Day 7 - Jesus the Commandment Giver

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Day 7 - Jesus the Commandment Giver

The Jesus Clubs 12 Day Challenge

November 18, 2022 • Pastor Andy • Exodus 20, Exodus 21, Exodus 22, Exodus 23

HIGHLIGHTED VERSE:

And God spoke all these words: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me.” - Exodus 20:1-3

Worship the Lord your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you, and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span. - Exodus 23:25-26

ENCOURAGEMENT:

Sometimes it can be hard to hear a bunch of rules because it can feel like such a downer. The only thing you hear is, “don’t do this or that.” And it makes you squirm because you feel boxed in without any “fun” in life. That’s how many people feel about God and the 10 Commandments. But, was God just trying to get people to do what He wanted just to show that He was God - bigger and stronger? Or, was there something else going on?

If we consider the second verse above we can see that God had good motives. He actually wanted the people of Israel to be blessed and He knew they would be blessed if they worshiped Him and followed His commands. So, He was really telling (aka “commanding”) them how to live so that they would be blessed. Jesus, who was actually the one who gave the 10 commandments to Israel (Colossians 1:15-20), did something very similar when He was walking on the earth.

He said, “If you love me, keep my commands.”(John 14:15) and “If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. (John 15:10-14)

It’s easy to misunderstand and misinterpret those in authority over us - those who can tell us what to do. Because we want to do what we want to do, when we want to do it. We think anyone telling us to do something different is, somehow, against us. It takes trust to let someone tell us what to do. In order to trust someone, especially someone in authority, we need to know them and know that they are trustworthy. Please consider that God is someone who is good, that He’s not just wanting to boss you around but actually wants what’s best for you.

QUESTIONS:

- Why do you think God is giving the people of Israel these 10 commandments and all the other laws?

- How do you feel about being “commanded”? Why?

- How does giving commands express love?

- How does obeying a command express love?

- Why does Jesus tell us that if we love Him, we will obey His commandments?

- What are the blessings that come from obeying Jesus?

PRAYER:

Psalms 119:18;33- “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. Teach me, Lord, the way of your decrees, that I may follow it to the end. Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law and obey it with all my heart. Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight. Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word. Fulfill your promise to your servant, so that you may be feared. Take away the disgrace I dread, for your laws are good. How I long for your precepts! In your righteousness preserve my life.

Day 1 – Satan Fears Your Generation

November 18, 2022 • Brian Barcelona • Exodus 1, Exodus 2, Exodus 3

HIGHLIGHTED VERSE: “and he said, ‘When you are helping the Hebrew women to give birth and see them upon the birthstool, if it is a son, then you shall put him to death; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.’” - Exodus 1:16 ENCOURAGEMENT: In Exodus 1, before Moses was born, we see something similar happening in this time period that happened in the days of Jesus. As the enemy of the people of God, the Egyptians, were afraid of the Israelites, the people of God, getting too strong. So there was an order from the king that any males that were born were to be killed by the midwives/doctors who were delivering these children. The king knew that there could be an uprising if males were born from the Israelites and he was threatened by the potential of what could come from the people of God. You could also see this in the days of Jesus, as King Herod ordered the babies 2 and under to be slaughtered right before Jesus was born. It’s almost as if the true enemy of God, Satan, knew in the book of Exodus that a deliverer, Moses, was going to be born and he also must have known that in the days of Jesus another deliverer was about to be born. As Moses was a deliverer who walked the people of God out of their chains of slavery, Jesus was the deliverer who walked them out of their chains of sin. As Moses led them through the sea, which drowned Pharaoh's army, Jesus commanded us to be baptized which would drown the old man of sin. What I want you to see in Exodus 1-3 is a common theme of the Old Testament and the New Testament, Satan does not know the future, he did not know who the deliverer would be so instead of targeting one person, he goes after a whole generation. Let this show you that the devil may not know out of your generation, GenZ, who is going to be a deliverer, so he’s trying to take your whole generation out by suicide, depression, immorality, and addictions. Just know that the attack Satan has on your generation shows you one thing, he’s afraid of what good will come from Generation Z. QUESTIONS: - What attacks of the devil have come on your generation? - Why do you think the devil is scared of you becoming all you can be for God? - Can you see now from the Old Testament and the New Testament that Satan destroys generations by destroying children (abortion)? PRAYER: Pray for deliverers to come from your generation, pray that your generation wakes up to the attacks the enemy is putting on them, and pray your generation stands for life.

Day 2 – A God of Promises

November 18, 2022 • Mason Bristol • Exodus 4, Exodus 5, Exodus 6

HIGHLIGHTED VERSE: “Therefore, say to the people of Israel: ‘I am the Lord. I will free you from your oppression and will rescue you from your slavery in Egypt. I will redeem you with a powerful arm and great acts of judgment”. - Exodus 6:6 ENCOURAGEMENT: In Exodus 1, before Moses was born, we see God is a God full of promises. One of the first promises we see God offer is the promise of deliverance to the Israelites. God later delivers them from their bondage because He said He would. Not only does God make all of these promises to us but he ALWAYS follows through. This is what is so amazing about God, so often people promise us things but fail, but God promises us things and NEVER fails. This should give us hope!! Why? Because God promises us peace, His presence, His protection, freedom, and everlasting life!! We should delight in the promises of the Lord and let them be a beacon of hope for our life. Let this be hope for you. You no longer have to be stuck in a state of depression, anxiety, or even addiction. God promises His healing spirit to us by just calling on the name of Jesus and asking for Him. What does this mean? It means you should ask Jesus to fulfill His promises in your life! Give Him permission to begin to work in your life and free you from depression by giving you joy, or freeing you from addiction through His spirit. God promises us to make us new creations once we put our faith and trust in Christ. God’s promises are always offered to you as long as you are breathing. Step into his promises today and ask Him for His life-giving spirit to deliver you from your sinful self and to make you a new creation. QUESTIONS: - Did you know that God made a promise to us: that if we believed in the life of Jesus and made Him the Lord of our life we are promised eternity with Him forever? - How can you best thank God for promising us eternity with Him? - How can you best tell your friends and family about God’s promise to us? PRAYER: - Praise for being a good good father who promises us eternal life. - Thank Him for his grace and forgiveness - Pray that he would deliver you from sin

Day 3 - Let my people go!

November 18, 2022 • Sebastian and Melquea • Exodus 7, Exodus 8, Exodus 9

HIGHLIGHTED VERSE: Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the LORD says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. - Exodus 8:1 ENCOURAGEMENT: From blood to frogs, to hail and fire, we see a number of plagues sent by God in these chapters hitting Egypt! You may be tempted to ask, “why is God going to these great lengths to torment the Egyptians?” Yes, God wanted to demonstrate that He was the one true, unmatched God triumphing over the gods of Egypt. Yes, God was showing His faithfulness to His people Israel that He was who He said He was and He would do what He promised! Yes, God had compassion to free his people from 400 years of suffering in slavery in Egypt. But ultimately God wanted Israel as a people unto Himself that would be free to choose to worship and serve Him only! At the cross and through His Resurrection, Jesus demonstrated His authority over all the forces of darkness! Jesus declared to the devil: let my people go once and for all by defeating the power of sin and death that had held humanity in bondage! Upon His Resurrection, Jesus triumphed as Lord of Lords and Kings of Kings with all authority on earth and in heaven! (Matthew 28:18) It was God’s great love for you that He sent Jesus to rescue you, so that you would not be a slave to sin, fear, and death for eternity but to be adopted into the family of God and be free to serve God! God invested everything by giving Jesus to die in your place that you may be free and live in union and fellowship with God! God wanted for you to live in intimacy with Him; for Him to speak to you, to hear your heart, to guide you, and provide for all your needs. Today, in Christ you have access to walk in this kind of intimacy with God daily, moment by moment as you develop friendship with the Holy Spirit. The truth is that you and I are not the end all! The ultimate purpose of our redemption and salvation is that you and I may worship and serve God with our lives! You have been saved to serve God! You have been set free to worship God! You have been delivered to deliver others! That's the true purpose; not only to be free for freedom's sake, but to surrender our lives and pour it back unto God daily in worship and obedience! At the end of the day, it’s all about Him and He alone deserves all the glory! Think about it, we get to worship and serve the God of the universe! That’s our invitation today, to co-partner with the Holy Spirit in seeing His Kingdom advance through our lives! QUESTIONS: - What are some sins or strongholds in your life that may be holding you back from fully worshiping and serving God? - What are some areas where God is calling you to serve Him in your family, school, church, or community? PRAYER: God today, we pray that your Name would be known as Lord and God and King and Supreme and loving and good and righteous and holy, because of our lives. God, help our lives to be a display of your glory. Please use us today to make your grace and your glory known in the world around us. God give us the grace and strength to serve and obey you, in Jesus’ Name, Amen!