Certainly I will be with thee,

Q: What does the Bible say about God's promises?

The Bible assures us that God's promises are unchanging and trustworthy. God's promises, as revealed in Scripture, are not only certain but also eternal. For instance, when He promised Abraham that his descendants would be enslaved for four hundred years, He affirmed that His word would not fail (Genesis 15:13-14). The fulfillment of these promises is rooted in God's unchanging nature, making His words a firm foundation for our faith. The assurance God gave to Moses, 'Certainly I will be with thee' (Exodus 3:12), exemplifies this. Even when situations appear dire, God’s providential hand orchestrates events according to His sovereign will, ensuring that His purposes are ultimately fulfilled.

Q: How do we know God's presence is with us?

God's presence is assured in His promises to His people throughout Scripture. The certainty of God's presence is woven throughout the fabric of Scripture. His promise to Moses, 'Certainly I will be with thee' (Exodus 3:12), is a testimony to this assurance, which is echoed in the promise given to Jesus' disciples that He would be with them until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). God's presence is not merely a fleeting feeling but a constant reality grounded in His covenantal faithfulness. Even through trials and hardships, the Lord never abandons His people. His providential work in our lives assures us that, whatever circumstances we face, we can trust that God is always present and active for our good.

Q: Why is God's providence important for Christians?

God’s providence underscores His sovereignty and care for His creation. The doctrine of providence is essential for Christians as it reveals God's sovereign governance over all creation. It teaches us that God is actively involved in the details of our lives and history, not merely a distant observer (Romans 8:28). His providence assures us that all things, even our suffering and trials, are under His control and serve His divine purposes. This understanding fosters hope and encouragement, knowing that God works in all circumstances for the ultimate good of His people and the fulfillment of His promises (Romans 8:28). Thus, the significance of God's providence is that it grounds our trust in Him amid life's uncertainties.

So once again in the help of the Lord I would like you to turn with me to the chapter that we read at Exodus chapter 3 and the text you will find in verse 12. And he said, certainly I will be with thee rest of the verse and this shall be a token unto thee that I have sent thee when thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt ye shall serve God upon this mountain.

This is the gracious promise that was given to Moses as the Lord commissioned him to to be used as his instrument to deliver the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt and the gracious promise as we have looked at recently of that wonderful prayer that was spoken by the Canaanite lady, Lord, help me.

It was just a short little prayer, yet it encompasses so much the need of the one that is praying and the object that they have in view, which is God, desiring that help to come from God. And it is a prayer that is prayed by all of the Lord's people, if not daily. And I've said that heaven rings with that prayer every single day. Lord, help me. It is such a simple prayer, a so needed prayer, because we're such needy creatures, we're such needy people. We always have something to ask the Lord to help us. And this is such a wonderful response to that prayer, as Moses felt his need. He responded to that call, who am I?

I am nobody. I'm not able to do the task that you've given me to do. I'm nobody. Lord, I'm not able. And the response comes, certainly I will be with thee. And so the cry goes up, Lord, Lord, help me. And the response comes back, certainly I will be with thee. And so we see that there is that need There is that need. The people of God are oppressed. They have been in Egypt for 400 years. They have multiplied and multiplied. They are now suffering because of the oppression of the Pharaoh, the people of Egypt. And their cry comes up to God. And the Lord, his ear is inclined unto the cry of his people and he comes now to help. It's not that the Lord didn't know. The Lord knew all about what the people of Israel were going through. It was all part of his purpose. It was all part of his plan. He had already informed Abraham all those years ago that the people would be taken captive and placed in a foreign land. They would be oppressed for 400 years. And so it was not out of God's mind. It's not that he didn't know what was going on, but his providence was working in the world. He was working out his own purposes. He was working out his own plan that his word must not fail.

If he has said that it must be 400 years that they are held captive, then it is 400 years that they will be held captive. As he says to Jeremiah, 70 years in Babylon, 70 years it must be. And it would be the same with us. The Lord knows the span of our lives. The Lord knows the span of our trials and our difficulties. They have a time, they have a purpose, and they have an end. The Lord is working out his providential plan in our individual lives, that he knows exactly what he is doing.

As he says to Abraham in Genesis 15, and when he is entering into a covenant relationship with him, he tells Abraham about what is going to take place. verse 12 and when the sun was gone down a deep sleep fell upon Abraham and low and horror of a great darkness fell upon him and he said this is God and God said unto Abraham no for a shorty that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them, and they shall afflict them four hundred years. And also that nation whom they shall serve I will judge, and afterwards they shall come out with great substance. And so Abraham never saw the completion or the fulfilment of this promise. we know that the Lord's word cannot fall to the ground, it is never an empty word, as we've seen with the Lord Jesus Christ, everything that he does has a purpose, he walks circumspectly, he walks carefully, and calculatedly and all of the words that he speaks are precise words. Every miracle that he did was specifically calculated to show who he was and to teach his apostles and those round about him who were following him and the same with the Lord. the Lord God, the I Am. His Word will never fall to the ground.

It is an unchanging Word. It is an eternal Word. The Word of God, it changes not. The world is constantly changing, but the Lord's Word, it's unchanging. It's the truth. And so if he says 400 years, if he says 70 years, if he says one year, 10 years, then that is the Word of the Lord and it shall not fail. If we think of the prophets, when they began their prophecies, they say, thus saith the Lord, It's what God says. And it's what God says that matters. And it's what God says that will not change. And so these 400 years were told to Abraham by God.

And how that would come about, nobody could ever have predicted. that Joseph had to be sold into slavery. There he is cast into prison. There he is made a second to Pharaoh in the land. There his family is brought in to Egypt. There they multiply and multiply. Then there comes a Pharaoh that knows not Joseph. He doesn't know his own history.

And so he begins to oppress the people of God, just as the Lord said. they oppress them for these 400 years but the Lord says there will become a time when that oppression will end and then they will be led out. They will be led out and they will they will come out with a great substance. And just as he says to Moses that they will come out with great substance, every woman shall borrow of her neighbor and her that sojourneth in her house jewels of silver, jewels of gold and raiment and ye shall put them upon your sons and upon your daughters and ye shall spoil the Egyptians. just as the Lord said. And if we were to continue reading, we will see that is exactly what took place. That as God led them out, they spoiled the Egyptians and they took with them all their goods and they entered on their pilgrim journey.

And so God is working out his own purposes, to bring about the fulfilment of his own word, which is his providence, the working out of God's will in the world, the care and guidance that he does for all people. We know that, as he says to Noah, that seed time and harvest, summer and winter cold and heat shall not fail until the end of time. God is working out his purposes all the way to the end of time. the governing of creation, we see the seasons, we see the animals, the plants and as we have experienced a lovely day today and how enjoyable it is, we see the plants beginning to bud, the trees beginning to bud, the birds beginning to sing and beginning to find their mates and we see the purposes of God working out and even in our own lives we see the providence of God working. bringing out his own purposes in our lives. And even in the mystery of providence, that God is able to still work out his own plan, his own will, when you and I make foolish choices, when we sin, when we go against our God.

Think of Lot. and the foolish choice that he made regarding Sodom and Gomorrah. He made that decision based upon what he could see and he left Abraham and entered into the plane of Sodom. God still works out his own purposes in the life of Lot. of David and his sin that he committed. God in his mercy and providence still worked out his own purposes to bring about Solomon. And so even in our sin and our unbelief, God is still able to work out his own will in our lives. And as we look through the scriptures, we see that God's will never fails. His revealed purposes, his prophecies regarding himself and his son and his people. they are unchanging. As Nebuchadnezzar came to realize who can stop his hand or say unto him, what doest thou? Nobody. Nobody can.

And so these 400 years came to pass and God now raises up the one whom he is going to use as the deliverer. But even in the providences of God, The people are suffering. And that cry was used in God's purposes. And he responds to that cry. And so there was that need. They cried by reason of the affliction that they were oppressed with.

And God says that I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and large, a land flowing with milk and honey unto the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites, et cetera. And so this oppression is being used by God as the means by which he is now coming to deliver them. You see, if he had come when everything was easy, there would not have been maybe that willingness to go. If he had come when they were enjoying their life in Egypt, they may not have had that same desire to follow the law. but he comes when there is that crying unto him, that God is using that painful experience, that slavery, for them to turn and look to God and to ask him for his help. So when Moses comes, they are looking for a deliverer. They are looking for somebody. They are looking for a way by which to escape this oppression. So there is that need.

And often in our own lives, isn't it, when everything is going along smoothly, then there is not that earnestness in seeking the word. There's not that earnestness in seeking the Lord. There's not that earnestness in prayer. When things turn easy, we become lax and we drift away from God.

And so the Lord then brings something into our lives that crushes us and causes us to be desperate at the throne of grace and to search the scriptures as we come to seek and to know the will of God. We search the promises of God, asking for some comfort and some help in this time of difficulty. And so it was with the people of Israel. Yes, God had set the 400 years.

But he used the cry of the people to bring about his own purposes that now was the time he was going to come down and deliver them. And he came down and he met with Moses. And so Moses is the one that God has chosen to be his deliverer. So there is a call, there is the need, And then there is the call, Moses, Moses, the need of the people, Lord help us. Then there is the call of God.

God inclines his ear unto the righteous and he hears their cry. And he has multiple ways by which he can help his dear people. And sometimes it is that he sends another to their aid. Sometimes it is that he sends a Barnabas, a comforter to come, as Moses is the deliverer, to be the one to lead them forth out of the land of Egypt.

God raised up this man, Moses, Moses. But notice that it starts with God. It is God who sought out Moses when he was in the backside of the desert. He had run away from Egypt. He'd run away because of fear of his life. But the Lord met him where he wanted him. 40 years been living in the palace. 40 years now looking after sheep in the wilderness. And now the Lord takes this opportunity when he is alone, when he's in the wilderness, when he's with the sheep, to come and commission him to the work that he is doing. And so the call, it starts with God.

In verse 14, it says, and God said unto Moses, I am that I am. As Moses says to him, who is it that I shall say? What is your name? When I go to the elders of Israel, who shall I say has sent me? I am has sent me. We know that I am is the word Yahweh, the eternal God, the unchanging God, the God that has no beginning and no end. Every other God is the figure of imagination. It is a being that has been created by man, and he has a beginning. It has a beginning.

Our God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, created the earth, created the world. and he revealed himself to Moses and he says, this is my name forever. The eternal being absolutely independent of every need of man. He does not need Moses. He does not need me and you. We are dependent upon God.

We cannot exist unless he brings us into being. The scripture says, he knit us together in the womb of our mother. He gives us life. He's the one that enables us to wake up every single morning. He is the one who gives us the health to continue. He is the one that enables us to continue on in our day. He's the one who allows us to become unwell. We are dependent upon Him. He is independent from us.

He does not need us to exist. He existed in eternity past, without us, and He created this world for His honor and for His glory. He is free from all needs, and His power is unlimited. There are no limitations to God. We are limited. Our life is limited. Our ability is limited. Our strength is limited. Our health is limited. We are dependent upon the Lord.

The whole of this world continues day by day because the Lord allows it to do so. When he says stop, everything would stop. The Lord Jesus Christ will come again and that would be the end of this world. And it is him who sought out Moses to use Moses for God's own glory. And he reveals to him his name. The same with all of us.

Sometimes we think that we are indispensable, that maybe God needs us. God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. God has chosen men and women and to use them for his honour and for his glory. It is a great privilege, a great humbling experience to be chosen by God. chosen for salvation, chosen to be a Sunday school teacher, chosen to be a deacon, chosen to be a church member, chosen to be a preacher.

The Lord doesn't use us, but as he says to Jeremiah, before I formed you in the belly, I knew you and ordained you a prophet. I set you apart. Before you even existed, I knew who you were. I was going to create you and use you for my glory. And so he chooses Moses. In chapter two from verse four God had always known Moses. He preserved him when he was a little baby.

Chapter 2. verse 4, and his sister stood afar off to see what, sorry, verse 3, when she could not no longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and dabbed it with slime, and pitch, and put the child there, and she lay it in the flags by the river bank. And his sister stood afar off to wit or to see what would be done.

And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself in the river, and her maidens walked along by the riverside, and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. And when she had opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the babe wept, and she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews' children. Then his sister said unto Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee? And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, go. And the maid went and called the child's mother. And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, take this child away and nurse it for me and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the child and nursed it. And the child grew and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter and he became her son.

And she called his name Moses because she said, because I drew him out of the water. And so as God calls Moses into this work. It is not, although it is to Moses the first time that he is realising of God's love towards him, of his commission, yet the Lord had always had his eye upon him. His life had been preserved from the womb, Even as his mother cast him onto the river Nile, with all of the crocodiles that could have taken him, and with all of the soldiers that could have slaughtered him, yet he is preserved. That stream, that river, that current took him to the exact place of where Pharaoh's daughter washes. Now is that luck or is that chance or is that the divine providence of God moving that baby to a specific place for a specific time so that he could be preserved from the hands of the Pharaoh and kept until the right time when the Lord would use him? Of course, it is the hand of God. the Lord guided the currents by his sovereign will to bring about his own purposes so that Moses, who had been chosen before the foundation of the world to be his servant, would come to the backside of the desert. The cries of the people of Israel would all coincide with this appointment and that God would then commission this man to this work. So he called him and he equips him. He says to him, certainly I will be with thee.

In chapter four and from verse 10, And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant, but I am slow of speech and of a slow tongue. the Lord said unto him who has made man's mouth or who maketh thee dumb or deaf or seeing or blind have not I the Lord now therefore go and I will be with thy mouth to teach thee what thou shalt say and so here he is in the backside of the desert the Lord appears to him and he says look I can't I can't talk. You want me to speak, but I can't speak. And so the Lord says to him, look, I am the eternal God. I've created the heavens and the earth. I informed you in the womb. I'm the one who makes people able to speak. I'm the one who makes people not able to speak. I'm the one who makes people to see. I'm the one who makes people not able to see. And therefore, as I have made the mouth, so I will give you what you need to say and I will teach you. what you need to say.

And so the Lord not only calls him, but he equips him for the job that he is given him to do. Just like we see in the New Testament with the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, there is that calling. calling from nature's darkness, calling from the spiritual Egypt into a relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ. And then there is the equipping of the saints, that each believer is given the specific gifts that the Lord has given to them to enable them to use those gifts for his honour and for his glory. No one is able to say, I am useless. No one is able to say I don't have any ability or I don't have any gift because the scripture has said that he's given gifts to men. He's given the ability to be part of the body of the Lord Jesus Christ so that we may serve one another and glorify the Lord Jesus Christ as the head. He equips his people for the work that he gives them to do. Go therefore and I will be with thy mouth and teach thee what thou shalt say. What is his response? There's always a response to a commission.

If you've ever seen, if you've ever watched football, or any game I suppose, when the team comes on, they're full of confidence. They're jumping around and exercising full of vigour about the game. And sometimes throughout the game, one may be taken off and another one brought on. And he also runs on, you know, jumping, filled with excitement. He's the one that's going to make the difference. You know, his skill, his ability is the one that's going to, you know, win for this, score the goal for this team.

And they're so full of excitement about what they're going to do. We see the complete opposite when the Lord called somebody Complete opposite. You don't see Moses saying, yes, yes, I knew you were going to choose me, God, because I'm so good. I'm such a good leader. I'm so powerful. I've got so much intellect. I've got so much skill in the desert. I've got so much teaching from the Egyptians. There's no pride whatsoever.

He says, who am I? Who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? Maybe there was a time if the Lord had called him when he was in the palace, maybe then he would have been full of confidence. Maybe then he would have thought, yes, all my military training, all my education here in the palace, obviously God is going to call me. Obviously, I'm the right one. I know he had to go from the palace to the wilderness.

Maybe it was to bring him down. to humble him in the wilderness, like we read in Deuteronomy, to humble you and prove you to know what is in your heart, whether you love the Lord, your God or not. And so when the Lord says to him, I've come and I've chosen you, he responds, who am I? Who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh?

I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt. Often we find in the Bible, especially in the KJV, that when these people are spoken to by God, they always put their eye at the end. I noticed with King David, when the Lord promises him that he's going to have a throne that he's going to endure for all generations, in 2 Samuel 7, from verse 18, David says, then when King David in, sat before the Lord and he said, who am I? Oh Lord God.

And what is my house that thou hast brought me hither to? Who am I? We notice with the name of God, it is I am. The I is put first. And it seems maybe it's just through the translation, but You know, these people, there's some humility about them. The eye is put at the back rather than at the front. And with God, the eye is put at the front to denote his greatness. And then they respond with this insignificance.

Who am I that I should even be noticed by God? Who am I that I should even be called into this work? Who am I that I should even be set aside for this great task that has been given to me. Who am I that I should experience such a promise like David had for his kingdom and the promise of the Lord Jesus Christ and his eternal kingdom.

In Isaiah also, it tells us there that the Lord dwells with the humble. The humble. Isaiah 57 verse 15 It says, for thus saith the high and lofty one, God, I am, one that inhabits eternity, whose name is holy. I dwell in the high and holy place with him also that is in, of a contrite or a broken and a humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite or the repentant. And so here it tells us that God is the high and lofty one, the holy God, who inhabits eternity. And he looks down upon the sons of men, and he sees the pride and the arrogance. But then he sees the likeness of his son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who made himself of no reputation.

He sees that humility in man. He sees that humility in Moses. And he sees that now is this man able to work. He thinks nothing of himself, but he thinks everything in God. That he is now ready, like as the apostle says, that God's strength is perfected in weakness. Moses has been brought down now to the right position for God to be able to work and for God to be seen in the life of this man. He's been humbled at the backside of the desert looking after sheep and now the Lord comes to him and says, now you're ready.

Who am I that I should go? And then there is a promise, a promise. Who am I? And he says, certainly I will be with thee. You may be nothing, but with God, you are something. Certainly, he says that I am, will be with you. There are what are termed the I wills and the I shalls of God. We've seen that God said to Abraham, 400 years, your people, your descendants will be enslaved. But then I will come and I will deliver them. That never failed. Why? Because God's Word never fails. There's a certainty to God's Word.

As we look at the world, it is uncertain. Everything that we have is uncertain. We cannot guarantee even our lives, we cannot guarantee our health, we cannot guarantee our finances, we cannot guarantee our families, we cannot guarantee the existence or continuation of this world, but we can guarantee and we can have a certainty, a sure foundation in the Word of God that it is unchanging. that Jesus Christ is our foundation stone. It's unmovable. Though heaven and earth will pass away, his word will not pass away. That is our foundation.

Can't change. I think I've told you the picture before of that lighthouse that's often put on people's walls, that lighthouse with a great big wave crashing around it and a small little man standing in the door. Everything around that lighthouse is in turmoil. It is moving and unstable. Yet that lighthouse is founded upon a rock and although it's slammed by a massive wave, the wave is destroyed and it sprays all the way around.

It's founded upon a rock, unmovable, it is certain, it is fixed. That is the same as everybody who's founded upon Christ Jesus. They are founded upon the rock and God has promised that certainly he will be with them. without a doubt, through time and through eternity.

It's not just a promise for a day. He didn't just say to Moses, you know, certainly I'll be with you for five minutes, then I'm going to go. I will be with thee, and I will prove that to you by you will serve me on this mountain." As we turn over a few pages, we see that Moses ends up back again at the same place where he's given the law of God. Then he's enabled to go right through to the Red Sea where he sorry the Red Sea into the River Jordan when he's able not able to cross over into the Promised Land but he sees it afar off and then the Lord takes him to be with himself.

Certainly I will be with thee. Who else would you want to be with you in life's journey? If you were to choose somebody Who would you want to be with you? We may say, well, choose our mum or dad or husband or wife or grandmother or grandfather or grandchild. We would want them to be with us.

But we know that we cannot guarantee their existence. We may choose them and they may live for a day and then they're gone. It's uncertain. but there is a certainty with God and if God be with us, then who can be against us? Jesus Christ is the friend of sinners and once we have entered into that relationship with him, then there is a certainty attached to our life. That Christ is with us. We are indwelt by the Spirit. God is our heavenly Father. We do have eternal life. The sting of death has been removed. We are justified before the law of God. We are sanctified. We are set apart.

And that the Lord is with us. As he says to Joshua, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee. And so that would be the promise passed on to all the generations of the Lord's people as we saw, as we see that God was with Moses and he led him all through the wilderness. So he's with you if you are the Lord's. as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. Yes, I will humble you and prove you in the wilderness of this world, but that does not mean that I'm not with you. I'm working out my purposes in your life. Yes, it may be painful. Yes, it may be blessed. Yes, you may be on the mountaintops of joy.

You may be in the valley of the depths of experiences, but the Lord is still with you. He never abandons his people. We may drift from him as the people of Israel drifted from God, yet he remained faithful to his covenant that he made with Abraham and God will remain faithful to his covenant that he made with you in Christ Jesus. This is blood, the blood of the new covenant which is shed for you.

Certainly, I will be with thee. May the Lord bless you then with that comfort. Amen. Let us sing our final hymn from Gatsby's 576 to the tune 490, 576. Saved and saved alone by grace. Saved to see my Saviour's face. Saved from Satan's iron yoke and the law that I had broke. 576. Stay to see my savior's face Stay from Satan's eyes from sin and painful fruit that has millions of lives in one. Safe from all its raining down, ♪ Jesus Christ, our sinner's friend ♪ ♪ Took my place on vengeance' floor ♪ ♪ Me to save forevermore ♪ ♪ Death knew how long I'd wait ♪ Now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father, with the fellowship and communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all now and for evermore. Amen. Amen.

Certainly I will be with thee,

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about God's promises?

How do we know God's presence is with us?

Why is God's providence important for Christians?

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About James Gudgeon

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Certainly I will be with thee,

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about God's promises?

How do we know God's presence is with us?

Why is God's providence important for Christians?

Sermon Transcript

About James Gudgeon

Comments

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