Field Fiasco

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Rescued

Field Fiasco

(Exodus 9:1-7)

 

INTRODUCTION

“Their tongues were cut off, but there was no spilled blood. No signs of struggle. No footprints or tire tracks were found. Investigators were stumped: who is going on a murderous rampage of cows in Texas, and how are there no clues surrounding their deaths?

 

It seemed a scene straight out of The Secrets of Skinwalker Ranch, the reality TV show on the History Channel about the Utah ranch that is supposedly the site of unexplained supernatural phenomena.

 

Across three Texas counties within the span of a few weeks, seven cattle were found dead under the same suspicious circumstances: lying on one side with the mutilated part of their face exposed, minus a tongue.

 

The cow-killing spree happened in Madison, Brazos and Robertson counties – all located in east-central Texas. Each cow was from a different pasture and herd.

 

‘A straight, clean cut, with apparent precision, had been made to remove the hide around the cow’s mouth on one side, leaving the meat under the removed hide untouched,’ the Madison county sheriff’s office said.

 

‘On two of the five cows, a circular cut was made removing the anus and the external genitalia. This circular cut was made with the same precision as the cuts noted around the jaw lines of each cow.’

 

Ranchers reported no predators or birds had scavenged the remains, a common theme in similar killings.

 

The official cause of most of the cows’ deaths is still unknown, but the freakish events have sparked memories of a long-held conspiracy theory about the mysterious deaths of livestock animals dating back to at least the 1970s in the US that lays the blame at the feet – or tentacles – of aliens in UFOs.

Back then, scores of animal mutilations across at least seven US states triggered a bout of speculation that outer space visitors were attacking – and sampling – earthly animals. Others thought it was all a part of a ritualistic killing.

 

In 1979, the FBI launched a formal investigation into similar killings sweeping New Mexico. But the appropriately named Operation Animal Mutilation concluded that the mysterious deaths of livestock animals killed in similar fashion to those seen recently in Texas were a result of natural predation.

 

The Robertson county sheriff’s office said a postmortem exam returned on Monday showed that the cause of death for one cow was pneumonia, but like the FBI’s investigation, the report did not explain the reasons for the animal’s injuries.

 

The Madison county sheriff’s office said: ‘Multiple similar incidents have been reported across the United States and we are actively coordinating with other agencies to find answers.’

 

Other ranchers in the area are fearful their bovines could be butchered next.

 

Mark Enloe of Enloe Ranch lives in Madison County, along the same stretch of highway where the cows in his town were attacked. He called the recent string of cow murders ‘concerning’.

 

‘I have cattle right in the same vicinity of where these [killings] have taken place, within a couple of miles. I’m sure trying to keep an eye out, watching and making trips up and down the road several times during the day and night to just check and see if anything strange is going on.’

 

Enloe said his neighbor was taking more precautions by putting up cameras around his cows in case he’s targeted next.

 

And Enloe’s friend Steve Cole, who just happens to be Madison County’s justice of the peace, has even more reason to worry. One of his cows was found dead of unnatural causes mere days ago. Although his cow was not mutilated, he’s not confident these incidents aren’t related.

 

Roughly 15 minutes down the road is the B&B Cattle Company. On a phone call with its owner, Brad Barrett, a loud ‘moo’ can be heard in the background.

 

‘We always take precautions to make sure the [cattle] stay safe, but not anything more than normal … We have plenty of dogs. If something’s awry, oh, I’ll definitely know if I’ve got my dogs,’ he said.

 

The sheriff’s offices in all three counties did not respond to a Guardian request for comment.

 

A $5,000 reward is being offered by the Animal Legal Defense Fund for any information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or people who may be responsible for the deaths of these cows.”

 

[https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/may/08/cow-deaths-murders-texas]

 

BODY

  • ME

    • Free chicken meal

        • Quite a few years ago our neighbor man called us to let us know that one of our chickens was lying dead in his yard

        • Before we were able to get outside and retrieve the dead chicken, the perpetrator returned and ate the chicken

        • It was another neighbor’s dog that had gotten lose

        • When we finally got outside, we could tell that the dog had been running circles around the chicken pen

        • The dog eventually made a hole in the chicken wire and caught one of our chickens, killed it, and it deposited it in the neighbor’s yards

        • We have had other chickens die of natural causes

    • Red beet raid

        • For all of the years we have had a garden, we have never had any issues with wildlife raiding it and eating up the plants

        • That all changed this past growing season

        • The year before we had a bumper crop of red beets and we were looking forward to another prosperous year

        • Unfortunately, some deer decided to venture into our garden for the first time and they ate all of the baby red beet plants

        • We could see their hoof prints in the soft soil

 

  • WE

    • How many of us have experienced some kind of damage to our pets, farm animals, or plants?

    • It is frustrating and concerning when it happens

 

While ranchers in Texas have not figured out the cause of death and the mutilation of their cows, Pharaoh and the Egyptians were warned a day ahead of the coming destruction of the livestock in their fields. ​​ The Lord was warning them of the consequences of refusing to obey His command to let His people go. ​​ It would be costly for them. ​​ The same is true for us. ​​ What the author wants us to understand today is that . . .

 

BIG IDEA – Refusing to obey God’s commands is costly.

 

Let’s pray

 

  • GOD (Exodus 9:1-7)

    • Command (vv. 1-4)

        • This is the fifth time the Lord instructed Moses to go to Pharaoh with His message

          • How was Moses’ feeling at this point?

          • We are not told how he is feeling about doing the same thing over and over again with the same negative results

          • What we do know is that Moses obeyed and continued to obey another five times

          • Application

            • How many of us have stopped after being rejected just one time?

            • Is there a difficult conflict that God is asking you to face repeatedly? ​​ [NIV Life Application Bible, footnote for Exodus 9:1]

            • Are you ready to throw in the towel?

            • I want to encourage you to not give up, especially when you know what God is calling you to do is the right thing

            • Moses realized that persistence is rewarded

            • That is not always easy to see when you are in the middle of the conflict or difficulty

            • Resolve today to keep being obedient no matter how long it takes

            • God is faithful!

            • Paul reminded Timothy of this truth when he was encouraged him to remain faithful

            • 2 Timothy 2:11-13, Here is a trustworthy saying: ​​ If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. ​​ If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.

            • #1 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Keep being obedient to what God is asking me to do no matter how long it takes.

          • Moses faithfully shared the Lord’s message with Pharaoh

        • Message

          • The Lord, the God of the Hebrews

            • The phrase, “the God of the Hebrews,” has not been used since Moses’ first encounter with Pharaoh

            • During the plague of flies, the Lord made a distinction between His people and Pharaoh’s people

            • The Lord is now expressing that there are two groups in Egypt and He is identifying with the Hebrews [Mackay, Exodus: A Mentor Commentary, 169]

            • They are His people

          • Let my people go

            • This has been the recurring command from the Lord

            • The reason the Lord is command their release is so they can worship Him

          • If you refuse

            • The Lord used this same phrase during the second plague of frogs and a similar phrase with the plague of flies

            • We will see this phrase again with the plague of locusts

            • The Lord adds a phrase in this message that is not found in any of the other confrontations, continue to hold them back

              • This phrase indicates that Pharaoh is restraining the Israelites from being where God wants them to be [Stuart, The New American Commentary, Volume 2, Exodus, 221]

              • God is ready for the Israelites to return to the Promised Land, but Pharaoh is holding them back from accomplishing this

              • God will not allow anyone or anything to get in the way of His plan or purpose

              • In God’s sovereignty, He has five more plagues for Pharaoh and his people to experience before he will release the Israelites

            • The hand of the Lord will bring a terrible plague

              • The magicians recognized the plague of gnats as the finger of God

              • But, with the fifth plague they would experience God’s whole hand

              • The fifth plague affected the Egyptians livestock out in the field

                • Any horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep, and goats that were in the field would die from the plague

                  • “Domesticated animals were treasured as enormously valuable assets in Bible times.” ​​ [Stuart, 222]

                  • Bulls, cows, and rams were also part of ​​ Egyptian cult worship

                  • The Lord was once again targeting the Egyptian gods

                  • Some animals were considered sacred

                  • Apis, the bull-god of Memphis

                  • The ram of Amun

                  • “. . . Hathor, the mother and sky goddess was depicted as a cow.” [Enns, The NIV Application Commentary, Exodus, 216]

                  • Mnevis, sacred bull worshiped at Heliopolis

                • “All of God’s creation, human and nonhuman, are liable to be caught up in the disastrous consequences of one malevolent human being. ​​ The ripple effect of one’s stubbornness and stupidity can be massive.” ​​ [Hamilton, Exodus: An Exegetical Commentary, 143]

                • PRINCIPLE #1 – Refusing to obey God’s commands is costly.

                  • Have you experienced that in your own life?

                  • Has your stubbornness and stupidity caused disastrous consequences for you and your family, friends, and coworkers?

                  • Have you been on the receiving end of a family member, friend, or coworker who has been stubborn and stupid?

                  • Your stubbornness and stupidity may not have cost others their livestock, but it may have cost them their health as they have worried about you, their savings as they have tried to help you, their sleep as they have stayed awake praying for you, maybe even their own job or other relationships

                  • #1 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Repent of my stubbornness and stupidity and seek forgiveness from those I have hurt.

                • In the field

                  • This seems to be significant that it would only be the livestock in the field

                  • We will see animals being affected by the boils (6th plague), livestock being killed with hail (7th plague), and the death of the firstborn livestock (10th plague)

                  • “The information that it is only the livestock that is out in the open that is going to be affected afforded those Egyptians who took the warning seriously the opportunity to bring even more animals under cover than would ordinarily be kept there (see 9:19). ​​ This may go some way towards explaining the presence of animals affected by subsequent plagues (9:9, 19; 11:5; 12:29) [Mackay, Exodus: A Mentor Commentary, 170]

            • The plague would affect the Egyptian livestock in the field, but would not affect the Israelites livestock at all

          • Distinction foretold

            • Just as the Lord had done with the flies, he made a distinction between His people and Pharaoh’s people

            • This distinction did two things:

              • It exposed the impotence (powerlessness) of the Egyptian deities that were represented by these animals [Mackay, 171]

              • It was a nationwide humiliation of the Egyptian people [Stuart, 222]

            • PRINCIPLE #2 – God is able to be precise in His punishment.

              • He is able to protect certain people and things while allowing devastation and destruction to destroy others

                • We see God’s omnipotence and sovereignty through this

                • Hawaii

                  • In August of 2023 there were a series of wildfires that swept across the island of Maui in Hawaii

                  • They were devastating and destructive

                  • In the midst of that destruction there was an historic church that was untouched

                  • The Maria Lanakila Catholic church was spared

                • West Virginia

                  • On March 5, 2019 it was reported that at fire broke out at the Freedom Ministries Church in Daniels, WV

                  • There was extensive damage to the building, but the fire department wrote, “Not a single Bible was burned and not a single cross was harmed!”

                • We may not always understand why these kinds of things happen, but we can trust in the power and sovereignty of God

                  • “It’s hard enough to go through difficulty, but doubly hard when it seems like others aren’t.” ​​ [Courson, Jon Courson’s Application Commentary, Old Testament, Volume 1: Genesis—Job, 258]

                  • How many of us can relate to that statement

                  • Maybe you are going through a difficult situation right now and you are frustrated because family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers seem to be doing just fine

                  • They appear to be thriving and flourishing while you are floundering

                  • God is sovereign and in control of your situation

                  • Perhaps there is something specific He is trying to teach you that He is not trying to teach your family, friends, neighbors, or coworkers

                  • He is allowing you to experience difficulty, so that you will recognize that He is the Lord

                  • He is able to be precise in His discipline, so we will pay attention to what He is trying to accomplish in our lives

                  • He wants us to be transformed into the likeness of His Son, Jesus

                • God loves us and wants what is best for us and sometimes that requires us to experience precise punishment

              • #2 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Embrace God’s precise discipline, so He can accomplish His plan in my life.

              • Perhaps you are not experiencing the Lord’s precise discipline in your life right now – Praise the Lord!

              • #3 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Pray for ______ (name) as they are experiencing _______.

            • Refusing to obey God’s commands is costly.

          • God’s message to Pharaoh was clear – He wanted His people released and if Pharaoh refused the Egyptians livestock in the fields would die, but the Israelites livestock would be spared

        • After sharing the Lord’s message with Pharaoh, Moses then shared the Lord’s timing

    • Consummation (vv. 5-7)

        • Timeframe

          • The Lord gave the Egyptians a day to prepare

          • If they were smart, they would remove their livestock from the fields

          • “A definite time was also fixed for the coming of the plague, as in the case of the previous one (8:23), in order that, whereas murrains [an infectious disease affecting cattle or other animals] occasionally occur in Egypt, Pharaoh might discern in this one the judgment of Jehovah.” ​​ [Keil & Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, Volume 1, The Pentateuch, 316]

          • It would not be a natural occurrence that would affect all livestock – Egyptian and Israelite alike

          • This would be a supernatural disease on the Egyptian livestock that would not cross over to the Israelite livestock

        • God was on time

          • God kept His promise to bring the plague the next day

          • PRINCIPLE #3 – God keeps His promises.

            • God did not make an idle promise and He was not bluffing

            • He kept His promise to the Israelites on multiple occasions

              • He rescued them from slavery

              • He brought them into the Promised Land

              • He sent them into captivity when they disobeyed His commandments, decrees, and statutes

              • He restored them from captivity when they returned to Him

              • He always had a king from the line of David on the throne – including Jesus

              • He sent Jesus to take our punishment for sin

              • The list could go on and on

            • We can trust Him to keep His promises even today

              • When we follow His commandments, decrees, and statues, He will provide for and bless us

              • When we choose to rebel against Him, He will discipline us

              • When we confess our sins, He will forgive us and cleanse us because He is faithful and just (1 John 1:9)

              • He will save us, provide eternal/everlasting life, and allow us to become His children when we repent of our sins (Rom. 10:9, 10; John 3:16; John 1:12)

            • #4 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Rejoice in the fact that God always keeps His promises.

          • Distinction delivered

            • All of the Egyptian livestock died, but not one Israelite animal died

              • Most scholars agree that the word “all” here is hyperbole for “most” of the livestock

              • This would make sense when we look at verse 3 and realize that only the livestock in the fields died

              • It was a significant number of livestock that the livestock that remained was insignificant

              • Stuart considers another secondary meaning of the Hebrew word for all, “It is due simply to the fact that the Hebrew word kol, usually means ‘all,’ can mean ‘all sorts of’ or ‘from all over’ or ‘all over the place.’ ​​ In this verse the better translation of the full expression would be ‘all sorts of Egyptian livestock died’ or Egyptian livestock died all over the place.’” [Stuart, 223-24]

            • PRINCIPLE #2 – God is able to be precise in His punishment.

          • I am sure the Egyptian people realized that refusing to obey God’s commands was costly

            • They lost a valuable asset that helped with cultivating the land, so plants could grow

            • They also lost a valuable resource that provided meat and milk

        • Checking up on God

          • Pharaoh had not forgotten God’s words about making a distinction between His people and Pharaoh’s people

          • He sent some men to investigate the livestock of the Israelites

          • “If a similar situation was found in Goshen, the Israelite enclave, it would prove that the plague had been natural . . .” [Stuart, 224]

          • Pharaoh did not want it to be true, but it was – not one of the Israelite animals had died

          • PRINCIPLE #3 – God keeps His promises.

        • Even though Pharaoh verified that God had kept His promise to protect the Israelite livestock, his heart did not change

    • Coldhearted

        • Pharaoh’s heart was unyielding

        • He still refused to let the Israelites go

        • Proverbs 28:14, Blessed is the man who always fears the Lord, but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble.

        • Ephesians 4:18, They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them die to the hardening of their hearts.

 

  • YOU

    • Keep being obedient to what God is asking you to do no matter how long it takes.

    • Embrace God’s precise discipline, so He can accomplish His plan in your life.

    • Whom do you need to pray for that is experiencing God’s precise discipline?

    • Rejoice in the fact that God always keeps His promises.

 

  • WE

    • We need be continue to be obedient to what God has asked us to do no matter how long it takes.

    • We need to embrace God’s precise discipline of us, so He can accomplish His plan in our church.

    • We need to pray for those who are experiencing God’s precise discipline.

    • We need to rejoice in the fact that God always keeps His promises.

 

CONCLUSION

“Out of parental concern and a desire to teach our young son responsibility, we require him to phone home when he arrives at his friend's house a few blocks away. He began to forget, however as he grew more confident in his ability to get there without disaster befalling him. The first time he forgot, I called to be sure he had arrived. We told him the next time it happened, he would have to come home.

 

A few days later, however, the telephone again lay silent, and I knew if he was going to learn he would have to be punished. But I did not want to punish him! I went to the telephone, regretting that his great time would have to be spoiled by his lack of contact with his father. As I dialed, I prayed for wisdom. ‘Treat him like I treat you,’ the Lord seemed to say. With that, as the telephone rang one time, I hung up. A few seconds later the phone rang, and it was my son.

 

‘I'm here, Dad!’

 

‘What took you so long to call?’ I asked.

 

‘We started playing and I forgot. But Dad, I heard the phone ring once and I remembered.’

 

‘I'm glad you remembered,’ I said. ‘Have fun.’

 

How often do we think of God as One who waits to punish us when we step out of line? I wonder how often he rings just once, hoping we will phone home.”

 

Source: Dennis Miller, Antioch, Illinois. Leadership, Vol. 6, no. 2.

 

[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/1997/june/715.html]

 

God has been letting the phone ring once with Pharaoh and hanging up. ​​ He wants Pharaoh to know that He is the Lord. ​​ He is being gracious, merciful, and patient with Pharaoh. ​​ He wants Pharaoh to call Him back.

 

Has God let the phone ring once with you and hung up? ​​ Do you need to call Him, so you will not have to experience the costly consequences of refusing to obey Him?

12

 

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Let’s Make A Deal

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Let’s Make a Deal

Let’s Make a Deal debuted on television in December 1963. The premise of the show involved guests wearing crazy costumes, winning merchandise and being offered the opportunity to take the items they had already won and trade them for items they could not see. The items were hidden behind doors or in boxes and the contestant had to make a choice. If they chose to trade the prizes they had already won, they might get something better, or they might get a “Zonk.” ​​ That is, they might leave with something worthless. The show succeeded because there was always someone willing to make a deal. There was always someone ready to compromise by trading what they already had for what they thought would be something better.

This morning we continue our study of Exodus in 8:20-32. God’s chosen people, the children of Israel, are in slavery in Egypt. God has sent Moses to Pharaoh to demand he let His people go. When Pharaoh refuses God sends plagues on Pharaoh, the Egyptians and the land. Through the first three plagues, water to blood, frogs and gnats, Pharaoh has hardened his heart toward the Lord and has refused to let the people go. In the second plague, Pharaoh outright lied saying he would let the people go if Moses would pray to God to take the frogs away. In the fourth plague, this morning, we are going to see a “Let’s make a deal” scenario play out, as Pharaoh offers to let God’s people go, but only on his terms. ​​ He will attach a condition or compromise to their leaving. He will in effect say to Moses, “I know God said to let His people go, and I will, but first, let’s make a deal.” He wanted Moses and Israel to compromise that which God had promised them, which was total freedom from slavery, for something much less.

The same goes for us today. Pharaoh stands for Satan, Egypt stands for the world and the children of Israel stands for the church, all those who are saved by grace. When we are saved by the blood of Jesus Christ and commit to lives to the Lord, we are called to leave the world and our old master, Satan, behind. The world and Satan are forever trying to call us back to our old selves and convince us to make a deal with him and to compromise our faith. But, with the Devil, there are no upgrades, only “Zonks.” Satan wants us to compromise by trading what we already have from the Lord, for something much less.

God wants us to lead a life of obedience that is Spirit-filled and blessed by Him. The Devil wants us to trade the blessings of God for the rubbish of this world and he will offer us every compromise at his disposal to attempt to lead us astray. Sadly, many people, Christians included, will fall for his tricks. But don’t be discouraged this morning. John 16:33 says, “I have told these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” By the cross, Jesus has conquered Satan and the grave. With the Holy Spirit living within us and helping us to obey all that Jesus commanded, we have the same power to overcome Satan and the world. We do not have to trade the blessings of God for something less. We don’t have to compromise with Satan or the world. That brings us to our big idea this morning that God calls his people to obedience, not compromise. And with the Holy Spirit within us it can be done.

Let’s pray: Heavenly Father, open our eyes, ears, hearts and minds to your Word this morning. Don’t let us leave this place unaffected or unchanged. Help us to be obedient to your commands and not compromise the great things we have with you for the trash of this world that Satan wants to give us. Thank you for your Holy Spirit within us. We worship you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

There are three points this morning. The first is Complete found in Exodus 8:20-24. Please follow along as I read those verses. This is what God’s Word says, “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and confront Pharaoh as he goes to the river and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. If you do not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies on you and your officials, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of flies; even the ground will be covered with them. “‘But on that day, I will deal differently with the land of Goshen, where my people live; no swarms of flies will be there, so that you will know that I, the Lord, am in this land. I will make a distinction between my people and your people. This sign will occur tomorrow.’” And the Lord did this. Dense swarms of flies poured into Pharaoh’s palace and into the houses of his officials; throughout Egypt the land was ruined by the flies.”

This is the beginning of the fourth plague, the second cycle of plagues that God has sent against Pharaoh and Egypt. The first cycle consisted of water turning to blood, frogs and gnats. The fourth plague is similar to the first plague, the fifth plague will be similar to the second and the sixth plague will be similar to the third. The first similarity is that Moses was to “present” himself to Pharaoh as he went to the water or the Nile River. Pharaoh and the Egyptians worshipped the gods of the Nile so it was probably his ritual to go to the river each morning to worship. The second similarity is that Moses was to tell Pharaoh to let God’s people go so they could worship him. The third similarity is that Moses was to announce the fourth plague. The fourth plague would consist of swarms of flies being sent on Pharaoh and his officials, on the people and in their houses. It would be a complete infestation where Pharaoh, his officials and the Egyptian people lived; even the ground would be infested. There would be so many flies that Stuart says, “you won’t even be able to put a foot down without stepping on lots of them.” There would be no escape from them.

In verse 21 we see a play on words: If Pharaoh will not “send” God’s people out of Egypt, God will “send” the swarms of flies against Egypt. The language of “send against” was a sign of divine response and punishment to his people’s slavery in Egypt. The choice was Pharaoh’s as to whether the plagues stopped or not. Would he be obedient to Almighty God or not? (Big Idea) These swarms of flies were not your ordinary housefly. They were made up of many different kinds of insects including dog flies, sandflies, horseflies, March flies, fleas, mosquitoes, midges, and even gnats again. The Septuagint identifies them as biting insects. This plague would be a complete infestation of biting insects sent against Pharaoh, his officials and the Egyptian people. There would be nowhere where these insects could not to get to them and bite them.

We also see some differences with the first plague. First, Moses didn’t have to identify the Lord to Pharaoh. In Exodus 7:16, Moses identified the Lord as the God of the Hebrews. After three plagues, Pharaoh knew it was Yahweh who was sending these plagues. Second, Moses didn’t need to identify where the Israelite people would go. Pharaoh didn’t need to be reminded that God had commanded them to go three-days into the desert. Moses may have left that part out fueling Pharaoh’s compromising response later on in the narrative. Third, the magicians will not be present, and Pharaoh will not call them. He knew after the plague of gnats that his gods were defeated and that there was no reason to summon the magicians. Also, Aaron is absent signifying that this is now between Moses and Pharaoh. Fourth, no staff would be needed to perform this miraculous sign. This would be a direct display of God’s power. All the Lord would have to do is speak and the plague would happen. That brings us to our first principle that God is All-powerful. We have seen this time and time again throughout our narrative.

Fifth, the first and second plagues were an attack on the water as all water above the ground was turned to blood and frogs came out of the Nile. The third plague was an attack on the earth as the dust of the ground became gnats. But the fourth plague will be different. It will be an attack on the air as swarms of flies overtake Pharaoh and the Egyptians. Like the frogs, the fly was revered because they seemed to bring life out of death. Ross says, “As the maggots came crawling out of rotting flesh, only to fly away, they manifested a power over death that was very appealing to a people obsessed with surviving after death.” This plague seems to be connected to the ichneumon fly which the Egyptians considered a manifestation of the god Uatchit. There also seems to be a connection with “Beelzebub” which means “Lord of the flies.” Beelzebub was actually a tool of Satan and one of the representations of Satan’s power in Egypt. Luke 11:15 says, “But some of them said, “By Beelzebub, the prince of demons, he (Jesus) is driving out demons.” Dunnam says, “They depended on Beelzebub to guard them against ravenous flies, but this plague convinced them he was impotent causing them to look elsewhere for relief.” The Lord has complete sovereignty and power over the gods of Egypt. He is also in control of all nature. That brings us to our second principle that God is in control of all nature. He is in control of the water, the earth, and the air. He created all nature, and he sustains all nature, and we can worship him for that this morning.

Lastly, probably the greatest difference between the fourth plague and the others is that we are told explicitly that the plague of flies would not happen in Goshen, where his people resided. The question we may ask is: has Goshen been exempt from the plagues so far? Stuart says, “At this point Moses chose to make the distinction explicit. It will appear as a feature in some of the subsequent plague accounts as well (nos. 5, 7, 9 and 10), but not in all of them—indicating that the cases where the distinction is overtly described are intended to suggest to the reader the general pattern that prevailed in all ten plagues. It is possible that Goshen has been exempt and we are now only being told. Pharaoh may or may not have been aware, but he is also now being told and he will not be able to ignore the fact that it is the Lord God of the Hebrews that is bringing these plagues.

The Lord was going to deal differently with the land where his chosen people lived. The Lord was going to make a distinction between the Israelites – his people and the Egyptians – Pharaoh’s people. The complete infestation of flies that the Lord promised to send against Egypt would be non-existent in the land of Goshen where his people were living. The reason given for this was so that Pharaoh would know that the Lord of the Hebrews is in the land. Pharaoh thought he was the king of Egypt, and he was in control of his land, and wielded the power there. But the Lord was going to let him know that was not the case. Yahweh is the Lord of all the world even the land of Egypt and all power is his.

The fact that it would only happen in Egypt and not in Goshen would be a miraculous sign from the Lord. It would also be miraculous because it would have a starting time, which would be the next day. This would prove that the plague of flies was not be a natural phenomenon or something that happened by chance. This sign was supposed to change the heart of Pharaoh into softening his heart and letting God’s chosen people go. But it was also a sign to the Israelites that they were still God’s chosen people. Magonet says, “This degree of discrimination moves the events beyond a natural cataclysm into a precise divine intervention.” Here God is granting his people a serene immunity because they are, after all, his people. The language of “knowing” and “sign” should have been a “sign” to Pharaoh of future disaster. This same distinction will be made again in Exodus 11:7 with the death of the firstborn sons. Even the word “ruin” used in verse 24 points to something more disastrous than a fly infestation.

Pharaoh did not comply with the Lord’s command, and he sent dense swarms of flies into Pharaoh’s palace, into the houses of his officials and throughout Egypt. The land was “ruined” or “corrupted” by the flies. This corruption would have kept the Egyptians from worshipping their gods because of being unclean, as they were with the plague of gnats. The imperfect form of the verb “ruin” is used to signify that the ruining continued for a period of time. Ryken says, “These were blood-sucking bugs that tormented both man and beast.” Literally, the swarms are described as “heavy”, meaning they were so numerous they became a burden to the Egyptians. Psalm 78:45 confirms this, saying, “He sent swarms of flies that devoured them.” These biting flies terrorized the people and devastated the countryside. The flies fed on the people and devoured them. We again see the principle that God is All-Powerful as he is able to use the even the smallest of his creations with such destructive force.

Now that the land was completely infested with flies, we could expect Pharaoh to comply with the Lord’s demands to let his people go which brings us to our second point this morning, called Compromise, found in verses 25-29. Please follow along as I read. This is what God’s Word says, “Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God here in the land.” But Moses said, “That would not be right. The sacrifices we offer the Lord our God would be detestable to the Egyptians. And if we offer sacrifices that are detestable in their eyes, will they not stone us? We must take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, as he commands us.” Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to offer sacrifices to the Lord your God in the wilderness, but you must not go very far. Now pray for me.” Moses answered, “As soon as I leave you, I will pray to the Lord, and tomorrow the flies will leave Pharaoh and his officials and his people. Only let Pharaoh be sure that he does not act deceitfully again by not letting the people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”

We don’t know how long it took Pharaoh to summon Moses and Aaron, but once it happened they must have thought that Pharaoh was ready to let the Israelites go to worship the Lord. Pharaoh wanted relief and had seemingly started to crack under the burden of the flies. He was now willing to let the Israelites go but he was not willing to let them go to the desert. Instead, he was only willing to allow the Israelites “a holiday” in order to sacrifice to their God in the land of Egypt. This may have been seen as a capitulation on Pharaoh’s part, but it really wasn’t. They would continue to be under his jurisdiction, and he wouldn’t have to recognize their God’s superiority. Interestingly, Pharaoh now admits the existence and power of the Lord that He had claimed earlier to not “know.” But even now he only recognizes him as God of the Hebrews and not as God of all creation.

Pharaoh was offering to make a deal with Moses and Aaron to compromise that which God had promised them, which was total freedom from slavery, for something much less. Nothing but the complete release of God’s chosen people out of the land of Egypt and out of slavery was going to do. These were God’s people not Pharaoh’s. They were created to worship the one true God of the universe, the Lord God Almighty, not Pharaoh. This brings us to our third principle that God is pleased when we fulfill our created purpose to worship him and him alone. ​​ We see this in Psalm 148:5, “Let them praise the name of the Lord, for at his command they were created.” And in Psalm 86:9, “All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord, they will bring glory to your name.” And in Exodus 20:3, “You shall have no other gods before me.” We were created to worship the Lord and that is why God brought the plagues upon Egypt. It was so His people could be free to worship him and him alone. That brings us to our first next step on the back of your communication card which is to Fulfill my created purpose to worship the Lord and have no other gods before Him.

Next, we see Moses’ response to Pharaoh’s compromise. This was not going to fly with God nor with Moses. Moses knows that staying in Egypt would violate God’s command and he refuses to compromise saying that sacrificing to the Lord in the land of Egypt would not be right. The sacrifices the Israelites would make would be detestable to the Egyptians and would cause them to stone them. Cole says, “Moses refuses on the grounds that to sacrifice in Egypt would be like killing a pig in a Muslim mosque or slaughtering a cow in a Hindu temple. In the sense that the Egyptians would consider the sacrifice of a sacred animal as blasphemous.” The Egyptians would stone the Israelites on principle. Then Moses reiterates that they must take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the Lord, as he has commanded them. Pharaoh knew this three-day journey meant that he would never see the Israelites again. He would lose his free slave labor force and that was something he wasn’t prepared to do. We see the truth that Pharaoh knew that the Israelites wouldn’t be able to get away with making sacrifices in the midst of the Egyptians because he didn’t argue with Moses about it. He immediately tried again to get Moses to compromise. He said that he would let the people go as long as they didn’t go too far. He seemed to be allowing them to leave but really, he was keeping them on a short leash. They could only go as far as he could send his army after them to easily bring them back. This was as far as Pharaoh was going to go even with the plague of flies ruining the people and the land.

This goes to show that it wasn’t about the Israelites worshipping their God. It was about the Israelites freedom and whose they really were. ​​ “I will let you go” shows that Pharaoh believed he still owned and controlled God’s chosen people. Spurgeon says, “They were not Pharaoh’s people; Pharaoh never chose them, he had never brought them where they were. He had not fought with them and overcome them. They were not captives in war, nor did they dwell in a territory which was the spoil of fair conflict.” As Christ-followers, we are called to be in the world but not of it. We can’t compromise by worshiping “in the land” or worshiping the way the world wants us to. The world would say “worship on Sundays but the rest of the week do whatever you want.” The world would say “go ahead and worship but don’t be extreme, God will be okay with a little bit of worship or half-hearted worship.” No, we are to be obedient to the Lord and leave sin behind completely. Satan wants Christians to mix the world and church to the point where there is no distinction between God’s people and his people. Instead of being hated by the world like Jesus was Christians are joining the world and blurring the lines. We want to offer sacrifices to God but remain within the friendly confines of Egypt. But our scripture teaches us that we must not settle for the deals that Satan wants to make with us and compromise with the world

Jesus said we would worship the Lord “in spirit and in truth” and that means two things. One, it means leaving Egypt for the wilderness and ultimately the promised land. Two, it means total obedience to the Lord. ​​ We can’t compromise our faith; we must obey Jesus completely without compromise. (Big Idea) Spurgeon explained it like this: God’s demand is not that his people should have some little liberty, some little rest in their sin, no, but that they should go right out of Egypt.… Christ did not come into the world merely to make our sin more tolerable, but to deliver us right away from it. He did not come to make hell less hot, or sin less damnable, or our lusts less mighty; but to put all these things far away from his people and work out a full and complete deliverance.… Christ does not come to make people less sinful, but to make them leave off sin altogether—not to make them less miserable, but to put their miseries right away, and give them joy and peace in believing in him. The deliverance must be complete, or else there shall be no deliverance at all.” When it comes to obeying the Lord there can be no deals and no compromise. That brings us to our second next step which is to Obey the Lord completely, leaving Egypt (the world) and compromise behind.

Pharaoh then asked Moses to pray for him. “Now pray for me” shows Pharaoh knew exactly who the plagues came from, and how they could be stopped which was by humbly appealing to the Lord. Moses tells Pharaoh that as soon as he leaves him, he will pray to the Lord and tomorrow the flies will be completely gone. This would be proof to Pharaoh, the Egyptians and also to the Israelites that this plague was another miraculous sign from the Lord. The fact that the flies would leave at the precise moment that Moses said they would, would be all the proof Pharaoh needed to “know the Lord” and to let God’s people go. Pharaoh had already hardened his heart three times, so Moses warns Pharaoh to not act deceitfully again by not letting the people go to make sacrifices to the Lord.

After the plague of the flies brought ruin to the land and Pharaoh tried to get Moses to compromise by not going too far from Egypt to make sacrifices, we now come to our third point this morning, which is Choice, found in verses 30-32. Please follow along as I read. This is what God’s Word says, “Then Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord, and the Lord did what Moses asked. The flies left Pharaoh and his officials and his people; not a fly remained. But this time also Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not let the people go.”

Moses leaves Pharaoh and prays to the Lord just as he promised, and the Lord did just as Moses asked. The flies completely left Pharaoh, his officials and his people, not one fly remained. Now Pharaoh had a choice to make. He could choose to let God’s people go, or he could choose to harden his heart again. This brings us to our fourth principle this morning that God is pleased when we choose him as our Lord. God wants us to be obedient to him. He is long-suffering, not wanting anyone to perish and this was true of Pharaoh as well. God longed for Pharaoh to choose repentance and begin to serve and worship Him. God wanted to show his mercy toward Pharaoh instead of forcing him into submission, but Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he resolved to stand against God and his chosen people. Making choices is the privilege and price of being human. Every choice we make forms our character and the more choices we make forms a habit within us. As responsible human beings we need to make proper moral choices. When we become Christ-followers, God calls us to choose obedience to him, and every time we do it forms our Christian character. But if we choose to not obey the Lord and harden our hearts toward him then we form a different kind of character. No one knows when the “point of no return” will be, which was where Pharaoh found himself. Pharaoh had hardened his heart to the Lord and his people for so long and so many times that he was beyond that point of no return, and he would reap the punishment of his choices not only for himself but for the Egyptian people as well. Maybe that is where you are at this morning. Maybe you have been hardening your heart toward the Lord for a while now. He has been pursuing you and you have continued to put him off. If you are able to recognize this then you are not too far gone like Pharaoh was. We all have a choice to make when confronted by the Lord and you can still choose to soften your heart and bow before Almighty God this morning and accept him as your Savior and make him Lord of your life. That brings us to our last next step which is to Soften my heart, bow before Almighty God, accept him as my Savior, and live in obedience to Him and His commands.

I want to end with two short illustrations: In the early 1900’s through the 1960’s Broadway Presbyterian Church was a powerful witness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Upper Manhattan, but from the 1960’s to the 1990’s a subtle change began to take place. A change in emphasis stole in as massive feeding programs for the homeless were undertaken. Church membership slipped from over 1000 to 120. In the soup kitchens, prayers were not even offered over meals out of concern that the clients might resent it. And it was discovered that the same people were coming through the lines year after year. There was no change taking place in their lives. What happened? The decisive point of the battle, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, had been surrendered. Free food doesn’t transform lives, The resurrected Christ transforms lives. (World Magazine, 26 January 2002).

The second comes from A. T. Pierson: Suppose you had a thousand-acre farm, and someone offered to buy it. You agree to sell the land except for one acre right in the center which you want to keep for yourself. Did you know that in some areas the law would allow you to have access to that one lone spot? And that you would have the right to build a road across the surrounding property in order to get to it? So it is with us as Christians if we make less than 100-percent surrender to God. We can be sure that the devil will take advantage of any inroad to reach that uncommitted area of our lives. (Encyclopedia of Illustrations #1775).

We have all heard Satan say at one time or the other, “Let’s make a deal.” He has tempted us to trade something precious for something worthless. He has tempted us to trade our testimony for empty promises and wasted years. The great thing about our God is his mercy, grace and forgiveness. When we fall, Jesus will forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. He will restore us to life in Him. So I want to encourage all of us this morning that with the help of the Holy Spirit within we do not have to fall for Satan’s deals and compromises. And if we do our heavenly Father will let us trade in that which the Devil has given us for something more precious than gold.

As the ushers come to collect the tithes and offerings and the praise team comes to lead us in a final song, let’s pray: Heavenly Father, I thank you for your Word. It is true and tells us of your mighty deeds for your people. We can trust in it for our lives. I praise you because you are all-powerful and that you are in control of all nature. I also praise you for creating us to worship you alone and that we can choose you as our Lord. Help us to fulfill our created purpose by worshiping you and having no other gods before you. Help us to obey you completely, leaving Egypt and compromise behind. And Lord, I pray that we all would soften our hearts towards you, bow before you, accept you as our Savior and live in obedience to you and your commands. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

 

 

 

 

/by

Prince Of Peace

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4th Sunday of Advent

Prince of Peace

(Mark 4:35-41; Isaiah 9:6; John 14:27)

 

INTRODUCTION

“In the autumn of 1873, Horatio Spafford, a wealthy Chicago businessman, placed his wife, Anna, and their four children on the Ville du Havre sailing from New York to France. He was forced to stay in the United States for several more weeks to settle some business matters before he could journey to join the family in Europe.

 

The evening of November 21 found the Ville du Havre prow-east toward France on a calm Atlantic. The journey was progressing beautifully. A few hours later, about two o'clock in the morning on November 22, the Ville du Havre was carrying its sleeping passengers over a quiet sea when two terrific claps like thunder were followed by frightening screams. The engine stopped, the ship stood still. Passageways were filled with terrified, half-dressed people shouting questions that no one could answer. The Ville du Havre had been rammed by the English vessel, the Lochearn.

 

Mrs. Spafford saw three of her children swept away by the sea while she stood clutching the youngest child. Suddenly, she felt her baby torn violently from her arms. She reached out through the water and caught little Tanetta's gown. For a minute she held her again. Then the cloth wrenched from her hand. She reached out again and touched a man's leg in corduroy trousers. She became unconscious. She awoke later, finding that she had been rescued by sailors from the Lochearn. But her four children were gone.

 

In the meantime, Horatio Spafford was back in the United States, desperate to receive news of his family. Finally, the blow fell. A cable arrived from Wales stating that the four daughters were lost at sea, but his wife was still alive. He was crushed with what had happened. All night he walked the floor in anguish. Toward the morning he turned to his friend, Major Whittle, and said, ‘I am glad to trust the Lord when it will cost me something.’

 

On the way across the Atlantic to join his wife, the captain announced that they were now passing the place where the Ville du Havre was wrecked. For Horatio Spafford, this was passing through the valley of the shadow of death. He sat down in his cabin on the high seas, near the place where his children perished, and wrote the hymn that would give comfort to so many, titled "It Is Well with My Soul."

 

Source: John Huffman, "The Fruit of the Spirit Is Peace," PreachingToday.com

[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2005/october/16165.html]

 

Verse 1

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way. ​​ When sorrows like sea billows roll. ​​ Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say. ​​ It is well, it is well with my soul.

Verse 2

Though Satan should buffet, tho’ trials should come. ​​ Let this blest assurance control. ​​ That Christ has regarded my helpless estate, and hath shed His own blood for my soul.

 

Peace is a lot like joy, it can be experienced even when there is turmoil and chaos, hardship, trouble, violence, and fear. ​​ As the hymn so beautifully captures, this journey of peace is not immune from those things. ​​ In fact, they are central to the story. ​​ We learn that peace is not the absence of trouble but rather the presence of God.

 

BODY

  • ME

    • Minimally high blood sugar and blood pressure

        • It wasn’t long after moving from Ohio to Missouri that I went to the doctor for a regular physical

        • The bloodwork caused the doctor to order a glucose tolerance test

        • Those are always fun, aren’t they, especially for someone who hates needles

        • The test revealed that I had minimally high blood sugar

        • I was also struggling with minimally high blood pressure numbers

        • The doctor asked me all the questions they normally ask to determine if there was anything I should stop doing

          • Do you smoke? ​​ (No)

          • Do you drink alcohol? (No)

          • Do you take drugs? (No)

        • The doctor then asked me a couple of other questions

          • Do you exercise regularly? (No)

          • Are you under any stress? (YES!)

            • We had just moved to Missouri not long before the appointment

            • We had bought our first home

            • I started a new job at the Headquarters of Child Evangelism Fellowship

            • Judy had had a miscarriage before we moved to Missouri and now she was expecting Levi

        • The doctor’s response was, “Well, there’s nothing I can tell you to stop doing, but I would encourage you to start exercising every day.”

    • Daily exercise

        • I started riding a stationary bike in our basement

        • I started out slow and eventually was riding between 20-30 minutes a day

        • I lost a little bit of weight, I didn’t need to lose much back then

        • The cardio-vascular workout was good for my heart

        • We started eating a low sugar diet also

    • Peace in the middle of trouble

        • Exercise was a part of what I started doing, but I also started praying specifically about my blood sugar and blood pressure

        • Prayer is what motivated me to continue to exercise and it helped to bring me peace

        • I knew that everything was going to be alright, because God was with me

 

  • WE

    • What pain are you facing this season?

    • What struggles are weighing you down?

    • What anxiety and stress are stirring up chaos in your spirit?

    • Those pressures and problems can be both external and internal

        • We often take the external pressures and problems and internalize them

          • When we internalize those pressures and problems we begin to experience health problems

          • It’s our body’s way of telling us that something isn’t right

          • Stomach ulcers are a sign that our body is producing too much acid

          • High blood pressure can be an indication that stress is present

          • Headaches and muscle aches can be an indicator that our bodies are tense

          • Insomnia can be a result of our brains trying to process the problems and pressures we are experiencing

    • Are you willing to open your heart to God’s peace even in the midst of your struggles?

 

Through this journey of peace, today, we can be assured that . . .

 

BIG IDEA – God’s presence provides peace.

 

Let’s pray

 

This journey of peace is certainly an appropriate journey for our world today. ​​ Just as the ancient Roman world must have felt during that first Christmas, our world seems full of violence, warfare, and uncertainty. ​​ In addition, the pressures of our daily lives barrage us at an unparalleled pace. ​​ Ours is a world in desperate need of peace! ​​ However, it is a world where the Prince of Peace has walked and He understands. ​​ He has come, and He is present. ​​ His peace is available to us today.

 

  • GOD

    • Peace in the Midst (Mark 4:35-41)

        • The first Christmas

          • We sing about that first Christmas night being a silent night where everything was calm and bright

          • I’m not sure that’s exactly what the characters in the Christmas story were experiencing

            • The city of Bethlehem was hustling and bustling with an influx of those who were from the line of David

            • The city was filled to beyond capacity with people from all over the region

            • These travelers were tired, dirty, and probably testy

            • Everyone was trying to find a place to stay and perhaps food to eat

            • Mary and Joseph were perhaps anxious, nervous, and stressed as Mary went through her first delivery

            • It was shortly after giving birth that the shepherds began to arrive

          • King Herod

            • Sometime during Jesus’ first two years of life, the Magi arrived in Jerusalem

            • They questioned King Herod about the whereabouts of the baby who had been born king of the Jews

            • Matthew tells us that King Herod was disturbed and all Jerusalem with him (Matthew 2:3)

            • The news of Jesus’ birth did not bring peace to King Herod and since the King was disturbed, so were his subjects

            • King Herod ordered that all the boys, two years of age and younger, living in Bethlehem and the surrounding vicinity, were to be killed (Matthew 2:16)

            • Imagine the chaos King Herod’s order created in Bethlehem and the surrounding villages

            • The parents of two year old boys and younger were not experiencing peace

          • Application

            • Can you relate to the chaos that those who were part of the first Christmas were experiencing?

              • Perhaps you’re going to be traveling or have already traveled to be here this morning and you understand the exhaustion, frustration, and testiness that the travelers in the 1st Century felt

              • Maybe you’re experiencing the interruptions of a quiet family time together as others come to see you

              • Some of you may be experiencing the birth of a child or the loss of a loved one during this Christmas season, so you understand the exhaustion and emotions involved in both of those scenarios

            • Our journey of peace is not one separated from the realities of life but a journey of peace in the midst of life with all its noise and chaos

            • SONG LYRICS – “The Rain Keeps Falling” by Andrew Peterson

              • I tried to be brave but I hid in the dark
                I sat in that cave and I prayed for a spark
                To light up all the pain that remained in my heart
                And the rain kept falling

                Down on the roof of the church where I cried
                I could hear all the laughter and love and I tried
                To get up and get out but a part of me died
                And the rain kept falling down

                Well I'm scared if I open myself to be known
                I'll be seen and despised and be left all alone
                So I'm stuck in this tomb and you won't move the stone
                And the rain keeps falling

                Somewhere the sun is a light in the sky
                But I'm dying in North Carolina and I
                Can't believe there's an end to this season of night
                And the rain keeps falling down
                Falling down
                Falling down

                There's a woman at home and she's praying for a light
                My children are there and they love me in spite
                Of the shadow I know that they see in my eyes
                And the rain keeps falling

                I'm so tired of this game, of these songs, of the road
                I'm already ashamed of the line I just wrote
                But it's true and it feels like I can't sing a note
                And the rain keeps falling down
                Falling down
                Falling down

                Peace, be still
                Peace, be still

                My daughter and I put the seeds in the dirt
                And every day now we've been watching the earth
                For a sign that this death will give way to a birth
                And the rain keeps falling

                Down on the soil where the sorrow is laid
                And the secret of life is igniting the grave
                And I'm dying to live but I'm learning to wait
                And the rain is falling

                Peace, be still
                Peace, be still

                I just want to be new again
                (Peace, be still)
                I just want to be closer to You again
                (Peace, be still)
                Lord, I can't find the song
                I'm so tired and I'm always so wrong

                Help me be brave tonight
                Jesus, please help me out of this cave tonight
                (Peace, be still)
                I've been calling and calling
                This rain just keeps falling
                (Peace, be still)
                I've been calling and calling
                But this rain just keeps falling and falling

                Is it You
                Is it You
                (Peace, be still)
                Is it true
                Is it You
                (Peace, peace)

              • The lyrics contain a long and honest confession of so many struggles

              • Notice that interjected into the lyrics are the words of Jesus, “Peace. ​​ Be still.”

              • We can have peace in the midst of life in a fallen world with God’s presence in our lives

              • The words that Jesus spoke are found in Mark 4:35-41

        • Jesus calming the storm

          • Read Mark 4:35-41

          • The disciples were in a situation where they felt helpless

          • They were afraid!

          • Jesus was sleeping peacefully in the stern of the boat – the storm did not bother Him

          • After the disciples woke Him up, He immediately rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet, Be still!” (most translations have “Peace, Be still!”

          • Jesus asked His disciples why they were so afraid

            • His second question concerned their faith in Him

            • The disciples should have known by this point that Jesus was all-powerful

            • His power, from God, extended to all of creation

            • God’s presence was with Jesus, so Jesus’ presence provides peace

          • Application

            • Jesus’ presence in our lives provides peace also

            • We don’t have to be fear when pain, struggles, anxiety, and stress stir up chaos in our spirit

            • We can have faith in Jesus who is all-powerful, all-knowing, and sovereign

            • Perhaps you need to express that faith today

            • #1 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Trust by faith in the peace that Jesus’ presence can bring during the pain, struggles, anxiety, and stress of ________________.

              • I’ve found that Jesus’ peace can be found in reading God’s Word the Bible

              • It can also be found in praying – that’s us talking to God

              • God talking to us requires us to sit quietly and patiently before Him – we can experience peace in those moments as well

              • Some people have a specific place where they go to find peace from the chaos of their lives

        • Jesus brings peace right into the center of our hurt and frantic striving

        • He brings power to cease the noise, calm the storm, and overwhelm our hearts with His restorative sense of perfect peace

        • He is indeed the Prince of Peace

    • Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6)

        • Isaiah 9:6, For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. ​​ And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

          • Peace is not just a feeling or a state of being

          • Peace is a person

          • Jesus is the Prince of Peace

          • By sending His Son, God sent peace into the world

            • Paul tells the Ephesian Gentiles that before they came to faith in Christ, they were separate from Christ

              • Ephesians 2:12, remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.

              • That is the condition of every person who is born – we are separated from God and Christ and we have no hope

              • Sin is what separates us from God and Christ

              • Sin is the rejection of God and His authority in our lives

              • We become our own boss/authority

              • God’s Word tells us that when we reject Him and become our own boss, that there is a consequence for that – for the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23)

            • When we reject God and His plans and way we are really at war with Him

              • Perhaps you’ve experienced that in the past or are experiencing that right now

              • You know that God is pursuing you, because He puts people in your life who talk to you about Him

              • Your reaction towards them is harsh and unkind, not because you don’t like them but because you’re at war with God – you’re not at peace with God

              • Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty talks about his life in his book Happy, Happy, Happy

                • He thought he was happy, but he was busy “romping, stomping, and ripping with [his] drinking buddies”

                • He owned a honky-tonk bar at this point in his life

                • His sister decided that Phil needed to hear about Jesus, so she brought her pastor, Bill Smith, with her to the bar

                • This was Phil’s reaction, “‘You some kind of preacher?’ ​​ I immediately asked him. ​​ When Smith told me he was, I added, ‘You ever been drunk?’ ​​ ‘Yes, I used to drink a few beers,’ he told me. ​​ ‘Well, what’s the difference between you and me?’ ​​ I asked him. ​​ ‘You’ been drunk, and I’m getting drunk right now. ​​ There ain’t a dime’s worth of difference between you and me, Jack. ​​ You ain’t putting any Bible on me. ​​ That’s the way I was born.’” [Robertson, Happy, Happy, Happy, 79]

            • God made a way for us to be reconciled to Him – to have peace with Him

              • It is through the Prince of Peace – Jesus!

              • Ephesians 2:14-18, For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. ​​ His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. ​​ He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. ​​ For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

                • In this passage, Paul is talking to both Jews and Gentiles

                • He was explaining that through Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, all people could now be reconciled to God – it wasn’t just for the Jews anymore

                • Jesus’ sacrifice brought peace between the Jews and the Gentiles

                • It also brought peace between God and humanity

                • Romans 5:1, Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

                  • There is nothing we can do on our own to deal with our sin problem

                  • There is nothing we can do on our own to deal with our rejection of God

                  • God in His infinite wisdom, justice, and love provided a way for us to be reconciled to Him – to have peace with Him

                  • It is through faith in what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross

                  • Justified can be defined as “just as if I have never sinned”

                  • That is how God sees us when we admit we are sinners, repent of our sins, and trust in Jesus by faith

              • Perhaps you’re ready to be reconciled to God today – to be at peace with God

                • You’re ready to end the war with God

                • You’re ready to accept God’s authority in your life instead of rejecting it

                • #2 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Recognize Jesus as the Prince of Peace, admit I am a sinner, repent of my sins, and have peace with God through faith in Jesus Christ.

        • Peace with God does not guarantee freedom from pain, struggles, anxiety, and stress

          • We are human and still fallible

          • We still make mistakes and fail to trust God in every area of our lives

          • Mary’s example

            • In the midst of all that was happening that first Christmas, we are told that Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart (Luke 2:19)

            • On the surface, Mary’s life did not become more peaceful

            • If anything, things got crazier with the announcement of her miraculous pregnancy and the birth of a new baby

            • But Mary was learning to trust the One who was in control

          • When we can surrender control – stop worrying, stop planning, stop striving – to the Prince of Peace, we can find rest in Him

            • The inner and outer chaos, anxiety, noise, and busyness of life may not change, but we can experience peace because we trust the One in control

            • Where do you need to surrender and enter the journey of peace this season?

            • I want to encourage you to pause and embrace the words of the Psalmist, Be still, and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10)

            • The same things I mentioned earlier about how to find Jesus’ peace also apply to being still, and knowing that God is God (reading God’s Word, spending time in prayer, and repeating Scripture)

            • This can happen in the morning before your day begins, throughout your day as needed, and before going to bed

        • While we can experience peace through Jesus Christ, we also realize that the world around us may still be experiencing pain, struggles, anxiety, and stress

    • Peace for the World (John 14:27)

        • All we have to do is look at the news coverage to realize that our world is not at peace

          • Countries are at war

            • Ukraine and Russia

            • Israel and Palestine

          • Hostages are being mistreated

          • Refugees are far from home

          • Our neighbors are hurting

          • There is violence in our schools and in our streets

          • Church leadership teams are discussing strategies to provide a safe and secure environment for their parishioners to worship in

          • There is anger in our families

        • While Jesus brought peace to the earth when He came the first time, it is not a perfect or complete peace

          • We live in the tension between the already and not yet

          • We know that Jesus has won the battle over sin and death, but the manifestation of that victory is still to be revealed when Jesus comes again

          • In the interim, we are encouraged to draw close to God and to rely on Him for His peace

          • God’s presence provides peace

          • Philippians 4:6-7, Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ​​ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

            • God’s peace doesn’t make sense to us as humans

            • It’s beyond our understanding sometimes

            • Have you or someone you have known experienced that kind of peace?

              • Perhaps they’ve gotten news about their health that is concerning, but instead of worrying about it they immediately began to pray and while they should be stressed, they’re at peace

              • When someone losses their job or is just struggling financially, yet they’re not anxious about the situation, but are trusting God, it doesn’t make sense – that’s the peace of God that transcends our understanding

            • Our natural inclination is to worry, fret, and complain instead of turning to God in prayer, waiting on Him, and experiencing His peace

              • So often we come to God asking Him to change our circumstances or those around us

              • Sometimes God answers our prayer by changing our circumstances or those around us

              • More often, He uses the difficult circumstances to change us – He wants us to be transformed and to grow in our faith

              • He is all-powerful, all-knowing, and sovereign

              • He knows what’s best for us

              • He will not give us more than we are able to bear, without providing a way of escape

              • Perhaps you’re feeling anxious, right now, about a particular circumstance in your life

              • Now is the time to turn to God in prayer and present your petitions to Him with thanksgiving

              • #3 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Turn to God in prayer with thanksgiving, because I am feeling anxious about ________________.

          • Jesus gave His disciples a promise that is still relevant for us today

            • He promised them the gift of peace

            • John 14:27, Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. ​​ I do not give to you as the world gives. ​​ Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

            • We can claim that promise for ourselves

            • We don’t have to be afraid, because we serve a God who is in control of everything

            • Whatever is causing you pain, struggle, anxiety, and stress now, in the end, Jesus’ peace will overcome it

            • His peace will sustain us through our difficulties, which may be great but are also momentary (2 Cor. 4:17)

 

  • YOU

    • You can trust by faith in the peace that Jesus’ presence can bring during the pain, struggles, anxiety, and stress that you’re currently experiencing

    • You can recognize that Jesus is the Prince of Peace, admit you are a sinner, repent of your sins, and have peace with God through faith in Jesus Christ

    • You can turn to God in prayer with thanksgiving about the circumstances you’re feeling anxious about

 

God’s presence provides peace.

 ​​ ​​​​ 

CONCLUSION

“[John Stott says], Let me quote from the end of Kenneth Latourette's seven-volume history of the expansion of Christianity. Referring to Jesus he says, ‘No life ever lived on this planet has been so influential in the affairs of men as that of Christ. From that brief life and its apparent frustration has flowed a more powerful force for the triumphal waging of man's long battle than any other ever known by the human race.’

 

‘Through it, millions of people have had their inner conflicts resolved. Through it, hundreds of millions have been lifted from illiteracy and ignorance and have been placed upon the road of growing intellectual freedom and control over the physical environment. It has done more to allay the physical ills of disease and famine than any other impulse, and it has emancipated millions from chattel slavery and millions of others from thralldom to vice. It has protected tens of millions from exploitation by their fellows, and it has been the most fruitful source of movements to lessen the horrors of war and to put the relations of men and nations on the basis of justice and peace.’

 

This is the influence of Jesus through his followers in society. Don't underestimate the power and the influence that even a small minority can exert in the community.”

 

Source: John Stott, “Christians: Salt and Light,” Preaching Today, Tape No. 109.

 

[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/1996/september/1941.html]

12

 

/by

Gnat A Good Day

, , ,

Rescued

Gnat A Good Day

(Exodus 8:16-19)

 

INTRODUCTION

“Pests—bugs and rodents—even the thought of them makes our skin crawl. But pests find their way into everyone's home at one time or another. The question is, do we hate these pests enough to do what it takes to get rid of them? One survey says that depends on what sort of pest is in the house. Researchers found that people will dish out their hard earned money for an exterminator—meaning they are really serious about getting results—when the following pests are in their home:

 

Twenty-four percent of adults—that's one in four—will pay an exterminator to kill spiders.

 

Roughly the same number, 27 percent of adults, will pay to annihilate ants.

 

With the next pest the percentage jumps to just over half, as 56 percent will pay to banish bedbugs.

 

The same percentage, 56 percent, will pay to get rid of rodents. (That's mice and rats. This is getting creepier and creepier!).

 

Fifty-eight percent will pay to kill cockroaches. (Maximum creepy!)

 

And then the number jumps again when we talk about the bug that can bring the house down: termites. Eighty-seven percent of adults—that's 9 out of 10—will pay to terminate termites.

 

Notice that except for termites, almost half of adults will live with some very unpleasant creatures rather than pay a professional to ensure the pests are eradicated. This survey also showed that many people are willing to endure a certain kind of pest, but not others.

Take that concept to a spiritual dimension and the same thing holds true. Many people are willing to live—or feel they have to live—with spiritual ants, spiritual spiders, spiritual bedbugs, spiritual cockroaches, spiritual mice, spiritual rats, or spiritual termites. Some sins we tolerate in ourselves; others we won't.

 

Source: Anne R. Carey and Keith Simmons, "Calling the Exterminators: Critters that bug us most," USA Today Snapshots (May 22-25), 1A; based on survey of 1,253 adults by Global Strategy Group for Orkin.

[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2009/july/3072009.html]

 

We are going to talk about pests and the power of God today, so I want to share two personal stories, one about pests and the other about the power of God.

 

BODY

  • ME

    • Baseball

        • When I first started playing baseball, they put me in the outfield

        • Playing baseball in the summer meant dealing with pesky gnats

        • They would swarm around my head and get in my eyes, ears, nose, and mouth

        • I would take my hat off and try to swat them

        • I would try to smash them between my hand and baseball glove

        • I don’t remember who gave me this incredible advice, but they told me to put my hand over my head, because the gnats would swarm to the highest part of my body – It worked!

        • I would stand in the outfield with my hand raised, so the gnats wouldn’t swarm around my head

    • Earthquakes

        • Our family experienced the power of God through earthquakes in Southern California

        • The first one we experienced was during a worship service on a Sunday morning

        • The worship leader was transitioning between songs and he said, “Our God is an awesome God.”

        • At that exact moment our chairs started shaking and the projection screen hanging up front started swaying

        • Once everything settled back down, the worship leader said, “I guess God agrees,” and he continued with the next worship song

 

  • WE

    • Perhaps all of us have had to deal with pests in our houses or swarming around our heads

    • Hopefully we have all experienced the power of God in miraculous ways and not just through natural occurrences

 

“There are two sins of man that are bred in the bone, and that continually come out in the flesh. One is self-dependence and the other is self-exaltation. It is very hard, even for the best of men, to keep themselves from the first error. The holiest of Christians, and those who understand best the gospel of Christ, find in themselves a constant inclination to look to the power of the creature, instead of looking to the power of God and the power of God alone.”

 

Source: C.H. Spurgeon in Sermons on Sovereignty. Christianity Today, Vol. 35, no. 2.

 

[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/1996/april/1398.html]

 

As we will see with the third plague, the magicians were not able to imitate or duplicate it. ​​ They acknowledged before Pharaoh that something divine and not human or natural had taken place. ​​ God continued to make Himself known to Pharaoh and the Egyptians. ​​ We will learn today that . . .

 

BIG IDEA – God has all authority and power.

 

Let’s pray

 

  • GOD (Exodus 8:16-19)

    • No caution (vv. 16-17)

        • With the third plague there are none of the following items that were found in the first two plagues

          • No forewarning (Pharaoh was warned about the coming of the first two plagues)

          • No time of warning (i.e. “in the morning”)

          • No instruction formula (i.e. “station yourself;” “go to Pharaoh”)

        • Instructions for Moses

          • Once again Moses hears from the Lord and tells Aaron what to do

          • Aaron was to stretch out his staff and strike the dust of the ground

            • There are a couple of potential gods that this plague was targeting

              • It could be Seth (Set), the Egyptian god of the desert [Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, Pentateuch, 190]

              • It could have also been Geb, the Egyptian deity of the earth. ​​ “God was challenging their trust in the soil and the god of the ground.” ​​ [Merida, Christ-Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in Exodus, 58]

            • When Aaron struck the ground, God’s power would be released

          • The result of Aaron’s obedience was that the dust throughout Egypt would become gnats

            • The exact identity of this pesky bug is not certain

            • Some suggest that it could be a gnat, lice, or mosquitoes

            • Keil & Delitzsch believe they were not lice, but rather “a species of gnats, so small as to be hardly visible to the eye, but with a sting which, according to Philo and Origen, causes a most painful irritation of the skin. ​​ They even creep into the eyes and nose, and after the harvest they rise in giant swarms from the inundated rice-fields.” ​​ [Keil & Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, Volume 1, The Pentateuch, 313]

          • With the instructions complete we see Moses’ and Aaron’s obedience

        • Obedience

          • They did this

            • Moses obediently shared the message from the Lord with Aaron

            • Aaron obediently stretched out his hand with the staff in it and struck the dust of the ground

          • Gnats were on humans and animals

            • This would have been particularly annoying to the Egyptians and especially the priests, because they were known for being hyper hygienic

            • “The Egyptians in general, and the priests in particular, were fanatical about cleanliness; and the priests frequently washed and shaved their bodies in order to be acceptable to their gods.” ​​ [Wiersbe, 190]

            • “So terrible a curse did the Egyptian nobles consider lice that they shaved their bodies every other day.” ​​ [Courson, Jon Courson’s Application Commentary, Old Testament, Volume 1: ​​ Genesis—Job, 254]

            • Imagine how the priests and nobles felt when all of a sudden there were gnats/lice crawling all over them – their worst nightmare had come true – they were unclean, contaminated, and humiliated

          • All the dust in the land of Egypt became gnats

            • When Aaron struck the dust of the ground, it was just “the dry loose particles on the top of the soil” and not all of the ground [Mackay, Exodus: A Mentor Commentary, 162]

            • The use of the phrase “all the dust” is a figure of speech helping the reader to understand that this plague was vast, far-reaching, complete and total [Mackay, 162]

            • “Just as the fertilizing water of Egypt had twice become a plague, so through the power of Jehovah the soil so richly blessed became a plague to the king and his people.” ​​ [Keil & Delitzsch, 313]

            • God was attacking everything the Egyptians relied on and worshiped, so they would know who He was

          • PRINCIPLE #1 – God is the God of all nature.

            • God has all authority and power.

            • He was able to make dust of the land and transform it into gnats

            • There were certainly gnats already present in Egypt at this point, but God’s plague of gnats allowed for the supernatural multiplication of gnats, so that they were crawling on every human and animal found in Egypt

            • God is still the God of all nature

              • That is true because God is unchanging (immutable)

              • God created the seasons

              • God is the One who allows plants and animals to rest during the winter months

              • God is the One who brings new life each spring

              • God is the One who provides a harvest during summer and fall

              • God is the One who controls how many acorns are produced each year (He provided an abundance this year)

              • God is the One who controls how many flies and mosquitoes we have in the summer

              • God provides incredible sunrises and sunsets

              • God directs the migration of birds

              • God creates new life through children being conceived and born

              • God knows the number of our days

            • #1 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Worship God for being the God of _______________.

          • God’s power allowed for the supernatural multiplication of gnats when Aaron obediently struck the dust with his staff

        • When the magicians attempted to duplicate or imitate this plague, they were unsuccessful

    • No copy (vv. 18-19a)

        • The magicians attempted to duplicate the miraculous sign, but they failed

          • Whatever trickery they had used with turning water to blood and having frogs come up from the Nile, was not working with turning dust into gnats

            • “The first two plagues concern the water, which is the life and power of Egypt, politically, economically, and religiously. ​​ The gnats however, come from the dust of the earth, which is not the Egyptians ‘power source.’ ​​ Their magic and secret arts are empowered by the Nile, but with the third plague, the magicians are out of their element.” ​​ [Enns, The NIV Application Commentary, Exodus, 210]

            • God proved to the magicians that He was not only God of the water, but also God of the land

          • PRINCIPLE #2 – God has the power to limit the deceptive skills of imposters.

            • God could have limited the magicians skills to duplicate the first two plagues, but He chose not to

              • With the third plague, He not only proved His power and authority over the land, but also over the deceptive skills of the magicians

              • This is the last time the magicians are mentioned in the plague series

              • Their deceptions have been exposed, so their “skills” are no longer needed

            • Modern imposters

              • Because God has all authority and power, He is able to do the same thing today

              • He has the power to limit Satan’s deceptive skills in our culture (politics, economy, education, religion)

                • God is ultimately in control of who serves as our President, Senators, Representatives, Supreme Court Justices, Judges, etc.

                  • He is able to bring to light any deception that is being propagated through those individuals

                  • He can and will allow the truth to be uncovered

                • God is aware of every conflict that is happening in our world right now

                  • He knows what is true and what is false

                  • He knows when politicians and news anchors are making false claims about what is happening and who is to blame

                • God is still a part of our educational system whether or not administrators or teachers acknowledge Him

                  • He is able to speak truth through science, because He is the One who created it

                  • He is able to limit the false narratives that certain individuals and groups are using to deceive our children into believing a lie

                • God is also able to speak truth through His Word when others misuse or misinterpret it

                  • His Word will not return to Him empty, but will accomplish what He desired and achieve the purpose for which He sent it (Isaiah 55:11)

                  • Those who are speaking falsely about His Word will be revealed and dealt with

                  • Read Matthew 13:24-30

                • #2 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Trust God to limit the deceptive skills of ___________, so that truth prevails.

          • The magicians were proven to be powerless, while God was proven to have all authority and power over the land too

          • The magicians simply acknowledge that Moses and Aaron were not the ones who originated this plague

        • Finger of God (finger of a god)

          • The magicians wanted to save face before Pharaoh, so they told him that this was the finger of God

            • It did not necessarily mean that the magicians were accepting the God of the Israelites as the originator of the plague

            • They did not want Pharaoh to think that Moses and Aaron were superior to them in any way (virtue or knowledge) [Keil & Delitzsch, 314]

            • “The expression ‘this is the finger of God,’ in light of its usage in Exod 31:18 and Deut 9:10, would seem to mean something like ‘a supernatural act of God’ rather than literally referring to God’s hand or figuratively conveying a sense such as ‘something easy enough for him to do with just a finger.’ ​​ The magicians were not confessing to their own conversion to true faith; they were simply saying that the plague was divine in origin, not human.” ​​ [Stuart, The New American Commentary, Volume 2, Exodus, 212]

            • A power greater than Moses and Aaron and the magicians was at play

            • A god greater than the gods of Egypt had orchestrated this miraculous sign

          • PRINCIPLE #3 – God has all authority and power.

            • That is also our big idea today

            • This principle is evident through the other references to the phrase “finger of God” in the Bible

              • Giving of the law

                • Exodus 31:18, When the Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.

                • Deuteronomy 9:10, The Lord gave me two stone tablets inscribed by the finger of God. ​​ On them were all the commandments the Lord proclaimed to you on the mountain out of the fire, on the day of the assembly.

                • God’s authority and power to determine right from wrong is evident through the giving of the Ten Commandments, that show us our need of a Savior

              • Creation of the heavens

                • Psalm 8:3-5, When I consider the heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.

                • God’s authority and power over creation is evident through His ability to create the heavens, including the placing of the moon and stars

              • Casting out of demons

                • Luke 11:20, But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you.

                • God’s authority and power over Satan’s minions is evident through Jesus’ ability to drive out demons

            • All three of these, and many others, prove God’s “creative omnipotence” [Keil & Delitzsch, 314]

            • God has all authority and power

            • #3 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Acknowledge God’s authority and power over __________________.

        • The magicians were not able to copy, duplicate, or imitate the plague of gnats, but that did not change Pharaoh’s attitude or heart

    • No change (v. 19b)

        • Pharaoh’s heart remained hard even though his magicians admitted that this sign was divine and not human

        • “The evidence presented to him was not going to overturn his inner desire to maintain his independence from the Lord and his opposition to him. ​​ It was not a lack of information that was the problem. ​​ Pharaoh was displaying the inner heart rebellion against God that is typical of fallen mankind.” ​​ [Mackay, 163]

        • Read Hebrews 10:26-31

 

  • YOU

    • What do you want to worship God for being the God of?

    • Whose deceptive skills do you need to trust God to limit, so that truth prevails?

    • What do you need to acknowledge that God has authority and power over?

 

  • WE

    • What do we want to worship God for being the God of?

    • Whose deceptive skills do we need to trust God to limit, so His truth prevails?

    • What do we need to acknowledge that God has authority and power over?

 

CONCLUSION

“In an article for Leadershipjournal.net, pastor Clark Cothern shares how a power outage at his church revealed the power of God:

 

Our church meets in a rented gym. We're looking for property and are eager to settle into a more permanent structure. Someday. For now we are navigating the path of being somewhat nomadic.

 

One Sunday in June, we experienced a few spotty rain showers. No high winds. No lightning. A very normal Sunday in the Midwest. We were two weeks away from a forced, six-week relocation, due to our facility's parking lot being repaved.

 

We planned to become much more ‘unplugged’ as we used the smaller meeting space in a graciously cooperative nearby church. We were prepping our congregation and praying earnestly that the changes would turn into an opportunity for us to get to know God better. We knew we would be in for some unexpected teachable moments.

After the announcements, including the explanation of our upcoming change of location, and after some high-energy, electrically charged musical worship, we began our time of Communion.

 

As people formed two lines, making their way up the center aisle, Steve, our worship leader, played an appropriately worshipful song on the electric piano. Halfway through the song, and with half the congregation yet to reach the Communion elements, the lights went out. Instant silence. Well, almost. All you could hear were the piano keys thumping in rhythm to the song Steve had been playing. Steve grinned and stopped thumping.

 

Someone had to say something, so I said, ‘Isn't it good to know that God's power will be displayed whether or not we have electricity?’ People chuckled and, realizing we could all still see well enough to continue, they continued coming forward to the table.

 

I began singing a praise song everyone knew. Within two measures everyone had joined in, voices only. Harmonies floated in the room from places where we normally didn't hear them. A sense of community enveloped the room. It was a holy moment.

 

What began as a fairly typical time of Communion in familiar surroundings was transformed into a unique time of worship and a supercharged awareness of God's presence.

 

When everyone had obtained their bread and juice and returned to their seats, I prayed, ‘Lord, thank you that your power is on display, especially when our power is gone. Continue to pour out your power as we look into your Word. Amen.’

 

At that very instant—a nanosecond after ‘Amen’—the electricity came on again. Air conditioner compressors roared. Pop machine motors whirred. Sound system amplifiers hummed. And all the lights came on.

 

For a brief moment, everyone gasped. Then the entire congregation burst into laughter. I said, ‘Oh, now He's just showing off!’ More laughter. Holy laughter. The kind of laughter when you know you've just seen God's power displayed along with his humor.

 

Looking back, I think God was showing us that our upcoming changes would be just fine. He was showing us that worship isn't about our preferences. We knew that no matter what the changes in our worship space, he would be there to meet us.”

 

From our sister publication Leadership Journal, © 2009 Christianity Today International. For more articles like this, visit Leadershipjournal.net.

 

Source: Clark Cothern, “Power outage or Power display?” 

Leadershipjournal.net (10-3-09).

 

[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2009/november/3112309.html]

11

 

/by

Not Hoppy

, ,

Rescued

Not Hoppy

(Exodus 8:1-15)

 

INTRODUCTION

“Realize that you can't keep your promises. That may seem like a strange first step toward the goal of keeping promises, but it's true.

 

Consider this question: If we could keep our promises, wouldn't we have done it by now? How many times have we made the same promises? Let's face it, rededication to keep promises won't work. If it did, we wouldn't find it necessary to keep rededicating ourselves. Many of us have struggled with promise-keeping for one reason: We have focused on our performance more than on Jesus Christ. We have tried to keep our promises, but the Bible teaches that effective Christian living doesn't come by trying. It comes by trusting Christ to express his life through us. He is the only One who can successfully keep promises.

 

Before we can be effective promise keepers, we must become promise receivers. The Bible is clear about God's promise: the One who has given us his life will be the One who lives it for us. Only Jesus Christ can effectively live the perfect life. He lives inside believers today and wants to reveal His perfect life through us.

 

Source: Steve McVey, president of Grace Walk Ministries. Men of Integrity, Vol. 1, no. 2.

 

[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/1997/may/3158.html]

 

BODY

  • ME

    • Sin

        • As a teenager and young adult, I remember promising the Lord that I would never do certain things again

        • I would have limited success with not giving in to temptation, but it seems like after a couple of months I would give in to the temptation again

        • Once again I would make a promise to the Lord, because the Holy Spirit would convict me of my sin

        • Accountability was the key to finally getting a handle on the temptations that so easily entangled me

        • I am not fully sanctified yet, so that means I still struggle with temptation from time-to-time and I still give in to temptation also (accountability has lessened the times I have given in to temptation)

        • Hebrews 12:1-2, Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. ​​ Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

 

  • WE

    • Have you ever broken a promise to someone else?

    • Have you ever broken a promise to God?

    • Perhaps we all need to throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and fix our eyes on Jesus

 

Moses and Aaron were instructed to return to Pharaoh and give him another message from the Lord. ​​ When he refused to obey the message, another plague came on the Egyptians. ​​ This time Pharaoh recognized that the Lord was the One who had orchestrated the plague, so he asked Moses and Aaron to pray to the Lord to remove the plague. ​​ He promised that if the Lord would remove the plague, he would let the Israelites offer sacrifices to the Lord. ​​ Pharaoh did not keep his promise once the Lord removed the plague. ​​ What we can learn from this narrative today is that . . .

 

BIG IDEA – We need to keep our promises to God.

 

Let’s pray

 

  • GOD (Exodus 8:1-15)

    • Proclaim (vv. 1-5)

        • To Moses

          • Go to Pharaoh

            • Hamilton suggests that Moses and Aaron are supposed to go to Pharaoh’s home or palace when they are instructed to “God to Pharaoh.” [Hamilton, Exodus: An Exegetical Commentary, 129]

            • There is a pattern in how Moses and Aaron approach Pharaoh in the three groups of three plagues

              • Early in the morning (1 – blood; 4 – flies; 7 – hail)

              • Go to Pharaoh (2 – frogs; 5 – livestock; 8 – locusts)

              • God’s command (3 – gnats; 6 – boils; 9 – darkness)

            • He went to Pharaoh and gave him this message from the Lord

          • The Lord not only gave Moses instructions, He also gave instructions to Pharaoh

        • To Pharaoh

          • Let my people go

            • The Lord once again commands Pharaoh to let the Israelites go so they can worship Him

            • This is and will be a repeated command from the Lord to Pharaoh as the plagues progress

            • “Michelle attempts to teach her children the ‘please and thank you’ of polite society. She also helps them memorize Scripture. One day, her 4-year-old son, John, was tussling and wrestling with his mom in a good-natured contest. Losing the battle, he wanted to be released. ‘What's the magic word?’ encouraged Michelle, ready to comply with his wish.

              ‘Let my people go ... (Exodus 8:1)’ came the reply.”

              Source: Thelma Baddorf, Dillsburg, Penn. "Lite Fare," Christian Reader.

              [https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/1996/july/215.html].

          • Consequence of refusing

            • Nile will teem with frogs

              • God was once again proving that He was in control of and had power over the Egyptian deities

                • The goddess Heqet (hay-ket) was portrayed as a woman with a frog’s head and was associated with fertility, childbirth, and new life and growth

                • The Egyptians viewed frogs as sacred, so they would ​​ never think of killing them

              • The Hebrew word for “teem” can also be translated “swarm”

              • It is the same Hebrew used for the Israelites in Exodus 1:7, but the Israelites were fruitful and multiplied greatly [swarmed] and became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them

            • No place will be exempt

              • Palace, bedroom, bed, houses, people, ovens, kneading troughs

                • The dwelling places of Pharaoh and his officials would have had multiple floors/levels with the bedrooms on the upper floors

                • The servants and other common folk would only have one story dwellings or basic shacks

                • Beds would have been on the floor and not elevated like our modern beds

                • Kneading troughs were probably on the floor, since many Egyptians used their feet to knead the dough

              • “The frogs would go everywhere—without virtually any limitation—including the interior of the palace (mentioned first to be sure Pharaoh knew he would not be immune), bedrooms, beds, and cooking utensils (mentioned as well to complete the picture of a gross manifestation of all places where humans lived).” ​​ [Stuart, The New American Commentary, Volumes 2, Exodus, 204]

            • PRINCIPLE #1 – God’s wrath is complete and total.

              • I mentioned this principle last week, but it applies here too

              • There would not be a person or place that would not be affected by the plague of frogs

          • The Lord also had some instructions for Aaron

        • To Aaron

          • Stretch out your hand with your staff over the streams and canals and ponds

          • Make frogs come up on the land of Egypt

          • It seems clear that the water of the Nile had been cleared out from the plague of blood, since the frogs were coming up from the streams, canals, and ponds

        • Aaron was obedient to the Lord’s command

    • Plague (vv. 6-7)

        • God’s power caused the frogs to swarm and cover the land

          • It is not stated again by the author, but we know that the frogs went into Pharaoh’s palace and made it all the way to his bedroom and bed

          • They went into the houses of Pharaoh’s officials and the people of Egypt

          • They also were found in their ovens and kneading troughs

          • In fact, they were hopping up on everyone (Pharaoh, officials, and people)

          • While the Egyptians considered frogs sacred, I’m sure they preferred to view them from a distance and not have them hopping on them all the time

        • The magicians were able to imitate the plague of frogs

          • As I mentioned last week with the Nile turning to blood, Pharaoh probably was not looking for more of the same plague, but rather to have the plague reversed

          • The magicians were simply adding to the hardship and making it worse instead of better

          • PRINCIPLE #2 – “God’s work can be imitated but never equaled.” ​​ [Hamilton, 131]

            • Have you found that to be true in your life?

              • We can certainly imitate God’s love, but we cannot equal His love because He loves us perfectly

              • We can imitate God’s grace, but we cannot equal His grace because His grace has given us salvation which we do not deserve

              • We can imitate God’s generosity, but we cannot equal His sacrificial giving of Jesus for our sins

              • We can imitate all of God’s attributes, but we cannot equal the impact or scope of His attributes (wisdom, goodness, faithfulness, mercy, truth, justice, etc.)

            • #1 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Worship the Lord because His _______ (attribute of God) is unequaled.

          • The magicians were able to imitate the plague of frogs, but they were not able to equal the scope and impact of God’s plague of frogs – they were everywhere!

        • We are not told how long the plague of frogs had been going on when Pharaoh finally said, “enough is enough, get Moses and Aaron and bring them here”

    • Plead (v. 8a)

        • Pharaoh asked Moses and Aaron to pray to the Lord to take the frogs away from him and his people

          • What an incredible change in Pharaoh to actually acknowledge the author of the plague – the Lord!

          • If you remember when Moses and Aaron first approached Pharaoh they told him, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says . . .” (Ex. 5:1)

          • Pharaoh’s response was, “Who is the Lord that I should obey him and let Israel go? ​​ I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.” (Ex. 5:2)

          • The Lord’s purpose in bringing the plagues on Pharaoh and the Egyptians was so they would know Him (Ex. 7:17)

          • “This is a significant climb-down for the man who previously had said, ‘I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go’ (5:2). ​​ He is now tacitly acknowledging the existence of the Lord, that it was the Lord who had caused the plague of frogs, that he was able to remove the frogs when Egyptian resources could not, and that it was appropriate for Israel to sacrifice to him.” ​​ [Mackay, Exodus: A Mentor Commentary, 158-59]

          • There is hope for Pharaoh, but he has a long way to go yet

        • PRINCIPLE #3 – God is pleased when we recognize that He is in control.

          • Where are you today?

            • What slimy situation keeps hopping up on you and getting into every area of your life?

              • Is it an addiction?

              • Does it have to do with finances?

              • Is it oppression from Satan – some spiritual battle?

              • Is it related to your job?

              • Is a relationship causing issues?

              • Are you struggling emotionally? ​​ (anxiety/depression/loneliness/sadness)

              • Are you wondering what God is doing in a certain situation, but it seems like He is not answering or speaking?

            • Have you recognized that God is in control of that situation?

            • Have you placed that burden at the foot of the cross, seeking Jesus’ help?

          • #2 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Recognize that God is in control of __________ and cry out to Him for help.

        • Pharaoh sought the Lord’s help with the slimy frogs that were everywhere and he promised to do something in return

    • Promise (v. 8b)

        • He promised the Lord that if He would remove the frogs, he would let the Israelites go to offer sacrifices to the Lord

        • As we will see in verse 15, it seems like Pharaoh made this promise lightly

        • We have to be careful not to make promises to the Lord, we do not intend to keep

          • Ecclesiastes 5:4-5, When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. ​​ He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. ​​ It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it.

          • Matthew 5:33-37, “Again, you have heard that it was said long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’ ​​ But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. ​​ And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. ​​ Simply let your ‘Yes’ be “Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

          • James 5:12, Above all, my brothers, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. ​​ Let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, or you will be condemned.

          • Is there a promise you have made to the Lord that you need to fulfill?

          • We need to keep our promises to God.

        • Pharaoh promised to let the Israelites go so they could worship the Lord, if the Lord would remove the plague of frogs

    • Propose (vv. 9-11)

        • Moses’ allowed Pharaoh to choose the time for him to pray and ask the Lord to remove the plague of frogs from Pharaoh, his officials, people, and their houses

          • “Giving the Egyptian king this power of timing is from a human point of view apologetically brilliant on God’s part: if the king could say when the frogs would go away, he would personally know that the timing was not due to the simple consequences of natural processes or a fiat of the gods of the Egyptians but the sovereignty of the God of Israel.” ​​ [Stuart, 208]

          • The prayer to remove the frogs would not include those still living in the Nile – it would not be a prayer to remove all frogs from Egypt (imagine the bug problem they would have without any frogs)

        • Pharaoh’s choice

          • Immediately, right? ​​ Nope, tomorrow

          • Why didn’t Pharaoh ask for immediate relief?

            • Keep in mind, we are not told when Moses and Aaron were summoned to Pharaoh’s court – it could have been in the evening

            • Maybe Pharaoh was hoping that the frogs would leave of their own accord and he would not have to keep his promise to let the Israelites go [Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, Pentateuch, 190]

            • He could have also been building anticipation by letting the word spread that the frogs were going to be leaving the next day and if they didn’t, Jehovah and His servants would be discredited [Wiersbe, 190]

            • We are left to speculate, because it is not stated why Pharaoh chose a time, other than immediately

          • Moses’ replied to Pharaoh’s choice

        • Moses’ told him that it would happen just as Pharaoh said, so he would know there was no one like the Lord, God

          • The frogs would leave the houses of Pharaoh, his officials, and his people

          • They would no longer being hopping up on Pharaoh, his officials, or his people

          • The only frogs left would be those living in the Nile that had not invaded the rest of the land

        • Moses did what he promised to do – he kept his promise to Pharaoh

        • We need to keep our promises to God.

    • Pray (vv. 12-14)

        • Moses cried out to the Lord about the frogs

          • Moses and now Pharaoh knew who to petition about their problem

          • PRINCIPLE #4 – “God uses the prayers of His faithful servants.” ​​ [Martin, 49]

            • We see the power of prayer when the Lord’s servant prays according to His will [Stuart, 210]

              • Psalm 4:1, Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God. ​​ Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer.

              • James 5:13-16, Is any one of you in trouble? ​​ He should pray. ​​ Is anyone happy? ​​ Let him sing songs of praise. ​​ Is any one of you sick? ​​ He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. ​​ And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. ​​ If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. ​​ Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. ​​ The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

            • Have you experienced this in your own life?

              • Who has prayed for you?

              • What did you experience? ​​ (relief from distress or trouble, healing, and/or forgiveness of sins through the power of prayer)

              • Is there something you need prayer for today?

              • #3 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Ask for prayer for _______________.

              • If you wrote something down that you would like prayer for, I want to encourage you to take the bold next step of coming forward this morning, so we can pray for you

                • We’ll return to the message in just a moment

                • I want to ask our board members, lay ministers, and their spouses to join me at the front of the sanctuary to help in praying for those who come

                • Our leadership is here to pray a prayer of faith over you for relief from distress or any trouble you are facing, for healing, and for forgiveness of sin

                • We have anointing oil available for those who are seeking healing from sickness

                • (Logan would you come and play quietly)

                • I invite you to come for prayer now

          • Moses knew he could cry out to the Lord for help, so that’s exactly what he did

        • The Lord responded

          • The Lord did what Moses asked

          • The frogs died in the houses, courtyards, and fields

            • This is probably not how Pharaoh and the Egyptians thought the Lord would get rid of the frogs

            • They were probably hoping the frogs would hop on back to the Nile

            • I have found that specific prayers are better than general prayers

              • I used to pray, asking God to let me see deer – He did, but they were never close enough in bow season or the right gender in rifle season

              • Now I pray specifically, asking God to let me get a deer – the past couple of years His answer has been “No”

            • Instead the Egyptians had to collect all of these dead frogs and pile them up into heaps

              • Sin is messy and requires clean up

              • Sin also reeks – it stinks

          • The Lord kept His promise to Moses and Pharaoh and ended the plague of frogs

        • When Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he pulled out of his promise to the Lord and the Israelites

    • Pull out (v. 15)

        • Pharaoh did exactly what the Lord said he would do

          • He hardened his heart and would not follow through with his promise

          • “Sadhu Sundar Singh, writes in Wisdom of the Sadhu:

            Once when I was in the Himalayas, I was sitting upon the bank of a river. I drew out of the water a beautiful, round stone and smashed it. The inside was dry. The stone had been lying a long time in the water, but the water had not penetrated the stone.

            It is just like that with the ‘Christian’ people of the West. They have for centuries been surrounded by Christianity, entirely steeped in its blessings, but the Master's truth has not penetrated them. Christianity is not at fault; the reason lies rather in the hardness of their hearts. Materialism and intellectualism have made their hearts hard. So I am not surprised that many people in the West do not understand what Christianity really is.”

            Source: Sadhu Sundar Singh, excerpted from Wisdom of the Sadhu, the Bruderhof Communities website.

            [https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2003/september/14601.html]

        • PRINCIPLE #5 – God’s desire is that we repent and not just seek His deliverance.

          • Pharaoh

            • Pharaoh’s promise was not genuine, because he just wanted the frogs gone – his pleading was pointless

            • When the frogs were gone, Pharaoh’s true intentions were revealed

          • Us

            • The same can be said of us

            • “Many sinners aren’t interested in repenting and receiving God’s grace; they want only to be delivered from God’s judgment.” ​​ [Wiersbe, 190]

            • How many times have we pleaded with God to deliver us from distress, trouble, sickness, or sin when we are facing the consequences of our own actions?

            • We make promises that we have no intention of keeping once relief comes

              • I’ll go to church every week

              • I’ll read the Bible every day

              • I’ll pray before every meal

              • I’ll help a family member, friend, or neighbor whenever they ask

              • I’ll stop going to the nightclub

              • I won’t hang out with those people anymore

              • I won’t drink alcohol ever again

              • I won’t smoke marijuana again

              • I won’t pop those pills any more

              • I won’t look at pornography

              • I won’t get angry while driving or speed again

              • The list of promises we make is endless

            • True repentance is a 180 degree turn from the wrong we are doing to the right we should be doing

              • It is easier said than done, though

              • Read Romans 7:15-25

              • Read Romans 6:1-14

            • If you have been seeking deliverance and not repentance, it’s time to accept the crucifixion of your old self through the blood of Jesus

              • Galatians 2:20, I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. ​​ The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

              • Jesus loves you so much that He gave His life as a ransom for you on the cross – He died in your place, taking your punishment for sin

              • 2 Corinthians 5:15, And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

              • Ephesians 2:8-9, For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.

            • #4 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Repent of my sins and allow Christ to live in me.

 

  • YOU

    • Worship the Lord because His attributes are unequaled.

    • Recognize that God is in control of your situation and cry out to Him for help.

    • Ask for prayer from the leadership or a friend.

    • Repent of your sins and allow Christ to live in you.

 

  • WE

    • Worship the Lord because His attributes are unequaled.

    • Recognize that God is in control of our situation and cry out to Him for help.

    • Ask for prayer for the situations we are facing.

 

CONCLUSION

“How many a hardened rebel on shipboard, when the timbers are strained and creaking, when the mast is broken, and the ship is drifting before the gale, when the hungry waves are opening their mouths to swallow the ship up alive and quick as those that go into the pit—how many a hardened sailor has then bowed his knee, with tears in his eyes, and cried, ‘I have sinned!’ ​​ But of what avail and of what value was his confession? ​​ The repentance of his that was begotten amidst the thunder and the lightning, ceased so soon as all was hushed in quiet, and the man who was a pious mariner when on board ship, became the most wicked and abominable of sailors when he placed his foot on terra firma.”

 

[Spurgeon cited by Martin, Holman Old Testament Commentary, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, 40]

11

 

/by

Bloodbath

, ,

Rescued

Bloodbath

(Exodus 7:14-25)

 

INTRODUCTION

“Miroslav Volf, a Christian theologian from Croatia, used to reject the concept of God’s wrath. He thought that the idea of an angry God was barbaric, completely unworthy of a God of love. But then his country experienced a brutal war. People committed terrible atrocities against their neighbors and countrymen. The following reflections, from Volf’s book Free of Charge, reveal his new understanding of the necessity of God’s wrath:

 

My last resistance to the idea of God’s wrath was a casualty of the war in the former Yugoslavia, the region from which I come. According to some estimates, 200,000 people were killed and over 3,000,000 were displaced. My villages and cities were destroyed, my people shelled day in and day out, some of them brutalized beyond imagination, and I could not imagine God not being angry.

 

Or think of Rwanda in the last decade of the past century, where 800,000 people were hacked to death in one hundred days! How did God react to the carnage? By doting on the perpetrators in a grandfatherly fashion? By refusing to condemn the bloodbath but instead affirming the perpetrators’ basic goodness? Wasn't God fiercely angry with them?

 

Though I used to complain about the indecency of the idea of God’s wrath, I came to think that I would have to rebel against a God who wasn’t wrathful at the sight of the world’s evil. God isn’t wrathful in spite of being love. God is wrathful because God is love.”

 

Source: Miroslav Volf, Free of Charge (Zondervan, 2006), pp. 138-139.

 

[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2011/march/5032811.html].

 

Hamas’ attack on October 7, 2023 was one of the bloodiest in Israel’s history with approximately 1,200 people killed in one day. ​​ Because God is loving and just, He will hold those individuals responsible for their actions. ​​ His wrath will be righteous and just.

 

BODY

  • ME

    • Love and wrath

        • I wish I could perfectly balance love and wrath

        • I tend to love well those who love me

        • My wrath is not always just or righteous – it is not motivated by love for sure

 

  • WE

    • Love and wrath

        • How about us?

        • Is our love and wrath balanced?

 

As we talked about two weeks ago, God was going to lay His hands on the Egyptians and with mighty acts of judgment; He was going to bring the Israelites out of Egypt. ​​ God was doing this so that Pharaoh and the Egyptians would know Him. ​​ The Egyptians were relying on their gods as their source of life, but the Lord was about to prove that their gods were nothing. ​​ The conflict that we are going to learn about today was between the God of the Israelites and the gods of Egypt. ​​ The Egyptians worshiped the god and goddess of the Nile as their source of life, but they were going to learn that God is the source of life. ​​ The same is true for us. ​​ There is only one source of life. ​​ We are going to learn today that . . .

 

BIG IDEA – God is our source of life.

 

Let’s pray

 

  • GOD (Exodus 7:14-25)

    • God’s Instruction (vv. 14-15)

        • God knows each person’s heart

          • The Lord let Moses know that Pharaoh’s heart was unyielding

            • Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites go

            • “In the power struggle between the Lord and Pharaoh, Pharaoh is intransigent [unwilling to change his view]. ​​ He has made up his mind not to yield in any way.” ​​ [Mackay, Exodus: A Mentor Commentary, 149]

          • PRINCIPLE #1 – God is omniscient (all knowing).

            • God knew Pharaoh’s heart was unyielding

            • He knows what is in our hearts also

              • He knows if our heart is tempted by lust, greed, hatred, and anger

              • He knows if our heart is bitter and hard

              • He knows if our heart finds joy in gossip

              • He knows if our heart is crushed and hurting

              • He knows if our heart is genuinely seeking Him or something other than Him

              • He knows every thought and intention of our heart

              • Hebrews 4:12-13, For the word of God is living and active. ​​ Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. ​​ Nothing in all of creation is hidden from God’s sight. ​​ Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

                • How many times when we are having our quiet time with the Lord, that His Word arrests us in our spirit

                • The verses that we read for our devotions convicted us of an attitude that we have been harboring in our hearts

                • In those times, it is important to cry out to the Lord like King David did

                • Psalm 139:23-24, Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. ​​ See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

              • #1 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Ask the Lord to search my heart and test my thoughts, so I can confess any offensive way found there.

            • God knows our hearts

          • God also knew Pharaoh’s heart, so He instructed Moses to meet him by the Nile River

        • Meet Pharaoh by the Nile River

          • This was probably something that Pharaoh did every morning

            • In Exodus 8:20 we see that Moses went to Pharaoh in the morning as he went to the water

            • Pharaoh wasn’t taking a leisurely walk along the banks of the Nile, or taking his daily bath in the Nile, or checking on the Nile’s water level, rather he was going there to worship the gods of the Nile [Keil & Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, Volume 1, The Pentateuch, 310]

              • The god of the Nile was Hapi (associated with fertility)

              • The goddess of the Nile was Isis (life and magic)

          • “The attack on the Nile is in effect an attack on Egypt’s gods . . . [by] the true God on false ones.” ​​ [Enns, The NIV Application Commentary, Exodus, 200]

          • It was also an attack against Pharaoh and the Egyptian people, because the Nile was the source of life for them

            • It represented their deity

            • It provided water to drink for humans and animals

            • It provided water to irrigate their crops (remember they were living in a desert climate)

            • It provided transportation for them

            • The Nile would flood every year and provide the water that was needed for the region (this helped them to set their calendar too)

            • The Nile was their source of life

            • God is our source of life.

              • PRINCIPLE #2 – God is pleased when we turn to Him as our source of life.

                • The reality is that we do not always turn to the Lord as our source of life

                • We may turn to the stock market, economic growth, a new president, senators, representatives, or governor for our hope

                • We may turn to medical professionals, medicine, and holistic approaches to deal with our health issues (God can certainly use those things to help us)

                • We may turn to family members, estates, friends, the church, government programs, illegal activities, etc. to provide for us (God can certainly use the church, family members, friends, and government programs to provide for our needs temporarily)

                • For the long term, we need to rely on God as our source of life

              • #2 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Rely on God as my source of life instead of _______________.

            • Pharaoh and the Egyptians were relying on the Nile and the deities associated with them for their source of life

          • Moses waited on the bank of the Nile for Pharaoh with his staff in his hand

        • Take your staff with you

          • Remember that Moses staff was also referred to as the staff of God

          • It represented the power of God and it pointed to heaven and the Lord who was the One, ultimately, responsible for the mighty acts that took place in Egypt

        • The Lord had a message for Pharaoh that He would communicate through Moses

    • Object of God’s Wrath (vv. 16-18)

        • When Pharaoh arrived at the Nile, Moses gave him a message from the Lord

          • Let my people go, so they can worship me in the desert

          • Pharaoh, you haven’t listened to me yet, so here is what I’m going to do:

            • With the staff of God I am going to strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed to blood

            • Because of this transformation, the fish are going to die causing the river to stink

            • The Egyptians will not be able to drink the water, because it is blood and has decaying fish in it

          • The Lord was going to change the water of the Nile to blood, so that Pharaoh would know that He is the Lord

            • The conflict between the One true God and the gods of the Nile would literally be a bloodbath

            • God Almighty would humiliate the gods of the Nile by transforming the lifeblood of Egypt into death instead

            • God wanted Pharaoh to know that Hapi and Isis were nothing, void of any power to give or sustain life

            • He wanted Pharaoh and the Egyptians to know that He is the only source of life

            • God is our source of life.

          • PRINCIPLE #3 – God is more powerful than any other god.

            • King Belshazzar of Babylon

              • In Daniel 5 we read about King Belshazzar having a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles

              • He had the gold and silver goblets brought that had been taken from the temple in Jerusalem

              • Everyone drank from the goblets and praise the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone

              • Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the wall

              • When no one else was able to tell the king what the writing meant, Daniel was summoned and he explained everything to the king

              • Daniel 5:22-23, “But you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself,, though you knew all this. ​​ Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. ​​ You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. ​​ You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. ​​ But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways.”

            • All other gods are impotent – they have no power or abilities at all, because they are made from inanimate objects

            • #3 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Worship God as the only true God, who is all-powerful!

          • God was about to show Pharaoh and the Egyptian people that their gods were powerless, weak, and impotent compared to Him

          • He would give them an opportunity to know Him through turning the waters of Egypt into blood

        • Moses shared the Lord’s message with Pharaoh before he shared the Lord’s message for Aaron

    • Mediator of God’s Wrath (v. 19)

        • Aaron would be the mediator of God’s wrath on Pharaoh and the Egyptian people

        • The message from the Lord was that Aaron needed to take his staff and stretch out his hand over the waters of Egypt

          • This plague would be comprehensive

          • It included the Nile river, all the streams that feed into it, all the man-made canals for irrigation, all natural gathering of water in ponds and all man-made gathering of water in reservoirs

          • There is a lot of discussion about what is meant by even in the wooden buckets and stone jars

            • The original Hebrew does not have the words “buckets” or “jars”

            • It would read more like, and there will be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in wood and in stone

            • I think the best explanation I read concerning the reference to wood and stone, is that it is another way of saying that all water supplies on the surface in Egypt would be turned to blood

          • PRINCIPLE #4 – God’s wrath is complete and total.

            • His wrath against Pharaoh and the Egyptians would not be incomplete and partial

            • They had oppressed and mistreated the Israelites for far too long and now it was time to discipline the offenders

            • God’s punishment would be righteous and just

            • “Those who live in defiance of God should realize that he longs for them to repent. ​​ It is not in the nature of God to oppress his opponents so that they are forced to their knees in submission to his will, even if such actions may be morally justifiable. ​​ To do so, would make God like Pharaoh. ​​ Remarkable as it may seem, God is even prepared to strengthen the resolve of those who stand against him, rather than override their own free will.” ​​ [Alexander, Apollos Old Testament Commentary, Volume 2, Exodus, 201-202]

          • God’s wrath against the gods of the Nile would be complete and total

            • Did this plague affect the Israelites living in Goshen?

            • We know from Exodus 8:22 that God tells Moses that He will deal differently with the land of Goshen where His people live – no swarms of flies will affect them

            • From that point on the plagues do not affect the Israelites

            • So, when we see that God begins to deal differently with the land of Goshen with the fourth plague, we assume that the three plagues preceding that one, affected the Israelites

            • In most translations of the Bible, with the exception of the NIV, and in the Hebrew, verse 19 is translated this way, Stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their streams, over their canals, and over their ponds, and over their reservoirs

            • “The use of the third person masculine plural suffix (not reflected in the NIV) seems to specify that it is the Egyptians who will be affected by the plague.” ​​ [Enns, 202]

            • If the Israelites were affected by the plague, then they would have done what the Egyptians did in verse 24, as we will see in a moment

        • Aaron would be the mediator of God’s wrath as he lifted up his staff and stretched it out over the waters of Egypt

    • Obeying God’s Instruction (vv. 20-21)

        • Moses and Aaron once again obeyed the Lord’s command

          • This is a recurring theme throughout Exodus as we saw the last two weeks – Moses and Aaron are obedient to the Lord’s command

          • PRINCIPLE #5 – God is pleased when we are obedient to Him.

          • There is some discussion about who did what and with what

            • Did Moses lift up his staff in front of Pharaoh and his officials and strike the water of the Nile?

            • Aaron took a staff and stretched out his hand over the streams, canals, ponds, and reservoirs (was this Moses’ staff?)

            • Perhaps the best explanation comes from Mackay’s commentary when he says, “Moses in verse 20 struck the Nile itself, while Aaron in terms of the instructions of verse 19 stretched the staff out over the other sources of water in the land.” ​​ [Mackay, 153]

            • It would seem as though Aaron used Moses’ staff (the staff of God) and then gave it back to Moses, who in turn struck the Nile river

          • As soon as Moses struck the Nile, God’s power was released and all the water sources were turned to blood

          • PRINCIPLE #4 – God’s wrath is complete and total.

        • PRINCIPLE #3 – God is more powerful than any other god.

          • He showed His sovereign power over the gods of Egypt

          • The source of life for Egypt was now a source of death

          • The fish in the Nile river died and their rotting flesh smell so bad that the Egyptians could not drink the water

            • As a child, we would go to my Grandparents farm in Orrstown on many occasions

              • I was always hopeful they would have something else to drink in their refrigerator, because the well water smells like rotten eggs (sulfur)

              • Many times I had to drink stinky water

              • I found that if the water was refrigerated, it didn’t smell as bad and I could choke it down

            • My Grandparent’s well water was not harmful to me, it just didn’t smell good

          • That was probably not the case with the Nile river – it probably would have made the Egyptians sick

        • Marginalizing the supernatural

          • The supernatural is always hard to understand and believe, so we go to extreme measures to explain away the supernatural with the natural

          • This is true of this narrative in the Bible

            • Some people have a hard time believing that all of the water sources in Egypt turned into actual blood

            • So, they explain it through natural phenomenon that happened in ancient Egypt

            • “Hort (1957: 87-95) has argued that what transpired here is an unusually high and threatening rise of the Nile brought on by an excess in the flow of water from the White Nile (especially) and the Blue Nile, the confluence of which produces the Nile. ​​ The larger the flow of water, the more red earth each river sweeps along in its channel. ​​ Add to this movement of red earth the mass appearance of flagellates (microorganisms) in the water. ​​ At night they consume huge amounts of oxygen, thus producing a large fish kill.” ​​ [Hamilton, Exodus: An Exegetical Commentary, 125-26]

            • There you have it, the supernatural explained by the natural

            • I believe in an all-powerful God who is able to do anything – nothing is impossible for Him, therefore, He can turn water into blood, which would not provide the necessary oxygen for fish to survive or for humans to consume

            • Here is something else to consider before we explain away the supernatural

            • “The dramatic, even instantaneous nature of this act is striking. ​​ A naturalistic explanation does not do justice to the theological thrust of this passage. . . . Were this merely a natural phenomenon, Pharaoh could simply have countered, ‘But this happens all the time, Moses! ​​ Can’t your God do any better than this?’ ​​ But the fact that the magicians had to appeal to their ‘secret arts’ (v. 22) suggests that there was more here than red sediment pouring into the Nile. . . . the fact that this phenomenon happened at God’s command is the central concern of the biblical writer. ​​ The point is not so much what happened to the Nile, but that it happened as an explicit act of judgment by God on the Egyptians. ​​ The purpose of this plague—indeed, the entire confrontation between Moses and Pharaoh—is so that Egypt will know that ‘I am the Lord’ (v. 17; cf. 7:5).” ​​ [Enns, 201]

        • We see the marginalization of the supernatural through what the Egyptian magicians did

    • Imitation of God’s Wrath (v. 22a)

        • The magicians were once again able to imitate the supernatural like they had done with turning their staffs into snakes

        • They would also be able to produce frogs as we will see next week

        • If I were Pharaoh, I wouldn’t want my magicians to duplicate the plague, but rather to reverse the plague

          • I would want them to turn the bloody Nile and all the other water sources back into water

          • The magicians did not have any power to accomplish the supernatural

          • They were simply using some kind of trickery to make it look like they had done the same thing, it wasn’t the same thing, it was fake

          • The magicians didn’t make things better, they made them worse

        • Pharaoh’s attitude toward God did not change

    • Ignoring God’s Wrath (v. 22b-23)

        • After seeing his magicians do the same thing, Pharaoh’s heart became hard and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron

        • The Lord had already prepared Moses and Aaron for this outcome

        • Pharaoh just turned around and went back inside his palace

        • He didn’t take this plague to heart

        • Pharaoh didn’t seem to be concerned that the source of life for he and his people had been removed

        • He still did not consider God to be the source of life

        • God is our source of life.

    • Result of God’s Wrath (vv. 24-25)

        • The Egyptians had to dig along the Nile to get drinking water, which tells us that the subterranean water sources were not affected, only the surface water

        • They had to do this for one week

    • Application

        • I don’t want to miss the opportunity to talk about the source of our eternal life

          • God is the source of our physical and spiritual lives

          • He created us in His image, but when sin entered the world through Adam and Eve’s disobedience that sin extended to all humanity (Rom. 3:23)

            • Good person test

            • If we claim we have not sinned, we make him [God] out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives (1 John 1:10)

          • What deserve separation from God for all eternity (Rom. 6:23a)

          • God loves us (Jer. 31:3; John 3:16a; Rom. 5:8a)

          • God’s plan to redeem us

            • John 3:16-17, For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ​​ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

            • Romans 5:8, But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

          • Jesus satisfies everything the Egyptians were seeking in the Nile and everything we are seeking in our own lives

            • John 7:37-39, On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. ​​ Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” ​​ By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. ​​ Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

            • John 6:35, Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. ​​ He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will be thirsty.

            • John 14:6, Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. ​​ No one comes to the Father except through me.”

          • Jesus is the source of our eternal life!

        • #4 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Accept Jesus as my source of eternal life.

 

  • YOU

    • Ask the Lord to search your heart and test your thoughts, so you can confess any offensive way found there.

    • Rely on God as your source of life instead of something else.

    • Worship God as the only true God, who is all-powerful!

    • Accept Jesus as your source of eternal life.

 

  • WE

    • Ask the Lord to search our hearts and test our thoughts, so we can confess any offensive way found there.

    • Rely on God as our source of life instead of something else.

    • Worship God as the only true God, who is all-powerful!

 

CONCLUSION

“Lt. George Dixon was a genteel, well-respected man in the Confederate Army. In the early days of the war, his fiancée gave him a $20 gold piece. During the battle of Shiloh, a union minie ball struck him—actually it struck the gold coin, which saved his life. The coin, soundly dented, was to remain with him wherever he went. It became his good luck piece, and he would often be seen kneading the coin in his hand.

 

And where did Lt. Dixon take the coin? Onto the C.S.S. Hunley, the confederate submarine he staunchly believed could break the Union blockade. After sinking the U.S.S. Housatonic, the Hunley herself sank, taking Lt. Dixon and his crew to their deaths. Ultimately, his golden good luck piece could not save him. Recently the coin was found when the submarine was raised.

 

Man seeks out and trusts in many forms of security. Ultimately there is only one source of life and security: Jesus.”

 

Source: "Scientists Find Gold Coin in Confederate Sub," CNN.com; submitted by Len Sullivan, Tupelo, Mississippi.

 

[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2001/august/13202.html]

11

 

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Staredown in Nile-Town

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STAREDOWN IN NILE-TOWN

The Rumble in the Jungle was a professional heavyweight championship boxing match between George Foreman and Muhammad Ali. It took place in Zaire, Africa on October 30, 1974, and has been called "arguably the greatest sporting event of the 20th century." It was a major upset, with Muhammed Ali coming in as an underdog against the unbeaten, heavy-hitting George Foreman. There were 60,000 people in attendance and some sources estimate that the fight was watched by as many as one billion television viewers around the world, becoming the world's most-watched live television broadcast at the time. Decades later, the bout would become the subject of the Academy Award winning documentary film When We Were Kings.

Even if you have never watched a boxing match, you may know that there is always a time or two where the two opponents are brought face-to-face with each other before the match starts. It may happen during the final weigh-in and or it may happen right before the bell sounds when the referee gives final instructions. (Picture) Right before the Rumble in the Jungle started, George Foreman recalls the words of Muhammad Ali during their intense stare-down in the ring. George Foreman said, "I looked him in the eye, to stare him down and he said - 'oh George you were in school when I was beatin' Sonny Liston." Stare-downs are meant to be intimidating, right? You make direct and uninterrupted eye contact with someone in order to intimidate them and cause them to yield. You want the other person to get the message that you are going to beat them and there’s nothing they can do about it. Each one wants the other to be the first one to flinch.

This morning, we are going to see another stare-down between two opponents. On the one side is Moses and Aaron and on the other is Pharaoh. The actual match will begin with next Sunday’s sermon but today is the “final weigh-in”, so to speak. The power of God is going to be displayed and the question is, will Pharaoh flinch? Will he flinch in the face of an all-powerful God and let his chosen people go into the wilderness to worship him? Will he flinch, saving himself and the Egyptians a lot of hardship and pain, which is coming around the corner? Or will his heart be hardened even in the face of God’s miraculous acts?

We can ask ourselves the same questions this morning. Because we have come and will come face-to-face with God’s miraculous acts many times in our own lives. How have we or will we react to God’s all-knowing, all-seeing, and all-powerful sovereignty in our lives? Will we flinch and worship him for his miraculous wonders? Or will we just stare back, never backing down or allowing him to be Lord of our lives? Will we stop listening for and hearing the voice of God, hardening our hearts, as he is calling us to serve and worship him? Maybe you would say you haven’t noticed any miraculous acts done by the Lord. I would suggest that that might be a sign that you are hardening your heart this morning. God’s miraculous acts are all around us, and we must have eyes to see and ears to hear and respond in worship to Him. That brings us to our big idea this morning that When we harden our hearts it can cause us to miss the miraculous.

As we allow that to resonate with our spirit this morning, let’s pray: God, we ask for your Holy Spirit to dwell in us this morning. We ask for wisdom and insight as we open your Word. Let your Word dwell in us richly and let it be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path as we live our lives in worship and service to you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

There are two points this morning. The first is Obedience seen in Exodus 7:8-10. Follow along as I read those verses. This is what God’s Word says, “The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Perform a miracle,’ then say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,’ and it will become a snake.” So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake.”

In the past couple of weeks, we have seen a Moses who has been discouraged. His first meeting with Pharaoh did not go as planned and Pharaoh was able to turn the Israelite foremen against him, to the point that they cursed Moses and Aaron before God. Then the Israelite people would not listen to Moses because of their discouragement and cruel bondage. But the Lord again told Moses to go to Pharaoh and tell him to let the Israelites go. Moses responds twice with an excuse reminiscent of chapter 3, “I speak with faltering lips so why would Pharaoh listen to me?” But at the end of last week’s sermon, we see a more confident Moses. He has met with God and his lingering doubts seem to be answered and it says that Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD commanded.

As Moses and Aaron confront Pharaoh a second time, it is important to know that this was not a battle between two men, Moses and Pharaoh. Moses was God’s appointed person to lead his people out of slavery from Egypt. And Pharaoh was typical of the power of evil that was out to oppress and destroy God’s people just because they were God’s people. No, this was a battle between God and Satan. The purpose of this second appearance before Pharaoh was not just to repeat the message to let God’s people go. It was to specifically perform a miraculous wonder that would demonstrate God’s power and sovereignty over Pharaoh, Egypt, its gods and the entire world. The purpose of the miracle was to lead Pharaoh and others who witnessed it into worship of the one true God of the universe.

The first thing we see is the Lord giving instructions to Moses and Aaron. “The LORD said to Moses and Aaron” emphasizes that what is going to happen will not be the result of human initiative but divine action. Alexander says, “From beginning to end, YHWH is the instigator of all that takes place, underlining his sovereign authority.” This brings us to our first principle this morning that “God is sovereign.” He is in control of all things; he has the right to rule, and he rules rightly.

In giving these instructions, we see our second principle that “God is All-knowing.” God told Moses and Aaron that Pharaoh was going to demand they perform a miracle. He knew what was going to happen before it ever happened. This will be the only time that Pharaoh will demand a miracle and he demands it to prove that Moses’ God was legitimate and should be listened to. Then the Lord gave them instructions on how the miracle was going to be performed. When Pharaoh demanded the miracle, Moses was to tell Aaron to throw down his staff before Pharaoh and it would become a snake. ​​ 

After getting their instructions from God, Moses and Aaron go before Pharaoh and we are told again that they did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and it became a snake. We can ask some important questions here. First, why did God use a staff to perform this miracle? A staff was a symbol of Pharaoh’s authority and kingship. It was synonymous with his power. By utilizing the staff to perform the miracle, God was exerting his authority and sovereignty over Pharaoh. The staff also signified that God was the one doing the miracle not Aaron.

Second, why did God turn Aaron’s staff into a snake? First, we need to know that there are two Hebrew words for snake. In verse 10, the word is “tannin.” It is not the same Hebrew word used in Exodus 4:3 or even in Exodus 7:15, which will refer to the staff turned into a snake used here by Aaron. That word is “nakhash” which means just a plain “snake.” It seems that the author used the two words interchangeably and was nothing more than a stylistic variation. But it is interesting where the author used the word “tannin.” He made sure to use it in the stare down between Moses, Aaron and Pharaoh. “Tannin” means “dragon” or “monster” and can even refer to a “crocodile” which would be appropriate to Egypt. The word “tannin” was also used to emphasize a large, fearsome and venomous serpent type creature, possibly a cobra. The cobra was feared and worshiped in Egypt and was a symbol of immortality, which was why Pharaoh appropriated it for himself and made it part of his headdress. He was claiming to be immortal and used the cobra as a fear tactic to keep his people in line.

Second, we need to look at the theological meaning for the use of the word “tannin.” Fretheim and Enns says, “the word “tannin” was used for the chaos monster that the gods in various myths of the ancient Near East defeated in order to bring about the present cosmos. In Genesis 1:2, we read that “The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” The words, “without form”, “void”, “darkness”, “the deep” and “waters” speak of the primeval chaos that God created the heavens and the earth from. By using the word “tannin”, the author is making it clear that all of creation is under Yahweh’s control.

Also, Egypt’s kings were called the ‘great serpent,’ ‘dragon,’ or ‘crocodile.’ Ezekiel 29:3 says, “YHWH proclaims, ‘Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon [tannîn], that lies in the midst of his streams, that says, “My Nile is my own; I made it for myself.” ​​ A further allusion to an Egyptian Pharaoh is in Isaiah 51:9–10, “Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake, as in days of old, the generations of long ago. Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces, who pierced the dragon [tannîn]?” Ryken says, “This background helps us to understand what Aaron was doing when he threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh. He was taking the symbol of the king’s majesty and making it crawl in the dust.” Aaron’s staff turning into a snake was nothing less than a direct challenge to Pharaoh’s power by the Lord. And by using the word “tannin”, the author was directly attacking his authority and sovereignty over Egypt.

I mentioned earlier that Moses and Aaron were obedient. It took a lot of courage for Moses and Aaron to return to Pharaoh after what happened the first time, but they simply obeyed and went trusting in the Lord. That brings us to our third principle this morning that “God is pleased when his people are obedient.” We are told twice that Moses and Aaron were obedient, first in verse 6 (last week) and again today in verse 10, because it is important that God’s people are obedient to what he is calling them to do. Imagine the miraculous things we would see from the Lord if we were just obedient to Him. That brings us to our first next step on the back of your communication card which is to be obedient to what the Lord is calling me to do, putting me in the position to see the miraculous.

So now that Moses and Aaron have obeyed and God has performed the miracle of the staff turning into a snake, we could suppose that Pharaoh would be intimidated by the power and splendor of almighty God, causing him to flinch and tremble before his majesty. But that is not the case as we come to our second point this morning, which is Obstinance, found in verses 11-13. This is what God’s Word says, “Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts: Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. Yet Pharaoh’s heart became hard and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.”

Pharaoh was not impressed with God’s miraculous “wonder” even though it was actually what he had asked for. Pharaoh, seemingly not phased by the miracle, summoned “wise men”, “sorcerers” and “magicians” to join the stare down. The “wise men” would be Pharaoh’s counselors who had skills in various fields. “Sorcerers” would be the ones engaged in the widespread Egyptian practice of magic using spells and occultic arts. “Magicians” were scribes and interpreters of books that contained magic formulas. They were priests who were associated with rituals and incantations. Paul in 2 Timothy 3:8 gives us the names of two of these magicians who “withstood Moses”, Jannes and Jambres. Mackay says, “Throughout the ancient world magic was inseparable from religion, and in every court, there would be priests who practiced such black arts. By summoning the magicians Pharaoh called the priestly representatives of the Egyptian gods (particularly the moon god Thoth, who was the patron god of magic and divination) to deal with the representatives of the LORD.”

The wise men, sorcerers and magicians were able to perform the same miracle but with a couple differences. One, Aaron performed the miracle through the power of God whereas Pharaoh’s officials performed it through the “secret arts” or the power of Satan. These “secret arts” were demonic, reminding us of how powerful Satan is. The second difference was that Aaron’s snake was able to “swallow” or “gulp” up all the other snakes. This was a clear sign that God was superior to the gods of the Egyptians. The Egyptians would have believed that swallowing something was the way to acquire all its powers. By swallowing the other snakes, God was claiming that all their power and authority belonged to Him – that the God of Israel was also the God of Egypt. The swallowing of Aaron’s snake was something that the officials’ snakes couldn’t do. Interestingly, the word for “swallow” here is the same word used when Pharaoh’s army is “swallowed” up by the Red Sea which connects this passage with the later one.

The best Pharaoh’s officials could do was imitate what God had done. Ryken says, “Satan can only corrupt, never create. The Bible says that “the work of Satan [is] displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders” (2 Thess. 2:9). Satan is always a counterfeiter, never an innovator.” I like what Guzik says, “Miracles can prove that something is supernatural, but they cannot prove that something is true.” We need to be discerning so we know the difference between the miraculous that God is doing and the counterfeiting that Satan does. We also notice that Aaron was not even involved in his snake swallowing up the others. It happened completely by the power of God. Which brings us to our fourth principle that “God is All-powerful.” God’s miraculous power was displayed for Pharaoh to see along with his officials, Moses and Aaron. God’s power was far superior to that of Satan’s power. This is a reminder to us that although Satan’s power is real it is not absolute. He can only do what God allows him to do and there is nothing Satan can do to thwart the Lord’s plans. What should have been an opportunity to bow and worship before an Almighty God was wasted on Pharaoh. Instead, his heart became hard and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, and ultimately God. (Big Idea) God had told Moses and Aaron in Exodus 7:3, that he would harden Pharaoh’s heart and even though he would do many miraculous signs in Egypt, Pharaoh would not listen to them. This reminds us of our first principle that “God is All-knowing.” God knew ahead of time that Pharaoh would not believe even after seeing His miracle.

Even though Pharaoh had asked for a miracle and God had performed one, proving his power, sovereignty and superiority over Pharaoh, he still did not flinch. His heart became hard. Even though Pharaoh’s heart was hardened by God, the verb used to describe this hardening is in the perfect tense, indicating a completed action. Pharaoh’s heart, meaning his will, was already set against God and his people. He had preconceived ideas about “spiritual” things and couldn’t give up his false belief that he was the divine ruler of Egypt instead of the Lord. This made Pharaoh stubborn and obstinate.

Ryken says, “If Pharaoh had realized how hard his heart was, he would have been terrified. The Egyptians believed that the heart was the essence of the person and thus the key to eternal life. Many of their temples and tombs depict a heart being weighed on the scales of justice. At the front stands the balance of truth on which the death-god Anubis will weigh the dead man’s heart. Anubis is joined by Thoth, who will record the verdict, and by the goddess Amemit, who waits to devour the hearts of the damned. Their hearts are weighed against the feather of righteousness and their eternal destiny stands in the balance. If a heart is too heavy, they will be condemned for their sins and thrown to the voracious monster. But if their heart is as light as the feather, they will receive everlasting life. According to the Egyptians, a man with a hardened heart could never be saved. The weight of his sins would drag him down to destruction. As John Currid explains, “Anyone whose heart was heavy-laden with misdeeds would be annihilated, while anyone whose heart was filled with integrity, truth, and good acts would be escorted to heavenly bliss.” This just shows how hardened Pharaoh's heart was against God and his people.

My conclusion comes from Anders' commentary: A shipping company had advertised a job opening for a ship’s radio operator, and the outer office was crowded with applicants for the position. They were waiting to be called in turn and were talking to one another loudly enough to be heard over the sound of the loudspeaker. Another applicant entered the crowded waiting room, filled out his application, and sat quietly for a few moments. Suddenly, he rose and walked into the office marked PRIVATE. A few minutes later, he came out of the room with a huge smile on his face. He had been hired; the job was his. Someone in the waiting room began to protest. “Hey, we’ve been waiting a lot longer than you. Why did you go in there before us?” The new radio operator replied, “Any one of you could have landed this job, but none of you were listening to the Morse Code signals coming over the loudspeaker. The message was, ‘We desire to fill this position with someone who is constantly alert. If you are getting this message, come into the private office immediately.’”

Pharaoh could have been in that same waiting room, and he wouldn’t have gotten the message either. He was a poor listener. In fact, we are going to see the great lengths God is going to go in order to get him to listen as we continue our study of Exodus. But for now, there was no code for Pharaoh to decipher, he was simply told, “to let God’s people go!” and was even given a miracle to prove that the Lord was the one true God. Pharaoh’s hardened heart is a warning to us. God has already revealed himself to the world with enough evidence to persuade everyone to trust in and follow him. Romans 1:20 says, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” When you fail to listen to God or his word and fail to see His miraculous signs all around you, you are inviting trouble. Pharaoh didn’t learn that right away because he decided to “stare-down” God and harden his heart. What will you do when God calls you to do his work in this world and even shows you the miraculous? Will you be like Pharaoh and harden your heart or will you be obedient like Moses and Aaron. That brings us to the second and last next step on the back of your communication card. My next step is to search myself, to keep from having a hardened heart, so that I can see the miraculous.

As the ushers prepare to collect the tithes and offerings and the communication cards and as the praise team comes to lead us in a final song, let’s pray: Dear Heavenly Father, again, we thank you for your Word and for this time as a community of faith to study it together. Help us to have open hearts and open minds. Help us to not harden our hearts to your miraculous acts in our lives. Forgive us when we are stubborn and obstinate. Help us to be obedient to you and to search ourselves daily so that we will have eyes to see and ears to hear your awesome power and sovereignty. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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Knowing God

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Rescued

Knowing God

(Exodus 6:28-7:7)

 

INTRODUCTION

“How free am I? How does God's sovereignty interact with our free will? Do we even have free will or is our life's course determined by God or by other forces beyond our control?

 

If you're a film-goer, you may be able to think of a number of big-screen characters who've struggled with these questions. First, there was Truman Burbank, played by Jim Carrey. The Truman Show told the story of his dawning realization that his entire life—including his job, house, marriage, neighborhood, friends—was constructed and orchestrated by TV producers who had turned his entire existence into a reality TV show viewed by millions of people around the world. When the penny finally drops, his mind is sent into turmoil and he becomes desperate to try to escape his phony existence.

 

Then there was Neo, in The Matrix, famously swallowing the red pill and having his eyes opened to the reality that all human experience was just simulated reality. The truth was that human beings were simply an energy source for the machines which held them in slavery. Neo made it his quest to fight for freedom against these machines.

 

A third film, The Adjustment Bureau saw Congressman David Norris (played by Matt Damon) bristling at the idea that his relationship with the only woman he has ever really loved must be ended because it's not part of the predetermined ‘plan’ for his life. He won't stand for it and promptly decides to fight this destiny using nothing but the brute force of his own love-struck willpower.

 

These are just a few of the films that explore issues of human freedom and determination. That it is such a common subject only serves to underline how deeply such themes resonate with us. The thought of being mere puppets in someone else's show, or pawns being moved around some great chessboard, is an outrage to us.”

 

Source: Adapted from Orlando Saer, Big God (Christian Focus, 2014), pp. 34-35.

 

[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2014/september/5090114.html].

 

BODY

  • ME

    • Knowing God through His attributes

        • I have learned to know God as Healer, Provider, Guide, Father, Sovereign, Holy, Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent, Just, Loving, Immutable (Unchanging), Majestic, Good, Faithful, Merciful, Gracious, and Eternal

        • I have also learned to know God through many of His other attributes

 

  • WE

    • Through what attributes have you gotten to know God?

 

In Genesis 5:22-6:12 we learned what God would do for the Israelites. ​​ The Lord made seven “I will” statements concerning the Israelites. ​​ Through His liberation, adoption, and provision, the Israelites understood that God was Lord. ​​ The same would be true for Pharaoh and the Egyptians. ​​ As we will see today, the Lord made two “I will” statements concerning Pharaoh and the Egyptians. ​​ Through what God was going to do to them, they would learn that God is Lord. ​​ What the author wants us to learn today is that . . .

 

BIG IDEA – We can know God through His attributes.

 

We see His attributes displayed through his mighty acts

 

Let’s pray

 

  • GOD (Exodus 6:28-7:7)

    • Repetition (vv. 6:28-30)

        • What we see in verses 28-30 is a repetition of what the author said in verses 10-12

          • Sharing the same information again is an example of “resumptive repetition” [Alexander, Apollos Old Testament Commentary, Volume 2, Exodus, 139]

          • The narrative is resuming, so the author repeats some information to refresh the readers memory concerning what was said previously

        • Protest

          • “This is the seventh time Moses protests. ​​ Like Moses, we have a tendency to argue. ​​ But, again God didn’t give up on Moses. ​​ And He won’t give up on you.” ​​ [Courson, Jon Courson’s Application Commentary, Old Testament, Volume 1: Genesis-Job, 249]

          • PRINCIPLE #1 – God will not give up on us!

            • Aren’t you glad to hear that this morning

            • We may argue with the Lord about what He is calling us to do, or we may just flatly refuse to do it

            • But the Lord knows us better than we know ourselves and He knows what He wants to accomplish through us

            • He is patient with us, just like He was with Moses

            • We can know God through His attributes.

            • How many of us are currently arguing with the Lord or giving Him excuses about why we cannot do what He is calling us to do? (you don’t have to raise your hand today, but I want you to think seriously about it)

            • #1 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Rejoice in the fact that God will not give up on me, but will wait patiently for me to be obedient.

              • Isaiah 41:10, So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. ​​ I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

              • Hebrews 13:5-6, Keep you lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have; because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” ​​ So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. ​​ What can man do to me?”

              • Read Psalm 23:1-6

          • The Lord did not answer Moses’ question directly, instead He encouraged Moses with the fact that He was in control [Merida, Christ-Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus In Exodus, 47]

        • Moses would be God’s representative to Pharaoh

    • Representative (vv. 7:1-2)

        • God responded to Moses’ objection by telling him that he would be God to Pharaoh

          • In the original Hebrew, there is no preposition attached to “god” [Hamilton, Exodus: An Exegetical Commentary, the second footnote for 7:1, 111]

          • The NIV adds the word “like” to “god,” which is not necessary

          • Moses’ did not actually become divine, but rather he was put in a position of authority and power over Pharaoh [Mackay, Exodus: A Mentor Commentary, 135]

        • Aaron, the prophet

          • In Exodus 4:16, we saw that it would be as if Moses was God to Aaron, also

          • In that same verse, we also see that it would be as if Aaron was Moses’ mouth

          • That idea is further developed here with Aaron being Moses’ prophet

            • A prophet in the Old Testament was the mouthpiece of God for the people

            • They were to do and say everything the Lord instructed them to do and say, no matter how difficult it was going to be

            • The prophets in the Old Testament had to share hard things with the rulers and people of the day

            • The Lord’s message through them had to do with punishment for their wickedness, if they did not repent

            • It was not a feel-good message

        • Say everything

          • Moses was to say everything the Lord commanded him to say

          • As we will see in the remainder of Exodus, Moses does not always use Aaron as his mouthpiece/prophet – there were times when Moses spoke directly to Pharaoh himself

          • Aaron would be the one who would tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of Egypt

        • The Lord told Moses everything that would happen with Pharaoh as they approached him

    • Ruler (vv. 7:3-5)

        • PRINCIPLE #2 – God is sovereign!

          • What we see through God hardening Pharaoh’s heart is that He is sovereignly accomplishing His plan and purpose

          • We can know God through His attributes.

          • The book of Exodus is really about Yahweh and not Pharaoh or the Israelites

          • “When God is said to harden the human heart, it is then argued, he does not override the will of the individual, but permits the individual to harden his own heart. ​​ Consequently God allows individuals to resist his will by withdrawing any restraining influence upon them or by introducing the circumstances which he knows will lead to this defiant action on their part. ​​ They take the action themselves, and what God has permitted is described as if he had done it directly. . . . It is not that God is going to introduce evil into Pharaoh’s heart – that was not needed; it was already there.” ​​ [Mackay, 137]

          • PRINCIPLE #3 – God will allow us to have our heart’s desire.

            • Just like God withdrew any restraining influence upon Pharaoh and did not override his will, He will withdraw His restraining influence upon us and not override our will

            • The Lord will not force us to do anything against our will

            • Read Romans 1:18-25

            • The Lord certainly grieves when we choose to harden our hearts toward Him and His perfect plan and purpose for us

            • Application

              • In what areas of your life are you currently hardening your heart?

              • Do you recognize that God has withdrawn any restraining influence upon you and is not overriding your will?

              • Is the Holy Spirit prompting you about something you are currently doing, because it is wrong?

              • Is the Holy Spirit prompting you about something the Lord wants you to do, but you are resisting?

              • Are you listening to the Holy Spirit?

              • #2 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Confess my hard heart about ________________ and follow God’s sovereign plan and purpose for me.

          • The first “I will” statement involved the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart

            • Part of the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart will be seen in the fact that, although the Lord would multiply His miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt, Pharaoh would not listen to Moses or Aaron

            • The Lord told Moses ahead of time that even though Pharaoh is going to experience many signs and wonders through him, Pharaoh would not listen to him

            • Those signs and wonders would not soften Pharaoh’s hard heart

            • “It was in one respect not surprising that Pharaoh would not acknowledge what was so clearly spelled out in the ensuing signs and wonders. ​​ To have done so involved abandoning all his claims to supremacy. ​​ He fought to the last to avoid giving up the ideology that underpinned his power.” ​​ [Mackay, 138-39]

            • When Pharaoh would refuse to listen to Moses and Aaron, then God would move to phase two, which is where we find the second “I will” statement

          • The second “I will” statement involved God’s mighty power

            • PRINCIPLE #4 – God is all-powerful!

              • His power is going to be displayed through laying His hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment

                • All of this was a forewarning of the ten plagues that the Lord is about to unleash on Pharaoh and the Egyptians

                • While Pharaoh’s magicians were able to duplicate the initial sign (staff into snake) and the first two plagues (water to blood and frogs), they would recognize the finger of God with the remaining eight plagues

                • Through the mighty acts of judgment, the Lord would bring out His divisions, His people the Israelites

                  • The author uses the same word as he did in Exod. 6:26, “divisions,” to describe the Israelites

                  • “[Armies] is used of Israel, with reference to its leaving Egypt equipped (ch. 13:18) and organized as an army according to the tribes (cf. 6:26 and 12:51 with Num. 1 and 2) to contend for the cause of the Lord, and fight the battles of Jehovah.” ​​ [Keil & Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, Volume 1, The Pentateuch, 306]

                • The Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart and laid His hand on Egypt through mighty acts of judgment so they would know that He was the Lord

                • We can know God through His attributes.

              • Egyptians will know that God is the Lord

                • “Notice there are two ways to ‘know Yahweh.’ ​​ First, you may know Him by experiencing His mercy of salvation (6:6-8). ​​ Second, you may know Him by experiencing His wrath in judgment (7:4-5). ​​ Everyone will eventually acknowledge that He is God (Phil 2:10-11).” ​​ [Merida, 47]

                • Philippians 2:10-11, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

                • “The awesome nature of what will happen to them and around them will be such that the Egyptians will no longer be able to entertain any doubts about the reality and supremacy of the Lord.” ​​ [Mackay, 139]

            • God would make Himself known through His power

          • God’s sovereignty was evident through the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart, which caused God to act in a mighty way, so that the Pharaoh and the Egyptians would know that He is the Lord

        • With Moses’ objections satisfied, we see what He and Aaron do

    • Respectful (v. 7:6)

        • They did just as the Lord commanded them

          • Moses wrote this narrative after they had been set free from Egypt, so he is able to say that he and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded them

          • They went to Pharaoh, performed the miraculous signs and wonders, and told him to let the Israelites go out of his country

        • PRINCIPLE #5 – God is pleased when we obey Him.

          • It took a little bit, but Moses was obedient to the Lord

          • Moses was able to look back on his obedience and realize that the Lord was pleased with him and Aaron and that the Lord was glorified through their obedience (the Egyptians knew who God was)

          • Application

            • I know the same is true for me

            • When I have been obedient to the Lord, I can look back and recognize that God was pleased with me, and more importantly, He was glorified through my obedience (people know who God is)

            • Have you experienced the same thing?

            • #3 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Obediently do ______________, so that God will be pleased and glorified.

            • When we are obedient to the Lord, others will be able to know who He is

            • We can know God through His attributes.

        • Moses and Aaron’s obedience came at a ripe old age

    • Ripe (v. 7:7)

        • Moses was 80 years old and Aaron was 83 years old when they spoke to Pharaoh

        • PRINCIPLE #6 – We are never too old to serve the Lord.

          • The flip side of this is also true – we are never too young to serve the Lord

          • Whenever He calls us, at whatever age we are, we need to be obedient

          • Is the Lord calling you today? ​​ (Will you answer His call?)

        • “D. L. Moody once said that Moses spent forty years in Pharaoh’s court thinking he was somebody; forty years in the desert learning that he was nobody; and forty years showing what God can do with a somebody who found out he was a nobody. ​​ Moses is now on the threshold of this final period when he learns what God can do through him because he is totally dependent on him.” ​​ [Mackay, 140]

 

  • YOU

    • Rejoice in the fact that God will not give up on you, but will wait patiently for you to be obedient.

    • Confess your hard heart about ________________ and follow God’s sovereign plan and purpose for you.

    • Obediently do ______________, so that God will be pleased and glorified.

 

  • WE

    • We can rejoice in the fact that God will not give up on us, but will wait patiently for us to be obedient.

    • We need to confess our hard heart and follow God’s sovereign plan and purpose for us.

    • We can obediently do what God is calling us to do, so that He will be pleased and glorified.

 

CONCLUSION

“As a 15-year-old girl in 1927, Lois Secrist promised God she'd go overseas as a missionary, perhaps to Africa or India, helping the needy. But Lois never made that trip of mercy.

 

At 23 she married Galon Prater, a handsome farmhand who became a heavy drinker.

 

Many years later, Galon did become a Christian and testify about the peace of Jesus to his drinking buddies. But by then he was almost 80 and nearing death. When he died January 9, 1988, Lois's childhood desire of becoming a missionary returned.

 

At first she resisted. At age 76, she felt her opportunity to serve overseas as a missionary had slipped away.

 

‘I said, ‘Lord, I'm too old to go now. I can't do this,’’ Lois admits.

 

But this great grandmother was determined to fulfill her unforgotten promise. Lois, pricked by the memory of ignoring God's calling as a teenager, would not refuse a second chance at becoming a missionary.

 

So at 87, Lois Prater has become the unlikely builder of an orphanage in the Philippines, a lifeline to 35 children whose lives have been rescued from neglect, begging in the streets, and parental abuse.

 

Today the 35 orphans living in the two-story, 2,000 square foot white stucco home call Lois ‘Lola,’ which means ‘grandmother’ in their native Tagalog language.

 

Lois's ‘children,’ as she calls them, range in age from eight months to 10 years. Each of their stories is heartbreaking.

Lois has built the orphanage without taking out a loan, relying instead on individual financial support from across the United States. Because of her age, she is not supported by any church denomination and depends solely on private donations.

 

When asked if that makes her nervous, she says confidently, ‘I serve a mighty God. He's in control. I feel I'm not talented enough to do any of this. But God enables me. My responsibility is to do what I can.’”

 

Source: Gail Wood, "Mission Delayed," Virtue (June/July 1999).

 

[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2000/march/12352.html]

9

 

/by

The History of Us

,

Rescued

The History of Us

(Exodus 6:13-27)

 

INTRODUCTION

“While many cities and villages along the Indian Ocean suffered catastrophic losses from the December 2004 tsunami, the port city of Pondicherry, India, and its 300,000 inhabitants were spared. Just beyond city limits, 600 people were killed by the devastating tidal wave, but Pondicherry withstood the tsunami. Why were they protected?

 

The answer began 250 years ago when France colonized the city. The French built a massive stone seawall. Year after year, the French continued to strengthen the wall, piling huge boulders along its 1.25-mile length.

 

The French stopped building Pondicherry's seawall in 1957, but their work prepared them for a disaster that would occur five decades into the future.”

 

Source: Chris Tomlinson, Associated Press (1-4-05).

 

[https://www.preachingtoday.com/search/?query=prepared+for+the+future&type=].

 

BODY

  • ME

    • Stuart

        • I can definitely say that God used my past to prepare me for my future

          • Growing up in a pastor’s home prepared me for pastoring

          • Graduating from college with a Business Management and Economics degrees has been very helpful

          • Working in the secular business world for three years helped to develop some skills

          • Working in two different children’s ministries provided some incredible opportunities for growth

        • All of those past experiences prepared me for pastoring and molded me into the man I am today

    • Judy

        • When Judy was younger, she used to tell people she wanted to be a flight attendant, so she could travel the world

        • One individual challenged her to consider being a teacher

          • She had not thought about that before, but it made perfect sense to her

          • She had been teaching with her mother in children’s church for years

          • Those past experiences led her to pursue an Elementary Education degree in college with an early childhood endorsement

          • I tell people that Judy is a natural born teacher

          • I learned a lot from her when I was teaching children with Child Evangelism Fellowship

 

  • WE

    • How many of us are where we are today, because of past experiences (good or bad)

        • We may have continued in the family business or industry

        • We may have pursued a particular career path, because of the influence of a teacher or mentor

        • We may be adverse to certain addictions, because we watched a family member go through a gruesome addiction

        • We may be single, because we experienced parents that struggled in their relationship and eventually got divorced

        • We may be successful and wealthy today, because we went through poverty as a child and determined to live a different life

        • The list could go on and on

Moses once again doubted his calling, because of his fear of speaking, but God already had a plan in place to help him. ​​ His brother Aaron would be his mouthpiece. ​​ God did not choose Aaron, as Moses’ helper, lightly – He knew where he came from and where he and his family would go. ​​ The genealogy that we are going to look at today is important, because it showed Aaron’s pedigree, which proved his worthiness to be Moses’ helper. ​​ What the author wants us to understand today is that . . .

 

BIG IDEA – God can use our past to prepare us for our future.

 

Let’s pray

 

  • GOD (Exodus 6:13-27)

    • Transition Out (v. 13)

        • This verse transitions the reader out of the narrative

        • It is a simple statement about how the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron about the Israelites and Pharaoh

          • This is a brief summary statement of everything that the Lord said to Moses and Aaron

          • The Lord had spoken to Moses in more detail at the burning bush (Horeb)

          • Perhaps the Lord confirmed everything that Moses shared with Aaron at the mountain of God in Horeb

        • He commanded them to bring the Israelites out of Egypt

        • PRINCIPLE #1 – “God’s purpose reaches BACKWARD and forward.” [Enns, 177]

          • We are going to see through this genealogy that God’s purpose for Moses and Aaron reaches back to their forefather, Levi

          • God’s purpose for us reaches back to our ancestors also

          • It is God’s sovereignty at work in our lives

            • He knew long before we were born what His purpose was going to be for us

            • He placed us in our family of origin for a reason

              • He knew what He wanted us to be in the future, so He placed us in exactly the right home to accomplish that

              • Pastor, Missionary, Farmer, Teacher, Accountant, Doctor/Nurse, Tax Collector, Banker, Social Worker, Factory Worker, Military Personnel, Technician, Information Technology, Media, etc.

            • For some of us He placed us with a new family, through adoption, so He could accomplish His purpose for us

            • He gave us natural abilities in certain areas, so we could use them for His glory

            • Because God is eternal, He has seen our entire life from beginning to end, and has orchestrated specific events to direct us according to His plan and purpose

            • This should encourage us today

          • #1 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Worship the Lord for accomplishing His purpose in my life through my ancestors.

          • God can use our past to prepare us for our future.

        • Moses begins the genealogy by starting with the families of Jacob/Israel’s two oldest sons

    • Jacob’s Sons (vv. 14-19)

        • Connecting to Israel/Jacob

          • The potential reason that Reuben and Simeon are listed is so the author and the reader can connect Moses and Aaron back to Israel/Jacob

          • Once the author reaches Levi, the line that Moses and Aaron came from, he does not need to list Israel/Jacob’s other sons

          • Heads of families

            • “The Hebrew for families here and in verse 25 refers to units larger than clans.” ​​ [NIV Life Application Bible, footnote for Exodus 6:14]

            • The use of this Hebrew word is perhaps based on the fact that this genealogy is telescoping, meaning several generations are skipped

          • The author goes all the way back to Jacob’s firstborn son

        • Reuben’s sons (reh-oo-bane’/reh-oo-vane’), meaning “behold a son”

          • Hanoch (khan-oke’/khan-oak’), meaning “dedicated”

          • Pallu (pal-loo’), meaning “distinguished”

          • Hezron (khets-rone’), meaning “surrounded by a wall”

          • Carmi (kar-mee’/care-mee’), meaning “my vineyard”

          • These same sons are listed in Gen. 46:9 and Num. 26:5-6

        • Simeon’s sons (shim-one’/shim-own’), meaning “heard”

          • Jemuel (yem-oo-ale’), meaning “day of God”

          • Jamin (yaw-meen’), meaning “right hand”

          • Ohad (o’-had), meaning “united”

          • Jakin (yaw-keen’/yaw-kheen’), meaning “He will establish”

          • Zohar (tso’-khar/tso’-hair), meaning “tawny”

          • Shaul (shaw-ool’), meaning “desired”

            • Shaul’s mother is mentioned here as a Canaanite woman

            • We are not given her name

            • “Shaul’s mother is probably mentioned because her background was unusual.” ​​ [Mackay, Exodus: A Mentor Commentary, 130]

          • These same sons are listed in Gen. 46:10 and Num. 26:12-13 (Ohad is missing from the list in Num. 26:12-13)

        • Levi’s sons (lay-vee’), meaning “joined to” (he lived 137 years)

          • Gershon’s sons (gay-resh-one’/gare-shone’), meaning “exile”

            • Libni (lib-nee’/live-nee’), meaning “white”

            • Shimei (shim-ee’), meaning “renowned”

          • Kohath’s sons (keh-hawth’/kay-hawth’), meaning “assembly” (he lived 133 years)

            • Amram (am-rawm’), meaning “exalted people”

            • Izhar (yits-hawr’), meaning “shining oil”

            • Hebron (kheb-rone’/khev-rone’), meaning “association”

            • Uzziel (ooz-zee-ale’/uz-zee-el’), meaning “my strength is God”

          • Merari’s sons (mer-aw-ree’), meaning “bitter”

            • Mahli (makh-lee’), meaning “sick”

            • Mushi (moo-shee’), meaning “yielding”

          • The sons of Levi are listed in Gen. 46:11

          • The sons and some of the grandsons of Levi are listed in Num. 26:57-58

          • God can use our past to prepare us for our future.

        • Telescoping

          • There is obviously a jump in generations from the genealogy of Levi to Moses and Aaron’s family

          • “For example, according to Genesis 46:11, Kohath is one of the sons of Levi who made the initial journey into Egypt. ​​ Hence, there must have been about a 350-year span between Kohath and Moses (since the entire stay in Egypt was 430 years and Moses was 80 at the time of the Exodus; Ex. 7:7; 12:40-41), which makes it unlikely that Kohath is Moses’ great-uncle.” ​​ [Enns, The NIV Application Commentary, Exodus, 177]

          • It is probable that the Amram of verse 18 is not the same Amram of verse 20

            • Throughout the Bible we see the same name being used with different parents, but all part of the same genealogy

            • We see that thing in our modern culture

              • My Pappy Johns was Fred Arthur Johns

              • My Dad is Fred Alan Johns

              • My brother is Fred Alan Johns II

            • Some families use grandparent’s, great grandparents, or even further back when choosing names for their children

          • Trying to determine how this genealogy works is not the focus of the genealogy, rather it is there to show the readers the credentials of Moses and especially Aaron for the commission God has given them

        • There also seems to be a natural break in the genealogy at the end of verse 19 when the author used the same phrase as he did with Reuben and Simeon’s line – “These were the clans of . . .” (vv. 14, 15, 19)

    • Moses & Aaron’s Family (vv. 20-25)

        • Parents of Moses and Aaron

          • Amram (am-rawm’) married his aunt, Jochebed (yo-keh’-bed/yo-hair’-red), meaning “Jehovah is glory”

            • Marrying one's aunt was not considered wrong at this time

            • In Leviticus 18 we see a listing of unlawful sexual relationships

              • Leviticus 18:6, “No one is to approach any close relative to have sexual relations. ​​ I am the Lord.”

              • Leviticus 18:12, “Do not have sexual relations with your father’s sister; she is your father’s close relative.”

            • The marriage of Amram and Jochebed was prior to the Levitical laws given by the Lord

          • Aaron and Moses were born as a result of this marriage (we also know that they had sister named Miriam)

          • Amram lived 137 years

        • Family names?

          • Perhaps the best explanation of what seems like a return to the listing of Kohath’s (keh-hawth’/kay-hawth’) sons is that later generations used the same names for their sons

            • Notice that Hebron (kheb-rone’/khev-rone’) is not mentioned again (maybe that was not a very popular name at the time)

            • Also, some of the names will appear again in narratives about Moses and Aaron, so they would have been around at the same time (Moses/Aaron contemporaries)

          • Izhar’s (yits-hawr’) sons

            • Korah (ko’rakh/core-rack), meaning “bald”

              • Korah’s sons

                • Assir (as-sere’/ass-seer), meaning “prisoner”

                • Elkanah (el-kaw-naw’), meaning “God has possessed” or “God has created”

                • Abiasaph (ab-ee-aw-sawf’/avee-aw-sawf’), meaning “my father has gathered”

              • Korah’s rebellion

                • In Numbers 16:1-35 we learn of Korah’s opposition to Moses and Aaron

                  • They were Levites, so they served in the Lord’s tabernacle, but they also wanted to get the priesthood too

                  • It was against the Lord that the group banded together

                  • “Korah and his associates had seen the advantages of the priesthood in Egypt. ​​ Egyptian priests had great wealth and political influence, something Korah wanted for himself.” ​​ [NIV Life Application Bible, footnote for Numbers 16:1-3]

                  • We see the outcome of this opposition when God chooses Moses and Aaron and removes Korah and his comrades by allowing the earth to open up and swallow them and having fire come out from the Lord and consuming the 250 men who were offering incense as part of Korah’s group (Num. 16:31-35)

                • This was not the first time that someone spoke out against Moses

                  • His brother and sister did it earlier (Aaron & Miriam) as we see in Numbers 12:1-16

                  • When they spoke against Moses, the Lord asked them to step outside of the Tent of Meeting

                  • The Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and had Aaron and Miriam step forward, so He could speak to them

                  • When the cloud lifted, Miriam was covered with a skin disease that was white like snow

                • PRINCIPLE #2 – God holds us accountable for how we treat His leaders.

                  • Korah and his group and Miriam were held accountable for speaking against and opposing God’s chosen leader

                  • God holds us accountable for speaking against and opposing His chosen leaders in our life (boss, supervisor, parent, teacher, pastor, etc.)

                  • God uses different ways to hold us accountable today

                  • He hasn’t caused the earth to open up and swallow a group of people

                  • Perhaps some of the illnesses we experience today may be God holding us accountable

                  • We may not have advanced at our job, because we have not respected the leader that God has placed over us

                  • Read Romans 13:1-7

                  • #2 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Repent of speaking against or opposing God’s chosen leader(s) in my life.

                  • God will hold us accountable for how we treat His leaders

              • Fortunately for Korah his line did not die out because of his sin (Num. 26:11) – God obviously spared his sons (perhaps they did not join their father in his opposition of Moses and Aaron)

            • Nepheg (neh’-feg/nef’-egg), meaning “sprout”

            • Zicri (zik-ree’/zek-ree’), meaning “memorable”

          • Uzziel’s (ooz-zee-ale’/uz-zee-el’) sons

            • Mishael (mee-shaw-ale’/mee-sha-el’), meaning “who is what God is”

            • Elzaphan (el-ee-tsaw-fawn’/elite-sa-fawn’), meaning “my God has protected”

            • Sithri (sith-ree’), meaning “protection of Jehovah”

          • We finally get to Aaron’s line

        • Aaron’s family

          • Aaron’s wife

            • Elisheba (el-ee-sheh’-bah/el-ee-sheh’-vah), meaning “my God has sworn” or “God is an oath”

            • Elisheba’s family

              • Father – Amminadab (am-mee-naw-dawb’/ah-mean-ah-dawv’), meaning “my kinsman is noble”

              • Brother – Nahshon (nakh-shone’), meaning “enchanter”

              • “The marriage of Aaron to Elisheba (v. 23) is possibly highlighted because her father Amminadab and his son Nahshon are both named in lists involving the ancestry of King David from the tribe of Judah. ​​ This link might have enhanced Aaron’s standing within the Israelite community (Sarna, 1991: 27).” ​​ [Alexander, Apollos Old Testament Commentary, Volume 2, Exodus, 137]

              • “Her brother, Nahshon, is the individual from the tribe of Judah who assists Moses in taking the census (Num. 1:7).” ​​ [Hamilton, Exodus: An Exegetical Commentary, 109]

            • Aaron and Elisheba have four sons

          • Aaron’s sons

            • Group 1

              • Nadab (naw-dawb’/naw-dawv’), meaning “generous”

              • Abihu (ab-ee-hoo’/av-ee-hoo’), meaning “he is (my) father”

              • Perhaps the author grouped Aaron’s sons together because of what happened to the two oldest ones

                • We find the narrative in Leviticus 10:1-5

                  • Read Leviticus 10:1-5

                  • God was serious about the role of priest and the purity of worship to Him

                • PRINCIPLE #3 – God is concerned about our worship being pure.

                  • Hold on to that thought for now

                  • We will explore this principle further when get to Aaron’s grandson

              • The second group was Aaron’s two younger sons who served as priests, with Eleazar following his father as high priest

            • Group 2

              • Eleazar (el-aw-zawr’), meaning “God has helped”

                • Eleazar’s wife

                  • We are not given her name

                  • She is the daughter of Putiel (poo-tee-ale’/poo-tee-el’), meaning “afflicted of God”

                  • She bore Eleazar a son

                • Eleazar’s son

                  • Phinehas (pee-nekh-aws’/peen-khaus’), meaning “mouth of brass”

                  • PRINCIPLE #1 – “God’s purpose reaches backward and FORWARD.” [Enns, 177]

                  • Phinehas’ was zealous for God’s honor as we see in Numbers 25:1-15 (read that passage)

                • PRINCIPLE #3 – God is concerned about our worship being pure.

                  • We have to be careful that our corporate worship is not characterized as unauthorized (our worship has to be done in a manner that is pleasing to the Lord)

                  • We also have to make sure that we are worshiping the Lord and not idols (anything that takes precedence over the Lord in our lives is an idol)

                  • Is our worship at church focused on God or on something else? (style of music, volume of music, expression in worship, etc.)

                  • Is our personal worship pure and free from idols?

                  • #3 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Evaluate how I am worshiping the Lord to make sure it is pure.

              • Ithamar (eeth-aw-mawr’), meaning “coast of palms”

        • The author concludes the genealogy by stating that these were the heads of the Levite families, clan by clan, which transitions us to the final point

        • God can use our past to prepare us for our future.

    • Transition In (vv. 26-27)

        • At the beginning the author transitioned us out of the narrative to highlight the credentials of Moses and Aaron

        • Now, he is transitioning us back to the narrative

        • The same guys

          • The author wants us to know that the same guys he was talking about at the beginning and whose genealogy we just reviewed are still in view

          • The order of the brother’s names is Aaron, then Moses, because we have just finished talking about Aaron’s family line

          • The Lord directed these two men to bring the Israelites out of Egypt by their divisions

            • The word “divisions” is significant here

            • “The Israelites would not leave Egypt as fleeing slaves but as an army marching to the promised land in military formation.” ​​ [Tigay cited by Hamilton, 110]

          • Aaron and Moses were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh about bringing the Israelites out of Egypt

        • The author reverses the names to Moses and Aaron to prepare us for the return to the narrative where Moses will be like God to Pharaoh and Aaron would be his prophet

 

  • YOU

    • Are you ready to worship the Lord for accomplishing His purpose in your life through your ancestors?

    • Do you need to repent of speaking against or opposing God’s chosen leader(s) in your life?

    • Do you need to evaluate how you are worshiping the Lord to make sure it is pure?

 

  • WE

    • We can worship the Lord for accomplishing His purpose in the life of the church through our spiritual ancestors.

    • Have we spoken against or opposed God’s chosen leaders as a church and do we need to repent?

    • We strive to have worship that is pure

 

CONCLUSION

In CT Magazine, Carlos Ferrer shares his journey from communist Cuba to faith in Christ:

 

From the earliest time I can remember, I had an intense longing for peace. Born in Havana, Cuba, in the early 1950s, I was aware from a young age that our country was in a constant state of violence. At night, it was common for our family to hear gunfire and bombs going off in the distance. These were the beginning years of Fidel Castro’s Cuban Revolution.

 

On January 8, 1959, Castro marched into the streets of Havana, and I thought peace had finally been achieved. It wasn’t long, however, before ordinary Cubans began to grasp the true nature of the new communist regime. The government started taking over farmland and businesses, which roused a movement dedicated to overthrowing Castro.

 

Seeing no future on the island, we decided to make our escape later that year, boarding a commercial ship headed for Veracruz, Mexico. We left in the middle of the night, taking nothing but the clothes we were wearing. My grandfather had some distant cousins living in Mexico City. After we landed in Mexico, they took us into their home for a few months.

 

In April of 1962, members of my immediate family received resident green cards, allowing us to enter the United States legally and we left for Miami. Then a breakthrough happened: A Baptist church in California answered my father’s application to relocate from Miami.

 

This church sponsored our family so that we could begin a new life in Santa Barbara. Its generous people found a job for my dad, rented us a house for six months, and supplied us with basic necessities. I couldn’t help but wonder what was motivating these acts of compassion. Why would these people display such love and generosity when we were all but strangers? The question lingered with me for years.

 

I decided to attend the University of Texas in Austin. As a student, I was confronting some of the biggest questions of life, questions about career, family, and faith. One day I heard a knock on my dorm room door. I opened it to find two students, who told me they were sharing their faith in God with others. They asked the question I most needed at that juncture: ‘Would you want to have a relationship with Christ, who wants to bring you inner peace and eternal salvation?’

 

I immediately said yes, and we prayed together. Soon thereafter, I thought back to the people of that Baptist church in California, and a light bulb came on in my brain. Why had they helped us? Now it made perfect sense: Because Jesus had loved them so abundantly, they wanted to share that love with others … through their generosity and kindness.

 

A few years later, the Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention (now the North American Mission Board) came calling, offering the position of financial controller. After taking the job, I heard that my new employer had been involved in helping resettle Cuban refugees in the 1960s. I asked if, by chance, the organization had worked with any churches in California.

 

The leader of the mission board’s refugee resettlement office called me over. He was holding a file folder. With tears in his eyes, he said, ‘Carlos, this is the church that sponsored your family. This is your file.’ You can imagine my complete astonishment. What an amazing path the Lord had prepared for me years before I even considered inviting him into my life.

 

Nearly half a century has passed since my decision to follow Jesus, and I have no regrets. I am eternally thankful for the people God placed in my life to bring me the peace I always desired.

 

Source: Carlos Ferrer, “Fleeing Castro, Finding Christ,” CT Magazine (November, 2019), pp. 103-104.

 

[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2021/november/fleeing-castro-finding-christ.html]

13

 

/by

The God That Will . . .

, , ,

Rescued

The God That Will . . .

(Exodus 5:22-6:12)

 

INTRODUCTION

“When I was a boy growing up outside of New York City, I was an avid fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers. In fact, I have not yet quite forgiven them for moving west. The archenemy in my childhood was the New York Yankees. I had seen them only on television and heard them only on the radio until I was invited by my father to skip school and to go to the World Series game between the Yankees and the Dodgers. I'll tell you, it was one of the great thrills of my childhood. I remember sitting there, smelling the hot dogs and hearing the cheers of the crowd and the feel of it all. I knew those Dodgers were going to shellac those Yankees once and for all. Unfortunately the Dodgers never got on base, so my thrill was shattered. I tucked it away somewhere in my unconscious until, as an adult, I was in a conversation with one of these fellows who was a walking sports almanac. I mentioned to him when I went to my first major league game. I said, ‘It was such a disappointment. I was a Dodger fan and the Dodgers never got on base.’

 

He said, ‘You were there? You were at the game when Don Larsen pitched the only perfect game in all of World Series history?’

 

I said, ‘Yeah, but, uh, we lost.’ I was so caught up in my team's defeat that I missed out on the fact that I was a witness to a far greater page of history.”

 

Source: Leith Anderson, "Unlistened-to Lessons of Life," Preaching Today, Tape 48.

 

[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/1995/november/1178.html]

 

BODY

  • ME

    • Knowing God

        • I have been more aware recently of God’s still small voice

        • He has spoken to me through His Word on several occasions in the past several months

        • He has also spoken to me in my spirit, prompting me to do certain things

        • While He has certainly done the same thing in years past, I am finding a strong desire to be obedient immediately to His voice

        • Through His prompting and my immediate obedience, I have been growing in my knowledge of God and who He is and what He wants me to do for His glory

        • Being obedient to His still small voice means that I have to rearrange my schedule and priorities to line up with His

        • I have experienced His promises coming true in my life as a result

    • Filling in for my pastor

        • After I told my pastor in Southern California that God was calling me to be a pastor, he encouraged me to start leading a small group Bible study, which I did

        • One of the other things he asked to do was fill in for him at Calvary Chapel Bible College

          • I was nervous, because I was using his notes to teach

          • During one of the classes I read an illustration that was a personal one for him, but did not apply to me

          • After reading it I stumbled around to try to fix my faux pas

          • The students and I just laughed, I apologized, and we moved on

 

  • WE

    • Knowing God

        • How many of us have heard God’s still small voice prompting us?

        • Have we been obedient to that prompting?

        • Have we experienced His promises coming true in our lives and, through that, grown in our knowledge of Him?

 

Moses was hurt and discouraged by the treatment he received from the Israelite foremen. ​​ He turned to the Lord with questions and was encouraged that the Lord was going to make Himself known to them by what He was going to do for them. ​​ He was going to fulfill His covenant promise! ​​ The Lord gave Moses a message for the Israelites that they were not able to receive, because their focus was on what Pharaoh was doing to them, instead of what God was going to do for them. ​​ Moses fell into the same mindset when the Lord told him to go back to Pharaoh. ​​ God’s fulfillment of His promises to the Israelites would help them know who He was. ​​ The same is true for us. ​​ When God fulfills His promises to us, we can know Him more. ​​ What the author wants us to understand is that . . .

 

BIG IDEA – We can know God through His promises.

 

Let’s pray

 

  • GOD (Exodus 5:22-6:12)

    • Problem (vv. 5:22-23)

        • Moses returned to the Lord

          • When the Israelite foremen accused Moses and Aaron and called down judgment on them, Moses did not retaliate

          • He returned to the Lord and shared his questions

            • PRINCIPLE #1 – God is pleased when we return to Him with our questions.

              • God knew what He was doing with Pharaoh and the Israelites, because He is all-knowing, eternal, holy, righteous, and sovereign

              • God knows what He is doing with our political leaders, bosses, supervisors, parents, anyone who is in a position of authority over us

              • God knows what He is doing with us, too

              • Too often, we want to question those in authority over us and take out our frustration on them, especially when they accuse or reprimand us

              • Yet, God is able to do far above what we can ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20)

              • What questions do you have for the Lord today?

              • #1 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Take my questions to the Lord instead of retaliating against an accuser.

            • God is pleased when we come to Him with our questions and concerns

            • “It is okay to cry out with questions. ​​ Even Jesus, while on the cross, cried out, ‘Why have You forsaken Me?’ (Matt 27:46). ​​ These questions are not sinful. ​​ They just need to be humble, honest, and faithful. ​​ Ask God your questions! ​​ But do not ask sinfully or rebelliously. ​​ And remember, God does not have to answer our questions (He never answered all of Job’s!), but He does hear our questions.” ​​ [Merida, Christ-Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus In Exodus, 39]

          • That is what Moses did – he took his questions to the Lord when he was accused

        • Questions for God

          • Moses questioned God on three levels [Merida, 39]

            • His goodness

              • Why have you brought trouble on Your people?

              • Ever since Moses spoke to Pharaoh in the Lord’s name, Pharaoh had brought trouble on the Israelites

              • Moses just did not understand what God was doing – he could not see the big picture

              • Moses obviously thought this exodus/rescue was going to be quick and easy

              • As believers, we have to learn that, “God’s timing only sometimes coincides with our expectations, and his idea of the hardships we need to go through only sometimes coincides with our idea of how much we can take.” ​​ [Stuart, The New American Commentary, Volume 2, Exodus, 169]

            • His purpose

              • Did You send me to bring trouble on the Israelites?

              • I thought You sent me to rescue the Israelites?

              • What am I not understanding about my purpose, Lord?

            • His actions

              • Are You going to rescue Your people, Lord?

              • It does not look that way right now

          • How many of us have questioned God’s goodness, purpose, and actions in our lives?

            • Those of us in leadership positions have probably questioned the Lord on these three levels at some time in our lives, because we have experienced opposition by those we lead

            • “God’s chosen servants must expect opposition and misunderstanding, because that’s part of what it means to be a leader; and leaders must know how to get alone with God, pour out their hearts, and seek His strength and wisdom. ​​ Spiritual leaders must be bold before people but broken before God (see Jer. 1) and must claim God’s promises and do His will even when everything seems to be against them.” ​​ [Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, Pentateuch, 187]

            • I want to encourage everyone to be praying for Mike Johnson, the Speaker of the House, because he is already experiencing opposition because of his Judeo-Christian beliefs (pray that he will be bold before people but broken before God and that he will do God’s will even when everything and everyone seems to be against him)

        • As we move into our second point, notice that God does not answer Moses’ question of “Why?”

        • What does the Lord do?

          • He reminds Moses that He is all-powerful

          • He reminds Moses that He is in control and His plan will not be thwarted

        • “Many believers believe in God’s sovereignty theologically, but practically they are emotional train wrecks! ​​ They have not worked this truth down deep into their hearts.” ​​ [Merida, 40]

    • Promise (vv. 6:1-8)

        • Power (v. 1)

          • The Lord reassures Moses that He is going to act, He will rescue His people with His mighty hand

          • Pharaoh will not only let the Israelites go, he will drive them out of Egypt

            • Exodus 3:20, So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. ​​ After that, he will let you go.

            • Exodus 12:31, 33, 39, During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Up! ​​ Leave my people, you and the Israelites! ​​ Go, worship the Lord as you have requested.” . . . The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and leave the country. ​​ “For otherwise,” they said, “we will all die!” . . . With the dough they had brought from Egypt, they baked cakes of unleavened bread. ​​ The dough was without yeast because they had been driven out of Egypt and did not have time to prepare food for themselves.

            • God’s mighty hand would be evident through the ten plagues that Egypt was about to experience

          • PRINCIPLE #2 – God will accomplish His plan through His mighty hand.

            • We can trust in God’s mighty hand to accomplish His plan in our lives, too

            • As we return to the Lord and ask Him our questions about what is currently going on in our lives, He will remind us that He is in control, He is all-mighty, He is sovereign, and so much more

            • In what area of your life do you need to trust God’s mighty hand to accomplish His plan?

              • Is it finances, relationships, employment, schooling, housing, health, retirement, spiritual, etc.

              • Take a moment to identify that area

              • Let the Lord know that you are trusting Him to accomplish His plan with His mighty hand

              • #2 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Trust God’s mighty hand to accomplish His plan concerning ____________.

            • Moses and the Israelites were going to know God through His promise to rescue them

            • We can know God through His promises.

          • The Lord assured Moses that His power is coming – He will keep His promise to rescue the Israelites

          • The Lord had not forgotten about his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the past

        • Past (vv. 2-5)

          • God had appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as El-Shaddai (God Almighty)

          • YHWH

            • What did God mean when He said that had not made Himself know to the patriarchs by the name YHWH?

              • He is certainly referred to in Genesis as YHWH when we read about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

              • Some scholars believe that the second half of verse 3 has a short statement followed by a question, “My name is YWHW. ​​ Did I not make myself known to them?” [Alexander, Apollos Old Testament Commentary, Volume 2, Exodus, 125]

              • Most scholars believe that God was going to make Himself known to Moses in a way that He had not with the patriarchs

              • “The issue is not knowledge of the name per se, but how God most fully makes himself known as Yahweh. . . . This knowledge turns on the events of the exodus . . . Abraham did not know him as he would be known in the exodus.” [Hamilton, Exodus: An Exegetical Commentary, 101-02]

              • God would be known on a deeper and fuller level than He had previously been known as He fulfills His promises to the Israelites

                • We can know God through His promises.

                • The amazing thing is that we have more of God’s Words and promises, than Moses and the Israelites had

                • We have an incredible opportunity to fully know what has been revealed about God through the fulfillment of His promise to send His Son, Jesus

                • But the complete knowledge of God is still beyond our grasp, but one day we will know Him completely as we are fully known

                • 1 Corinthians 13:12, Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. ​​ Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

            • While the patriarchs were familiar with His name, YWHW, they did not know the Lord like Moses and the Israelites would

          • Covenant with the patriarchs

            • God reminded Moses of the covenant He made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

            • God promised to give them the land of Canaan where they lived as aliens

            • Genesis 15:18-21, On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates – the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”

            • Genesis 17:7-8, “I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. ​​ The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.”

          • Heard and remembered

            • God was aware of the Israelites discouragement and cruel bondage – He had heard their groaning

            • He remembered His covenant and was ready to act

            • PRINCIPLE #3 – God hears our cries and is ready to act!

              • Psalm 35:17, The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.

              • Isaiah 65:24, Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.

              • 1 Peter 3:12, For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.

            • Hold on to that truth today

          • God had assured Moses of His power and His past covenant with the patriarchs, but now He shared His plan for the present situation

        • Present (vv. 6-8)

          • Therefore

            • What is the therefore, there for?

            • Because God is all-powerful and He always keeps His promises, this is what Moses was to tell the Israelites

          • Seven “I will” statements that can be categorized three ways

            • Liberation

              • I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians

              • I will free (deliver/rescue) you from being slaves to them

              • I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment

                • Redeem

                  • The Hebrew word for redeem means “to buy back what was originally one’s own.” ​​ [Hamilton, 103]

                  • In Exodus 4:22, the Lord referred to Israel as His firstborn son

                  • This is a family affair and God is restoring the family unit

                • Outstretched arm

                  • This “is a metaphor of power in action (3:20).” ​​ [Mackay, Exodus: A Mentor Commentary, 126]

                  • God’s power in action would be done with righteous indignation

                • Mighty acts of judgment

                  • This is probably a forewarning of the plagues that are about to be released on Egypt

                  • God will use these mighty acts of judgment to correct the cruel bondage the Israelites had experienced [Mackay, 126]

                  • These mighty acts would force Pharaoh’s hand – he would release the Israelites and urge them to leave

              • The Israelites would no longer be slaves in Egypt, but be rescued and redeemed

            • Adoption

              • I will take you as my own people

                • The literal translation reads, “I will take you to me/myself [lî] as a people.” [Hamilton, 103]

                • God desired to be in relationship with the Israelites

              • I will be your God

                • Their liberation was not only from an oppressive regime, but so they could have an ongoing self-dedication to God [Mackay, 126]

                • They would have to leave behind any idols they had accumulated in Egypt or any feelings of Pharaoh worship

              • “Before God desires to bring Israel to Canaan, he desires to bring Israel to himself. As Janzen (1997: 54-55) correctly says, ‘God’s aim and desire are not simply to bring us into the land but to bring us into intimate relation with God.’ ​​ Fellowship and intimacy trump relocation.” ​​ [Hamilton, 103]

            • Acquisition

              • I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to your forefathers

                • The uplifted hand represented an oath

                • Think about taking an oath in our culture today

                  • In a court of law we raise our right hand and swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth

                  • The President of the United States on inauguration day places their hand on a Bible and raises their right hand while swearing an oath to our country

                • God had sworn an oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

              • I will give it to you as a possession

                • Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were only aliens living in Canaan

                • These Israelites would own the land in Canaan

          • The Israelites liberation, adoption, and acquisition would happen, because it was the Lord who was doing it

        • Moses probably left his time with the Lord feeling encouraged, renewed, refreshed, and ready to take on the world

    • Pressure (v. 9)

        • Moses’ emotions were probably on a roller coaster

          • He was down after talking with the Israelite foremen

          • He was up after spending time with the Lord

          • He was down after talking with the Israelites

          • How many of us can relate to that? (depending on who we are talking to our emotions can be all over the place)

        • The Israelites were not in a mental state to be able to hear the awesome, encouraging news from the Lord – rescue was on the way

          • They were experiencing anguish and oppression-induced exhaustion

          • “Faith is often diminished by hardship because emotions play a powerful part in most human thinking, and thinking can become increasingly pessimistic when any sort of pain continues unabated.” ​​ [Stuart, 173]

          • How many of us understand those feelings?

          • PRINCIPLE #4 – When we are hurting and discouraged it is hard to listen to the Lord.

            • Certainly at first we may be strong and resilient when hardship comes our way, but the longer we experience pain and suffering the harder it is to maintain hope

            • When we feel like the Lord is not answering our prayers or bringing the healing and help we want, it can be easy to stop praying, reading the Bible, and/or going to church

            • Because we cannot see the big picture, we begin to give up and give in

            • “John Newton said that the way the Christian might endure trials is by considering the doctrine of glorification, which includes inheritance. ​​ Newton said the Christian should not complain, murmur, or despair in light of all that is coming. ​​ He said we should imagine a man who inherited a really large estate, worth millions, and he had to go to New York City to get it. ​​ As he journeyed there, his carriage broke down, leaving him to walk the last one mile. ​​ Can you imagine that man saying, ‘My carriage is broken, my carriage is broken,’ kicking and complaining in disgust when he has only a mile to go to receive a million? ​​ Christian, we only have a few miles to go! (Piper, “Children, Heirs, and Fellow Sufferers”). ​​ Rest in God’s promises and faithfulness!” ​​ [Merida, 45]

            • “They were so broken that they would not listen to the promise of freedom.” ​​ [Ryken cited by Merida, 45]

            • Are you so broken that you cannot listen to the promise of freedom?

            • Do you need to focus on the doctrine of glorification while you are experiencing pain and suffering?

            • #3 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Listen to the Lord even though I am experiencing the pain and suffering of ___________.

          • PRINCIPLE #5 – We can anticipate opposition when we are carrying out God’s work.

            • As leaders and ambassadors for Christ, this is a common reality

            • How often do we experience opposition when we try to share the hope of eternity with family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers

            • I want to encourage you today to keep up the good fight – don’t give up!

            • 1 Timothy 6:12, Fight the good fight of the faith. ​​ Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

        • While Moses is feeling the pressure from the Israelites, the Lord asked him to go back to Pharaoh

    • Protest (vv. 10-12)

        • The Lord instructs Moses to go tell Pharaoh to the Israelites go out of the country

        • Moses protests, because if the Israelites would not listen to him, and they were his own people, why would Pharaoh

        • Moses returns to his familiar excuse of having faltering lips

          • Perhaps a better translation of the Hebrew word for “faltering” is “uncircumcised”

          • “Moses was not saying that he had a speech impediment (“faltering lips”); he was rather saying (disingenuously) that he was ‘not ready for public speaking,’ using the metaphorical language of circumcision.” ​​ [Stuart, 174]

          • This may be a reference back to the narrative when Zipporah circumcised their son in order to protect Moses

            • God could not use Moses to accomplish His plan of rescue and fulfillment of His covenant, if Moses was not following the covenant command

            • Perhaps Moses thought if he used the language of circumcision, pertaining to his lips, that God would release him from this mission

            • But, God knew better – Moses was His man!

        • This will be evident through the genealogy that we will look at next week in Exodus 6:13-27

 

  • YOU

    • Are you ready to take your questions to the Lord instead of retaliating against your accuser?

    • What do you need to trust God’s mighty hand to accomplish in your life?

    • Do you need to listen to the Lord even though you are experiencing the pain and suffering?

 

  • WE

    • We need to take our questions to the Lord.

    • We need to trust God’s mighty hand to accomplish His plan for our church.

    • We need to listen to the Lord even though we are experiencing pain and suffering.

 

CONCLUSION

“Stuart Briscoe preached his first sermon at age 17. He didn’t know much about the topic assigned him by an elder. But he researched the church of Ephesus until he had a pile of notes and three points, as seemed proper for a sermon. Then he stood before the Brethren in a British Gospel Hall and preached.

 

And preached. And preached. He kept going until he used up more than his allotted time just to reach the end of the first point and still kept going, until finally he looked up from his notes and made a confession.

 

‘I’m terribly sorry,’ he said. ‘I don’t know how to stop.’ Briscoe recalled in his memoir that a man from the back shouted out, ‘Just shut up and sit down.’ That might have been the end of his preaching career. But he was invited to preach again the next week. And he continued preaching for seven more decades.

 

In the process Briscoe became a better preacher, discovered he had a gift, and was encouraged to develop it. He ultimately preached in more than 100 countries around the world and to a growing and multiplying church in America.

 

When Briscoe died on August 3, 2022, at the age of 91, he was known as a great preacher who spoke with clarity, loved the people he preached to, and had a deep trust in the work of the Holy Spirit.

 

He once wrote,

 

My primary concern in preaching is to glorify God through his Son. I’ve worked hard to preach effectively. But I’ve also learned to trust as well. Farmers plow their lands, plant their seed, and then go home to bed, awaiting God’s germinating laws to work. Surgeons only cut; God heals. I must give my full energy to doing my part in the pulpit, but the ultimate success of my preaching rests in God.

 

Source: Daniel Sillman, "Died: Stuart Briscoe, Renowned British Preacher and Wisconsin Pastor," Christianity Today (8-8-22).

 

[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2023/january/stuart-briscoe-learned-to-trust-god-in-his-preaching.html].

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