The Affliction of My People
A Sermon on Acts 7:30-33
Scripture
30And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush. 31When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight: and as he drew near to behold it, …
Sermon Description
What gives comfort and security? In this sermon titled “The Affliction of My People” where Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preaches from Acts 7:30–33, he presents one of the most comforting truths one can know: that God has acted in history for His people. God knows of human suffering and pain, the sorrows and hardships of life, and the oppressive nature of the world and the enemy, the devil. The great hope of the gospel is that God in Christ Jesus came down from Heaven and delivered His people. This is seen in the Old Testament when the people of Israel are suffering under the cruel bondage of Pharaoh and the Egyptians. God raises up a deliverer, Moses, and through him led Israel to freedom. This is continuous throughout the entire Bible. God’s faithfulness is manifested again and again as He provides a way to deliver His people. It is in Christ Jesus that true freedom over the bondage of sin and the destruction of the enemy’s forces and work is found. When Jesus came to redeem His people from their sins, He came to establish a new kingdom where there is no oppression and evil, and where there is no eternal suffering. All who believe in Jesus Christ as the only Son of God are freed from their sin and may partake with him in the new creation and in the kingdom of God.
Sermon Breakdown
- God has not forgotten nor abandoned this world. He is still interested and concerned.
- God has a plan and purpose for the redemption and salvation of the universe. This is the message of the Bible.
- God's purpose and plan is for redemption and salvation in spite of us and our sins. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
- God's promise and plan of redemption is solely the result of His love, pity and compassion. He saw our affliction and heard our groaning.
- God has come down to deliver us. This is the meaning of the incarnation - God the Son came down to dwell among us.
- God sent His Son into the Egypt of our world to share our lives and struggles. Jesus endured all the same temptations and hardships we face.
- Jesus came to die on the cross for our sins. His blood was shed so that we might be delivered from bondage and judgment.
- Believing in Jesus and His atoning work on the cross is the only requirement for salvation. We must believe to receive God's free gift of eternal life.
- God offers us free salvation, pardon, forgiveness and reconciliation through faith in Christ. No conditions, just believe.
- The message of the Gospel gives immediate peace, rest and satisfaction. It opens up into a life of understanding, strength and power.
- The Gospel leads us through death into the glory everlasting - the vision of God.
The Book of Acts
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.