaders and ministers lack the anointing because they seek to build their notion of church, not the people. They behave like CEOs of companies who operate in the worldly kind of way. Therefore, Christian leaders must first repent by turning their focus back to Jesus’s mission which He made known in His first sermon,
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed,
To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” – Luke 4:18-19
All believers especially church leaders must make it their goal to become the deliverer that Jesus is. The church’s primary responsibility is to equip their flock and prepare them to be prophets and deliverers of their community.
The Exodus story details a generation of Israelites who failed to cross over to the promised land. Their bodies in the wilderness testify of a tragedy despite the promise as spoken by Moses. Similarly, if the church do not repent and take up the divine mantle, many more will miss out on salvation and die in the wilderness of hell.
Trust without virtues and authority will not bring us enduring prosperity
As God explained His name: the Lord (Yahweh) to Moses, He showed the steps through which the people can experience enduring prosperity. First, the Lord called them to trust Him as the Redeemer who redeems them from the burdens of slavery: I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. Moses fought the Egyptians by the ten plagues and delivered the Israelites by opening the Red Sea.
Secondly, the Lord called them to acknowledge Him as God, to live like Him, and to become holy as He is holy: Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God. Moses established the law of God at Mount Sinai and instituted worship through the tabernacle.
Lastly, the Lord called them to take up divine authority to rule over the land: I will bring you to the land … and I will give it to you for a possession. Moses called them to fight and defeat the inhabitants of the land. Because the people feared the enemy and refused to take up divine authority to fight. Consequently, all except their children perished in the wilderness.
The Israelites emerged from their crisis of oppression because they trusted in God who fought for them. However, unless they follow God’s ways and take up divine authority to fight, they will not experience prosperity in the promised land. Regrettably, the generation that came out with Moses perished without experiencing the promises.
Many in the church today trust that God will deliver them from their crises. But as soon as they emerge, they quickly fall into sin that precipitated another crisis. For they are not able to resist the lust of the flesh and the lure of the world. There are also those who are too afraid to go toe to toe with their competitors. They are easily manipulated and coerced into doing another’s bidding. Such are trapped in the vicious cycle of crisis, never being able to experience the prosperity that God has promised. Only when believers put on God’s virtues, wisdom and authority, can they experience lasting prosperity in the kingdom.
Application
If you are in a crisis, trust God fully and let Him lead you out of your crisis. Entrust your end-game to Him. Do not attempt to figure out how things will unravel. Learn to listen and follow God’s navigation that can bring you out of the woods. Stop worrying and learn to live one day at a time.
Put on divine virtues and walk on the narrow path of prosperity. Be…
- faithful and loyal – always be there for our friends,
- other-centred – always putting the interest of the community above our own,
- empathising and thoughtful – always be mindful of the feelings and struggles of others,
- transparent – always be true to ourselves and to others,
- righteous – always treat others fairly regardless of their background and stature,
- humble – never boastful and always bring out the best in others,
- encouraging – always believing in the goodness and potential God has placed in everyone, and that even the seemingly intransigent can change,
- positive – always believe that all things are possible, and the best is yet to come,
- wise – always seek God’s perspective and counsel in all matters.
- single-minded – always keep our lives simple and uncluttered while doing only what God has instructed.
- pure – always do all things from a right motive.
Sanctify your heart and mind daily from the:
- Lust of the flesh, the addictions of entertainment, distractions and pornography that seek to derail you from the narrow path.
- The pride of life, the love for the world that seeks to take away your joy, and passion for God and His righteousness. The pride of life breeds self-reliance and self will.
- Worldly deceptions that deceive you into taking the roads that seem to lead to prosperity but end in destruction.
Take up divine authority by speaking to your circumstances. Be courageous and do not shrink back. Deploy the angels to assist you in your peculiar circumstances. Be bold, be creative and be adventurous in exercising spiritual gifts.
Dear Lord, create in me a clean heart and a pure mind to feel you and to hear you. Cause me to be focused, efficient and effective in the daily task entrusted to me. Sanctify my heart and cause me to love the things that truly matter. As I place my complete trust in you, deliver me from all crises. Use me to instill faith, divine virtues and authority in others and to deliver them. In Jesus’s name I pray. Amen.