WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.520 It's my absolute joy to introduce to you our preacher this morning, Ed Kang. 00:00:06.540 --> 00:00:14.859 And as many of you know, Ed just started a pastoral internship with our church. 00:00:15.700 --> 00:00:19.679 What's that, like two months ago now, a month or so ago? 00:00:20.300 --> 00:00:25.600 And Ed started, he's taking some seminary classes now, 00:00:25.600 --> 00:00:29.719 and he's going through the training we have in our church. 00:00:29.719 --> 00:00:34.640 But he went through the preaching cohort last summer with a group of guys in our church learning to preach. 00:00:35.439 --> 00:00:39.500 And he leads one of the community groups as well. 00:00:40.000 --> 00:00:49.079 And people that know him, recognize this about him, he has great humility before God and before his people. 00:00:49.739 --> 00:00:52.480 And he has posture to learn and to listen well. 00:00:52.480 --> 00:00:55.719 And he prepared really hard on this sermon, I know, 00:00:55.719 --> 00:00:59.719 because he's been getting messages going back and forth with me and working on it. 00:00:59.960 --> 00:01:02.799 So, Ed, please come and preach God's words for us this morning. 00:01:06.719 --> 00:01:07.519 All right. 00:01:09.120 --> 00:01:10.140 Can you guys hear me okay? 00:01:11.140 --> 00:01:11.539 Sweet. 00:01:12.500 --> 00:01:13.200 Good morning. 00:01:13.439 --> 00:01:14.120 Good morning. 00:01:14.120 --> 00:01:14.759 Good morning. 00:01:14.760 --> 00:01:19.240 If I haven't had the pleasure of meeting you, my name is Ed. 00:01:19.800 --> 00:01:25.740 And as Sean mentioned, I am a very newly inducted pastoral intern here at Trinity Cambridge. 00:01:26.580 --> 00:01:28.520 And this is my first time preaching for you guys. 00:01:28.939 --> 00:01:31.180 So, I appreciate the opportunity. 00:01:31.580 --> 00:01:38.880 And it is my privilege and honor to share with you God's word as we long to hear from his Holy Spirit today. 00:01:38.879 --> 00:01:52.239 Our passage today continues on in the ten plagues, the ten miracles that ravaged Pharaoh and his land as we look today to the fourth, fifth, and sixth plagues. 00:01:52.899 --> 00:01:59.039 So, please open your Bibles to Exodus 8, 20 to 9, 12. 00:02:00.019 --> 00:02:06.399 If you're new or unfamiliar with reading the Bible, Exodus is just the second book, so it's meaning it's way in the front. 00:02:06.400 --> 00:02:11.159 And that's, again, Exodus 8, 20 to 9, 12. 00:02:13.480 --> 00:02:18.520 Please pray with me for the reading and preaching of God's holy and authoritative word. 00:02:21.759 --> 00:02:29.980 Father, I am your humble servant, and I tremble before your holy word. 00:02:29.979 --> 00:02:38.399 Father, I ask that you would help me not to add anything to it nor take away anything from it. 00:02:40.479 --> 00:02:48.859 Please speak through your servant for the glory, for your glory, and for the building of your church, your people. 00:02:49.539 --> 00:02:53.280 Holy Spirit, illuminate our eyes to see what you have for us in this passage today. 00:02:54.019 --> 00:02:55.799 Again, for your glory's sake. 00:02:56.439 --> 00:02:57.439 In Jesus' name we pray. 00:02:58.539 --> 00:02:58.799 Amen. 00:02:58.799 --> 00:02:58.899 Amen. 00:02:59.979 --> 00:03:03.619 Exodus 8, 20 to 9, 12. 00:03:06.919 --> 00:03:13.979 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, 00:03:14.479 --> 00:03:19.019 Thus says the Lord, let my people go that they may serve me. 00:03:19.819 --> 00:03:27.919 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. 00:03:27.919 --> 00:03:31.919 And the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with swarms of flies. 00:03:31.919 --> 00:03:35.599 And also the ground on which they stand. 00:03:35.599 --> 00:03:47.919 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. 00:03:47.919 --> 00:03:53.679 Thus, I will put a division between my people and your people. 00:03:53.679 --> 00:03:57.159 Tomorrow this sign shall happen. 00:03:57.159 --> 00:03:59.159 And the Lord did so. 00:03:59.159 --> 00:03:59.620 And the Lord did so. 00:04:00.159 --> 00:04:04.840 There came great swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh and into his servants' houses. 00:04:05.500 --> 00:04:10.099 Throughout all the land of Egypt, the land was ruined by swarms of flies. 00:04:10.099 --> 00:04:13.900 Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, 00:04:14.599 --> 00:04:17.019 Go, sacrifice to your God within the land. 00:04:17.779 --> 00:04:24.459 But Moses said, It would not be right to do so, for the offerings we shall sacrifice to the Lord our God are an abomination to the Egyptians. 00:04:25.019 --> 00:04:30.959 If we sacrifice offerings abominable to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us? 00:04:31.860 --> 00:04:38.639 We must go three days' journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as he tells us. 00:04:38.639 --> 00:04:44.500 So Pharaoh said, I will let you go to sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness. 00:04:44.819 --> 00:04:46.819 Only you must not go very far away. 00:04:47.560 --> 00:04:48.240 Plead for me. 00:04:49.399 --> 00:04:58.599 Then Moses said, Behold, I am going out from you and I will plead with the Lord that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people tomorrow. 00:04:59.539 --> 00:05:04.719 Only let not Pharaoh cheat again by not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord. 00:05:06.099 --> 00:05:08.579 So Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord. 00:05:09.300 --> 00:05:14.939 And the Lord did as Moses asked and removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. 00:05:15.060 --> 00:05:16.399 Not one remained. 00:05:17.360 --> 00:05:21.060 But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also and did not let the people go. 00:05:21.060 --> 00:05:31.360 Then the Lord said to Moses, Go into Pharaoh and say to him, Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, let my people go that they may serve me. 00:05:31.860 --> 00:05:44.959 For if you refuse to let them go and still hold them, behold, the hand of the Lord will fall with a very severe plague upon your livestock that are in the field, the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the herds, and the flocks. 00:05:44.959 --> 00:05:54.019 But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing of all that belongs to the people of Israel shall die. 00:05:54.819 --> 00:05:59.919 And the Lord set a time saying, Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land. 00:06:00.060 --> 00:06:02.179 And the next day the Lord did this thing. 00:06:02.180 --> 00:06:08.740 All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one of the livestock of the people of Israel died. 00:06:09.459 --> 00:06:13.259 And Pharaoh sent, and behold, not one of the livestock of Israel was dead. 00:06:14.160 --> 00:06:17.519 But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go. 00:06:17.519 --> 00:06:26.079 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, Take handfuls of soot from the kiln, and let Moses throw them in the air in the sight of Pharaoh. 00:06:26.439 --> 00:06:33.579 It shall become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and become boils breaking out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt. 00:06:34.359 --> 00:06:37.399 So they took soot from the kiln and stood before Pharaoh. 00:06:38.339 --> 00:06:43.419 And Moses threw it in the air, and it became boils breaking out in sores on man and beast. 00:06:43.420 --> 00:06:48.520 And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils. 00:06:49.340 --> 00:06:52.540 For the boils came upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians. 00:06:53.480 --> 00:07:00.080 But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had spoken to Moses. 00:07:04.700 --> 00:07:12.100 In this world of about 7.8 billion people, how do you identify yourself? 00:07:12.100 --> 00:07:16.780 What groups of people do you associate with? 00:07:18.340 --> 00:07:23.600 If you think about it, there's so many different categories that you can bucket yourself into. 00:07:23.840 --> 00:07:30.700 For example, I can answer that personally, saying, I'm a Korean-American, born and raised in New Jersey. 00:07:31.080 --> 00:07:32.580 I'm living in Boston now. 00:07:32.700 --> 00:07:38.240 I'm a husband and an introvert, and I work as an engineer in biotech. 00:07:38.240 --> 00:07:42.579 And there are honestly so many more things that I could say. 00:07:42.780 --> 00:07:45.780 Endless ways that we can try to identify who we are. 00:07:46.180 --> 00:08:00.139 From our race, culture, occupation, relationships, nationalities, past experiences, socioeconomic statuses, educational pedigree, political parties, hobbies, four letters, era Myers-Briggs. 00:08:00.340 --> 00:08:01.819 I can go on and on. 00:08:01.819 --> 00:08:17.300 But amongst the myriad of the different ways that we can identify ourselves, the Bible and our passage today makes it clear that there's only one distinction among humanity, among all humankind, 00:08:17.639 --> 00:08:23.740 that is infinitely more important than all other titles or ideological camps that we can settle into. 00:08:23.740 --> 00:08:31.360 It's whether you are part of God's chosen people or whether you are not. 00:08:32.360 --> 00:08:41.879 There's nothing more important and no sweeter identity that we can embrace to be part of God's chosen people. 00:08:42.740 --> 00:08:44.379 And in this passage, we'll understand why. 00:08:44.860 --> 00:08:48.180 We'll go through our text today with that overall theme in mind. 00:08:48.179 --> 00:08:54.299 And so before we start in our text today, if you've been following us through the book of Exodus, 00:08:54.879 --> 00:09:02.979 we remember that we're in the middle of the ten plagues or ten signs as Matt helpfully preached on plagues one through three last week. 00:09:03.939 --> 00:09:06.859 Today our passage focuses on four, five, and six. 00:09:08.039 --> 00:09:12.139 And these plagues are grouped together in series of three. 00:09:12.139 --> 00:09:17.599 So one through three, four through six, and seven through nine, and the tenth and final plague on its own. 00:09:18.179 --> 00:09:24.259 This literary structure has been long supported and recognized by Jewish exegetes and scholars. 00:09:25.399 --> 00:09:31.459 And when you compare the plague accounts side by side, they have this clear parallelism that you can see for yourself. 00:09:31.699 --> 00:09:34.239 I think I have a slide that should be able to show that. 00:09:36.500 --> 00:09:41.459 This shows that the beginning two of each grouping start with a warning to Pharaoh, 00:09:41.559 --> 00:09:44.899 whereas the third typically omits that warning. 00:09:44.899 --> 00:09:51.899 And additionally, we know that it's the beginning of a grouping when it starts with some form of this refrain, 00:09:52.419 --> 00:09:53.899 go to Pharaoh in the morning. 00:09:54.879 --> 00:09:57.220 And that's exactly how we start our passage today. 00:09:58.059 --> 00:09:59.500 We read in verse 20, 00:10:00.100 --> 00:10:06.199 God commands Moses to confront Pharaoh in the cool part of the morning and in the public scene 00:10:06.199 --> 00:10:07.939 as Pharaoh goes out to the water. 00:10:07.940 --> 00:10:17.120 It feels intentional of the Lord to have Moses speak in public where the community could both hear God's warnings 00:10:17.120 --> 00:10:20.400 and then to see the manifestation of said warnings. 00:10:21.980 --> 00:10:23.960 And God commands Moses to declare, 00:10:24.820 --> 00:10:27.100 Let my people go that they may serve me. 00:10:27.580 --> 00:10:29.420 Or else, if you will not let my people go, 00:10:29.820 --> 00:10:35.800 behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants and your people and into your houses. 00:10:35.799 --> 00:10:41.979 Now, it's difficult to precisely identify these bugs. 00:10:42.339 --> 00:10:46.019 Different translations have horsefly or mosquito. 00:10:46.559 --> 00:10:50.939 But helpfully, in Psalm 78, 45, 00:10:51.319 --> 00:10:55.719 that implies that these insects did feed on the Egyptians themselves. 00:10:56.199 --> 00:11:00.479 So that helps us to have a little bit of a clear picture of the severity of this plague. 00:11:00.480 --> 00:11:05.240 And these flies or mosquitoes or whatever you want to call them, 00:11:05.659 --> 00:11:07.460 they would be unrelenting. 00:11:08.560 --> 00:11:14.139 There would be no rest or escape as God commanded that these flies would be everywhere where they go. 00:11:15.200 --> 00:11:18.940 Even on their beds, the constant buzzing in their ear, 00:11:19.720 --> 00:11:25.500 their skin probably welted up with bug bites and the endless sensation of trying to itch and scratch. 00:11:25.500 --> 00:11:33.860 In my mind, it's kind of like the basic antithesis of the beautiful promises that apply for us believers in Psalm 121. 00:11:34.659 --> 00:11:35.759 The Lord is your keeper. 00:11:36.080 --> 00:11:37.919 The Lord will keep you from all evil. 00:11:38.000 --> 00:11:38.940 He will keep your life. 00:11:39.620 --> 00:11:43.399 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. 00:11:44.419 --> 00:11:48.220 This wasn't the case for idolatrous Egypt or Pharaoh. 00:11:48.220 --> 00:11:55.920 Then please read with me in verse 22 because the Lord makes a critical distinction for the first time. 00:11:56.080 --> 00:12:01.600 If you've read it carefully, this is the first time in these series of battles with Pharaoh where he makes this distinction. 00:12:02.160 --> 00:12:02.440 It says, 00:12:03.220 --> 00:12:07.220 But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen where my people dwell, 00:12:07.500 --> 00:12:09.779 so that no swarms of flies shall be there, 00:12:10.200 --> 00:12:12.940 that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth. 00:12:12.940 --> 00:12:18.220 If you're familiar with the end of the book of Genesis, 00:12:18.460 --> 00:12:25.420 it's in this land of Goshen where Joseph had his entire family settle down in the eastern part of the Nile Delta. 00:12:26.100 --> 00:12:30.660 It's also here where the Israelites multiplied greatly upon God's blessings, 00:12:30.800 --> 00:12:35.700 so much so that Pharaoh the king, several successors after Joseph's time, 00:12:35.820 --> 00:12:39.780 feared an Israelite revolution that might overtake Egyptian rule. 00:12:39.779 --> 00:12:45.220 And while it was good land with already proven opportunity to grow, 00:12:45.759 --> 00:12:48.379 this was not to be their final destination, 00:12:48.919 --> 00:12:55.279 as God was working to make a path for them to make it to the land that was promised to their forefather Abraham, 00:12:55.860 --> 00:12:58.419 the land of Canaan north of Goshen. 00:13:00.679 --> 00:13:05.639 Next, we read a statement in our text that gives insight into God's heart desire here. 00:13:06.059 --> 00:13:07.579 We see straight into God's heart. 00:13:07.580 --> 00:13:12.980 At the heart of this battle between Yehovah versus Pharaoh, 00:13:13.139 --> 00:13:14.620 which isn't really a battle at all, 00:13:14.680 --> 00:13:18.680 because on one side of the ring you have the literal creator of the universe, 00:13:19.160 --> 00:13:21.900 versus the other side, a little tiny man. 00:13:22.759 --> 00:13:27.600 We read that he does this so that Pharaoh and the rest of idolatrous Egypt 00:13:27.600 --> 00:13:32.560 would know that God is the great I am in the midst of the earth. 00:13:32.559 --> 00:13:38.959 And this is a response to Pharaoh's initial answer back in chapter 5, 00:13:39.079 --> 00:13:39.619 when he says, 00:13:39.839 --> 00:13:40.439 Who is the Lord? 00:13:41.239 --> 00:13:44.799 Who is the Lord that I should obey him and let Israel go? 00:13:44.859 --> 00:13:46.359 I don't know the Lord. 00:13:48.039 --> 00:13:51.299 And I know I'm so often guilty of this, 00:13:51.459 --> 00:13:54.359 but far too often when we read through Scripture, 00:13:54.619 --> 00:13:57.239 we can throw ourselves in the passage, 00:13:57.240 --> 00:14:00.139 and we can obscure the writer's intent. 00:14:00.700 --> 00:14:03.700 We read a man-centered story, 00:14:04.299 --> 00:14:04.659 saying, 00:14:04.840 --> 00:14:06.940 Wow, God did this only for me, 00:14:07.039 --> 00:14:08.639 just for me to be happy, 00:14:08.960 --> 00:14:11.299 when in fact this passage 00:14:11.299 --> 00:14:13.899 and really the entirety of Scripture as a whole, 00:14:14.460 --> 00:14:15.700 it's God-centered. 00:14:16.980 --> 00:14:20.419 It's God's motivation that he would have his name known 00:14:20.419 --> 00:14:21.580 in all the land. 00:14:21.580 --> 00:14:24.580 Brad Pitt, 00:14:24.820 --> 00:14:26.040 a famous actor, 00:14:26.440 --> 00:14:29.440 I think most of you guys probably watched the movie or so, 00:14:30.060 --> 00:14:32.060 I think represents a lot of this world 00:14:32.060 --> 00:14:34.000 in this quote in which he says, 00:14:34.980 --> 00:14:37.740 I didn't understand this idea of a God who says, 00:14:37.879 --> 00:14:39.020 You have to acknowledge me. 00:14:39.960 --> 00:14:41.940 You have to say that I'm the best, 00:14:42.040 --> 00:14:43.400 and then I'll give you eternal happiness. 00:14:43.540 --> 00:14:44.200 If you won't, 00:14:44.280 --> 00:14:45.700 then you don't get it. 00:14:47.259 --> 00:14:47.580 Well, 00:14:47.720 --> 00:14:50.140 if I ever got a chance to meet him, 00:14:50.139 --> 00:14:52.360 and probably more importantly had the boldness 00:14:52.360 --> 00:14:53.580 to actually respond to this quote, 00:14:53.639 --> 00:14:54.279 I think I'd say, 00:14:54.399 --> 00:14:54.559 Well, 00:14:55.059 --> 00:14:55.600 Mr. Pitt, 00:14:55.699 --> 00:14:56.199 number one, 00:14:57.000 --> 00:15:00.379 it's totally right and appropriate 00:15:00.379 --> 00:15:03.580 for us to worship the sovereign Lord and creator. 00:15:04.319 --> 00:15:06.279 It's fitting for us to do so. 00:15:09.379 --> 00:15:12.559 Imagine with me if a tennis player went on tour, 00:15:12.879 --> 00:15:14.960 and for the entirety of his career, 00:15:15.360 --> 00:15:18.639 let's say that he's never lost a single match. 00:15:18.639 --> 00:15:20.879 Every single major tournament he signed up for, 00:15:21.439 --> 00:15:22.740 he was bringing home the trophy. 00:15:24.699 --> 00:15:25.460 Not only that, 00:15:25.519 --> 00:15:28.000 let's say that he's never dropped a single set. 00:15:30.340 --> 00:15:31.139 And if you don't, 00:15:31.220 --> 00:15:33.059 maybe this analogy goes over your head if you don't, 00:15:33.439 --> 00:15:34.699 tennis scoring can be a little bit tricky, 00:15:34.879 --> 00:15:37.319 but if you pushed it even further, 00:15:37.480 --> 00:15:40.100 let's say that he's never lost a single point. 00:15:41.539 --> 00:15:42.759 It's unbelievable, right? 00:15:42.759 --> 00:15:44.259 Every match, 00:15:44.379 --> 00:15:44.819 6-0, 00:15:44.980 --> 00:15:45.460 6-0, 00:15:45.720 --> 00:15:46.139 6-0. 00:15:46.939 --> 00:15:49.799 And at the end of his career for his retirement speech, 00:15:50.220 --> 00:15:51.120 he makes this claim, 00:15:51.919 --> 00:15:55.220 I am the greatest tennis player to have ever played this sport. 00:15:56.819 --> 00:16:00.159 No one in their right minds would reject that statement. 00:16:00.279 --> 00:16:00.740 You couldn't. 00:16:02.379 --> 00:16:03.419 People may not like to. 00:16:03.539 --> 00:16:07.580 People probably hate him because he ruined the sport for however long his career was, 00:16:07.580 --> 00:16:10.100 but they have to acknowledge his greatness. 00:16:11.660 --> 00:16:12.540 Even more so, 00:16:12.600 --> 00:16:17.000 is it not appropriate for us to lift up the name of the omnipotent, 00:16:17.120 --> 00:16:18.740 omniscient ruler of this universe? 00:16:20.940 --> 00:16:26.259 Second thing I'd say to Mr. Pitt would be just how much God graciously interlinks 00:16:26.259 --> 00:16:28.560 the glorification of his own name 00:16:28.560 --> 00:16:32.160 and the blessing and protection of his chosen people. 00:16:33.620 --> 00:16:34.520 Case in point, 00:16:35.320 --> 00:16:36.620 Exodus is the story right now. 00:16:36.620 --> 00:16:39.259 Remember with me that a few weeks back, 00:16:39.480 --> 00:16:43.560 we talked about how God has chosen to put his glory on the line 00:16:43.560 --> 00:16:47.000 by promising Moses and the rest of his people 00:16:47.000 --> 00:16:50.299 their deliverance from their crushing burden of cruel slavery. 00:16:51.399 --> 00:16:54.379 They were a forgotten people with no voice, 00:16:54.799 --> 00:16:56.539 completely and utterly powerless. 00:16:57.460 --> 00:17:00.779 They even had no autonomy for how they wanted to raise their own families, 00:17:01.039 --> 00:17:02.480 considering we have a lot of families today. 00:17:02.480 --> 00:17:06.940 But God signed his name off on the tax, 00:17:07.220 --> 00:17:08.620 putting his glory on the line, 00:17:08.759 --> 00:17:11.680 and showed his faithfulness through the gracious promises 00:17:11.680 --> 00:17:15.660 in saving a people that couldn't offer him anything in return. 00:17:15.660 --> 00:17:23.600 God initiated this transfer of ownership so that the Israelites would worship and serve him, yes, 00:17:24.540 --> 00:17:30.120 and so that the Israelites could experience true joy and peace 00:17:30.120 --> 00:17:34.860 as they finally fulfill their eternal purposes to be God's chosen people. 00:17:34.859 --> 00:17:43.119 And we read on in verses 24 that exactly what Yahweh said would happen does happen. 00:17:43.500 --> 00:17:45.719 Just another reason to glory in our Lord. 00:17:46.219 --> 00:17:51.919 In fact, we can read on in verses 24, 31, chapter 9, 6, and 10, 00:17:52.000 --> 00:17:55.019 that Moses records a simple confirmation, 00:17:55.019 --> 00:18:01.680 a simple confirmation that all three of these plagues happen exactly the way that God said it would. 00:18:02.759 --> 00:18:05.220 It's so different from us flaky people. 00:18:06.139 --> 00:18:06.900 I mean, it's almost June. 00:18:06.940 --> 00:18:09.379 How well are we doing on our New Year's resolutions, right? 00:18:09.839 --> 00:18:12.819 I think I'm on track for like one out of five. 00:18:15.160 --> 00:18:19.579 But this is how committed God was to his glory 00:18:19.579 --> 00:18:21.619 and for the deliverance of his people. 00:18:22.379 --> 00:18:23.460 These were not bluffs. 00:18:23.460 --> 00:18:27.380 When God has promised something, you can take it to the bank. 00:18:29.480 --> 00:18:32.360 Whatever God speaks literally becomes truth. 00:18:33.680 --> 00:18:38.440 God has set his mind for mercy and grace towards his people to redeem them. 00:18:38.840 --> 00:18:43.460 And so Goshen and the people of Israel were untouched and unscathed. 00:18:45.360 --> 00:18:47.840 And read with me in verse 25. 00:18:48.819 --> 00:18:50.840 Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, 00:18:50.980 --> 00:18:53.000 Go, sacrifice to your God within the land. 00:18:53.460 --> 00:18:54.819 But Moses said, 00:18:54.900 --> 00:18:56.100 It would not be right to do so, 00:18:56.160 --> 00:18:59.940 for the offerings we shall sacrifice to the Lord our God are an abomination to the Egyptians. 00:19:00.279 --> 00:19:04.039 If we sacrifice offerings abominable to the Egyptians before their eyes, 00:19:04.100 --> 00:19:05.380 will they not stone us? 00:19:05.380 --> 00:19:09.080 I love these next chunk of verses. 00:19:09.080 --> 00:19:10.020 This next chunk of verses. 00:19:10.540 --> 00:19:13.980 To threaten Pharaoh, he tries to make a compromise. 00:19:15.180 --> 00:19:20.320 As he still holds on to, you know, some belief that he has some leverage over God and his people. 00:19:20.900 --> 00:19:25.480 And he tries to get them just to agree within, just stay within the land. 00:19:25.700 --> 00:19:26.460 Don't go too far. 00:19:26.460 --> 00:19:31.920 But Moses is quick to see that this wasn't going to work. 00:19:32.620 --> 00:19:36.480 He deduces that the people of Israel would stone them for worshiping God. 00:19:36.480 --> 00:19:44.519 Now, it's not exactly clear what would be so offensive to the Egyptians about their serving of God. 00:19:44.920 --> 00:19:49.839 Perhaps it would be about the sacrificing of animals that they consider sacred. 00:19:49.839 --> 00:19:57.119 After all, among their numerous gods, they did worship a bull god and a cow goddess. 00:19:58.179 --> 00:20:07.240 It could have been, like one commentator remarks, equivalent to sacrificing a pig at a mosque or a cow in a Hindu temple. 00:20:08.720 --> 00:20:11.339 So Moses responds as if he's saying, 00:20:11.919 --> 00:20:13.000 Not a chance, Pharaoh. 00:20:13.199 --> 00:20:15.119 Not a chance we'd accept this compromise. 00:20:15.339 --> 00:20:17.299 You know as well as I do that this would never work. 00:20:17.299 --> 00:20:23.159 You think you can try to fool us with this compromise, but in the end, it's still you that benefits. 00:20:23.519 --> 00:20:24.899 It's all or nothing. 00:20:25.139 --> 00:20:27.599 We're leaving just as we said we were. 00:20:28.899 --> 00:20:30.639 So Pharaoh responds, 00:20:30.839 --> 00:20:32.000 Okay, alright, fine. 00:20:33.019 --> 00:20:36.119 I'll let you go to sacrifice the Lord your God in the wilderness. 00:20:36.579 --> 00:20:41.339 And he adds this line as if he's trying to convince himself, too, that he's in control. 00:20:41.960 --> 00:20:44.200 Only you must not go very far away. 00:20:44.200 --> 00:20:52.120 Pharaoh quickly learns through these ten plagues that he cannot compromise with God. 00:20:53.480 --> 00:20:58.580 And in some sense, these same compromises pushed on Moses are pushed on us today, too. 00:20:59.420 --> 00:21:00.120 We hear, 00:21:01.160 --> 00:21:01.900 You can be a Christian. 00:21:03.059 --> 00:21:04.380 You can worship God. 00:21:04.960 --> 00:21:09.880 Just don't let it change your loyalties or your allegiances. 00:21:09.880 --> 00:21:13.000 Or we hear even the common, 00:21:13.260 --> 00:21:14.420 Do what makes you happy. 00:21:15.300 --> 00:21:16.460 Do what makes you feel good. 00:21:17.320 --> 00:21:21.440 But just follow the rest of this world in your worldview and value system. 00:21:21.540 --> 00:21:22.300 Don't be too different. 00:21:24.100 --> 00:21:25.620 And what about you? 00:21:27.200 --> 00:21:29.880 Do you try to compromise with the Almighty Lord? 00:21:29.880 --> 00:21:39.180 It's been said that the most miserable Christians are those who live with a foot in both worlds. 00:21:40.160 --> 00:21:43.540 And with a foot in Egypt and a foot in Goshen. 00:21:44.060 --> 00:21:45.000 And you hedge your bets, 00:21:45.820 --> 00:21:47.080 quickly pulling out your feet, 00:21:47.620 --> 00:21:50.160 announcing your allegiances whenever it's convenient for you. 00:21:51.020 --> 00:21:52.080 I know I have. 00:21:52.079 --> 00:21:55.039 The question still remains, 00:21:55.179 --> 00:21:56.679 Who will you serve? 00:21:58.859 --> 00:21:59.980 Brothers and sisters, 00:22:00.119 --> 00:22:05.199 it's in your self-interest that you take both feet into submission before God. 00:22:06.279 --> 00:22:09.299 As Alistair Roberts and Andrew Wilson put in their book, 00:22:09.379 --> 00:22:10.079 Echoes of Exodus, 00:22:11.220 --> 00:22:14.819 Those who serve Pharaoh become beasts and perish. 00:22:15.859 --> 00:22:19.539 Those who serve the Lord become priests and flourish. 00:22:19.539 --> 00:22:24.139 Finally, similar to the episode with the frogs, 00:22:25.319 --> 00:22:28.259 we can observe that Pharaoh admits in believing in the power of God 00:22:28.259 --> 00:22:31.980 as he pleads for Moses and Aaron to act as his intercessor. 00:22:33.059 --> 00:22:34.940 He doesn't turn to the magicians, 00:22:35.039 --> 00:22:37.839 or he doesn't turn to the cow goddess or the bull god, 00:22:38.059 --> 00:22:43.039 but he goes straight to the one that he knows that can affect change to a situation. 00:22:44.379 --> 00:22:49.500 Pharaoh is a prime example of how it's not just enough to quote-unquote believe, 00:22:50.159 --> 00:22:53.659 and intellectually accept the existence of a powerful God. 00:22:55.319 --> 00:22:59.119 In James 2, he teaches us that even the demons believe and shudder. 00:23:00.039 --> 00:23:05.200 James shows us the necessity of showing our belief by our obedience to 00:23:05.200 --> 00:23:07.240 and love for God and his commands. 00:23:07.240 --> 00:23:13.180 Not that Yahweh demands or expects perfection, 00:23:13.559 --> 00:23:20.319 but genuine saving faith normatively produces genuine worship and desire to obey God. 00:23:20.319 --> 00:23:25.099 This picture is so radically different from the one represented by Pharaoh, 00:23:25.339 --> 00:23:27.439 someone who may think that God exists, 00:23:27.980 --> 00:23:31.619 but only really turns to him only for a last resort for help. 00:23:32.119 --> 00:23:33.899 In a way, Pharaoh is just using him. 00:23:34.579 --> 00:23:36.720 He's trying to use God for his own purposes. 00:23:36.720 --> 00:23:43.579 So we read Moses' response in verse 30. 00:23:44.620 --> 00:23:46.740 So Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord, 00:23:46.980 --> 00:23:48.500 and the Lord did as Moses asked, 00:23:48.600 --> 00:23:50.819 and removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, 00:23:50.920 --> 00:23:52.900 from his servants, and from his people. 00:23:53.019 --> 00:23:54.819 Not one remained. 00:23:55.980 --> 00:23:58.339 So how did the insects relent? 00:23:58.339 --> 00:24:03.259 In these punchy verses, simply put, Moses prays, 00:24:03.740 --> 00:24:07.019 and the Lord did just as Moses had asked. 00:24:08.119 --> 00:24:12.480 As I've been reading and meditating on this passage for the past couple weeks, 00:24:12.740 --> 00:24:18.299 it strikes me just how much God's sovereign power and control 00:24:18.299 --> 00:24:20.000 is at perfect display here, 00:24:20.539 --> 00:24:25.419 and yet it says that God did just as Moses had asked. 00:24:25.420 --> 00:24:30.680 This motivates me more than ever to just get on my knees and pray. 00:24:32.120 --> 00:24:34.640 Because the omnipotent and omniscient God 00:24:34.640 --> 00:24:37.800 listened to the man with uncircumcised lips. 00:24:39.960 --> 00:24:41.940 But I can understand, maybe someone might say, 00:24:42.039 --> 00:24:43.340 oh, you know, that's Moses. 00:24:43.460 --> 00:24:44.440 He's literally in the Bible. 00:24:44.620 --> 00:24:46.539 Of course God would listen to him. 00:24:48.220 --> 00:24:50.840 Going back to James, he writes in chapter 5, 00:24:51.019 --> 00:24:52.720 and I think I have this verse in the slide. 00:24:52.720 --> 00:24:56.720 The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 00:24:57.400 --> 00:24:59.160 Elijah, or in our case Moses, 00:24:59.339 --> 00:25:01.779 was a man with a nature like ours, 00:25:02.180 --> 00:25:03.400 meaning he's just a regular man 00:25:03.400 --> 00:25:06.079 without any special DNA or spiritual superpowers. 00:25:07.380 --> 00:25:09.140 And he prayed fervently that it might not rain, 00:25:09.240 --> 00:25:10.839 and for three years and six months, 00:25:10.920 --> 00:25:12.160 it did not rain on the earth. 00:25:12.700 --> 00:25:14.319 Or again, in our case today, 00:25:14.440 --> 00:25:16.579 that Moses prayed that the deluge of flies 00:25:16.579 --> 00:25:18.160 would relent against Egypt. 00:25:19.660 --> 00:25:20.559 Brothers and sisters, 00:25:20.559 --> 00:25:22.500 does this not excite you to pray? 00:25:23.839 --> 00:25:26.139 I'm really thankful for Lauren to share that prophecy today. 00:25:26.240 --> 00:25:31.899 I feel like God is orchestrating something for us. 00:25:32.460 --> 00:25:35.679 That this text is an example 00:25:35.679 --> 00:25:39.440 for how our prayers have more power than world leaders. 00:25:41.919 --> 00:25:43.960 Perhaps you feel like you're in a situation 00:25:43.960 --> 00:25:46.220 where there is no escape or answers, 00:25:46.220 --> 00:25:47.919 similar to Lauren's prophecy. 00:25:47.920 --> 00:25:51.640 Maybe you're struggling with your physical health. 00:25:51.840 --> 00:25:54.779 Maybe you or someone you love feels, 00:25:55.460 --> 00:25:59.700 you feel that is enslaved to habitual sins 00:25:59.700 --> 00:26:01.200 and feel like there will never be change. 00:26:02.279 --> 00:26:03.680 Maybe you're feeling hopeless 00:26:03.680 --> 00:26:07.120 about your future prospects of a relationship or career. 00:26:08.600 --> 00:26:11.920 This is one of many examples throughout Scripture 00:26:11.920 --> 00:26:14.560 where God listens and then takes action 00:26:14.559 --> 00:26:17.639 from the prayers of a sinful person. 00:26:18.359 --> 00:26:20.899 The same is happening right here, 00:26:21.119 --> 00:26:22.679 right now in our own church, 00:26:22.960 --> 00:26:23.599 Chinatown, Cambridge. 00:26:24.759 --> 00:26:26.679 And from our limited vantage point, 00:26:26.859 --> 00:26:29.000 he's been actively answering prayers. 00:26:29.799 --> 00:26:32.720 For example, for new elders and Matt, 00:26:33.119 --> 00:26:36.059 for the sending out of missionaries, 00:26:36.579 --> 00:26:38.240 for healthy new life, 00:26:38.839 --> 00:26:41.000 for unity and love amongst our church, 00:26:41.000 --> 00:26:43.200 for spiritual protection and sanctification, 00:26:43.720 --> 00:26:45.559 for growth in evangelism. 00:26:46.279 --> 00:26:49.279 There's so much more that God is doing too 00:26:49.279 --> 00:26:53.359 that we don't directly see or give God thanks for. 00:26:54.960 --> 00:26:59.220 And we have to start to see the problems of our lives 00:26:59.220 --> 00:27:01.220 not just as obstacles or setbacks, 00:27:01.900 --> 00:27:05.880 but more as new opportunities for us to pray, 00:27:06.519 --> 00:27:08.779 opportunities to see God's hand move, 00:27:08.779 --> 00:27:10.220 just like Moses saw. 00:27:13.399 --> 00:27:15.019 We come to the fifth plague 00:27:15.019 --> 00:27:16.639 where it follows a similar pattern 00:27:16.639 --> 00:27:19.359 where Moses confronts Pharaoh with a familiar line, 00:27:19.460 --> 00:27:20.940 demanding that he lets the Hebrews go, 00:27:21.480 --> 00:27:22.319 that they may serve him. 00:27:23.539 --> 00:27:24.440 As the fifth plague, 00:27:24.599 --> 00:27:27.500 God graciously warns the king in chapter nine, verse three, 00:27:27.599 --> 00:27:29.980 that a very severe plague will fall upon your livestock 00:27:29.980 --> 00:27:31.420 that are in the field. 00:27:32.399 --> 00:27:35.160 The severity of the plagues continue to build 00:27:35.160 --> 00:27:38.860 as this fifth plague is the first 00:27:38.860 --> 00:27:41.440 that bring about death in Egypt. 00:27:42.480 --> 00:27:45.560 This reminds me of what Jesus said to Paul 00:27:45.560 --> 00:27:47.259 back in Paul's account of his conversion 00:27:47.259 --> 00:27:50.200 in Acts 26, 14. 00:27:50.360 --> 00:27:53.279 It's hard for you to kick against the goats. 00:27:55.100 --> 00:27:57.960 An ox goad was essentially a sharp stick. 00:27:58.680 --> 00:28:01.340 It was used to steer the animal in the right direction. 00:28:01.339 --> 00:28:06.019 If the animal refused to change its course, 00:28:06.119 --> 00:28:06.759 it would resist, 00:28:06.939 --> 00:28:11.179 resulting in a harsher, more painful stab from the goat. 00:28:12.619 --> 00:28:14.419 And Pharaoh and his stubbornness 00:28:14.419 --> 00:28:17.779 continue to ramp up the severity of these miracles. 00:28:19.659 --> 00:28:21.819 And again, just as God did in the fourth plague, 00:28:21.899 --> 00:28:25.019 he makes a clear distinction between Goshen and Egypt, 00:28:25.139 --> 00:28:27.659 between God's people and Pharaoh's people. 00:28:27.660 --> 00:28:30.800 God gives a day for Pharaoh to relent 00:28:30.800 --> 00:28:32.400 and to soften his stubborn heart, 00:28:32.620 --> 00:28:36.240 but with the implied no answer, God strikes. 00:28:37.700 --> 00:28:39.660 A plague or sickness takes the lives 00:28:39.660 --> 00:28:41.759 of most of the domesticated animals 00:28:41.759 --> 00:28:44.519 in the land of Egypt in one day. 00:28:45.940 --> 00:28:47.860 Moses likely is using hyperbole, 00:28:48.080 --> 00:28:49.560 an exaggeration in verse six, 00:28:49.700 --> 00:28:50.300 in which he wrote, 00:28:50.860 --> 00:28:52.779 all the livestock of the Egyptians died 00:28:52.779 --> 00:28:55.800 because, well, livestock are still mentioned later 00:28:55.799 --> 00:28:57.519 and some of the subsequent plagues. 00:28:58.700 --> 00:29:02.119 But still, for an agricultural society 00:29:02.119 --> 00:29:03.819 as most societies were back then, 00:29:04.359 --> 00:29:06.899 this had to be massively crippling economically 00:29:06.899 --> 00:29:07.960 to the land of Egypt. 00:29:08.980 --> 00:29:11.099 Just imagine all the cars in Boston 00:29:11.099 --> 00:29:13.339 going kaput in just one day. 00:29:15.220 --> 00:29:17.480 Then Pharaoh sends his people to Goshen 00:29:17.480 --> 00:29:19.180 to really check and to look up the truth, 00:29:19.279 --> 00:29:20.960 whether God was actually telling the truth 00:29:20.960 --> 00:29:21.519 or bluffing. 00:29:22.099 --> 00:29:23.180 Tells the truth, 00:29:23.940 --> 00:29:25.740 to look up the truth of what God warns, 00:29:25.799 --> 00:29:27.879 and potentially maybe to buy back some animals. 00:29:28.919 --> 00:29:31.839 And lo and behold, Goshen was untouched. 00:29:33.700 --> 00:29:36.200 It's twice now that God has made this distinction 00:29:36.200 --> 00:29:38.740 between his people and Pharaoh's people. 00:29:39.440 --> 00:29:42.279 This is truly a divine mercy 00:29:42.279 --> 00:29:44.659 because we read on in Deuteronomy 7, 00:29:45.319 --> 00:29:47.379 right when the new generation of Israelites 00:29:47.379 --> 00:29:48.639 enter into the promised land, 00:29:48.759 --> 00:29:49.759 Moses preaches, 00:29:50.359 --> 00:29:52.299 the Lord your God has chosen you 00:29:52.299 --> 00:29:54.440 to be a people for his treasured possession. 00:29:54.440 --> 00:29:57.400 Out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth, 00:29:57.559 --> 00:30:00.779 it was not because you were more in number 00:30:00.779 --> 00:30:03.460 than any other people that the Lord set his love on you 00:30:03.460 --> 00:30:04.660 and chose you, 00:30:04.740 --> 00:30:06.880 for you were fewest of all peoples. 00:30:07.759 --> 00:30:09.880 And it's because the Lord loves you 00:30:09.880 --> 00:30:13.120 and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers. 00:30:14.380 --> 00:30:17.900 Did you catch God's reasoning for why he chose Israel? 00:30:17.900 --> 00:30:20.960 It's definitely not because of their great number 00:30:20.960 --> 00:30:23.300 or anything really intrinsic to themselves, 00:30:23.560 --> 00:30:25.920 but simply because he loves them 00:30:25.920 --> 00:30:28.860 and is faithful to the gracious promises 00:30:28.860 --> 00:30:29.980 to their forefathers. 00:30:31.400 --> 00:30:34.019 Case in put, it's simply because of grace. 00:30:36.080 --> 00:30:38.040 This concept of distinction 00:30:38.040 --> 00:30:40.380 isn't exclusive to the Old Testament 00:30:40.380 --> 00:30:42.420 as in the New Testament, 00:30:42.420 --> 00:30:44.920 Jesus later talks about making this distinction 00:30:44.920 --> 00:30:46.860 between his own people 00:30:46.860 --> 00:30:49.500 and the followers of the world and Satan, 00:30:50.340 --> 00:30:53.360 between the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25. 00:30:55.279 --> 00:30:57.560 When the Son of Man comes in his glory 00:30:57.560 --> 00:30:59.240 and all the angels with him, 00:31:00.279 --> 00:31:02.320 then he will sit on his glorious throne. 00:31:02.759 --> 00:31:04.920 Before him will be gathered all the nations 00:31:04.920 --> 00:31:07.920 and he will separate people one from another 00:31:07.920 --> 00:31:10.200 as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 00:31:10.200 --> 00:31:12.240 And he will place the sheep on his right, 00:31:12.519 --> 00:31:13.700 but the goats on his left. 00:31:14.920 --> 00:31:16.880 Then the king will say to those on his right, 00:31:17.000 --> 00:31:19.900 come, you who are blessed by my father, 00:31:20.019 --> 00:31:21.440 inherit the kingdom prepared for you 00:31:21.440 --> 00:31:22.759 from the foundation of the world. 00:31:23.779 --> 00:31:25.640 Then he will say to those on his left, 00:31:25.860 --> 00:31:28.940 depart from me, you cursed into the eternal fire 00:31:28.940 --> 00:31:31.019 prepared for the devil and his angels. 00:31:33.840 --> 00:31:37.180 There is future judgment coming. 00:31:37.180 --> 00:31:41.920 And like these plagues in our passage today, 00:31:42.000 --> 00:31:44.000 Jesus is making a clear distinction 00:31:44.000 --> 00:31:45.860 between those who are part of his people 00:31:45.860 --> 00:31:47.820 and those who are not. 00:31:49.700 --> 00:31:54.320 The promises of blessing, hope, and eternal love 00:31:54.320 --> 00:31:57.279 truly are exclusively for those 00:31:57.279 --> 00:31:59.320 who are his children by faith. 00:32:00.299 --> 00:32:03.519 This is a hard message for our day and age 00:32:03.519 --> 00:32:05.880 where inclusivity is more and more valued, 00:32:05.880 --> 00:32:06.800 more and more prized. 00:32:09.040 --> 00:32:12.060 But while these blessings are indeed exclusive, 00:32:12.800 --> 00:32:14.820 the good news of Jesus Christ 00:32:14.820 --> 00:32:16.940 is that the invitation is not. 00:32:18.580 --> 00:32:19.700 Let me say that again, 00:32:19.820 --> 00:32:22.620 that while these blessings are exclusive, 00:32:22.940 --> 00:32:25.580 the good news is that the invitation is not. 00:32:26.840 --> 00:32:28.440 If you've joined us today for worship 00:32:28.440 --> 00:32:31.020 and you haven't professed your allegiance to Christ, 00:32:31.080 --> 00:32:33.800 as the Holy Spirit says in Hebrews 3, 7, 00:32:33.799 --> 00:32:36.819 today, today, if you hear God's voice, 00:32:37.519 --> 00:32:39.359 do not harden your hearts. 00:32:40.960 --> 00:32:43.460 There's only a set time where this invitation 00:32:43.460 --> 00:32:45.819 will be extended, so don't delay. 00:32:46.399 --> 00:32:48.039 Jesus is calling for you today. 00:32:48.039 --> 00:32:51.240 And we know that like Pharaoh, 00:32:51.319 --> 00:32:53.460 all of us have rejected God and his will. 00:32:53.960 --> 00:32:56.279 Both he and we refuse to live for him 00:32:56.279 --> 00:32:57.740 and fulfill our proper roles 00:32:57.740 --> 00:33:00.399 as God's servants and vice regents on this earth. 00:33:00.720 --> 00:33:02.480 We desire to be our own gods, 00:33:02.819 --> 00:33:04.159 establishing our own kingdoms. 00:33:05.680 --> 00:33:08.019 And this is what scripture defines to be sin. 00:33:10.319 --> 00:33:12.379 And because God's immaculate holiness, 00:33:12.539 --> 00:33:15.700 he couldn't be in the presence of us filthy sinners. 00:33:15.700 --> 00:33:18.440 And more than that, 00:33:18.500 --> 00:33:20.200 because of his perfect justice, 00:33:20.580 --> 00:33:21.759 he, the great judge, 00:33:22.059 --> 00:33:23.299 must punish sin 00:33:23.299 --> 00:33:27.039 with the sentence of eternal damnation and death. 00:33:29.019 --> 00:33:30.740 But the good news, again, 00:33:30.840 --> 00:33:32.600 is that every single person, 00:33:32.680 --> 00:33:33.740 no matter who you are, 00:33:33.840 --> 00:33:34.539 what you've done, 00:33:35.559 --> 00:33:36.640 is that you're invited. 00:33:37.580 --> 00:33:40.100 You're invited into an intimate relationship 00:33:40.100 --> 00:33:40.960 with your creator 00:33:40.960 --> 00:33:42.380 by believing in your hearts 00:33:42.380 --> 00:33:43.759 and confessing with your mouths 00:33:43.759 --> 00:33:45.140 that Jesus is Lord. 00:33:46.460 --> 00:33:47.720 That he, though he is God, 00:33:47.819 --> 00:33:49.839 came not to be served, 00:33:49.940 --> 00:33:51.140 but to serve 00:33:51.140 --> 00:33:53.779 by living a perfectly righteous life, 00:33:54.160 --> 00:33:55.400 dying the death we deserved, 00:33:55.599 --> 00:33:58.059 and resurrecting to conquer death. 00:33:58.640 --> 00:33:59.660 Again, today, 00:34:00.740 --> 00:34:02.079 if you hear God's voice, 00:34:02.220 --> 00:34:03.400 do not harden your hearts. 00:34:03.400 --> 00:34:08.660 For those of us who are already part of his family, 00:34:09.119 --> 00:34:10.660 it's good for me to remind you 00:34:10.660 --> 00:34:12.500 that it's through Jesus' death and resurrection 00:34:12.500 --> 00:34:13.019 that Jesus, 00:34:13.220 --> 00:34:15.119 as Peter teaches us in 1 Peter 2, 00:34:15.840 --> 00:34:17.980 that we are now a chosen race, 00:34:18.260 --> 00:34:19.440 a royal priesthood, 00:34:19.539 --> 00:34:20.460 a holy nation, 00:34:21.000 --> 00:34:22.660 a people for his own possession, 00:34:23.300 --> 00:34:25.619 that you may proclaim the excellencies of him 00:34:25.619 --> 00:34:26.780 who called you out of darkness 00:34:26.780 --> 00:34:29.320 into his marvelous light. 00:34:29.320 --> 00:34:32.860 Once you were not a people, 00:34:32.960 --> 00:34:34.340 but now you are God's people. 00:34:34.640 --> 00:34:36.140 Once you had not received mercy, 00:34:36.280 --> 00:34:37.720 but now you have received mercy. 00:34:38.160 --> 00:34:40.460 This is amazing grace. 00:34:42.559 --> 00:34:43.580 Just like Israel, 00:34:43.680 --> 00:34:45.720 there is nothing intrinsic to ourselves 00:34:45.720 --> 00:34:47.539 and why you were saved. 00:34:48.880 --> 00:34:50.320 Nothing that God needed 00:34:50.320 --> 00:34:52.860 or expected out of us when he chose us. 00:34:53.100 --> 00:34:55.180 If you're anything like me 00:34:55.179 --> 00:35:00.179 and that you try to keep proving yourself to God 00:35:00.179 --> 00:35:01.019 and your worth, 00:35:01.319 --> 00:35:03.199 please let this truth put you to ease. 00:35:04.199 --> 00:35:05.599 Rest easy, my friends. 00:35:06.879 --> 00:35:08.940 I need to preach this to myself. 00:35:09.019 --> 00:35:10.299 I'm preaching that to myself right now. 00:35:12.679 --> 00:35:14.019 There's so much freedom 00:35:14.019 --> 00:35:16.039 in letting grace be free. 00:35:16.379 --> 00:35:17.519 Letting grace be grace. 00:35:18.259 --> 00:35:20.019 No more proving or self-validation. 00:35:21.359 --> 00:35:23.000 We were once a people with no identity, 00:35:23.179 --> 00:35:24.899 fully deserving of God's just wrath, 00:35:24.900 --> 00:35:27.599 but now we are God's people. 00:35:29.079 --> 00:35:31.240 And this is truly the most important distinction 00:35:31.240 --> 00:35:32.460 in all of human history. 00:35:32.619 --> 00:35:34.720 This means that those who are part of this family, 00:35:34.860 --> 00:35:36.099 we're in a better off position 00:35:36.099 --> 00:35:38.480 than really the rest of this world. 00:35:39.880 --> 00:35:42.079 The poorest of us, 00:35:42.200 --> 00:35:43.539 we're infinitely richer. 00:35:44.420 --> 00:35:44.900 We're more treasured 00:35:45.660 --> 00:35:47.800 than the richest in this world. 00:35:49.119 --> 00:35:50.980 The least secure of us 00:35:50.980 --> 00:35:52.260 in the eyes of this world, 00:35:52.820 --> 00:35:53.960 we're safer. 00:35:53.960 --> 00:35:55.440 We're more protected, 00:35:55.980 --> 00:35:57.099 more provided for 00:35:57.099 --> 00:35:58.720 than royalty 00:35:58.720 --> 00:36:00.119 or world leaders 00:36:00.119 --> 00:36:01.480 if they don't know Christ. 00:36:01.840 --> 00:36:03.579 The most foolish of us 00:36:03.579 --> 00:36:05.260 or wiser 00:36:05.260 --> 00:36:06.679 than the smartest philosophers 00:36:06.679 --> 00:36:07.920 that don't see him. 00:36:09.420 --> 00:36:11.380 It's not because of your individual pedigrees 00:36:11.380 --> 00:36:12.039 or resumes 00:36:12.039 --> 00:36:13.320 or talents, 00:36:13.480 --> 00:36:14.980 but because of grace. 00:36:16.000 --> 00:36:18.039 Grace is everything. 00:36:18.039 --> 00:36:22.380 Pray that you would take comfort in that. 00:36:25.179 --> 00:36:27.500 Come to our final plague of our passage today, 00:36:27.599 --> 00:36:29.779 the sixth and final plague of the second trio, 00:36:29.900 --> 00:36:30.279 Mirrors. 00:36:30.860 --> 00:36:31.719 The third plague, 00:36:31.880 --> 00:36:32.779 both in its brevity 00:36:32.779 --> 00:36:36.039 and its focus on the Egyptian magicians. 00:36:37.039 --> 00:36:38.960 Similar to the third and ninth plague, 00:36:39.480 --> 00:36:40.820 the account of the sixth plague 00:36:40.820 --> 00:36:43.019 doesn't record Moses or Aaron 00:36:43.019 --> 00:36:44.460 confronting Pharaoh, 00:36:44.460 --> 00:36:45.639 though it could be assumed 00:36:45.639 --> 00:36:47.720 that they did have similar confrontations 00:36:47.720 --> 00:36:48.280 as before. 00:36:49.820 --> 00:36:50.300 Instead, 00:36:50.880 --> 00:36:52.380 Moses is directly commanded 00:36:52.380 --> 00:36:54.099 to take symbolic action 00:36:54.099 --> 00:36:56.079 by taking handfuls of soot 00:36:56.079 --> 00:36:57.019 from the kiln 00:36:57.019 --> 00:36:58.740 and throwing it in the air 00:36:58.740 --> 00:37:00.260 in the sight of Pharaoh. 00:37:01.619 --> 00:37:03.480 It's in a sense poetic justice 00:37:03.480 --> 00:37:05.220 because we remember that 00:37:05.220 --> 00:37:07.220 Israelites were commanded 00:37:07.220 --> 00:37:08.300 in harsh slavery 00:37:08.300 --> 00:37:10.360 to make bricks in these kilns. 00:37:11.139 --> 00:37:11.960 A kiln, if you don't know, 00:37:11.960 --> 00:37:12.940 as a type of oven 00:37:12.940 --> 00:37:15.460 on top of their daily quota 00:37:15.460 --> 00:37:17.019 without any straw. 00:37:18.720 --> 00:37:19.039 So, 00:37:19.599 --> 00:37:20.340 Moses obeys 00:37:20.340 --> 00:37:21.740 and God causes boils 00:37:21.740 --> 00:37:22.400 to break out 00:37:22.400 --> 00:37:24.460 both on man and beast. 00:37:25.780 --> 00:37:26.760 And as I mentioned before, 00:37:26.840 --> 00:37:28.240 these signs have been ramping up 00:37:28.240 --> 00:37:28.900 in intensity 00:37:28.900 --> 00:37:31.099 as this is the first real demonstration 00:37:31.099 --> 00:37:31.699 to the Egyptians 00:37:31.699 --> 00:37:33.639 that their own lives 00:37:33.639 --> 00:37:34.420 are in danger. 00:37:35.139 --> 00:37:36.000 Prior to the boils, 00:37:37.000 --> 00:37:38.320 it's been annoying frogs 00:37:38.320 --> 00:37:38.980 and flies, 00:37:38.980 --> 00:37:41.400 but now it's their own skin 00:37:41.400 --> 00:37:42.179 on the line. 00:37:43.740 --> 00:37:44.539 Even more so 00:37:44.539 --> 00:37:45.360 if you've been tracking 00:37:45.360 --> 00:37:46.940 the de-evolution 00:37:46.940 --> 00:37:48.719 and the unraveling 00:37:48.719 --> 00:37:49.559 of their ministry, 00:37:49.699 --> 00:37:50.440 the magicians 00:37:50.440 --> 00:37:53.280 go from successfully imitating 00:37:53.280 --> 00:37:53.519 the, 00:37:53.800 --> 00:37:55.980 successfully imitating 00:37:55.980 --> 00:37:56.880 Yahweh's miracle 00:37:56.880 --> 00:37:58.719 of transforming a staff 00:37:58.719 --> 00:37:59.360 to a serpent 00:37:59.360 --> 00:38:00.559 and water to blood 00:38:00.559 --> 00:38:02.420 to observing how 00:38:02.420 --> 00:38:03.380 the plague of gnats 00:38:03.380 --> 00:38:04.880 was caused by the finger of God 00:38:04.880 --> 00:38:05.820 and not being able 00:38:05.820 --> 00:38:06.599 to conjure up 00:38:06.599 --> 00:38:07.500 even some gnats. 00:38:07.500 --> 00:38:08.840 And now, 00:38:08.940 --> 00:38:10.139 not only are they 00:38:10.139 --> 00:38:11.539 not able to reproduce 00:38:11.539 --> 00:38:12.900 this sixth plague of boils, 00:38:13.099 --> 00:38:15.340 but now they can't even stand 00:38:15.340 --> 00:38:16.619 before Moses. 00:38:18.320 --> 00:38:19.559 In ancient Egypt, 00:38:19.719 --> 00:38:21.659 healing was frequently linked 00:38:21.659 --> 00:38:22.780 to magical rituals 00:38:22.780 --> 00:38:24.440 undertaken by priests 00:38:24.440 --> 00:38:25.400 in their temples. 00:38:26.320 --> 00:38:27.260 The very priests 00:38:27.260 --> 00:38:28.340 to whom the Egyptians 00:38:28.340 --> 00:38:29.719 might look to for help 00:38:29.719 --> 00:38:31.739 are themselves afflicted 00:38:31.739 --> 00:38:33.199 and their powerlessness 00:38:33.199 --> 00:38:34.000 to ward off 00:38:34.000 --> 00:38:35.000 this bodily ailment, 00:38:35.599 --> 00:38:36.820 it underlines yet again 00:38:36.820 --> 00:38:38.080 the superior strength 00:38:38.080 --> 00:38:39.000 of God. 00:38:41.180 --> 00:38:41.580 Finally, 00:38:41.700 --> 00:38:42.260 get to the end 00:38:42.260 --> 00:38:42.940 of the passage 00:38:42.940 --> 00:38:44.360 where in verse 12 00:38:44.360 --> 00:38:44.960 we read, 00:38:45.100 --> 00:38:45.960 but the Lord hardened 00:38:45.960 --> 00:38:46.780 the heart of Pharaoh 00:38:46.780 --> 00:38:47.580 and he did not listen 00:38:47.580 --> 00:38:48.380 to them as the Lord 00:38:48.380 --> 00:38:49.360 had spoken to Moses. 00:38:50.900 --> 00:38:52.280 This is the third time 00:38:52.280 --> 00:38:53.380 we've read some closing, 00:38:53.559 --> 00:38:54.740 some version of this closing. 00:38:55.860 --> 00:38:56.780 In the fourth plague, 00:38:56.880 --> 00:38:58.700 we read that it's Pharaoh 00:38:58.700 --> 00:39:00.360 himself who hardened 00:39:00.360 --> 00:39:00.760 his heart. 00:39:01.440 --> 00:39:02.640 Then for the fifth plague, 00:39:02.720 --> 00:39:03.860 it's the passive form 00:39:03.860 --> 00:39:05.079 where it says that 00:39:05.079 --> 00:39:06.300 the heart was hardened. 00:39:06.980 --> 00:39:07.360 Finally, 00:39:07.599 --> 00:39:08.700 we read explicitly 00:39:08.700 --> 00:39:10.599 that it is the Lord, 00:39:11.340 --> 00:39:12.340 the Lord is the one 00:39:12.340 --> 00:39:13.220 who hardened 00:39:13.220 --> 00:39:14.300 the heart of Pharaoh. 00:39:15.200 --> 00:39:16.980 We get both responses, 00:39:17.340 --> 00:39:17.780 that it's both 00:39:17.780 --> 00:39:18.579 Pharaoh himself 00:39:18.579 --> 00:39:19.620 and God 00:39:19.620 --> 00:39:20.220 who hardened 00:39:20.220 --> 00:39:21.059 the heart of the king. 00:39:22.440 --> 00:39:23.720 I'm not going to delve 00:39:23.720 --> 00:39:24.800 deep into these questions 00:39:24.800 --> 00:39:26.460 as both Sean and Matt 00:39:26.460 --> 00:39:27.360 have touched upon this 00:39:27.360 --> 00:39:28.120 in previous sermons. 00:39:28.720 --> 00:39:29.740 If you have any questions, 00:39:29.860 --> 00:39:30.740 I encourage you to go back 00:39:30.740 --> 00:39:31.519 and listen to those. 00:39:31.519 --> 00:39:33.619 But I will add 00:39:33.619 --> 00:39:34.360 to make clear 00:39:34.360 --> 00:39:36.019 that God is not 00:39:36.019 --> 00:39:36.860 forcing Pharaoh 00:39:36.860 --> 00:39:37.559 to do something 00:39:37.559 --> 00:39:38.679 against his own will. 00:39:39.719 --> 00:39:40.420 That interpretation 00:39:40.420 --> 00:39:41.539 is not supported 00:39:41.539 --> 00:39:42.159 by the narrative 00:39:42.159 --> 00:39:42.780 that we read. 00:39:44.059 --> 00:39:44.880 The strengthening 00:39:44.880 --> 00:39:47.119 of Pharaoh's heart 00:39:47.119 --> 00:39:47.860 is about giving 00:39:47.860 --> 00:39:49.139 Pharaoh the boldness 00:39:49.139 --> 00:39:50.619 and the stubbornness 00:39:50.619 --> 00:39:52.059 to do what he most desires. 00:39:53.900 --> 00:39:54.559 And we read 00:39:54.559 --> 00:39:55.880 until the actual exodus 00:39:55.880 --> 00:39:57.519 of the Israelites, 00:39:57.840 --> 00:39:58.699 Pharaoh consistently 00:39:58.699 --> 00:40:00.139 refuses to let 00:40:00.139 --> 00:40:01.139 God have his way. 00:40:01.519 --> 00:40:02.860 Take heart, saints, 00:40:03.039 --> 00:40:04.320 that our God 00:40:04.320 --> 00:40:05.380 is not the author 00:40:05.380 --> 00:40:05.840 of evil. 00:40:07.880 --> 00:40:09.440 But our God 00:40:09.440 --> 00:40:10.579 truly is in control. 00:40:11.440 --> 00:40:12.139 Let's take comfort 00:40:12.139 --> 00:40:13.139 in these last few words 00:40:13.139 --> 00:40:13.840 in today's passage 00:40:13.840 --> 00:40:16.239 that just as the Lord 00:40:16.239 --> 00:40:17.780 had spoken to Moses, 00:40:18.460 --> 00:40:19.119 Pharaoh refused 00:40:19.119 --> 00:40:19.559 to listen. 00:40:20.259 --> 00:40:21.400 This is all going 00:40:21.400 --> 00:40:22.820 according to God's plan. 00:40:24.519 --> 00:40:25.800 Your own lives 00:40:25.800 --> 00:40:26.699 are going according 00:40:26.699 --> 00:40:27.759 to God's good 00:40:27.759 --> 00:40:28.800 and gracious plan. 00:40:28.800 --> 00:40:36.820 God's not worried 00:40:36.820 --> 00:40:38.660 about your life 00:40:38.660 --> 00:40:39.860 and your story 00:40:39.860 --> 00:40:41.980 so neither should you. 00:40:44.980 --> 00:40:45.640 So hopefully 00:40:45.640 --> 00:40:46.680 by the help 00:40:46.680 --> 00:40:47.400 of the Holy Spirit 00:40:47.400 --> 00:40:47.880 you've been able 00:40:47.880 --> 00:40:48.920 to see a clear picture 00:40:48.920 --> 00:40:50.240 of a sovereign God 00:40:50.240 --> 00:40:50.780 who is fighting 00:40:50.780 --> 00:40:51.620 for his people. 00:40:51.980 --> 00:40:52.680 Sign after sign 00:40:52.680 --> 00:40:53.620 as they grow in intensity 00:40:53.620 --> 00:40:54.640 we see how far 00:40:54.640 --> 00:40:55.660 God is willing 00:40:55.660 --> 00:40:56.900 to go for his glory 00:40:56.900 --> 00:40:57.800 and for the deliverance 00:40:57.800 --> 00:40:58.400 of his people. 00:40:59.440 --> 00:41:00.059 If you are made 00:41:00.059 --> 00:41:01.340 powerless in this world 00:41:01.340 --> 00:41:02.320 find your power 00:41:02.320 --> 00:41:03.579 and hope in prayer 00:41:03.579 --> 00:41:04.400 to the God 00:41:04.400 --> 00:41:06.320 who will listen to you. 00:41:07.639 --> 00:41:08.420 More importantly 00:41:08.420 --> 00:41:09.579 know your great identity 00:41:09.579 --> 00:41:10.240 and grace 00:41:10.240 --> 00:41:11.860 as God's chosen people. 00:41:12.720 --> 00:41:13.420 If you haven't put 00:41:13.420 --> 00:41:15.139 your faith in Christ 00:41:15.139 --> 00:41:16.380 again I reiterate 00:41:16.380 --> 00:41:17.460 please come talk 00:41:17.460 --> 00:41:18.960 to any one 00:41:18.960 --> 00:41:20.119 of our church members. 00:41:20.119 --> 00:41:22.059 I'm so confident 00:41:22.059 --> 00:41:22.679 in their ability 00:41:22.679 --> 00:41:24.279 to be God's ambassadors 00:41:24.279 --> 00:41:25.019 in this world. 00:41:27.259 --> 00:41:27.839 Let's pray. 00:41:33.000 --> 00:41:34.019 Father would you help us 00:41:34.019 --> 00:41:35.099 to see what kind of love 00:41:35.099 --> 00:41:35.900 that you've given us 00:41:35.900 --> 00:41:36.900 that we should be called 00:41:36.900 --> 00:41:38.019 your children 00:41:38.019 --> 00:41:39.000 and so we are. 00:41:40.759 --> 00:41:41.599 God would we boast 00:41:41.599 --> 00:41:42.940 more and more of you 00:41:42.940 --> 00:41:44.519 less of us. 00:41:44.699 --> 00:41:45.319 Give us eyes 00:41:45.319 --> 00:41:46.239 to see your glory 00:41:46.239 --> 00:41:48.059 and to cherish it 00:41:48.059 --> 00:41:49.219 above all other things 00:41:49.219 --> 00:41:49.960 in this world. 00:41:50.119 --> 00:41:53.460 convict us 00:41:53.460 --> 00:41:54.380 cut us to the heart 00:41:54.380 --> 00:41:58.859 teach us 00:41:58.859 --> 00:42:00.659 that you are good 00:42:00.659 --> 00:42:01.079 Father. 00:42:03.359 --> 00:42:04.059 We love you 00:42:04.059 --> 00:42:04.679 and we thank you. 00:42:04.819 --> 00:42:05.480 In Jesus name we pray. 00:42:06.259 --> 00:42:06.480 Amen.