The King's Church in Ilford
The following is the text of the talk given on 13th July by John Pearson
Now you will see what I will do
Exodus 6 v. 1 – 8
A)
Disappointed
in God
a. All come to this place
i. Life is like that
ii. God’s purpose
b. False Resolutions
i. Abandon faith
ii. Settle for less
c. Theocentric
i. Theology not Anthropology
ii. Seek God’s answer
B)
God gives us
Himself
a. God is there
b. Known in what he does
C)
Unpacking
the gift
a. Freedom from bondage
i.
ii. Freedom a process
iii. God promises to complete it
b. We are His people
i. United with Christ in His Death
ii. United with Him in His Resurrection
iii. We belong to Him forever
c. He is our God
i. Our inheritance (1 Cor 13:12)
ii. We are to know him and be like Him
iii. Our experience of Redemption proceeds as we know Him in experience as He works in our lives
iv. Freedom from ourselves and Love for God follow from His initiatives towards us
D)
Attention is
the Key
a. Experience of Life based on attention
i. Where is your attention?
1. Self
2. Others
3. God
ii. Reverse this order
b. I see three truths in this passage which should occupy our minds frequently
i. Presence of God (Madasm Guyon)
ii. Power of God
iii. Purpose and Plan of God
E)
Habit of
thought
a. Reckon on the presence of God
b. Receive your everyday experience as from Him (excepting sin)
c. Three Areas
i. Needs (Matt 6: 25-33)
ii. Plans (Prov 3:5-6)
iii. Success (Jer 9: 23, 1Cor 1:30-31)
F)
Keep in mind
the Power of God
a. God is Sovereign
i. Above All
1. We are also there (Eph 1:18-21)
G)
How to think
of this
a. Without presumption (Rabbi Kushner, Dorothy Rowe) We do not deny either His power or His goodness. (Matt Redman, Habakkuk 3:17-18)
b. Rejoice our hope is well founded (Eph 3:20-21)
c. Encouraged to pray
d. In Awe because our God is a consuming fire (Heb 12:28-29)
H)
Our Future
is in His Hands (Tim Hughes)
a. He has plans for us (Jer 29:11)
b. No random paths (Terry Virgo) Not luck or Fate for us (Madam Guyon)
c. He promised them a land and we have our own promised land. (1 Pet 1:3-5)
I) God reveals His Name (Yahweh) ‘I am who I am’ or ‘I will be who I will be’ He is known as we experience Him. His presence, His power and the unfolding of His plans. Our lives depend on where we place our attention let us attend to these things lest we be like Jacob who said ‘surely the Lord was in this place and I knew it not’.
And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Psalm 19:1