Sermon Central
-
1 Miracle - 2 Songs Series
Contributed by John Bright on Oct 21, 2020 (message contributor)
Summary: Working through the book of Exodus using consecutive expository preaching. Exodus 15:11-13. Teaching Sheet for the bulletin included at end of text.
Sermon Series “Exodus”
“1 Miracle – 2 Songs”
Pastor John Bright
Exodus 15:11 “Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods?
Who is like You, glorious in holiness,
Fearful in praises, doing wonders?
12 You stretched out Your right hand;
The earth swallowed them.
13 You in Your mercy have led forth
The people whom You have redeemed;
You have guided them in Your strength
To Your holy habitation.”
I grew up on the family farm, right next door to my grandparents. Grandma Bright had some things she would often say. One of those: “You can attract more flies with honey than you can with vinegar.” Actually – if you want to catch fruit flies it works really well to put out a bowl with some vinegar, cover it with saran wrap and poke some holes in the top. So, while Grandma Bright didn’t have her science right… we all know what she meant. Praise is powerful!
Exodus 15 is only one of the places in God’s Word that we find Songs of Praise:
Deuteronomy 32:1-4 Judges 5:1-5 Isaiah 12:1-2
Isaiah 26:1-6 Psalms – the hymnal for Jews (150)
Revelation contains songs in Chapters 4, 5, 7, 11, 15 & 19
There are several words in Hebrew for praise:
One Hebrew word for “praise” is yadah, meaning “praise, give thanks, or confess.” A second word often translated “praise” in the Old Testament is zamar, “sing praise.” A third word translated “praise” is halal (the root of hallelujah), meaning “to praise, honor, or commend.” All three terms contain the idea of giving thanks and honor to one who is worthy of praise.
https://www.gotquestions.org/praise-God.html
Each of these words is used in the Old Testament to give thanks and honor to God. Praise is our response – We can respond to who God is, We can respond to what God does. This morning we are looking at these three verses from Moses’ song of praise to gain insight into who God is and what God does.
God is Unique
Exodus 15:11 “Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods?
Who is like You, glorious in holiness,
Fearful in praises, doing wonders?”
I’m not going to do a rundown of other religions and their little-g gods. Instead, let’s look at what we see ONLY in our BIG-G God.
• Our God Speaks to and Leads His Own – we have seen this over and over again with Moses and Aaron in Exodus. We see this over and over in the Book of Acts. In Acts 12, Peter is in prison. In the night, an angel comes and tells Peter to go – the chains fall off and they walk outside.
• Our God Gives Prophecy that is Always Correct – We can be sure of this because God is the God of yesterday, today and tomorrow. Let me share a fact with you: There has never been an archeological discovery that dis-proved anything in the Bible. Lots of folks have looked for that kind of thing, but more and more they find what confirms the Bible! God promised to send a Messiah to live, die, and rise again. It happened… just like God told the Old Testament prophets.
• Our God is the Ultimate Example of Love – Our God is a God that gives His unconditional love to His own. No other god from another religion does that. In fact, other gods require human effort to get to them. Not our God – “For God so loved the world…”, “While we were yet sinners….” - our God came to humanity – to you and me!
God is Almighty
Exodus 15:12 “You stretched out Your right hand;
The earth swallowed them.”
Psalm 56 “3 Whenever I am afraid,
I will trust in You.
4 In God (I will praise His word),
In God I have put my trust;
I will not fear.
What can flesh do to me?”
Fear can seem to be powerful. One in six U.S. adults reported taking a psychiatric drug, such as an antidepressant or a sedative, in 2013, a new study found. (The new data comes from an analysis of the 2013 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), which gathered information on the cost and use of health care in the United States - https://www.livescience.com/57170-americans-psychiatrics-drug-use.html) The second largest group in that study took anti-anxiety drugs.
NIH-funded researchers studied benzodiazepine use over a 1-year period. They found that about 1 in 20 U.S. adults, ages 18 to 80, received a benzodiazepine prescription. This fraction rose with age, from about 3% among those 18 to 35, to 9% in those 65 to 80. Long-term use (over 4 months) also rose with age. (https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2015/02/many-older-people-take-anti-anxiety-meds-despite-risks)
Fear and anxiety may seem powerful – but are they more powerful than Almighty God? Of course not! God can assist you in letting go of fear - You can be successful in letting go of fear:
