9/29 - Exodus 3:15 - Who is your deliverer?

¹⁵ God also said to Moses,

“Thus you shall say to the Israelites,

‘The Lord, the God of your ancestors,

the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,

and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’”

Exodus 3

 

Is Moses your deliverer?

 

Yesterday – Step 3 – we said that when God’s people cry, God raises up a deliverer. During the Exodus Moses, of course, was God’s deliverer. He was the rescue plan for ancient Israel.

 

Weed to ask, though: Is Moses your deliverer?

 

No!

 

Of course not.

 

You’re not a Jew from the 15^th Century BC. Your taskmasters are not Egyptians with chains and whips.

 

Indeed, if you’re reading this, you are most likely a 21^st Century AD American. Nevertheless, you surely have your own set of enslavements.

 

In fact, if you are reading this, I hope you can say, “I am a 21^st Century Christian.” Why? Because Jesus Christ is God’s rescue plan for you and me … and our generation … and all of humanity … throughout the rest of history!

 

Jesus is the Deliverer. And our freedom begins when we begin to trust that Jesus died to deliver us from our bondage to sin and death. The passion of Jesus-the-Deliverer – as evidenced by his sacrifice on the cross – is to forgive our sins and grant us everlasting life.

 

Do you believe that? Jesus is Step 3 in being set free.

 

Think about this … If you don’t have a deliverer, you’re on your own! As it says in 1 Corinthians 15:17, if Christ Jesus isn’t the victorious, risen Lord, then “you are still in your sins.” And isn’t that where you are? Your sins and/or the sins of others being inflicted on you are precisely what’s holding you captive? You are in bondage to your anger, grief, doubt, and addictions … and … you are beaten down by another’s callousness, abuse, and lack of compassion. You need to be set from sin and its effects.

 

Now, you can try a little psychology to help with this. You can try a little self-help and will-power. But if you’d been able to fix all your mess on your own, you wouldn’t be reading a series of devotions on freedom.

 

One famous definition of insanity is doing the same things again and again and expecting different results. And to some degree, that’s probably precisely where you are. Most of us remain in our bondage, shame, and helplessness, unless and until someone or something sets us free.

 

So here’s the hope … “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” ^{John 8:36}

 

That’s the Christian message. And I can testify to that theologically … and personally. Indeed, when I first truly entrusted my brokenness, poverty, and depression to Christ, I was totally and instantly set free. (More on that in future pages.) But I’ve experienced God’s freedom personally … and as a pastor. Indeed, I’ve watched it hundreds of times in the lives of friends.

 

The point is this: We all need a Deliverer. We all need something bigger than ourselves. It’s humbling to cry in desperation, but true freedom only begins when we trust that “the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ … will turn out for my deliverance.” ^{Philippians 1:9}

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who thinks of Jesus

like the Pizza Guy:

He Delivers!