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[0:00] Thank you.

[0:30] Thank you.

[1:00] Thank you. Thank you, brother.

[1:35] Thank you, brother.

[2:05] It was a prelude. It was the appetizer before the main dish, before the main meal. It was a prelude to what we know as the plagues, the 10 plagues of Egypt.

[2:17] And tonight, that's what we're going to jump into. And tonight will be a little bit more of kind of an overview, a little bit of a teach. I hope you like to learn stuff. Not just stuff, but the Bible, okay?

[2:29] I hope you like to learn the Bible. And so we're going to take a bit of an overview and kind of see this whole thing together and what it's really about. So Exodus chapter 7, picking up in verse 14.

[2:42] And if you are able to stand, please do so as we honor the reading of God's word. Exodus 7 and 14. Then the Lord said to Moses,

[3:49] Aaron, take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over the rivers, their canals, their ponds, their pools of water, so that they may become blood.

[4:01] And there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, even in vessels of wood and vessels of stone. And Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded. And in the sight of Pharaoh, in the sight of his servants, he lifted up the staff, struck the water in the Nile, and all the water in the Nile turned into blood.

[4:22] And the fish in the Nile died. And the Nile stank, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. There was blood throughout all the land of Egypt, but the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret acts.

[4:39] So Pharaoh's heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to them as the Lord had said. Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not take even this to heart.

[4:51] And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink the water of the Nile. Seven full days passed after the Lord struck the Nile.

[5:08] This is God's Word. Pray with me and for me. Let's ask God to teach us tonight. So God, here we are. Please help us understand what your Word says. Help us understand what this is about.

[5:20] Help give us spiritual eyes to see. May we look not to the things below, but tonight look to the things above. And to see you, to see your glory, to see your power, and your holiness.

[5:35] From these words, we pray. In Jesus' name, and God's people said. Amen. You can be seated. His name was Sakachi Toyota. Now, you may not know him, but I can almost guarantee you know the company he founded.

[5:50] He founded Toyota Industries. In addition to founding Toyota, Toyota, I have to make sure and get that right, developed a strategy back in the 1930s known as the Five Whys.

[6:07] The Five Whys. Some of you probably heard of this before. It's a very simple strategy that he developed to help his team and employees get to the core of any problem, to get to the real issue.

[6:22] The strategy was simple. Anytime a problem would come up, anytime a situation would come up that they needed to solve, all they had to do was ask the question why at least five times, and eventually they would get to the real issue.

[6:38] Here's an example. Say, for instance, you ran a red light. Now, none of you would ever do something like that, but just hypothetically play along. You ran a red light, and you ask, Why? Well, because you were late for work.

[6:50] But why? Why? Because you woke up late. Well, why? Because your alarm didn't work. Well, why? You're getting ahead of me. Now, slow down a bit, all right?

[7:01] Well, why? Because the batteries didn't work. Well, why? Because you forgot to check them. Or maybe your cell phone wasn't charged. Well, now you've gotten to the real issue, the real problem, namely, you're lazy.

[7:16] Okay, that's the real issue going down there. That's why you ran the red light. You get the point. It's very simple. Now, that technique that he developed was expanded throughout the last many years in a lot of different ways.

[7:31] There's the seven layers of why. Simon Sinek became really popular through his book called Starting With Why. And the reason this is the case is because the question why has a way of peeling back all the layers and getting to the real core problem.

[7:49] It reminds me of a stand-up comedy routine of a comedian that talks about how his kid always wants to ask, why did you ever have that kid that was like every answer you gave them, it was always why?

[8:03] He says this, quote, You can't answer a kid's question because they don't accept the answer. They just keep asking why. Kids never stop and say, oh, I get it. No, they just keep asking you questions.

[8:15] He said the other day my daughter asked, why can I not go outside to play? Well, because it's raining, honey. Why? Well, because water is coming down from the sky.

[8:26] Why? Why? Well, because it's up in a cloud. Why? Well, because clouds form vapor.

[8:39] You know how you just start making stuff up because you don't really know the answer? But why? I don't know. I literally don't know any more things.

[8:50] Why? Because I'm stupid. Why? Because I didn't pay attention in school. Why? Because my parents gave me no guidance. Why? Because they resented having me.

[9:01] Why? Because they were really bad parents. Why? Because we're all alone in the universe, so shut up and eat your fries. That's funny.

[9:14] That's funny. Because if you're a parent of young kids, you know that's true. But let's be honest. Kids are not the only ones that ask why. We as adults ask it as well.

[9:27] Why am I still single? Why were we not able to have children? Why did I lose my job? Why is he gone so soon?

[9:44] Why? Why? And all of us know that there's not an easy answer often to the question of why. There's rarely one answer. There's rarely one reason.

[9:54] There's rarely just one explanation, right? Which is why, listen, if you're going to ask the question why, you have to ask another question. How far back do you want to go?

[10:07] How many layers are you willing to peel back to get to the real issue? And that, my friends, is exactly what we encounter here in Exodus chapter 7.

[10:21] In Exodus chapter 7, beginning in verse 14, stretching all the way into Exodus chapter 11, we come here to what is one of the most well-known sections in all of the book of Exodus known as the 10 plagues of Egypt.

[10:38] Now, by the way, the word plague is actually not the best word. There's actually only one plague in terms of a sickness. But the Hebrew word for the word plague really means to strike.

[10:53] You could almost better call these the 10 judgments of God. But whatever it is that you call it, that's not the point. We'll stick with the word plagues. Whatever you call it, you cannot read this section of Scripture and not feel emotion.

[11:10] You cannot read these plagues and not be filled with questions because there's so much suffering and destruction and death.

[11:22] And people read this and they're left with a question, why? Why is all of this happening? Why is there so much destruction? And if you're going to ask that question, you have to ask, Faith Family, how far back do you want to go?

[11:40] So we're going to play. It's not a game. This is a real thing. When I point to you, I want you to collectively ask me why. So if I were to ask the question, why the plagues of Egypt, I could answer, the plagues are the judgment of God on Pharaoh.

[11:59] Why? Because Pharaoh refuses to obey God by letting Israel go. Why? Why? Because his heart is hardened towards God.

[12:12] Why? Because Pharaoh cares more about his kingdom and his power and his authority than he does God's. Why? Because that's been true of human beings ever since the fall of mankind in Genesis chapter 3.

[12:27] Why? Because human beings were created to have authority under God, but they chose authority over God. Why? Because they were tempted by fallen spiritual beings like Satan who were envious that human beings were made image bearers and given authority to rule in Eden.

[12:47] Why? Because there has been a spiritual battle between the true eternal God and the other created gods that goes all the way back to the creation of mankind, and that battle has frequently been acted out on the world stage.

[13:00] There. Are you happy? don't ask me why. But you get the point. If you're going to say why the plagues, you've got to ask, but how far back do you want to go?

[13:15] Because if you said the plagues are because of freeing Israel, that'd be true. The plagues exist to judge Egypt.

[13:28] That'd be true. The plagues happen because of the hardened heart of Pharaoh. That would be true. But if that's as far back as you go, dear friend, you have not gone back far enough.

[13:45] And the clues are everywhere in the text. In fact, go back with me to Exodus chapter 5 and look at Exodus chapter 5 and verse 1.

[13:58] Here's what happens. Afterward, Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, Let my people go that they may hold a feast with me in the wilderness.

[14:12] But Pharaoh says this, Who is this Yahweh that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know Yahweh.

[14:24] And moreover, I will not let Israel go. Pharaoh. Pharaoh's response here is very, very telling. His response is, I don't know who Yahweh is.

[14:35] Who is this Yahweh? And why should I listen to him? Now, this is very important. All right, are you with me tonight? Notice this on the screen. Pharaoh's response here is not one of a religious atheist.

[14:47] His response is one of a religious pluralist. Think. Think. He's not saying, I don't believe in God.

[15:00] There's no such thing as an atheist in the ancient Near East. Everyone believed in God or the gods. He's not saying, I don't believe in your God. He's saying this, Why would I need your God when I have my own?

[15:14] I got plenty of gods. Well, there's plenty of Egyptian gods. And I've never heard of yours. And because I've never heard of yours, I have no reason to listen to you.

[15:26] His answer is insight into the belief of many gods. Hang with me. Chapter 7, verse 5. The Egyptians, this is God speaking to Moses.

[15:38] The Egyptians shall know that I am Yahweh when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them. I talked about this a little bit two weeks ago.

[15:50] The entire purpose of the Exodus, listen, is to demonstrate I am. The whole reason for the Exodus, the whole reason why all this is happening, whether it is for Moses' sake, whether it is for Israel's sake, whether it is for Pharaoh, whether it is for Egypt, everybody's going to know one thing.

[16:12] I am. That's what God's name means. So the central message to everybody here is that, listen, among all of these Egyptian gods, Yahweh's the only true one.

[16:31] You with me? Yahweh's the only real one. He's the I am. Notice it on the screen. He is I am. That's what all this is about.

[16:43] Yes, there are other created gods, which we've mentioned before in other sermons, but there is only one true creator, God. Chapter 7, verse 1. The Lord said to Moses, See, I made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet.

[17:03] We talked about this as well. Moses is not a god. If anything is obvious from the text, it is that Moses is not a god. We have in past weeks looked at Moses' weakness and struggle at so many different levels, but that's not even the point.

[17:19] The point is this. Are you still with me? I'm having so much fun. The point is God is going to use Moses to show Pharaoh and Egypt who the true God is.

[17:33] Moses, I'm using you to show Egypt I am. And listen, if you're reading along the Bible and you've already gone through Genesis, like the radar ought to be going off.

[17:47] Wait a minute. Where have I heard stuff like that before? Where have I seen stuff like that before? You know, like God is using a human being as an image bearer to actually show the world what God is like?

[18:01] I don't know. Genesis chapter 1. God is saying, Moses, you're my image bearer. You're my chosen leader here.

[18:11] And I'm going to, you're like a god to Pharaoh. I'm going to show through you the true God. Moses has the authority of God as the image bearer of God to show Egypt who God is.

[18:28] You still with me? Amen. Chapter 7, verse 11. Pharaoh summons the wise men and the sorcerers and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret acts.

[18:40] We talked about this, that these magicians, these sorcerers, were associated with the Egyptian gods. They did real signs. They had real power.

[18:51] They can keep up in the plagues until about the third one. And then they're out, right? Because it becomes clear their power is no match for Yahweh.

[19:04] And how did we see that their power was going to be no match for Yahweh? We saw it in a sign, chapter 7, verse 12. Each man cast down his staff.

[19:16] So there's, listen, one on behalf of Moses and Aaron that goes up against several and they became serpents. But Aaron's staff, singular, swallowed up their staffs, plural.

[19:31] Please tell me you're seeing this. What's going down here? Listen, Aaron's staff turned serpent, which represents Yahweh, the magician's staff turned serpents represent all the Egyptian gods.

[19:48] And what does Yahweh do? Swallows them up. Like, you're seeing, like, the text is screaming, yeah, it's about Israel, and yeah, it's about Egypt, and yeah, it's about Pharaoh, but you haven't gone back far enough.

[20:04] There's something bigger going down here. So when you ask, why the plagues? You have to answer, it's not just Moses and Aaron against Pharaoh and the magicians.

[20:18] This is Yahweh against the gods of Egypt. There is a spiritual war going down.

[20:34] It is a spiritual war that has been raging long before this moment in the book of Exodus. We'll come to that in just a moment. But now, you're actually able to understand the plagues.

[20:49] Verse 14. The Lord said to Moses, Pharaoh's heart is hardened, and he refuses to let the people go. So go to Pharaoh in the morning, you should remember that, as he's going down to the water, and stand on the bank of the Nile, and meet him, and take your hand, in your hand the staff that was turned into a serpent.

[21:11] And you shall say to him, the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, let my people go, that you may serve me in the wilderness. But so far you have not obeyed.

[21:23] And thus says Yahweh, by this you shall know that I am Yahweh. Behold, the staff that is in my hand shall strike the water of the Nile, and it will turn into blood. And the fish in the Nile shall die, and the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will grow weary drinking water from the Nile.

[21:39] Now, and Yahweh said to Moses, say to Aaron, take your staff, and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over the rivers, and canals, and ponds, and pools of water, so that they may become blood.

[21:51] And there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, even in the vessels of wood, and vessels of stone. And Moses and Aaron did, as the Lord commanded, in the sight of Pharaoh, in the sight of his servants, he lifted up the staff, and struck the water in the Nile, and all the water of the Nile turned to blood.

[22:09] Now, just on the surface, the modern reader that doesn't understand all the context that we've just laid out is still going to understand that this is a horrible thing.

[22:20] To have your primary water source turned to blood. I mean, imagine if all the lakes in Minnesota turned to blood. That would be a very gross, a very eye-catching, and attention-getting event.

[22:36] No doubt. I mean, on a practical level, we understand the severity. Egypt is in the desert, so if you don't have water, you don't have an Egypt. But you haven't gone back far enough.

[22:49] This is more. Listen, listen, listen, listen. To the Egyptians, the Nile is more than a source of water. In fact, there are several gods associated with the Nile.

[23:05] The most famous is Sobek. Sobek was the god of the Nile. Maybe of all the Egyptian gods, this is the most important because they were so dependent upon the Nile.

[23:16] There was even hymns written to this god, hymns that went like this, Hail to thee, O Nile, that issues from the water and comes to keep Egypt alive.

[23:27] He that waters the meadows which recreated in order to keep every Egyptian alive. This is why I told you to remember Pharaoh goes down to the what in the morning?

[23:41] He goes down to the water in the morning. Why is he going down to the water in the morning? He ain't going to take a bath. He's not going to catch catfish, though that's all right by me.

[23:52] He's going to the Nile to worship. Going to the Nile in the morning was Pharaoh's religious activity to pay homage to the deity of Sobek and others.

[24:08] And what does Yahweh do? He turns the Nile to blood. He takes this god, these gods that the Egyptians look to for life and order and stability and he sends them in total chaos.

[24:23] The fish die, the river stinks. He proves this god, these gods associated with the Nile cannot save.

[24:34] And it continues. Chapter 8, verse 1. The Lord said to Moses, Go to Pharaoh and say to him, Thus says the Lord, Let my people go that they may serve me.

[24:46] But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will plague all your country with, say it? And you say frogs. Why frogs?

[24:57] Like I've been frog gigging, but like I don't understand why frogs. Well, let me introduce you to Hecht, an Egyptian goddess. Her head was that of a frog.

[25:11] And she was the goddess of fertility. The Egyptians viewed frogs coming out of the Nile as a sign of resurrection and life.

[25:22] But as the Nile turns to blood, guess what happens to the frogs? They die. Charles Spurgeon in his sermon on this plague said, There was a suitableness in God's choosing the frogs to humble Egypt's king because frogs were worshipped by that nation as emblems of deity.

[25:43] Images of a certain frog-headed goddess were placed in their catacombs and frogs themselves were preserved with sacred honors. And it continues.

[25:54] Chapter 8, verse 16. The Lord said to Moses, Say to Aaron, Stretch out your staff. Strike the dust of the earth so that it may become gnats in all the land of Egypt.

[26:06] And they did so. Aaron stretched out his hand with a staff and struck the dust of the earth. And there were gnats on man and beast. And all the dust of the earth became gnats in all the land of Egypt.

[26:19] Let me introduce you to Geb. He's the god of the earth. The god of the dust. He was seen as one of the oldest gods of Egypt.

[26:30] And in the third plague, what does God do? He brings gnats from the dust. Gnats from the earth. And they swarm everywhere and everything.

[26:41] In fact, it is at this point that the magicians say to Pharaoh, This is the hand of Yahweh. We cannot compete. And it continues.

[26:52] Chapter 8, verse 20. The Lord said to Moses, Rise up early in the morning. Remember that. Present yourself to Pharaoh as he goes to the water. Why was he going to the water?

[27:03] To worship. And say to him, Thus says Yahweh, Let my people go that they may serve me. Or else, if you do not let my people go, Behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants and your people and into your houses.

[27:18] And the houses of the Egyptians were filled with swarms of flies and the ground on which they stand. Let me introduce you to Kerpri, the god of the morning. This god in Egypt was associated with the sun god.

[27:33] It's why I told you to remember that go early in the morning. What happens early in the morning? The sun rises. And guess what this, I mean, you can even see, do you see the face of this god?

[27:45] It's the face of a beetle. Here's another picture of what this god was symboled as. It's the picture of a beetle. And Egyptians believed that this would give them new life.

[27:56] Like the rising of the sun, it gave them a new day. It was the promise of a tomorrow. And in the fourth plague, God sends beetles. Heads flies and consumes Egypt.

[28:12] And it continues, chapter 9, verse 1. The Lord said to Moses, go to Pharaoh and say to him, thus says Yahweh, the god of the Hebrews, let my people go that they may serve me. For if you refuse to let them go and still hold them, behold, the hand of the Lord will fall in a very severe plague upon your livestock that are in the field.

[28:31] The horses, the donkeys, the camels, the herds, and the flocks. Let me introduce you to bat, the cow goddess, a goddess of fertility.

[28:42] There was also the god Apis that was pictured with the head of a bull. And these gods were worshipped because of the livestock. Because remember, in the ancient Near East, you don't have Teslas.

[28:56] You do know that, right? You might want to write that down if you're taking notes, okay? Everything depended upon livestock. Your food, your transportation. In fact, think of it this way.

[29:06] Is everybody still with me? This isn't boring to you, is it? If it is, don't tell me. I'll slap you. This is awesome stuff. Come on. Come on, come on. The first four plagues are dealing with creation.

[29:18] You see all that? The sun god, the earth, so on and so forth. Now we're seeing the gods associated with the economic life of Egypt.

[29:30] These animals, these livestock, were the economic center of how the Egyptians would do life. And in the fifth plague, there is a disease that is placed upon the livestock.

[29:45] I'll speed it up. There's Serapis. Serapis was the god of health and healing. There was also Isis, or Isis, however you want to pronounce that, that was the goddess of motherhood.

[29:57] And both of these gods were a god or a goddess that the Egyptians would look to when they were sick. They were the god and goddesses of health and healing. And so if you were sick, if you didn't feel well, you look to these gods to provide healing for you.

[30:14] And in the sixth plague, God sends boils upon the skin of the Egyptians. He attacks their health.

[30:26] And then there's Horus, the god of the sky. Add that along with Nut, the goddess of the earth. And this goddess was also associated with the goddess of the sky.

[30:38] You'll notice she was seen as actually a protector of the Egyptians. They were shelter for them. They were a place of safety and refuge. And in the seventh plague, God sends what?

[30:52] A storm. A hailstorm from the sky upon the land. And then there's Nepper, the god of grain, the fields and crops.

[31:07] The Egyptians look to this god for food and life. This was the god of the harvest. And in the eighth plague, what does God do? He sends locusts and it attacks the fields.

[31:21] And then there's Ra, sometimes known as Adam. This was the great sun god. The Egyptians believed that this god created the universe, brought everything into order.

[31:34] This was the supreme creator in the eyes of the Egyptians. and it is the god of light, the god of the sun. And in the ninth plague, God brings darkness upon all the land.

[31:52] And then there's Pharaoh. Pharaoh himself that was viewed by the Egyptians as a god. And the tenth and the final plague is targeted at him.

[32:05] It's the plague of the death of the firstborn. And why was that targeted at Pharaoh? Because what did Pharaoh do in Exodus chapter 1? He killed the firstborn sons of Israel.

[32:22] Why the plagues? Are they to free Israel? Yes. Are they to judge Egypt? Yes. Are they to humble Pharaoh?

[32:34] Yes. But if that's your only answer to why, my friend, you've not gone far back enough. When you peel back all the layers, what you discover is the plagues are a battle among the gods.

[32:52] And if you say, I think you're wrong. You're free to say that, but you might want to read your Bible first. Exodus chapter 12, verse 12.

[33:04] Look at it. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night and I will strike the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast. Come on, everybody. On the gods of Egypt, I will execute judgments.

[33:20] I am Yahweh. Do you see it there in the text? I am executing judgments, not just on Pharaoh, not just the Egyptians, not just to free Israel.

[33:34] I'm executing these judgments on the gods of Egypt. Why? Because I am. There is no other God before Yahweh.

[33:45] And Numbers chapter 33, verse 3, they sent out from Ramses in the first month, the 15th day of the first month. On the day after Passover, the people of Israel went out triumphantly in the sight of all the Egyptians while the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn whom the Lord had struck down among them on their gods.

[34:07] The Lord, Yahweh, executed judgments. Why? Why the plagues? Because this is a battle among the gods.

[34:21] And if you say, well, why the battle among the gods? Why this battle between the one true creator God and these fallen created gods?

[34:35] I ask you this, how far back do you want to go? How much time do you have? Because Exodus chapter 7 through 11 is not the first time that fallen spiritual beings have sought to enslave God's people.

[34:51] I talked about this a lot in the spiritual realm course and you can get it on our YouTube channel. I talked about how in Genesis chapter 3, listen, listen, listen, fallen spiritual beings, Satan, were jealous that God made human beings to be his image bearers and gave them, not spiritual beings, authority over creation.

[35:16] And they sought to undermine God's design and order and what was the result of that? It was chaos and violence and disorder and destruction and that's what's happening here.

[35:30] Oh, open your eyes. Through Pharaoh, the gods of Egypt have taken God's image bearers into slavery just like in Genesis. And so Yahweh executes judgments on them in a Genesis style way.

[35:46] you don't have time and I don't have time. I could do a whole nother sermon and a whole nother lesson showing you all the parallels between the plagues in Genesis 1, 2, and 3.

[36:00] I'll just whet your appetite. In Genesis, you go from disorder into order. In the plagues, you go from order to disorder. In Genesis, you have human beings as the image bearers of God with the authority of God showing the world what God is like.

[36:16] In Exodus, you have Moses, the image bearer of God who is revealing God to Pharaoh and the Egyptians. In Genesis, you have man coming from the dust. In the plagues, you have God cursing the dust.

[36:28] In Genesis, you have spiritual beings that enslave human beings through temptation. And in Exodus, you have spiritual beings that have enslaved the people of God. In Genesis, God speaks 10 times over 7 days.

[36:42] In Exodus, he gives 10 plagues. In Genesis, you go from darkness into light. And in the plagues, you go from light to darkness. And I'm just getting started. It's Genesis all over again.

[37:01] And through all of this, God is making sure, are you listening? that the spiritual beings who have enslaved God's people are not victorious in keeping God's promised Messiah from coming into the world who will restore everything back to right.

[37:30] Amen. Amen. Amen. This was the vision and design of Genesis and spiritual beings threw it into chaos and disorder when they tempted human beings to eat and they ate and all violence and destruction happened afterwards.

[37:51] And once again, the people of God are enslaved by the gods of Egypt and Egypt and Pharaoh and God says, no, you will not prevent I am and the promise of a coming seed.

[38:11] Now, what in the world does all this mean to us? I mean, I have got the heart of a teacher, right?

[38:22] And so I want to teach you the Bible. I want you to see these things. I want you to understand how all this fits together. But I also understand this isn't seminary class. Just walking away with this while helpful and I hope encouraging isn't necessarily all that you need.

[38:41] So what would I, as I give some conclusions to the plagues, what would I encourage you with in terms of application or some things that you should take away as it relates to the meaning of the plagues?

[38:54] I'll give you just a few quickly and be done. First, I bring all of this out because I am pleading with you to open your eyes to spiritual realities. I beg you, stop looking to just the things of the world and thinking that's all there is.

[39:15] Most Christians believe in spiritual warfare. Most Christians believe in a spiritual realm. But in my experience, far too many Christians fail to recognize the spiritual layers of the world around us.

[39:32] We act like Exodus is some foreign event in human history. I would argue Exodus has been repeated over and over and over and over and over again throughout human history.

[39:45] It may not be exactly like the plagues, but tell me that human history has not been filled with violence and destruction and bloodshed. There are gods, created gods, over this world using human nations to destroy God's image bearers.

[40:06] And I, this would be a really helpful takeaway. If you'd start watching the news, that's a little scary.

[40:18] Let me finish the statement, okay? If you'd start watching the news and stop viewing it only politically.

[40:28] Well, this is Russia and China and the U.S. and you just, everything goes to politics, everything goes and all you see is physical.

[40:45] And my friend, you haven't gone back far enough. You ask why the nations rage and why there's so many things that happen in the world.

[40:58] Friends, you've got to go beyond the physical and see the spiritual reality that has existed ever since Genesis. The Bible, like, again, we act like, I've got to move on, but we act like this book is just like some foreign, distant, it's recording human history that is still going on today and we see it everywhere.

[41:24] And so, your ultimate hope when you watch the news will be one thing. I know I am. I know I am.

[41:39] I know the God who's sovereign over it all. He was sovereign over Egypt. He's sovereign over Israel and Palestine.

[41:50] He's sovereign over China. He's sovereign over Russia. He's sovereign over the U.S. and I know that's not only looking to physical things and see the spiritual realities that are behind the world.

[42:06] Here's a second thing I would encourage you to take away from the real meaning of the plagues, which is the ultimate point of the plagues, and that's that no God can save you except the one true God.

[42:18] I know it's graphic and I know it's, again, it's emotional and it's difficult, but take just, for example, the plague that we read the most, which was the Nile, and you see this imagery of the Egyptians digging in the banks of the Nile just trying to get water.

[42:41] What do you see in all this chaos? What do you see in all this devastation? You see people who are trying to find salvation in the wrong gods.

[42:58] You're trying to drink water from a God that will only leave you thirsty. And that's what these plagues show is everything I look to for stability, whether it's the economy, whether it's the Nile, whatever it is, it can't save you.

[43:18] Only Yahweh can save you. And faith family, it's not even close. I mean, what I just went through in this short amount of time was only a snippet of all the many gods the Egyptians believed in, and they were no match for Yahweh.

[43:42] God, so I plead with you to walk away tonight knowing that there's only one true and living God, and He is the only God that saves.

[43:54] Thirdly, and this would be really important for all of us to do, and that is to discern the false gods in our life. Listen, can I call you a num-num?

[44:05] You are a num-num, and so am I if you think we're not just like the Egyptians. I am, and so are you.

[44:19] Here's what I mean. We worship and adore and trust the same gods they do. We don't call them Sobek, but we worship creation rather than the creator.

[44:35] That's what Romans 1 says. We don't call it Apis. Tell me this isn't similar. We call it Wall Street. That's almost too eerie how similar that is.

[44:54] We look to the American economy to save us. The number one issue people will vote with will be the economy because that's people's gods. We don't call them Serapis.

[45:08] We call them fitness. And we worship our bodies. We worship being healthy. It's why porn is the way it is because we worship humanity and worship the body.

[45:23] And we may not call them Pharaoh. go. But we would be crazy to think we don't worship our independence and autonomy and power.

[45:36] Listen to me. If the plagues show us anything, it's this. I hope you're listening. God loves you so much. He will send your life into disorder to show you that none of those gods will save you or satisfy you.

[45:56] So it would do your heart and my heart well to identify the gods you worship. The things in this world that matter to you more than I am.

[46:10] and that the Lord would strip you of those idols and those gods that you would go out into the wilderness and serve him.

[46:25] Lastly, this is a whole sermon here. I don't even know how much of all the plagues I'm coming back to. Tonight again was just an overview, but I'll leave you with this.

[46:35] Beware of a hardened heart. Beware of a hardened heart. Listen, God after God after God after God fell in Egypt, but Pharaoh's heart was so hardened he refused to bow the knee to Yahweh.

[46:52] Even when his own magicians told him, this is the finger of God, he refused. Why? He was unwilling to let go of his kingdom.

[47:04] That'll preach. Do you know why many of you have never come to saving faith? Through the Lord Jesus Christ? It's because you're a Pharaoh. You won't let go of your kingdom.

[47:16] Nobody's going to tell me what to do. Nobody's going to run my life. Nobody's going to tell me how to spend my money. You're just like Pharaoh. Your heart has become so hardened because you're so addicted to your kingdom, you won't bow the knee, no matter how obvious it is.

[47:33] God's love the Lord. I pray that you would learn the lesson of Pharaoh tonight and trade your kingdom for the kingdom of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

[47:46] Amen? So don't tell me the plagues aren't relevant. They are to open our eyes to spiritual realities.

[47:58] They are to show us that only Yahweh saves. They are to make us discern the gods that our hearts worship and long for, and they are to warn us to not be like Pharaoh and be so hardened that we do not bow the knee.

[48:14] The ten plagues have been a challenge for a lot of people because they cannot accept that God would bring judgment like this. They read these plagues and they ask, why?

[48:30] Why? But let me close with this. Have you ever stopped to think about the fact that the God who sent the plagues is also the God that went through the plagues?

[48:46] take for example the ninth plague when darkness came upon Egypt for three days. Do you remember Matthew 27?

[49:01] When for three hours darkness came upon the land. Jesus was going through the plagues. He was facing the judgment of God for us.

[49:14] And do you remember what Jesus asked when he was going through the plagues? He asked, why? Have you forsaken me?

[49:27] Do you know the answer? How far back do you want to go? Because you could say it was the self-righteousness of the Pharisees and that'd be true.

[49:38] you could say it was the greed of Judas and that would be true. You could say it was the crowds shouting crucify him and that would be true. You could say it was our own sin but that's not far enough.

[49:53] Faith family, if you go back far enough to the answer to that question, you're going to end up in a garden where humanity became enslaved to sin because of the deception of a god.

[50:08] The Bible calls him the small g god of this world, the serpent of old Satan. And a promise was given on that day that a Messiah would come and it would crush that Pharaoh and would set once again God's people free.

[50:28] Here's how the Apostle John says it. The reason you ask why? The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

[50:42] Ever since Genesis there has been a spiritual battle raging but because of the cross of Jesus Christ and the empty tomb Jesus has forever set the captives free.

[51:00] And all God's people said amen. Lord, thank you for, yes, even studying the plagues. There's so much in Exodus, we think, that has no relevance to us and yet it speaks to our life today.

[51:20] And Lord, I do pray that you would open our eyes to the spiritual realities. The Bible frequently calls us to turn our eyes away from the world and to look to the spiritual things.

[51:34] And we are far too consumed in the physical world. And we are, as Calvin said, our hearts are an idol factory. We worship so many created things.

[51:47] when we were made for the creator. And I pray that tonight would help us identify what those gods are, the idols of our heart, and that we would know the point of the plagues, which is there is only one true God.

[52:07] He is I am. And that we would bow and worship him, surrender and know him. Lord, now we come to a time in our service where we remember the gospel through communion.

[52:25] And I pray that tonight, as we've studied the plagues, that we would remember that Jesus is the one who ultimately went through the judgment of God for our sin, who went through the plagues to set us free.

[52:42] Give us new perspective as we remember tonight and think upon the cross. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Thank you.