Apr 12, 2023
We wonder, “Is our prayer effective? Is it getting through to God? Is He hearing? Is He seeing the depth of wickedness, darkness, and evil in the world that is swallowing up the children of God, oppressing them, and holding them in bondage from serving Him as they would?” The Passover teaches us that God does hear our cry; He does come down; and He does deliver us.
Show Notes: When we read about the Passover in Exodus, we find two dynamic elements. One is the cry of God’s people going up to Him and the other is God hearing their cry and coming down. An important lesson for us is that when God comes down everything changes. Today we are crying out for what some term a revival or an outpouring. To me it is a cry for His return to earth. It is a cry for His presence. As at the first Passover, it is His presence that will change everything.
The Passover represents the moment at which God came down and engaged in the situations surrounding His people. He engaged in their bondage. He engaged in their sin and their lack of faith and obedience to Him. He dealt with everything and everybody. He dealt with Moses. He dealt with Israel. He dealt with Pharaoh. He dealt with the Egyptians and the gods of Egypt. Everyone is dealt with when God enters the scene.
This principle applies to our crying out to God in this day. As it was with Israel, God’s presence with us does not mean our circumstances are immediately better because God begins to deal with us as well as with everything that is oppressing us. He is going to deal with everything that must be dealt with in order to accomplish His will in the earth. And we need to be ready to participate in that process. We must remain faithful and live in faith knowing that God is here to accomplish His perfect and complete work in bringing His Kingdom and our deliverance.
Key Verses:
• Isaiah 64:1–4. “Oh, that You would rend the heavens and come down.”
• Exodus 3:6–9. “I have … given heed to their cry. … So I have come down to deliver them.”
• Exodus 4:1. “What if they will not believe me or listen to what I say?”
• Exodus 4:10–12. “Now then go, and I, even I, will be with your mouth.”
• 1 Thessalonians 5:23. “May your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
• Exodus 5:1–2. “Pharaoh said, ‘…I will not let Israel go.’”
• Exodus 5:6–9. “You are no longer to give the people straw to make brick as previously.”
• Exodus 5:19–23. “You have made us odious in Pharaoh’s sight.”
• Exodus 12:12–14. “You are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance.”
• Exodus 12:29–32. “Rise up, get out from among my people, both you and the sons of Israel; and go.”
• Exodus 14:19. “The angel of God, who had been going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them.”
• Exodus 15:1–2. “Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the Lord.”
• Exodus 19:9. “I will come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people may hear when I speak with you.”
• Exodus 19:16. “There were thunder and lightning flashes and a thick cloud upon the mountain.”
• 2 Corinthians 7:1. “Let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit.”
Quotes:
• “It's been a long time since He's been on the scene, and I think we lose the concept of really what it is to have God present.”
• “God never comes just to change the outward circumstances that we live in. God comes to change us in our heart towards Him.”
• “As He begins to move, yes, He's come down, but He has come down to move through you.”
Takeaways:
1. When God comes down, it is impossible for things to stay the same. One aspect is that circumstances do not always get better in the moment. We will go through God's dealings, His purifying, purging, and refining of our hearts as He removes all defilement of flesh and spirit from us.
2. When God comes down the gods of this age will be judged. The gods that hold us in bondage, the false gods that are being served and worshipped in the world will be judged. And we will break into a worship we have never known before. It will be a new day of constant worship as we find in heaven.
3. When God comes down there is a visible, tangible presence of God as it was with Israel in the wilderness. Their lifestyle completely changed as they lived in His presence. This Passover let our cry be, “God come down.” Let that be our cry every day until we see His presence literally manifested in this world and our lifestyle is living with Him.