Resisting the LORD Exodus 6:28 - 7:19

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January 2, 2022 - Morning Service Faith Bible Church, Sacramento, CA Message - Resisting the LORD

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Well good morning everyone and welcome to Faith Bible Church and a happy new year to everyone.
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It seems like it's been a short year and a long year all at the same time. It's hard to explain.
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We've kind of lost our routines and kind of gone off on some tangents, haven't we all, but we're blessed.
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The church has stayed open and we thank the Lord for that. For announcements, men's
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Bible study next Saturday in the afternoon. Evening prayer meeting every week at six o 'clock.
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And we had this morning Evangelism Sunday, first Sunday of the month. If you think about it,
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I know sometimes it's hard and schedule to get up to come into Bible study in the morning, but try it on that first Sunday for evangelism where pastors going through some literature, some material in how to evangelize and how to see the
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Lord work in the lives of those around us. And that's how to learn to do that in an honoring way.
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So please put that on your calendars. First Sunday of the month, Evangelism Sunday, we're calling it. So as 2021 comes to a close, it seems like our society has been fraught with lots of fear, lots of hopelessness, lots of despair.
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And that's the worldly view of where we're at. And it's pretty desperate place.
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But as Christians, we can replace that fear and that hopelessness with Christ, with the fear of and the reverence of our
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Lord Jesus Christ. It's a different kind of fear. When we say fear of the Lord, it's not a crouching,
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I'm afraid kind of fear, but it's a reverent fear. It's an awe of a God that is mighty and great and majestic and so much bigger than our circumstances.
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And I'd like to read just as an encouragement as we go into this new year and as we prepare for worship this morning, as we're having communion afterwards.
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It's Psalm 34, and you can just listen along, but it's verses 1 through 10.
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It says, I will bless the Lord. And this is David who's been through a lot. He's just been beat up and he's hiding and he's been persecuted.
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He's just running around and he takes a moment and he turns and he looks to the Lord. And that's where his strength comes from.
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And we can do and should do the very same thing that King David did. I will bless the Lord at all times.
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His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord. The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
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O magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together. I sought the
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Lord and he heard me and delivered me from all my fears. They looked to him and were radiant and their faces were not ashamed.
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This poor man cried out and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.
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The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear him and delivers them. O taste and see the
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Lord is good. See that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man who trusts in him.
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O fear the Lord you his saints. There is no want to those who fear him. The young lion lacks and suffers hunger and it lack lions lack and suffer hunger.
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But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing. Praise the Lord. Amen. And last thing
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I want to remind you the voice magazine is on the back table and it's there for you to take. So please take one and read it and be edified.
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OK let's pray together. Lord God we thank you father for bringing us here today.
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That we have so much to be thankful for father. That Lord we can get distracted by the fears that that are all around us.
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The things that this broken world that surrounds his father. But God we need to look up.
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We need to see that you are greater than all of our troubles and all of our fears. Because you are the creator and the origin of all things on this earth.
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Father we need to trust in you that we need to love you. And God we thank you that we can gather this morning.
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We pray that you would bless this service that the Holy Spirit would guide and lead us in our worship.
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That as we lift our voices as we hear the word of God preached and proclaimed. That we would give you praise in the midst of it father.
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That you would be glorified in all that we do father. So God we ask for comfort for those that aren't here today.
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We ask for comfort for the Shimmerhorns. We ask for healing father if it's your will for Audrey.
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And many others father that are unnamed even people today that are in our midst father. That are going through trials and tribulations father.
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God may you comfort them. May you surround them in your love and your care. And shepherd them father as only you can.
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So God continue to guide this church. May you keep us always seeking you and all that we do.
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That we would honor you father. So we praise you and give you thanks in all things. In Christ's name.
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Amen. Good morning. We have Jesus. And we have this hope as an anchor for the soul.
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Firm and secure. Let's stand and sing to our Lord. Thank you.
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Please be seated. Good morning. Scripture reading this morning is from the book of Revelation.
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Revelation chapter 16 verses 4 through 6. Revelation chapter 16 verses 4 through 6.
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Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water.
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And they became blood. And I heard the angel of the water saying. You are righteous oh
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Lord. The one who is. And who was. And who is to be.
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Because you have judged these things. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets.
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And you have given them blood to drink. For it is their just due. May the
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Lord add his blessing to the reading and hearing of his holy word. Will the righteous have a greater reward in Christ.
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And my hope is in the Lord. And let's stand and sing to our Lord. My hope is in the
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Lord. Who gave himself for me.
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And paid the price of all my sin at Calvary.
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For me he died. For me he lives.
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And everlasting life and life he freely gives.
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All to Jesus I surrender.
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All to him I freely give.
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I will trust him in his presence daily live.
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I surrender all.
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I surrender all.
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All to thee my blessed saviour.
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I surrender all. Please be seated at this time.
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Children are now dismissed to children's churches. Pastor comes. Please turn with me to Exodus chapter 6 verse 28.
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Through Exodus chapter 7 verse 18. Exodus 6 verse 28.
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Exodus chapter 7 verse 18. And it came to pass on that day the
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Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt. That the Lord spoke to Moses saying I am the
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Lord. Speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you. But Moses said before the
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Lord behold I am of uncircumcised lips. And how shall Pharaoh heed me? So the
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Lord said to Moses see I have made you as God to Pharaoh. And Aaron your brother shall be your prophet.
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You shall speak all that I command you. And Aaron your brother shall tell Pharaoh to send the children of Israel out of his land.
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And I will harden Pharaoh's heart and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.
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But Pharaoh will not heed you so that I may lay my hand on Egypt and bring my armies and my people.
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The children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. And the
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Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord. When I stretch my hand on Egypt and bring out the children of Israel from among them.
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That Moses and Aaron did so just as the Lord commanded them so they did. And Moses was 80 years old and Aaron 83 years old when they spoke to Pharaoh.
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Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron saying when Pharaoh speaks to you saying show a miracle for yourselves.
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Then you shall say to Aaron take your rod and cast it before Pharaoh and let it become a serpent.
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So Moses and Aaron went into Pharaoh and they did so just as the Lord commanded.
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And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants and it became a serpent.
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But Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers so that the magicians of Egypt they also did in like manner with their enchantments.
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For every man threw down his rod and they became serpents. But Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods.
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And Pharaoh's heart grew hard and he did not heed them as the Lord had said.
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So the Lord said to Moses Pharaoh's heart is hard he refuses to let the people go.
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Go to Pharaoh in the morning when he goes out to the water you shall stand by the river's bank to meet him.
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And the rod which was turned to a serpent you shall take in your hand. And you shall say to him the
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Lord God of the Hebrews has sent me to you saying let my people go that they may serve me in the wilderness.
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But indeed until now you would not hear. Thus says the Lord by this you shall know that I am the
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Lord. Behold I will strike the waters which are in the river with the rod that is in my hand and they shall be turned to blood.
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And the fish that are in the river shall die. The river shall stink and the
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Egyptians will loathe to drink the water of the river. This is the word of the
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Lord. Let us pray. Father we are so thankful that we do not face any judgment because your son has faced the judgment that we deserved on the cross.
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Father we pray that this message what you have to say to us this morning would nourish our hearts and renew our minds.
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In Jesus name. Amen. Here we have a story.
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We have a narrative a historical account of Moses returning back to Pharaoh to deliver
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God's message. And each account builds up.
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At first it's just the message deliverance. What God has to say to Pharaoh. Then second there is a supernatural sign.
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The rod turns into a serpent. Yet the Pharaoh doesn't change his mind. Then third the
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Lord threatens judgment. And that's how it works.
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God first sends his prophet to deliver his message.
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And if the intended audience still rejects it God uses greater signs.
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And in the end the stubbornness of the audience's heart leads to judgment.
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And that's how it will be in this life even after the canon of the
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Bible has been closed. We know that from the book of Revelation. Despite all the signs and words from God there will still be people who will be rejecting
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God's word. And not submit to God's commands. And this is really important for us today.
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Because we are living in a world where the final judgment is not yet here.
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But we are living in a world where the final judgment is guaranteed.
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It's coming. And what we need to do from this text.
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It shows us despite the resistance that you will get from obeying the
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Lord and obeying his commands. We have to keep at it despite the rejections and the resistance from the world.
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That's why the main point of this text is that we must faithfully obey the
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Lord despite the rejections. Because the Lord will judge. We must faithfully obey the
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Lord despite the rejections because the Lord will judge. We do have a deadline.
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We do have a due date. And we can't be discouraged by the resistance we face when we go according to the word of God.
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And each section of this text starts with, and the
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Lord said. Despite Pharaoh's stubborn response, each section
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Moses returns to, and the Lord said. In the end, it goes back to the word of God.
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And the Lord gives Moses instructions. And after each part, it has the phrase, and they did as the
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Lord commanded. Despite the resistance, despite the rejections, despite the discouragement, the servants of God kept at it.
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They did as the Lord commanded. And that's what we're going to see today in this text.
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So our first point is from chapter 6, verse 28 through chapter 7, verse 7.
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The first point is, despite our inadequacy, we must faithfully proclaim
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God's word. Despite our inadequacy, despite what we lack, despite what we don't have, we must faithfully proclaim
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God's word. So after sharing Moses and Aaron's family background from the last verse, the narrative picks up where it left off.
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The Lord commissions Moses now to speak to Pharaoh in verse 29.
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I am the Lord. Speak to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, all that I say to you.
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Here, the Lord intends to reveal himself to a foreign king, who he is, through what he does.
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In response, Moses brings up his inadequacy in verse 30. Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how shall
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Pharaoh heed me? Translation, how can I speak before the king of Egypt, even when my own people won't listen to me?
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How can I persuade the stubborn king of Egypt, who has rejected me already? Right?
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Moses, this is not his first time going to Pharaoh. This will be the second time.
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However, we have to consider what God is asking Moses to do.
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Both in verse 29 and chapter 7, verse 2, Moses' job is clear.
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He is to speak all that God says to him. Right? Verse 2, you shall speak all that I command you.
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This means Moses does not speak just a little of what God has told him. This means
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Moses does not speak to some of what God has spoke to him. Moses must speak all that God says to him.
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And what are Aaron and Moses to say? The content of the message is the second half of verse 2.
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And Aaron, your brother, shall tell Pharaoh to send the children of Israel out of his land.
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The message is of deliverance, freedom from enslavement.
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Notice that it's his land. It's Pharaoh's land. It's not Israel's land.
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It's Pharaoh's land that has enslavement. It's Pharaoh's land that is oppressing
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God's people. And this merciful God wants the message of deliverance as a warning to Pharaoh.
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You better let my people go. And this is the function of the prophets.
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We see Moses as one of the earlier prophets. They do not have to speak eloquently.
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After all, Moses is not confident about his speaking style. He says his lips are uncircumcised.
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Inadequate. And they do not have to speak originally. They don't have to have original content.
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They don't come up with the words themselves. And in fact, they do not have to persuade the hearts of the hearers.
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Right? God doesn't task him to persuade Pharaoh. That's not the point.
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No, they are tasked with clearly speaking all that comes out of God's mouth to the designated audience.
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A prophet's job is not to start a revival. A prophet's job is not to become famous on his own power.
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A prophet's ministry is not concerned with the outcome of the people who receive the message.
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A prophet is not judged based upon how many turn to God.
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They're judged based upon how faithful they are with the Word of God they're given.
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Who is tasked with the outcome of the hearers? Right? Then whose job is it to manage the outcome of the hearers?
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What they do with the message? Well, verse 3 tells us it's
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God. And I will harden Pharaoh's heart and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.
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We see that in two levels. Pharaoh will not let God's people go.
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And in the ultimate level, God will harden Pharaoh's heart so that God will multiply the signs and wonders in Egypt.
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Even Pharaoh's stubborn heart will serve a purpose in God's redemptive plan for his people.
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Through Pharaoh's hardened heart, God will perform many signs and wonders which we will see later on.
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Which will show that the Lord is greater than Egypt and all of her gods combined.
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God will be glorified even through a wicked man's hardened heart.
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The outcome belongs to God. It's not
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Moses' priority. Whatever happens after the message is proclaimed.
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Furthermore, verse 4 tells us the result. But Pharaoh will not heed you so that I may lay my hand on Egypt and bring my armies and my people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments.
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Despite Pharaoh's obstructions and obstinance, God's hand on Egypt will ultimately succeed in delivering his people out of Egypt.
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And judging Egypt for the enslavement of Israel. The metaphorical phrase of God's hand, of course
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God doesn't have a physical hand here. A hand did not show up in Egypt.
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But the metaphorical phrase God's hand contrasts with the hand of Egypt that we saw earlier.
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While the hand of Egyptians restrict and enslave
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God's people, the hand of God will deliver his people.
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While hand of Egyptian oppresses and kills people of God, the hand of God will give new life to his own people.
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There are two different masters here. One greater and one oppressive.
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One merciful, one wicked. Not only that, the same hand will judge
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Egypt for their crime against Israel. God is not passive in ignoring what happened to God's own people.
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God will take care of them. Now what is the purpose of the signs and wonders?
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Verse 5 tells us, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the
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Lord. When I stretch out my hand on Egypt and bring out the children of Israel from among them.
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When God's hand intervenes to free his people, even the slave masters will know the deity of Israel through the deliverance of his people.
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Even the enemies of God will acknowledge who the Lord is when he saves his very people.
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Historically, the gods of the conquered people were often ignored.
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Why would the winners worship the gods of the losers? We don't worship
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Japanese Shintoism. That's not our religion.
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That's never took place in America because Japan didn't win World War II.
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Might be a different story if they had won. America might have converted to Shintoism.
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But historically, the winning country does not acknowledge the gods of the losing country.
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That's just not the case. However, the
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Lord has been an exception to this historical trend. No matter who conquered
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God's people, the Lord was acknowledged by the rulers of the conquering nations.
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After the 10 plagues, Pharaoh and Egypt will know who the Lord is.
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Not only that, the surrounding regions will find out about who the Lord is. Why did
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Rahab, the prostitute of Jericho, hide the spies? Because she's heard what the Lord has done.
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Jericho was a fortified city, but she's heard who the Lord is.
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And this was even true after the Babylonian exile. Both Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and Darius of Persia acknowledge the
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Lord as the highest god in their decrees. These two great emperors who have taken
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Israel out of their land, in the end, acknowledge who the
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Lord is. As the highest god. Only the
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Lord has successfully elicited praises from his own enemies.
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He has the perfect track record of that. And this will culminate when
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Christ comes back. And when every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is
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Lord. And this is true whether you are on his side or not.
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The knees will bow and the tongues will confess whether you want to or not.
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That's the God we worship. And verse 6 confirms that Moses obeyed faithfully to what
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God commanded him to do. That Moses and Aaron did so just as the
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Lord commanded them. So they did. They followed exactly what
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God ordered them to do. Verse 7 tells us more detail about these men, who they are, what circumstances they're in.
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And Moses was 80 years old and Aaron 83 years old when they spoke to Pharaoh.
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Moses and Aaron were not young adults with vitality and power when they spoke before Pharaoh.
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They were not charismatic politicians with experience in public speaking either. They were just two old men in their 80s.
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Who faithfully followed God's word according to what
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God has commanded them. That's the requirement.
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You don't have to be a powerful speaker. You don't have to be a young, vigilant person to obey
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God's word. God used men in their 80s to do mighty things.
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Now, even though we're not individually called to be prophets like Moses and Aaron were, the body of Christ still has a prophetic voice to proclaim the good news and call out sins in the world.
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That's what we're called to do. However, there are two obstacles that exist in the
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American church to prophetically speak all that the
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Lord has commanded us. The first one is that the church does not know what
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God says. The church does not know what God says. The church is ignorant.
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And this is a problem because if you are to obey all that God has commanded us, then we better know what
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God has commanded us. And that's because we have substituted the
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Bible with the cultures of the world. We want to attract people according to the ways in which the
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Bible is unaware of, frankly.
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The Bible doesn't speak about how the culture stays relevant.
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And what we need to do is that we, as the body of Christ, need to steep our minds in God's word.
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If you're not a reader, we ought to listen to it over and over again, right?
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There's someone here who's listened to the Bible over 30 times in her life.
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That's crazy. But the word of God has to saturate our minds.
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That's how we know what message to proclaim. That's how we know how to obey.
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Our goal is not to just read from cover to cover and be done with it.
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That's not our goal. Because we never graduate from God's word.
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Return to it as you consistently return to your own homes at the end of the day.
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Look forward to it as your next meal, right?
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And delight in it as you are hearing from God. That's how
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God speaks. You get to hear God's voice. We sometimes get more excited when we get text messages from our close friends than opening up the
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Bible. But we have to have the Bible saturate our minds in order for us to have a prophetic voice in the world to proclaim the gospel and to call out sin.
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Second, the second obstacle is more devious. The first one is ignorance, right?
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A new believer is ignorant of what the Bible says mostly because they just became a believer.
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So it's understandable. The second one is when the church is ashamed of what the
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Bible says. When the church is ashamed of what the Bible says, then they will not proclaim the message that is in the
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Bible. And this might not be even an obvious shame.
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You might have heard something like this before. Well, I guess I will preach on hell because it's in the
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Bible. Or when they say something like with an apology.
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I'm sorry you have to hear this, but it's in the Bible. I'm sorry you have to hear this about the gender, but it's in the
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Bible. I'm sorry you have to hear this about sexuality, but it's in the
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Bible. As if God needs you to apologize for what he's put in the
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Bible? As if your compassion is greater than God's compassion in the
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Bible? If you're apologizing for what's in the Bible, the premise is your view of mercy and compassion is greater than that of God's.
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And we need to repent of that. And I say this because they're mainly pastors who are saying this before they preach on hell.
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They're hesitant to do so, but Jesus preached on hell and he's the most compassionate being who's ever walked this earth.
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How dare we think we're more compassionate than Christ to be apologetic over hard doctrines of the
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Bible? We must not be ashamed of what God has put in his word.
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Every single word we will stand by it. Second, what do we do when the person does not want to listen?
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Right? Moses and Aaron, for now, they actually obeyed God, preached all that God has commanded them.
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But what do we do when they don't listen? The second point is that despite the heart and heart of the recipient, we must faithfully obey
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God. Despite the heart and heart of the recipient, we must faithfully obey
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God. So after Moses and Aaron proclaimed God's message,
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Pharaoh rejected it, which was predicted by God. In verse 8,
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God calls them back to give them a new command. When Pharaoh speaks to you saying, show a miracle for yourselves, then you shall say to Aaron, take your rod, cast it before Pharaoh, and let it become a serpent.
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This sign is the same sign that Moses showed Israel after his encounter with the
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Lord on the mountain. In fact, the instruction for the sign remains the same. Take the rod, cast it down, and it will become a serpent.
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It's simple. Take the rod and cast it. There's no ritual involved.
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There's no incantations involved. Just take the rod and cast it, and it will happen because God said so.
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And verse 10 shows their faithful obedience, right? So Moses and Aaron went into Pharaoh, and they did so.
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Again, the same phrase, just as the Lord commanded, right? This is a repeated theme.
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And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, before his servants, and it became a serpent.
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Aaron, Moses' representative, did exactly as the
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Lord commanded, and the rod became a serpent. This shows us no matter how impossible
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God's order may sound, God's Word is 100 % effective.
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It is a perfect record. When God speaks, it will happen.
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When the Creator God speaks, even a wooden rod will turn into a snake.
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When God speaks, every atom in that wooden rod listened.
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If a wooden rod could listen, how much more so should
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God's own people? Verses 11 through 12 show that the
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Egyptian magicians imitated the sign, but Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers, so the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.
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The magicians of Egypt were able to imitate the sign by using their enchantments, or certain translations will say secret arts, right?
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Commentators speculate what the secret arts must have been, but we do not know precisely because it's a secret art.
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However, verse 12 shows us the distinction between God's sign and the magicians' sorcery.
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For every man threw down his rod and they became serpents, but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods.
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But Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods.
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While the magicians' rods may have turned into serpents, their sorcery remained inferior to God's sign.
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God does not depend on secret arts to do miracles.
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He just speaks. He does not use incantations.
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He speaks clearly and his instructions are straightforward. These distinctions are important because nowadays witchcraft is in vogue.
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There are witches and warlocks trying to cast spells by mumbling secret incantations to turn the political tides.
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In fact, at the highest level of Freemasonry, the members are taught secret rituals and spells to do demonic activities.
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And this is alarming because there are Freemasons everywhere in America. And at their highest level, at the core, is satanic activities.
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The members are taught secret spells to cast. They partake in bloody rituals.
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In the end, the Egyptian magicians and the current witches and warlocks derive their power from the ultimate deceiver,
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Satan himself. But Christians must know that God's miracles are of a different caliber.
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God's signs are clear and superior to the imitations of witchcraft.
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His miracles do not depend on secret arts, but God himself.
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And that's why we can rest assured, despite the witchcraft that's rising, we depend on a greater power, and that's
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God. And verse 13 shows the result of Moses and Aaron's faithful work.
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And Pharaoh's heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the
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Lord said. After seeing that his magicians could imitate the sign, although in an inferior way,
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Pharaoh hardened his heart and ignored Aaron and Moses. In a worldly sense, this outcome is not favorable at all.
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In a worldly sense, this outcome would have gotten you fired, right?
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They were not successful salespeople. Pharaoh remained hard -hearted.
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However, for the Church, that is not our standard, right?
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So, even after a supernatural sign from the Lord, Pharaoh still hardened his own heart.
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He would rather follow his heart rather than to submit to God. Aaron and Moses, however, were not discouraged by the result, as they returned to God after.
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In the same way, our obedience to God is not based upon the negative outcome.
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We obey because we belong to God. We obey because we trust His way is better, despite the temporary setbacks.
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This means when people reject the gospel or mock you for your biblical views, we keep following the
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Lord. We share the gospel for the umpteenth time to your family and neighbors because we still follow the
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Lord. We obey His commands. You speak the truth at work, even if it means people will call you a bigot or you would get fired or disciplined because you still obey
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God. You keep yourself pure, despite what the world says is quote -unquote good, because we still obey
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God. Our obedience does not depend on our feelings.
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Our obedience depends on God's word only.
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We follow what God has to say, not what we feel.
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We follow what God has to say, not how the world responds.
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Our obedience does not depend on short -term success or lack thereof.
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Our obedience to God is purely based upon His word.
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That's it. Third, when people continue to resist
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God's message, judgment is inevitable. When people continue to resist
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God's message, judgment is inevitable. This is from chapter 7, verses 14 through 18.
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Despite the personal visit from Moses and Aaron to show a supernatural sign from the
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Lord, Pharaoh's heart remained hardened, stubborn. The Lord speaks with them again.
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But this time the situation is more escalated. Pharaoh's heart is hardened.
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He refuses to let the people go. Verse 15, go to Pharaoh in the morning when he goes out to the water, and you shall stand by the river's bank to meet him, and the rod which was turned to a serpent you shall take in your hand.
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God commands Aaron and Moses to visit Pharaoh again with the same rod, but this time
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Pharaoh will experience something different. First, the tone of the message is different.
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Verse 16 starts with, And you shall say to him, The Lord God of the
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Hebrews has sent me to you, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness.
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But, indeed, until now you would not hear. Previously, Pharaoh only heard commands from the
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Lord to let his people go. Now he will hear an accusation from God for Pharaoh's failure to follow through.
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Notice how the Lord identifies himself, the Lord God of the Hebrews, the
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Lord God of the Egyptian slaves. God chooses to identify with his people despite their lowly social status.
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Pharaoh has disobeyed the wrong deity. Pharaoh has disobeyed the deity who will push back.
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And what will God do for Pharaoh's rejection of God's word?
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Verse 17 tells us, Thus says the Lord, By this you shall know that I am the
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Lord. Behold, I will strike the waters which are in the river with the rod that is in my hand, and they shall be turned to blood.
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And the fish that are in the river shall die, the river shall stink, and the
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Egyptians will loathe to drink the water of the river. Now what is the purpose of the
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Nile turning to blood? So that Pharaoh may know that he is the
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Lord, that God is the Lord. This is how God will answer
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Pharaoh's arrogant response of Exodus 5 -2.
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Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the
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Lord, nor will I let Israel go. Right? Remember that, Exodus 5 -2? The Lord will make his answer impossibly clear through his judgments against Egypt and their pagan gods.
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Note how much this has intensified since the last miracle. This time, the sign will not stay just in the privacy of Pharaoh's throne room.
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This time, the magicians will not just lose their rods, but the livelihood of Egypt will be threatened.
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More importantly, Pharaoh will know that the Lord is superior to their false gods.
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First, the false god of the Nile. The Nile, which represents the source of life, will turn into the source of death as blood floods through the banks, as the fish float up dead, and the stench of death diffuses throughout
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Egypt. That's when Pharaoh will know that he's picked the wrong people to oppress.
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That's when Pharaoh will know that he's picked the wrong deity to challenge.
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Although God has been gracious and merciful with Egypt so far, here he threatens judgment over Pharaoh's disobedience and rejection of his words.
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This is important to us because the merciful and gracious God will one day judge the disobedient and hard -hearted as well.
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Today. One day, hell and judgment day will not be something to joke about for unbelievers, but reality.
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One day, God will not let the unbelievers continue to live in their rebellious ways.
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One day, they will have to face the ultimate judge, and no eloquent argument will save them from the great judgment to come.
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What Pharaoh will experience in Exodus will be only a
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Costco sample of what the world will see on judgment day.
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It will be full force, and this ought to place a great urgency in our hearts for the proclamation of the gospel.
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The good news of Jesus Christ is the only way anyone can be spared from the judgment to come.
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It is the message that Jesus himself faced the judgment that we deserve for our sin, and he experienced the full wrath of God.
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Even Pharaoh didn't experience the full wrath of God in Exodus, but Jesus did.
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And on the third day, Jesus triumphantly rose from the grave, defeating sin and death once and for all.
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And for those who place their faith in Christ will be spared from the judgment to come because Jesus had taken it already for them.
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For their sake, Jesus took the judgment. And those people who place their faith in Christ and what he did, they will be forever united with Christ in everlasting joy and peace that makes the hardship of this world and the suffering of this world just a distant memory.
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That's the beauty of Jesus Christ. And every day that passes by and every year that passes by, we're getting closer to judgment day.
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There is no better time than now to warn our neighbors and family about this day and proclaim
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Christ the only secure refuge on that day. We must not stop despite the rejections and resistance because judgment day is coming and it is far worse than Nile turning into blood.
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Every judgment in the Old Testament points forward to the greatest judgment to come on the last day when
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God judges the world. And every judgment in the
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Old Testament combined will only be like a mosquito bite compared to what the world will see.
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And this is why it's so important to study the Old Testament. We are forewarned of what is to happen to the world.
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We are forewarned of how God acts, how God deals with not only his people but every people of the world.
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From this text, we know that God's patience, although his long suffering, his patience does have a due date.
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And the ten plagues that we will explore, the ten plagues that hit
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Egypt that will finally let Pharaoh's hardened heart go, that Pharaoh will let the people go, will only be like a picnic in the park compared to the judgment day that's to come.
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And with that urgency, we go out to share the gospel, knowing that there still is time.
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Right now, we live in a time where judgment has just been threatened. That's the time we live in now.
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Share the gospel with everyone you know before the judgment comes.
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Let us pray. Father, we're thankful of your mercy and grace not only to us in Jesus Christ but to this world because this world deserves far worse than what it has right now.
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Yet you are merciful and steadfast in your love to keep your people safe and also still provide for the world despite its mocking and despite its blasphemy.
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Father, I pray that we would always have the reality of judgment day in our mind as it is coming fast.
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In Jesus' name, amen. Well, let's rise for our closing song.
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Praise to the Lord, the Almighty. ♪ Praise to the
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Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation.
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Thy song raise him for he is thy help and salvation.
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His temple draw near. Those who hope in the
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Lord will renew their strength. It's been a blessing to be together today in worship and we are now dismissed.