[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. It is our prayer that you will be blessed by the preaching of God's Word. Go with me to Exodus chapter 14. This is a great chapter. Of course, they're all great chapters.
[0:11] But this is what we're on tonight, so I love this chapter. My favorite chapter of the day, because it's this hour. Exodus chapter 14. And here's the key. God wants honor.
[0:23] He's God. He's the creator God. He's the God who has rescued Israel from Egypt. He's the God who has saved them. And now He has taken them out of Israel, out of Egypt, taking them towards the Red Sea.
[0:38] They're going to be terrified. They're going to backslide. They're going to doubt that God can do anything. And God's saying all along, hey, I've got this thing under control. I'll just go ahead and tell you, you may be worried.
[0:49] The circumstances may be scaring you, but I'm God. I'm the one who did all the miracles while you were in Egypt. I'm the one who's going to do all the miracles here. And here's my theme in this chapter. Everybody's going to know who I am.
[0:59] So He's flexing His muscles. He's saying, I am the God of heaven, and I will be honored. So go with me, if you would, to Exodus chapter 14. And we're going to have to run, because I am on a deadline always.
[1:12] I guess you like that. You never get one of those long services. I'm on a deadline. But look, if you would. Look, if you would. But in Exodus 14, 1 and 2, God intentionally sends the nation of Israel on a route.
[1:23] So that Pharaoh will believe that he can win back what he's lost. So God says, hey, Moses, take them and go this way right here. And all the time, God knows exactly what's going on in old Pharaoh's heart.
[1:35] Pharaoh's like, that wasn't the smartest route out of town. Had they gone another route, I might not catch them. But if you check out chapter 14 and verse 3, Pharaoh, for Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, they are entangled in the land.
[1:47] Boy, they didn't know what they're doing. They're not used to moving that many people. And they're entangled in the land and in the wilderness. And so the wilderness says, shut them in. I can still get even with them.
[1:59] And God says, don't worry. Moses, I'm going to tell you up front, I'm going to harden Pharaoh's heart. Look at chapter 14 and verse 4. I hope you underlined it. He said, I'm going to harden his heart because here's what I want.
[2:11] I will be honored. Now, I wish I could stop right there just a minute with you. And I wish you'd get a hold of that. Do you understand what he's saying? He said, hey, hey, hey, I'm God. I'm God.
[2:22] And I'd like to be honored. I'm God. I don't like y'all talk about me. That's what he's saying. He said, I'm going to be honored, Moses. Watch this. I will be honored. And then he said, the Egyptians, those lost people who had all those thousands of gods who thought they were so much better than everybody else, who belittled the God of the Israelites, who claimed he was just a wannabe God and a fake God.
[2:44] He said, they'll know. Before I'm through today, they will know I am the Lord. And that's what happened. The purpose in hardening Pharaoh's heart was for God to be honored.
[2:55] Pharaoh had believed that he himself was a God. He had denied that God was God. He had constantly disregarded God and blatantly ignored the word of God.
[3:07] Now, God is going to prove to Pharaoh and to all of Egypt that he indeed is the one and only true God. He is the one and only true God. As the children of Israel get free, the great Egyptians, they think about it and they say, wait a minute, we shouldn't have let them go free.
[3:23] Look at chapter 14 and verse 5. They said, we shouldn't have let them go free. The heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people. And they said, why did we do this? Why did we let them go?
[3:33] So notice that the people in Pharaoh decide what they will do. This is one of those confusing chapters. So I wish you'd read the chapter with me because you're going to see God hardening in Pharaoh's heart. And some of you are just going to really get alarmed at that.
[3:46] And you're going to be like, God hardens Pharaoh's heart and Pharaoh doesn't have a choice. And that doesn't seem fair to me. But I think if you read the story like it is, the Bible is real explanatory of itself. God's like, I understand what I'm saying.
[3:58] So won't you just read what I say? And so he says, notice that Pharaoh and the people, they decide what they will do. They said in chapter 14 and verse 5, it was told the king of Egypt that the people had fled.
[4:11] The heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people. And then they said, why have we done this? That we have let Israel go. The heart was against the people for all that they had been through. They look back at the people as the cause of their heartache and they decide to retaliate.
[4:26] They think back to themselves, hey man, man, our kids are dead. Our animals are dead. Our country is destroyed. It stinks everywhere around here. God has just wreaked havoc in this country. They don't think God has.
[4:37] They think Israel has. And they decide, well, we're going to go get them and we're going to stop them. And so they decide that they're going to attack. Chapter 14 and verse 6. Look at it. He said, and he made ready his chariot.
[4:48] And he took his people with him. And he took 600 chosen chariots. And all the chariots of Egypt. And captains over every one of them. So he's got his own special chariot. And he's got the best of his best chariot drivers.
[5:00] And he takes all the chariots. I mean, he just gets a whole Egyptian army and says, let's go get them. And they start out to get the nation of Israel and bring them back.
[5:11] And as they've made their mind up and as they've been heading out that way, then God steps in and hardens his heart. Look at chapter 14 and verse 8. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.
[5:23] And he pursued after the children of Israel. And the children of Israel went out with a high hand. God's people had left defiantly. They went out in victory. They went out knowing that they had won.
[5:34] The Egyptians see that and they're able to, they want to save some of their prestige. They want to save themselves from the great fiasco. So in chapter 14 and verse 9, they go chasing them. They pursue them with their horses and their chariots and their army.
[5:48] And they're going to catch them. So here's a big lesson. Here's a big lesson. Chapter 14 and verse 4. God will be honored on those who have mocked him. God will be honored on those who have mocked him.
[6:01] Chapter 14 and verse 4 says, I will harden Pharaoh's heart. I haven't, but I will. He's hardened him before. Now he's got to leave. He's leaving him alone again. He said, I will harden Pharaoh's heart.
[6:12] And I will be honored upon Pharaoh that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord. Don't forget. Pharaoh is the one who mocked the one and only true God.
[6:23] In Exodus chapter 5 and verse 2. Make a note right here in the margin of your Bible. In Exodus chapter 5 and verse 2. Pharaoh said, who is the Lord that I should obey his voice and let Israel go?
[6:34] I know not the Lord and neither will I let Israel go. Who is this God? Who does he think he is? I'm not going to do that. See, Egypt was full of false gods.
[6:45] And don't forget the magicians, the witch doctors. They had tried to replicate as many plagues as possible to show that Aaron and Moses had nothing on them. So Aaron throws his rod down and they throw their rods.
[6:58] So they're trying to say, these guys have nothing on us. We're with them. But Pharaoh and Egypt thought that God was anybody. They said their God is nobody. So God wants the Egyptians to know that he is God.
[7:11] God, the Lord, the Supreme One, the God above all gods. Let me just stop here and say to you, I hope you understand this. There is only one God. There may be a lot of false gods with a little g.
[7:24] And all the nations may have a God and everybody may have an idol. And there may be millions of gods in Japan. And there may be millions of gods in China. And there may be millions of gods in India. Any place, every place people are worshiping all these.
[7:36] But there's only one true God. And God wants the world to know that it's him and what he can do and what he has done. The biggest lesson for all of us is that he will be honored.
[7:48] I hope you hear that. Our God will be honored. The points mentioned throughout the chapter, I will get my honor. I will get my honor.
[8:00] I am God. People mock me. People act like I'm nothing. People put me down. But I will. Be honored. I will be honored. So do you recognize him and his power?
[8:12] Do you make him known? Are you working at making him known around the world? Are you working at making him famous? He will be honored. He will be honored. Can I just stop and say, he's God.
[8:23] If you believe that, say amen. He's God. And he's like, I don't like this humanism junk. I don't like this secularism junk. I don't like all these other gods. I'm the one and only God. And I will be known as God.
[8:34] Amazingly. Amazingly. Second thing I want you to see in the chapter, go to 14. Chapter 14 and verse 10. They have watched God do great miracles. They've seen Egypt brought to her knees.
[8:45] They've seen God even kill their firstborn. And now as the Egyptians come marching towards them, they doubt God's able to protect them. It's amazing how God's people can see God do something and then say, I don't know if he can do the next thing.
[9:01] They can watch him do 10 great miracles. And now there's a Red Sea in front of them. He just killed all the firstborn. He's taken out the cattle. You know all the things he's done. We've been through that. And now they don't believe him.
[9:11] Look at chapter 14 and verse 10. Read what it says. And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes. And behold, the Egyptians marched after them. And they were sore afraid.
[9:22] Underline that. They were sore afraid. They were very afraid. And the children of Israel cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, was there no graves in Egypt? Is that why you've taken us to die in the wilderness?
[9:34] Why did you do that to us? Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Verse 12. Is not this the word that we did tell you in Egypt? Saying, let us alone. Let us serve the Egyptians. Let us be slaves.
[9:46] Let them kill our babies. It's okay. It's better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness. That's what they said. And they reminded Moses of that. They figured that slavery and its consequences were worth it.
[10:00] Not to be at risk. Living for Jesus is risky business. It is a life of faith. Faith. We have to trust God with our finances. Did you ever realize this?
[10:11] The whole country is concerned about their money. And we come in here and say, well, I'm just going to give a good size portion of mine away. I'm just going to tithe and give an offer. And I'm going to say, hey, I'm going to just trust God.
[10:21] That's what we're doing. We come in here. Everybody else is over counting their money. They got their budget. I mean, some of our major politicians give like $500 a year to charity. And here we are.
[10:32] I mean, we're the craziest people. We don't only tithe. We don't only give an offer to take care of our church. You guys give the faith promise. Isn't that risky business? I mean, everybody would say to you, that's risky business. But then serving God is risky business.
[10:43] We trust him with our reputation. We trust him with our children. We get up every morning knowing, hey, God's the one that's going to take care of my family. God's the one that's going to take care of my children. It's risky business.
[10:54] It's easy to say, man, I'd like to stay in Egypt. I'd like to continue being a slave. But they stepped out. They felt certain now that they're going to die. Moses lets them know they are victorious.
[11:07] Nothing's happened yet. But Moses says to them in chapter 14 and verse 13, look what he said. Fear not. Stand still and see the salvation of God, which he will show to you today.
[11:21] For the Egyptians whom you've seen today, you'll never see them again. The Lord shall fight for you. Just hold your peace. Put your hand on your mouth and shut up.
[11:31] God's fixing to show you he's big. He's powerful. He's God. You don't need to be afraid. They're all scared. Everybody's terrified. Moses said, you only got nothing to worry about. Wasn't you all back there?
[11:42] God's going to fight for you. You're going to see what God can do. The Egyptians will no longer be a problem. All you got to do is wait and trust and see what God will do. God wanted to show himself strong in their lives, just like he does in our lives.
[11:55] Here's some lessons from that point. It's very easy to forget what God has done in the past and not believe him in the present. If I were to stop right now and say to you, please tell me what God's done in your life.
[12:06] Tell me the story how he saved you. Tell me the story how he worked in your life. Tell me the story about how he answered prayers. Everybody in this room, we'd all be able to click it off. God this, God this, God this, God this.
[12:17] I say, what about this problem right now? You say, I don't think he can handle this one. That's exactly where we live. Boy, God's been good. God's been good. God's been good. But I'm just not sure God's still good. That's exactly what goes on if we're not careful.
[12:29] It's easy to look at your problems instead of his power. While God is allowing us to go through difficult times to show his power, we steal his honor a lot of times. I don't know if you catch it in this chapter, but here's what God's saying.
[12:43] I will be honored. Now, watch this. In Egypt, he got honored. Now, they're just now left Egypt. And they're out here in this big problem. And instead of saying, we know our God.
[12:54] Instead of being like the three Hebrew children and saying, we will not bow down. We serve the God of heaven. And if our God doesn't deliver us, that's okay. We still won't bow down. That's not what they do. They're like, I just don't know.
[13:05] I'm scared to death. I don't know if God can come through and work. We steal his honor. You not realize that right now, if you're in trouble and you're not trusting God, you're saying, he's not worth trusting.
[13:16] Because without faith, it's impossible to please him. They must believe that he is and that he's a rewarder of them to diligently seek him.
[13:26] Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 6. When we should be participating in him getting honor, we may be found trying to rob him of his honor. What's really better?
[13:37] Suffering in slavery or serving God, even when it requires risk? Do we plan on failure, even while we're in the midst of failure? Do we plan on failure because things are going wrong?
[13:48] Look at what he says in chapter 14, verse 12. Is not this the word that we did tell you in Egypt? You remember when everything was falling apart? We said, leave us alone and let us serve the Egyptians.
[13:59] So we keep bringing up our failures. But God had already brought them out of Egypt. God had already worked miracle after miracle. And now God's got them out in the wilderness. And they're going to go. And by the way, you know what? They're going to get across the Red Sea, but they're going to go back to doubting him.
[14:12] Every time God does great stuff, they go back to doubting him. Do you miss seeing what God has for you because of the problems you're facing right now? God is at work in your life.
[14:23] Right now, where you are, what's going on, your job, your family, your health, whatever the issue, God is at work. Look at chapter 14 and verse 13. God says, I will get my honor.
[14:37] Look if you would in verse 14, 17. And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians and they shall follow them. I will get me honor.
[14:48] I will get me honor. God hungers for his people to know who he is. There's something about being loved.
[15:00] There's something about somebody talking about how great you are. I'm a dad. I really enjoy it. When my children say nice things about me, I really, I'll just be honest with you, I really enjoy it.
[15:11] When my children say something nice about me, when my grandkids say something nice about me, I really enjoy it. When somebody thinks that I, I'm somebody special. Don't you realize what God's saying? God said, I'll get me honor. Our God wants to be honored.
[15:23] Those that rejected him and mocked him, especially need to know that he is the true and only God. There's no need for God's people or God's men to be crying to God for help. He was already working his plan for his honor and his glory.
[15:38] God wants people to honor him. God wants people to honor him. Look at chapter 14 and verse 15. The Lord said unto Moses, why are you crying to me?
[15:50] Look at verse 15. Why are you crying to me? Go tell the children of Israel to just go ahead and go forward. And you lift up your rod. You stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel will go through on dry ground through the middle of that sea.
[16:05] After the great miracle that he's about to work, they will all know in Egypt that he's the true God. He will defeat the greatest army in the world. The greatest army in the world will soon be defeated.
[16:17] Chapter 14 and verse 13. And the Egyptians shall know. Here's what he likes everybody to know. I am the Lord.
[16:28] The Egyptians, they'll know I am really God. And look at what he says. When I have gotten me honor. I like that, man. I like the way he said that. They'll know when I've gotten me honor upon Pharaoh and upon his chariots.
[16:41] So he separates his people from the world. In chapter 14 and verse 19, he puts a pillar, the cloud and the darkness. He gives light and there's fire and there's a cloud.
[16:51] And he separates the children of Israel to protect them from their enemies, to give them light while their enemies stayed in darkness. Even in the night before the big day, God was going to give comfort to his people.
[17:03] Lessons. God wants to be honored. God wants to be honored. Lord, big lesson, God will be honored.
[17:15] He will get his honor. God will work in your life to show his power. How do you honor God? Do you honor him with your time? Making time to be in church and serving God and saying God is worth it.
[17:27] God is able. Everybody out in the community ought to know that guy loves God so much. That's why he goes to church. By the way, we don't come to church because we love our church. We definitely don't come to church because we love our pastor.
[17:37] We don't come to church because we love each other. We go to church because we love Jesus. We go to church because we love God. That's why we come to church. Say amen right there. We want God to be honored. That's the goal. Do you honor him with your treasure?
[17:49] Are you a giver? Do you make certain that you tell your money what to do and not the other way around? Do you realize that whatever you honor, you spend money on it? Well, if something's important to you, you put money in it.
[18:00] Do you do that? Do you use your talents to serve God? Do you say, man, God is worth my talent? God is worth my abilities being used. God's worth that. Never.
[18:12] Number four. Never doubt that it's God doing the great work. It's God doing the great work. Here's the great truth. In Exodus chapter 14, it's the Lord.
[18:23] It's always the Lord. You know who saved us? It's the Lord that saved us. You know who's going to take care of us? It's the Lord. See, it's the Lord that caused it to happen. Look at chapter 14 and verse 21. And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea.
[18:37] What you need to underline this. And the Lord caused the sea to go back by strong. He swan all the night and made the sea dry land and the waters were divided. It might look like Moses did it.
[18:48] Moses raises his rod up above the sea and the winds come and the waters back up and the ground dries up. But the verse says, hey, check out who did the work. The Lord caused that to happen.
[19:01] It was the Lord. It wasn't Israel's power or wisdom or intelligence that got the job done. It was God doing the work. It was the Lord fighting for them.
[19:12] Chapter 14 and verse 22. The Israel went down into the midst of the sea on dry ground. And the waters were walled on the right hand and on the left hand. So they stepped down into the middle of a sea that has been separated.
[19:25] You got water on this side and water on this side. And you got dry ground right down through the middle of it. And the Egyptians pursued. And they went in after them. And as they came in chapter 14 and verse 24, you know what God did?
[19:36] He troubled the host of the Egyptians. He went down in verse 25. He took the wheels off their chariots. Here they're coming. And these are the greatest chariot drivers in the world. This is the greatest army in the world. And they're coming riding straight down through there.
[19:47] And God just reached out and said, boop, wheels off. The thing hits the ground. Horses are slinging them around. They can't get anywhere. It says in verse 25 that he took off their chariot wheels. That they had to drive heavily.
[20:00] So that the Egyptians said, let us flee from the face of Israel. But look this. Underline it in your Bible. For the Lord. For the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.
[20:13] Can I remind you what Israel's doing? Can I tell you what they're doing? Running. Can I remind you what they're doing? They're walking across the dry land. They weren't up there going, let's see what we can do to get the wheels off their chariots.
[20:25] They weren't up there shooting bows and arrows. They're just trying to get their kids across the Red Sea. And God came down and fought for them. Israel goes through on dry land. No mud.
[20:36] No water. Just a wall of sea beside them. The Egyptians followed in thinking that they could make it through also. And God decides to slow them down. He takes the wheels off their chariots. Even the Egyptians recognize it's God fighting for Israel.
[20:52] They are beginning to recognize him for who he is. Though it will be too late. Big lesson. Chapter 14 and verse 26. Moses simply does little things that apparently don't mean much.
[21:06] But God does something big. Chapter 14 and verse 26. The Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out your hand over the sea that the waters may come again unto the Egyptians upon their chariots and upon their horsemen.
[21:19] And Moses stretched his hand over the sea and the sea returned to its strength. And the morning appeared and the Egyptians fled against it. And the Lord overthrew. The Lord overthrew. The Egyptians in the midst of the sea.
[21:31] It was the Lord who overthrew them. Verse 28. The waters returned and covered all the chariots and the horsemen and all the hosts of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. There remained not so much as one of them.
[21:44] Verse 29. But Israel, the children of Israel walked upon dry land. It was the Lord that did it. Moses simply lifts his hand over the sea and God closes it over the Egyptians.
[21:57] God's people had walked through on dry ground. But Egypt all drowns. It was the Lord that overthrew them in the sea. It was always God that does the work. We're called on to do things in the grand scheme of things that are very small.
[22:12] But with our obedience, God will do great things. Do you realize what goes on in our Christian life? I mean, Moses raises that rod. There was no magic in that piece of wood.
[22:24] There was no magic in his hand. There was no magic in his person. It was God. And God said, but Moses, I want you to do something. But when you do what I tell you to do, man, I'm going to step in there and do great things.
[22:36] I've been known to preach the exact same messages. I've been places. I have preached and literally seen dozens of people coming forward to get saved. I preached and seen God do something so great.
[22:46] And I'm like, I preached this message a week ago and nothing happened. I preached this message six months ago and nothing happened. But God came in and God moved. It was God that did the work. It's always God that does the work.
[22:59] Did you know we give our offerings? They're so small when you consider the need. But God takes the little that we give and he does something big.
[23:11] No, we're all sitting here like we're all sitting around here going, well, I gave $100,000 last year to the causes of Jesus. What's $100,000? Fact is, what's $100 million?
[23:22] $100 million won't even give $1 to one third of the people. In the United States, much less the world. It's not our money. It's our God working through our obedience and taking the little we do.
[23:35] I don't care if it's $10 or $10 million. He's taking the little that we do and he's doing something big. We pray little words with great doubts and God answers our prayers in great ways.
[23:48] What a great God. We pray little words with great doubts and God answers our prayers in great ways. We sing small songs with weak voices and ability, but the great God of heaven is blessed by it.
[24:03] All we do is small. We're dealing with a great God who has no limits and no weaknesses. Here's the big story. God wants honor.
[24:14] And in chapter 14, Moses is not the hero. Aaron is not the hero. The nation of Israel is not the hero. Israel doesn't get honor. God says, I'll get me honor.
[24:26] I will get me honor. That's what God says. I will get me honor. It was the Lord that saved Israel. Look at chapter 14, verse 30. Thus, so in other words, this is the story of how the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians.
[24:43] And Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. They walked through on dry land. They're all standing up there, camped on the other side, and bodies are floating to the top and rolling over onto the beach.
[24:58] They saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. The key, I wish you'd underline in that verse, the Lord saved Israel that day. If you mark your Bible, put a circle around the word thus, because you're down in verse 30.
[25:14] You're almost at the end of this chapter. You've got one verse to go. And here's what he says. I just told you the story about how I did big stuff. That's what God says. That's the way I did it. Just thought I'd tell you how I did it.
[25:27] The Lord did big stuff. Finally, it seems like Israel knows their God is great. Look at chapter 14 and verse 31.
[25:38] And Israel saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians. And the people feared the Lord and believed the Lord and his servant Moses. Finally, finally, ten plagues, a red sea, and they're finally saying, I think he might really be big.
[25:58] I think he might really be God. I think he might really deserve to be respected. And they believed the Lord. They finally fear him. They believe him.
[26:09] And they respect the man of God. Let me give you some lessons right quick. We serve a great God that's at work in our lives. I think it is so easy, just like the Israelites in Egypt, for us to go about our daily life.
[26:23] And we don't see him. We don't see him. And we don't feel him. And we don't know that he's at work in our lives. We drive safely to and from work. We breathe the air in and we breathe the air out.
[26:35] We eat the food and our body keeps working. And somehow we just kind of like, well, that's because I'm so strong. That's because I'm so smart. That's because I'm such a good driver. My business goes well because I'm such a smart businessman.
[26:48] Nobody fires me because I'm so smart. And it's so easy to fall in the trap that Israel fell into when God's up there saying, honor me.
[26:59] Don't you think your business is going so good because of you? Don't you think you're so healthy because of you? Just honor me. Honor me. Honor me. It's not about us and what we do.
[27:12] It's about him. We need to realize what God is doing in our lives. What does it take to make you believe? What's it take to make you believe?
[27:23] What's it take to make you realize God's at work? When will you decide that he is worth serving and honoring and sacrificing for? When will you decide that? If you decide to go your own way, you can count on the day coming when God will not allow you to turn back.
[27:40] Pharaoh and Egypt were hardened, but it was after they continually denied God and went their own way. They continually denied God and they went their own way.
[27:52] Going our own way and doing our own thing will eventually become such a habit. It will be impossible to turn back. That's not about being. If you're saved, that won't happen.
[28:02] Just a real quick reminder. If you're saved, if you're a really born again, you won't go into sin and stay there without being chastised. You'll either be changed or chastised. You'll either become conformed to his image while you live here or he'll take you out of here.
[28:15] But if you're lost and you're denying God and you're doing things your own way, you can eventually go too far. If you decide to mock God, he may just work in your life in adverse ways to get honor for himself.
[28:28] Pharaoh says, God, you're nobody. I don't believe in you. And God said, well, then I think I'll just show you who I am. I'll show you how powerful I am. And you won't be able to say that. I must never forget that it's God doing the work and not me.
[28:42] It is so easy. You're a young preacher. You don't know. You're not a preacher, so you don't know this. I'll just tell you. When you're a young preacher, you're so terrified.
[28:53] You stand behind a pulpit and you're scared. You want God to work and you're thinking, man, I need God to do a miracle. After you've been preaching 20, 30, 40 years like me, one day you wake up and you're standing there and just like, I'm pretty good at this.
[29:05] I do a pretty good job. I know my Bible well. I read my Bible a lot. And the God of heaven is looking at me. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. It never was you. Never was your power. Never was how smart you were. Back to the way, when you started your business or when you got that job or when you were having those children and you had brand new babies, you were terrified.
[29:21] You went to God and said, God, help me. But you've been raising kids now for five years. You seem to be doing real good, don't you? So you don't need God anymore. It's so easy. It's so easy. It's so easy to forget that it's God doing the work and not me.
[29:34] I must realize that all I do is small and inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. But they are the steps and acts of faith.
[29:44] Moses, they're coming with all the chariots of Egypt rushing down on top of you. Hold your stick up over the ocean, over the Red Sea.
[29:56] Hold your stick up. I don't know if you can see this, but I can almost imagine Moses going, don't think that'll work. We need some kind of trick here.
[30:08] And God said, you just do what I tell you to do and I'll take care of doing the big stuff. I want to see the world evangelized. I want to see the gospel carried to the world. And God looks down and says, you just preach it and teach it and believe it and I'll take care of doing the stuff.
[30:21] I want to give my money and see God do great things. And God looks down and says, you just give your little bit of money. It ain't much, but I can do something with it. I want to see my children serve God.
[30:31] And I try my best to teach them, but I can't do much. But God can. I must realize that all I do is small and inconsequential in the grand scheme of things.
[30:42] But they are steps and acts of faith. Never let financial interest get in your way of trusting God and honoring Him with your life. That goes for position and pride and popularity.
[30:55] He deserves His honor. Let me just say this. I don't know how to get it across to you. Because when I study these messages, they become so real to me.
[31:10] The only time we honor Him is when we are hurting. The only time we honor Him is when great things happen. He wants honor today. He wants us to be saying, man, you're great, God. It means when we're singing those songs and our music people are leading us, man, our hearts need to leap in our chest and say, God, you are great.
[31:28] God, you are great and we love you and we mean it, God. It means when we pray and when we act and when we handle our money and everything we do, we're saying, boy, you're great, God. And when people brag on us and say what great things we've done, we're saying, no, no, no.
[31:41] God is great. God is great. I want God to be honored in everything. It is so easy for Austin to like to get credit. Do you have that problem?
[31:52] I enjoy seeing God do stuff and then me get the credit. I kind of like that. But the God of heaven doesn't like that. He wants the honor. Honor. Here's what he said. I will get me honor on Pharaoh.
[32:06] Three times, I believe it is in the chapter he said it. One of the times he says this, and after I've gotten me honor. Because I'm going to do it. I ain't done it yet. But hang on. Watch me. And then he said this, and they will know that I'm the Lord.
[32:19] You know, in one passage of the scripture, he called us grasshoppers. We're just little bugs on this great big planet. Here's what he wants.
[32:30] To know that we know that he saved us. Vision didn't save you. You didn't save you. Your good parents didn't save you. It was the great God of heaven.
[32:41] It's his great grace and his great power. Don't forget to honor him. Father in heaven, I love you. And I praise you. And I want to honor you. I know that I am nothing.
[32:53] And I know that I have nothing. But I know you're everything. And I want you to get honor from my life. I want you to get honor from the way I handle my money. The way I treat my wife. The way I live my life.
[33:04] Based on you. I want you to be honored. God gets you honor. I pray. Show your power in our lives. This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia.
[33:17] For more information, log on to www.visionbaptist.com where you can find our service times, location, contact information, and more audio and video recordings.