Author: Philip

‘Meet the Lord God who leads His people on’ (Exodus 13:17-22)

AudioPhilip

When the Lord God led His people Israel out of Egypt, there was an ongoing need for the people to be led the right way. They did not necessarily know the way that God was taking them nor was it explained to them. All they knew what that God had a plan for them, and that plan involved leading the people into further trouble. This was not because He wanted to punsish them, but they might see the fulness of his saving power – being fulfilled right before their eyes. And so by night and by day, by pillar of cloud and fire, He led His people along.

Message

Outline

o The eleventh in this series
o A quick recap
o More than exciting history
o Note how Moses tells us of …

  1. God’s providential care for His people (v.17-18)
  2. God’s promise being fulfilled to His people (v.19)
  3. God’s presence with His people (v.20-22)

Predicament
God led them to a place of trial…
The God who is too big to fail!

A mother’s (costly) decision for her son…

Philip

As Mothers’ Day comes around again, it’s good for us to reflect on the story of Hannah, found in 1 Samuel 1:1-28.

Faced with the difficulty of being the second of the two wives of her husband Elkanah (hardly a good situation to be in!) as well as not being able to conceive, this was probably enough for any young woman to either complain bitterly about her circumstances or at least seek the nearest exit from them. But when God granted her prayer and blessed her with a son, Samuel, her life took upon a whole new dimension.

Having desperately prayed for a son, and then being granted that privilege, what would she do with him? And what would she want for him? Maybe lots of options were available to him – including the possibilities of him growing up to be rich or popular, educated or powerful. What would she choose?

The answer is seen in the promise that she made in verse 11, “I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life”, which reaches its fulfillment in verse 28, “Therefore I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.” And that’s what she did. She gave Samuel to the Lord that he might serve Him.

Parents, what do you want for your children? Are you willing to make the hard sacrifices in terms of this world in order to ensure that your children end up serving the Lord? It will cost you. It doesn’t mean that you must send your children away to for rigorous learning and training from infancy like Samuel, but it will mean that your lifestyle will come under scrutiny. Serving the Lord is not just taught, it is also caught.

It will also be costly in terms of time, because if serving the Lord is your aim for your children, then surely prayer must be one of the keys that opens doors in that direction. And because prayer takes time and effort, it will be costly to you. You will have to let go hopes and dreams that junior will turn out to meet your expectations – none of that will matter as much as whether or not your child serves the Lord.

What a blessing to be a mother (or father), but also what a responsibility and a challenge this blessing brings! If you are one of those, may God’s grace equip and enable you to be all that you should be.

‘Meet the Lord God who claims a people for Himself’ (Exodus 13:1-16)

AudioPhilip

In Exodus 13:1-16, the drama of chapters 7 to 12 of Exodus have passed by. The people of Israel are now free from the clutches of Pharaoh. Not yet completely free to ‘do their own thing’, but free to serve the Lord their God who led them out of Egypt into the desert regions in the direction of the Red Sea. There, God gave the people of Israel a reminder that they were His, and His alone, and their responsibility in the world was to be just that – His redeemed people for His very own – just like God’s people are today with Jesus as Redeemer and Master.

Message

Outline

o The tenth in this series
o The events of chapters 11 and 12
o Deliverance – more than just getting out of Egypt!
o Note how God delivered the people so that …

  1. They may serve Him (v.1-2, 12-16)
  2. They may live before Him (v.3-11)

The case of Kathleen Folbigg
Blood-bought children…
Coram Deo

‘Hated by the world’ (John 15:18-16:4)

AudioPhilip

In this message, Ryan Smith (AFES worker at La Trobe Uni, Bendigo) shares how as the people of God, believers should expect to be hated by the world… because the world hates Jesus. It’s hate by association. Jesus tells his disciples this in John 15:18-16:4 and he does this ahead of time so that those disciples won’t be surprised and to help them persevere and not give up, either following Him, or sharing Him. It’s what believers today also need to hear and know.

Message

Outline

Are you ever tempted to give up?

  1. Christians will be HATED (15:18-25)
    • The world will hate Christians
    • Because the world hates Jesus
    • Because it doesn’t know God
  2. Even so, Christians must TESTIFY (15:26-27)
    • The Spirit testifies
    • The Apostles’ testifying
    • Our testifying
  3. Jesus says this so that Christians won’t give up! (16:1-4)

So why would you be a Christian?

‘Meet the Lord God who judges but also saves’ (Exodus 11:1-12:51)

AudioPhilip

Exodus 11:1-12:51 details for us the tenth and last of the plagues that came upon Egypt. Of all the plagues this was the one that would really break Pharaoh’s stubborn will and also his father’s heart. The death of the first-born sons all throughout Egypt was a most dramatic event that the people of Israel would forever remember in the Passover feast they would hold every year that would bring themes of redemption through the blood of the lamb and deliverance from slavery to mind – matters that God’s people today see fulfilled through the death of Jesus, ‘our Passover Lamb’.

Message

Outline

  • The ninth in this series
  • Pharaoh’s continued refusal
  • How we got to where we are
  • See how this last (10th) plague …
  1. Involved an increase in intensity (11:1-10)
  2. Required a response of faith (12:1-13,29-32)
  3. Taught of salvation to come (12:14-28,33-51)

The perspective of ‘modern’ eyes
Romans 9:14-18
The (only) way of salvation…

‘Meet the Lord God, the Judge of all the earth’ (Exodus 7:8-10:29)

AudioPhilip

In Exodus 7:8-10:29, the showdown that had been threatening took place. Pharaoh, in his stubborn unbelief and refusal to let the people of Israel go, could only sit back and watch his nation and land be devastated by plague after plague – all designed to show him that he was not calling the shots. While the plagues were long ago, yet they will teach us many things – not only about the danger of unbelief, but also the coming judgement upon the whole world and the need to be safe through trust in Christ.

Message

Outline

o The eighth is this series
o The coming showdown
o How did we get here?
o Consider the first 9 plagues and …

  1. Nine observations about them
    Blood
    Frogs
    Gnats
    Flies
    Disease
    Boils
    Hail & fire
    Locusts
    Darkness
  2. Three questions about them
    Were
    How
    Is
  3. Three lessons from them
    Egypt:
    Pharaoh:
    Israel:
    Black Saturday
    The seriousness of sin
    The book Revelation & the coming wrath & whom to fear…

‘See the Saviour conquer death and the grave’ (Luke 24:1-12)

AudioPhilip

When the women went to the tomb early on the Sunday morning after the death of Jesus, they never expected to find that the tomb would be empty. The fact that the tomb was empty is recorded by all the gospel writers, even Luke in Luke 24:1-12. Perhaps there has never been a more important find of nothing! Because the tomb was empty, the New Testament tells us of some great truths that follow that should uplift the heartsof all God’s people

Message

Outline

• The overgrown tomb
• The story’s not over!
• The most important discovery of nothing!
• Consider how the empty tomb speaks and how it…

  1. Proclaims His divinity (Rom 1:4)
  2. Portrays His victory (Rev 1:17-18)
  3. Prepares our eternity (Rom 8:11)
  4. Previews our immortality (John 15:19)

Has the resurrection been disproved?
‘Pie in the sky when you die’
Hope in an uncertain world!

‘A brief survey of the cross – from long distance’ (Isaiah 53:4-6)

AudioPhilip

When God revealed something of a glimpse of the future to the prophet Isaiah who lived 700 years before the birth of Jesus, the prophet saw the person who was to come, the ‘Servant of the Lord’, the Saviour and Redeemer of God’s people. The 53rd chapter of his prophecy is well-known for the way it so accurately describes the death of Jesus on the cross (especially Isaiah 53:4-6). These things were yet to be for the prophet, but now we can look back upon them and see wonderful things!

Message

Outline

• A text from the past, Isaiah’s great prophecy
• ‘Survey’ the cross?!?
• The cure to our doubts…
• Note well that Isaiah foresaw ….

  1. A release from a burden (v.4)
  2. A demonstration of love (v.4-6)
  3. A transfer of a debt (v.6)

The only safe ground…
What a wonderful Saviour!
Good news indeed!

‘Meet the Lord God who knows His plans’ (Exodus 6:10-7:14)

AudioPhilip

After Moses heard back from the Lord God that He would do as He had promised, in Exodus 6:10-7:14, we find again the narrative of this tense looming showdown between the Lord and Pharaoh, bookending a section where suddenly there is a whole genealogy of Moses and Aaron. What’s going on? Only just that Moses wants the people of Israel to know that it was this Moses and this Aaron whom the Lord called and sent to go toi Pharaoh – even despite the fact that the Lord knew that the King wouldn’t listen. God’s plans for His people always include His people. That is why we are called to be His witnesses in every place.

Message

Outline

  • The seventh in this series
  • Things are heating up!
  • Some things hadn’t gone well!
  • Note that in God’s plan Moses and Aaron …
  1. Were sent back to Pharaoh (v.10-17)
  2. Were qualified for the task (v.18-27)
  3. Were recommissioned for service (7:1-7)

William Carey
Psalm 90:10
God’s task and our task…

‘The great escape’ (An Easter reflection)

Philip

In May of this year, it will be 20 years since the rescue of the trapped miners Brant Webb and Todd Russell was unfolding in Beaconsfield, Tasmania. After having been given up for dead because of the thick rock that kept the men from freedom, in the course of time, they were rescued from their captivity and the watching world sighed with relief!  Throughout the whole ordeal and after, tribute was rightly paid to the rescuers who toiled tirelessly to reach the men in extreme circumstances and at great risk to themselves. A movie of it was made too!!

The mine rescue story reminds us of another rescue story, an even better one. The Bible tells us that ‘all men have sinned’ (Romans 3:23) and that because of this we are unable to save ourselves. All of us are ‘trapped’ in the cage of our own sinful natures and all are in need of a Rescuer. Jesus Christ is that Rescuer. At great cost to Himself and to rescue His people, He died upon a cross and was buried and then, to prove that His work was sufficient and accepted by God, and that He was and is the Son of God, God raised Him from the grave after three days, appointing Him to be the “Judge of the living and the dead” (Acts 10:42).

We all need to be rescued – especially from the coming Judge! Every time Easter comes around, it’s a great opportunity to be reminded that only Jesus Christ can be the Rescuer that we need. Through faith in Him, all who believe are granted full and free salvation. He said, ‘If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed’. (John 8:36). Seek Him. Great joy will follow your rescue too.