Exodus Ch. 2 - Ch. 10

the as we continue on through the first chapter this new king now a little confusion might crop up in your mind if you're not careful history does tell us that the

Hickseys h -y -k -s -e -s the Hickseys people did come into that area at that time now the word

Pharaoh is only a title that was not the man's name it's just like Caesar there was

Julius Tiberius Octavius and Augustus and it's sort of title they were the ruler and the

Pharaoh was the same way a Pharaoh was just a title that meant he was the ruler now the evidence is that the

Hickseys came in and took over it's sort of like in the Middle Ages the house of Tudor or the house of stewards it's just sort of the ruling party as it was the ruling group and what they did was they had their own people in the high offices and they began to stir up dissension amongst themselves and then transferred that dissension to the

Egyptians and it's a we can see this if you'll look with me just one verse just kind of to kind of wet our appetite about it if you read verse 9 of chapter 1 and he said unto his people this new king behold the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we now my dear friend there has never been a time in history even to this day when there were more

Jews than there were Arabs there over a hundred million Arabs right now and they're only 20 million

Jews scattered throughout the whole world now I know the Hitler got about six million a mile away

I understand that but what he's talking about here is that they were mightier than the ruling party but now the ruling party controlled the whole nation of Egypt and so the

Egyptians now it's quite interesting if you come back over into chapter 2 with me and look at verse 19 when

Moses met Zipporah or Zipporah his future wife at the well verse 19 said and they said an

Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds Moses wasn't an Egyptian but she called him an

Egyptian why he looked like one whatever you said what he looked like a Jew what's he what did you look like we don't know what's an

Egyptian look like we all know if I brought an Arab person through the door you would know where there was an

Egyptian and a Syrian a Lebanese Pakistani you couldn't have not we just have preconceived notions well he dressed like an

Egyptian he had the attire the apparel and so the word Egyptian can be very specific

I mean the people of the nation of Egypt but it also can mean whoever was on the rule of the Pharaoh they were considered

Egyptians now these were the Egyptian people but there were also some other people mingled in with that now that may be confusing to you but if you think about it and work it out in your mind it ought not to be it ought not to be and so we have this new king and then the new strategy that he came on with they want to stir everything up and they want to drown all these little boys now this brings us to part 2 of our study that we had last night and this begins chapter 2 then we entitled this one we tell the first one the persecution we're trying to give you some letters

A's and P's and things like this the persecution of God's people now we have the preparation of God's prophet in chapter 2 so open your

Bible to chapter 2 and we'll go through these varying verses it seemed as though God was doing nothing and then a 400 years and they say they cry and pray and seem like God just wasn't moving in their lives now they prayed and they cried out and in chapter 2 verse 24 and 25 we see it

God heard their groaning and God remembered his covenant with Abraham with Isaac and with Jacob and God looked upon the children of Israel and God heard them are the actually the readings

God knew their plight God knew their position and so he began to deal with them on that basis now they cried and prayed and wondered where his deliverance was and God heard it now as again

I say if they had remembered what was told them that's recorded for you and me in Genesis 15 they would have known that if they could just wait 400 years

God take care of it but they got in a hurry and they began to cry and moan and groan and plead and beg

God well the time was about up and so God began to move but we make note right here that God is never in a hurry friends

God's got everything working on schedule don't worry about it God's got everything on schedule

God never gets in a hurry he has never one second behind nor has God ever one second ahead God just works right on his schedule he just doesn't work according to yours and mine that's when we think he's a little out of order he doesn't work quick enough or he works too quick or he's lagging behind but God works right on schedule and he worked right on schedule with these particular people he already had a leader chosen and they didn't know about it did they he already had a man picked out a prophet a man named

Moses that was going to lead them and he was already preparing Moses to do the job I'll bring them out and they had no idea that God's working you may not know

God's doing something that you're concerned about but I'll guarantee you if God's in it he's already working

God's already working in your situation if you're a Christian if you belong to God I don't care what it is in your life

God is involved in that somehow or other because you belong to him you belong him let's just don't get impatient let's let

God work when he wants to work and how he wants to work now God used the means that I have here of preparing

Moses in the first 10 verses of chapter 2 you discover that he had a godly home they wasn't in it long but my friend if you dedicate your child to God and you yourself are faithful as you can be to God God obligates himself to you to watch over that child and to move through that child's life now we find out what was their name the dad of of Moses his name was what am ram

Jeff we can't get these father -in -laws out of the way can we okay the in -laws they always cause us problems yeah not really not really not really okay am ram and a yucca bed or joke a bed as you would see it or jacob it if you would see it in there and you can put out the yoga bed or yucca bed whichever way you want to pronounce it and we find that they were the mother and dad as we study on through the book of Exodus now we learned that this godly couple am ram and yucca bed that they could get married in a situation like they were in indicates some great love for each other here they were in the slime pits making mortar trying to mix bricks dying all around them death and destruction everywhere sometimes not even a good diet sometimes not enough food and they loved each other enough and had enough faith in their

God and each other that they'd go ahead and get married under those circumstances and as they did so then they began to and their wedding situation and they had this little boy now you'll notice what it tells us here there when a man and first verse of the house of Levi and took to wife a daughter of Levi and the woman conceived and bore son and when she saw him that he was a goodly child she hid him three months and that is translation of the

Hebrew word beautiful before God many translations just have the word beautiful but the Hebrew actually means beautiful before God he was a goodly child in the eyes of God he was an attractive child and seemingly healthy child and of course we know that he was beautiful before God because before the world's ever created

God knew that was gonna be the Redeemer of the people of Israel so we have this and I'm convinced if I know anything about what went on they dedicated that young boy they dedicated him to God and gave him to God just committed himself themselves and that little boy to the

Lord so we see that he had a godly set of parents now my friends let me just inject this here you never know what

God sees in your child you and I may not see very much in him but you cannot tell what

God sees in that child and who knows there might be a deal moody there who knows there may be our sankia

Billy Sunday you never know what's in your child there may be another lottie moon you don't know whose child what's in them and so if you commit them to God and dedicate them to God then pray for them and nurture them as best you can and let

God work in their lives and so it took real faith to take this little boy that they loved and put him in a river now this was the very river now we find all this in the first 10 verses here it's the very river that they were killing the children in what a very river they were throwing the children into to kill him they go down and put this little boy in the same river so God can take that which the world and the enemy tries to use as destructive and God can make it a blessing because it was the only way the little boy could get to where God wanted him to be was in that river in that little ark we said that carried treasures and he moved down and God miraculously led that little boy in there now also one of the preparations of Moses as the leader of the people of Israel God gave him a special education he had an education that surpassed anybody's of his day he was educated on the great nation of Egypt and he was trained in their schools and men today still marvel and wonder at the accomplishments of the

Egyptian people my friend their sanitation systems it supersedes anything we've got their sanitation system is better than anything in the

United States of America their water system was better than anything this country they've got pyramids been standing down there and we can't even build a building that stands straight our buildings have to move you go down to the

George C Wallace tunnel and I'll guarantee it it moves underneath the Mobile Bay the

Bankhead tunnel I've been up to that thing thousands of times as many as you have used to go through it four or five times a day and that thing moves back and forth just barely moves old old pyramids been standing out of here and they had moved a link maybe enough thousands years there they stand there they stand those stones are a ton and a half a piece and they were put on top up there by hand those things are so smooth and here together that you can take a knife blade and you cannot move that knife blade between those stones they are so smoothly put together with human hands and human ingenuity man still marvels at the technological accomplishments accomplishments of these people now that's the situation that Moses was trained on Moses had a tremendous education and with all of his education and then he did get ahead of God but he was well trained now again we think here there's nothing wrong with education

I believe that God abhors intellectual laziness and our churches are filled with people that are intellectually lazy they don't want to study they want to dig it out for themselves they want somebody to feed it to them or they want to live on what they already know or what they've already learned and they're not willing to unlearn they're not willing to learn they're not willing to put forth honest effort of what it takes to really be a student of God's precious

Word and that's why I'm so grateful that your church would set aside time like this that we might come together and study the word but with all the education they had it was no substitute for the wisdom of God we got to be careful education means nothing if it's if it's not controlled by the wisdom that comes from God because all it will bring you to is a selfish gratification of the old animal desire in your life that old self that old ego it has to be controlled by God all right special education and then we see that there was a great failure a great fail you will find most of the great men and women that God has used had a failure in their life now it isn't necessary it just seems to be that way it just seems to be that way

I get the wonder well maybe one day I'll be great because I got the failures I got to have at least I got one of the four anyhow you know and I seem to be stacking up on this one well

I had a godly home didn't have a Christian home and had a godly home I got a little bit of education long delay

I've been waiting on it long enough since I've been a Christian so I said well I'm stacking up on those number three so you and I can identify with ease but that's in verses 11 through 15 great failure in his life now

Moses was 40 years of age when this great decision came to him to leave the palace of the

Pharaoh and become the deliverer of Israel now you have to admire his love and courage you have to admire many things about his life even though he did fail in many ways now look at verse 12 chapter 2 verse 12 he came out and he saw an object an

Egyptian fighting a Hebrew one of his brethren and he looked this way and that way now what's that tell us spiritually that tells us he was walking by sight not by faith he looking around he checking it out make sure nobody got the eye on me because he's fixing to zap this

Egyptian you see and he did so he killed him his son like Peter in the garden Moses depended upon the power and energy of his own strength he depending upon the sword he could put in his hand or the fist that he could clinch and the strength that was in his own body just like Peter did in the garden that came to get

Jesus he whipped the sword out he didn't understand that the battle that God had before him was a spiritual battle it was going to be a spiritual battle later on he exchanged the sword for a rod and the power would be from God's hand not his own he fought the wrong enemy he was fighting men and not

Satan he used the wrong energy he was using the energy of the flesh rather than the spirit he used the wrong weapon and he acted at the wrong time so there were a lot of wrongs in his life right he acted at wrong time

God wasn't ready for him to set forth at that moment but yet here he was gonna be the deliverer of this young Hebrew whoever he was that was battling now he buried the body and of course the evidence is to the contrary that the murder was not known somebody saw it that you saw it and evidently someone else did because as we read this we find as we look at it you will find in verse 15 now when

Pharaoh heard this thing he sought to slay Moses evidently the information got back to Pharaoh that he had killed an

Egyptian and so Moses he cut out he made the scene and he left and he wasn't gonna hang around very long now so evidently they found out about it and this was wrong what he did we don't condone murder but you have to admire his courage and you have to admire his conviction one man made the following statement about Moses and I like this it's so unique but he said and I just quote what he said

Moses saw the invisible he chose the imperishable and did the impossible he saw the invisible he chose the imperishable and he did or accomplished the impossible now faith has its refusals and refusals lead to rewards he refused to live in the palace of the

Pharaoh he refused to have the riches of the world he refused to have the prestige and the power that would come from the position of being the

Pharaoh's son he refused all of that and seemingly lost everything he had but my friends had brought him rewards that will be eternal it was

Moses who was on the Mount of Transfiguration with Elijah and spoke to the Lord Jesus Christ himself it was

Moses who wrote the first five books of the Bible it was Moses who gave us the law it was

Moses who gave us the dimensions of the tabernacles this great man Moses and all this came out of his refusal to be in the favored position now he was hasty in his actions and God set him aside for some further training

God decided that he needed a little training and that he needed to learn that the weapons of his warfare were not fleshly but there were to be spiritual weapons and so there was a long delay and that begins with verse 16 and goes all the way through verse 25 a long delay his life is divided into three equal periods of 40 years each 40 years each he was 40 years as a prince in Egypt he was 40 years as a shepherd in Midian and he was 40 years in a ministry in a ministry of service serving the

Lord doing what God said now it's interesting how many important scenes in the Bible take place in a well if you want to do an interesting

Bible study trace a well W -E -L -L just trace the wells through the Bible there are some of the most important events that happen at a well

Moses met his wife at a well Jacob went rolling around and he found a well Jesus met the

Samaritan woman at a well and all kinds of things happen at wells and of course it seemed to be a little gathering place there now

Moses assisted these women and I've asked that you read it and you read it and it's quite familiar to you and he assists these women to water their flock and it led him to Jethro who was a priest we said

I see you worship false gods and he was one of their priests in Midian and he was a Midianite and they did worship false gods and we see later on in around chapter 18 you'll see as we get there the next is that he did turn to the true

Lord but in these first chapters he did not do so and it resulted in his marriage to Zipporah Zipporah whichever way you would want to pronounce it now the girls identified him we said as an

Egyptian and so we can immediately see that he looked more like an Egyptian than he did a Jew isn't it tragic that it's difficult for people to recognize a

Christian we just look like everybody else Moses didn't look like a Hebrew he just looked like all those

Egyptians they've been meeting and my Bible says we ought to be separated people we're to be peculiar people we're supposed to be different we don't like to be different and one of the big problems with teenagers today is the same problem that adults face peer pressure society can put pressure on a man a woman where he will sell his

God he will sell his he'll sell his convictions he'll sell everything he's got just to get the community to put their approval on him and call him a good

Joe a woman will do the same thing she'll sacrifice her convictions in the social clubs young people will sacrifice their convictions at high school they'll do anything just to get somebody in that society or community to like them so they don't offend anybody they'll sell everything they've got just short of committing murder or going into financial bankruptcy or something to do it and a lot of people even go that far just to get the approval of society

Moses look like everybody else he should have been different later on he did he was different and we went back to Pharaoh Pharaoh saw a difference

Pharaoh knew wasn't the same fella that was hanging around down there before and you and I can learn a great lesson just out of that particular statement all right now

Moses spent 40 years as a faithful servant shepherd in Midian and then

God prepared him for the difficult task while rejected we said he took a Gentile bride and then he had a young boy by the name of Gershom was his child you find this in verses 16 to 25 he had a young boy and he named him

Gershom and the word Gershom means stranger stranger he named the little boy stranger he said because I am an alien in a foreign country he named the boy stranger because he had him in a country in another country so it indicates to us that Moses had some concept of another place that he was supposed to be and it wasn't in Egypt he knew it couldn't go back down there because they knew he killed somebody so evidently

God had already placed in his heart a longing for the same place at all Jews have a longing for today deep down in their heart and our people

God had just implanted something within our hearts that we long for that land we long to be in that place and you and I gonna go in February many of us all right just thought

I'd drop that on you just kind of keep reminding you we are going to be there this year and so you'll be able to see it all for yourself now it just seems like God hadn't been doing anything doesn't it and yet here's the groans of his people but he's waiting for the right time now listen carefully whenever God works he uses the right worker he uses the right plan and he acts at the right time always endeavor and anytime it isn't the right worker and anytime it isn't the right place and the right time and the right way you can bank on it that God isn't in it because when

God's in it my friends it will move it will move and it will go as one man said

God don't sponsor no flops when God says go it goes always does

God is successful in everything that he tries to do and soon Moses out there taking care of a few sheep he's gonna be shepherding a whole nation of people and so God groomed him didn't he and learned a lot about people from just watching sheep

I mentioned you I think when I was with you in a revival meeting I learned more in two hours from a sheep herder down in Weatherford Texas and I learned in three years in seminary about what

Jesus was talking about when he says all we like sheep you know he said my sheep know my voice

Isaiah said all we like sheep have gone astray and when I began to learn about sheep I learned more about people but just watching sheep and trying to apply it into the scripture and so Moses was learning an awful lot he would exchange for the rod of power the shepherds crook and then it would be used of God and so he was faithful in a humble job of being a shepherd and God got him ready to move into chapter 3 and chapter 4 where God began to call him now and the first part of chapter 4

I mean a chapter 3 we'll go 3 and 4 chapter 3 verses 1 through 6

God appears to Moses is our outline God appeared to Moses now in this passage it says that in verse 2 and the angel of the

Lord appeared unto him now we've tried to explain to you that this is a theophany this is an appearance of Christ now if you will notice what it says it says and the angel of the

Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire now most people don't watch words I have found that even in meetings like this always find somebody that comes up and wants to disagree about something and they don't watch words but you better watch the words now was this an angel of the

Lord who was this wasn't it God wasn't it the Lord himself well how do we know that because it plainly tells us doesn't it it just plainly tells us exactly who he was look at verse 6 moreover he said this is a reference back to that holy angel

I am the God of thy father the God of Abraham the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob and Moses hit his face for he was afraid to look upon God that's the translation of the word eternal it would be the eternal majesty was there and yet in one verse it's called the angel of God that's exactly what happened over in Genesis 31 verses 11 through 13

Jacob met an angel and he says I am the God of Bethel which means the house of God and yet he wrestled with an angel and he said

I met God face to face well but the Bible says an angel well who is he meeting he was meeting the

Lord Jesus Christ who had taken human form who had taken him and all conservative

Bible scholars agree on that around the world I'm not giving you something new that has been the teaching of conservative

Bible scholars throughout the years and yet if we're not careful if we don't watch the words we don't distinguish between that and we think he's talking some kind of an angel speaking through that anytime this phrase is used the angel of the

Lord it is always that phrase and it's only uniquely used in those places where you have a qualification that it is

God this is not the same word that's used for messenger or another kind of angel there are different classes of angels and other words are used these words are only used in reference to deity to deity to the divinity and so God appeared to Moses now he went out with a sheep that morning he had no idea he was going to meet the eternal majesty nowhere in the world we can assume that he had any concept now he met

God speaking to a burning bush called the Shekinah beautiful Hebrew word it isn't in the

Bible but the Hebrew people have a word they call it Shekinah Shekinah it means the personal presence of majesty the

Shekinah s -h -e -c -h -i -n -a -h Shekinah the personal presence of majesty that's the way they explained it and it is true this is exactly what it was all right the burning bush had a threefold significance doesn't it let me give you a threefold significance in the burning bush first of all it is a picture of God you might at your leisure read

Deuteronomy 33 16 Deuteronomy 33 16 when it plainly tells us that plainly tells us that well while you're writing down that it's a perfect picture of God let me read you

Deuteronomy 33 16 Deuteronomy 33 16 says the following and for the precious things of the earth and fullness thereof and for the goodwill of him who dwelt in the bush let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph and upon the top of the head of him who was separated from his brethren his glory and he goes on and shows us that the one who's in the bush has glory it's a reference to deity all right it's a picture of the power of God Moses needed a reminder perhaps of the power and the glory of God because he was going down to take an impossible task all right the second significance is that Bush also symbolized

Israel Israel was going through the furnace and the fire of affliction in Egypt yet she was not consumed how many times in history have people men how many times have men tried to destroy the

Jewish race and still they've been unsuccessful anti -semitism is rampant it's rampant today and it's never ceased it has been more subtle in this generation but anti -semitism no race of people in history have been attacked more than the

Jewish people there has been no group of people on the face of the earth that have had more ridicule more rebuke more trials more suffering more affliction than the people of Israel Satan using human instruments have tried and tried and tried to destroy them yet they still exist they are a miracle nation they're

God's miracle people and they're not going to wipe them out exterminate them because God is faithful all right it's a picture of Israel finally it is also illustration of Moses himself a humble shepherd yet with God's help he would become a fire that you could not put out he would become a flaming evangel he would become a flaming instrument for God that could not be consumed nor could he be quenched all right now

Moses was brought to the place where he vowed before God adored him in wonder because that is the true beginning of serving

God God never uses any person until he takes off his shoes in humility before God can trust him to walk in power

God will never empower any life until that person first of all comes to the place of bowing before God swallowing his pride forgetting their ego forgetting what the community thinks or does not think stop worrying about what people say or do not say before God will ever give them their power and you might ask yourself a question tonight and I only say this as a just a little encouragement to you ask yourself where the power of God is in your life where is the power of God in your life and if it isn't in there it's probably because you've never come to the burning bush and maybe because I've never come to the place of brokenness brokenness before God and until God breaks that will he will never put his anointing power on that life he never has and he never will what you may think is anointing power maybe something entirely different than what the

Bible calls the anointing power of God so just say that to encourage as we all together evaluate our personal lives you'll find

Isaiah 6 that God revealed his glory to Isaiah before he ever empowered him he saw the holiness and the glory of God and you and I must come before the holiness and the glory of God before we can ever be used so the memory of the burning bush probably

I think we could safely say it would be a source of encouragement for Moses for a long time to come anytime he got discouraged he'd say about the burning bush and it was

God who spoke to me it was God who sent me so God can keep me if God's put you where you are God can keep you can't if God's put you where you are

God can take care of you and God's not gonna face you forget you don't you believe that God knows you're in Stevenson Alabama don't you believe that God knows you're here

God knows what you need God knows your problems he hadn't forgot about it he's not down in Texas I mean he's there but he's not hiding down there and forgot you here in Alabama he's not gone off somewhere you're not just over in Israel God knows who you are and God knows the needs and all this and so all we need to do is to wait upon him now the second thing we see is

God appears to Moses God appoints Moses chapter 3 verses 7 through 10

God appoints Moses all right notice something with me in verse chapter 3 look at verse 7

I have surely seen you notice and the Lord said I have surely seen then you see right in the middle of it he says have heard

God saw God heard and then he says I know God knows their sorrows mercy he says

I am come down God begins that God saw them he heard them he knew what the problem was and he says

I am come down he began to move then you come down to verse 10 he says I will send thee so he picks him out someone and says

I'm going to send help to them and then that man comes back in verse 11 says but who am I who am

I and so God's trying to appoint him he's given him grace God says I've seen

I've heard they cry I know I am come down now I'm convinced as I studied the life of Moses that Moses must have wondered about these people here they been crying out praying he knew what was going on amongst them he lived down there even though he wasn't with them when he was in the

Pharaoh's court he surely knew of all the reports he would have been mingling about them and maybe he wondered well if their

God is God then how come he doesn't do something about it how come he isn't reaching down to them and so he begins to see that God is going to do something in their life as God saw you and me in our spiritual bondage he sent his son and he came down and God came down in the person of Christ to deliver us from sin now

God has a definite plan he wants to bring them out and then to take them in he wants to bring them out and to take them in God never brings you out but to put you in somewhere if God's gonna take us out of something there's something he wants us to get into that's his way so he wanted to get them out of Egypt to get him into the promised land he wants to get you out of self sin and Satan and bondage to all that wraps us up in our lives to get us into Canaan he wants us to get into that place of rest in him where we have confidence and assurance in him now listen to me carefully

Moses rejoiced I'm confident to hear that God was about to do something but you'll notice he didn't say here am

I send me God said I'll send you and Moses said well I'll go it's what Isaiah said you know

Isaiah saw all those things and God said who will go for us and Isaiah said here am I Lord send me well

Moses began to look around see who God could see him and that's why you and I knew pastor says we need someone to send school

I can't do it I tell you what I believe what John good well would you mind praying about it and saying

I believe you could do it oh no I can't do it well would you come sink why I can't do this now we always look with somebody else that's exactly what

Moses did we are perfect pictures of him ladies and gentlemen tonight perfect pictures you know that there's something every

Christian can do every Christian has a task in the kingdom of God everybody don't tell me you can't do it you do whatever you set your mind to you can do in the will of God whatever you set your mind to and if you search it out you'll find that God has something specific that you can do that nobody can do it just like you the reason we don't do it we lazy we'll get somebody else to their million one excuses you watch

Moses argue with God now he gave God for four objections and we'll get them now they've been 80 years of preparation

Moses has been preparing a you and I don't have that but Moses have been preparing for 80 years to get where he was now

Moses didn't say here my Lord send me but God answered him in verses chapter 3 verse 11 all the way through chapter 4 verse 17 now the first thing

Moses said was we read it a few minutes ago in verses 11 and 12 of chapter 3 who am I who am

I that I should go into Pharaoh and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt he said certainly

I will be with thee God answered him God said I'll go with you now you can admire Moses humility he said who am

I I'm sort of nothing but you go over to book of Acts chapter 7 verse 22 you'll find he was described as a man who was learned and mighty and word indeed but here he says

I'm nothing he recognized as he stood before the power and the glory of God that he wasn't and if you feel that you're highly intelligent and if you feel you have all this energy and all this stuff that you and I offer

God if you compare yourself to the glory of God and get yourself under the wholeness of God you will quickly see that you and I are really nothing we are really nothing before God but we believe each of us believes it really really aren't we

God's gift of the church this church couldn't exist without me and you could it why Christianity crumbled if it wasn't for you and me well

I'm behind this world ever existed without you and me what would have you and I never been born what kind of oh what a horrible thing if you and I hadn't come in this world this world been in tragic condition wouldn't it and yet we've made very little contribution although we are trying the best that we can now years of communion and discipline in the desert evidently had humbled this man

Moses and I don't believe that when he said who am I that it was all an excuse although it was an objection and arguing with God he was a he was arguing with God about it and that's all you can come up with but I do believe that there is a basic humility in his life and a man who acts in the flesh is impulsive and never sees obstacles if he's walking in the flesh he'll act on impulse

Christians do not act on impulse they just don't and yet when I come into church after church after church and especially

I get around business meetings that churches have I see flesh flesh flesh people speaking on impulse not praying about it never thinking it out they just say what they think and it automatically has to be right and that is dangerous to say that what you say

God laid on your heart friend you better be dead sure God did lay it on your heart because you are speaking for God anytime

I stand and say this is what God's laid on my heart is what I believe the church ought to do you better be dead sure

God did lay it on your heart because if it's in the flesh you are presuming to speak for God and so am

I and that's dangerous and yet I find in my church I find it in churches everywhere

I go people stand up say well God laid on my heart that we ought to do this and that person hadn't spent an hour in prayer about it that's flesh and that's why there's no power in the church that's why there's no spiritual power in most situations and I'm just sharing with you what we see and what we observe and we get it out of this man here but a man humbly acting in the

Spirit of God he knows that battles lie ahead and he knows that God must sustain him but now

God assured Moses he said I will be with thee and that promise sustained him for 40 years after he got right with God now who we are is not important but that God is with us is the important thing that make an effort who you are if God's with you you will be successful all right now

Moses asked the question who is sending me in chapter 3 verses 13 22 now as he began to deal with this if this one was not basically an evasive question for the

Jews would want divine authority they were Moses couldn't just go down there and lead them out they were going to ask him they wanted to know about what authority do you come what divine authority that you have and they were going to have to know and Moses was smart enough to know it that he was going to prove to them that God did send him somehow or other and God revealed his name he said

I am that I am what he was saying was I was I am and I always will be

I always will be now the Lord Jesus added to this name in the gospel of John I'm not going to give you all of the

I'll give you the places there are seven great I am statements made by Jesus Christ there are seven of them where he said

I am something all right let me give them to you they're all in the gospel of John John chapter 6 verse 35

John 6 35 chapter 8 verse 12 chapter 10 verse 9

I'll give them to you again chapter 6 35 chapter 8 verse 12 chapter 10 verse 9 and chapter 10 verse 11 chapter 11 verse 35 chapter 14 verse 6 and chapter 15 verses 1 through 5 6 35 8 12 10 9 10 11 11 35 14 6 and 15 1 through 5 you have the great

I am statements of the Lord Jesus Christ where he acquainted himself with some characteristic of God now if God is

I am then he's always the same and his purposes will always be fulfilled and God promised

Moses that he will see to it that the work is done in spite of any opposition the Pharaoh might have towards him all right now

Moses comes up with another one in chapter 4 verses 1 through 9 he said but they will not believe me you notice it look at it women chapter 4 chapter 4

Moses answered said but behold they will not believe me nor hearken unto my voice for they will say the

Lord hath not appeared unto thee now he just said that they weren't but God just told him that he would in chapter 3 verse 18 chapter 3 verse 18

God said they will hear you Moses turn around says they won't that is open unbelief that is open unbelief you look at chapter 3 verse 18 chapter 3 verse 18

God said and they will hearken to thy voice and thou shalt come thou and the elders of Israel unto the king of Egypt and you shall say unto him he said they will hear you but Moses said

Lord they won't listen to me so here he is arguing with God and he comes to the point of just strict unbelief so God gave him some miracles didn't he

God said take that rod you got and throw it down he threw it down it turned into a serpent scared him scared him but God said pick it up by the tail he picked it up by the tail turned into what well picked it up turn that thing into a rod again didn't all right now okay look at it women now as we go down we see what it

God gave him another one now I heard a man preach a sermon on this a well -known preacher and I don't know where he got it from but he said

God told Moses reach down and pick it up by the part that would bite him showing that his faith but my scripture tells me right here in verse 4 and the

Lord said to Moses put forth that hand and take it by the tail so sometimes you can't trust everything you hear you got to go read it for yourself right all right now what we have here is he's changed in art now what else did he do he told us and I take your hand and put it in your bosom just put it inside your cloak and take it out he took it out and it was leprous his hand was withered it had leprosy he put it back in and everything was all right now what was

God showed him well you and I both know that God was showing him the power wasn't in his own hand he knew he'd killed that Egyptian with his arms he he killed that Egyptian I don't know if he threw a full

Nelson on him what he did some hammer lock or some junk on him but he did the job and buried him in the sand but God wanted no wouldn't be in the strength of his arm and it wouldn't be in that stick unless God moved with it unless God's power was in it and that's what

God basically was trying to tell him now these were going to be his credentials now also he gave him another one we look at it a third sign in just a moment but God takes what we have in our hand and he uses it if we trust him he used

David sling he used Peters boat and used Paul's education God takes what you got and he'll use it if you'll give it to him but my friend you got to give it to him you got to take it from him

I take it from yourself and give it to him most of us let him dabble with it we want him to kind of play around with it with our talent and all we've got but Lord we're not gonna give it all to you you find very few people that you yourself know that you can honestly say that they have totally and completely surrendered their lives to the

Lordship of Jesus Christ very very few that you and I meet today and yet you and I have the hunger in our heart to do exactly that because we know we ought to do it now of itself the rod was nothing but in God's hands it became power now

Moses hand killed the man and this miracle showed him that God would work but it wouldn't be in his own power now

God gave him a third sign and God said all right if they won't believe those two I'll give you another one he said you just dip though you're a little pale and get your hand down in there just get you a little dab of water out of the river poured on the land they'll turn into blood now that wake anybody up wouldn't

I mean you know you say well maybe he's a magician maybe do something with his hand slide a hand well that rod slide a hand but you see somebody reach down over water and turn that thing in the blood now that make you think a little bit you know you begin to wonder a little bit about it and that's exactly what he did and they did convince

God's people in chapter 4 verses 29 to 31 you'll see that they were convinced now they these things were imitated by the godless

Egyptians were they not now that tells me something my dear friends if you don't think Satan can perform miracles you don't know the

Word of God now how do you know a miracle is from God because it will always conform to the entire

Word of God 66 books and it won't conform to one the last laid verse of Scripture it will conform to the book as a whole

Satan does what's the Antichrist going to do his forte is what miracles what is his big forte healing his main attraction is he's going to have the ability to heal and Satan promised healing in the

Garden of Eden did he not he said you won't surely die and he said we that will die he said you won't die you study that in Hebrew and you'll find he's saying no matter what

God says if God does anything to you I'll bring you back I'll heal you you're not gonna die

I'll take care of your life in Job what Job say all that a man has he'll give for his life did

Job say that no it's in the book of Job and Satan said it read it so my dear friends just cause somebody run in holds a miracle up in front of you don't go running after it you better check it out with the

Bible you better check it out with the Word of God because these magicians did just what Moses did he threw his rod down it became a serpent they threw theirs down there did too oh well well

I understand but what if you didn't have Moses there and you saw him do that how would you know just does Satan ever tell the truth yes oh yes he does turn to meet

Acts 16 and it bears us Acts chapter 16 verse 16 and it came to pass as we went to prayer and this is

Paul the Apostle he's out trying to witness to a bunch of Jews and the Jews are blaspheming God they wouldn't listen to him and he's having trouble ministering to him and as we went to prayer a certain maid a certain young lady possessed with a spirit of divination she had a discerning spirit she met us who brought her masters much game by soothsaying there were some men who were using her and the same followed

Paul and us and cried saying now watch what she said these men are the servants of the

Most High God who show us the way of salvation that's exactly what Paul been trying to preach and she said these men are from God and they're trying to get you saved well that couldn't be from Satan because he doesn't want anybody get saved does he look what happened and this she did many days but Paul being grieved turned and said to the spirit

I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her and he came out that same hour it was a demon that did it my friend you better get into the

Bible you better get into the Word of God don't tell me Satan can't lie don't tell me

Satan can't tell the truth Satan can do he'll do anything to get you what was he wanting Paul do compromise he wanted

Paul to just accept his help and if Paul had accepted that help and said well it came out good it wasn't really right but it came out good if he had done that Paul would have devastated his ministry right then and there you can't accept help from the enemy in any way fashion or form neither can

I better get in the Bible hadn't we yeah that's what you and I want to do that's why we're studying we want to stay with the book all right now they imitated these miracles these godless

Egyptians they imitated them in chapter 7 verse 10 through 25 and others now Paul had him another argument just in case that didn't work

God says you got to go and he says but I'm not gifted in 10 through 17 of chapter 4 he says but I'm not gifted

I'm not talented you know God said I am and all Moses could keep saying was

I'm not God said I am Moses but I'm not well that's a good logical thing God is but you and I aren't now he was looking at himself and his failures instead of God and his power now

Moses argued that he was not a gifted speaker that didn't seem to bother the Apostle Paul any but it did

Moses now listen to me you don't have to be eloquent you don't have to be a great orator you don't have to have all the oratory in the command of the

English language you don't have to be able to go through some thesaurus or something you don't have to be able to quote the

King's language my friend all you got to do is to be a person of faith and walk in the word and God will pour out his blessings and God will use you

God will use you right now Moses actually saying send anybody but me in verse 13 look at it and he said oh my lord send

I pray thee by the hand of him whom thou wilt sin him saying send me he said maybe you find somebody it'll go maybe there's somebody here that could go

I'll pray you heard it I'll pray that God will raise up somebody to do that well that's the way we are sometime but now you notice does

God ever get mad at his children you bet your life he got mad at Moses look what it said verse 14 and the anger of the

Lord was kindled against Moses God got mad at him now I don't know what you think about that but I sure hope you listen

I've never been told that God's mad at me but I guarantee I've provoked him I know I have and I'm confident that I've done much worse than Moses did right here he just trying to reason things out but God got tired of reasoning with him

God just got tired of messing around with it and so he said all right I'll send your brother sin

Aaron said I'll send Aaron along to be your helper and Aaron turned out to be more of a hindrance than he did a help he led the nation into idolatry in chapter 32 and in numbers of 12th chapter even griped and murmured against Moses and we mentioned last evening that God gave

Miriam the sister of Moses leprosy because she murmured how come he didn't give Aaron leprosy because Aaron was the high priest if he'd got leprosy he could never been the high priest again he'd been unclean so because of his office

God spared him because of his office God didn't deal with him in such a manner and it's tragic that Moses was willing to trust in the weak flesh of a man

Aaron than he was in the living God of things

God already been working on the heart error God already knew in his own heart he's going to send Aaron it wasn't any surprise to him what

Moses was going to say God already knew about it and so what he's saying to us in verse 14 that he's working at both ends of the situation to accomplish what he was going to do all right now in verses 18 to 31 we find that God begins to assure

Moses now God played around with him a little bit there seemingly and God seemed to to kind of move back and forth and let him express his heart to him express himself and then

God decided he'd better give him some assurance and so God did assure this man Moses Moses had

God's Word he had these three miraculous signs to use and the assistance of his brother

Aaron yet these verses make it clear that he is still not ready to walk by faith he does not tell his father -in -law the truth about his trip to Egypt verse 18 you finally said let me go

I pray thee and return to my brethren who are in Egypt and see whether they are yet alive he didn't tell me he's going down there to get him out he said he's want to go check see if they still lived in he wasn't really truthful with Jethro his father -in -law so he really wasn't ready to go he just wanted to go down and check on everything now you can appreciate the fact that Moses took care of his earthly tasks in a faithful manner before leaving he did want to make sure that the family is all right he just didn't want him hanging around with it but he sure wasn't much of a testimony to Jethro at this time but later on he was and through his testimony after he got right with God he was able to bring

Jethro to the Lord and got him out of the false God worship that he did now notice the assurance that God gave him as he stepped out into his new life of commitment to the

Lord and we have it in verses 18 to 31 the first thing God gave him in verses 19 to 23 was his word the people who wanted to slay

Moses were dead and God wanted Moses to trust him and not be afraid and so God said don't worry about it the ones who knew about you and wanted to kill you they're dead so he had

God's Word he had God's Word all right then he had God's discipline he had

God's discipline and God wanting to assure Moses that he was with him and that he would be taking care of him he did that through giving him his word that the people that were trying to kill him were dead and then he gave him his discipline circumcision was an important ceremony to the

Jew it was given to Abraham and it was a sign of the blood covenant it was a sign that God had made a blood covenant between he and them you might read

Genesis 17 at your leisure concerning that and God had to discipline

Moses now we were just speaking of this one the gentleman myself in verse 24 of chapter 4 and it came to pass by the way in the end that the

Lord met him and sought to kill him to the best that I can understand this and the best research of which

I'm capable and speaking with Hebrew scholars and men who are knowledgeable in the linguistic area here and the best research that I can find it seems evident that God struck

Moses with some kind of a sickness because he had not put his own son through the right of circumcision he had not put his own son through it whenever he went down to speak with the

Jewish people and say well God says come if they have found that out then they would known immediately he wasn't under the blood covenant and he's going to go serve

God and if you serve God you got to be under God's covenant you got to be right with God and the

Jew was required to have the right of circumcision at eight days old and he had not done it with his son and God somehow or other incapacitated him and we're not too sure about it some people believe that it was something had a great fever somehow or other he was not able to get up and move about and so his wife had to do that in verse 25 then

Sephora took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it at his feet and said surely a bloody husband art thou to me so he let him go then she said a bloody husband thou art because of the circumcision of course she is

Gentile did not understand it sometimes you and I hear a common phrase we're told what we talk about the blood of Christ they say you got a bloody religion you got a bloody faith what's the blood got to do with it why you got to have the blood and that's what people in this generation rebel against more than anything else you start talking about you can't be right with God without blood without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin and God had set these and circumcision to the

Jew is what baptism is to the Christian it's just a right of identification it lets people know that we are identified together with the

Lord Jesus Christ and the family of God the body of Christ the church that's what it is it's a mark of identification and so this was and so God began to discipline him and God reminded him somehow or other to the point that it was almost fatal of his obligation to do what

God had commanded these people to do now how could he lead Israel if he was failing to lead his own household and things spiritual mean you might ask yourself that question how you gonna be a leader in the church if you can't lead your own home how you gonna be a spiritually in the community when you're not a spiritual leader to your wife and children and the same would go for me how can

I be a spiritual leader if I can't be a spiritual leader in the little things in the place that's closest to me and that would be the home relationship so God had to get him right and there are a lot of people and pastor and I were discussing this you see a minister for example a preacher what is his primary responsibility his primary responsibility is what

Moses gonna be he's gonna be a spokesman for God is between him and God to make sure his right with God what is secondary responsibility take care of his churches ministry know it's secondary responsibility is his family to be right with God in to be right in his family history responsibilities in his church and you need to understand that you need to understand that your pastor's primary respond visitors not this church it is between him and God to make sure he's right

God and his secondary responsibility is to make sure his family spiritual and he's as spiritual lead of his family and his ministry will take care of itself because it will overflow into his ministry.

And his ministry, a no man's ministry will ever be any greater than his relationship to God and his relationship to his family.

Have you ever said this? I have. Yeah he's a preacher look at his kids. Yes I have.

I've said it many times, many times. Yeah he's a deacon but look at his kid.

They say well let's look at yours. No no wait now. No I'm not a spiritual leader so let's not examine mine.

So we all have these mutual responsibilities and yet and this is what God was trying to get across to him that you can't be a spiritual leader if you don't have your own household and that's why the

Bible says that a pastor and a deacon and there's no greater office in the church of course than a deacon.

We know that. And a deacon is a servant. He's not a leader. He's a servant. He's a servant of the church.

He's to serve and yet you see in there the same qualifications. He's supposed to have his children in tow and he's supposed to have his household in order or he doesn't meet the biblical qualifications and I don't care what you say.

You can't rationalize. He just doesn't do it. Now you'd make him one. I had a pastor one time made a statement.

Somebody asked him said well are deacons supposed to be when deacons vote? He said this gentleman stood up in church.

He said aren't deacons supposed to meet the basic requirements of the services of the church? At least be there for Sunday school.

At least be there for morning worship. Be there in the services in the evening and on Wednesday at least they're supposed to meet those where they can meet everything or not.

Say well we got some who don't. So the implication was well we got some who won't so therefore let's go ahead and vote some more in who won't either.

Now my, so what do we come to? But my dear friends every church you go to has the same situation. You got them on those roads and been on there for 20 years.

You know a man's a deacon. Hadn't been in church in 20 years. In a church in Texas. Hadn't been in church 20 years and he's still on the active road.

Why? Because they don't believe in rotating. Well we could talk about it but I believe

Moses here gives us a good example. I think you and I have some great qualifications to meet and God was trying to just lead him in his own household and think spiritual.

Now apparently Moses left his wife in chapter 18 verse 2. We pick it up later but apparently

Moses left his wife and son in Midian and went on with Aaron. Now God gave him his discipline. God disciplined him and then

God gave him some leading. His leading. God gave him his leading verses 27 to 28. He promised him that Aaron was coming in verse 14.

He told him Aaron would be there and now he fulfilled that promise. Now while both Moses and Aaron had weaknesses and perhaps failed

God and each other more than once, it was a great help for Moses to have his brother at his side. Isn't it strange almost through the

Bible God sends them out two by twos? You remember when he sent the 70 out Jesus sent them out? Sent them two by two. It's encouraging isn't it?

Boy I gotta go visit that guy. I don't go by myself. I go up and knock on that man's door and talk to him about the Lord. I don't go by myself.

Well take somebody with you. Okay. Jesus had Peter, James, John and him almost everywhere he went. He started out 12 one turn away.

And on that so it seemed like God wants us to have some companionship and it seemed to help Moses even though both of them had all kinds of problems in their life.

Now they met in what is called the Mount of God. They met in the Mount of God where Moses had seen that burning bush.

That's where they met and Moses the Bible says told his brother all the great truths that God had revealed to him.

And so he began to share the same truths with him in verse 28. And Moses told

Aaron all the words of the Lord who had sent him and all the signs which had commanded him. He let him know everything that God wanted him to do.

Now you and I sometimes are not like that either. I got a spiritual truth. Go get it for yourself.

I got mine. You go get yours. And we just don't seem like we want to share sometimes around the scripture like we ought to.

But we need to do it. Alright now also finally in verse 29 -31 we quickly see that God gave him the acceptance of the people.

God gave Moses the acceptance of the people. And this was a fulfillment of God's Word in verse 18 of chapter 3.

He said they'll listen to you. You don't think they will but they will. Now these same Jews, isn't this amazing, who received

Moses bowed their heads and said yes we'll walk with God.

Later on they're the same ones that hated him and criticized him because of their increased labor.

Look at chapter 5 verse 19. And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in evil case after it was said you shall not diminish anything from your bricks of your daily tasks.

And they met Moses and Aaron who stood in the way as they came forth from Pharaoh. And they said unto them the

Lord look upon you and judge because you have made us offensive in the eyes of Pharaoh and the eyes of his servants to put a sword in their hand to slay us.

They began to criticize Moses because Pharaoh said you just make more bricks and do everything and make it harder on them.

So they began to criticize him and turn their back on him. But God did give him the assurance that the people would follow him.

So we move to chapter 5 and we deal basically with the plagues. The plagues that God had to deal.

So we have before this we would entitle this chapter chapters 5 through 10.

We're gonna cover 5 through 10 in our next this session right here. We'll go through all of them.

First of all we have the command. We have the command seven times.

Again the number seven. Seven times in these chapters 5 through 10 God said to Pharaoh let my people go.

Let me give you the places they're found. Chapter 5 verse 1. Chapter 7 verse 16.

Chapter 8 verse 1. Chapter 8 verse 20. Chapter 9 verse 1.

Chapter 9 verse 13. And chapter 10 verse 3. I'll give them again. Chapter 5 verse 1.

Chapter 7 verse 16. Chapter 8 verse 1. Chapter 20. I mean chapter 8 verse 20.

Chapter 9 verse 1. Chapter 9 verse 13. And chapter 10 verse 3. Seven times God said to Pharaoh let my people go.

Now this command reveals that Israel was in bondage and God wanted them to be free that they might serve him.

And of course this is the condition of every lost sinner. He's enslaved to the world in flesh and he's under the orders of Satan as Jesus said in John 8 44 and other places.

That a person who doesn't know Christ his spiritual father Satan where he agrees to it or not is immaterial. Whether he believes it or not just doesn't make any difference.

Jesus said so. Jesus Christ said it was and they follow his bidding whether they realize or not.

Now what was Pharaoh's response to God's command? He said in verse 2 look at chapter 5 verse 2.

Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord neither will

I let Israel go. He said who is he? I don't know who he is. And I'm not gonna let him go uh uh.

I've got him made down here with him. Now the word has the world has no respect for God's Word does it? The world the people in the world do not respect

God's Word. It's vain to them. Now Moses and Aaron presented God's command to Pharaoh and the result was more bondage to Israel.

They said yeah you think we'll let him go? We'll just show you what we can do. And it made it more difficult for the people to do the work that was required of them.

And it began to become very very hard for them. And so they began to work. Now a sinner will either receive and yield to God's Word or he will resist it and become hardened.

You find that in chapter 3 verses 18 to 22 where they did hearken.

It says they will listen but in chapter 4 verses 21 to 23 you find they don't listen.

They don't listen and that happens in every case. When God says that his Word will not return void that will accomplish what he sent out to do.

That doesn't mean that everybody hears it's gonna get saved. That doesn't mean the end result is good. It means they'll either receive it and accept it or they'll reject it.

That's what God sends it out to do. He sends it out to either cause people to receive it and obey it or to reject it and resist it.

And so in that manner it always accomplishes one of those two things. Every time the Word of God is given.

Always and ever. All right now Pharaoh himself hardened his heart.

In one sense God hardened Pharaoh's heart by presenting his claims. But Pharaoh himself hardened his own heart by resisting

God's claim. It is the same Sun that melts the ice that will also harden the clay an old adage says.

Now we know that Pharaoh hardened his heart and and we know all of these sayings and how God began to try to deal with him and to work with him and and did all these miracles and things of this nature.

And we know that the Lord hardened his heart the Bible says nine times. Nine times does it not say that the

Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh. It says that Pharaoh hardened his heart three times and then it says five times that his heart was hardened and didn't tell us what the circumstance was.

So nine times it says the Lord did it and says three times he did it and five times it just says his heart was hardened and we're not told whether he did it or where God did it.

Now God hardened his heart by presenting his claims to him. Why? Because you either got to receive it or reject it. He rejected therefore the result was his heart was hard and then he did it on his own by refusing the claim.

Unfortunately the people of Israel looked to Pharaoh for help and not to the Lord who promised to deliver him.

And we can find that in verses 15 to 19. You see the officers went to see him that's where Moses and Aaron met him.

The officers of Israel the leaders of Israel went down and talked to Pharaoh about trying to solve their problem.

They'd making it's making it too hard for them and then that's when they began to gripe and complain against Moses.

Now Moses certainly was discouraged in this but he took his problem to the

Lord. You'll find in these passages he began to talk to the Lord and God encouraged him in chapter 6.

Then the Lord said unto Moses verse 1 now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh for with a strong hand shall he let them go and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land.

And what that means in the Hebrew is that means when it says a strong hand he'll drive them out and a strong hand he'll let them go.

He said when I get through he gonna get them out of there in a hurry. So he gonna let them go it by as quick as he let him go when I get through he said are you gonna see what

I can do whenever I deal with a man who's not right with me. My friends you can learn an awful lot about how

God deals with a man that will mock and curse in this passage of scripture. So we got the stage set right here.

It is now set. So God reminded Moses before he sent him in of several things in chapter 6.

I want you to mark them down. In verses 1 through 3 of chapter 6 he reminded him of his name.

He reminded him of his name. God spoke unto Moses and said unto him I am the Lord and I appeared unto

Abraham unto Isaac and unto Jacob by the name of God Almighty but by my name Jehovah was

I not known to them. And God begins to encourage Moses before he sends him in in verses 1 through 3 of chapter 6 and in verse 4 he speaks to him about his covenant.

And I have also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan the land of their pilgrimage wherein they were strangers.

And God says alright I've got some land for you. I made a covenant and then God in verse 5 shows him his personal concern for the people.

I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage and I have remembered my covenant.

He expresses to Moses his personal concern. And then in verses 6 through 8 he talks about his fateful promises.

Wherefore say unto the children of Israel I am the Lord and I will bring you out from under the burden of the Egyptian. I will rid you out of their bondage.

I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments and I will take you to me for a people.

And I will be to you a God and you shall know that I am the Lord your God who bringeth you out from under the burdens of the

Egyptians. And I will bring you into the land concerning which I did swear to give it to Abraham to Isaac and to Jacob.

And I will give it to you for an heritage I am the Lord. So God gets the stage set and then he reaffirms himself to Moses.

He encourages him one time more before he goes in. So Pharaoh had refused the commandment of God.

Now God's I am and God's I will are enough to overcome any enemy.

God's purpose in allowing Pharaoh to oppress Israel was so that his power and his glory might be known to the world.

Would you at your own leisure read these passages of Scripture? Read chapter 6 verse 7.

Chapter 7 verse 5 and verse 17.

Chapter 8 verse 10 and verse 22. Chapter 6 verse 7. Chapter 7 verse 5 and verse 17.

Chapter 8 verse 10 and verse 22. God was ready to show his power and his might.

Now God was going to fulfill his promise in Genesis 12 3 when he said I will bless them that bless thee and curse them that curse thee.

God has destroyed from the face of the earth every nation that's turned against Israel. And there are no exceptions to that.

There are no exceptions to it. God deals severely. He doesn't deal when you think he will deal.

God deals his own time. But God made this promise and he's about to do the same thing. He's going to reveal his power.

Now his wrath and his greatness will be against the gods of Egypt. And I have them listed for you here on the blackboard.

Each one of the plagues dealt with a specific God that the Egyptians worshipped.

Now the ten plagues accomplished several things. First of all they were signs to Israel.

They were signs to Israel assuring them of God's power and God's care for them.

In verse 3 of chapter 7 we read and I will harden Pharaoh's heart and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.

It was gonna be a sign to them but also a sign to the people of Israel. Also they were going to be plagues of judgment to Egypt punishing the people for persecuting

Israel and revealing the vanity of their gods. Now in chapter 9 verse 14 we read for I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart and upon thy servants and upon thy people that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth.

So God's going to condemn there and show them the foolishness of their gods and that there's no other God like him that he's true

God. And then they were prophecies. They were prophetic of the judgments that are going to come because they are quite similar to the judgments of Revelation.

They're quite similar to the judgments in the book of the Revelation. Now let me give you first of all the sequence of the plagues.

They're a little different. I've got them here but there is a unique sequence to these. They come in groups of threes.

All right the first three the water to the blood and the frogs and the lice.

The water to the blood chapter 17 verses 14 to 23 and the frogs chapter 8 1 through 15 and the lice chapter 8 verses 16 to 19.

All right the water to the blood chapter 7 verses 14 to 23 there is a warning given in verse 16 let my people go.

He gave the plague. He said let my people go. He gave them a warning. All right now with the frogs a warning is given in chapter 8 verse 1.

In chapter 8 verse 1 the Lord spoke unto Moses going to Pharaoh and saying to him thus saith the Lord let my people go.

He gave him warning. Now with the lice no warning. There's no warning with the lice.

That's in chapter 8 verses 16 19 and the magicians could not duplicate the lice.

You read chapter 8 verses 18 and 19. The magicians could not duplicate it.

Then the magician said unto Pharaoh this is the finger of God. They tried to do it and the magicians couldn't do it.

And so that little group fits together. All right then the next one picks up a chapter 8 verse 20 and goes to 24 and it's the flies and a warning is given there in chapter 8 verse 20.

The Lord said unto Moses rise up early. He comes in tell him let my people go that they might serve me.

So there's a warning given in chapter 8 verse 20 about the flies. Now and then the next one the fifth one is the murrain on the cattle chapter 9 the first seven verses chapter 9 1 through 7 and a warning is given there in verse 1 let my people go.

Now strangely the next one the third one again the boils on the people no warning chapter 9 verses 8 through 12 and no warning is given there as no warning was given with the lice and the magicians themselves are afflicted in verse 11 and 12 and the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils for the ball was upon the magicians.

So God just zapped them too and yet there was no warning there. All right we pick up the next three seven eight nine you have the hail and the fire chapter 9 verses 13 to 35 chapter 9 verses 13 to 35 and a warning is given again in verse 13 let my people go before he sent the hail and the fire.

All right then the next one the eighth one is the locust chapter 10 the first six verses chapter 10 1 through 6 and a warning is given there in verse 3

Moses Aaron came in the Pharaoh and said unto him thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews how long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me let my people go that they may serve me there's a warning again.

Now the third one again strangely enough is the thick darkness chapter 10 verses 21 to 23 and no warning there's no warning given in that one and Pharaoh refuses to see

Moses again in verses 27 to 29 but the

Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart he would not let them go and Pharaoh said unto him get thee from me take heed to thyself see my face no more for in that day thou seest my face thou shalt die and Moses said thou has spoken well

I will see thy face again no more. Moses said you said it I won't come back again you're not telling me anything

I don't know Moses said you're not giving me any new information I know this is it

I know this is it and you're right you won't see me again. Now isn't it interesting that the third one number three no warning number six no warning nine no warning and then the tenth one the death of the firstborn of course is in chapter 11 and 12 and that is the final judgment the final judgment all right now let's look at them quickly here the plagues a little bit

Moses the rod of God in his hand right successive blows with that rod at each

God all right the blood quickly the blood the Nile now the blood is chapter 7 verses 14 to 25 the

Nile was an idle River the Nile River was worshipped it was worshipped by these people even the crocodiles to some were worshipped and their young virgins many times were thrown in there the dead their ashes were sprinkled in the

Nile you had found this in the days of the Mahatma Gandhi and some of these that would want to do this and so the

Nile was an idle River its water and certain of its denizens were held sacred and worshipped as the source of life so the

Nile God was humiliated by the plague of blood when God just changes the blood it humiliated that which was supposed to be the source of life the second plague was the frogs chapter 8 the first 15 verses now the

God was hacked he kt this goddess is a goddess who had a frog head a goddess a female

God a goddess with a frog head was divinely exposed in the second plague now the frog to the

Egyptian people was a symbol of the resurrection it was a symbol of the resurrection and so God dealt with that he said you like frogs you you want to worship frogs

I'll give you frogs and God just turned it loose and they had frogs everywhere can't you imagine trying to eat blue frogs hamburger frog you know and God gave them more frogs and they can handle all right the third one then was the lice chapter 8 verses 16 through 19 now this was directed at Seb Seb the earth

God Seb the earth God it defiled the people lice they got lice on them now in order to worship their gods they were just like anybody else they had to be clean they had to be spotless and with lice on them they couldn't worship this earth

God and so therefore they were not spotless and clean to do so so God dealt with them there all right now the fourth one are the flies now

Josephus the Jewish historian who lived around the time of Christ and many others interpret this

Hebrew reading as referring and you'll find many commentaries will tell you this that it was a mixture of creatures that it wasn't just one kind it was a mixture different kinds there are all kinds of little insects involved in it but if you do a careful study of the

Hebrew you'll find that it was a single creature and it's translated I want you to notice something with me will you turn to chapter 8 if you have the

King James you will see it if you don't have the King James you won't but chapter 8 verse 20 now look at verse 21 you see the word of flies of flies yeah where you find flies you find it in italics that means it is not in the original manuscripts it has been added by the translators why because they didn't know what it was but let me tell you what

I think it is and I know you're not interested but I'll tell you if you do a real study of the verbiage and break down the

Hebrew words and go to their root you will find that it seems to be and there are some

Hebrew scholars who believe this it seems to be a particular kind of a beetle of a beetle and it is true that they did have a

God from called scarab s or scarab eos have you ever gone to a jewelry shop and find the little beetle and women wear them as ornaments that's exactly where it came and they call it the scarab that's where it came from and so there are great indications in the

Hebrew language that it was some kind and we don't know what kind but it did have some kind of a beetle effect because it did have pincers and this is what's indicated to us as we break the language down and there are some reputable

Hebrew scholars who hold to this particular view so I just share that with you that I believe it did attack this

God because God wouldn't leave one God out there that wasn't attacked and God attacked it and that's where we get the word that we use on those little ornaments that you pick up in the jewelry shop art the fifth one chapter 9 verses 1 through 7 was the murrain the murrain this was a pointed shaft of retribution towards Apis the sacred

Egyptian bull the sacred Egyptian bull and also there was a cow goddess you got bull you got cows got male female and this was hathor h -a -t -h -o -r hathor h -a -t -h -o -r the cow goddess and the sacred bull as they were worshipped together this allowed them to have their fertility rights and other things that they were involved in all right the sixth plague was the boils that's chapter 9 verses 8 through 12 now the boils attacked

Typhon the evil genius who gave them wisdom he was sort of discomfited in Egypt's magicians suffered their second defeat now

Typhon was the one who gave the magicians they thought their power their wisdom to do what they did so God struck them and this was attack at their source we knew we know

Satan was lying behind it all and also Nate Nate was one in there and Nate was the health involved in the health

Nate was a health goddess or the goddess of health and so when God struck him with the balls he destruct the magicians and he also struck them all and saying your health

God is any good your health God can't now the seventh plague interesting enough is the hail and fire and it's peculiar chapter 9 verses 13 to 35 why is it peculiar because hail is practically unknown in Egypt you don't ever see how you hail doesn't curl with Egypt it is practically unknown and yet they did get it and what it was it was a judgment directed against shoe

SHU who was the God of the atmosphere so God sent him a little something peculiar and it humiliated the

God of the atmosphere and this would surely I'm impressed Pharaoh the Egyptians with a supernatural character of this visitation because they had not seen hail it would been unfamiliar to them unfamiliar to them and yet it came upon them with destruction and they would have wondered naturally well how come our

God didn't stop this how come shoe didn't handle all of this it was also a shaft against Isis you got television program don't you let the little children watch

Isis the Isis our a false Egyptian goddess a false

Egyptian goddess all right the eighth one is the locust chapter 10 verses 1 through 20 the first 20 verses of chapter 10 now since the

Egyptians paid homage to the God Serapia or Serapia as the protector from locust that's what that God did stop them from supposedly protect them from the locust come and eating all their grain and taking and bringing a famine into the land this was a revealing and severe judgment exposing the impotence and inadequacy of that pagan deity as God sent the locust anyway

I imagine they cried after their God but their God just couldn't handle the true God of Israel the

God of God God all right an excellent chapter 10 verse 21 through 29 is darkness great darkness came upon now there were 1 ,000 foot cliffs 1 ,000 foot cliffs

Sun drenched and they arranged in such a way these cliffs where the

Sun always came down on them and there was a three terraced temple that was placed there so that the

Sun almost all the day the Sun was out the Sun would be on that three terraced temple and it was the temple of this

Queen Hatshepsut which is the one here who is the female Ra Ra is the

Sun God and she would be the Sun Goddess the Sun Goddess and she was worshipped there and even today and I don't know where we'll get a chance to see this or not but we may can certainly see some pictures when we get over there the

Sun altar is still there they have uncovered it and found this Sun altar where they would offer human beings to the

Sun God and this ninth plague of supernatural darkness stripped the deity from Ra the

Sun God and left him blind and groping amidst his deluded devotees these Egyptians who were worshipping and then of course that dreaded one the death of the firstborn the death of the firstborn chapter 11 verse 1 through chapter 12 verse 36 chapter 11 verse 1 all the way through 1236 this was the last and most appalling plague which produced a complete capitulation of Pharaoh and the liberation of Israel and it was piercingly purposive

God had something all right now I didn't write his name up there

I don't I don't believe that I put his name up there Mishkamit is the

God dealt with here now he was the goddess of birth he was the goddess of the

God of she was the goddess of birth now in Egypt you have to understand with the

Pharaoh and the lineage that they have primal geniture was probably more respected in Egypt than anywhere else and what

I'm saying to you is this word here you know it well primal geniture firstborn the firstborn the child of Pharaoh what if you don't miss

P -r -i -m -o primal first geniture g -e -n -i -t -u -r -e firstborn the child of Pharaoh was considered to be divine just like Pharaoh was now they their their head

God the God they worship more than they did any other had to do with Ra Ra now when the firstborn ascended the throne he was given the title that I have placed right here for you

Sarah and khatif Sarah in khatif is the name and it actually means the son of Ra from his own body the son of Ra from his own body so the young boy that would be born a

Pharaoh was considered to be a gift from the God Ra through the goddess of birth and therefore it would be considered divine that's why the firstborn plague was so horrible to this

Pharaoh it took away his firstborn but not only that it also it was so widespread that it involved

Ra the Sun God and Horus h -o -r -u -s who was the

God King Horus was the chief God of all he ruled the world according to these people he was the head one and then of course

Apis the sacred bull why would he be involved in Hathor the goddess who had a head or horns and ears of a cow why would that be because you see the firstborn of the animals also was going to be killed we read carefully we find not just the firstborn children but the firstborn of all the beasts so this was just an overall plague that just struck at everything

God just demolished them all in these plagues and so God was ready to get the people of Israel out now the

Egyptian magicians were able to imitate some of Moses miracles now when you trace these plagues interesting enough

I made a comment a while ago to the book of Revelation when God just describes his final conflict let me give you a couple thoughts in Revelation 8 8 and Revelation 16 verses 4 through 5 you find water turned to blood water turned to blood

Revelation 8 8 and Revelation 16 4 and 5 you also in the final judgments find frogs in chapter 16 verse 13 you find physical diseases and afflictions chapter 16 verse 2 you find hail in chapter 8 verse 7 that's physical diseases and afflictions in 16 verse 2 frogs in 16 verse 13 hail in chapter 8 verse 7 locust in chapter 9 verse 1 and following and darkness in 1610 so you have

God visiting these same plagues on an unbelieving world again again now the magicians turned the rod in the circle chapter 7 verses 8 to 13 they turned the water to blood chapter 7 verses 22 to 25 and the frogs chapter 8 verse 7 they were able to duplicate but they could not turn the dust into lice and of course we are warned in Timothy to beware because in the last days many will depart from the faith and they will follow seducing spirits and the way that Satan's duping people today is through miracles it's through miracles he can perform them just like God can perform and if you don't think so here it is right in the beginning of history and Satan has never changed as God has never changed and the only way you can ever tell the difference is not by how you feel of how you think or what makes you feel good or what doesn't make you feel good because Satan will tell the truth as he did in Acts 16 but the only way you can check it is to go to the

Word of God and everywhere you find signs in the Bible you find it dealing with Jews now don't miss that everywhere signs are used in the

Bible it dealt with Jews is it any wonder why first Corinthians 122 says the

Jew requires a sign but the Gentile seeks after wisdom God said you take the Gentile give him enough information he'll figure it out but a

Jew you got to show him why it's alien to him Christianity is alien to him and wherever the signs were used in the

New Testament you find Jews present there are no exceptions to that first Corinthians 122 comes before chapter 12 the

Jew requires a sign and you find Jews there in Corinth one of the largest synagogues in the world was built in Corinth a thriving synagogue and most of the

Corinthian Church where Jewish converts it's very interesting to me as I think about that first Corinthians 122 is the verse all right now let's quickly close this section off here and close our section talk about the compromises now in chapters 5 through 10 we got the command we've got the conflict

I didn't give you that Roman numeral to the conflict the plagues the conflict Moses and God used him and then we have the compromises now

Pharaoh is a type of Satan he was the god of Egypt and he had supreme power except where he was limited by God Satan has supreme power except where he's limited by God he was a liar he was a murderer

Pharaoh he kept people in bondage he hated the Word of God and hate the people of God Pharaoh did not want to release the

Jews so he offered four subtle compromises and I want to give those to you quickly hoping get through them first of all he said worship

God in the land chapter 8 verses 25 through 27 chapter 8 would be verse 25 through 27 he said well you worship

God here God demands complete separation from the world he says get out of it you can't worship

God in a golf course like you can the church that's why Jesus loved the church and died for it you can't worship

God in some club like you can the church that's why Jesus loved the church and gave himself for it and the church is the only thing he ever died for and he says he demands complete separation the friendship the world is enmity with God James 4 for end of the world an enemy of God that's what the

Bible says I didn't say it he just says that now since the Egyptians worship cows they would be offended if they saw the

Jews sacrificing cattle to God and yet they were required to know the believer must come out and be separate 2nd

Corinthians 617 come out from among them and be separate what have you as light to do with darkness what have you as a believer do with unbelievers what have you as righteousness to do with unrighteousness come out from among them and be ye separate and this wasn't a man but Pharaoh said oh don't be narrow -minded you can worship

God down here just like you can they couldn't all right second one do not go too far away verse 28 chapter 8 verse 28 he said

Pharaoh said I'll let you go that you may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness only you shall not go very far away you can go watch my if you want to go but just don't go too far don't go too far what's that say to us don't be too fanatical don't go off the deep end in this religion stuff why do you just say you got to believe the

Bible and you can't believe anything are we all sincere we're all going the same way it's fine to have religion but just don't get too serious with it and that is the temptation to be a borderline believer trying to stay close to the world and close to the

Lord same time we'll make a spiritual schizophrenic of it of you and it'll cause more tensions and difficulties in your life than you can cope with and that's the big problem in the church now people want the world but they won't

Christ too and you can't you can't stay close to both of them you just can't serve two masters all right the third one is in chapter 10 verses 7 through 11 said all right let the men go the man only should go we'll let the men go do the worship and then now this man leaving the wives and the children in the world because Egypt is a picture of the world you men go ahead but leave your wives and children here well

I know a lot of men do that I know me and work hard work hard work hard and then whether I gotta have a night out

I can't figure out why they ever got married why they gotta have a night out why you don't get away from your wife and children that tells me a problem starting right there man's married don't want to be around his wife and children something's wrong well

I want to go out and play golf I don't wife around why cuz she can't play golf I understand it and this is what he's trying to do you we can talk about that for a long time

Christian faith involves the whole family not just the men only yet how often the heads of homes fail to lead their wives and children away from the world and into a separated life they just failed to do it all right the fourth one quickly is keep your possessions in Egypt chapter 10 verses 24 to 26 keep your possessions in Egypt chapter 10 verses 24 and 26

Pharaoh called unto Moses and said go you serve the Lord only let your flocks and your herds be left behind and let your little ones also go with you but just leave everything you got behind Satan loves to get hold of your material wealth so that we cannot use it for the

Lord and all that we have belongs to Christ and where your treasury is there will your heart be also

Moses refused each one of those compromises because you cannot compromise with Satan and the world and please

God we may think that we've won a victory by pacifying the world but we will be mistaken