WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:14.700 Kevin, thank you for blessing my soul. 00:00:15.839 --> 00:00:24.120 I woke up at 3 o'clock this morning, and I did not have any voice whatsoever. 00:00:24.120 --> 00:00:33.340 And my first impulse was to call Brian and say, Brian, you need to get a sermon ready. 00:00:34.920 --> 00:00:43.659 And then I got a mental image of what Brian's face would look like in that moment, and God 00:00:43.659 --> 00:00:45.020 softened my heart. 00:00:46.140 --> 00:00:49.740 And then I realized I really could not say anything. 00:00:50.540 --> 00:00:51.820 Why should I call Brian? 00:00:51.820 --> 00:00:52.960 He can't hear me. 00:00:55.079 --> 00:00:56.679 God works things out. 00:00:57.780 --> 00:00:59.859 It is good to be with you today. 00:01:01.099 --> 00:01:06.019 I want to talk for just a second how we respond to certain words. 00:01:08.200 --> 00:01:14.819 If I say Trump, some people respond this way, and some people respond that way. 00:01:15.620 --> 00:01:21.340 If I say Biden, some people respond this way, some people respond that way. 00:01:21.340 --> 00:01:25.219 Either name you say, somebody's going to respond, right? 00:01:25.219 --> 00:01:37.560 If I say China, men get an angry look on their faces because men like their trucks, their pickups. 00:01:38.219 --> 00:01:40.439 And China wouldn't give us those chips. 00:01:40.439 --> 00:01:47.019 And the price of pickups went up so high, and they're not coming down, and now we can't afford them. 00:01:47.539 --> 00:01:48.500 They get angry. 00:01:50.060 --> 00:01:54.840 If you talk to an auto parts person and want to order a part, they say, don't get it from China. 00:01:54.939 --> 00:01:55.719 It won't last. 00:01:55.719 --> 00:01:59.799 We bought some LEDs for our house. 00:01:59.859 --> 00:02:00.980 Very reasonably priced. 00:02:01.359 --> 00:02:02.879 10,000 hours guaranteed. 00:02:03.140 --> 00:02:04.519 Two of them didn't last two weeks. 00:02:07.400 --> 00:02:09.079 Our pastor's down in Peru. 00:02:09.439 --> 00:02:10.939 I was down there a few years ago. 00:02:10.939 --> 00:02:17.219 I was getting out of one of those cars, and my foot hit that piece of trim there at the foot. 00:02:17.439 --> 00:02:20.819 It just fell right out on the ground. 00:02:21.400 --> 00:02:22.400 I was embarrassed. 00:02:23.120 --> 00:02:25.219 I got out, picked it up, and handed it to the driver. 00:02:25.319 --> 00:02:27.800 And I was apologizing profusely. 00:02:27.879 --> 00:02:28.919 I am so sorry. 00:02:29.919 --> 00:02:31.860 He looked at me with this bewildered look. 00:02:33.099 --> 00:02:34.259 He started laughing. 00:02:35.340 --> 00:02:36.539 Don't worry about it. 00:02:36.960 --> 00:02:38.060 It's made in China. 00:02:38.159 --> 00:02:39.120 It's a piece of junk. 00:02:39.120 --> 00:02:40.780 Parts fall off all the time. 00:02:40.939 --> 00:02:44.439 You say clean air. 00:02:45.780 --> 00:02:47.439 Everybody wants clean air. 00:02:48.060 --> 00:02:50.699 Our government is working toward clean air. 00:02:50.800 --> 00:02:56.479 We've only got 217 power plants that are run by coal now. 00:02:56.819 --> 00:02:56.939 217. 00:02:57.659 --> 00:03:00.000 And they're well regulated and they're very clean. 00:03:01.340 --> 00:03:03.419 China says they're cleaning theirs up. 00:03:03.419 --> 00:03:11.299 But instead of 217, they've got 1,142 coal fire power plants. 00:03:11.339 --> 00:03:12.279 And they're not regulated. 00:03:13.179 --> 00:03:14.639 But they say, we're working on it. 00:03:14.699 --> 00:03:15.679 We're working on it. 00:03:16.679 --> 00:03:22.619 Right now, they've got 252 more power plants fueled by coal. 00:03:22.620 --> 00:03:25.480 Either being built or the permits already being issued. 00:03:27.420 --> 00:03:28.659 You say COVID. 00:03:30.259 --> 00:03:33.900 A few years ago, nobody had the flu. 00:03:35.039 --> 00:03:36.560 Now everybody's got it. 00:03:38.039 --> 00:03:38.680 Don't worry. 00:03:38.740 --> 00:03:39.420 I don't have COVID. 00:03:39.500 --> 00:03:40.580 I've been tested repeatedly. 00:03:40.580 --> 00:03:45.219 How does this come on? 00:03:45.300 --> 00:03:51.560 Oh, by the way, if you ask anybody about the direction of America, nobody's optimistic. 00:03:51.720 --> 00:03:51.980 Right? 00:03:55.080 --> 00:03:58.320 You know the one thing I have not heard from anyone? 00:03:58.319 --> 00:04:06.099 I am excited about what God is doing in America today. 00:04:07.459 --> 00:04:11.000 I have not heard one person say that. 00:04:12.120 --> 00:04:16.659 But I want to tell you, I am excited about what God is doing in America today. 00:04:17.060 --> 00:04:23.279 Because I think God is doing some great things in America in this very hour. 00:04:23.459 --> 00:04:25.300 And we need to open our eyes and see it. 00:04:25.300 --> 00:04:28.560 Just a few weeks ago, we had a beautiful young couple back there. 00:04:28.960 --> 00:04:29.660 They came up. 00:04:29.759 --> 00:04:32.480 It was Alex and Ashley Edwards. 00:04:33.079 --> 00:04:35.980 They had Brooklyn, their daughter, and Parker, their son. 00:04:36.000 --> 00:04:37.939 And they came up to dedicate that young man. 00:04:38.439 --> 00:04:40.460 And our pastor took that young man. 00:04:40.740 --> 00:04:44.939 And he walked back there, carrying that young man, talking, and walked all around. 00:04:45.199 --> 00:04:47.160 And every one of us did the same thing. 00:04:48.340 --> 00:04:51.220 We sat on pins and needles, wondering if that boy was going to cry. 00:04:51.280 --> 00:04:51.580 Right? 00:04:52.720 --> 00:04:53.420 Every one of us. 00:04:53.420 --> 00:04:55.040 And the parents held their breath. 00:04:55.300 --> 00:05:05.020 And there were some people here who were thinking, I'm happy for them. 00:05:05.740 --> 00:05:07.439 They look like great parents. 00:05:08.180 --> 00:05:09.480 That boy did not cry. 00:05:09.620 --> 00:05:12.720 It's obvious he's being raised in the admonition of the Lord. 00:05:14.400 --> 00:05:16.199 But I'm glad it's them and not me. 00:05:16.280 --> 00:05:18.620 I wouldn't want to try to raise a child in this day and age. 00:05:19.920 --> 00:05:22.199 It's not a good time to raise a child. 00:05:22.199 --> 00:05:24.500 Friend, I want to tell you. 00:05:25.300 --> 00:05:29.680 It's a great time to raise a child. 00:05:30.379 --> 00:05:33.199 It is a wonderful time to raise a child. 00:05:33.420 --> 00:05:34.980 Let me give you a quote. 00:05:34.980 --> 00:05:38.319 Our youth love luxury. 00:05:38.319 --> 00:05:42.439 They had bad manners and despised authority. 00:05:43.160 --> 00:05:48.660 They showed disrespect for their elders and loved to chatter instead of exercise. 00:05:48.660 --> 00:05:51.500 Young people are now tyrants. 00:05:51.500 --> 00:05:55.240 Some people think that could have been written yesterday. 00:05:56.760 --> 00:05:59.840 It was written 2,400 years ago by Socrates. 00:05:59.839 --> 00:06:05.599 And it's been repeated every generation since then. 00:06:05.979 --> 00:06:07.519 This young couple came up. 00:06:08.179 --> 00:06:09.419 They have a child. 00:06:09.939 --> 00:06:14.699 It is a great time for them to have a child because we just don't know our history. 00:06:15.060 --> 00:06:23.979 If there was ever a bad time, ever a bad time not to have a child, it was when Moses was born. 00:06:23.980 --> 00:06:31.100 The scriptures say in Hebrews 11, 23, and we're going to look at this passage several times. 00:06:31.740 --> 00:06:43.920 By faith, Moses' parents hid him for three months after he was born because they saw he was no ordinary child and they were not afraid of the king's edict. 00:06:44.960 --> 00:06:46.280 Why was it a bad time? 00:06:46.340 --> 00:06:50.680 Well, first of all, they were being crushed by the lash of slavery under the Egyptians. 00:06:51.900 --> 00:06:52.420 Why? 00:06:52.420 --> 00:06:53.200 Two reasons. 00:06:53.980 --> 00:06:54.340 Why? 00:06:54.540 --> 00:06:55.100 Profit. 00:06:56.319 --> 00:06:56.860 Greed. 00:06:58.100 --> 00:07:02.620 The Egyptians' economy was built on the backbone of slavery. 00:07:03.259 --> 00:07:05.660 The Egyptians had a very good lifestyle. 00:07:06.240 --> 00:07:07.240 They were well-to-do. 00:07:07.580 --> 00:07:09.620 But it was built on the backbone of slavery. 00:07:10.240 --> 00:07:20.900 In Exodus 1-11, so they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Python and Ramses as store cities for Pharaoh. 00:07:21.900 --> 00:07:23.439 Now, think about it just a moment. 00:07:23.439 --> 00:07:25.000 They did all the work. 00:07:25.000 --> 00:07:27.000 The Egyptians prospered. 00:07:27.000 --> 00:07:28.000 The Egyptians prospered. 00:07:28.000 --> 00:07:32.360 And then along comes Moses, the ten plagues, the death angel passes over. 00:07:32.620 --> 00:07:34.139 They say, get out of our country. 00:07:34.139 --> 00:07:35.699 And so, the Israelites leave. 00:07:35.699 --> 00:07:37.439 The Israelites leave. 00:07:37.439 --> 00:07:40.139 But Pharaoh goes after them. 00:07:40.139 --> 00:07:40.879 Do you know why? 00:07:42.199 --> 00:07:45.719 Why did Pharaoh pursue the Jews after they left? 00:07:45.720 --> 00:07:47.280 The Bible is very plain about it. 00:07:47.280 --> 00:07:47.500 The Bible is very plain about it. 00:07:47.500 --> 00:07:58.260 In Exodus 14-5, when the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, what have we done? 00:07:58.259 --> 00:08:01.819 We have let the Israelites go. 00:08:01.819 --> 00:08:05.639 And have lost their services. 00:08:06.319 --> 00:08:09.180 Our standard of living is going to go down now. 00:08:09.539 --> 00:08:10.939 We can't have this. 00:08:11.259 --> 00:08:13.459 We've got to go and get them. 00:08:13.459 --> 00:08:17.500 There's another reason that it was a bad time to be born. 00:08:17.839 --> 00:08:19.099 And that was prejudiced. 00:08:19.100 --> 00:08:23.660 Now, the Egyptians were not prejudiced against their Jews. 00:08:24.180 --> 00:08:29.860 But they were extremely prejudiced against them for another reason. 00:08:32.220 --> 00:08:38.779 They said, when Joseph brought his family down, we'll give you a nice place to live. 00:08:39.480 --> 00:08:41.180 We'll give you the land of Goshen. 00:08:41.480 --> 00:08:42.680 It's an ideal part. 00:08:42.820 --> 00:08:44.300 It's the best part of Egypt. 00:08:45.100 --> 00:08:46.779 It would be ideal for you. 00:08:46.779 --> 00:08:50.399 You can go and live in Goshen, and it's a great place to live. 00:08:50.759 --> 00:08:52.839 But it will not be in our communities. 00:08:54.240 --> 00:08:56.360 We will not associate with you. 00:08:58.199 --> 00:09:07.919 Joseph told his family when they came down, when the Pharaoh asked you what you do for a living, this is what you ought to answer. 00:09:08.259 --> 00:09:10.500 It's in Genesis 46-34. 00:09:10.500 --> 00:09:15.959 You should answer, your servants have tended livestock from our boyhood on. 00:09:15.960 --> 00:09:18.080 Just as our fathers did. 00:09:18.660 --> 00:09:23.519 Then you will be allowed to settle in the region of Goshen for all shepherds. 00:09:24.139 --> 00:09:28.019 All shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians. 00:09:29.620 --> 00:09:33.100 Have you ever thought about the skill set that a shepherd had? 00:09:33.100 --> 00:09:37.680 They had to stay up late at night. 00:09:39.700 --> 00:09:41.320 They had to be able to count. 00:09:43.279 --> 00:09:45.700 They had to be brave enough to fight a wild animal. 00:09:46.960 --> 00:09:51.000 They had to be strong enough to carry a sheep or lamb that was injured. 00:09:51.820 --> 00:09:54.720 And they had to be nimble enough to get up and down those cliffs. 00:09:54.720 --> 00:09:58.379 That was it. 00:10:01.259 --> 00:10:11.540 But while I was in the land of Goshen, and a great land for raising a sheep because it was delta land and lots of grass, they flourished. 00:10:11.539 --> 00:10:15.740 They grew in numbers and numbers and numbers. 00:10:16.559 --> 00:10:29.579 So much so that Pharaoh decided that every male baby born to the Hebrews had to be thrown into the Nile River and drown. 00:10:29.580 --> 00:10:44.280 But, Hebrews 11, 23 again, by faith Moses' parents hid him for three months after he was born because they saw he was no ordinary child and they were not afraid of the king's edict. 00:10:45.700 --> 00:10:47.940 Do you know how important those words were? 00:10:48.879 --> 00:10:49.900 We've heard it twice already. 00:10:49.960 --> 00:10:50.800 We're going to read them again. 00:10:51.900 --> 00:10:53.020 Do you know how important they were? 00:10:53.019 --> 00:10:58.620 Do you remember the first Christian martyr, Stephen? 00:10:59.720 --> 00:11:01.860 They stoned him to death for preaching Jesus. 00:11:03.360 --> 00:11:10.340 Do you know what was on his lips as he was preaching Jesus that day before they stoned him? 00:11:11.559 --> 00:11:17.500 In Acts 7, 20, these are the words that Stephen spoke before he was martyred. 00:11:17.500 --> 00:11:21.759 At that time Moses was born and he was no ordinary child. 00:11:21.759 --> 00:11:26.039 For three months he was cared for by his father's parents. 00:11:27.740 --> 00:11:34.439 You realize how the people of Israel came to understand those words? 00:11:35.600 --> 00:11:40.279 How God gave them so many reasons for hope during a hard time. 00:11:41.419 --> 00:11:44.379 He gave them reason after reason after reason. 00:11:45.039 --> 00:11:46.819 God blessed them materially. 00:11:47.840 --> 00:11:49.860 They were blessed materially. 00:11:49.860 --> 00:11:55.840 Now, you may think, well, how are they? 00:11:55.899 --> 00:11:56.600 Were we in slavery? 00:11:57.539 --> 00:12:15.480 Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, taken down to Egypt, accused in Potiphar's house falsely, ended up in the dungeon, interpreted dreams, came to run in the dungeon, interpreted dreams for Pharaoh, became prime minister of Egypt, the second most powerful man on the face of the earth. 00:12:15.480 --> 00:12:20.800 And when his family came down, he gave them the best part of Egypt to live in. 00:12:22.440 --> 00:12:26.320 Now, if that's not a blessing, I don't know what is. 00:12:27.240 --> 00:12:28.879 That's a tremendous blessing. 00:12:29.399 --> 00:12:31.519 And they were blessed numerically. 00:12:32.720 --> 00:12:33.740 Exodus 1, 7. 00:12:33.740 --> 00:12:38.399 The Israelites were fruitful and multiplied greatly and became exceedingly numerous. 00:12:39.399 --> 00:12:42.200 So the land was filled with them. 00:12:43.299 --> 00:12:44.799 They started off with 70. 00:12:45.799 --> 00:12:54.860 When they left Egypt 400 years later, there were 600,000 men taking women and children into account, about 2 million people. 00:12:54.860 --> 00:13:01.419 This is one of the most understated verses in all the Bible. 00:13:02.860 --> 00:13:06.060 I have read it and read it and read it for a year after a year. 00:13:06.139 --> 00:13:08.620 I've preached on it, and I never understood it. 00:13:10.019 --> 00:13:13.440 Let me put it into context so that we can understand it all right. 00:13:15.320 --> 00:13:18.360 America was founded in 1776. 00:13:18.360 --> 00:13:23.779 We had 2,500,000 people in America on that first day. 00:13:25.340 --> 00:13:34.620 Today, for every one American alive then in 1776, we have 131 Americans in this country today. 00:13:35.399 --> 00:13:40.180 We're 131 times larger than we were then 250 years ago. 00:13:41.039 --> 00:13:41.620 You got that? 00:13:43.080 --> 00:13:45.519 Now, this is 400 years, a little bit different. 00:13:45.519 --> 00:13:56.179 But for every Hebrew child that went in to Egypt 400 years later, there's not 131. 00:13:57.039 --> 00:13:57.919 No, no, no. 00:13:58.600 --> 00:14:03.259 For every one that went in, now there are 28,500. 00:14:05.480 --> 00:14:09.539 28,500. 00:14:09.539 --> 00:14:15.620 They grew like that during the harshest time. 00:14:16.659 --> 00:14:24.120 Can you imagine God's hand on them to give that type of almost miraculous, miraculous increase? 00:14:25.019 --> 00:14:32.079 And while all this was going on, while God was giving all this evidence, Israel, strangely enough, sort of went back in our faith. 00:14:33.559 --> 00:14:36.240 Abraham was the friend of God according to the Bible. 00:14:36.240 --> 00:14:40.340 Joseph was probably the most Christ-like man in the Old Testament. 00:14:41.680 --> 00:14:44.279 But something happened during that 400-year period. 00:14:45.259 --> 00:14:50.039 Now, you would think when God parted the waters of the Red Sea, 00:14:51.039 --> 00:14:53.379 and the Israelites walked across on dry ground, 00:14:54.120 --> 00:14:58.299 and the army of Pharaoh came after him and swatted him up and drowned him, 00:14:58.519 --> 00:15:00.419 they would have said, praise be to God. 00:15:00.419 --> 00:15:07.240 When they got out there in the wilderness, and there was a cloud of fire to lead him at night, 00:15:07.339 --> 00:15:13.339 and a pillar of cloud to lead him by day, 00:15:13.659 --> 00:15:16.079 you would have thought, praise be to God. 00:15:16.139 --> 00:15:17.319 He is a powerful God. 00:15:17.459 --> 00:15:20.079 When he got water from a rock, when he gave quail and manna, 00:15:20.279 --> 00:15:22.879 you would have thought, praise be to God. 00:15:22.879 --> 00:15:27.639 But Moses goes up on the mount to receive the Ten Commandments, 00:15:28.279 --> 00:15:30.580 and they revert in their faith. 00:15:31.639 --> 00:15:33.840 They go back the opposite way. 00:15:37.460 --> 00:15:40.799 They went down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in reverie. 00:15:41.879 --> 00:15:45.059 And Joshua, he challenged them, 00:15:45.120 --> 00:15:48.039 throw away the gods your forefathers worshipped in Egypt. 00:15:48.039 --> 00:15:50.740 But in Ezekiel 28, 00:15:52.000 --> 00:15:55.159 but they rebelled against me and would not listen to me, 00:15:55.279 --> 00:15:59.620 and they did not get rid of the vile images they had set their eyes on, 00:15:59.659 --> 00:16:02.399 nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. 00:16:03.819 --> 00:16:06.679 Now, there were men like Joshua and Caleb, other men, 00:16:07.259 --> 00:16:10.459 but they just didn't pay attention. 00:16:10.759 --> 00:16:13.799 They just didn't see what God was doing. 00:16:13.799 --> 00:16:21.679 Do you know how unreasonable their lack of faith was? 00:16:22.559 --> 00:16:26.519 Now, it is true that a Pharaoh who knew not Joseph came to power in Egypt, 00:16:26.779 --> 00:16:28.240 and they were put into slavery. 00:16:29.500 --> 00:16:32.620 But the Bible says, but the more they were oppressed in Exodus 112, 00:16:33.139 --> 00:16:35.799 but the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread. 00:16:36.039 --> 00:16:38.719 So the Egyptians began to dread the Israelites. 00:16:38.720 --> 00:16:46.040 There were not enough weapons in hell's arsenal to stop or even slow down what God was doing. 00:16:47.360 --> 00:16:50.899 And the Hebrew midwives were then older. 00:16:51.040 --> 00:16:53.600 Whenever a male child is born of the Hebrews, 00:16:54.920 --> 00:16:57.440 report that child so they can be drowned in the Nile River. 00:16:59.120 --> 00:17:00.680 And they refused to do it. 00:17:01.660 --> 00:17:04.819 And they were brought in before Pharaoh, and he demanded nothing counting. 00:17:04.819 --> 00:17:08.839 And they said, but you need to understand, these Hebrew women, 00:17:08.939 --> 00:17:11.740 they're much more vigorous than the Egyptian women. 00:17:12.240 --> 00:17:14.859 When they have a baby, I mean, it happens so quickly, 00:17:14.980 --> 00:17:16.659 they're gone before we can get there. 00:17:18.119 --> 00:17:21.519 They were doing the exact opposite of what abortion providers do today, 00:17:21.599 --> 00:17:22.960 and God blessed them for it. 00:17:24.919 --> 00:17:27.740 They were multiplying leaps and bounds. 00:17:29.819 --> 00:17:33.220 But why didn't God prevent all that suffering? 00:17:33.220 --> 00:17:35.640 That's the real question, isn't it? 00:17:36.980 --> 00:17:39.759 He had a people, his people, 00:17:40.519 --> 00:17:43.339 but they were in desperate need of development 00:17:43.339 --> 00:17:46.740 because they had not understood the elements of faith yet. 00:17:47.920 --> 00:17:50.380 What happened during that 400-year period? 00:17:51.960 --> 00:17:54.960 Have you ever thought about what they had when they came out of Egypt 00:17:54.960 --> 00:17:58.819 that they did not have when they went into Egypt? 00:17:58.819 --> 00:18:05.019 You may be thinking, if you're a good student of the Bible, 00:18:05.259 --> 00:18:09.159 I know they had gold and silver and fine cloth and linens 00:18:09.159 --> 00:18:12.059 because the Lord told them to ask for whatever they want 00:18:12.059 --> 00:18:14.000 and the Egyptians would give it. 00:18:14.019 --> 00:18:16.460 After that death angel passed over, that's what happened. 00:18:16.740 --> 00:18:17.939 I like your necklace. 00:18:18.079 --> 00:18:18.740 Well, here it is. 00:18:18.779 --> 00:18:19.079 Take it. 00:18:19.119 --> 00:18:19.539 Get out. 00:18:20.359 --> 00:18:21.399 I like your rings. 00:18:21.480 --> 00:18:22.220 Oh, take them. 00:18:22.299 --> 00:18:22.879 Get out. 00:18:22.880 --> 00:18:22.920 Get out. 00:18:23.980 --> 00:18:26.880 The Bible says that God allowed them to plunder the Egyptians, 00:18:27.080 --> 00:18:28.040 carry away all that wealth. 00:18:28.280 --> 00:18:30.520 That's not what I'm talking about at all. 00:18:32.060 --> 00:18:37.580 I'm talking about the skills, the crafts, the knowledge, 00:18:38.520 --> 00:18:40.620 the expertise they had when they came out. 00:18:41.240 --> 00:18:42.900 They went in as shepherds. 00:18:44.120 --> 00:18:45.560 Knew how to stay up late at night. 00:18:46.420 --> 00:18:47.360 Knew how to count. 00:18:48.400 --> 00:18:50.580 Knew how to carry an animal and fight off an animal. 00:18:50.720 --> 00:18:51.900 Knew how to get up and down cliffs. 00:18:51.900 --> 00:18:53.600 That's what they knew. 00:18:54.980 --> 00:18:59.840 But when they came out, they had built two huge cities. 00:19:00.700 --> 00:19:04.740 And when the Egyptians built something, friend, they did it right. 00:19:04.880 --> 00:19:06.340 Lasted thousands of years. 00:19:06.780 --> 00:19:10.720 Very ornate, very beautiful, very detailed, and very exact. 00:19:12.040 --> 00:19:14.040 Well, preacher, what does that have anything to do with? 00:19:15.500 --> 00:19:17.440 Read Exodus 25 through 30. 00:19:18.500 --> 00:19:20.660 They're out there in the wilderness, and God says, 00:19:20.660 --> 00:19:30.360 build me a tabernacle, a place of worship, one that you can move from place to place. 00:19:31.480 --> 00:19:34.680 And today we often say, well, it was sort of a tent. 00:19:36.540 --> 00:19:38.519 Read Exodus 25 through 30. 00:19:40.300 --> 00:19:44.380 Friend, it was unbelievably beautiful. 00:19:44.380 --> 00:19:50.340 It was detailed and exact and decorated and ornate. 00:19:50.340 --> 00:19:54.960 And all the priest clothes and all that stuff done the same way. 00:19:56.100 --> 00:19:58.120 Where did they learn to do that? 00:19:59.260 --> 00:20:00.360 In Egypt. 00:20:01.700 --> 00:20:03.160 And then that multiplication. 00:20:04.160 --> 00:20:06.500 One in, 28,500 out. 00:20:06.500 --> 00:20:13.839 God needed a nation big enough and large enough to take the promised land and hold it. 00:20:14.099 --> 00:20:16.019 And he had that in Egypt. 00:20:16.420 --> 00:20:18.839 He did it in the devil's own backyard. 00:20:19.559 --> 00:20:20.680 That's the amazing thing. 00:20:21.839 --> 00:20:24.539 And the other two things they came out with are even more important. 00:20:24.539 --> 00:20:28.220 They went in. 00:20:29.220 --> 00:20:32.079 They went into Egypt. 00:20:33.079 --> 00:20:39.680 But when they came out, they had a hatred for slavery. 00:20:40.799 --> 00:20:44.200 And they despised oppression of any type. 00:20:45.819 --> 00:20:48.359 And it became part of their DNA. 00:20:48.359 --> 00:20:52.259 Think about the history of the Jews. 00:20:53.599 --> 00:20:58.819 Probably the most persecuted people ever in all the world. 00:20:59.379 --> 00:21:01.299 Think of the Holocaust in World War II. 00:21:01.439 --> 00:21:02.359 Six million Jews. 00:21:03.279 --> 00:21:07.779 They had maintained a unity as a nation through all of that. 00:21:08.019 --> 00:21:08.199 Why? 00:21:08.299 --> 00:21:12.679 Because those years, it became part of their DNA. 00:21:13.379 --> 00:21:15.740 God had to develop that in them. 00:21:15.740 --> 00:21:18.259 And the last thing. 00:21:19.019 --> 00:21:21.059 Their identity as a nation. 00:21:21.259 --> 00:21:23.980 When they went into Egypt, they were a people group. 00:21:25.220 --> 00:21:28.000 When they came out of Egypt, they became a nation. 00:21:29.180 --> 00:21:31.720 Ask the Jews, what are the two most important things? 00:21:31.859 --> 00:21:34.440 Abraham and the Passover. 00:21:35.099 --> 00:21:39.059 Those are the two pivotal events to every Jew. 00:21:39.980 --> 00:21:41.039 That Passover. 00:21:41.720 --> 00:21:43.220 That's when they came out of Egypt. 00:21:43.220 --> 00:21:48.259 That's when God gave them an identity as the people of God. 00:21:48.519 --> 00:21:49.519 And why is that important? 00:21:49.759 --> 00:21:52.000 Because that's where the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:21:52.200 --> 00:21:54.640 That is the lineage that he came through. 00:21:57.279 --> 00:22:03.920 And every Jew should have seen the miracles performed around Moses. 00:22:05.240 --> 00:22:07.960 It is amazing just to look at it. 00:22:08.460 --> 00:22:09.720 In Hebrews 11.23. 00:22:09.900 --> 00:22:10.740 Third time now. 00:22:10.740 --> 00:22:17.380 By faith, Moses' parents hid him for three months after he was born because they saw he was no ordinary child. 00:22:17.880 --> 00:22:20.620 And they were not afraid of the king's edict. 00:22:21.339 --> 00:22:23.640 Now, Amram and Jochebed, that's Moses' parents. 00:22:24.099 --> 00:22:25.059 They could count. 00:22:26.400 --> 00:22:32.599 They knew that years before Abraham had said, you're going to be in bondage down in Egypt for 400 years. 00:22:33.660 --> 00:22:36.200 And after that 400 years is up, you're going to be brought home. 00:22:36.200 --> 00:22:39.519 They knew that 400 years was up. 00:22:40.400 --> 00:22:47.400 And they were not afraid of the king's edict because they believed that God was going to do the work that only God can do. 00:22:47.559 --> 00:22:49.319 They were not afraid of the king's edict. 00:22:49.960 --> 00:22:54.340 You know that paralyzing fear and faith cannot live in the human heart at the same time? 00:22:55.180 --> 00:22:56.960 Now, we might have some emotional fear. 00:22:58.340 --> 00:22:59.980 We might even be shaking in our boots. 00:22:59.980 --> 00:23:02.420 But I'm going to tell you something. 00:23:02.920 --> 00:23:07.620 People of faith will stand up even though they're fearful. 00:23:08.940 --> 00:23:12.680 They will do the will of God. 00:23:13.880 --> 00:23:15.940 That is a fact. 00:23:16.599 --> 00:23:23.360 Because God has put something in them that enables them to overcome that fear. 00:23:23.359 --> 00:23:26.819 And Amram and Jochebed had a faith that worked. 00:23:27.500 --> 00:23:31.939 They hid the baby for three months and then they built a little bassinet, put him in the river. 00:23:33.439 --> 00:23:36.359 Maze and a crocodile didn't eat him or didn't turn over or something. 00:23:37.240 --> 00:23:41.179 Maze and an Egyptian didn't find him and just turn it over because he knew he was a king's edict. 00:23:43.500 --> 00:23:44.279 What happened? 00:23:45.019 --> 00:23:45.879 Floated down the river. 00:23:46.000 --> 00:23:46.500 God knew. 00:23:47.639 --> 00:23:51.119 There was a woman down there who would see that basket and say, what's that? 00:23:51.119 --> 00:23:53.839 They'd run over there and say, it's a baby. 00:23:53.939 --> 00:23:56.159 And that baby would cry and it would just touch her heart. 00:23:56.959 --> 00:23:58.799 And she says, I'm going to keep that baby. 00:23:59.359 --> 00:24:00.559 Oh, I love that baby. 00:24:00.599 --> 00:24:01.500 I'm going to keep it. 00:24:02.079 --> 00:24:07.719 And she's the only woman in Egypt that can defy the Pharaoh's orders and get away with it because she's his daughter. 00:24:08.839 --> 00:24:10.359 Dad, I found this baby. 00:24:10.419 --> 00:24:11.019 I want him. 00:24:11.819 --> 00:24:12.559 Well, he's a Hebrew. 00:24:12.739 --> 00:24:13.479 I want him. 00:24:13.559 --> 00:24:13.919 All right. 00:24:14.039 --> 00:24:14.500 All right. 00:24:17.239 --> 00:24:21.099 And then Miriam, Moses' sister, walks up. 00:24:21.119 --> 00:24:26.500 And says, I know a woman that can nurse that baby for you. 00:24:27.299 --> 00:24:28.159 Oh, you do? 00:24:28.500 --> 00:24:29.299 I tell you what. 00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:33.519 Take it to the woman and finish nursing up. 00:24:33.779 --> 00:24:35.479 And I will pay her to nurse the baby. 00:24:36.339 --> 00:24:42.679 So she takes Moses home to her mother, Jacobin, and said, Pharaoh's daughter's going to pay you to nurse your child here. 00:24:43.759 --> 00:24:46.379 Only God can arrange something like that. 00:24:47.259 --> 00:24:49.599 Only God can do stuff like that. 00:24:49.599 --> 00:24:54.139 And it's amazing what God does every day. 00:24:55.459 --> 00:25:06.059 Now, all this taking place, and unfortunately the Jews didn't see it. 00:25:06.059 --> 00:25:12.039 God is doing stuff around us all the time. 00:25:14.980 --> 00:25:16.899 And sometimes we don't see it. 00:25:18.200 --> 00:25:23.240 If you read the Gospel of Mark carefully, the first eight chapters are wonderful. 00:25:23.440 --> 00:25:24.399 There's applause. 00:25:24.659 --> 00:25:25.240 There's miracles. 00:25:25.799 --> 00:25:27.480 There are crowds around Jesus. 00:25:27.659 --> 00:25:28.440 Everybody's happy. 00:25:28.539 --> 00:25:29.579 Everybody's enthusiastic. 00:25:29.579 --> 00:25:33.799 Read the last eight chapters of Mark, and it's a different story. 00:25:35.439 --> 00:25:41.220 Jesus is marching resolutely toward Jerusalem and the cross. 00:25:41.220 --> 00:25:47.279 And on that march, he starts giving some hard sayings. 00:25:48.279 --> 00:25:49.980 And people said, what? 00:25:50.779 --> 00:25:52.839 I didn't sign up for this. 00:25:53.680 --> 00:25:55.000 And they leave. 00:25:57.160 --> 00:25:58.700 So many leave. 00:25:58.700 --> 00:26:06.559 So many people who were followers of Jesus left that he finally turned to his 12 disciples. 00:26:08.160 --> 00:26:10.039 He said, are you leaving also? 00:26:11.080 --> 00:26:12.480 That's how bad it was. 00:26:13.900 --> 00:26:20.420 And in John 6, 68 through 69, Peter answered, Lord, to whom shall we go? 00:26:20.420 --> 00:26:23.560 You have the words of eternal life. 00:26:24.560 --> 00:26:29.440 We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God. 00:26:33.340 --> 00:26:38.840 When we had COVID, every church lost some people. 00:26:41.840 --> 00:26:43.600 Some people worry about that. 00:26:46.960 --> 00:26:48.720 Jesus knew what lay ahead. 00:26:50.420 --> 00:26:53.240 His focus was on the ones that remained. 00:26:55.820 --> 00:26:58.519 His focus was on the ones that stayed. 00:26:59.700 --> 00:27:02.160 Because that's where he was going to work. 00:27:04.300 --> 00:27:05.460 You have stayed. 00:27:06.880 --> 00:27:08.000 You're still here. 00:27:09.180 --> 00:27:10.240 God's going to use you. 00:27:11.320 --> 00:27:14.259 All right, preacher, what God's going to do in a great in America. 00:27:15.860 --> 00:27:17.759 I've noticed something among young people. 00:27:17.759 --> 00:27:21.359 About a year ago in February, Ashbury University in Kentucky. 00:27:22.859 --> 00:27:23.259 Oh. 00:27:25.200 --> 00:27:26.039 It happened. 00:27:27.879 --> 00:27:30.519 It was just absolutely miraculous what was going on. 00:27:30.920 --> 00:27:33.700 And then it happened at this college and this college and this college. 00:27:34.079 --> 00:27:36.240 And the news doesn't like to report that stuff. 00:27:36.240 --> 00:27:40.700 I'm a big college football fan. 00:27:41.700 --> 00:27:43.019 I noticed something. 00:27:44.559 --> 00:27:46.460 More and more, and this year especially. 00:27:47.019 --> 00:27:47.940 More and more and more. 00:27:48.019 --> 00:27:49.660 They interviewed the players after the game. 00:27:50.660 --> 00:27:51.220 And they'll begin. 00:27:51.480 --> 00:27:53.440 I want to give thanks to the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:27:54.440 --> 00:27:56.539 And sometimes the network tried to cut it out. 00:27:56.539 --> 00:27:59.059 But it's there. 00:28:01.139 --> 00:28:01.619 Colton. 00:28:02.200 --> 00:28:08.539 I'm going to tell you about the hunger for scriptures that the young people in this church have. 00:28:10.039 --> 00:28:11.740 God is doing something. 00:28:12.079 --> 00:28:16.139 Just like when Jesus was marching toward Jerusalem, he had to get the right people. 00:28:16.399 --> 00:28:17.659 He's got the right people. 00:28:18.700 --> 00:28:21.700 Now, do I know what he's going to do? 00:28:21.700 --> 00:28:25.559 I, that's above my grade level, pay level, you know. 00:28:27.000 --> 00:28:28.080 I'll tell you this. 00:28:29.259 --> 00:28:38.019 I have absolutely no doubt that God is getting ready to do something great in America. 00:28:39.140 --> 00:28:40.680 I believe that with all my heart. 00:28:40.960 --> 00:28:44.840 And I believe it's going to begin with our young people. 00:28:45.600 --> 00:28:47.799 The very people that Socrates gave up on. 00:28:48.720 --> 00:28:51.200 It's going to begin with the young people. 00:28:51.700 --> 00:28:54.799 And we're going to see something great happen in this nation. 00:28:55.480 --> 00:28:58.420 I believe that with all of my heart. 00:28:58.660 --> 00:28:59.940 And why do I believe it? 00:29:00.059 --> 00:29:03.160 Because I don't want to be like the Jews down there in Egypt. 00:29:03.460 --> 00:29:06.140 God working all around me and me not see it. 00:29:08.299 --> 00:29:12.360 I prefer to see what God's doing. 00:29:15.259 --> 00:29:18.740 I prefer to see the fact that this morning at 3 o'clock I couldn't talk. 00:29:18.740 --> 00:29:20.340 I mean, I couldn't make a sound. 00:29:21.700 --> 00:29:24.420 And God gave me this opportunity. 00:29:26.360 --> 00:29:28.900 And he does it in a thousand different ways. 00:29:30.059 --> 00:29:31.740 As we open our eyes. 00:29:32.759 --> 00:29:35.000 So here's the challenge I want to give you. 00:29:37.000 --> 00:29:39.059 It said that, Peter said, 00:29:39.160 --> 00:29:41.240 You have the words of eternal life. 00:29:41.240 --> 00:29:46.440 If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ is your personal Lord and Savior, 00:29:48.759 --> 00:29:50.460 Today's the day you need to say, 00:29:50.579 --> 00:29:51.620 Lord, come into my heart. 00:29:53.039 --> 00:29:54.220 Come into my life. 00:29:54.620 --> 00:29:55.680 Because he's ready to. 00:29:55.759 --> 00:29:56.539 He wants to. 00:29:57.799 --> 00:29:59.799 Now, I'm going to tell you, he doesn't want to change you. 00:30:01.200 --> 00:30:02.880 He does not want to change you. 00:30:03.400 --> 00:30:04.940 He wants to transform you. 00:30:04.940 --> 00:30:10.039 He will make you completely, completely different. 00:30:11.320 --> 00:30:13.140 I spoke about the young people a moment ago. 00:30:13.240 --> 00:30:15.059 I want to give the young people a challenge. 00:30:15.559 --> 00:30:18.120 If you're already a Christian and you're a young person, 00:30:18.460 --> 00:30:20.940 You're thinking about what college you want to go to, 00:30:21.480 --> 00:30:23.000 What you want to do with your career, 00:30:23.160 --> 00:30:24.960 Who you might marry, and all that stuff. 00:30:24.960 --> 00:30:31.340 My pastor challenged me years ago up in Greensboro, North Carolina. 00:30:32.100 --> 00:30:37.019 Don't ever make any of those decisions without taking them to God first. 00:30:38.319 --> 00:30:41.880 Don't ever make a decision like that without praying for it for months. 00:30:43.600 --> 00:30:46.160 And so I prayed for it, and I prayed for it, and I prayed for it. 00:30:46.160 --> 00:30:47.160 I knew what I wanted to do. 00:30:47.440 --> 00:30:49.279 I wanted to teach math and coach wrestling. 00:30:49.819 --> 00:30:50.880 That was my sport. 00:30:50.880 --> 00:30:56.860 For some reason, God took it away, 00:30:57.460 --> 00:30:59.860 And I was the last person you would think for ministry, 00:30:59.980 --> 00:31:01.320 But God led me into the ministry. 00:31:02.040 --> 00:31:04.360 But he could have led me into teaching or coaching, 00:31:04.780 --> 00:31:07.920 Or he could have led me into business or doctorate or whatever. 00:31:08.060 --> 00:31:08.840 It makes no difference. 00:31:09.800 --> 00:31:12.960 We need to be where God has called us to be. 00:31:14.340 --> 00:31:15.780 And I prayed about a wife. 00:31:18.080 --> 00:31:20.380 And God did me far better than I ever hoped for. 00:31:20.880 --> 00:31:21.320 Pray. 00:31:23.040 --> 00:31:23.360 Pray. 00:31:24.880 --> 00:31:27.460 Ask God, what do you want me to do? 00:31:28.460 --> 00:31:32.680 If you end up driving a truck, you'll be a happier truck driver. 00:31:33.520 --> 00:31:35.880 If you end up being a doctor, you'll be a happier doctor. 00:31:36.100 --> 00:31:38.580 If he calls you to ministry and you say, that's not possible, 00:31:38.840 --> 00:31:41.500 I've been down that road, you'll be amazed. 00:31:43.380 --> 00:31:45.120 God is doing stuff. 00:31:46.320 --> 00:31:50.400 Let's open our eyes and watch what he's doing. 00:31:50.880 --> 00:31:53.340 Father, thank you for what you do. 00:31:54.120 --> 00:31:55.580 What you can do. 00:31:56.000 --> 00:31:57.400 What you're going to do. 00:31:58.740 --> 00:32:02.080 And Lord, we ask that you do it in us. 00:32:03.540 --> 00:32:05.780 Please begin with us. 00:32:06.940 --> 00:32:08.380 Let us be the first fruits. 00:32:09.380 --> 00:32:12.080 Make our hearts willing to go where you'd have us go. 00:32:12.460 --> 00:32:14.400 And do what you'd have us to do. 00:32:14.400 --> 00:32:16.440 In Jesus' name. 00:32:16.900 --> 00:32:17.200 Amen. 00:32:17.200 --> 00:32:17.300 Amen. 00:32:17.300 --> 00:32:17.400 Amen. 00:32:17.400 --> 00:32:47.380 Thank you.