Morning, church.
So I ran across a blog entry the other day titled 22 Little Known Ways to Make a Name
for Yourself. On the list were such things as grow the trust, ask the unaskable, avoid
the always, court the irrational, and on and on and on. I had to laugh when I read number
eight on this list, which was embody the values. Right after number seven, which was eliminate
the losers. I wasn't sure at that point what values we were embodying. But anyway, why
are we so obsessed with making a name for ourselves? In his book, The City of God, Augustine said
that one of the undeniable elements of the human condition is that we have an insatiable love
of praise. We want to make a name for ourselves thinking that if we have human praise, if we
make our mark, if we make a name for ourselves, we will then be happy. Right?
But so often it's the opposite that happens in our pursuit to make a name for ourselves. We end up
in our pursuit of our pursuit of our pursuit of our pursuit of our pursuit of our pursuit. We
always want more. Why is that? The late David Foster Wallace put it this way in a commencement
address he gave at Kenyon College in 2005. It's a bit of a long quote, but I think you'll be able
to follow it. He says, in the day-to-day trenches of adult life, there's actually no such thing as
atheism. There's no such thing as not worshiping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what
to worship. And the compelling reason for maybe choosing some sort of God or spiritual type thing
to worship is that pretty much anything else you worship will eat you alive. If you worship money
and things, if they are where you tap real meaning in life, then you will never have enough, never feel
you have enough. Worship your body and beauty and sexual allure, and you will always feel ugly.
And when time and age start showing, you will die a million deaths before they finally grieve you.
Worship power. You will end up feeling weak and afraid. You will need ever more power over others
to numb you to your own fear. Worship your intellect. Being seen as smart, you'll end up feeling stupid,
a fraud, always on the verge of being found out. But the insidious thing, he goes on to say,
about these forms of worship is not that they're evil or sinful. It's that they're unconscious.
They are default settings.
Now Wallace wasn't a Christian,
but he's right. Isn't he here?
We all worship something,
and that thing
often crushes us.
And isn't the same thing true of our love of praise,
worship approval and success,
making a name for yourself, and you'll
always end up feeling like a failure,
that nothing you do matters,
that you never measure up, and there's always one more
hurdle to get over.
Remember,
this is our default setting,
as fallen human beings.
And the question is, is there anything to get us off
that default setting?
To get us to not worship things,
which in the end will destroy us?
Again, from that same address,
David Foster Wallace goes on to say,
the so-called real world
will not discourage you
from operating on your default settings.
Because the so-called real world
of men
and money
and power
hums merrily along
in a pool of fear
and anger
and frustration
and craving
and worship of self.
Cynical?
Maybe.
Maybe not.
It seems we have to look somewhere else then,
than the so-called real world.
And where do we look?
Well, this morning,
we're going to look at Exodus,
chapters 7 through 10.
To a biblical text
that I think is aimed
at nothing less
than the utter destruction
of our so-called default settings.
It's aimed at the realignment
of our hearts
to that which is truly
and alone
worthy of worship.
So why don't we turn there together?
That's page 49
in the Pew Bibles.
Exodus
chapter 7 through 10.
Page 49.
We're going to look at a big chunk
of scripture this morning,
so let me encourage you
to turn there.
Even if you're not
super familiar with the Bible,
just go to page 49
and you'll be able
to follow right along.
Now, as you turn there,
you'll notice,
maybe from some of the subject headings,
that Exodus chapter 7
begins the famous story
of the ten plagues.
In fact,
this section of Exodus
begins back in chapter 6
with the genealogy of Moses
in verse 14.
In the ancient world,
in ancient texts,
genealogies were sort of ways
of marking out
a new section in the work.
It was sort of a signal
of a new chapter
in the story.
You see that in the book of Genesis
over and over and over again.
Whenever the story
takes a new turn,
it's introduced by a genealogy.
The same thing's happening here
in Exodus.
This new chapter
is starting
and this,
at last,
will be the chapter
in this story
of how God rescues
his people
from slavery at last.
Here we go.
And we're going to take
the next three weeks
to look at this narrative
of the plagues.
Next week,
we're going to get into
the hardening
of Pharaoh's heart.
Sorry if you were really hoping
we'd get into that
this morning.
You've got to come back
next week.
Two weeks from now,
we're going to look
at the Passover,
which is the sort of
climactic
and last
tenth plague.
But today,
what we're going to do
is we're going to look
at the first nine plagues
in chapters 7 through 10
as a whole.
And we're going to ask
the big,
overarching question
of,
what are the plagues
all about?
Why
the plagues?
Now,
you might be saying
to yourself,
well,
gee,
I thought the plagues
were all about
the Israelites
being rescued
from their oppressors
in Egypt.
And that is true.
But as we look
a little more closely
at how this story
unfolds,
we find that there's
an even bigger purpose
at work.
And it's a purpose
that strikes
to the very core
of our hearts today.
A purpose that seeks
to conquer
those default settings
in our hearts
of misplaced worship
and our love of praise
and our obsession
of making a name
for ourselves.
Because you see,
the plagues,
what the plagues
are all about really
is God
magnifying
his name.
It's about God
making his name
great.
Turn with me
to Exodus 9,
verse 13.
That's page 51.
As I mentioned,
the first nine plagues
in the story
span chapters 7
through 10.
And we're going to cover
as much of that terrain
as we can
this morning.
But I want to begin
by giving us
a foothold
right here
in the middle
of the story.
We're going to jump
right into the middle
and begin here
in Exodus 9,
verses 13 through 16.
So Exodus 9, 13.
This is the beginning
of the seventh plague.
Then the Lord said
to Moses,
Rise up early
in the morning
and present yourself
to Pharaoh
before Pharaoh
and say to him,
Thus says the Lord,
the God of the Hebrews,
Let my people go
that they may serve me.
For this time
I will send
all my plagues
on you yourself
and on your servants
and your people
so that you may know
that there is none
like me
in all the earth.
For by now
I could have put out
my hand
and struck you
and your people
with pestilence
and you would have been
cut off from the earth.
But for this purpose
I have raised you up
to show you my power
so that my name
may be proclaimed
in all the earth.
It's hard to miss there,
isn't it?
God does what he does
in these chapters
so that his name
may be proclaimed
in all the earth.
In other words,
for the purpose
of making his name great
before the whole world.
That's the big idea.
And that runs
like a refrain
throughout chapter 7
through 10.
Let me show you.
Let's skip around.
Let's take a cross section
of this section
of scripture.
Turn to chapter 7
verse 5.
If you're new
to the Bible,
by the way,
the big numbers
are the chapters
and the small numbers
are the verses.
Exodus 7 verse 5.
Let me read.
We're going to jump
through these pretty quickly.
The Egyptians
shall know
that I am the Lord.
There it is.
When I stretch out
my hand against Egypt
and bring out
the people of Israel
from among them.
Exodus 7 verse 17.
Thus says the Lord,
by this you shall know
that I am the Lord.
Behold,
with the staff
that is in my hand
I will strike the water
that is in the Nile
and it shall turn into blood.
Exodus 8 verse 10.
Pharaoh says,
tomorrow.
And Moses says,
be it as you say.
Why?
So that you may know
that there is no one
like the Lord our God.
Exodus 8 verse 22.
Look at the end
of that verse.
That you may know
that I am the Lord
in the midst of the earth.
We saw it twice
in chapter 9 verses 13 through 16.
But turn to Exodus 10 too.
Here God's speaking
to the Israelites.
So that you may tell
in the hearing of your son
and of your grandson
how I've dealt harshly
with the Egyptians
and what signs
I have done among them
that you may know
that I am the Lord.
The plagues are about God
making himself known
and magnifying his name.
But how does God
go about doing that?
How does he magnify his name
that we might know
that he alone is the Lord?
Well, as the plagues progress
we see how God does that.
And that's what we're going
to try to unpack this morning.
And the first thing
that we see is that God
magnifies his name
in judgment.
This is our first point.
Turn back again
to chapter 7.
Kind of start at the beginning.
In the beginning
of this chapter
God recommissions Moses
after the disappointment
and discouragement
of chapters 5 and 6.
Then in verses 8 through 13
Moses and Aaron
perform a preliminary sign
before Pharaoh.
Aaron's staff
turns into a fearsome snake,
a fearsome serpent
and ends up swallowing
the staffs
of Pharaoh's magicians
which is a bit of a preview
of what's to come.
And then in verse 14
the plagues begin.
And in order to understand
sort of the meaning
of the plagues
and how they sort of unfold
this theme of God
magnifying his name
I think it's helpful
to see that the way
in which the biblical author
has structured this account
is that the first nine plagues
kind of come at us
in three sets of three.
The blood and frogs
and gnats
are sort of one cycle
and then the flies
and the livestock plague
and the boils
are sort of a second cycle
and then lastly
the hail
and the locust
and the darkness
are kind of the last cycle.
And where do we get that?
Where do we see that?
Well actually
the literary structure
is pretty clear
once you see it.
Again let's fly over
the passage together
and notice a pattern
that starts to emerge.
We're going to look at
plagues 1, 2, and 3
real quick
just at the beginning
of each of the plagues.
You can probably
just follow along
by looking at the subject headings
in your ESV.
Look at 7.15
the beginning
of the first plague.
How does God describe it?
He says 7.15
Go out to Pharaoh
in the morning
as he goes out
to the water.
Now jump down
to 8.1
the next plague.
The Lord said to Moses
go into Pharaoh.
Now go to the third plague
8.16
and there's no warning at all.
Go out
to Pharaoh
in the morning
go into Pharaoh
no warning.
Now watch that same pattern
happen again
in plagues 4, 5, and 6.
8.20
Rise up early
in the morning
present yourself
to Pharaoh
as he goes out
to the water.
Oh that sounds familiar.
Plague 5
then the Lord said
to Moses
go into Pharaoh.
Plague 6
9.8
no warning.
And again
the same thing happens
for plagues 7, 8, and 9.
Go out to Pharaoh
in the morning
go into Pharaoh
and then the last one
comes without a warning.
You see those are signals
that the biblical author
is giving us
so that we can understand
how this thing
is unfolding.
And once you see
that threefold structure
you begin to realize
that each cycle
of three
brings out
a different element
of God magnifying
his name.
Each one
building
on the last.
And as this first cycle
kind of breaks upon us
as we've said
God shows us
that he's magnifying
his name
in judgment.
You see
when God
through Moses
turns the Nile
into blood
in verse 7, 14
and following
he's not just
sort of doing
a random
act of power
it's not sort of
a large scale
party trick.
Ha ha!
You see
for the Egyptians
the Nile
as Greg mentioned
a few weeks ago
was worshipped
as a God.
It was their life source.
So right from the start
God is enacting
a judgment
on the so called
gods of Egypt.
Proving
that they are
no gods at all
but that they are
mere idols.
And that the one
who really controls
the life source
of this people
and all peoples
is the God
of the Hebrews
the Lord.
But just when things
start to get off
the ground
Pharaoh's magicians
enter the scene
again.
And they too
it seems
can turn water
to blood
by their secret arts.
and so the battle
is on.
Round one
seems to be a tie.
What about round two?
God unleashes
hordes of frogs
from the Nile
so many
that they begin
to infest
the cookware
the ovens
the beds.
Imagine that
crawling into bed
at night
finding nothing
but frogs.
In Australia
actually
there are things
called cane toads
which are giant
they're like this big
they're disgusting.
Rhys
you know what I'm
talking about.
And they're everywhere.
Imagine that
opening up
your pot
to cook
and out
jumps a frog.
But the magicians
step up
and they too
it seems
can make frogs
appear.
But it's a bit
of an irony
isn't it?
This is only
a sort of
partial victory
for the magicians
because
haha
they can make
the frogs appear
and yet
that's not really
the problem
is it?
We want the frogs
to go away.
So
Pharaoh
wisely
appeals to Moses
and he seems
to concede
okay Moses
fine
you win.
but as soon
as the Lord
removes the frogs
Pharaoh
hardens his heart
and refuses
to let the people
go.
Then comes
round three
and this time
there's no warning
and there's
no contest.
Aaron
strikes the dust
of the earth
and as the dust
rises from the
strike of his
staff
suddenly gnats
mosquitoes
begin to rise
and sweep
over the land.
and the magicians
try to do the same
and yet
they are bested
and in 819
the magicians
admit defeat.
This is the
finger of God
they say.
But you see
this contest
is about more
than God
foiling
some ancient
magicians.
This is a
contest
about who
controls
creation.
Who
is the
rightful
authority?
The gods
of Egypt
or the
one true
God of Israel?
Pharaoh
and his
magicians
or the
Lord?
And as the
Nile
runs with
blood
and as the
piles of
dead frogs
fill the land
with their
horrible smell
and as the
gnats fill
the air
God is
giving them
a clear
uncomfortable
sign
that he
is the
Lord
of creation
and not
them.
And as the
cycles continue
the plagues
intensify
in severity.
You know
this first cycle
is kind of gross
as it might be
blood
and frogs
and irritating
as it might
be with gnats
not necessarily
the most
hygienic
situation.
It's a bit
unfortunate
it's a bit
uncomfortable.
But then comes
the second
cycle
and flies
will swarm
their houses
and ruin
their land
and a severe
plague will
kill the
livestock
which is a bit
like your
401k losing
50, 60,
70 percent.
And then
finally
soot from
a kiln
will again
sweep
through the
land
and this
time
not just
irritating
gnats
that you
need to
flick away
but boils
on the
skin.
And the
magicians
at the
end of
plague
six
at the
end of
the second
cycle
now can't
even stand
before Moses
because they're
so sorely
afflicted.
But then
the severity
increases even
more with the
final cycle
of three.
Hail
and locusts
and darkness
what was
painful and
costly in
the second
cycle
has now
become
utterly
devastating.
By the
end of
the ninth
plague
there'll
be nothing
left
in Egypt
of value.
It's all
gone.
And you
see what's
happening
across these
plagues.
Again
they're not
mere random
displays of
power.
this is the
creator God
exercising his
judgment
on a
rebellious
people
in an
unfolding
act
of
un-creation.
That the
one who
brought
creation
into being
is now
letting it
fall apart.
Piece by
piece
layer by
layer
the land
of Egypt
is reverting
to chaos.
The
created
order is
coming
unraveled.
Frogs
don't stay
where they're
supposed to
stay.
Hail
isn't the
size it's
supposed to
be.
And with
each new
cycle the
breakdown
deepens.
Order in
life is
stripped away
until the
ninth plague
ends in
total
darkness.
Do you
remember the
creation week
of Genesis
1?
Begins with
what?
The creation
of light.
And now
it's as if
creation has
completely
rewound
into darkness.
The light
is made
black and
the un-creation
is complete.
And all
this Exodus
tells us
throughout this
narrative is
a sign.
the plagues
are a sign.
They point
to something.
They point
to the fact
that to
reject our
creator,
to reject
the Lord,
ends
in
disintegration,
chaos,
darkness,
and death.
Of course
the judgment
of God is
not a popular
topic.
But friends,
it is a
reality.
And on
the one
hand,
if it is
a reality,
if God
will judge,
then that
does mean
that our
lives aren't
just a
string of
meaningless
events,
that what
we do
does actually
count in
the grand
scheme of
things,
and they
will be
counted in
the grand
scheme of
things.
God's
judgment
isn't
just
real,
it's
also
perfectly
just.
Like the
Egyptians,
we often
live our
lives without
any reference
to the true
God.
We ignore
him in the
world that
he has
made.
We reject
his law
and want
nothing to
do with
him.
we choose
other gods
and so
God gives
us exactly
what we
ask for.
The wages
of sin
is death,
Paul will
say in
Romans 6.
And friends,
what that
means is
that this
God,
this God
is the
one with
whom we
really have
to do.
The most
important thing
in your
life is not
what job
you have
or what
college you
graduated
from.
The most
pressing
issue of
your life
is not
how beautiful
or successful
or wealthy
you can
become,
how much
comfort you
can stock
up,
how much
status you
can win.
It's not
about getting
a spouse
or starting
a family.
The most
pressing
issue before
each and
every one
of us
is to
be
reconciled
to God,
our
creator.
What does
it profit,
Jesus said,
to gain
the whole
world
and lose
your soul?
And the
plagues are
here before
us like a
megaphone.
They're like
smelling salts
getting us
to wake up
from our
stupor
to realize
that God
is God
and he
must be
the center
of our
lives.
And all
the pursuits
that we
wrap our
lives around,
no matter
how great
they may
seem in
the world's
eyes,
work and
sex and
wealth and
success,
all right,
all good,
in their
proper place
are nothing
compared to
God.
And to
reject God
for those
things can
mean nothing
but eternal
death.
It's like
we're sawing
the branch
that we
stand on
at any
moment.
Down we
go.
My friends,
the message
of the
plagues
is not
just that
God magnifies
his name
in judgment.
In the
second cycle
of plagues
we see
that God
magnifies
his name
in salvation.
As the
judgments
increase,
as the
destruction
mounts,
what do
we find?
We find
the Lord
sheltering
his people
from the
coming wrath.
Look at
the beginning
of the
second cycle
in chapter
8,
verse 20.
Chapter
8,
verse 20.
I'm going
to read
these first
few verses.
Then the
Lord said
to Moses,
rise up
early in
the morning
and present
yourself to
Pharaoh as
he goes out
to the
water and
say to him,
thus says
the Lord,
let my
people go
that they
may serve
me.
Or else,
if you
will not
let my
people go,
behold,
I will send
swarms of
flies on you
and your
servants and
your people
and into
your houses.
And the
houses of
the Egyptians
shall be
filled with
swarms of
flies and
also the
ground on
which they
stand.
But on
that day
I will set
apart the
land of
Goshen where
my people
dwell so
that no
swarms of
flies shall
be there,
that you
may know
that I am
the Lord
in the
midst of
the earth.
Thus I
will put a
division between
my people
and your
people.
Tomorrow this
sign shall
happen.
God
Why does
God stop
the plagues
from ravaging
the people
of Israel
living in
Goshen?
Are they
more deserving
than the
Egyptians?
Do they
have a more
impeccable
moral record?
No.
They are the
recipients of
God's grace,
of his
undeserved
favor.
And he
sets them
apart so
that all
the world
might know
that he
is the
Lord.
We see
this highlighted
again in the
fifth plague,
and in the
seventh plague,
and in the
ninth plague.
We're told
that God
keeps his
people safe.
You know,
I wonder for
those living
through the
plagues at
that time,
was it more
of a wonder
to see the
flies swarm
and the
livestock die
and the
hail fall
and the
darkness
descend?
Or was it
more of a
wonder to
see the
flies and
the hail
inexplicably
stop right
at the
border of
Goshen?
Was it
more of a
wonder to
see their
livestock
remaining
healthy?
Was it
more of a
wonder to
see the
sun shining
there,
though all
else had
gone black?
God was
magnifying his
name in
salvation.
I mean,
think about
it.
After all,
there's glory,
isn't there,
when a team of
firefighters show
up on the
scene and
they just
douse a
home with
water.
That's a
home that's
on fire.
They just
put it out
and blow
it away.
That's pretty
awesome.
glory.
But isn't
there more
glory when
they enter
the burning
building and
bring out the
survivors in
the midst of
it?
And,
friends,
just so,
God's glory is
seen in his
judgment, his
sovereignty, his
justice, his
holiness, but
how much more in
his salvation
through judgment?
We see this
again and again in
the Bible, don't
we?
Think of the
flood.
The flood was a
display of God's
power and holy
justice, but
rescuing a family
in the ark through
the flood made
God's name great.
Jump ahead to the
exile to Babylon,
which was a
display, again, of
God's perfect
character.
But rescuing and
preserving a
remnant through the
exile displayed God's
faithfulness and his
mercy.
And just so here,
bringing the
Egyptian nation to
its knees in
judgment made God's
name great, but how
much more carrying
out a whole people
safely through the
midst of those
plagues, protecting
them, sheltering
them.
And here's where the
rubber hits the road
for us.
Have you ever
wondered, have you
ever doubted whether
God is willing to
save?
Friends, the reality
is that right now,
during this sermon,
you, right in your
seat, can turn from
sin, trust in Christ,
Christ, and be saved
from death and
judgment.
But do you wonder
whether God would
really receive you
with your sins and
your fears and your
doubts and your
pride?
God.
But remember, friend, he
doesn't save because of
how great you are.
He saves because of how
great he is.
And look at how great he
is.
There is none like him.
He shelters his people.
He sets them apart for the
sake of his great name.
He's incomparable like
none other.
And that leads us to our
third point.
God magnifies his name in
judgment and in
salvation.
And the third cycle of
plagues, chapter 9,
verse 13, through the
end of chapter 10, God
shows us that he
magnifies his name beyond
all compare.
That he's like no other.
God judges, God saves,
and God does what no one
else can do.
Where do we see that?
As the last three plagues
rain down their
destruction, it's the
totality and it's the
magnitude of them that
set them apart from the
previous plagues.
Look at chapter 9,
verse 24.
Chapter 9, verse 24,
there was hail and fire
flashing continually in the
midst of the hail, very
heavy hail such as had
never been in all the land
of Egypt since it became a
nation.
And that same thing is said
of the locusts in chapter
10, verse 14.
Chapter 10, verse 14, the
locusts came up over all the
land of Egypt and settled on
the whole country of Egypt,
such a dense swarm of
locusts as had never been
before nor ever will be
again.
Like nothing that ever had
been or ever will be.
And the magnitude of the
hail and the locusts and the
other devastation that they
bring, verse 10, 15 says,
not a green thing remained,
neither tree nor plant of the
field through all the land of
Egypt.
That complete devastation,
all of that is matched by the
complete darkness of the ninth
plague.
A darkness so thick you could
feel it, the writer says.
And that ninth plague would have
been perhaps the most powerful
symbolic message to the
Egyptians.
Because you see the sun in
Egyptian culture was their
supreme god, the god Ra.
Its worship was pervasive,
especially in the official palace
and in the rituals there.
But this last plague is saying
to the Egyptians, and for that
matter saying to us, take the
greatest, take the highest
conception that you have of God.
Take your highest, most exalted,
most powerful thing that you can
imagine, whatever that God is.
And the reality is, the blazing
glory of the Lord, the true God,
makes such a God seem like
darkness in comparison.
There's none like him, none
greater, none higher.
He is beyond all compare.
And so great is this God, so
unexpected, so incomparable, that in
this last cycle of plagues, he
actually does the unthinkable.
And he offers mercy to his enemies.
Though Pharaoh's heart is hardened
toward ever-increasing destruction,
as this third cycle of plagues
begins, the Lord warns and invites
the Egyptian people.
He says, come.
Look at chapter 9, verse 19.
Now, therefore, get your
livestock and all that you have in
the field into safe shelter, for
every man and beast that is in the
field and is not brought home will
die.
God calls out to them in mercy and
invites the Egyptians to take
shelter from the coming wrath.
And what about us?
Friends, the reality is that God
will come.
The Creator will one day come in
fullness to his creation and put it
right again.
God, our true judge, will come and put
an end to evil and wrong.
And the question is, where will we
find shelter?
Now, as we think about that
question, I hope you see, I hope you
see that this passage that we're
looking at actually offers much hope
to a hurting world.
Because what we have on display here,
in no uncertain terms, is the great
truth that the oppressive schemes of
Pharaoh and of every Pharaoh who's
come since then, all those oppressive
schemes will not have the final word
that in justice and slavery and evil,
God will put it all to rights with
perfect justice and with perfect
judgment.
And that is good news.
When the Psalms tell us of God's
return as king to judge, do you know
how the scene is pictured?
The trees are clapping their hands
and the oceans are roaring in praise
because God's finally going to release
creation from the evil that has
infested it.
God's judgment is good news for the
world.
The days of evil are numbered.
But the pointed question is, is God's
judgment good news for me?
Because friends, I see my heart and it
is so often on the side of selfishness
and wrong and so often callous to the
suffering of others and so often greedy
for my own comforts.
God's judgmental.
And when God's justice is revealed, what hope
is there?
Not just for me, but for you.
Where will you and I find shelter?
And you have to see that that's a problem
that runs throughout the Old Testament.
God again and again and again promises
to judge, to rescue the world from darkness.
But the question remains, what fallen human
being would be left to stand when the light
shines in?
And the answer finally comes in the New Testament.
God comes in human flesh.
The true and rightful judge of all walks among us.
But in the most surprising and in the moment
confusing turn of events, the judge of all creation
salvation is judged.
We've read earlier that Jesus saves us
from the wrath to come.
How does he do it, friends?
How does Jesus save us from the wrath to come?
From darkness and death.
He does it by going into the darkness for us.
You see, those three days of darkness in Egypt,
that ninth plague, does it not point us ahead
to the cross where for three hours of darkness,
the Son of God died in the place of sinners,
going into the darkness of God's judgment
so that we don't have to.
Christ died and rose again to rescue all of those
and everyone who would turn from their sins
and believe in him.
God magnifies his name most supremely at the cross
for it's there that his judgment
and his salvation meet
so that his enemies might become
his beloved friends
so that we can all find shelter,
so that we can all know protection.
And when you see that,
when you see that,
and when you know that,
and when you come to take hold of him by faith,
suddenly,
you don't need to obsess
about your name being great anymore.
When your heart is captured by who he is
and what he's done,
suddenly you're freed from having to make a name
for yourself
because instead,
you want his name to look great.
That's what drives you.
Finally, you're worshiping
the one thing worthy of all our praise.
Now the reality is, friends,
that maybe the Lord
will give you success in the world's eyes.
Maybe he won't.
At the end of the day,
all of that is in his hands.
Our little match will flicker
one way or the other,
but his torch is going to burn bright
for all eternity.
And our desire is to be close to his heat
and to bask in his light
and to know that there,
that is freedom.
That is the worship for which we were made.
His is the name
that is worthy of making great.
We want to magnify his name,
not ours.
And we want to make him known
in all the earth.
We want his mark to be left
on our communities
and on our families
and in our neighborhoods.
And if we leave a mark,
so be it.
But we want his name to be known.
And we want it to be known as great.
Let's pray.
And now, Lord Jesus,
we pray that you would do just that.
You would help us by your Holy Spirit
to make your name great
in our actions,
in our thoughts,
in our words and deeds.
Lord, help us,
depending on your grace,
to make much of you
as a church,
to make much of you
as students,
to make much of you
in our workplaces,
to make much of you
with our neighbors
and our friends.
Lord, free us
from the obsession
of pride
and the love of praise
and help us
to be lost
in you,
lost in wonder,
love,
and praise.
We pray this
in Jesus' name,
Father.
Amen.