Pharoah's Talk and Type

[0:00] targeting and annihilating the agriculture. And this week he's going to threaten to do, to clean up whatever escaped, whatever got through that.

[0:12] Any hope that they had is going to be completely lost in this eighth plague where the Lord is going to send locusts upon the land. So Genesis, I'm sorry, Exodus chapter 10.

[0:26] And we're going to read down to verse 20. So please follow along.

[0:39] Exodus 10, verse number 1. And the Lord said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I might show these my signs before him, and that thou mightest tell in the ears of thy son and of thy son's sons with things I have wrought in Egypt, and my signs which I have done unto them, that ye may know how that I am the Lord.

[1:00] And Moses and Aaron came in unto 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.

[1:12] Else if thou refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow will I bring the locust into thy coast. And they shall cover the face of the earth, that one cannot be able to see the earth.

[1:24] And they shall eat the residue of that which is escaped, which remaineth unto you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which groweth for you out of the field. And they shall fill thy houses, and the houses of all thy servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians, which neither thy fathers nor thy fathers' fathers have seen since the day that they were upon the earth unto this day.

[1:44] And he turned himself and went out from Pharaoh. And Pharaoh's servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? Let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God.

[1:57] Knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed? And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh. And he said unto them, Go serve the Lord your God, but who are they that shall go?

[2:08] And Moses said, We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go. For we must hold a feast unto the Lord.

[2:19] And he said unto them, Let the Lord be so with you, as I will let you go and your little ones. Look to it, for evil is before you. Not so. Go now ye that are men, and serve the Lord, for that ye did desire.

[2:32] And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence. And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land, even all that the hail hath left.

[2:47] And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day and all that night. And when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts, and the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coast of Egypt.

[2:59] Very grievous were they. Before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such. For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left.

[3:13] And there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, throughout all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste, and he said, I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you.

[3:28] Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and entreat the Lord your God, that he may take away from me this death only. And he went out from Pharaoh and treated the Lord. The Lord turned a mighty strong west wind, which took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red Sea.

[3:42] There remained not one locust in all the coast of Egypt. But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go. So more pestilence, and more destruction, and even the Egyptians realized that their land is destroyed.

[4:00] God made certain that no fruit came of those trees, that nothing came up out of the ground that was even left over.

[4:12] It was just, if it was green, it was gone. And he completely cleaned them out. Now in this 20 verses that we just read, there were three separate meetings that transpired between Moses and Aaron and Pharaoh.

[4:26] In verse 3 was the first time they came in before Pharaoh, and Moses on his own accord just turned and left. He just walked off. And the second time they were called in, in verse 8, and then Pharaoh, it says they were driven from Pharaoh's presence.

[4:43] And then the third time is in verse 16, when Pharaoh calls for them again, and has them come back, and begs them to talk to God, and get this thing reversed, and get these locusts out of here.

[4:54] Now, that's three separate meetings. The first and the last one, that's not uncommon at all. That's kind of the way this thing has gone, where Moses and Aaron show up, they tell this is what God's going to do, and then Pharaoh's begging for mercy, and they come back, and they adjust things, and pray to God, and intercede.

[5:14] But it's that meeting that's in the middle, that's out of the norm. And the king of Egypt here is feeling pressure. However, he's feeling the pressure from his own servants, like we read in verse 7, where they're just saying, let the men go.

[5:29] Why are you holding on to these? Like, look at our land. Common sense. They don't want any more of this. And so there's pressure from his own servants. I'm sure there's pressure from just the collapsing economy, and from all of that's just falling, the bits and pieces in his hands, during his reign.

[5:47] But it's in this meeting, in verses 8 through 11, that he voices some things, that I believe are telling, that are some things that expose, the kind of man that he is, the character of this man, Pharaoh.

[6:04] Now, I pointed out several times already, in coming through this book, that Pharaoh, this king of Egypt, is a type of somebody else, of another person, a much more powerful person, one that's called our adversary, the devil.

[6:18] The king of Egypt, pictures the one called, the God of this world. And he's lifted up in pride, and he's got an hardened heart, and this king afflicts God's people, and he keeps them in bondage, and he makes their lives to be hard.

[6:34] One instance, as we read in verse number 3, is where the Lord speaks to Pharaoh, and he says, how long wilt thou refuse, to humble thyself before me? That sounds like words, that God could say, directly to Satan himself.

[6:48] How long wilt thou refuse, to humble thyself before me? In this second meeting, we see greater evidence, for this type, or for this picture, of our adversary, the devil.

[7:02] This conversation exposes, our adversary, for his tendencies. His talk, is telling. Now, remember back in Genesis, when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, and he sent his eldest, Esau, to go get venison, so that he could bless him.

[7:22] You remember how Rebecca worked it out, and got Jacob in there before, and made him some meat, from the kid of the goats, and Jacob came in, and he said, who art thou, my son? He said, I'm Esau, thy firstborn.

[7:34] And Isaac said this, he said, the voice, is Jacob's voice. He couldn't change his voice, though, could he? He couldn't hide who he truly was, even though the man couldn't see him.

[7:46] The voice is Jacob's voice. I also think, later on, when Christ was being, he's being tried, falsely accused, and tried, that Peter was warming himself, by the fire, and Peter was following afar off, that night, and there was somebody, that accused him, and said, you're one of his disciples.

[8:07] And he said, I do not know this man, I know not the man, and he cursed, and the person said, you're from Galilee, thy speech bereath thee.

[8:19] It was his own voice, his own words, that were telling, of who he was. And, one more, along those lines, you may have read, in the book of Judges, where there was a battle, where Jephthah was leading, and the men of Gilead, were defeating, the Ephraimites, and the Ephraimites, that were, discomfited, and were trying to make, their way back home, they were trying to cross, over this brook, and the men of Gilead, said, who are you, are you an Ephraimite?

[8:47] And if they said, no we're not, no, they said, well then say this word, say, Shibboleth. And if they could say it, well it's because, they were from that area, and they belong, but if they couldn't say it, if they said, Shibboleth, because they couldn't frame, to pronounce it right, they killed him, because they knew, they were Ephraimites, trying to sneak back home.

[9:09] Their voice betrayed him, the voice is Jacob's voice, and what I notice here, in this second meeting, is that Pharaoh says, some things, that indicates, the greater picture, of who he is, a picture of the devil, our adversary, Satan.

[9:25] And I want to point, these things out, to you this morning, and maybe we can take, some insight here, about our adversary, it's not a common thing, for me to be talking, about the devil, and to be saying, Satan this, and Satan that, and you just know that, it's not a common thing, to be coming out, of this pulpit, but today's the day, and so let's just pray, for the Lord, to guide us through this, and give us some insight, and give us, some understanding, and protection, and victory, over this, our adversary.

[9:57] So let's pray, and then we'll get, into this text. God, as we approach, this passage, I pray that your spirit, would guide, and would lead, and only into truth.

[10:09] It's my intention, to speak against, our adversary, the devil, and to bring to light, his true identity, and his true person. And so God, I pray that you'll protect us, and wash this place, in the blood of Jesus Christ.

[10:24] And Lord, allow nothing, to interfere with the truth, being proclaimed, and being heard, and being understood, and received. I pray you'll give us victory, in this Christian life, as we seek to please you, and walk by faith.

[10:38] Give us understanding, of the battle, and of the one, who would deceive us, and would lie to us, and would cause us, to listen to his voice. But Lord, let us expose him today, and may Jesus Christ, give us strength, to do what's right, and to serve him always, and to put him first, above all else.

[10:57] For it's in his name, we ask. Amen. So we're in Genesis 10, and we're going to come back, to this passage, in verses 8 through 11, and take a look, at our adversary, the devil, and notice, that the words, Pharaoh says, indicate to us, who this is, that we're dealing with.

[11:17] In verse number 8, I'll begin, at the beginning there, in verse 8, Moses and Aaron, were brought again, unto Pharaoh, and he said unto them, go, serve the Lord your God, but who are they, that shall go?

[11:30] He gets the answer, from Moses, who's going to go, and then, and Pharaoh again, in verse 10, he said, let the Lord be so with you, as I will let you go, and your little ones, look to it, for evils before you.

[11:44] Isn't this an awkward way, to end this statement? When he's saying, I'm going to let you go, you know he doesn't, want to let him go, and we know that, even more so by the end of it, he doesn't let him go.

[11:56] But in the moment, before the plague even comes, he says, I'll let you go. Like I'm conceding, completely, I'm going to let, all of you go, I'm going to let, just as Moses tells them, the young and the old, sons, daughters, flocks, and herds, let the Lord be so with you, he says.

[12:15] And I will let you go, and your little ones. But he closes this line, by saying, look to it. What do you think he means, by look to it?

[12:25] It means, get on with it, take, get it done, take care of it. You can run that phrase, through the scripture, you'll find, similar phrases like that. It means, take care of it, get it done.

[12:38] Why? For evils before you. What in the world, is he talking about? Talking like, go serve the Lord your God, and, let the Lord be so with you, and I will let you go.

[12:53] Talking like, I'm just going to, I'm going to let you go. And then he says, look to it. He's, he's, he's, he's, he's sniping at them, he's, he's picking at them.

[13:04] He's threatening them, evils before you. I think Pharaoh's saying, something like this, I'll allow you to go, but you beware. You're on thin ice.

[13:15] I'll let you go, but only to do exactly what you said, and holding a feast, and I'll be watching, every step of the way. So, look to it. Go on. Get to, get this business over with.

[13:28] And he thinks he can just, rid himself of all this burden, and plagues, if he just finally lets them go, sacrifice to the Lord, their God. Now, what I want you to notice, is that he's giving them permission, but he's still trying to demonstrate, his authority over them.

[13:48] The evil that he warns them of, do you think that evil, is something they should be afraid of? I mean, is it evil that's coming from God? Evil is before you.

[13:58] What are you talking about, Pharaoh? God has been protecting this people, every step of the way, from all these horrible things, that have been happening, in the land of Egypt, but not in the land of Goshen. Everything's been pretty fine, in the land of Goshen.

[14:13] They've been protected by God. What's he talking about, evils before you? I can tell you that Moses and Aaron, didn't think that God was going to send evil their way, if they get going on this trip. But it sounds like this, this king, is still trying to lord over them, even while he's coming to terms with them.

[14:32] Even while he's conceding with them, he's still trying to threaten and lord over them. Now, who is he? Who is Pharaoh? Who is, who is this man? What position is he in, in this state, to, to be threatening them?

[14:47] What position is he in, to be making threats, or suggesting, that evil's going to come upon the Hebrews, if they don't look to it, and get this thing over with? I mean, what kind of a guy, does he think he is?

[14:58] You know what that tells me, about this Pharaoh? It tells me about this, this adversary of ours, the devil? Is that he's a controller, and that he's an intimidator, and that he's a manipulator.

[15:13] Even when he's on the losing end, he's still going to try to control you, and he's still going to try to intimidate you. He still wants people to fear him, and to heed what he says, and obey him, even when he's conceding, even when he's powerless.

[15:31] And Satan, our adversary, is a controller, and he is an intimidator, and he himself, is a manipulator. Even when you belong to God, even when you belong to God, and have been washed in his blood, and bought, Satan tries to intimidate, and control you.

[15:56] He wants you to give in, to his voice. He's such an intimidator, when God says, that you're justified, you've been forgiven. It's under the blood.

[16:07] Satan says, yeah, but you're guilty. You still did it, and everybody remembers it, and you did it. And God says, I've forgiven it, my child.

[16:19] Enter thou into the joy of the Lord. Satan says, you guilty sinner, you. You'll never amount to nothing. Everybody knows, what you really are. There's no victory for you.

[16:31] And he intimidates. When God says, I want you to testify, I want you to tell somebody, I want you to respond, to the preaching, I want you to do something public, God says, this is what I want you to do.

[16:46] And on the inside, and Satan comes by, and he says, yeah, but what will people think? Because you know they're looking. You don't know how to talk.

[16:57] You don't know what you're talking about. It's a voice of intimidation, and I'd venture to say that every single one of you sitting here has heard that voice of intimidation. You've heard the voice.

[17:08] It's not your father. It's the devil. It's this, it's this Pharaoh here trying to be an intimidator. And he comes by you when God moves on you, and his spirit deals with your heart, and he comes by you, and tries to put the clamps on it right away, and says, you can't do that.

[17:27] You're not smart enough. You're not wise enough. You're not a good speaker. God says, be strong, and stand in the power of my might. And Satan says, but you're weak.

[17:39] You know you're weak. This stuff isn't for you. Leave that to the preachers, and leave that to the pastors, and leave that to those guys, not to you. God says, I want more from you.

[17:50] Take a step and follow me. And Satan says, you can't afford that. And he intimidates. God says, trust me. God says, obey me. In that still, small, comforting voice, there's that reliable voice of God, that is countered by that manipulating voice.

[18:12] And your adversary, the devil says, you're in over your head. You just stick with what you're comfortable with. Don't you stick your neck out. Don't you do anything for God. God gives you a promise that says, I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me.

[18:28] And your adversary's voice pipes up, and says, oh no, you can't do that. You can't do that. You just stay in your lane. You just sit down. You just keep your mouth shut.

[18:40] He's an intimidator. He's a manipulator. He'll use the works of your flesh against you. You know, one of the works of your flesh is fear. And you fear public speaking.

[18:53] You fear ridicule. You fear somebody knowing too much about you. You fear failure. And he uses the works of your flesh against you to keep you from submitting to God and trusting God and allowing God to use you.

[19:09] He's a filthy manipulator. That's all he is. He's Pharaoh in this picture. He's been beat. He's powerless. And yet he's still trying to manipulate you.

[19:21] When God offers you his power and says, be strong in the power of my might, and he says, open your mouth, stand up, I'll fill it, Satan tells you to shut up. And you believe it.

[19:33] And you fear. It's a work of your flesh and he exploits it. He maxes it out. Satan is a manipulator of your sin.

[19:44] He'll constantly remind you of your sin. Tell me, does God remind you how big of a sinner you are? I mean, in the book you see it, but does he come to you in private devotion and say, I just want to remind you, you dirty piece of trash.

[19:59] Does God talk to his children like that? Is he never, not always trying to lift you up and get you over yourself and over your pride and over your fears?

[20:10] But the devil shows up and he tries to manipulate the works of your flesh, your sin, and tempting you in that very sin and tempting you and pushing you and pushing you because he knows he's gotten you to fall before.

[20:24] takes advantage of every moment that you're alone. Takes advantage of every opportunity when no one sees you. He's right there and the voice of manipulation is right there.

[20:38] And yet in Christ, you have the victory, you have the power and the new man to withstand and to walk in newness of life, but that loser, that manipulator shows right up and speaks.

[20:49] I bet you've heard his voice. That's your adversary, the devil. But the Lord God, differently, he attempts to guide you with comforting words and with peaceful words, with his unchanging and ever reliable truth, the word of God.

[21:09] He tries to lift you up, as I said, and draw you to Christ and draw you away from the life you're living and from the sins of your flesh. But that controller and that manipulator and that intimidator, he's got a voice and if you tell the truth, you've listened to that voice.

[21:31] Not just have you heard it, you've given heed to it. And you've said, yeah, yeah, I probably shouldn't. Yeah, I probably should back off a little bit.

[21:43] Yeah, it probably isn't that important. And you allowed him to have his way with you. That's our adversary. There's something else. I'll show you. Verse number 11.

[21:55] Right after he tells him he'll let him go, he comes back with those two words, not so. I mean, just like that. Not so. Nope, changed my mind.

[22:06] In the same breath. One moment, he offers release and off you go and it's fine and the Lord be with you. Blessing, blessing. Nope. Forget about it.

[22:18] I mean, it's just that fast. That's such an odd thing to see as you read through this passage. In one moment, he says one thing. In the next moment, he retracts it and digs his heels in.

[22:30] What does that reveal? It reveals that his word is meaningless. It reveals that earlier when he said in verse number 8, go serve the Lord your God, he did not mean that.

[22:41] He wasn't intending on letting them go and it means that his word cannot be counted on. Pharaoh has already told this same lie a few times before.

[22:52] Back when there was frogs, he said, I'll let you go, just get rid of the frogs. And then when there were flies, he said, I'll let you go, just pray to God that he takes away the flies.

[23:06] And then most recently, during this hail, he promised to let them go. Three times, and here's the fourth promise that he'll let them go and goes back on his word.

[23:19] This man has a track record for being untrustworthy. Do you know why? Because he is a liar. Does that remind you of somebody?

[23:32] If you don't know the verse, then I want you to turn to John chapter 8. If you know it and you know it well, then you can just say, yep, I know who that is.

[23:43] But if you don't know the verse, then turn to John chapter 8 and verse 44. The devil is a liar.

[24:06] In verse number 44, John chapter 8, verse 44, Jesus Christ says, Ye are of your father the devil, and the lust of your father he will do.

[24:16] He was a murderer from the beginning and abode not in the truth. Why? Because there is no truth in him.

[24:27] When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, meaning of his own accord, of his own self. It's his words, it's his will. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own.

[24:40] Why? For he is a liar and the father of it. Satan is a liar. You can't trust what he says.

[24:52] What he says and what he promises and what he offers, he may or he may not follow through with. He cannot be trusted. Now when somebody lies to you, why do they lie to you?

[25:07] Maybe they're trying to hide something from you, keep you from knowing something about them. Maybe they're trying to protect themselves from something they did that they shouldn't have done and they lie about.

[25:21] Isn't that kind of the norm for children? To just, they try to cover their tracks. They tell a lie. Why does somebody lie? They're trying to protect.

[25:31] You can discern this. If somebody lies to you, they don't care about you. They don't care about you. They care about themselves. They're trying to throw you under the bus perhaps or keep you in the dark because it suits whatever situation they're in best.

[25:49] It suits them best. They care about themselves. And liars have no issue using other people to get whatever feels best to them. So they lie.

[26:00] Some people are terrible at it. I mean like, like they drink water. They lie. I've known some, in my younger days, known some kids, one that comes to mind very quickly that was just a lie or two actually in my teenage years.

[26:16] Just a bold face lie to everybody, to his friends, to girls, to authorities. Just lie, lie, lie and really good at it. It's a shame. It's a sin.

[26:28] Why? Because there's no truth in them. Just like their father, the devil. Why would Satan lie to you? What benefit does that get him to lie to you?

[26:44] Well, we've studied this in Sunday school. It's been quite a while now that what Satan does, the work of Satan, ultimately isn't really about you or using you or defeating you but rather about opposing God.

[26:57] and what God wants to see done in your life, Satan will lie to you. He'll steer you away from God's path. He'll steer you into something else that he knows will harm and destroy.

[27:08] He'll tell you it's fun. It's fun. But he won't reveal the end of all the fun because the fun comes at a cost.

[27:20] And that's really not something he's going to talk about. Just the fun part. The fun. The fun. But it always comes at a cost. He'll never tell you that part. He'll tell you that you won't get caught.

[27:33] But what he won't say is, well, you won't get caught the first time or the second time or third time. And after you find out that you really enjoy this and you can get away with this, oh, be sure your sin will find you out.

[27:45] That's what God said. But he'll just tell you you won't get caught. But he's lying to you. You will get caught. You'll probably get caught by the cords of your sins.

[27:57] He'll tell you that it's not that big a deal. Have you heard his voice? It's really not that big a deal. Nobody really cares and nobody's even looking and it just doesn't matter as much.

[28:09] Quit making a big deal about it. It's not a big deal. It's a lie. Because to God, your obedience is always a big deal. And I'll venture to say, I'll say it even like this, your obedience in the little things is what God's more concerned with than it is with the big things when people will know about it and when everybody would see.

[28:32] Because that's your character. That's you obeying him when nobody else is around. That shows your heart is for him and him alone. But when everybody else knows and sees, well then, it might just be about your reputation.

[28:47] It might be about not letting them see you fall. It does matter. I believe everybody here has heard this voice. This lying, deceitful voice saying it's not a big deal or saying you won't get caught or saying there's plenty of time to cover it up.

[29:05] It's the voice of a liar. It's your adversary, the devil. He's identified in the Bible as a crooked serpent. And the trouble with that voice is that your flesh doesn't mind hearing that voice at all.

[29:21] Your flesh actually likes hearing that voice because that voice gives justification to your flesh to do what it wants to do already. That voice says, oh, she won't see or he won't care or we don't even really need to discuss.

[29:39] And it just, it brings in thoughts that just helps your flesh to take another step. A step away from righteousness into some place you shouldn't go. For your flesh, that deceitful lying voice is welcomed.

[29:55] It's familiar. It's comforting. When God says no, the flesh just wants to ignore God because the voice says, it's okay.

[30:07] It's okay. It's the adversary, the devil. Now, on the other hand, God is a God that the Bible says cannot lie. And the Lord Jesus Christ is called the truth.

[30:20] Whereas Satan has no, he didn't abide in the truth and there's no truth in him. Jesus Christ is the truth. His very name is faithful and true. His words are faithful and true.

[30:32] You better set your heart and fix your heart and condition your heart to trust and obey the word of God and the leading of the Lord and do as the Bible says, resist the devil because he's a liar.

[30:48] He's a manipulator and he's a liar. And there's something else in verse number 11. We read those first two words. He said, not so. Not so.

[31:00] He's something else. When God says, let my people go, the Pharaoh says, not so. Let my people go.

[31:11] Not so. I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to listen to you. And Pharaoh contests the Lord. He wasn't really contesting Moses and Aaron.

[31:23] As I read in verse number 3, he asked, how long will thou refuse to humble thyself before me? God asks. He's taken a stand against Almighty God.

[31:36] Satan is a resister. In Zechariah chapter 3, there's an interesting, it's kind of an obscure passage, but it's interesting nonetheless, where the Bible says, he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.

[32:02] What's he doing there? He's got no business there before the angel of the Lord. Joshua the high priest, but he's there to resist him. Why? Because he's a resister. When God told Moses, Moses, go speak to the elders of Israel out there when he was standing before that bush burning with fire.

[32:20] Go speak to the elders of Israel. God said, they will hearken unto thy voice. Moses replied, they will not believe me nor hearken unto my voice.

[32:33] So God said, they will. Moses said, no they won't. Where'd you get that idea from Moses? To resist God. To take a stand against God.

[32:45] The word of God. When Christ foretold of his death and burial and resurrection, Satan rose up inside of the apostle Peter and he said, be it far from thee Lord.

[32:55] This shall not be unto thee. There he is, withstanding and resisting the word of God. Later when Peter was in a trance and he saw this sheet falling down from heaven and he saw these all manner of beasts, the command to him was, rise Peter, kill and eat.

[33:15] Do you know what his words were? Not so. No God. I'm not doing that. What in the world, Peter?

[33:27] In Acts chapter 7, the same spirit of resistance was present in those high priests and those elders and council when Stephen stood up and preached and he condemned them by saying, ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost as your fathers did, so do ye.

[33:57] He's a resistor. And I might add and try to bring this to you, be very fearful of this spirit of resistance because it's a spirit that is aligned with the devil himself.

[34:11] Not so, Lord. Oh, that's just Peter, right? That's just the high priests. That's just the ones that killed Jesus Christ. That's not you, right?

[34:24] When the Holy Ghost moves in your heart, when the Lord God opens your eyes to some truth, when God tries to steer and direct your life a certain way and you say, not so, Lord.

[34:40] The Lord says, hey, you see that person at the gas? You see those teenagers over at the park bench? Give them a track. Just walk up to them and hand them a gospel track and you say, not so, Lord.

[34:54] I've got to go. When the Lord moves in your heart to tell somebody about Jesus Christ, then you shut your mouth and walk away.

[35:06] It's the same resisting spirit. You're resisting the Holy Ghost. God trying to reach a lost soul and save them from damnation and he picks his child and says, would you tell them?

[35:20] And you say, no. But no, I wouldn't. I wouldn't resist God, would I? That same spirit. It's inside of you and I.

[35:31] It's our duty as children of God to say, speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth. And yet, way too quickly we say, no.

[35:45] Not so. Because we're not interested in the things God's interested in. And what we show God is, and this world is we're just as calloused and indifferent as any carnal Christian ever has been.

[36:01] You devil, you. You wicked devil saying, not so, Lord. Not so, Lord. I'll not do that. The Lord convinces you of your sin.

[36:14] The Lord, through the preaching of his word and through the illumination of the Holy Spirit says, you need to get that right. You need to quit doing that. You need to lay that on the altar. And you say, oh, but they're going to see me.

[36:26] And so, not so, Lord. You devil. You unclean devil that would resist the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost. It's not a Holy Spirit that would resist a Holy Spirit.

[36:41] It's an unclean spirit that fights against God. And that's who we're listening to in Exodus chapter 10, our adversary.

[36:52] He's a resistor. And there's one more thing I want to point out back there in verse 11 again. Would you look back in Exodus 10 and verse 11? Not so, he adds, go now ye that are men and serve the Lord.

[37:11] For that ye did desire. That's not true. Ye that are men. They never desired that. Moses never said a word.

[37:23] Let's just let the men go. If anybody said that, it was his servants back in verse number 7 saying, let the men go that they may serve the Lord. But Moses and Aaron never called for that.

[37:35] Ye that are men, for that ye did desire. Never one time did they suggest that. But I want you to see something about Pharaoh here. He says, ye that are men.

[37:47] First he said this, back in verse 10, let the Lord be so with you as I will let you go and your little ones. Look to it for evils before you.

[37:57] Not so. Change my mind. Go now ye that are men. What does this mean? Pharaoh is willing to allow them all to leave as he suggests but then realizes something and quickly adjusts his statement.

[38:19] He doesn't want to let go of the little ones. Oh, I'll let go of the men. No big deal. And the little ones. No, no.

[38:30] Change my mind on that. He wants to keep the little ones in Egypt. Pharaoh wants to keep the little ones under Egyptian influence.

[38:41] Under Egyptian supervision. Not where they're out there learning how to worship God. I don't want them to go with the men and learn how they sacrifice to this holy God that's been destroying my land.

[38:57] No. I think I want to keep the little ones right here. The men can go but the kids stay. What is this that he's scheming?

[39:10] What is this that he sees in keeping the little ones? Satan doesn't mind at all if the men go because he actually likes the idea of separating the men, the fathers, from the children.

[39:27] He feels like that's actually a real good idea to get the influence of dad out of the house. That'll actually play right into my scheme.

[39:37] He's a schemer. He's a conspirator. He's working something. Because he knows that mom won't contend with the kids like dad will.

[39:49] Mom might mean well but she's a weaker vessel. And she's just not built to stand against the nagging and the nagging and the bombarding.

[40:01] She's just built softer and easier. So yeah, yeah, yeah, let the men go. I think that'll work out just fine, Pharaoh thinks. We get a good picture of our adversary, the devil and the scheme that he's been pulling.

[40:16] And I feel like, my, haven't we stumbled onto something here that our adversary is a schemer and a conspirator. And he's after your kids.

[40:28] And he's always been after your kids. And he can let the men go because, you know, if I keep the kids, they'll be back. The men will come back. But I'm not going to let the kids go.

[40:40] I want the kids. I want to train them up in the ways of the world. I want to introduce them to the fun that they could have in my land. I want them to get a taste of the music that we play here in Egypt.

[40:55] The things that we do for entertainment. Let's expose the kids to how we worship here in Egypt. Not out there in the wilderness. There's no civilization out there.

[41:08] There's nothing out there for you kids. Just stay right here in my land and I'll take care of you. If you're a dad in here this morning, don't ever leave your kids behind as you're leaving Egypt.

[41:24] Drag them with you. Keep them by your side. There's some real good moms, spiritual women that love the Lord, but they're not a replacement for a spiritual man.

[41:38] That's just the way it is. And mom, if you're alone in this thing, then you trust the Lord and do your best and pray, pray, and pray.

[41:50] But men, God has given you the responsibility of teaching and training and leading your family, specifically, your children. There's some things that fall on your shoulders that are not your wife's, not mom's to deal with.

[42:05] They're yours. And Satan knows that real well. So he goes after the kids. I'll let the men go. That falls right into my plan.

[42:18] Do you see who we're listening to this morning? Do you see who we're looking at? This intimidator? This liar? This resistor?

[42:30] Schemer? He's the devil. And I know, I know you've heard his voice. I don't have to expound on all of this so much because you already hear it.

[42:44] It already resonates as soon as I say it the first time. Because you're walking in this world, his world, and you're walking as a child of God with a flesh that he'll take full advantage of.

[42:58] You've already been down that road. You've already fallen. You know it's him. You know he's on you. You know he's after you. You know his spirit.

[43:10] I bet you do. I bet you know more than you'd like to admit. And if anybody's here that says, well, I really didn't perceive all of that, well, maybe you need to grow in the Lord a little bit and exercise your senses, spiritually speaking.

[43:25] You'll discern quickly the voice of God and the voice of the adversary, the devil. He's king over Egypt.

[43:37] And he's the opposer of all of God and all of God's work. And what a wicked shame when we let him use us. When we let him use us who know better, who've been released and delivered.

[43:53] God's not intimidated by God. To believe a lie when we have the truth and to fall into his plan and his scheme for mankind when we ought to know better.

[44:15] God help us. God instill in us. God drive us to obedience, to submission, and to realize that as the scripture says, rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft.

[44:33] And that rebellion that's in your flesh and as it comes out, you're giving heed to the wrong voice. God bless you. And that's who we're looking at today. So let's shut it down right there.

[44:44] If you bow your heads for a moment, I want to give you a chance here to consider what you've heard. I've said it a few times.

[44:57] You've heard his voice. You know his voice. But the truth is you may not always discern it in the moment. The truth is you may be exercising yourself to so much ungodliness or so much worldliness or just so much stuff that doesn't mean a thing that you become numb and your senses aren't exercised to say this isn't right.

[45:24] This isn't God. The thought doesn't even come to you that you should pray about it. That doesn't even enter your mind. Why? Because you're spending too much time with the world.

[45:41] He's scheming for you. He's scheming for your kids. He's scheming for your home. And when you let him in, oh just in a little way, he's in.

[45:58] And now he's going to work. He's far wiser than you. He's far more powerful than you. What you have is God's spirit and God's word and some brothers and sisters that can help you.

[46:22] That's what you have. Otherwise, on your own, you're dead meat. and you'll never see it coming.

[46:35] But the Bible exposes him. You don't have to be ignorant, brethren. Our Father, please bury these truths into us.

[46:51] God, please move by your Spirit in our inner man and quicken us to understanding. Make us alive to spiritual things when it comes to serving you and obeying you, when it comes to resisting the devil.

[47:15] Open our eyes, Father, please. Give us strength and victory. We submit ourselves to you. It can only come through you. We're powerless without you.

[47:30] I pray that he that thinketh he standeth this morning take heed lest he fall. Lord, we don't want any more casualties in this group, in this congregation.

[47:48] Lord, please protect us. Please protect us. Please clean us. Please strengthen us. Remember that we're flesh.

[48:01] Remember our weaknesses. Please fill in the gaps. We want to serve you. We want to be right with you. It's our wicked old man that wants the world.

[48:17] So, Lord, build us up in Christ. May the Word of God build us up. May we see things for what they are. And may you be glorified as we seek to please and obey you.

[48:33] In Jesus' name, we ask it. Would you join me in standing? We'd like to sing that song that you're playing. 364, please. Find 364.