Halftime

PASTOR HITS WOMAN

2009-07-04T10:16:00.000-04:00

I know it happened, because I was an eye-witness…sort of. And I am very close to this situation, because it was an associate pastor of mine who hit the woman. And I will not reveal his name; but since I have only one other pastor on staff, it won’t be too difficult to figure out! Now, please don’t flood Steve’s e-mail box with complaints and judgmental comments. Oops…did I let his name slip? Oh, well…[he deserves it.]

I know, I know, you want the juicy details. Well, I will tell you what I know. The woman he hit didn’t do anything to him. As far as we know, she made no obscene gestures, rude comments, or gave any dirty looks. In fact, it doesn’t seem she said one word to him, until after he hit her. This surprised everyone.

Up until he hit this woman, he seemed fairly subdued. He was having a bad day, and that was obvious by some of the grunting and exasperated motions he had been making in the hour or so leading up to his assault on this woman. I am making the assumption, that since she did nothing to provoke him, he was simply taking out his anger and frustration on the nearest target, so to speak. He probably didn’t hit me, because I could have fired him, and I suppose he wanted to keep his friendships, so he didn’t hit his friends with us. Instead…. He choose to take it out on a poor, unsuspecting, older, helpless, woman; even one he had never met before that moment.

I saw him swing his clinched fist, in fact, both of them, one right behind the other; but I didn’t see the actual impact. Perhaps we were all so surprised by his actions, that we froze, and didn’t see this woman get hit. She was obviously upset, and so were the friends with her, understandably so! We were out in public and when we were confronted by group of elderly friends, they could have driven over him with the car they had idling right in front of us.

Do you want to know his excuse, by the way, for his assault? You’re not going to believe this: he said he didn’t see her, but was just swinging his fists without knowing where the impact would be. Oh, please… The women were much more understanding than they should have been. You know what? Now, that I think about it more, Steve, I mean, my associate, deserves your judgmental e-mails, for his thoughtless, reckless act. Feel free to send them to sstrong@gbcwestlake.org

Let’s stop the thoughtless violence…NOW!

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Oh, are you still there? After I finished my story, I thought perhaps I should share with you a few other, insignificant details, just in case you have a thirst for more. Steve and I, along with another pastor and his friend, were on the tee box at a golf course that gave pastors free golf. Steve swung his club (with his fists clinched around it, one after the other), and the ball went far left, over a hill and out of our sight, toward another green. We didn’t see anyone down there, so no one yelled “four” as golf etiquette teaches. Soon after, a woman appeared from below, came to the top of the hill and said: “you hit me.” Then, as we approached the women, another said: “you hit her”. We caught up to them as they were approaching the next tee, and Steve apologized for hitting her. The ball had hit her in the thigh and she was doing o.k.; although she thought it would bruise. She and her friends were pleasantly surprised that Steve would come and apologize to her.

Now, that kind of ruins the story, doesn’t it?

WHERE IS GOD? a message

2009-06-27T07:02:00.002-04:00

This message was preached on Sunday, June 14, 2009, at Grace Baptist Church in Westlake, OH. To hear audio of this message, go to www.gbcwestlake.org
I know, that even for me, as a Christian, and as a pastor, that there are times when it doesn't seem like God is at work. And yet, He is always working to do what needs to be done, in my life, for His glory. May you be strengthened and challenged with God's Word as you read this:

WHERE IS GOD?
Exodus 17

Please open your Bible to the 2nd book of the Bible, the book of Exodus, and find chapter 17. If you are using a Bible in front of you, it is page 59.

We have been making our way through the book of Exodus and tracking the experiences of the people of Israel, as they were released from 430 years in bondage to Egypt and let toward the promised land of God. To summarize what they have experienced since leaving Egypt:

In his book: “Why Christians Sin”, J. Kirk Johnston tells this story:
Roger Simms, hitchhiking his way home, would never forget the date—May 7th. His heavy suitcase made Roger tired. He was anxious to take off his army uniform once and for all. Flashing the hitchhiking sign to the oncoming car, he lost hope when he saw it was a black, sleek, new Cadillac. To his surprise the car stopped. The passenger door opened. He ran toward the car, tossed his suitcase in the back, and thanked the handsome, well-dressed man as he slid into the front seat. “Going home for keeps?” “Sure am,” Roger responded. “Well, you’re in luck if you’re going to Chicago.” “Not quite that far. Do you live in Chicago?” “I have a business there. My name is Hanover.”

After talking about many things, Roger, a Christian, felt a compulsion to witness to this fiftyish, apparently successful businessman about Christ. But he kept putting it off, till he realized he was just thirty minutes from his home. It was now or never. So, Roger cleared his throat, “Mr. Hanover, I would like to talk to you about something very important.” He then proceeded to explain the way of salvation, ultimately asking Mr. Hanover if he would like to receive Christ as his Savior. To Roger’s astonishment the Cadillac pulled over to the side of the road. Roger thought he was going to be ejected from the car. But the businessman bowed his head and received Christ, then thanked Roger. “This is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me.”

Five years went by, Roger married, had a two-year-old boy, and a business of his own. Packing his suitcase for a business trip to Chicago, he found the small, white business card Hanover had given him five years before. In Chicago he looked up Hanover Enterprises. A receptionist told him it was impossible to see Mr. Hanover, but he could see Mrs. Hanover. A little confused as to what was going on, he was ushered into a lovely office and found himself facing a keen-eyed woman in her fifties. She extended her hand. “You knew my husband?”
Roger told how her husband had given him a ride when hitchhiking home after the war. “Can you tell me when that was?” “It was May 7, five years ago, the day I was discharged from the army.” “Anything special about that day?” Roger hesitated. Should he mention giving his witness? Since he had come so far, he might as well take the plunge. “Mrs. Hanover, I explained the gospel. He pulled over to the side of the road and wept against the steering wheel. He gave his life to Christ that day.” Explosive sobs shook her body. Getting a grip on herself, she sobbed, “I had prayed for my husband’s salvation for years. I believed God would save him.” “And,” said Roger, “Where is your husband, Mrs. Hanover?” “He’s dead,” she wept, struggling with words. “He was in a car crash after he let you out of the car. He never got home. You see—I thought God had not kept His promise.” Sobbing uncontrollably, she added, “I stopped living for God five years ago because I thought He had not kept His word!”

That pretty much sums up what has been happening with the people of Israel, God’s chosen people, in the last several chapters we have looked at in Exodus. God had proved Himself faithful, had kept all of His promises and had met their every need…many times through miraculous provision. And yet, whenever they would come into difficulty, whether it was a pursuing army, a dead end, or lack of food and water, they immediately and boldly complained. Yes, they complained against their God given leader; but their complaint was really against God Himself.

Like the woman in the opening story, she perceived that God had not kept His promise and was not at work. That perspective caused her to stop living for and trusting God. We tend to do the same thing. Our tough, challenging circumstances cause us, from our perspective, to think God has abandoned us, or perhaps, is not keeping His promises to us as Christians. This morning, in Exodus 17, we are going to hear Israel, once again, question God’s presence and promises; and once again, we will see the provision of God. Let’s consider what this means for us today. In chapter 16, the people were without food, they complained, and God, despite their complaining, provided quail and a new kind of bread: manna; which means: What is it? God was teaching them that He could always be trusted to meet their daily, basic needs. That brings us to:

Exodus 17:1 – “All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the LORD, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.”

The Next Test: No water

Oh, great – here we go again. God had said that he would continue to test His people, concerning their faith and trust in Him. Can anyone take a wild guess as to how the people of God are going to respond to this new challenge, this test…finding no water? You guessed it – just like they did the last time there was no drinking water and what they did when they were hungry, without food:

Exodus 17:2 – “Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, Give us water to drink…

Israel Complained [continue in verse 2]

…And Moses said to them, Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?”

Moses:
· Confronted the people

Moses reminds the people who they are really challenging. Yes, it is natural to complain against a human leader, someone you can see and place the blame on. But, Moses was making it clear: they were complaining against and testing the LORD (Jehovah God) Himself. In Chapter 16, when they complained to Moses about not having food, he said:

Exodus 16:8 – “…your grumbling is not against us, but against the LORD.”

So, Moses confronted the people with their heart attitude. They were really testing God, when they complained about not having water. How is it that they were testing God? Well, consider this: In complaining about not having water, this is what they were really saying (according to the Bible):
· Even though God came through before, we are not sure we can trust Him now
· Our immediate needs and desires are more important than what God is trying to teach us
· We want God to do what we want Him to do when we want Him to do it.

Israel did…and we do it. When children complain against the parents that God has given them, they are really complaining against God. And when a spouse complains about the wife or husband God has given them, they are really complaining against God. And when we complain against any authority in any part of our lives, we are complaining against God. You might ask: wait a second Greg – what about those authorities that are making unwise and ungodly decisions?
Well, think about Pharoah in Egypt. God puts up rulers He wants, so that even if that causes His people some pain, it will result in their spiritual growth and God’s glory. You can apply this to any aspect of your life; and any leader God has given you. Israel had seen God do incredible things over and over and over again. So, when they came to the next challenge of no water, it should have been a no-brainer: Trust God. He has promised to meet our daily needs; and we can trust His promises.

Once Moses confronted the people, but they kept complaining:
Exodus 17:3 – “But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”

So, Moses then turned his attention to the only one who could help:

Exodus 17:4 – “So Moses cried to the LORD, What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.”

Moses confronted the people, but he also:
· Cried out to God

Many a leader, when faced with grumbling and complaining people under his leadership, has come to God with the same question. What am I supposed to do with these people? In fact, in Moses’ case, he felt they were ready to stone and kill him, because they were unhappy with God not providing the water in their way and in their timing. You probably already know this, but even followers of Jesus Christ can sometimes get angry and complain about things they shouldn’t just because they don’t like the process God is taking them through. We all do it.

But, Moses did the right thing. He turned and cried out to God for an answer. And God gave it to him:

Exodus 17:5,6 – “And the LORD said to Moses, Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink. And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel.”

We will come back, in your notes to the 3rd thing Moses did; but let’s first consider what God did in response to Moses’ cry for help:

God:
· Gave instructions

This would be a regular thing between God and His leaders and between He and His people. When there was a crisis of some kind, He would give them instructions: this is what I want you to do and how I want you to do it. God told Moses to go up on Horeb with the staff he had and to strike the rock with the staff. Once he did that, the promise was that water would come out of the rock. Unbelievable! All Moses had to do was follow His instructions. And that is exactly what Moses did. Come back up in your notes because we need to recognize this very important step:

Moses:
· Obeyed God’s instructions

And now back down to what God did. He didn’t just give instructions, but He followed through with His promise:

God:
· Provided water

No, they didn’t deserve it. But, God provided, once again, for their physical needs in His way and timing, proving Himself to be faithful and true. This didn’t end the story however, just because they received their water in a miraculous way. And we will see this throughout the experiences of the nation of Israel: they will have things to remind them of what had happened and what God had done. In this case:

SO WHAT? How did Israel, through their leader Moses, remember how they had failed their test?

Exodus 17:7 – “And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the LORD by saying, Is the LORD among us or not?”

SO WHAT?
· They named the places (Meribah and Massah) to be reminded of their complaining and testing of God

Massah means to test and Meribah means to have contention. Every time someone would mention those names, it would be a teaching opportunity of how they had failed God’s test in those places; and what they needed to learn from them. SO WHAT for us?

SO WHAT?
· God will meet our physical needs in His time and way – Trust Him

That is a repeated application for us throughout these experiences with Israel. But, there is another one that would be very easy to miss. I want to give you the statement and then I want to explain it:

SO WHAT?
· God will meet our spiritual needs through Jesus Christ – Trust in Him.

Why in the world would I include this as application to the story of the water from the rock? Let me explain. The Apostle Paul, in the New Testament, references this story in this way:

I Corinthians 10:1-4 – “I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea…and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.”

Did you catch that? Paul said that what happened with Israel in the wilderness was an example of a spiritual truth before Jesus was ever born on this Earth. And there is connection here to the water from the rock. It says “the Rock was Christ.” We, today, are to see a spiritual connection here to Jesus Christ, as the Rock that gives living water.
Susanna Petroysan heard her daughter’s pleas, but there was nothing she could do. She and four-year-old Gayaney were trapped beneath tons of collapsed concrete and steel. Beside them in the darkness lay the body of Susanna’s sister-in-law, Karine, one of the fifty-five thousand victims of the worst earthquake in the history of Armenia.
Susanna had gone to Karine’s house to try on a dress. It was December 7,1988, at 11:30 A.M. The quake hit at 11:41. She had just removed the dress and was clad in stockings and a slip when the fifth-floor apartment began to shake. Susanna grabbed her daughter but had taken only a few steps before the floor opened up and they tumbled in. Susanna, Gayaney, and Karine fell into the basement with the nine-story apartment house crumbling around them.
"Mommy, I need a drink. Please give me something."There was nothing for Susanna to give.She was trapped flat on her back. A concrete panel eighteen inches above her head and a crumpled water pipe above her shoulders kept her from standing. Feeling around in the darkness, she found a twenty-four-once jar of blackberry jam that had fallen into the basement. She gave the entire jar to her daughter to eat. It was gone by the second day.
"Mommy, I’m so thirsty." Susanna knew she would die, but she wanted her daughter to live. She found a dress, perhaps the one she had come to try on, and made a bed for Gayaney. Though it was bitter cold, she took off her stockings and wrapped them around the child to keep her warm.The two were trapped for eight days.Because of the darkness, Susanna lost track of time. Because of the cold, she lost the feeling in her fingers and toes. Because of her inability to move, she lost hope. "I was just waiting for death."
She began to hallucinate. Her thoughts wandered. A merciful sleep occasionally freed her from the horror of her entombment, but the sleep would be brief. Something always awakened her: the cold, the hunger, or most often the voice of her daughter. "Mommy, I’m thirsty."
At some point in that eternal night, Susanna had an idea. She remembered a television program about an explorer in the Arctic who was dying of thirst. His comrade slashed open his hand and gave his friend his blood.Her groping fingers, numb from the cold, found a piece of shattered glass. She sliced open her left index finger and gave it to her daughter to suck.The drops of blood weren’t enough. "Please Mommy, some more. Cut another finger." Susanna has no idea how many times she cut herself. She only knows that if she hadn’t, Gayaney would have died. Her blood was her daughter’s only hope.I know that is not an easy story to hear, but neither is the true story of Jesus Christ. 2,000 years ago, Jesus sacrificed Himself, was tortured and then crucified. He gave of His blood, so that it might become eternal, life sustaining water for those who would believe. It is not an easy story to accept, but it is how God decided to offer eternal life: through the brutal death, and the burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Since the Bible connects these stories, I have to tell you: If you are done trying to live life on your own; or have realized that you cannot be good enough to get to God in Heaven on your own, you also can receive the living water through Jesus Christ. Jesus said that we must drink of His blood to be His children. He was speaking figuratively, spiritually, that we must fully accept Jesus Christ as Lord of our lives and the only way to God, in order to have eternal life. He then becomes our living water. Jesus said this to a woman with whom he was having a conversation about water:
John 4:13,14 – “Jesus said to her, Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
If you have any questions about how to receive that living water, please let us know. We would be happy to talk with you about it.
For the people of Israel, there in Exodus 17, there was a lingering question: It is here in your notes:
Question: Is the LORD among us or not?
They had received an answer through the provision of water, but they were about to have a new experience and the answer to this question would, once again, be loud and clear. There is no time, in the text to catch our breath, as we are taken to the very next test the Israelites faced:

Exodus 17:8 – “Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim.”

[Brian Enters down center aisle and comes up to platform]

Now, one of the pictures this passage is going to give us is of an important object in battle. In fact, it is going to be very significant. There is something I want you to think about as we look at this passage that has to do with war. We have a soldier here who is carrying a standard, a banner; and we are going to find out why.

[Brian stands on platform to answer questions. Greg uses White mic to give him]

You are obviously a soldier of some kind. Tell us what it is you are holding and what it means:

[Brian explains the banner]

And tell us, as it relates to many of history’s battles, about the importance and use of standards, of banners in battle:

[Brian explains the importance and use of banners]

Thanks soldier.
[Brain exits down center aisle]

In Old Testament times, people often did not have actual cloth flags but would just use a pole, or a staff as their banner, although Numbers 2:2 states that “The Israelites are to camp around the Tent of Meeting some distance from it, each man under his standard with the banners of his family.” Just like every country today has a flag, so too, the 12 tribes of Israel used banners to identify and rally the troops.

Next Test: Amalek attacks

This is the first time Israel was going to face an army in battle and the first time we meet the leader of Israel’s army, Joshua. And Moses, probably with instructions directly from God, gave the plan:

Exodus 17:9 – “So Moses said to Joshua, Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.”

The Battle Plan: Fight against Amalek, while Moses holds the staff in the air
Ok. So, they were supposed to go ahead and fight against Amalek, and Moses would go up the hill and hold the staff.

Exodus 17:10 – “So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.”

Moses takes his brother Aaron and then Hur up to the top of the hill with him, while Israel fought against Amalek, who came to battle with them. A few books after Exodus, we have a review of many of the things that happened to Israel over their 40 years in the wilderness, and sometimes we have more details. Look at:

Deuteronomy 25:17,18 – “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you came out of Egypt, how he attacked you on the way when you were faint and weary, and cut off your tail, those who were lagging behind you, and he did not fear God.”

So, we find out a little more here. Amalek came up from behind, getting in between some of the 2,000,000 Israelites that had fallen back in their travels and they cut them off. Amalek was on the attack and we are told why: they did not fear God. So, why shouldn’t they attack these people that seemed terribly unarmed and that were headed for their land? So, what happened?

Exodus 17:11 – “Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed.”

So, get this picture: Israel is fighting, and when Moses had his staff held high, Israel was winning; but if he let it down, Israel would begin losing. This was how God decided this battle would be fought. If Moses held up his staff, Israel would win. But, like with any human leader, Moses got tired:

Exodus 17:12 – “But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.”

Aaron and Hur gave Moses something to sit on, once he got tired, and placing themselves on either side of him, they held his hands up until the sun went down and the battle was over. And what was the result of the battle?

Exodus 17:13 – “And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.”

The Battle Result: God gave Israel victory and a promise

They followed God’s instructions and He gave them the victory. If they tried to do it in their strength, without following God’s instructions, they would have been defeated. It was God they could rely on and trust in. He also gave them a promise about this enemy of theirs and God: Amalek.
Exodus 17:14 – “Then the LORD said to Moses, Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.”

God was going to completely wipe out Amalek. We are told, in Deuteronomy, a little more of why and when. Speaking of Amalek:

Deuteronomy 25:18,19 – “…he did not fear God. Therefore when the LORD your God has given you rest from all your enemies around you, in the land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you shall not forget.”

This was to be something the people of Israel would remember. Those groups of people, just like Egypt, who decided to oppose God by opposing them, would be dealt with harshly by God. He would protect His people and fulfill His promises. This great victory, given by God, caused Israel to do something in memory of it.

Exodus 17:15,16 – “And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The LORD is my Banner, saying, A hand upon the throne of the LORD! The LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”

SO WHAT?
· An altar was built and called: “The LORD is my Banner.”

This brings us back to what we saw earlier. When Moses lifted up his hand with the staff to the throne of God, they had victory over Amalek; and God would give them victory and even use them to wipe out Amalek in the future. So, in building an altar, a place of remembrance, Moses called it: “The LORD is my Banner.” You see, the banner in a war was a very significant thing.

The standard bearer was an important part of the battle before the invention of radios and satellites. He was the one who led the charge. Amazingly, he went into battle unarmed. If the standard bearer was wounded, the nearest man would drop what he was doing to pick up the flag, partly out of respect, but more importantly because it was the focal point of the troops. Without the banner to lead the way, the battle often fell into disarray.

So, for Israel, they were to remember that God was their banner. He was the one they would follow into battle. He was the one they were to keep their eyes on. He was the one they would get their directions from. He was the one they would identify themselves with. We will get back to the final SO WHAT that has to do with us, but first let’s give the answer that Moses gives here, to the question asked earlier: Is the LORD among us or not?

The Answer: The LORD is my banner

During World War II, a passenger ship set sail from Great Britain headed for port in New York City. The Captain of the ship being afraid of enemy vessels, sought the advice and guidance of the British Admiral. The Admiral calmly assured the captain that no matter what happens, he should be sure to sail his ship straight ahead. "Do not take any detours -- sail the ship straight ahead -- continue on-ward, heading straight towards the intended mark;" he said.After several days of sailing across the Atlantic Ocean which was undeniably filled with submarines and enemy vessels of all kinds, the Captain spotted an enemy destroyer off his forward bow. Nervously he grasped the handset and called for assistance. The calm voice replied, "Keep on Straight, Do not Detour, just sail the ship straight ahead. Everything will be just fine. Just keep on going - straight ahead."After a couple more days the ship pulled safely into the great harbor of New York city. Shortly after docking the great British battleship "Man-of-War" pulled into port behind the passenger vessel. The Captain realized that while he did not see the British Battleship, she was there, standing bye. Standing ready to come to his defense should it prove necessary.That is how God is with us. We may not always see Him, but He is there. When we are tempted to ask: Is the LORD among us or not, we can be assured that He is there, at work, to do what needs to be done in our lives, for His glory. The LORD is our banner just like He was Israel’s. That means for us things like:
· We need to keep our focus on Him instead of our enemy or difficult circumstances
· We need to follow His instructions even if they do not always make sense. There are some things in the Bible that just don’t make sense to me; but that is not the most important thing – to understand it all and agree with it all. The important thing is that God is my banner, and I will do what He says, regardless of my feelings toward it.

SO WHAT?
· Follow God, wherever He leads, keeping your eyes on Him.
This is what they did in battle, following the standard, the banner, for a sense of purpose and unity. They would be fighting under a particular flag and for country. In our case, we are to set aside our fleshly desires for control, and rally around our banner, the LORD Jesus Christ, who will guide us in our daily battles.

8 YEARS OF WEDDED BLISS...8 out of 15 ain't bad!

2009-06-19T17:25:00.001-04:00

Happy 15th Anniversary babe!
Yes, today (Thursday, June 18th), as I write this, we are ready to celebrate 15 years of marriage. The 8 years of wedded bliss thing…just a joke. Not sure there has been that many! Just joking…again. The fact is: we have gotten over trying to pretend that marriage is easy, or that even a marriage between committed Christians, or even one of a pastor and his wife, is somehow a smooth journey, with no speed bumps or potholes.

In reality, Teresa and I have experienced some pretty drastic up and downs and curves, roller coaster types of experiences, over these 15 years. By God’s grace, we are still wholeheartedly committed to one another. As a child of God, I am constantly battling with my old nature and losing the battle pretty often. And unfortunately, one of the people who takes the constant brunt of my sins, is my wonderful wife, Teresa…bummer for her!

It is not that I want to sin against her, but that I am a sinner, saved by grace, but still struggling. Until I go home to be with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, this will be the reality. It is not an excuse for my sins, but a biblical explanation for them. And for me, as a Christian and pastor, I put my hope in the fact that God’s Word is true, and that it is this way, regardless of my human efforts to be the perfect husband.

Enough for the dim reality. Let me say, to all 3 of you who read this blog…Teresa is the greatest, most beautiful, most awesome woman in the world (sorry mom)! Yes, I can get frustrated with her (only 3 or 4 or 20 times a day-my problem, not hers), but I wouldn’t trade her for anything or anyone. She is the incredible gift of God, just to me, and no one else. Although I don’t always express this to her very well, she is, outside of salvation, God’s greatest gift to me.

She is my one and only lover, a great mom to our 5 children, and my best friend. She is my wife, and over these 15 years, has been growing, in God’s grace, to be more godly and beautiful, than she was when I first met her in 1986 and got to know her in 1990. We went on our first date on April 23rd of 1992, were engaged on September 25th of 1993; and were married June 18, 1994.

We have had some incredibly blessed experiences together over these 15 years. We have lived in Connecticut, Florida, Iowa and, now, Ohio. We have been pastor and wife in each of those States, and have greatly enjoyed our ministry experiences. Even the very difficult ones have had an incredible impact on our spiritual growth and bond in marriage. We are praying that this present ministry at Grace Baptist Church in Westlake, Ohio, will be our last one, meaning that we would serve for many, many years to come. We love Ohio, but are especially grateful for the people we know as our church family.

God has blessed us with 5 amazing children, and has given us the challenging privilege of bringing them up in God’s ways. We fail all the time, but at least we are failing and trying and praying, together. We know we will never be rich, in our line of work, but we are already incredibly rich in more important ways. Teresa has never been led by God to be a career woman, or to make more money so that our standard of living can be higher. Her greatest desire is to support me, to help raise our children, and to use our home as a place of rest, comfort and love, not only for our family, but for every guest that graces our home. I love that about her!

There are so many other things I could say about my wife, but for the purposes of this blog entry, I had better quit. Since I know you are one of the three reading this Teresa, let me say one more thing to you….(the rest of you can log off now-yes, that means you mom, and dad)…

I LOVE YOU…more than you will ever know!

Your devoted (albeit incredibly stupid sometimes) husband,
Greg

THE FAMILY THAT PLAYS TOGETHER................

2009-06-14T23:03:00.002-04:00

I can only complete that phrase based on our most recent family soccer game.

The Family that plays together...

takes forever getting ready to go out of the house, in order to play
has to think ahead to how tired and cranky everyone might be after the game and be prepared
must bring enough water, snacks or money for a treat afterward
pushes the brother/sister aside to get to that all important soccer ball
cries if they are not getting passed to often enough
spends more time arguing about what the teams should be than actually playing the game
has a lot of bumps and bruises to show for it!

I'm not sure that is how the phrase is supposed to be completed; but this is probably only true of my family. I will say this: I wouldn't give up our family soccer games for anything! In between the crying, yelling, pushing and scratching, I hear the laughter, see the smiles, the little accomplishments, the attempts at teamwork, and the exhaustion that comes from running non-stop for a couple hours. I am glad God placed me in this family, with all of our imperfections and struggles. We probably won't be competing for the world cup anytime soon; but I can almost guarantee we are going to have a lot of fun together the next time we walk on the field (or limp on, in my case!)

LONG......................and...................BORING

2009-06-12T08:20:00.002-04:00

This phrase has been used for many things, I am sure. It might be used to describe a book someone read, a movie someone saw, a project or meeting somene participated in. I imagine there are hundreds of life's circumstances in which this phrase might be used. And you can probably think of a way, that if this phrase was used to describe something you did or had leadership in, it might hurt that it was said. For example, if you led a meeting, and people were saying this phrase afterward, it might sting. If you spent a special weekend with your family,sacrificing other things, so that you could be with them...and you heard family members respond with this phrase, that might cut deep. Can you think of some way that this phrase might affect you? If so, then perhaps you will understand.

If I encourage someone to read a book and they use this phrase (long and boring) to describe it, I might be disappointed, but certainly not discouraged or hurt. But, the way I heard it used within the last 24 hours is something I can't get out of my head, and I'm not exactly sure what to do about it. Are you wondering how this phrase was used? Let me paraphrase:

Your preaching is LONG...........................................and.......................................................BORING!

Ouch! Now, maybe you don't know why this would hurt. It would be like this: If you were a cook and your customers said: "your cooking is bland and fattening." This would probably hurt alot, especially if it was your intention to cook exciting and healthy meals! So, when a pastor, someone who preaches for a living, hears this phrase, the best way to describe the impact is....OUCH. I'm not trying to get sympathy here; but share my personal and varying experiences as a pastor. And I love what I do, by the way. I would't want to do anything different. And maybe it wouldn't have hurt so much, if I didn't also hear, within the same 24 hour period that people are saying (and I parphrase again): "I'm not getting anything out of his messages".........DOUBLE OUCH!

So, there you have it. What am I going to do about it? I will reflect, think, meditate, pray..............
and then do the very best I can to honor God with my preaching. And, if it doesn't improve, maybe I can learn.......................................................................................................................to cook?

And, for the expressed purpose of not allowing this phrase, and blog entry title, to be used to describe this particular blog entry: I'm done!

WHATS FOR DINNER?

2009-06-08T11:37:00.002-04:00

This message was preached at Grace Baptist Church on Sunday, June 7, 2009. It can be heard on-line at www.gbcwestlake.org This is the chapter in Exodus that deals with Manna. I wasn't quite sure where it would lead us, in terms of application; but I know for me, this chapter challenged my view of my real needs. Sometimes, I take things for granted, rather than just being thankful for how God meets my daily needs, and am not as content with what I do have. I was challenged to give thanks, every day, for what God has given us, and for the greatest provision He has given for our daily needs: Himself.

WHAT’S FOR DINNER?
Exodus 16

Please open your Bible to the 2nd book of the Bible, the book of Exodus, and chapter 16…Exodus 16.

[SOUND: What you are about to hear is a test. It is not a test of the emergency broadcast system, but it will sound like one. This is a test. It is a test of your patience and endurance of annoying sounds. Are you ready for your test? [the long beep- normal length as in a regular emergency broadcast test]. This was not a test of the emergency broadcast system; but a test of your patience and endurance of annoying sounds. How did you do on this test?]

Don’t you hate that noise? Every time it comes over radio, it bothers me…even though I know it is necessary and potentially life hugely beneficial in the future. Tests like that are pretty annoying aren’t they? We would rather just wait for the real thing, than to be tested over and over and over again, which seems to interrupt real living. Well, the people of Israel, newly released from bondage in Egypt, were being put through a series of tests, by their God and their redeemer, The LORD (Jehovah). But these tests were all real, and were given by God to see exactly where the hearts of His people were. Were they completely trusting in God, or only when it was convenient? Were they willing to follow Him wholeheartedly, or only when it fit in with their plans? Those are the same types of questions we must answer, as it relates to our relationship with God.

We are going to read several passages of Scripture that are not in Exodus 16 this morning. When you see words or phrases in these verses that are bold and set apart, would you please read those words or phrases out loud, in unison?
Tests are not easy, and the people of Israel were finding that out very quickly. After God released them from 400 years of bondage in Egypt, He led them to the Red Sea, where they would be trapped by the pursuing Egyptian army. They were tested, to see whether or not they would trust in the God that just delivered them. What did they do?
Exodus 14:11,12 – “They said to Moses, Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”
They complained. But then God delivered them miraculously, dividing the Red Sea, allowing them to cross on dry ground, and bringing the waters back on the Egyptian army, so that they all drowned. They responded with songs of praise, which is what the first 21 verses of Exodus 15 are all about. However, a few days later, they went into a wilderness area, where there was no water. Once they found water, it was undrinkable. And the people of God were tested again. How did they do this time, just a few days after singing praises to God?

Exodus 15:24 – “And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?”

Regardless of their grumbling, God answered the prayers of Moses and directed him to throw a log into the waters, that then made it drinkable again. God delivered His unworthy people, once again. It was there that God said He would continue to test them based on what He had laid down for them to live by:

Exodus 15:25,26 – “…there the LORD made for them a statue and a rule, and there he tested them, saying, If you will diligently listen to the voice of the LORD your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statues, I will put no one of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, your healer.”

Although they are going to keep moving forward, God is going to keep teaching them what they need to learn. The same is true for us; and as I have mentioned to you almost every week of our study in Exodus, we have these stories so that we can also learn and grow in our relationship with God:

II Timothy 3:16 – “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”

This morning Exodus is going to talk about food we know nothing about; but the important lessons for our lives are right here, in the experiences of the people of God thousands of years ago. And the first lesson we learn is this:

1. Expect to be tested

It wasn’t long after God provided water for the people of Israel, when He decided it was time for another test. And that brings us up to date, and ready for:

Exodus 16:1-3 – “They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt.
And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the people of Israel said to them, Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

Only gone for a month from Egypt, they remembered the food they were able to eat there; and now, without food in sight, they said they would rather have been killed in Egypt – at least they would have full stomachs. What they failed to remember is the slave labor and beatings and harsh conditions they endured, the very circumstances they cried out to God to deliver them from. We talked about the grumbling and complaining quite a bit last week.

What I would like for you to focus on is that fact that God continued to test His people, to see whether or not they were going to follow through with the praise and the commitments they made when things were going well. I don’t pretend to know exactly what was going on the minds of the people of Israel at that time. We can make some guesses based on their actions and comments. But one thing stands out to me about what we should learn from this (outside of the whole grumbling and complaining topic from last week).

We should expect trials and tests to come into our lives, just like the people of Israel experienced. Just because they were redeemed from bondage did not keep God from allowing them to run right into the Red Sea conflict and seeming trap. Just because He delivered them from the Red Sea, it didn’t mean they would face the next tests of thirst and hunger. You see: this wasn’t about personal freedom and comfort. When God tested them, it didn’t mean they had necessarily done anything wrong. It meant that God was doing what was necessary to grow their faith and trust in Him. Trials and tests are all about spiritual growth. Want proof?

James 1:2-4 – “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

I Peter 1:6,7 – “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith – more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire – may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

You should expect tests and trials. You should expect that there will be difficult days. Why? Because God is not all about your comfort but about your spiritual growth. And like it or not, we grow the most through pain and difficult circumstances. I like the sub-title of one of my favorite books on marriage, and I highly recommend it to all married couples: Sacred Marriage is the title. But here is the sub-title: What if God Designed Marriage to Make Us Holy More Than to Make Us Happy? That is a great question for you to meditate on sometime. I think it is true; and that idea applies to every aspect of our lives. I have included information about this book, on the back of your outline, in case you would like to get it for yourself.

So, don’t dwell on the natural questions we have when tough things happen, such as: Why God? God, when are you going to get me out of this mess? Who can I blame for this mess? Instead, expect these things to happen, and respond, knowing that God, who makes no mistakes, and is in complete control, is allowing this so that your faith will be tested, and you will grow in your walk with Him. Believe it or not, that can even allow you to have the responses of peace and joy, even in the midst of trials and testing.

At the beginning of a new year, a high school principal decided to post his teachers’ new year’s resolutions on the bulletin board. As the teachers gathered around the bulletin board, a great commotion started. One of the teachers was complaining. "Why weren’t my resolutions posted?" She was throwing such a temper tantrum that the principal hurried to his office to see if he had overlooked her resolutions. Sure enough, he had mislaid them on his desk. As he read her resolutions he was astounded. This teacher’s first resolution was not to let little things upset her in the New Year. So much for that resolution! How easy is it, for us, to forget our commitments, as soon as we face another test or trial.

Next lesson we can learn from Israel’s experience here:

2. Trust God to meet your daily needs

Exodus 16:4,5 – “Then the LORD said to Moses, Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.”

No, the people didn’t deserve food, since they had been complaining so much. But, God is faithful, as we have already seen, and He was, in His own way and time, going to provide their basic needs. But, as you see here, God was doing this as a way to test their faith. The responsibilities He was about to give them, in providing for their needs, would test their commitment. In these verses, we see how and why God was going to meet their needs and meets our as well. And the first thing to recognize here, is that:

· God made a promise

God has also made us a promise, not to give us everything we want, but to give us everything we truly need. In the context of having the basic needs to live, the Apostle Paul said this about God’s promise:

Philippians 4:19 – “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

And what is the real reason for all of this? Is it for my comfort? No, but for God’s glory. The very next verse in Philippians 4 connects this idea, when it says:

Philippians 4:20 – “To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Moses and Aaron announced to the people of what God was going to do and the promise that He had made to meet their food needs. They also talk about the connection to God’s glory.

Exodus 16:6-8 – “So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, At evening you shall know that it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and in the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your grumbling against the LORD. For what are we, that you grumble against us? And Moses said, When the LORD gives you in the evening meat to eat in the morning bread to the full, because the LORD has heard your grumbling that you grumble against him – what are we? Your grumbling is not against us but against the LORD.”

We talked about the grumbling aspect last week. If you want to consider that topic in more detail, get the CD or get on our website to listen to the message from May 31st: How Soon We Forget. They were grumbling in their hearts, against God, but directed it outwardly toward God’s leader, Moses. But, God still responded, as he shows up, to display His glory. And the way He was going to display His glory, was to miraculously meet their need of daily food. That is the next aspect mentioned in your notes:

· God shows His glory

Exodus 16:9-12 – “Then Moses said to Aaron, Say to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, come near before the LORD, for he has heard your grumbling. And as soon as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. And the LORD said to Moses, I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, At twilight you shall eat meat, in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.”

All along, this has been about the people of God getting to know their LORD (Jehovah God), who keeps all of His promises, and wants a special relationship with His people. He was going to provide for them in an incredible way, because they were to know that He was the faithful God, that not only kept His promises for the nation of Israel, but to every one of them personally. They were to be focusing on the glory of God instead of their own desires for food. They were to understand that:

· God was faithful

Exodus 16:13-15 – “In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp. And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, What is it? For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, it is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat.”

We have just a passing mention of the quail, which provided the meat for the Israelites. But, it is still important to note that God’s faithfulness provided the meat they needed for strength. They had seen quail before. But, what appeared in the morning, described here as “ a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground, was something they had never seen before. In fact, the word “manna”, which it was soon called comes from the question they asked; and it is the natural question when food is set out in front of you that you haven’t seen before: “What is it”? that is what they asked; and that is what Manna means. Pretty appropriate, don’t you think?

Verse 31 tells us:
Exodus 16:31 – “Now the house of Israel called its name manna. It was like coriander seed white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.”

Every morning, they saw the faithfulness of God, as they came out of their tents, and gathered the provision for their needs that day. The Bible talks often about this experience of Israel, to focus on the faithfulness of God. Think about:

Psalm 78:22-25 – “Because they did not believe in God and did not trust his saving power. Yet he commanded the skies above and opened the doors of heaven, and he rained down on them manna to eat and gave them the grain of heaven. Man ate of the bread of the angels; he sent them food in abundance.”

This was the provision of God, food from Heaven, the bread of angels, the Psalmist calls it. “He sent them food in abundance.” Take a look at this picture.

PICTURE: “Grace” – The old man praying over his bread

Are you familiar with this picture? [An old man bowed in prayer over a piece of bread and a bowl of soup.] The title of the painting is Grace, and was done in 1918. You will find it hanging in many Christian homes as a reminder to be thankful for our daily bread. I recently read a story of the possible context for this painting.

In a town in northern Minnesota, an old, homeless man knocked on the door of, a struggling artist, Eric Enstrom, and begged for food to eat. Eric was about to sit down to a simple lunch of soup and bread. He invited the old man into share what he had. As he was getting something from the refrigerator, he turned back and saw the old man bow his head in prayer and thanksgiving. This picture of simple contentment and thanksgiving was frozen in his mind, and he painted what he saw. This is the faith of a man, who knew where his daily bread came from. He praised God for His faithfulness in providing it. This is what God was teaching His people. This is why, when His disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, He included this: Please say it out loud with me:

Matthew 6:11 – “Give us this day our daily bread.”

When was the last time you just thanked God, sincerely thanked Him, for what you have, rather than grumbled about what you don’t have? This manna was the food that had no name, just known by a question: What is it? This was a generic food that simply met their daily needs. The next lesson to learn:
3. Follow God’s instructions

Exodus 16:16 – “This is what the LORD has commanded: Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an omer, according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.”

· Get enough for your needs

They were to each take an omer, or about 2 quarts worth, depending on how many people in their family and tent. This was not just an amount so they wouldn’t starve, but enough to be full. It wasn’t an amount that was too much; but they were to gather what they truly needed. At this time, they were going to be living very simply; and God was going to provide just enough for what they needed. But, it was their responsibility to work, to gather it, and to gather the right amount.

Exodus 16:17,18 – “And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less. But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat.”

Those who needed more, took more but had nothing left over once the family ate it. Those who needed less had no lack of food. They took what was needed. That was God’s provision. And His next instruction was this:

· Use God’s resources and trust Him

Exodus 16:19-21 – “And Moses said to them, Let no one leave any of it over till the morning. But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.”

This does not mean you should waste what you have, or that you shouldn’t save. But, God was trying to teach them something. They were to use up what He had given them, because He had given them enough for their needs. They were not to save any of it overnight, so that they could have security; because God wanted to be their security. If they did save some for the morning, it was full of worms, stunk, and was inedible.

There is something to be said for learning to depend on God daily, rather than having so much that we don’t need to depend on Him for a while. Again, nothing wrong with saving, in fact it is a wise thing; but God sometimes puts in situations where we have no choice but to daily pray and wait for His provision. Of course, outside of the food issue, we do need Him every day, to help us live the way we ought.

One of Rabbi Ben Jochai’s pupils once asked him, Why did not the Lord furnish enough manna to Israel for a year, all at one time? The teacher said, I will answer you with a parable. Once there was a king who had a son to whom he gave a yearly allowance, paying him the entire sum on the fixed date. It soon happened that the day on which the allowance was due was the only day of the year when the father ever saw his son. So the king changed his plan and gave his son day by day that which was sufficient for the day; and then the son visited his father every morning. How he needed his father’ unbroken love, companionship, wisdom, and giving! This God dealt with Israel and deals with us in our daily walk.”

Isaiah 33:2: - “O LORD, be gracious to us; we wait for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of trouble.”

The next part of the instructions are helpful to us as well:

· Rest in honor of the LORD

Exodus 16:22-24 – “On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers each. And when all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, he said to them, This is what the LORD has commanded: Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning. So they laid it aside till the morning, as Moses commanded them, and it did not stink, and there were no worms in it.”

Again there was a trust factor here…trust that God would keep His promise, that unlike all the other days of the week, the bread would not go bad on the Sabbath; and that their needs would be met even though they did not work on that day.

Exodus 16:25,26 – “Moses said, Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the LORD; today you will not find it in the field. Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none.”

So, Saturday was to be the day of rest. We will see more of this and the reasoning for it, when we get to the 10 commandments in Exodus 20. But for now, all they needed to know was that God commanded them to dedicate the 7th day of the week to Him; and in order to do so, they were to gather twice as much food on the 6th day, so that their needs were met on the 7th day. And as we already read, if they left food to the morning, it would be ruined; but not on the 7th day. If they obeyed and gathered twice as much on the 6th day (which meant God also provided twice as much on that day), then it would not be ruined the next day, and they would have plenty to eat – just more miracles of God!

Exodus 16:27-30 – “On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. And the LORD said to Moses, How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? See! The LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Remain each of you in his place; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day. So the people rested on the seventh day.”

Of course, there were people that just simply did not follow the rules, and showed a heart of disbelief and rebellion. They went out to gather food on the Sabbath Day anyway, and didn’t find any. And this brought a response from God Himself, saying that they (the ones who did this) had failed the test of faith, by not following the rules God set down. And He repeated it: There were 6 days to gather bread, but on the 7th day, they were not to go out to work – just rest in honor of God.

Ten years ago, USA Today reported that the Department of Transportation had set aside $200 million for research and testing of an Automated Highway System. The idea is that engineers could relieve traffic congestion with a new “super cruise control” built into our highways. In cities facing heavy traffic congestion special magnets would be embedded in the road every four feet which would transfer signals between the cars and the D.O.T.’s computer system. Everything from steering, acceleration, and braking would be controlled by sensors, computer navigation systems, and cameras along the side of the road. Control would be returned to drivers as they left at specified exits. Researchers and government officials claim they have the capability to address any potential technological problem. But there is one problem they cannot overcome. Mike Doble, Buick technology manager says, “The only thing we can’t do yet is get people to comfortably trust the system. It’s not a technology issue.” People feel out of control while driving closely spaced, at high speeds, through major cities. The problem is not technology, the problem is trust — very few people would be willing to give up that kind of control.

It is a control issue. It is what the people of Israel struggled with. God had made His promises and the people had seen God provide over and over and over again, in miraculous ways. And yet, they continued to test God, to break His rules, and try to be in control themselves. If they just would have humbly followed Him and trusted Him, their needs were going to be met; and they would be given much more. The same test is present for us. God has given us His Word and gives us the provision and direction we need each day. We have to decide who is going to be in control of our lives: us, or God. Giving up control is the hardest things to do; but it is exactly what God is asking of us:

Proverbs 3:5,6 – “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Finally:
4. Remember God’s provision

Exodus 16:31-36 – “Now the house of Israel called its name manna. It was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. Moses said, This is what the LORD has commanded: Let an omer of it be kept throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt. And Moses said to Aaron, Take a jar, and put an omer of manna in it, and place it before the LORD to be kept throughout your generations. As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the testimony to be kept. The people of Israel ate the manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land. They ate the manna till they came to the border of the land of Canaan. An omer is the tenth part of an ephah.)”

We will see, in chapters to come, that God instructs Israel to build a tabernacle, which serves as a dwelling place for God place of corporate worship. Within that dwelling was a special compartment, called the Holy of Holies, where the presence of God was said to be and where the ark of the covenant was kept. Here, also, would be a reminder of what God had done, in providing for the basic, daily needs of the Israelites:

Hebrews 9:3,4 – “Behind the second curtain was a second section called the Most Holy Place, having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron’s staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant.”

The basic idea, here, was that they were to carry a couple quarts of Manna with them, throughout their wilderness wanderings, so that they would never forget what God had done for them. There are many things which we also should remember, as it relates to what God has done for us. And the most important thing goes all the way back to God sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to redeem us from spiritual bondage. There is a connection with the story of the Bread from Heaven, Manna, and what Jesus did for us. When people were questioning who Jesus was and asked Him to perform miracles to prove it:

John 6:29-36 – “Jesus answered them, This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent. So they said to him, Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Jesus then said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. They said to him, Sir, give us this bread always. Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.”

Jesus said: I am the bread of life. Instead of giving you Manna, I am giving you myself. And if you believe in Me, you will not just have physical fulfillment through food; but you will have spiritual, eternal fulfillment and satisfaction with God. You see: Jesus came to release us from the bondage of sin, if we are willing to believe that with all of our hearts. If we are willing to trust in Jesus alone for our salvation, accepting all that He has commit to following Him, we are saved in order to live for His glory the rest of our days. If you have any questions or doubts about that, please feel free to see me after the service today, or contact us for more information.

If you already have that relationship, one of the things you may want to consider, is the daily provision God gives you, in order to live your life for His glory: It is the Word of God, the Bible. If you don’t already read it regularly, can I give you a challenge? Every day this week, read the Word of God and ask God to help you learn and apply what you read. I have given you a sample reading schedule for the week, on the back of your outline. It is the same one on my blog. Or, you can certainly choose what you would like to read. The important part is taking time each day to get the spiritual nourishment you need to face the challenges and temptations of every day.

What has God been trying to teach you today? Are you willing to think about it and do something about it? If God moves you to make a change or commitment, are you willing? Let’s stand together. In a few moments, we will respond to God with some closing songs of praise. I encourage you to sing out. But, for now, silently pray and talk to God about your response to His Word today.

Let’s Pray.

HOW SOON WE FORGET

2009-06-04T06:25:00.003-04:00

This message was preached at Grace Baptist Church in Westlake, OH on Sunday, May 31, 2009.
Normally, we cover major sections of a chapter, or a chapter or more on any given message. But, in this case, I chose to cover just 6 verses, because they really summarize the cycle that the people of Israel went through in their relationship with God. And it is seen clearly in this passage, as well as the surroundin chapters. But, it also is a good summary of what we all go through in our Christian journey as well. I trust this will be a challenge to you, to evaluate your attitude, as it has been for me, as I prepared and presented this message. The video: The Complaint Zapper, can be seen at www. sermonspice.com and by looking up the title: Shockingly Negative. It is a great video. I recommend you take the time to check it out.

HOW SOON WE FORGET
Exodus 15:22-27

Please turn in your Bible to the 2nd book of the Bible, the book of Exodus, and chapter 15…Exodus 15.

It was the end of the school year, and a kindergarten teacher was receiving gifts from her pupils. The florist’s son handed her a gift. She shook it, held it overhead, and said, "I bet I know what it is. Some flowers." "That’s right" the boy said, "but how did you know?" "Oh, just a wild guess," she said.The next pupil was the sweet shop owner’s daughter. The teacher held her gift overhead, shook it, and said, "I bet I can guess what it is. A box of sweets." "That’s right, but how did you know?" asked the girl. "Oh, just a wild guess," said the teacher.The next gift was from the son of the liquor storeowner. The teacher held the package overhead, but it was leaking. She touched a drop of the leakage with her finger and touched it to her tongue. "Is it wine?" she asked. "No," the boy replied, with some excitement. The teacher repeated the process, taking a larger drop of the leakage to her tongue. "Is it champagne?" she asked. "No," the boy replied, with more excitement. The teacher took one more taste before declaring, "I give up, what is it?" With great glee, the boy replied, "It’s a puppy!"

Have you even had certain expectations only to be completely surprised and even frustrated and discouraged with the actual results? You are sure you know what will happen, or atleast what should happen; and when it doesn’t, your emotions run wild and you have a hard time dealing with them. What do you do when things don’t go as you expect or desire? This morning, we are going to camp on just a few verses here in Exodus 15, to learn from Israel’s example and to apply it to our lives today. One of the biblical truths that we have been emphasizing throughout our series in Exodus is this:

Romans 15:4 – “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

What we are reading in the Old Testament about events in the lives of the Israelites thousands of years ago, was written for us to apply to our lives today. Even when the Apostle Paul, in the New Testament, talked about the experiences of the nation of Israel in these stories in Exodus, he said this:

I Corinthians 10:6 – “Now these things took place as examples for us…”

And in this morning’s passage, there is an example that applies to all of us, on a daily basis. In our own frame of life, we also have expectations of what life should bring, and how God should bring it for us; and we are often disappointed, and then challenged with how we respond to those disappointments. Let’s learn from Israel this morning, and then make the right choices in our lives today.

Our theme for the book of Exodus has been: Redeemed For Relationship. God did not bring His people out of Egypt so that they could be comfortable for the rest of their lives, and problem free. He brought them out to have a special relationship with Him. In just a few chapters from where we are now, God is going to reveal His specific set of commandments that He wanted His people to keep. But, for now, God has just brought His people out of bondage, and is already teaching them how to trust in Him for their every need. They are learning what it means to experience true freedom in relationship with God.

Last week, we looked at the song that Moses and the people of Israel sang, in response to God’s incredible deliverance at the Red Sea. They praised God for who He was and what He had done for them. They were on a spiritual high. If you were to ask them how their relationship with God was at the moment, they would respond: “never been better…God is great, and we are in a very, close, intimate relationship right now.” Perhaps you have felt that way before. But, all of those feelings were about to change.

In these 6 verses, we have pretty much a summary of the cycle that the people of Israel are going to experience throughout their wanderings in the wilderness. And that is why I think it is important for us to camp here this morning. Just in these verses, with some example from the surrounding chapters, you will get a feel for what the children of Israel will experience over the next 40 years of their wilderness wanderings, and even more into their future. And I think you will see that the cycle the people of Israel experienced is the same one you and I go through on a regular basis. The question is: are you willing to recognize it, and more importantly, are you willing to do something about it?

Here in Exodus, God had just delivered Israel from Egypt after 400 years in bondage, by bringing 10 plagues of judgment on Egypt. He then rescued them from the pursuing Egyptian army, as He parted the waters of the Red Sea, led the 2,000,000 of His people through on dry ground, and then brought the waters back down on the Egyptian army, drowning them all! The people of Israel responded with a song of praise, which is found in the first 21 verses of Exodus 15. And this is how the cycle begins:

1. We experience God’s blessing

That is the situation of Israel in chapter 15. They had experienced incredible blessings from God; as they would throughout their wilderness experience. They were in slavery for 400 years, and now they had incredible freedom. They witnessed, with their own eyes, the amazing things that God did in order to secure their freedom.

After being set free from Egypt and basically pushed out of the land, they soon found themselves at a dead end; or so it seemed. The Red Sea was before them, and the Egyptian army was pursuing close behind. We got a view of what they do often when they get in a tough situation: they feared and they blamed someone. But, what did God do? He told Moses to tell the people: Stand still and watch the salvation of the LORD!

This deliverance motivated Moses and the people of Israel to sing a song of praise to the greatness of God:

Exodus 15:2 – “The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.”

When the blessings are there, and are evident; especially if we have been delivered from danger, we do what the people of Israel did:

· We look to Him

This is not that difficult to do, when we know that God has delivered us in an incredible way. Our eyes go to Him and our praise goes to Him. That is the context of these verses this morning. They looked to Him, trusted in Him, and praised Him, when the blessings were abundant. But, it wasn’t long before the circumstances changed.

As far as the people of Israel knew, life would be easy now. The enemy was gone, they were out of bondage and God had promised to lead the nation to a Promised, amazing land. We know that they had expectations of what God would do because of the responses they give when things don’t go their way.

It is easy for us to do the same thing, especially after an incredible high spiritually. We feel so close to God, and we have seen His deliverance. In a sense, we expect things to go well for us now. Many new believers think that since coming to Christ is an exciting thing (and it is!) and because God delivered them from many troubles in their life (and He has!), that God will now give them a life of relative ease (but He won’t!) Here is the second main stage of this cycle:

2. We have expectations we put on God

You may say you don’t have undue expectations of God, but we can easily fall into it. We think that if are trying to do our best, that He certainly wouldn’t allow anything difficult into our lives or the lives of our loved ones would He? Now that I have seen His great blessings, that is the way of the Christian life, right? And when we have our own expectations of the way we think life ought to be:
· We assume our own future

This is the time of year that many people are graduating from some stage of academic life. And Christian graduates, all over the world, will hear and use this verse as they celebrate graduation:

Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

And many times this verse is used to say how wonderful things are going to be now for these graduates, in the future, because of God’s promise. Well, He did promise this to Israel; but involved in that hope for the future, was also a lot of pain and struggles and judgment for sin. The people of Israel assumed all would go well, from their perspective. But, we have to see these things from God’s perspective, or we will be tempted to do exactly what the people of Israel are going to do here at the end of Exodus 15. They had their own expectations of a future…

…A future that has not been promised. God promised the people of Israel release from bondage and a close relationship with Him. They knew that a promised land was in their future. What they had no idea of, however, was how long the journey would take, how difficult it would be; and the tremendous responsibilities that would be placed on them…the ones who had been redeemed and greatly blessed by God. But, things did not go as expected:

Exodus 15:22 – “Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water.”

The incredible deliverance was over, the Egyptian army was gone: not just gone…they were dead! And now it was time to move on to the Promised Land. But, three days into their trip, they realized something: there is no water to drink. They had moved from the lakes region into the Desert. And water, of course, was crucial for the people of Israel; as well as for their animals. No water! That can’t be. So, they continued to travel, and then came the great news: we found water! It would be like the announcement for people lost at sea, in a boat, to finally hear that they found land. They had to have water for survival, and they found it. But…

Exodus 15:23 – “When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah.”

One commentator described it their predicament this way: “Imagine with me, the hot arid region, half desert and half wilderness. Think of the large slithering serpents that fled from sight as they approached some rock. Think of the large vultures flying overhead, suspicious of this vast group of people, suspicious that they were going to collapse and die in the wilderness. Consider the cries of the small children as they begged for parents to carry their weary, sunburned little bodies. Consider the plight of the father who is now lumbering under the load of a few possessions and the 100 degree sun pounding down on his head and the dry desert winds parching his lips. Consider the mother trying to ignore her own discomfort to attend to the needs of the crying children. Consider the thoughts that are now present in the mind of Moses as he remembers speaking boldly to Pharoah and to the people about a God who is going to deliver them. Perhaps, the whole saga is going to fall woefully short and that they will indeed die in a wilderness.The nights brought no relief for the nights were just as cold as the days were hot. Shivering on the sands was just as discouraging as trying to battle the sun in the daytime. Here they move along and come to a place where water is sighted. There is no way to hold back the three million Israelites from stampeding the water. They run to the water, some half stumbling and sprawling into the water. Just before they get to the water, no doubt some began to laugh with delight and with relief about the refreshment they are about to take part in. But somewhere between that laugh and the first taste of the water something happens. The water becomes bitter. It is undrinkable. Imagine that just about the time that the water begins to fill the mouth the discovery is made that the taste is horrible.” They had found water, but it was undrinkable. And they had the same response we do when we had certain expectations and they didn’t come about:

3. We get disappointed.
This is understandable, in their situation, isn’t it? They had the expectation that there would be water provided to sustain life; and that God would give them whatever they needed. But, the reality was that there was not water; and once they came to Marah and found water, it was undrinkable. Marah is the Hebrew word for “bitter.”Can you see their fallen faces and sighs of disappointment? Their expectations were crushed and we know of their utter disappointment because of what happens next.

It is the same for us, isn’t it? You have a certain expectation that God is going to provide something, and when it doesn’t come, there is profound disappointment. When we first got married, we expected, that as soon as we really tried to get pregnant it would happen. I mean: God knew how much we desired children, so it would happen when we were ready, right? Wrong! And it brought disappointment. You work hard, but don’t get the expected raise. You save diligently but your investments go down with the economy. You studied hard, but still did not get that scholarship. Unmet expectations bring disappointment, to all of us. And when this happens…
· We focus on our present circumstances

“Marah brought great disappointment. Their hopes seemed at long last to be fulfilled. About to enjoy the refreshment, about to delight in something that had for three days been denied them, but the taste only left them with bitterness.” This can happen to us. We get our focus on our present, undesirable, circumstances, and we wallow in our disappointment, possibly allowing bitterness to take root and grow in our hearts.

And the reason we are disappointed is because we are not able to see the full picture of what God is doing. It is because: We are not thinking about God’s overall plan. We do not have His perfect perspective. We are only thinking of ourselves, our present circumstances, and how much they stink! This is what can lead to discouragement and bitterness. We become so focused on what is happening right now that we can’t see the forest beyond the trees. We see the rain but not the rainbow.

I have a question: What happened to the praise of Exodus 15:1-21? They were just full of praise for all the incredible things God had done in rescuing them from the land of Egypt; and then delivering them through the Red Sea, and defeating the Egyptian army. They were flooded with praise of how great God was and the great things He had done. And then what…just days later, they are without water, and the praise is all gone…the trust is gone…the dependence on God is gone? Their focus is completely on their present circumstances when it should be on the incredible God who has delivered them before and can certainly meet all of their needs now.

In their book, Ted Kyle and John Todd include a writing entitled: “Why Me Lord?” Many of us are like the person who said, “My car broke down and it cost me $400 to get it fixed…. $400 that I did not have. Why me Lord? After all, I’ve been better than most. Why are you treating me this way? Why are you punishing me this way? Then the TV went on the blink, and so did the dishwasher, and the clothes dryer and the lawn mower, and even the iron! Why me, Lord? Besides that, why, at my age, should I still be having financial problems? Why am I not “set” financially like some others I know? Why have you denied me opportunities for fame and fortune that you have given to others? Why me, Lord?”
The writing continues: “When I find myself starting to think like this, it sometimes helps for me to ask the same questions about the other aspects of my life. Lord, what have I done that is so grand that you should have blessed me with a car, a TV set, a clothes- dryer, a lawn mower, and an iron? Why did you give me all these things anyway? Why me, Lord? Lord, why did you permit me to be born in America with all its plenty? I could have been born in poverty-stricken Bangladesh instead of rich America. Why me, Lord? Lord, why did you give me the opportunity to have a job when so many, who are as deserving as I, are without work? Why me, Lord? Lord, why did you give me good health? Others have died at my age of heart attacks or are crippled by accidents or disease. Why should I escape ill health when other religious people do not? Why me, Lord? Lord, why have you spared me from the sorrows that strike so many other families? Others, wonderful people, have lost close relatives, but I haven’t. Why me, Lord?
When I think of all the ways the Lord has blessed me, though I don’t deserve it. I wonder how I could possibly complain about the relatively insignificant things that go wrong in my life from time to time. If I could only learn to count my blessings.”

When we focus on our present, difficult circumstances, we begin to question why, and disappointment can lead to complaining and bitterness. And that is exactly what happened with Israel here. You might ask: Well, Greg, how do you know this is the case? How you know they weren’t completely trusting in God? We know that because of the very next verse, which explains their response to their current circumstances:

Exodus 15:24 – “And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?”

The people of Israel saw that there was no water; but instead of resting in God’s promise, they did what we do…and you know what we do, right?

4. We complain

There was no water. When there is water, it is undrinkable. So, what are we going to do? What can we do? We have no water. The best thing we can do is figure out who is to blame for this predicament; and isn’t it obvious? Our leader is to blame!
Moses: what in the world were you thinking? What are we supposed to do? We have no water, and we need water to survive.

They grumbled against Moses, God’s chosen leader for them, because who else were they going to grumble against? It is natural to take our complaints to whomever the leader is, and that is what they did. But, instead of sharing their problem with Moses and asking Him to intercede with God, they grumbled. Instead of talking about how they just needed to wait patiently on God, knowing He would meet their needs, they grumbled.

Most of us refuse to grumble, out loud, to God. So, we pick a human target, an easier target, for our complaining. We pick our children, spouse or parents. We pick our teachers, or government authorities, coaches, pastors or neighbors. We decide that they got us into this mess and we didn’t deserve this kind of trouble. It is their fault and they deserve our wrath. So, we yell at them, or call them names or give dirty looks. We tell them how it is their fault. We tell others about how terrible of a leader or person he is; and what kind of grief they have caused us.

Of course, our complaint is really against God. Moses said later to the complaining people of Israel:

Exodus 16:8 – “…Your grumbling is not against us but against the LORD.”

We won’t admit that, so we take it out on someone we can see, and someone we hope to hurt with our complaint, as they have hurt us. Moses wasn’t perfect, for sure. But, he had done the things God had asked him, and led the people where God led them. But, since God led them to a place without water, the people assumed Moses had failed in his leadership.

Did you know there are some churches that have people in them that grumble just about anything? They grumble about the temperature in the building, if it isn’t just right. They grumble about music, the budget and the choir. They grumble about how many programs the church has and what the content is. They grumble about what the pastor wears, what translation of Bible he uses and even about what he places his notes on when he speaks. They don’t like the direction of the church - the place where the leader, that God has given them, is taking them, so what do they do? Their complaint is against God, really; but they don’t grumble out loud against God. They grumble against the leaders.

The people of Israel forgot what God had already done in their past; or at least they didn’t allow it to affect them. They forget the truth of their history and what God has done, but chose to remember or misremember their bondage in Egypt - crazy

I don’t blame them. It is natural for us to do just that. It doesn’t make it right, but I struggle with the same thing that the Israelites struggled with back then. And they began to do the unthinkable, which really made no sense. And yet, we tend to do the same thing:

· We long for the past to return

We don’t have it in this verse, but all around these verses, we see the pattern. First, let’s come back to what the people said, just after God miraculously delivered them from Egypt and now they were in a seeming dead end: the Red Sea on one side and the Egyptian army on the other. They found their leader and said:

· Thank you so much for your willingness to do what God asked you to do in leading us out of bondage. Did they say that? No.
· It had been a long 400 years! We are so grateful that you followed God’s call, even though it was difficult. Did they say that? No.
· And we want you to know, that even if God chooses to let the Egyptian army kill us or take us back to bondage, we are forever grateful for your leadership. Is that what they said? NOPE!

Exodus 14:11,12 – “They said to Moses, Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”

What is the world are they talking about? How could they think that God had performed all those miracles with the plagues just to bring them out there to die; and yet that is what they were asserting against Moses. And can you believe what they said: “we told you to leave us alone in the first place. We wanted to remain as slaves!” Are you kidding me?

It is like the spouse that says: I wish I never married you. It is the child that wishes he were never born into that family. Even though God had brought you into relationship with other people, you quickly wish you didn’t have those relationships when things get difficult. It is ridiculous, but it is also human nature.

Once they moved on from Elim (vs.27), they went to the wilderness of Sin; and got hungry. And what encouraging words did they have for their leader? Look ahead with me at:

Exodus 16:2,3 – “And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the people of Israel said to them, Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

It happened again. After God provides water here at Marah, they then get hungry in the wilderness and grumble about that! In fact, it says the entire congregation grumbled against the leaders. There aren’t 2,000,000 of you; but it would be representative if all of you stood up in this service and started complaining about something you don’t like in the church; and talking about how much you wish you still belonged to your old church; or how you wish you still had your favorite previous pastor.
They started to long for the “good ole days” when they were in Egypt, sitting by the meat pots and had all you can eat bread. What? The good ole days? You were slaves, working from sunrise to sunset, sitting by the meat pots because you could hardly stand up. You misremember! Israel: the reason you think it was go great back then, is because your present difficult circumstances are clouding your faith, and you are not able to see the truth: the past wasn’t so great after all; and more than that, your great God is still in control and has His purpose in mind.

And you’ll never believe it, but once the people of Israel move on from this part of the wilderness, they get to Rephidim, and guess what? no water…again! And you’ll never guess as to what their great response of faith was to their new, difficult circumstances. Look ahead to:

Exodus 17:2,3 – “Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, Give us water to drink. And Moses said to them, Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD? But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”

Can you believe that? They grumbled and complained, just in these few chapters:
· After God miraculously brought them out of Egypt
· After He does what He is about to do in these verses, providing water
· After He, in chapter 16, provide miraculously the bread that they need

In each of these cases, after God provided in incredible ways, they come into new, difficult circumstances, and just like that, they begin to grumble and complain. But don’t be too hard on Israel. Because if you and I were honest, we do the same thing.

· You have a job that provides for you and your family…but then you lose your job, get laid off, lose benefits, or get passed over for a raise
· You think you have found someone you love… and it falls apart; and your are all alone
· The answer to your prayer… is delayed
· You tithe and give…but it still seems like the money isn’t there
· You get involved in a ministry…but don’t see the results you want
· You come to church…but things aren’t moving spiritually like you would like them to

So, you are tempted to complain. And in difficult circumstances, your mind is clouded and you begin to talk about the past, as though everything was perfect back when…; which means you are completely overlooking the facts that God never changes, and that He is fully able to handle your present circumstances as well. In fact, He has allowed your present, difficult circumstances so that you can grow spiritually and that He can be glorified.

You know what the people of Israel needed? To stop their ridiculous grumbling and complaining, do you know what they needed? They needed The Complaint Zapper. You don’t know what the complaint zapper is? Let me introduce you to it:

VIDEO: The Complaint Zapper

We showed this video to our kids and suggested we buy it for them for Christmas. They weren’t very interested in that…for some reason. They were a little concerned that there might be such a thing. If only the Israelites had complaint zappers; then, perhaps they wouldn’t have been so quick to grumble and complain, whenever they found themselves in a difficult situation. Let me ask you this: if you had a complaint zapper around your neck, how many times would you have been zapped in the past 24 hours? This morning, I want to encourage you to evaluate your own attitude, to really consider this issue of complaining, and how it relates to our relationship with God.

The people of Israel certainly did not deserve to be rescued again. They probably deserved to die of thirst. But, once they grumbled at Moses, he turned to God and asked for help:

Exodus 15:25 – “And he cried to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet…

Moses did what the people should have done. He went to the only one who could do anything about their problem. He went to the one who had proved Himself faithful. He went to the one that the people of Israel were ignoring. And once he did go to God, they experienced what we have experienced over and over and over again:

5. We receive God’s provision
No, of course it doesn’t happen in our timing or way; but at some point, God does what is best and provides what is needed. In this case, they needed fresh water. So, God points Moses to a log, Moses throws it in the water, and just like that…the water is drinkable again. We have an amazing God. What were they so worried about, huh?

What are we so worried about, in tough circumstances, when we know we have access to the same God the people of Israel had access to. We have a God that can do anything. We have a God who knows our circumstances. We have a God who makes no mistakes. And just like with the people of Israel, when God does make provision:

· We are refreshed with God’s grace

Were you here last Sunday morning to hear the testimonies that were given? It was amazing to hear, over and over again, of how God has touched people’s lives in incredible ways, showering His grace upon us; even though we don’t deserve it. He does it to show us His power, and bring glory to Himself. And that is exactly what we did last week, as we recounted what God has done, and directed our praise to Him. If you were not here, let me encourage you to get the CD or get on our website and listen to the message: Our Song, based on Exodus 15:1-21.

God’s grace is showered upon us, just like it was on Israel, over and over and over again. But, it doesn’t end there. With God’s great blessings and grace, there is responsibility on our part to respond to God rightly. We see it here, in:

Exodus 15:25,26 – “…there the LORD made for them a statue and a rule, and there he tested them, saying, If you will diligently listen to the voice of the LORD your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statues, I will put no one of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, your healer.”

The statue and rule was that they would keep, faithfully, what He had laid out for them: The Passover celebration, feast of unleavened Bread, and the consecration of the firstborn, and whatever he reveals later. If they do that, God would continue to be their healer. He had already been their healer, by judging the people, land and animals of Egypt with disease but none of the nation of Israel. If they obeyed, He would keep His part of the covenant as well.

Just before the people were going to enter the promised land 40 years later, Moses reminded them of this covenant agreement:

Deuteronomy 7:12-15 – “And because you listen to these rules and keep and do them, the LORD your God will keep with you the covenant and the steadfast love that he swore to your father. He will love you, bless you, and multiply you. He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your wine and your oil, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock in the land that he swore to your fathers to give you. You shall be blessed above all peoples. There shall not be male or female barren among you or among your livestock. And the LORD will take away from you all sickness, and none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which you knew, will he inflict on you, but he will lay them on all who hate you.”

The basic principle God laid out was: If you obey, you will receive blessings; but if you disobey, you will be cursed. They would not fully keep their part of the covenant, and so there would be times that God would judge His people, bringing sickness and disease among them. But, His Word revealed to His people what the expectations were. And it is no different today:

6. We are reminded of God’s Word

Exodus 15:27 – “Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they encamped there by the water.”

God had provided the water they needed; and then He asked them to remember their promises: to humbly obey Him. This completes the cycle that the people went through, constantly, it seems. Perhaps, you were able to identify with some of this as well. The fact is: we also have God’s Word, revealed to us. It tells us about the responsibilities we have to humbly obey Him. Regardless of our circumstances, He tells us exactly what He wants us to do, as we follow Him. And just like with the people of Israel, in that day…

· We have a choice to make

When we find ourselves in less than comfortable circumstances, we can grumble and complain and blame God and others. Or, we can put it in God’s hands, try to see it God’s way; and praise God for all He has done and for who He is. We can choose to see our difficult circumstance as the prophet Habakkuk did and as he encouraged God’s people to do:

Habakkuk 3:17,18 – “Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.”

He said: even if everything that seems to be needed to sustain life goes away, I will still praise God, for who He is and what He has done. You can do the same. And do you understand just how important, how crucial to the mission that God has given us, is learning to praise rather than grumble or complain. God made it clear why, we in the church, should not be doing this:

Philippians 2:14,15 – “Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.”

God ties this in to our witness to an outside world that is without Jesus Christ. We must not grumble and complain because to do so is to misrepresent Jesus Christ and to be just like the world is without Christ. Instead we are to shine as lights in this world, praising God and thanking Him…trusting in Him…regardless of our circumstances.

Let me close by pointing your attention to your own personal complaint zapper, just in case. I have given this list to you before, but I think it is appropriate to remind you of it today. When you begin to get that grumbling feeling, for whatever reason, and you are tempted to complain, take out this list attached to your outline, entitled: In Christ…and read it, over and over and over again. Taking some time to consider all the blessings that come from knowing Jesus Christ can put your particular complaint in the right perspective, and hopefully turn your problem into praise. Let’s pray.

I QUIT...I MEAN, RETIRE

2009-06-01T05:41:00.003-04:00

I mean it. I can't take it anymore. The pressure is too much. It is too tiring. I don't enjoy it anymore. There is too much criticism. It brings too much pain. I don't recover from it like I used to. I quit...but since "quitters never win and winners never quit", I can't quit. So, I retire. And this is not like the Brett Favre (former New York Jet and Green Bay Packer quarterback) kind of retirement, where he retires, and then a couple months later is out of retirement...again. This is the real kind of retirement, where you walk away and never come back. The kind of retirement where you "take it easy", relax, pull up a chair and put your feet up...that kind of retirement. It's the kind of retirement where you can just talk about how effective you were back in the "good ole' days"; but never have to prove it again.

Yes, I am retiring from.................................................................................................................................
running races. This past Saturday, May 30th, I ran in my first and last race. It was a 5K, hosted by Hyland Software in Westlake. It was to benefit the Metro Health Clinic. A good company, and for a good cause. That was all good. The bad part was how my wife suckered me into the race in the first place and the ensuing pain it brought into my life. I might be exaggerating just a wee tiny bit...but not much. She loved running in a race last year and convinced me it would be great if she, my son Alex and I ran together (of course, neither of them actually ran with me - one left me in the dust and the other refused to catch up with me - so I was all by my lonesome, in the midst of strangers (that was excuse #1).

I took it as an opportunity to lose some weight since I had been somewhat unmotivated recently. So, I signed up. Near the end of March, I began running a couple miles, 3 times a week. Eventually, I pushed it up to 3 miles 2 or 3 times a week, depending on basketball and how my foot felt. Yes, this is my 2nd excuse. I had a major foot problem (bottom of foot) in the past, got it treated, and then it went away. With the recent running, it has returned. I have a hard time walking when I get out of bed in the morning. But, I ran through the pain, trained and the closer the race date came, the more I couldn't wait for it to be over.

I also tried to give myself more incentive by telling my 14 year old son, that if he beat me, I would award him $10. I thought if I trained and he didn't (which he didn't), that even though I am 3 times his age (that is excuse number 3 by the way), that I should be able to will myself to victory (over my son). Didn't quite happen the way I envisioned it. Let me get excuse #4 out on the table before I forget. My wife looked up what you are supposed to eat before a race. The night before, you are supposed to have pasta. Well, she served pasta 2 nights before. And what did she serve me the night before the big race? Pizza and chocolate chip cookies! Can you believe that? What kind of runner's wife is she anyway? You can see why I just had no chance to perform up to my capability!

It wasn't long into the race that my son, with apparent ease, strode out in front of me, and it wasn't long after that, that I never saw him again (until I stumbled across the finish line). I ran it in 23 minutes and 26 seconds, which is actually not that bad for me, since when I was running the last couple months, I was running a tenth of a mile shorter distance in about 25 minutes. So, I should be happy right? NO! I lost to a 14 year old, and a bunch of girls, by the way.

So, it is with incredible joy and relief, that today, I announce my retirement from the sport (I can't believe I just called it a sport) of running. Let the speculation begin.

I NEVER GRADUATED FROM 8TH GRADE

2009-05-29T07:19:00.003-04:00

Maybe I am forgetting, but I don't remember graduating from 8th grade. I remember being in 8th grade, and passing 8th grade, and going to high school the next year; but I don't remember any kind of special graduation ceremony. I remember a pre-school graduation and high school and college graduation, but not 8th grade. I feel cheated.

Today, our eldest 2, Isabella and Alex, are graduating from 8th grade at Westside Christian Academy in Westlake, Ohio. At this school, they go Kindergarten through 8th grade, so they have a Kindergarten and 8th grade graduation. It is a nice, extra special touch they put on their last year in this school. They dress up and have a ceremony with all the regular stuff you do at these things. There is also a brunch for the families afterward. And later, the graduates are going to party in their own way for the rest of the day and night.

It is also special, today, because their grandparents (my parents) flew into town so that they could attend this special celebration. They had sacrificed quite a bit to put their 3 children (including me) through Christian school, so it is pretty neat for them to have some opportunities to be here for their grandchildren's school benchmarks.

Alex and Isabella,
Congratualations on graduating today, from 8th grade! We love you both very much and are proud of you. You have been blessed by God to have this environment for your education these past 3 years. We hope you are as grateful as we are. You have been learning and growing, before our very eyes. We are thankful that this is not high school graduation already; otherwise, I think we might be crying. What is the emotional protocol for an 8th grade graduation? I guess we will make one up as we go.

Our prayer for you as you graduate today: That your heart and mind would be focused on your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That as you move into a new stage of your life and education, that your main desire would be to honor God with your life, thanking Him for who He is and what He has done for you. We pray that you will enjoy high school, new friendships, new opportuninites; and most of all, that you would walk humbly with your God.

We love you.
Enjoy your special day!
Mom and Dad

OUR SONG

2009-05-25T12:41:00.002-04:00

This message was preached at Grace Baptist Church in Westlake, OH on May 24, 2009. Where you see, in the message, that there were testimonies, I encourage you to consider going to our website (www.gbcwestlake.org), and listening to the message so you can hear these incredible testimonies of praise to God. I would not be able to do them justice. You have to hear them for yourself. It just seemed right, on Memorial Day Weekend, as we were in Exodus 15 in our journey through Exodus (Redeemed For Relationship series) that we would have a message filled with praise to God. So, I preached the text of Exodus 15 in 3 sections, and in each section we sang 2 praise songs to God and heard 2 testimonies, to immediately apply this teaching to our lives. We have so much to praise God for; and the entire service was a great encouragement to me. I hope it will to you as well.

OUR SONG
Exodus 15:1-21

Please open your Bible to the 2nd book of the Bible, the book of Exodus and find chapter 15…Exodus 15.

Do you like history? Whether you like it or not, it is there: history of the world, history of the United States, history of this church, history of your life and family, etc. Someone has said: “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Someone else noted: “You either learn from history or you ignore it.” The older I get, the more I appreciate history. A few years ago, my family looked back into our genealogy and tried to trace our family roots. It was very interesting to hear about. I like reading books and watching movies that are based on real life, historical events, rather than fantasy and myth.

When it comes to our spiritual growth, history is vitally important. In fact, the Bible tells us that if are not willing to learn from biblical history, then we are not going to be able to grow as God has intended. We must pay attention. And travelling through the book of Exodus together, we must remember how important this history is, for our present day application.

Romans 15:4 – “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

I Corinthians 10:1 – “For I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all the passed through the sea…”

The Apostle Paul was writing basically to Gentiles, and yet he connects all believers with the experiences of Israel, God’s people. He begins this chapter with talking to them about the experiences that Israel had, as they left bondage in Egypt and passed through the Red Sea, and then he talks about their wilderness experiences. But, I want you to notice what he says in:

I Corinthians 10:6 – “Now these things took place as examples for us…”

I Corinthians 10:11 – “Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction…”

In our travels through Exodus, we read many interesting, historical facts about God, about Moses, about Israel, and about their enemies. We probably are learning things, I know I am, that we didn’t know before. But, we have to keep in mind what God says here in the New Testament. And that is…that a major reason these stories in Exodus are recorded are so that we can learn and change the way that we live. And so, as we come into Exodus 15 today, let’s learn from their example, and let’s apply it, right now, to our lives in our worship to God.

Exodus 15 is a song, written in response to what happened in Exodus 14 and the preceding chapters. And just in case you haven’t been here recently, let me brief you quickly: Israel was in bondage to Egypt for 430 years. God called an 80 year old shepherd named Moses to go and lead His people out of bondage. In order to do so, God sent 10 terrible plagues on the land and people of Egypt, as the king of Egypt (Pharaoh) continued to harden His heart, as God said that he would. The purpose of all of that was clearly explained by God Himself:

Exodus 3:7, 8, 20 – “Then the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey…”

Exodus 10:1,2 – “Then the LORD said to Moses, Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them, and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, that you may know that I am the LORD.”

Exodus 14:4 – “And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD…”

God wanted everyone to know who He was: the LORD (Jehovah), the promise keeping God who wanted a special relationship with His people. He was going to redeem His people, and bring them out of bondage, based on this relationship.

After the 10th plague, which was the death of the firstborn of Egypt, Pharaoh let God’s people go. They had not been gone long, when God led them to a “dead end” of sorts. And then, Pharaoh changed his mind and sent his entire army after the Israelites to bring them back and make them slaves once again. The people of Israel were trapped, it seemed, between the Red Sea and the Egyptian army, with no way of escape. They became afraid, and started to blame their leader. But their leader, Moses, re-assured them:

Exodus 14:13,14 – “And Moses said to the people, Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

And that is exactly what happened. God opened up the Red Sea, allowed His people, all 2,000,000 of them to pass through on dry land; and then when the Egyptian army pursued them into the sea, He brought the waters down on them, killing them all. Let’s take a look at chapter 15:

Exodus 15:1 – “Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the LORD, saying, I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.”

In our world, when something great happens, people write songs about it. Songs are written based on great love relationships, heroes of war, and victors in athletics. Songs are written to praise a product in a commercial, for a president, and for the worship of God. This practice began all the way back, when the people of Israel were saved by God, out of Egypt and through the Red Sea. They sang to Him a song of praise, recognizing who He was: Jehovah God (LORD). This mighty God overthrew the Egyptian army by His mighty hand. That is certainly a good reason to sing, isn’t it? Let’s continue:

Exodus 15:2 – “The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.”

They make it personal. Yes, this was their forefathers God: the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It was the same God who gave those promises back then that was bringing the fulfillment of those promises to these people. Not only that, they could personally say: He is my God. And because of that, they would exalt Him (lift Him up). We need to do the same thing!

Exodus 15:3 – “The LORD is a man of war; the LORD is his name.”
Moses, back in the days that he was growing up in Egypt, was known as a man of war. Pharaoh, King of mighty Egypt, was known as a man of war. But now, this song puts in His rightful place, the real warrior of power, the real man of war: the LORD is his name.

Exodus 15:4,5 – “Pharaoh’s chariots and his host he cast into the sea, and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea. The floods covered them; they went down into the depths like a stone.”

What a powerful word picture of what they saw: the mighty Egyptian army sinking in the Sea that they had just crossed on dry ground. Remember what they just experienced?

Exodus 14:30,31 – “Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD…”

When they saw what God had done for them, they erupted in praise.
SO WHAT? Praise God for who He is

These verses mention what, specifically, God has done, but I think the key here, is the recognition of who God is. Remember: that is what God was after in the first place: that everyone would know His name. And not only that, the people were making it personal; which we must also apply:
· Make your praise personal

Let’s do that right now. Let’s apply this example from the nation of Israel, responding in praise to God. Several people have volunteered to give praise to God this morning, through brief testimonies. I have asked some of them to expand on their testimony a bit, in order to give you a fuller picture of what God has done for them.

· Sam Gray
· Alice Wills

This is not just about Israel’s God, or the God of our founding fathers, or the God of your parents or grandparents. This is about you and your God.
Pray remembering that you are actually talking to your God
Sing, keeping in mind that you are singing this to your God
Don’t talk about how Jesus just saved others; but praise Him for how He saved you

Would you stand with me please? (worship team up)
Notice that Moses and the people of Israel sang to God to praise Him for what He did for them, and to acknowledge who He was. It is the same for us today. You may not personally like the hymn we are about to sing; or some of the praise songs. Sing them anyway, because of your love for God and in order to express the gratefulness of your heart to Him.You may not even like to sing; or don’t have a very good voice. Don’t worry: Your’re not trying to win American idol here. We are corporately giving our praise to God through song, because we love Him; and He deserves our praise. This is not about the music that you like. This is about the God who deserves our praise, expressed in song! So, let me encourage you, as we sing throughout the message this morning, to sing out as you can, even if you are unfamiliar with the songs. Let’s praise Him, first, by singing about His saving us, becoming our redeemer. Let’s sing.

Songs of Praise:
· I will sing of My redeemer
· Mighty to Save

Thank you. You may be seated. The song continues:

Exodus 15:6-8 – “Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in power, your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy. In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries; you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble. At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up; the floods stood up in a heap; the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.”

The song talks about what God had done. The reference to God’s right hand goes back to how God Himself gave this picture of taking on human qualities and using His own hand to bring this about:

Exodus 7:4,5 – “Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment. The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.”

Exodus 15:9– “The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them. I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.”

This is a little insight into what was going on behind the scenes, in the palace of the King of Egypt. They were confident that they could simply use their military might, come after the Israelites and subdue them into bondage once again. Or, if necessary, they would wipe them out! For Pharaoh, this was about exerting his might and getting glory for he and Egypt. But, it didn’t quite work out that way. Listen to their song, in talking about God:

Exodus 15:10 – “You blew with your wind; the sea covered them; they sank like lead in the mighty waters.”

You see: it was God who would get the glory. In fact, that is exactly what God said, when He was explaining to Moses why Pharaoh would change his mind and come after them. It was so that God would take the glory from Pharaoh, for good. Remember:

Exodus 14:4 – “…And I will get glory over Pharaoh…and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD…”

Exodus 15:11,12 – “Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? You stretched out your right hand; the earth swallowed them.”

There’s a rhetorical question! Who is like you, O LORD? NOBODY! But, that was one of the issues all the way through the plagues. I mean, when Moses first went to Pharaoh, to tell him that the LORD (Jehovah) wanted him to let His people go, this is Pharaoh responded with:

Exodus 5:2 – “But Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and moreover, I will not let Israel go.”

But, through all of this, God made Himself known. And although Egypt worshipped many false, dead gods, those gods were not able to save them from the plagues; and the LORD was shown to be the one and only true God. In each plague, what God did to Egypt was in direct judgment against particular gods that Egypt worshipped, and which should have been able to protect them. But, of course, they didn’t. And before the 10th and final plague, God said this:

Exodus 12:12 – “For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night…and I will execute judgments on all the gods of Egypt…”

The song continues:
Exodus 15:13 – “You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed; you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode.”

This reminds us of what I believe to be the major theme of Exodus. Of course, it is about God’s people getting out of bondage, leaving Egypt, and beginning toward the promised land. But, the main theme is about God’s redemption of His people. The title of our message series is: Redeemed for relationship. God redeemed them, brought them out of bondage with His mighty hand, and then led them to where He would dwell – in His presence. Soon, we are going to see in Exodus, how God is going to lay down rules for walking with Him – commandments so that His people would be in the right relationship with Him.

This is no different for us today. Atleast, the main theme is still present. God has redeemed us for relationship. He died on the cross for our sins so that we might have a relationship with Him. And everyone who places their faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation has a personal relationship with God, through Jesus, and has the assured hope of eternal life in Heaven. That is something to praise God for! And once we have that relationship, we then desire to grow in that relationship through humbly obeying His commands, found in His Word.

SO WHAT? Praise God for what He has done.
It is important to spell out what God has done for you. It is good to praise Him for His character qualities and the specific things He has accomplished in your life. Certainly, that begins with your salvation, but also includes the many other blessings and incredible miracles He has performed on your behalf.

· Make your praise specific

Let’s apply this right now, and continue to praise Him in testimony:
· Dena Pincombe
· Kristen Smith (written testimony) [worship team up]

God makes Himself known in so many ways in our lives. He uses circumstances and He uses other people to show His incredible power and His uniqueness as the one and only true God. It’s your turn to respond in praise. Would you stand with us please? Let’s sing about our redeemer, Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah who came to save us from our sins. And then our song for this month: God Almighty; as we exalt the Almighty God who did incredible things for Israel, yes; but who does incredible things for us as well!

Songs:
· Jesus Messiah
· God Almighty

Thank you. You may be seated. The final part of this song seems to look ahead, past the incident at the Red Sea, to how that even was going to affect their future; and point to God’s control at all times. Keep in mind that God was not bringing them out of Egypt to just keep them wandering in the wilderness. There was a destination, a goal, a place they were headed. And as they headed to the Promised land of Canaan, they would be meeting and defeating nations and armies along the way. The song continues:

Exodus 15:14-16 – “The peoples have heard; they tremble; pangs have seized the inhabitants of Philistia. Now are the chiefs of Edom dismayed; trembling seizes the leaders of Moab; all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away. Terror and dread fall upon them; because of the greatness of your arm, they are still as a stone, till your people, O LORD, pass by, till the people pass by whom you have purchased.”

As they moved through the wilderness and toward the Promised land, the other nations would already have heard about the incredible things God had done, in Egypt and at the Red Sea. The people of Israel were praising God for how His name and fame would be spread to all peoples, based on what He has done. If you have read through the Old Testament, you know that many times Israel doesn’t even have to fight, as God brings victory all on His own. And when Israel does fight, it is evident that it is the power of God. This song speaks of it in such a way that the other nations just stand in awe, as they see the power of God and watch the nation of Israel pass by.
When you get to the book of Joshua, with the people ready to cross the Jordan and take over Jericho, listen to what one of the residents of Jericho said to the spies from Israel:

Joshua 2:9,10 – “…I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt…”

God was spreading His own name throughout the world with His redemption of His people. Did you catch that last phrase of verse 16: “the people…whom you have purchased.” Here we have another word that is related to the idea of redemption. God purchased His people’s freedom by His mighty works. Jesus Christ purchased our redemption through His death (blood), burial and resurrection. Just as the people of Israel received their gift by walking through the Red Sea, so we receive our free gift of eternal life by placing all of our faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. The song continues:

Exodus 15:17 – “You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain, the place, O LORD, which you have made for your abode, the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established.”

God would keep His promise, lead them to their own land, and set up His own presence in Jerusalem. This was to be God’s dwelling, brought about by His power; and would serve as a visible presence of His holiness and glory. We will see a temporary tabernacle built that had the presence of God for their trip through the wilderness. But, eventually, they would set up a place in Jerusalem, where God would be worshipped.

Exodus 15:18 – “The LORD will reign forever and ever.”

Pharaoh was the king of Egypt, but would not rule and reign like God would. The LORD would rule over Israel forever, they sang. He was the one they were to worship and look to for guidance. Eventually, Israel would have their own human kings, but even then, they were to lead the people to follow God’s rule and obey Him.

And this even points us ahead to our future as well. Not only is God to be the King of our lives right now; but one day, when Jesus Christ returns, the reign of earthly kings will be over; and all will acknowledge that God is truly in control and they will worship Jesus Christ as their King. And He will rule forever. The final book of the Bible looks ahead to this time:

Revelation 21:3-5 – “No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face…and night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.”

And then, the song here in Exodus 15 comes back to the place the song began: praising God because He had great victory over the Egyptians, bringing His people safely through the Red Sea:

Exodus 15:19 – “For when the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, the LORD brought back the waters of the sea upon them, but the people of Israel walked on dry ground in the midst of the sea.”

This is the reason God will be worshipped, and why He will reign forever and ever. Miriam, the sister of Aaron and Moses, gathers the women, and leads them in singing the first verse again:

Exodus 15:20,21 – “Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing. And Miriam sang to them: Sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.”

Later, in the book of Micah the prophet, God revealed just how important Miriam was, along with Moses and Aaron:

Micah 6:4 – “For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.”

This was the testimony of the people of Israel, concerning what God had done for them. What is your testimony of what God has done for you?

SO WHAT? Praise God for His future promises
Just like Israel who could sing about the future that God had promised for them; so we can sing about our future. It includes a home in Heaven, and forever enjoying the presence of God, face to face. There is nothing better than that! So:
· Make your praise continual

Don’t let this be a Sunday thing. Don’t let it be a singing thing. From now until you see Jesus Christ again, you have a reason, let alone the command by God, to praise Him. Let’s apply that right now with a couple more testimonies:

· Scott Tyson
· Shannon Dawson

Would you stand with us please? [worship team up]
Because of who God is and what He has done, it motivates us, it draws us, it compels us, to worship Him. Yes, worship is more than just Sunday mornings and singing. It is a 24 hour a day, 7 day a week living our lives in humble obedience to Him. But, when we gather together, one of the ways we are asked to worship God is to sing out with loud voices, young voices, old voices, good voices and those not so good…making a joyful noise to the LORD! There is no better way for us to end our message and service today, than to sing a couple more songs about our Great God.

Songs:
· How Great is Our God

We sing How Great is our God, as we consider what He has done; and we close by singing the hymn: Jesus Paid it All, to remember that the only reason we can have a personal relationship with God and be with Him forever, is because of what Jesus Christ did on the cross for us. Here is the reality for us today, who have trusted in Christ:

I Peter 1:18 – “Knowing that you were [redeemed]…not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”

Let’s praise Him for that!

· Jesus paid it all

AT THE DEAD END OF LIFE

2009-05-21T11:06:00.002-04:00

This message was preached at Grace Baptist Church in WEstlake, Ohio (www.gbcwestlake.org) on May 17, 2009. The study of the people of Israel and their journey to the Promised Land is a very insteresting and instructive one. I am learning alot but also realizing that this story is about me as well. There are a ton of things that I need to apply to my own heart and life. There are times in life when we seem to be at a dead end. What we do in those times says alot about who we are trusting in to make it through life: ourselves or God. This is a continual challenge to me. I trust, as you read this message, that you will be challenged as well.
Greg

AT THE DEAD END OF LIFE
Exodus 14:1-31

Please turn in your Bible to Exodus, the 2nd book of the Bible, and chapter 14…Exodus 14.

Let me bring you quickly up to date. God called an 80 year old Shepherd, named Moses, to lead His people Israel, out of bondage in Egypt. In order to do so, God would send 10 terrible plagues on the land and people of Egypt, so that they would know who He was and would then let His people go. Finally, after the 10th plague, the King of Egypt, Pharaoh, was willing to obey God and let His people go. Let’s look at what happened. On the screen is a summary, beginning in:

Exodus 12:31-41 – “Then he [Pharaoh] summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, Up, go out from among my people, both you and the people of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as you have said. Take your flocks and your herds, as you have said…The Egyptians were urgent with the people to send them out of the land in haste. For they said, We shall all be dead…The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. And the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians. And the people of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children…The time that the people of Israel lived in Egypt was 430 years. At the end of 430 years, on that very day, all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.

Think about it…this is all the people of Israel had known. Their fathers and grandfathers and great grandfathers had been slaves in Egypt, and now…they were free! There were about 2,000,000 Israelites who walked out of Egypt, and were on their way to the land God had promised them. What an incredible thing! They had seen God perform miracles and bring them out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Now, they just needed to follow His lead. He could certainly be trusted! Come back, for a moment, to the end of chapter 13; and look at:

Exodus 13:21,22 – “And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.”

So, to review (in your notes):
God gave Himself to His people through a cloud and fire, to lead them.
This would be easy right? They didn’t need to think very long about God’s will. All they needed to do was follow Him. He appeared as a cloud in the day, and all they needed to do was follow that cloud. They could do that! And then when night fell, He would lead them by fire that lit up the night sky. Just follow the cloud, and just follow the fire. No problem.

Don’t you wish we had that? Don’t you wish that God would lead that clearly in your life? Don’t be so sure that He doesn’t. As we noted last week, God had given us His guidebook for our lives. There are hundreds of things we know to be the will of God. We just have to do them.

Psalm 119:105 – “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

God’s Word, the Bible, is our cloud and fire, to lead and guide us. I know it may not give you the particular answers you are looking for, but nevertheless, it guides us to do God’s will. You see, because of God’s Word, there are things that we never have to wonder about, whether it is God’s will or not. Is it God’s will to tell the truth in all circumstances? The Bible tells us: yes. So, if you are wondering, in your own situation, whether or not God wants you to tell the truth, the answer is clear. The answer is also clear for the following questions:
· Should I have sex outside of marriage? No

The Bible is clear that God created sex for marriage only; and we can see the destruction is causes when people decide to do it their way and not God’s.

But, we might ask:
· Why did God give me such a strong sex drive if he didn’t want me to use it?
· God didn’t expect me just to stop, when the temptation was so great, did He?
· But my spouse wasn’t faithful to me- why should I be faithful to Him?
· But no one will marry me, and I have these needs. Won’t God understand?

We try to justify our sinful actions, as though we don’t know God’s will, when He has made it crystal clear. Here is another one:

· Should I give sacrificially, joyfully and voluntarily to God? Yes.

The Bible is clear about that. But, we ask the questions anyway:
· I don’t have to give when the whole country is in a recession do I?
· God doesn’t expect me to give unless I have extra money right?
· Doesn’t God understand that I need this money for myself?
· Since God is concerned with the heart, isn’t it o.k. if I just give 3% instead of 10% or greater? It won’t fit my budget.

Money is one of those things that we struggle with the most; and yet God has clearly told us what our priorities are to be and how to please Him in our giving.
One more question that shouldn’t be a question:

· Should I forgive that person? Yes

God is crystal clear about this issue of forgiveness; and yet we question it:
· God doesn’t expect me to really forgive that person, does He?
· How can I forgive Him when He hasn’t asked for forgiveness?
· Am I supposed to forgive that person, even though they hurt me, over and over and over again?
· But they don’t deserve forgiveness – how can you expect me to do it?

In each of these questions, God uses His Word as a cloud and fire to say: this is what my will is. The only real question is this: Will you obey me? So, yes, it seems easy, to just follow the cloud and the fire, to follow God’s revealed Word. But, in reality, because of our selfish and sinful natures, it is not that easy…is it?

What should our response be?
· Find out what the Word of God says and just do it.

I know that is harder than it sounds; but at the basic level, that is what each of us is asked by God to do. So, in trying to figure out what God wants for your life, begin there. Read, study and apply the Word of God to your life…daily.

Israel had God leading them by a cloud and by fire. They just had to follow. But, they were about to find out that we don’t always like where God leads us; and it doesn’t always make sense to us. In fact, it seems like we are at a dead end in life, and have no way out. So, we come up with our own solutions rather than trust in God for deliverance and help.

They were married for 21 years, but once their children were grown and out of the house, the reality set in…they didn’t know each other, they didn’t really like each other…fact is, that they stayed together for the children. But now, with the children gone, they felt they were at a dead end. And the only logical conclusion they could come up with seemed obvious…and so they got the divorce.

She was a young, vivacious woman with a ton of potential and hopes for the future. But, she was sexually abused by a family friend, was threatened into keeping it a secret and didn’t tell anyone. She found some safety in giving of her body to interested boys, but never found true security or satisfaction. In fact, she became the butt of jokes and target of humiliation at school. In her mind, she had reached, even at an early age, the dead end of life. And to her, there was only one way to solve the problem. So, while her parents were gone for the weekend, she overdosed on pills; and took her own life by suicide.

He seemed to have it all. He had a young wife, 3 beautiful children, and a well paying job. Life couldn’t get any better. It got tougher when one of his children became ill, but at least the insurance through his company covered the costs for the best health care money could buy. He and his wife had their differences, but as long as he provided her with the nicest clothes, home and vacations, she seemed to be satisfied. Why should he complain? But, on the day he unexpectedly lost his job, everything changed. He no longer had the insurance to care for his son’s medical needs. He could no longer give his wife everything she wanted. And the jobs he could get didn’t come close to what he had before.

He was at a dead end and didn’t know what to do. Divorce and suicide never entered his mind; but he would do anything, and I mean, anything, to get out of his circumstances. That is when a friend of his introduced him to the world of gambling…and when he won some money with his very first bet, he thought he had stumbled on to the way recovering his dream and having all the money he wanted. But, he eventually started losing, and yet he didn’t stop gambling. In fact, he didn’t feel he could. He secretly gambled away their life savings and went quickly into major debt. He was now addicted to gambling…his response to his dead road.

How do these happen? When you come to a seeming dead end in life, how are you tempted to resolve your problems? Let’s find out this morning the different responses of people to a dead end situation that came into being for the people of God, the children of Israel. And also, let’s consider what we should do when we face similar circumstances in life.

Exodus 14:1-4 – “Then the LORD said to Moses, Tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. In front of Baal-zephon, you shall encamp facing it, by the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, They are wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut them in. And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory
over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD. And they did so.”

General Washington was approaching one of the fiercest battles of his campaign.He and his troops had crossed over a bridge as they were nearing the battle when one of his officers came to him and asked whether or not to burn the bridge behind them.(It was customary to burn the bridges as they crossed over them to prevent the enemy from slipping up on them from behind & to prevent soldiers from running away from the battle when it became to hot to handle.)The great General Washington looked toward the battle and then looked back to where they had come from and then back toward the battle and then gave his answer.“Burn the bridge, it is either victory or death.” God had led the people of Israel into a place where they had no choice but to be desperate for His help.

This was a little strange, wasn’t it? Basically, God asked Moses to take the 2,000,000 people and backtrack to a place that seemed more like a place to rest than a route to get where they needed to go. According to pastor and commentator Charles Swindoll:

“The trouble was, Baal-zephon formed a perfect geographical cul-de-sac. A dead-end street. Just to the north stood some formidable Egyptian fortresses – massive stone structures. No way they could get through there. To the south lay the vast Egyptian desert called Mizraim. No protection there. To the west lay Raamses and Goshen. That’s where they’d just been; They couldn’t return to Egypt. To the east lay the Red Sea, today called the Gulf of Suez. The northernmost section of that gulf was the Reed Sea, or the Sea of Reeds, most often translated the Red Sea.”

But, as God told Moses where to go, He also told Him what would happen. Here was His plan: Go to this dead end…and, Pharaoh will hear about where you are, and realize that you are trapped. I will then harden Pharaoh’s heart and He will decide to pursue you with all He has. And I will have victory over them. And the reasons I am doing this, is so that I will have the glory and not Pharaoh, and the Egyptians will know I am the LORD, Jehovah, the promise keeping God who is all about having a special relationship with His people. Now, Moses could have questioned that; but he led the people exactly where God said. And exactly what God said took place:

Exodus 14:5-9 – “When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the mind of Pharaoh and his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us? So he made ready his chariot and took his army with him, and took six hundred chosen chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the people of Israel while the people of Israel were going out defiantly. The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them encamped at the sea, by Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.”

Here are the circumstances, in which Israel found itself:
· The Egyptian army was pursuing them, to take them back to slavery
· Israel was at a dead end, with no way of escape

Just as with the stories I told you earlier, there are several options for responses when we get to a dead end in life. I want you to see how different people in this story responded to this circumstance; and then consider how you should respond to yours. The first response was this:

· The Egyptian army trapped the people of Israel and thought they were in control.

Pharaoh had finally obeyed God, but now he was questioning whether he should have done that or not. The effect of the plagues somehow wore off, and all he could think about was that he had lost all of his slaves! Now, he and his people were going to have to do the work. And, he received word that Israel had put themselves in a dead end of sorts, and the opportunity to regain all of his servants arose. So, he hardened his heart, which God was in control of (God hardened it), and took his military force and went after the people of Israel. He was probably thinking that he had Israel trapped, there was nothing they could do, and he would have easy victory. Apparently, they had not learned enough about God from the 10 plagues, and they were willing to test Him again.

It was true: someone was trapped; but it wasn’t the Israelites. God had the Egyptian armies right where He wanted them, in order to teach them about Himself; and to bring judgment on them once again for their disbelief.
An article appeared in the USA Today this week, about an airplane crash last week in the Buffalo area: “In the minutes before their commuter plane gyrated out of control near Buffalo, the pilots of a Continental Connection flight joked and talked about work conditions – distractions that were forbidden under federal law. The cockpit recording released by the National Transportation Safety Board Tuesday offers some of the first clues that could help explain why the pilots allowed the place to get too slow and then apparently tugged the plane into a sudden, fatal climb. It shows that the pilots were perhaps inattentive during a critical phase of the flight as they prepared to land. Other evidence released by the safety board suggests they may also have suffered from lack of sleep, poor training and inattentive oversight by federal regulators…Neither pilot realized that they had reduced the power to a dangerously low setting, according the recording and other data released by the safety board…instead of adding power and lowering the plane’s nose as pilots are taught, Renslow pulled the plane into a climb that slowed it even further.”

These pilots became too comfortable with their own ability to handle anything that might come. They thought they were in control; but because of their negligence, lives were lost. The king of Egypt thought he was in control…still! He had the people of Israel where he wanted them, and all he needed to do was show his military might and take the people back under his control. But, he failed to recognize what he was up against. He failed to follow God’s rules; and because of that, all his army would be lost.

So, that was the perception of this by the King and his army. But, what was the first impression and perception of this by the people of Israel? They had seen God’s power in deliverance. They were being led to the Promised Land by God, who was guiding them by a cloud and by fire. But, unfortunately, they allowed their present circumstances to control their response:

Exodus 14:10-12 – “When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the LORD. They said to Moses, Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”

Here is the next response to the same circumstance:
· The people of Israel blamed Moses, and thought God had lost control.

This is humanly understandable, isn’t it? This is not what they signed up for. This was not according to their plan! The location was not bad, because they did not expect what was about to happen. Can you imagine the thunderous noise and looking up to see what the commotion is all about; and to see the Egyptian army, in all its strength in pursuit…And to realize the obvious…we are trapped; and then to assume…we are all going to die!

So, they cried out to the LORD, which I assume, was for deliverance. That was not a bad move. However, the next thing they did revealed what was going on in their hearts, and really, their lack of trust in God. They did what most of us do when we don’t like the circumstances God has put us in…we try to blame someone else. And if you are in any position of authority, then you have experienced what I have experienced, what Moses experienced… when people feel trapped and are under stress, they tend to blame the leader…in this case, Moses.

We cannot forget, that as we travel through this Old Testament book, it is not just for us to learn facts of thousands of years ago; but to grow in our knowledge of the truth, and to apply that truth to real life today:

Romans 15:4 – “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”
So, what should your response be to similar situations of a seeming dead end?

· When you feel trapped, remember that God is in complete control and has His own purposes in mind.

If they would have remembered what God had done and His promises, and applied them to their circumstances, they could have trusted. God made it clear that it was no mistake that they were in that spot. In fact, HE had led them there:

Exodus 13:17,18 – “When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt. But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea…”

And in the first few verses of chapter 14, God told Moses where to take them and told him exactly what would happen. God was in control of this; and it is no different today. When Israel blamed Moses and complained against Him, you could tell that their perspective was warped:
· They assumed they were going to die: “what- no graves in Egypt, so you brought us out here?
· They were ungrateful - They saw it as something Moses did terribly to them, rather than praising God and thanking Moses for delivering them from 400 plus years of slavery!
· They deceived themselves - They acted as though slavery was better: didn’t we tell you we wanted to stay in Egypt – it is better to be slaves in Egypt than to come out here and be killed!

Now… it is easy for us to listen to their complaints, and respond: Are you crazy? Don’t you realize what God has done for you? Don’t you remember the plagues? You trusted Him to get you out of Egypt; and you can’t trust Him to get you out of Pharaoh’s hands now? Are you insane, thinking that slavery is better than freedom? We have a lot of things we would like to tell the Israelites. But, not so quickly. Because, believe it or not, the same things the people of Israel struggled with here, are the things we struggle with as well. Like what, you might ask? Here are some of the deceptive thoughts we can easily buy into:

· Once I become a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ, and am free from my bondage to sin and spiritual death, life will be easy. Now, we might not say that, but it is what many Christians believe. They are not prepared for the hardships that come with Christianity. Here is another deceptive thought:
· God would never lead me to a dead end. You think if you are in a trapped situation, that someone else is to blame; when, in reality, God led you or allowed you to be there, to fulfill His own purposes. We might also think:
· God’s will is that I would be happy, healthy and wealthy. Garbage. God’s will is that you would glorify Him by growing spiritually; and usually that involves some discomfort, which might includes times of sadness, ill health and financial problems. God is more concerned about your holiness than He is your happiness. Now, ultimately, when you are in Heaven, you will have eternity to be happy, healthy and wealthy. But, for now, it might not be.

Every day, we are tempted to think these types of deceptive thoughts, especially when we find ourselves in less than admirable circumstances. But, it is in those very types of situations, that our faith is tested, and we find out where our hope truly lies. We are tempted to think deceptive thoughts; but instead, this is to be:

II Corinthians 5:7 – “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”

Walking by faith means that we can trust even when the circumstances seem dim.
How is Moses going to respond to this circumstance and to the criticisms and blame of the people? Will he punish them? Will he attack them verbally as well? Will he pass the blame to someone else? Let’s find out what this leader does:

Exodus 14:13,14 – “And Moses said to the people, Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

Moses’ response:
· Moses, Israel’s leader, pointed them to God and to trust in Him

That is what a good leader does. Regardless of the circumstances, he reminds people that God is in control and knows what He is doing. The leader encourages them to believe and to see what God will do. Instead of taking matters into their own hands, the good leader challenges them to believe in God’s promises and let God do what only He can do.

He told them: stand firm and see the salvation of the LORD. They were not going to be able to do anything to save themselves. They were going to just have to watch God do His thing. The Bible encourages us, in everyday life, to:

Psalm 46:10 – “Be still, and know that I am God.”

“Nine year old Joey was asked by his mother what he had learned in Sunday School that day. ‘Well, Mom, our teacher told us how God sent Moses behind the enemy lines on a rescue mission to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. When he got to the Red Sea, he had his engineers build a pontoon bridge, and all the people walked across safely. He used his walkie-talkie to radio headquarters and call in an air strike. They sent in bombers to blow up the bridge and all the Israelites were saved.’ ‘Now, Joey, is that REALLY what your teacher taught you?’ his mother asked. ‘Well, no, Mom, but if I told it the way the teacher did, you’d never believe it!’”
Exodus 14:15-18 – “The LORD said to Moses, Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

God’s response:
· I will judge the Egyptians, and let them know who I am (the LORD)

This would be an incredible miracle. Had put everything in place so that he could perform this particular miracle to make it clear that He was the only God, to be trusted by Israel and feared by Egypt. God put His people in a situation in which they could not escape so that their only confidence could be in Him.

Chester Puller was a highly decorated U.S. Marine Corps officer. While in command over a large number of men in combat, he inadvertently moved into an area that was crawling with the enemy. Suddenly he realized he and his men were surrounded. To the north lay a platoon of the enemy, as well as on both his flanks. To the rear, another company; all escape routes were closed off. What did Puller do? He just tightened his fist and said, That’s outstanding. They’ll never get away this time!”

This was God’s response to the dead end circumstances of Israel. God had always been in control. And His moves were meant to bring glory back to Himself. He wanted everyone, including His enemies, to know that He was Jehovah, the God who keeps His promises and desires a special relationship with His people…and that Egypt had rejected Him; but instead worship a variety of dead gods.

Exodus 14:19,20 – “Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night.”

The pillar moved between the Israelites and the Egyptians, indicating that God had become a wall of protection between His people and their enemies. The pillar gave light to Israel but darkness to the enemy, for the faithless people of Egypt couldn’t understand the ways of God.

The Egyptian army was there, but God did not allow them to attack yet. Humanly speaking, they should have been able to overtake them and capture them. But, when God is involved in human events, no one can do anything without God allowing them. He was setting up the circumstances for His purposes; and no one was going to disrupt His plan. The Bible declares:

Psalm 115:3 – “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.”

God took the circumstances that seemed like a dead end for His people and turned them into new circumstances, that brought hope, life and faith. The new circumstance was this: God was delivering His people

Exodus 14:21,22 – “Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.”

The people of Israel did not respond well, but God kept His promises anyway and continued demonstrating His faithful love toward His people.

· Psalm 106:7,8 – “Our fathers, when they were in Egypt, did not consider your wondrous works; they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love, but rebelled by the Sea, at the Red Sea. Yet he saved them from his name’s sake, that he might make known his mighty power. He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry, and he led them through the deep as through a desert. So he saved them from the hand of the foe and redeemed them from the power of the enemy. And the waters covered their adversaries; not one of them was left.”

How did Moses respond to the fact that God was going to do this miracle?
· Moses obeyed God by doing everything He said to do

He communicated the truth to the people; and he followed God’s instructions throughout this process.

Exodus 14:23-25 – “The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And in the morning watch, the LORD in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, Let us flee from before Israel, for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians.”

What was the enemies’ response:
· The Egyptians pursued Israel, recognized God’s presence, and then tried to retreat.

Warren Wiersbe writes: When Moses stretched out his hand, the Lord sent a powerful wind that drove the sea waters back and opened the way for the Jews to cross. Psalm 77:16-20 indicates that a severe rainstorm accompanied the high winds, and after Israel had crossed, the rain turned Israel’s dry pathway into a muddy road. When the Egyptian soldiers tried to follow, the mud disabled their chariots and impeded their progress and when the waters returned, all the Egyptian soldiers were drowned. It was indeed a night to be remembered.”

Exodus 14:26-28 – “Then the LORD said to Moses, Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the LORD threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained.”

God’s response:
· God parted the Red Sea for His people to pass through; and then brought the waters back on the Egyptians, killing them all.

He performed the miracle of parting the waters; and now the miracle of bringing it down at His command. And did you notice how complete God’s work of judgment was: “not one of them remained.”

Exodus 14:29-31 – “But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses.”

Response:
· God’s people placed their trust in God and His leader Moses.

The people saw the incredible miracle God performed in protecting them and in bringing judgment on the Egyptians. That caused them to fear the LORD.

To fear God means that you respect who He is by humbly obeying Him. It is not as much about being afraid of Him as it is an understanding of His character and works that leads us to follow His commands with a humble spirit. Pharaoh and Egypt did just the opposite.

Your response:
· Respond to what God has done by trusting and humbly obeying.

“Gladys Alward, missionary to China more than fifty years ago, was forced to flee when the Japanese invaded Yangcheng. But she could not leave her work behind. With only one assistant, she led more than a hundred orphans over the mountains toward Free China. In their book "The Hidden Price of Greatness," Ray Besson and Ranelda Mack Hunsicker tell what happened: "During Gladys’s harrowing journey out of war-torn Yangcheng ... she grappled with despair as never before. After passing a sleepless night, she faced the morning with no hope of reaching safety. A 13-year-old girl in the group reminded her of their much-loved story of Moses and the Israelites crossing the Red Sea. "But I am not Moses," Gladys cried in desperation. "Of course you aren’t," the girl said, "but Jehovah is still God." When Gladys and the orphans made it through, they proved once again that no matter how inadequate we feel, God is still God, and we can trust in him. When the situation seems impossible, just remember to have a personal confidence in God, practice obedience to God, and understand that God has a purpose in all the experiences we have with Him.”

Take some time to meditate and pray about what you have just heard from God’s Word. And then, listen to the song as you are encouraged to remember God.

2 FUNERALS, A BABY DEDICATION AND A WEDDING

2009-05-16T06:52:00.002-04:00

One of the privileges of being a pastor is that I get to be with families during the major events and stages of life. I am there when the emotions are the strongest and true feelings, regardless of what they are, come out. I get to rejoice with those who are rejoicing and weep with those who weep. I get to see babies when they are first born, and hold the hands of people as they pass from his life. I am involved in the reality of people's lives, not just the external front most people get to see. I woudln't want to be doing anything else!

In the past few weeks, I have officiated at 2 funerals, a parent/child dedication, and today, I get to pronounce a young couple in love: husband and wife! I admit that funerals are the most difficult. Because emotions are so raw, I never know exactly what I am going to experience. It wasn't long ago, that I arrived early to meet with the family, just before the official viewing began for a parent who had died. Not 2 minutes after I walked in the room, family members were yelling at one another, verbally fighting, crying, making accusations, and dredging up the ugliness of past family life. I had to sit them all down, calm them all down, and try to bring some focus before the crowds arrived! Although funerals are tough, which also includes: being with families before the person actually dies; often being in the room when they die; being with family after the death; and then being a part of the viewing and officiating the funeral service...it is also the time when people need the greatest care, and just need someone to sit with them, listen to them, pray with them. I can do that. Every time I participate in a funeral, I am reminded of how short life really is; and what will be most important to leave behind once I am gone. This draws me closer to God...every time.

That is, of course, the end of life experiences. One of the greatest joys of mine is at the opposite end of the spectrum, when a new baby is born. I often get the opportunity to be one of the first ones to see a new baby in the hospital. I get to see the joy and extreme sleep deprivation on the new parent's faces! I get to hear the stories of how everything took place and how God brought this new life into the world. I get to hold this incredible creation of God, so small, so fragile. It is awesome! And then, within the first year or two, those same parents bring their child to be dedicated to God in our worship service. Our parent/child dedication, normally held on Mother's Day, is the time when parents publicly dedicate themselves to God and their children as well. The emphasis is on the ones who can make choices at this time, the parents, to commit themselves to bringing up their children in God's ways. The prayer is that the children, once they grow, will make a decision, on their own, to be followers of Jesus Christ. We just had a dedication, and it was great to see and hear they young children, making noises, moving around, and being present as their parents made this very important decision. You have to love babies!

And then, somewhere before the middle of life, usually, comes this special celebration, in which I get to participate today: a wedding! Many times, I get to be a part of the process, as I give pre-marital counseling in the months leading up to the special day. Today, I get to officiate as a young couple make lifetime vows to one another. I get to challenge them to look to the only one who can truly satisfy (Jesus Christ) and actually help them keep their vows. They will always remember this day, a new beginning...a new stage of life...the day when two separate individuals became one flesh! In a day, when half of the marriages end in divorce, today is a day of hope. And that hope is based on the power of Jesus Christ that can help us keep our commitments, regardless of what this life will bring. Congratulation to the bride and groom!

Thanks, God, for the privilege of being a part of people's lives, as we walk this life's journey together.

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2009-05-13T15:58:00.002-04:00

This message was preached at Grace Baptist Church in Westlake, OH on May 10, 2009.
I am not very good at preaching messages for special days. I do Christmas messages each year, but not normally messages for memorial Day, Valentines Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, etc. Other guys do great at that...I don't. So, on this Mother's Day (last Sunday), we were still in Exodus, and this is the message that was preached. It as also fitting, for he message, that we observed The Lord's Table together as well. Don't worry:we did celebrate Mother's Day, by reading some articles, praying for them, giving them flowers and candy; and having a parent/child dedication. It was a good way to honor all mothers, I think. Now for the message:

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Exodus 12:33-13:22

Please turn in your Bible to the 2nd book of the Bible, the book of Exodus, and find chapter 12…Exodus 12.

John Bartlett relates an historical event connected to our topic for today: Back in our earliest days as a nation, a determined 39 year old, radical-thinking attorney addressed the Virginia Convention. It was on March 23, 1775, a time of great patriotic passion, and his patriotism refused to be silenced any longer. Sounding more like a prophet of God than a patriot for his country, he announced:

“If we wish to be free we must fight!..I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms, and to the God of hosts, is all that is left in us. It is vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. The gentlemen may cry ‘Peace, peace!’ but there is no peace. The war has actually begun!..Our brethren are already in the field. Why stand we her idle?..Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God. I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”

What a soul-stirring speech! We applaud the courageous passion of Patrick Henry to this day. Because of it he remains in our minds one of our national heroes. Not quite ninety years later we were fighting one another in our country’s worst bloodbath. And again I remind you, it was for the cause of liberty. The issue was slavery versus freedom. The black people of our nation were not free. It was the conviction of the United States government that they should be free, and if necessary, we would take up arms against those who opposed their liberation from slavery.

Charles Sumner did a masterful job of summing up the issue of the Civil War in a speech made on November 5, 1864: “Where Slavery is, there Liberty cannot be; and where Liberty is, there Slavery cannot be.”

The idea of freedom goes all the way back to the days when the people of Israel were in bondage in Egypt. Eventually, through a mighty display of power, God fought for and bought the redemption of His people. We are going to see the result of that this morning, as the people of Israel are freed, and because of their freedom, they are asked by God to remember Him through ceremonies and celebrations, as well as by how they live each day. We are also going to be reminded, today, that even as Christians who live in the 21st Century, we have freedom to celebrate. But, the freedom I am referring to is not the freedom here in the United States. It is the spiritual freedom, the eternal freedom, that comes to every person who has placed their faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. And because of this freedom, we also are asked to remember, to celebrate, and to live our lives for God.

After the 10 plagues of Egypt, the king, Pharaoh, told Moses and the people of Israel to go immediately. The people of Egypt got involved as well:

Exodus 12:33-36 – “The Egyptians were urgent with the people to send them out of the land in haste. For they said, We shall all be dead. So the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading bowls being bound up in their cloaks on their shoulders. The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. And the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.”

There is fulfillment of prophecy in these verses. God had told Abraham, when He first gave him the promises of a new nation, that his descendants would be in bondage but would come out with great possessions:

Genesis 15:14 – “But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions.”

And then, when God was laying out his plan to Moses, he included this:
Exodus 3:22 –“But each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for silver and god jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughter. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.”

All of this came to pass, just as God said it would. The slaves asked their owners, so to speak, for their gold and silver jewelry; and they gave it to them. And we are told why: because God gave His people favor in the sight of His enemies, the Egyptians.

SO WHAT? does this have to do with us, today? The principle is throughout God’s Word:
· God will use, even, His enemies, to accomplish His will and be a blessing in your life.

Don’t be surprised if God uses non-believers to bring blessings or direction to your life. Even with people who do not claim to believe in God or follow Jesus Christ, God is in control and knows how to give you favor in their eyes, causing them to be a blessing in your life; and providing the resources you need to accomplish God’s will.

Exodus 12:37-39 – “And the people of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. A mixed multitude also went up with them, and very much livestock, both flocks and herds. And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough that they had brought out of Egypt, for it was not leavened, because they were thrust out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves.”

When the people of Israel first arrived in Egypt, they had 70 people:
Exodus 1:5 – “All the descendants of Jacob were seventy persons…”
And now, there were 600,000 men, and on top of that number, the women and the children.Scholars estimate, that with the women and children, there could have been up to 2,000,000 people of Israel who left for the Promised land. And they marched out of Egypt, in clear sight of the people:

Numbers 33:3,4 – “They set out from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month. On the day after the Passover, the people of Israel went out triumphantly in the sight of all the Egyptians, while the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn, whom the LORD had struck down among them…”

Now, verse 38 says a mixed multitude went up with them out of Egypt. In Numbers 11:4, this same phrase is translated: “rabble”, referring to those who were complaining. According to Warren Wiersbe’s commentary on this section: “This suggests that the “mixed multitude” originated with most of the complaining in the camp that created so many problems for Moses. Some of this crowd may have been Egyptians who had married Jews, contrary to God’s law; others were probably Egyptians who were frightened, impressed with Jehovah’s power (Ex. 9:20), and wanted to benefit from being with God’s chosen people. Perhaps they thought more judgments might fall on the land and they wanted to escape them.”

Did you notice, in verse 33, how the Egyptian people said: they must leave, or we might all be dead soon. They had suffered the death of the firstborn, and all the other 9 plagues; and they wondered if they would be next. Some of the Egyptians decided to go with the people of Israel, and take their chances.
Exodus 12:40-42 – “The time that the people of Israel lived in Egypt was 430 years. At the end of 430 years, on that very day, all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt. It was a night of watching by the LORD, to bring them out of the land of Egypt; so this same night is a night of watching kept to the LORD by all the people of Israel throughout their generations.”

Israel is referred to here as the “hosts of the LORD”. It is a military term, used here of Israel. Back in the beginning of Exodus, we met the King of Egypt (Pharaoh) at that time that did not take into account how Joseph, one of Israel’s sons, had protected Egypt in the past; and that Pharaoh became so afraid of the Israelites staging a coup, that they put Israel into hard bondage so that they would not be able to have the strength to overtake Egypt. Isn’t it interesting that it is the LORD Himself who takes of the fight for Israel and counts them as His “hosts” even though they didn’t have to do any fighting yet…they just needed to obey.

Don’t miss this: the fact that there were about 2,000,000 people who left Egypt is a fulfilled promise that God would make a great nation out of Abraham and would protect and deliver His people. Don’t miss what this also means for us:

SO WHAT?
· God keeps all of His promises to you
If there is a promise in God’s Word, that is meant for you, you can be 100% sure that that promise, in God’s timing, will come to pass. Be encouraged by that!

Exodus 12:43-49 – “And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, This is the statue of the Passover: no foreigner shall eat of it, but every slave that is bought for money may eat of it after you have circumcised him. No foreigner or hired servant may eat of it. It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the flesh outside the house, and you shall not break any of its bones. All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. If a stranger shall sojourn with you and would keep the Passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised. Then he may come near and keep it; he shall be as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. There shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among you.”

This was a special celebration for God’s people and for those who chose to identify with God’s people through the physical act of circumcision. Back then, that was an identifying mark of those families that were the followers of the one and only true God. Today, the Bible would say that the mark of a true follower of God is one who has been spiritually circumcised: made clean by the forgiveness of sins and given a new, clean heart. The specific laws for the Israelites and for the foreigners who would reside with them will be spelled out later in Exodus and the rest of the Law of Moses.

Do you think it is just a coincidence that the command was not to break any of the lamb’s bones during the Passover celebration (v.45)? Now that we have all the Bible, we know that it was no accident, but a sign for things to come. In the Psalms, there are many statements looking ahead to the future King, Jesus Christ, who would come to redeem His people. This is what it predicted, that is connected to the Passover lamb:

Psalm 34:20 – “He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.”
And then, when Jesus Christ died on the cross, and they did not break any of his bones, as they normally did, the Bible says:

John 19:36 – “For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: Not one of his bones will be broken.”

God used this story of the Exodus and the celebration of the Passover to look ahead to a time when He would send His own Son, Jesus, to be the Passover Lamb.

Exodus 12:50, 51 – “All the people of Israel did just as the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron. And on that very day the LORD brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts.”

Exodus 13:1,2 – “The LORD said to Moses, Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine.”

This goes beyond the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread celebrations. This is something they were to continually celebrate, even when it wasn’t a certain time of year. Sometimes translated “sanctify”, consecrate means: “To make holy by giving to God.” We will see more of this in a moment.

Exodus 13:3-7 – “Then Moses said to the people, Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by a strong hand the LORD brought you out from this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten. Today, in the month of Abib, you are going out. And when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall keep this service in this month. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the LORD. Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days; no leavened bread shall be seen with you, and no leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory.”

We have already read and discussed last week, some of the details of the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread. You can go to our website or at the welcome center table, sign up for the message: GOD ALMIGHTY, to be better informed on these celebrations. Verses 2-26 focus on the time when God would bring His people to the Promised land, where the Canannites lived and would give them victory over many groups of people.

This repeated statement (vs.3) that God brought his people out by “a strong hand” (vs.9,14,16) gives the framework for the instructions in this section and gives the foundation for why Israel is to faithfully keep the Feast of Unleavened bread (vs.3,9) and to consecrate the firstborn (vs14,16). It is also to remind Israel of God’s power and encourage them to fear the LORD but not to fear those who they will have to battle for the promised land (vs.5,11)

Exodus 13:8-10 – “You shall tell your son on that day, It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt. And it shall be to you as a sign on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the law of the LORD may be in your mouth. For with a strong hand the LORD has brought you out of Egypt. You shall therefore keep this statue at its appointed time from year to year.”

Again, they are told not only to keep the commands of God as it relates to the celebrations, but also to pass them along to future generations (12:26; 13:14).
Later, Jews took this literally and wrote these passages of Scripture on separate strips of paper and put them in two small leather boxes. A man bound these boxes (called phylacteries in Matthew 23:5) on his forehead and left arm before beginning his morning prayers.

But God was not saying that they were to make containers of the laws and put them on their bodies, but they were to live in such a way, as a regular part of life in obeying God, that it would be as though they had actual marks on their hands and between their eyes (vs.16). They would know the law and live it to the extent that it abides in their mouth, as they speak the truths of God. They would be constantly talking about it and teaching it to their children:

Deuteronomy 6:7 – “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”

SO WHAT? are we supposed to do with all this information on the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread celebrations. Let me suggest that this is our application today:

· Celebrate the Lord’s Table, remembering that Jesus Christ redeemed you by dying for your sins.

We will celebrate this together in just a little while. But, for us today, who are not Jewish, we go back, not to the Exodus, but 2,000 years to when Jesus told us to remember what He was about to do: to give His body and blood, as a sacrificial substitute for us.

Exodus 13:11-13 – “When the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and your fathers, and shall give it to you, you shall set apart to the LORD all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn of your animals that are males shall be the LORD’S. Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. Every firstborn of man among your sins you shall redeem.”

In the 10th plague, God had spared the firstborn livestock and children from destruction; and therefore, into the future, they were to be dedicated to Him. They would either be sacrificed, some of the animals; or redeemed, with an animal’s blood being shed to take the place of a certain animal and the place of every firstborn child. The donkey, which was unclean (and could not count as a sacrifice) had to be redeemed with another animal or killed. All the firstborn children had to be redeemed, with the blood of a lamb being sacrificed in their place.

Redeem means: “To attain ownership or release of something or someone by paying a price.” This would be a continual reminder of what God did the night He brought the 10th plague and that they belonged to God. They needed to understand the importance of dedicating themselves, and their firstborns to God.

Because God had redeemed them from bondage in Egypt, He was now becoming their rightful owners. And in demonstrating that truth, they were to dedicate their firstborns to Him. We see this played out spiritually, in the New Testament as well:

Please read out loud with me the words that are highlighted:

Romans 6:17,18, 22 – “But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and , having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness…But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.”

Romans 12:1 – “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

I Corinthians 6:20 – “For you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”

Just as the firstborn of Israel belonged to God, so all of us who are Christians are redeemed by Him and are therefore His.

SO WHAT? are we to do with the consecration ceremonies they had for the firstborn? Well, we should apply it, keeping in mind what Jesus Christ did for us; and do this:
· Commit yourselves, your children, and your resources to the service and glory of God.

I believe that is an appropriate application…not just the firstborn; but everything you have. Wouldn’t you say that is what the Bible has just told us to do? Like the parents did this morning, because we belong to God, we dedicate ourselves, our families and everything we have to God. We want to be used by Him and we want to bring glory to Him. And just like with the Passover and Feast of unleavened Bread, the parents were to teach their children about why they were following this command:

[Alex come forward when I begin to read this passage]
Exodus 13:14-16 – “And when in time to come your son asks you, What does this mean? You shall say to him, By a strong hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animal. Therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all males that first open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem. It shall be as a mark on your hand or frontlets between your eyes, for by a strong hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt.”

As we have already seen, these special celebrations and times of remembrance would bring questions from children; and it would be the parent’s responsibility to explain why they were doing the things they were doing. When they celebrated the Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and even the consecration of the Firstborn, it would provided opportunities to talk about who God was and what He had done for them in the past. The redeeming of the children was to be such a significant teaching and sacrifice that they would embody the teaching, as though it was an actually marked on their bodies. The way they lived was to point to Jehovah God, who brought them out of bondage with great power.

Let’s bring that ahead to today, for those of us who are not a part of Israel, but are children of God, if we have trusted in Jesus Christ alone for our salvation. What do we celebrate today that parallels Passover and points us to how God has delivered us through the shed blood of a lamb? It is the Lord’s Table, sometimes referred to as the Lord’s supper or Communion. And it is an opportunity for us to consider what God has done and how it should affect our lives today. And it just so happens that my eldest son has some questions for me, just like they did back then.

Alex: What is the Lord’s Table, and why do we celebrate it?

Great question Alex…glad you asked! Jesus established the Lord’s Table, just after celebrating the Passover with His disciples, the night he was betrayed, which led into his trials and crucifixion the next day. Jesus was the fulfillment of the Passover lamb, who died for the sins of the world. He told His followers that He wanted them to celebrate this, remembering Him, until He returned. Since He has not yet returned, we continue to remember Him through this celebration, even today. Every time we have the Lord’s Table, we remember that He died for our sins; and it motivates us to be dedicated to humbly live for and obey Him.

Alex: Is this just a Baptist thing?

This has nothing to do with being a Baptist, or being a member of this church. It has to do with a person’s personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. If anyone here has placed their faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation, they should partake of the elements...even if they are not a part of this church. If they have not done so, we encourage them to refrain from partaking, but to take the time to pray during the passing of the elements, in order to ask God to help them to know whether or not this is truth.

Alex: So, why do we use crackers? They are not very tasty you know.

Great question! We use crackers because it is like the unleavened bread: no yeast. They used unleavened bread to remember how quickly they had to leave Egypt; but the Bible talks about leaven as a symbol for sin. So, when we celebrate the Lord’s Table with this unleavened cracker, we are celebrating that Jesus’ body was given for us; and He had absolutely no sin: He was the unblemished Lamb of God.

Alex: And what’s with the grape juice?

They used wine to represent the blood of Jesus Christ. We use grape juice, but the actual contents are not the important part. The Bible talks about the cup representing the blood of Jesus Christ. We drink of the cup, using grape juice, as a reminder that Jesus Christ shed His blood to save us from our sins.

Alex: Anything else dad?

Yes, one more thing son. As you remember this celebration, don’t forget that this is to make an impact, not just on your emotions at this moment; but on how you live your life. It is to be as though you had markings on your body and the commands of God on your forehead. You are to live out, humbly, the teachings of God, each day of your life. That is the best way to remember what Jesus Christ has done for you! Thanks, son, you can have a seat.

We are now going to celebrate this together, as a present day application of what we have just read. Would you bow your heads with me for prayer please? Take a moment and thank God for giving of His Son and for how He gave His body as a sacrifice. Then, once the music starts, please remain seated as the element of the bread is passed out; and sing along with us, as we honor the King of our lives. Please hand on to the bread until I give you instruction to eat of it. Please pray now on your own and then sing with us.
[silent prayer; worship team gets set]

You Are My King

Jesus said:
Matthew 26:26 - “…Take and eat – this is my body” [eat the bread]

I Peter 1:18,19 – “Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”

Jesus Christ was that lamb, and the cup we are about to partake of represents His blood. This is to remind us of what He did, as our substitute. We deserved to die, but He died in our place. And just as when the firstborn children were redeemed with the blood of the lambs, so we were redeemed with the blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.

Would you please take a minute, once again, to pray silently, and talk to God about the blood of His Son that was shed for your sins. Perhaps, for the first time, you need to accept the free gift of eternal life, that is offered through His blood. Or, you might need to thank Him, again, for what He did for you on the cross. Or, perhaps, you need to re-commit yourself to living for Him, based on what He has done for you. Take some time to pray, and then join us as we sing about God’s Amazing Grace. Let’s pray.

[silent prayer; worship team gets set]

Amazing Grace/My Chains Are Gone

Jesus said:
Matthew 26:27,28 – “…this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins…drink of it, all of you.”

[worship team down]
It was by the body and blood of Jesus Christ that we have the opportunity for true freedom. The people of Israel had physical freedom out of Egypt. We can have true, spiritual and eternal freedom, out of the bondage of sin, because of His sacrifice, as the perfect, spotless, Lamb!
President Dwight D. Eisenhower spoke these words in his first inaugural address, January 20, 1953: “History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid.” As the man who helped lead the Allies to victory in World War II, General Eisenhower knew a great deal about the high cost of victory as well as the heavy burden of freedom that always follows.

British novelist Charles Kingsley rightly said, There are two freedoms – the false, where a man is free to do what he likes; and the true, where a man is free to do what he ought.” The people of Israel were now going to learn of the responsibilities that come with true freedom. God was going to teach them to make Him first in their lives, Kings of their lives. He was the Almighty God that redeemed them; but He did it so that they would have a special relationship with Him, which included God giving the commands and direction; and the people following with humble obedience. The same is true today.

Exodus 13:17,18 – “When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt. But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle.”

God did not lead them the short route, because he knew they were not ready for the wars they would have to fight. But, instead he led them the long way, where very soon, they would need the LORD to deliver them once again. There were Egyptian military posts along the shorter route; and God knew they were not ready to face the Philistine armies…not yet. As God said, they would be tempted to turn back to bondage in Egypt after just being freed from it by the Almighty God. That is hard to understand, but nevertheless true. And God had something else He wanted to teach them, which we will see next week. They came out of Egypt ready to fight, as far as they were concerned; but it is God who would be doing the fighting for them, according to His plan. Let me pause, here, to apply this to our spiritual journey today, as it relates to our freedom:

SO WHAT?
· After trusting in Jesus Christ for salvation, we might be tempted to see how difficult the Christian life is, and turn back to our bondage to sin.

Believe it or not, people have done this. They trust in Christ, realize quickly that the Christian life is not easy; and they go back to their old, comfortable, destructive life styles. Just as insane as the Israelites wanting to go back to Egypt, so it is for us to desire the old way of living. And yet, because this is what can happen, God will many times bring other circumstances or people in to our lives to remind us of truth and to keep us from going back to what can destroy us.

· God knows what we need, and leads us to the people and places that will best strengthen our faith

Exodus 13:19,20 – “Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones with you from here.”

Joseph was the guy God used to bring Israel into Egypt in the first place, as a refuge from the famine at that time; and to give them a place to live and grow. As long as Joseph was alive, things were good for the people of Israel. When Joseph died, he knew there would be a day when God would fulfill His promises and lead the people out of Egypt:

Joseph’s last wishes are recorded in:
Genesis 50:24,25 – “And Joseph said to his brothers, I am about to die, but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.”

This was a connection to the promises that God had made over centuries before; as they were released from bondage. In the New Testament, the fact that Joseph desired to be buried in the Promised Land was evidence of his great faith:

Hebrews 11:22 – “By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.”

This is like the faith we must have today, as we believe in God’s promises for our future.

Exodus 13:21,22 – “And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.”

The cloud and fire demonstrated the presence of God throughout this book of Exodus:
· 3:2 – the burning bush
· 16:10 – giving the people manna
· 19:18 – on Mount Sinai
· 40:38 – in the tabernacle

Today, God doesn’t necessarily give us a cloud and fire to guide us; but that doesn’t mean that He doesn’t guide us. He has given us His Holy Spirit to convict us; and He has given us His Holy Word, to be our guide. David rightly said:

Psalm 119:105 – “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
You have the full revelation of God, that He wants you to have. You only have to read it, study it; and of course, apply it to everyday life. The people of Israel had the cloud and the fire, to show the presence of God. We have Him living within us, if we are His children; and we have His Word to guide us through life.

SO WHAT? does that mean for us? We must do what the Israelites needed to do…what Moses chose to do…
· By faith, we must trust that God will guide us through the journey of this life.

10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT...RUNNING

2009-05-08T10:50:00.002-04:00

I hate running. The only time I can remember "almost" liking it was 20 years ago, when I was running to train and hope to make a college soccer team. I was in the best shape of my life. It felt good; but after running 7 miles a day all summer, I gave running, unless I as running with a ball in my hand or on my foot or a raquet (you know...a real sport).

Every once in a while, if there was nothing else to do for excercise, I would run; but I didn't have to like it. So, why I am running right now? It's my family's fault! Teresa signed up for a 5K race at the end of May and encouraged my son Alex to run and me as well (something about doing this "together"). I don't know what I was thinking, but I agreed. Then, all of a sudden, it turned into a competition between my teenage son and I; and I all of a sudden had all this pressure (leave it up to guys to make everything a competition) to outrun this boy 30 years younger than me!

So, at the end of March, I began running 2 or 3 times a week, and still trying to play basketball or soccer with my family as well. The end is in sight, as the race is at the end of May, just over 3 weeks away. This seems, as good a time as any, to list the:

10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT RUNNING

1. If I'm running, it means I'm not eating chocolate cake
2. It's mentally exhausting (since the whole time I'm running, I'm thinking "when is this going to be over"?)
3. My shins hurt when I run
4. There is no winner (except for race day- why run if no one wins?)
5. I have to stretch alot before I run (I hate strecthing)
6. I don't think running goes with my preferred diet
7. I had to buy new shoes (I don't like buying new shoes)
8. It makes my feet hurt the next day
9. The way to keep in shape is to keep doing it
10. It's not basketball, soccer or tennis

GOD ALMIGHTY

2009-05-04T09:47:00.002-04:00

We introduced a new song yesterday, at church, entitled: GOD ALMIGHTY (Chris Tomlin). It went along perfectly with this message with the same title. As we studed the final plague in Exodus, along with the insitution of the Passover celebration, it was clear to me that all of this was about the one and only true God making Himself known, even through His power displayed in the 10 plagues. And because of who He is and what He has done, He deserves my praise, my devotion, my obedience.

When you read about the video at the beginning of the message: I Am God Almighty - God Our Deliverer, you might want to see it yourself. There is a free preview of it at www.sermonspice.com Just type in the name of the video in the search box. The video mentioned later in the message: Blood Sacifices, you can view that, for free, at www.bluefishtv.com Type in the name of the video in the search box there, as well.

GOD ALMIGHTY
Exodus 10:28-12:32

Please turn in your Bible to the 2nd book of the Bible, the book of Exodus, and find chapter 11…Exodus, chapter 11.

We have been travelling through the book of Exodus together; and now we are near the end of studying the 10 plagues. For over 400 years, God’s people, Israel, had been in bondage in Egypt. They had been slaves and called out to God for deliverance. At the right time, God decided to take His people out of bondage, using an 80 year old shepherd named Moses. And God was going to use this event to show everyone, allies and enemies alike, that He was the one and only true God: Jehovah, the LORD, who keeps His promises and has a special relationship with His people. In order to do that, He planned 10 plagues on the nation of Egypt, in order to demonstrate who He was as God. And the man He put in power in Egypt, to oppose Him and facilitate the demonstration of His power was the King of Egypt, known as Pharaoh.

Let’s review what has taken place with these plagues as well as the 10th plague, which we will see today. Take a look at this:
VIDEO: I AM GOD ALMIGHTY – GOD OUR DELIVERER

In these passages, we have the announcement and judgment of the 10th and final plague. But, in between the two, we have the institution of a very important celebration, that would remember what God was doing then, in future generations to come. As we work through this today, don’t miss how all of it, the plague, as well as the Passover celebration, is connected to who God is and what He has done.

God declared the final plague and its consequences (10:28, 29; 11:1-10)

Exodus 11:1 – “The LORD said to Moses, Yet one plague more I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will drive you away completely.”

Up until this point, Moses had no idea how long these plagues would last, and which one would, indeed, be the final one. But now, God makes it clear, first to His chosen leader, Moses, that there will be a 10th and final plague that will bring the people of Israel out of bondage. That, even though Pharaoh had had constantly hardened his heart and was shown to be a deceiver, he would let the people go; in fact, he would drive them away completely, verse 1 says.

In these verses that describe the final plague and preparations for it, we see what man was responsible for and what God was responsible for. Before the plague was to come, there was some preparation that had to be done first:

Exodus 11:2,3 – “Speak now in the hearing of the people, that they ask, every man of his neighbor and every woman of her neighbor, for silver and gold jewelry. And the LORD gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people.”

· Man’s part: Ask for silver and gold from the Egyptians
God’s part: The LORD gave the people favor in their sight; and Moses was seen as great in Egypt.

The people of Israel were to ask the Egyptians for the silver and gold jewelry. This is pretty amazing, considering that the Israelites were the slaves and the Egyptians were the slave owners, so to speak. Why in the world would they give up their silver and gold? Well, the answer is the same as to why non-believers unexplainably, at times, bless believers, when it doesn’t make sense. Verse 3 gives us the answer: the LORD gave them favor in their sight. God caused the people of Egypt to see the Israelites in a positive way, even to the point of giving them their valuables!

Their job was to ask; and God’s job was to make it happen. And more than that, this man Moses, who could have been hated because he was connected to all of these devastating plagues on the people and land of Egypt, was actually looked upon as a great man, a powerful man. Somehow, they saw Moses in a positive light! That had to be God. It would be like you seeing your government officials, who double your taxes, as being positive – hard to imagine, isn’t it? This is even more incredible because of the amount of pain and suffering that came through the plagues!

There is a biblical principle here, that I want us to consider, before we move on. Here is the…

Principle: God may cause non-believers to bless believers to accomplish His will.
Proverbs 16:7 – “When a man’s ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.”

You might see this principle played out in your neighborhood. People who do not trust in the God you trust in, who are not followers of Jesus Christ – they like you because you have treated them with respect and kindness. They know that you are not going to have loud parties at night that disturb them. They know you are going to take care of things if your kids destroy any of their property. They can trust you. And because of that, they talk about you in a positive way; and are willing to listen to you talk about your faith. They may even bless you in other ways. Does it always happen this way? Of course not. This is a principle, not a precept. God is the one who makes these things happen, not us.

You see this principle played out at work. You might have a boss that is a non-believer; and yet you get recognized or rewarded because he appreciates the way you handle yourself at work. When you live a life pleasing to the LORD, there will be those who hate you. But there will be many, even who do not follow Jesus, that will appreciate how you live – with respect, integrity and love. God has given you that admiration in the sight of others, not so you could gain more materialistically; but so that God could gain more glory through your testimony in demonstrating His love. Next, in these verses of preparation, we are going to see:

· Man’s part: Moses was to announce the final plague to Pharaoh
God’s part: to bring the plague (12:29-32)

And Moses spelled out the 5 cold, hard facts about this final plague:
Fact #1:God is going to personally do something at midnight in Egypt

Exodus 11:4,5 – “So Moses said, Thus says the LORD: About midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt, and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the cattle.

Fact #2: All of Egypt’s firstborn will die

In every Egyptian family, the firstborn son would die in the middle of the night, from the poorest of the poor (slave girl) to the royal household (firstborn son of Pharaoh). Firstborn sons were very important to each family; and Pharaoh’s firstborn would be the heir to the throne. This would include their Egyptian slaves, their animals and children.

People might ask: Why would God do such a terrible thing by taking the lives of the firstborn children, slaves and even animals of Egypt? This is the type of question that gets asked when any kind of tragedy takes place. And in this case, God takes full responsibility for it, so it is even more troubling for some. If people want to only think of God as loving and don’t accept His sovereignty, than it would be very confusing. But, since God is the Creator and in control of His creation, He chooses to use His creation as He pleases to bring about His will and to bring Himself glory.

We may not like that, but we must choose to accept it. Plus, every person is responsible for their actions and for what they put their faith in. The nation of Egypt had put their faith in a variety of dead gods; and their refusal to recognize and worship the one and only true God brought destruction and death upon themselves.

The goddess Isis, the wife and sister of Osiris, supposedly protected children. But this plague showed her to be totally incompetent to do what the Egyptians trusted her for! The LORD was the Almighty God!

Exodus 11:6 – “There shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there has never been, nor ever will be again.”

Fact #3: There will be national mourning in Egypt

There have been times of national mourning in our Country. When planes flew into the World Trade Center, we all mourned together. When our soldiers die on the battlefield, it grieves us. But, nothing is like the grieving when parents lose a child. Only those who have lost one can understand. In this case, we are talking about EVERY household in Egypt experiencing the loss of life. It is unimaginable! And there was absolutely nothing they could do about it. And so the wailing and mourning would be incredible.

Exodus 11:7 – “But not a dog shall growl against any of the people of Israel, either man or beast, that you may know that the LORD makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.”

Fact #4: Israel will not be touched

God is making His distinction, as clear as possible, to say that Egypt will be judged; but no one will touch Israel: no the death angel, not an Egyptian, not Pharaoh, and to show the full extent of the distinction, not even a dog will bark or bite MY PEOPLE.

Exodus11:8 – “And all these your servants shall come down to me and bow down to me, saying, Get out, you and all the people who follow you. And after that I will go out. And he went out from Pharaoh in hot anger.”

Now, come back to the end of chapter 10 for a moment. Verses 28 and 29 come after the 9th plague. But, many believe that it was in the midst of these verses, that the discussion in 11:1-8 took place. Look at:

Exodus 10:28,29 – “Then Pharaoh said to him, Get away from me; take care never to see my face again, for on the day you see my face you shall die. Moses said, As you say! I will not see your face again.”

But, then here, a few verses later, they are back face to face. Whether he meant he would not see him face to face as before, offering a chance for repentance; or he meant that they would not see each other again, except for Pharaoh’s request at the end, we don’t know for sure. But, it makes sense that these events all go together, and that God chose to have them written down this way, not to help us with the chronology of the events, but to introduce what we were about to read, as a literary device. Either way, 11:8 gives us:

Fact #5: There will be an exodus, of Israel, from the land of Egypt

Moses was fired up! Pharaoh had threatened to take his life, had deceived him several times, and continued to play power games. In this instance however, there was not the regular warning: If you do not let my people go, then this will happen; but just the announcement of judgment that was coming. Moses even told Pharaoh that they would beg he and the people of Israel to leave once this final plague was over; and that following that, they would be leaving.

Exodus 11:9, 10 – “Then the LORD said to Moses, Pharaoh will not listen to you, that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt. Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, and the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go out of his land.”

This was a summary of what had happened over the 10 plagues. God told Moses that Pharaoh would not listen, and He gave the:

Purpose: God wanted others to see the extent of His power.
And here is part of the answer for why it wasn’t just one plague and we’re done. God wanted His wonders multiplied in Egypt; and these 10 plagues, in His sovereignty, would have the effect that was needed…not just for that moment, but for the people of Israel who were delivered and for the stories that would be passed onto future generations.

· Man’s part: To do what God asked, in communicating the message and performing the signs
God’s part: To harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he would not let the people go until just the right time.

God gave Moses and Aaron instructions to institute the Passover (12:1-20)

In the midst of this recording of the 10th plague, God wanted Moses to write down His instructions concerning a new feast and a celebration that would last for generations to come: The Passover

Exodus 12:1-6 – “The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household. And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old, You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.”

So, this was before they left Egypt, before the final plague had come. And the instructions God gives to Israel were not just details for the last plague; but were meant to be meaningful for the rest of their lives; as well as for future generations. And so, even though this would be how they were to get ready for their deliverance for the 10th plague, the emphasis here was on the details of their future celebration of what God was about to do. They would be celebrating in their individual homes; but with unity and obedience in worship of God:

· Take an unblemished lamb and kill it

This celebration was going to be in the first month of their worship calendar, which was determined to be the time when they came out of Egypt. According to our calendars, their first month falls during part of March and part of April for us. In fact, you may have a calendar that tells you that Passover is celebrated during this time. They were to pick out the lamb on the 10th day of that month and kill it on the 14th day. They were to take 4 days to examine and make sure the lamb met the specific qualifications for the sacrifice. And that would be the Passover celebration.

Exodus 12:7 – “Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.”

· Put the blood on the doorposts of the house and the beam above

Instead of the blood of the children like Egypt was going to suffer through, this would be the blood of the lambs; and it gives a very strong picture for what would happen thousands of years later. But they had very specific instructions. The blood was to be put on the two doorposts and then on the horizontal beam just above the doorway. God would explain the reasons later. All of this would be very new and probably a little strange to the Israelites, whom had never done anything like this before. And yet, this is what God told Moses that he was to tell the people; and there is no arguing from Moses or Aaron about what God was demanding.

Exodus 12:8-10 – They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn.”

· Eat the roasted lamb, with unleavened bread and bitter herbs
The lamb was the sacrifice, whose blood was going to be their covering. The unleavened bread would come to mean more, spiritually, in the future, as the Bible describes it. But, at that time, it was more about the fact that they would be leaving the country of Egypt at a moment’s notice, without time to have the bread rise with the yeast…therefore, the unleavened bread was a part of the celebration. The bitter herbs symbolized the grief they had endured as slaves in Egypt.

Exodus 12:11 –“In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD’s Passover.”

· Be prepared to leave at a moment’s notice
This was to be done for the LORD; and the idea of being dressed and ready to travel was important because of the plan God knew was coming to pass the next morning.

Exodus 12:12,13 – “For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.”

· I (the LORD) will judge my enemies and all other gods; but because of the blood, you will be protected

We know the blood on the doorposts was not about God being able to know where the Egyptians lived and where the Israelites lives. He had distinguished them pretty well up to this point in all the plagues. This was about a sign; that they were the Lord’s and were covered by the blood.

That night after eating the lamb and placing the blood, God would come and bring the judgment of the final plague. This was a strike against all of Egypt’s gods, to show that He indeed is THE LORD. Pharaoh’s eldest son and successor supposedly had divine properties. Min, the Egyptian god of reproduction, and Isis, the goddess of love who attended women at childbirth, were judged as impotent by this incredible plague.

God had said, when He was first instructing Moses about what would happen:
Exodus 4:22, 23 – “Then you shall say to Pharaoh, Thus says the LORD, Israel is my firstborn son, and I say to you, Let my son go that he may serve me. If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.”

Before any of the plagues began, Moses was instructed to deliver this message to Pharaoh. The fact was that God considered Israel His own personal firstborn son; and if Pharaoh did not let him go, then He would kill Pharaoh’s firstborn son. But His “son”, Israel, would remain protected.

Exodus 12:14 – “This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations, as a statue forever, you shall keep it as a feast.”

· Keep this celebration forever

This was to be done, not just before the left the land; but as long as the nation remained on the face of the earth. Connected with the Passover is the Feast that is now described, which begins the next day and lasts for a week:

Exodus 12:15-20 - “Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. On the first day you shall hold a holy assembly, and on the seventh day a holy assembly. No work shall be done on those days. But what everyone needs to eat, that alone may be prepared by you. And you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day, throughout your generations, as a statue forever. In the first month, from the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. For seven days no leaven is to be found in your houses. If anyone eats what is leavened, that person will be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is sojourner of a native of the land. You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwelling places you shall eat unleavened bread.”

· For 7 days, eat unleavened bread and remove all leaven from the house; or you will be disciplined severely.

The unleavened bread would represent the fact that the people of Israel had to leave quickly and could not wait for the dough to rise. Later, in the Bible, leaven is used to represent sin. But, here, it is a picture and a forever reminder of God’s deliverance out of Egypt.

If they did not remove all the leaven, it was considered a serious sin…Enough to be “cut off from the nation of Israel.” According to Biblical scholars this meant they “would be excluded from the camp, separated from covenant rights and privileges, possibly resulting in death.”

· On the first and seventh day, hold special services, and do not work during the week, except to prepare food. This is the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Moses passed the instructions from God to the leaders of Israel (12:21-28)

Exodus 12:21,22 – “Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, Go and select lambs for yourselves according to your clans, and kill the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning.”

· Stay in your house until the morning.

Most of these instructions were already recorded for us when God spoke to Israel, as they are now emphasized to Israel’s leaders. However, there are a few things that were not recorded in the previous passage. The admonition to stay in the house until morning is one of them. Again, the important symbol of the house and everyone in it being protected, because of the blood, was emphasized.

Exodus 12:23 – “For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees that blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you.”

· Because of the blood, the LORD will not destroy you

The idea of the Destroyer, God, passing over these houses and not touching the firstborn sons of Israel, is what gave the feast its name and significance: The Passover.

Exodus 12:24 – 27 – “You shall observe this rite as a statue for you and for your sons forever. And when you come to the land that the LORD will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this service. And when your children say to you, What do you mean by the service? You shall say, it is the sacrifice of the LORD’s Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses. And the people bowed their heads and worshiped.”

· Teach your children that the reason you keep this feast, is because of God’s judgment of Egypt and deliverance of Israel.

When they finally got to the promised land that God was taking them to, they were to celebrate this and remember, forever, what God had done.

Exodus 12:28 – “Then the people of Israel went and did so; as the LORD has commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.”

· Israel worshiped and then obeyed as God commanded

Moses and Aaron gave the instructions from God to the elders of Israel; and they passed it down to each household in Israel, and so every individual received God’s Word. Because of what they heard, they bowed their heads in worship. And then, they demonstrated true worship through obedience.

SO WHAT about us today? Does this have anything to do with us? It absolutely does. In fact, the most important decision you can make in this life is connected to this event that took place thousands of years ago. In the Bible, we are told that what happened here in the final plague and what the Jewish people have celebrated as Passover all these years, has great significance for everyone who is willing to believe it, regardless of nationality, background, or religious standing.

Just as the blood of a unblemished lamb had to be spilt in order to deliver God’s people in Exodus, so the blood of a perfect lamb had to be spilt in order to deliver those who believe from their sins. This is what John the Baptist said about Jesus:

John 1:29 – “The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

Jesus, who was the only perfect human being that ever lived, had to shed His blood, so that we could be forgiven of our sins. Way back in Exodus we began to learn this truth. And when Jesus died on the cross, the connection was made between the law of sacrifices and the truth that was found in Jesus Christ:

Hebrews 9:22 – “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.”
Jesus Christ had to shed His blood and die. Religions all over the world knew what human sacrifices and blood sacrifices were, but this was different:
VIDEO: BLOOD SACRIFICES

What does it mean to believe? A great picture of that is what the people of Israel had to do with the blood of the lamb. They didn’t just watch the leaders of Israel kill a lamb and go through a ceremonial ritual. They, each household, had to kill a lamb and personally put the blood of that lamb on the doorposts and beam at the entrance of their house. And when God saw that, He would pass over them and not bring judgment. They were protected. They were acting in faith, to demonstrate that they believed God and His Word.

Ephesians 2:8, 9 – “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

There are many people in our world today that might say: I am a Christian because I’m an American, grew up in a Christian family, go to church, believe in God, believe in Jesus, and have confessed my sins. But, the Bible is clear that salvation from sin, and eternal life, do not come because of hard work, or even good works. Eternal life is a gift that comes through faith. In order to demonstrate true faith, the gift of God must be accepted so that the blood of Christ covers that person’s sins.

The Israelites had to apply the blood to the doorposts. We have to apply faith to trusting in the blood of Jesus Christ to save us from our sins and apply that blood to the doorposts, so to speak, by placing our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, his death, burial and resurrection, alone. Have you set aside your trust in your good works, in your church, in whatever else, and trusted in the shed blood of Jesus alone to get you to Heaven? If not, I would love to talk with more. You can also write something on the welcome card in front of you and drop it off at the welcome center table; and someone will contact you.

1. By faith, trust in the shed blood of Jesus Christ for eternal forgiveness of sins.

Once this instruction had been given and obeyed, we then have recorded for us:
Plague 10: Death of the Firstborn of Egypt (12:29-32)

Exodus 12:29 – “At midnight the LORD struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock.”

· God did exactly what He said He would do

Exodus 12:30-32 – “And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians. And there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where someone was not dead.Then he summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, Up, go out from among my people, both you and the people of Israel; and go, serve the LORD as you have said. Take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone, and bless me also!”

· Pharaoh responded by releasing them all from bondage and asking for a blessing from God

Released the people that same night with no restrictions. He no longer was seeking Moses’ death. He even demanded that they leave. The fight was over. The king, who was considered a god, was now humbled to the point of asking that Moses and Aaron…bless him.

God said in:
Exodus 6:3 – “I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty…”
But, then He goes on to explain that He wants to be known as the LORD to His people Israel…The LORD, Jehovah, who keeps His promises and redeems His people for a relationship. But, in order to do that, throughout the plagues, we have seen Almighty God demonstrate that He is greater, not only than any human leader (even Pharaoh who acted like a god); but He is greater and more powerful than any other god (including the many and various gods of Egypt). He said, in:

Exodus 3:19, 20 – “But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go.”

SO WHAT? Let me give you a couple of multiple choice statements, that might help you know how to apply this to your life today:

2. Because God is who He is and has done what He has done (God Almighty), I need to:
· Continue to be my own god, and live life as I please
· Take some time to study and think about who God is and what that means for my life
· Fall on my face in humble repentance before Him
· Make this particular change in my life: ___________________________
· Praise Him for who He is and what He has done

You pick your own answer; and commit it to Him in prayer (in just a moment)
One other statement…You choose what fits for you today:

3. Based on the importance of faith acted out, in reference to the blood being shed for deliverance from death, I need to…
· Ignore what the Bible says about blood and salvation
· Think more about this
· Place my complete faith and trust in the shed blood of Christ and His resurrection, in order to accept the free gift of eternal life
· Spend some time meditating on what Jesus did for me
· Thank God for providing my deliverance from eternal separation from Him, through the shed blood of Jesus Christ

Which is your answer? Take a couple of minutes, right now, to go in personal prayer time with God. Answer these SO WHAT statements with what is in your heart right now. Commit yourself to Him in these matters. I would also encourage you to share your commitments with someone else you trust, that can pray with you about spiritual growth.

Let’s pray.

Exodus 12:27 says that when the people of Israel heard what God was going to do, that they “bowed their heads and worshiped.” That is appropriate for us now, as we not only consider what God did in Exodus; but what Jesus Christ did for us, 2,000 years ago, in shedding His blood, so that if we believe by faith, accepting the gift of eternal life, without our works, we also are protected and have a home in Heaven when we die. Let’s worship Him by singing together the song we introduced at the beginning of this service. Listen carefully and as you can, sing along with us: God Almighty. Then, we will close by praising God for the fact that remains today: He is God alone!

ZERO SCORE AND SEVENTEEN YEARS AGO...

2009-04-28T07:38:00.002-04:00

It was April 28, 1992, around 5:28 p.m., when I arrived at the front door to the girl's dorm and rang the bell. This beautiful young lady came to the door, and with that, our first date began. We went to the park, walked, talked and sat by a stream of water. We eventually went over to a friend's house and had pizza. Teresa still remembers what we both were wearing. That is a category I never do well in. Let's see...what was I wearing 17 years ago on a particular day! Anyway, I make up for it because I usually can remember the special dates and even times when they occured.

That first date took place after communicating for a while by letter and phone. I had been gone all school year, finishing my Masters of Divinity degree on an internship in Iowa. She was finishing up her sophomore year of college. We had come to know each other through mutual friends the year before. So, this was the first time that we really talked face to face, in a mutual effort to get to know one another. Before that, I had talked to her because she was dating one of my friends; and that is how I first got to know her.

She still remembers and brings up, from that first date, how we took a picture and I wouldn't put my arm near her, let alone around her. She knew I was cautious from the very beginning. Coming from a very outgoing Italian family, physical expression was natural and normal for her. Not where I came from. You could hug family members and maybe kiss your mom; but too much expression was uncomfortable, at least for me. That is why her family was a little worried that it was months before I would hold her hand, and our first kiss didn't come for almost 17 (yes, seventeen) months after our first date (engagement).

There is still some descrepancy between Teresa and I about an alleged breakup we had in April of 1993; but I'm pretty sure I'm right about it (that there was no breakup). And since this is my blog, we can just assume that I am right! Our first date was April 28, 1992; we were engaged on September 25, 1993; and married on June 18, 1994. We are about to celebrate 15 years of marriage; but today, we celebrate 17 years of dating. Wow - that sounds like a long time. I'm feeling old again.

I mess up alot; and I don't always clearly communicate the love that I have for Teresa. But, I am so grateful to God, for bringing her into my life; and am blessed to think that I have had 17 years of dating her. I still love to date her, to spend time with her, without the kids! She is more beautiful than ever (she doesn't like me to say that, but again, this is blog and I can do what I want!), and if we were to go back 17 years and I had the choice, I would come ringing at that same doorbell once again (and ask for the same person, by the way).

Teresa, thanks for acceping that first date, and for sticking with me all of these years. Thanks for your friendship and love, even through difficult times (including my failures). My love for you has grown over these years, and I look forward to more growth between us in the years to come. I have an idea...how about if we go out on a date and celebrate? I promise to try and remember how your hair looks and what you wear (at least for a day or two!). I love you.

HAPPY 17th DATING ANNIVERSARY!

I DID IT MY WAY

2009-04-26T15:22:00.002-04:00

Preaching through Exodus for the first time, has been very challenging; but also very encouraging. As I have been studying and working through the 10 plagues, I have been overwhelmed with the sovereignty and power of God. Given the variety of human weakness involved in these stories, it is amazing how God continutes to work everything according to His plan. And the great reminder for me, because all of these principles still apply today, is that this is not primarily about my goals in life or comfort; but about God getting glory for whatever takes place. And even though evil is done, sometimes by a nation's leaders, God is still in control and able to bring glory to Himself thorugh it. This message was preached on Sunday, April 26, 2009 at Grace Baptist Church in Westlake, OH.

I DID IT MY WAY
Exodus 9:13-10:27

Please turn in your Bible to Exodus, the 2nd book of the Bible…Exodus 8.

MY WAY- [lip synced by Bruce Konya]
And now, the end is here; And so I face the final curtainMy friend, I'll say it clearI'll state my case, of which I'm certain; I've lived a life that's fullI traveled each and ev'ry highwaY. And more, much more than this, I did it my way. Regrets, I've had a fewBut then again, too few to mention. I did what I had to do and saw it through without exemptionI planned each charted course, each careful step along the byway. And more, much more than this, I did it my way. Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew; When I bit off more than I could chew. But through it all, when there was doubt. I ate it up and spit it out. I faced it all and I stood tall and did it my way. I've loved, I've laughed and cried. I've had my fill, my share of losingAnd now, as tears subside, I find it all so amusing. To think I did all thatAnd may I say, not in a shy way,"Oh, no, oh, no, not me, I did it my way"For what is a man, what has he got?If not himself, then he has naughtTo say the things he truly feels and not the words of one who kneels. The record shows I took the blows and did it my way! Yes, it was my way. [Recorded December 30, 1968]

Even if you are younger, you have probably heard about this song that Frank Sinatra made famous and Elvis Presley even sang. Every once in a while, you still might hear a reference to it. The phrase: “I did it my way” is still used in all kinds of life situations and many people reference this song when they say it. This type of attitude is praise in our world today and looked at as a great way to live life.

Thousands of years ago, before anyone thought about writing a song, there was a King who embodied this kind of philosophy of life. He was known as Pharaoh. We have been reading about him in our study of the book of Exodus. After 400 years of Egyptian bondage, God decided it was time to release His people and lead them toward the promised land. He had made promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob Centuries before; and the time was now right to fulfill them.

God chose an 80 year old shepherd, by the name of Moses, to be the one to lead His people out. Despite all of his weaknesses, Moses was going to be used by God and see the deliverance of God’s people by the power of God Himself. Because Pharaoh refused to let God’s people go, God said that he would brings plagues of judgment on him and the nation of Egypt, so that He, God, would be glorified. God went by the name Jehovah or LORD, to emphasize his covenant relationship with His people.

We have covered the first 2 cycles of 3 plagues a piece, and before we get to the 10th and final plague next week, we will look at the 3 cycle of 3 plagues this morning…plagues 7,8, and 9. In the first 3 plagues, a key question was answered: Who has the power: Pharaoh’s servants or God’s servants? In plagues 4-6, another key question: Who has protection: Pharaoh’s people or God’s people? And this morning, in plagues 7-9, another key question is answered:

Key question: Which land is protected: Pharaoh’s land or God’s land?

Plague 7 (9:13-35)

Exodus 9:13 – “Then the LORD said to Moses, Rise up early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh and say to him, Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me.”

I have presented the plagues to you in a way that highlights how God chose to present them: in 3 cycles of 3 plagues a piece, giving us phrases and details that tie them together and some that distinguish them. At the beginning of each cycle, we have the same thing that occurs, which lets us know a new cycle is beginning: The LORD tells Moses to go early in the morning and speak to Pharaoh, with the same exact message as always: Let my people go, so they can serve (worship) me.

The warning:
· Let MY PEOPLE go, to serve me, or its going to get worse, and more personal

Exodus 9:14-16 – “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.”

In the New International Version, verse 14 begins: “or this time, I will send the full force of my plagues on you…” This warning is the longest of any of the warnings of the plagues. As we move into this final cycle and build up to the 10th plague, things get more serious, and God becomes more emphatic. In fact, he said, in speaking to Pharaoh, that “this will be on you yourself.” Literally, the phrase is: “on your heart.” Do you think that perhaps God was pointing out that since Pharaoh had hardened his heart, this plague was going to be directly aimed toward it? This was personal, as the King of Egypt had disregarded God, His message, and messengers. He also includes here, in the warning:

· The purpose: I (LORD) put you (Pharaoh) in power, so that I could demonstrate my power, for the glory of my name.

God claimed responsibility for Pharaoh being in the position of leadership he was in. Leaders in this position had killed babies… This leader, that all of God’s people would call evil…this leader, who brought incredible suffering on God’s people…this leader was chosen by God. But, he wasn’t chosen because he was a Christian, or because he would promote God’s ways. He was chosen, as God explained, because it was through His evil rule, that God would show His own power and reveal Himself to all. This was God’s doing. Here is a biblical truth, that not only applies to Pharoah in Exodus, but to all rulers who have taken power in every nation ever since:
The truth:
Psalm 75:7 – “But it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another.”

Daniel 2:21 – “…Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might…He removes kings and sets up kings…”

Here is what God told Pharaoh through Moses:
Exodus 9:17-19 – “You are still exalting yourself against my people and will not let them go. Behold, about this time tomorrow I will cause very heavy hail to fall, such as never has been in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. Now therefore send, 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 when the hail falls on them.”

A continued part of the warning:
· If any person or animal is in the open fields, they will die
The plague, as God said, was going to be the worst hailstorm they had ever seen. And a part of the warning, was that if they wanted any people or animals to survive, they needed to find shelter the next day; or they would die.

Exodus 9:20,21 – “Then whoever feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh hurried his slaves and his livestock into the houses, but whoever did not pay attention to the word of the LORD left his slaves and his livestock in the field.”

The Response:
· Those who believed God’s Word found shelter for the people and animals; but everyone else ignored His Word.

Isn’t that amazing? God gives them warning ahead of time, and so others in Egypt heard about it and had time to act. Those who feared God, that is, they had seen what He could do and believed that he would do what he said – they made sure their families, slaves and animals were all under shelter for the next day. But everyone else just ignored God and went on as usual. How could they do that? Had they been sleeping through the first 6 plagues? They knew what had happened. But, there were still people who had hard hearts, just like Pharaoh, and decided to ignore the message of truth.

Exodus 9:22-24 – “Then the LORD said to Moses, Stretch out your hand toward heaven, so that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, on man and beast and every plant of the field, in the land of Egypt. Then Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. And the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt. 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.”

The Plague: Hail on the land of Egypt.
And this just wasn’t another nasty storm. This was a hailstorm that had no historical precedent. This was new. This was devastating. This was the storm of the Century. And this judgment was directly aimed at the land of Egypt.

Exodus 9:25, 26 – “The hail struck down everything that was in the field in all the land of Egypt, both man and beast. And the hail struck down every plant of the field and broke every tree of the field. Only in the land of Goshen, where the people of Israel were, was there no hail.”

· The distinction: The hail destroyed the unprotected people, animals and land of Egypt. There was no hail in the dwelling of the people of Israel.

“On January 28, 1995, the residents of Thomasville, Georgia, endured what meteorologists call a ‘supercell hailstorm.’ Hailstones the size of softballs up to four inches in diameter rained out of the sky and tore into that community.” Can you imagine being outside walking your dog, and these incredible balls of hail begin falling all around you? If you or your dog gets hit by them, you die. The unprecedented hailstorm that came upon Egypt not only did incredible destruction, but seemed, at least for a moment, to shake Pharaoh from his stubborn heart. At first, this seemed to soften him:

Exodus 9:27,28 – “Then Pharaoh sent and called Moses and Aaron and said to them, This time I have sinned; the LORD is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. Plead with the LORD, for there has been enough of God’s thunder and hail. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.”

The response:
· Pharaoh said the right things and promised to let God’s people go, if the plague was stopped.

Now, at face value, that sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? He said: I have sinned. That is always a good start for humble repentance. He said I was wrong and God, you were right. I have been punished enough. Take away the hail and I will definitely let your people go. This sounded much better than before, didn’t it? Perhaps Pharaoh did have a change of heart and this would all be over soon. But, I think Moses had learned something about pharaoh’s heart, which God had often told him. A hard heart can sometimes seem soft and pliable; but the real test is whether or not the words will result in the right, humble action before God. Moses doubted it; but agreed to pray to the LORD about it.

Exodus 9:29, 30 – “Moses said to him, As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will stretch out my hands to the LORD. The thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know that the earth is the LORD’S. But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the LORD God.”

· Purpose [for stopping the plague]: That you will know the earth is the LORD’S

The purpose was not to reward Pharaoh in any way. Fact was…Moses didn’t believe him anymore, and for good reason. God had told Moses what would happen as well. So, the purpose for the plague going away is that Pharaoh and others would know that God was the one who controlled the earth, that it was His.

Exodus 9:31, 32 – “The flax and the barley were struck down, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud. But the wheat and the emmer were not struck down, for they are late in coming up.”

This qualifies what was meant by the phrase everything in the fields was destroyed (v.25). These were the things that were ready for harvest; while the other things mentioned were not yet to be harvested. So, this plague went after the things that were needed the most at that moment. They were destroyed.

Exodus 9:33 – “So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and stretched out his hands to the LORD, and the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain no longer poured upon the earth.”

You’ll never guess what Pharaoh did next!

Exodus 9:34, 35 – “But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet again and hardened his heart, he and his servants. So the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people of Israel go, just as the LORD had spoken through Moses.”

So, it seems, one reason Pharaoh’s heart remained unchanged was because he was focusing on the fact that not everything was destroyed (vs.31,32), so that he would have future harvests; and basically ignoring the fact that God had destroyed the harvest right then and brought destruction because of his hard heart.

The Response:
· Pharaoh hardened his heart, once he saw the plague was gone

SO WHAT? [are we to learn from this detailed description of the 7th plague]?
1. God does what He does, ultimately to bring glory to Himself.
It is easy to be mistaken about this, even from this story. It would easy to think or say that this was all about the protection of God’s people; even that God was showing how He appreciated their faith and therefore honored it. But, we have to recognize what God really said.

This is not, ultimately about His people; and today, this is not primarily about us. Yes, Jesus died for our sins so that we could have eternal life if we believe. But, even in His death, and resurrection, the primary objective was to bring all the glory back to where it belongs: God. If you don’t like that, then you are not going to enjoy worshipping this one and only true God. Because His main desire for you is not your happiness, your goals being reached, or your comfort. His goal for you is to learn how to glorify Him in your life; even in the midst of uncertainty, suffering of any kind…and death.

2. You are not responsible to convince people of the truth, but just to tell them what God has asked you to.
Just as with Pharaoh, there are people in your life who will ignore the message of truth today. You might share with them how God has changed your life, or how He loves them; and yet no matter what you say, they seem to ignore it, and just want to live life for their own benefit. That can very frustrating! But learn a lesson from Moses: When God lays something on your heart to share, no matter how you think it will be received – share it, and leave the results to God. You cannot humble a hard heart; but God can.

3. Don’t “believe” only when it is convenient.
I have heard it said that there are no atheists in a foxhole. That is, on the battlefield, when someone thinks they might die, even if they claimed to not believe in God before, they all of a sudden have an interest in praying to God and asking for Him to deliver them. But, once the battle is over and danger is past, reality returns and God gets put to the side once again (at least in most cases).

Pharaoh was willing to say that he sinned, that he was wrong and that he wanted to do what was right. But, once the plague was taken away, and the immediate threat was gone, so was his so-called confession and repentance. It wasn’t real; but was put on externally, in order to get out of the danger. God was not fooled.

And unfortunately, even those of us who follow Jesus Christ can do the same thing. I know I have. When it is convenient, when others are watching, when the pressure is on, we can say the right words and even act the part of a humble person before God. But, when the danger has past and the pressure is off, the truth is revealed. If I have a truly humble heart, then I will follow through with what is right and fulfill my commitments. If it was just pretend to look good before others, or to escape punishment, then my hypocrisy will be revealed. The challenge for us is to continually seek God…humbly, quickly, confessing our sins and trusting in Him at all times, not just when it benefits us at the moment.

As a pastor, I encounter these types of situations all the time. I have dealt with a man who was in and out of prison all of his life. While in prison, he would confess his sins, say that he trusted in Jesus and that his life was changed. He would talk about how different he would be when he got out; and how he would go to church and serve. But, once he was released, his commitment seemed to go away; and for him, he would eventually demonstrate by his actions that he had not really changed…But talking about it while in prison served his purposes.

I have had people promise all kinds of things, as it relates to problem issues in their lives. For the time being, it might help with a spouse or concerned family member, or even with the church. But, once the pressure is off and the reality hits, the person falls back into old habits and the commitment to change is set aside. Be careful, or the same thing can happen to you.

Plague 8 (10:1-20)

Exodus 10:1,2 – “Then the LORD said to Moses, Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them, and that you may tell I the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, that you may know that I am the LORD.”

The Warning:
· Purpose: God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, to bring the judgment so that the future generations of Israel would talk about and know the LORD.
Last week, I had the question brought to me as to why God didn’t just plague Egypt and be done with them. Why should it last so long? We may not have all the answers, but what God says here gives us an idea. This was all about showing his power over a period of time (all 10 plagues), so that these stories would be passed down over generations.

Exodus 10:3-6 – “So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and said to him, Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me. For if you refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country, and they shall cover the face of the land, so that no one can see the land. And they shall eat what is left to you after the hail, and they shall eat every tree of yours that grows in the field, and they shall fill your houses and the houses of all your servants and of all the Egyptians, as neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from the day they came on earth to this day. Then he turned and went out from Pharaoh.”

· Let my people go or what is left by the hail will be destroyed and the locusts will fill all your houses

Pharaoh had a hard heart, but even his servants recognized whose land had protection and who was more powerful. They pleaded with him to surrender and let the people go. They had had enough!

Exodus 10:7-11 – “Then Pharaoh’s servants said to him, How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God. Do you not yet understand that Egypt is ruined? So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. And he said to them, Go, serve the LORD your God. But which ones are to go? Moses said, We will go with our young and our old. We will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds, for we must hold a feast to the LORD. But he said to them, The LORD be with you, if ever I let you and your little ones go! Look, you have some evil purpose in mind. No! Go, the men among you, and serve the LORD, for that is what you are asking. And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.”

The Response:
· The servants of Pharaoh encouraged him to let the people go
· Pharaoh offered to let some of the people go; but when Moses said everyone had to go, along with their animals, he drove them out of his presence.

“In a documentary about locusts, a team of journalists placed themselves directly in the path of an advancing army of locusts. The reporters had their microphones on as the swarm drew near and described the sound as similar to that of an approaching 747 airplane. As the infestation overran their positions, the roar became so great you could hardly hear the narrator describe the action. It was deafening.

When those creatures – millions of them!..leapfrogged over one another and finally left the area, it was as though the landscape had been burnt. The ground wasn’t charred, but every leaf was stripped off every tree. Every green thing had been consumed. You have never witnessed such a complete job of devouring.”

Exodus 10:12-15 – “Then the LORD said to Moses, Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, so that they may come upon the land of Egypt and eat every plant in the land, all that the hail has left. So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind upon the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind had brought the locusts. 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. They covered the face of the whole land, so that the land was darkened, and they ate all the plants in the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Not a green thing remained, neither tree nor plant of the field, through all the land of Egypt.”

The plague: Locusts destroyed the land of Egypt

Exodus 10:16-19 – “Then Pharaoh hastily called Moses and Aaron and said, I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against you. Now therefore, forgive my sin, please, only this once, and plead with the LORD your God only to remove this death from me. So he went out from Pharaoh and pleaded with the LORD. And the LORD turned the wind into a very strong west wind, which lifted the locusts and drove them into the Red Sea. Not a single locust was left in all the country of Egypt.”

Response:
· Pharaoh confessed his sin, asked for forgiveness, with the thought of releasing God’s people if the plague would just be taken away

We’ve seen this before haven’t we? Pharaoh said: “just this once, forgive my sin”; and he hinted that he would let God’s people go if God would just stop this plague. So, Moses talks to God about taking the plague away, and He does. To the point, where verse 19 says: “not a single locust was left in all the country of Egypt.” The plagues themselves were pretty dramatic, but the removal of the plagues were also precise and incredible.

Exodus 10:20 – “But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go.”

The Response:
· God hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he did not let God’s people go

Earlier, in 9:16, God had told Pharaoh that He put him in power, so that God could accomplish His own glory through him. And this was part of that plan. Yes, Pharaoh also hardened his own heart; and was responsible for it. But, God makes it clear, that He personally was involved in making sure that Pharaoh did not let His people go, until the time (God’s timing) was right.

SO WHAT? [can we learn and apply from this 8th plague]
1. Pass the word about what God has done, to future generations
In 10:2, God said He was doing this so that in the future, people would pass these stories on to the next generations. God also said this to Israel, later, when they were getting ready to enter the promised land. They were not to forget all the great things God had done for them and they were to tell those stories to their children and grandchildren; so that they could know who the LORD was.

Deuteronomy 6:20-24 – “When your son asks you in time to come, What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the LORD our God has commanded you? Then you shall say to your son, We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. And the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. And the LORD showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes. And he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in and give us the land that he swore to give to our fathers. And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as we are this day.”

Nothing has changed for us today. Instead of our stories all being based on ourselves, the stories we are to tell are about the power and greatness of God. When was the last time you told a family member about something great God has done for you? When was the last time you pointed out something that happened and connected that to how God is at work and blessing in your families’ and friends’ lives?

2. Partial obedience is no obedience at all
In verse 11, Pharaoh said he would be willing to let the men go, but the not the children. This was not obedience, with a humble heart. This was selfish manipulation. King Saul tried the same type of thing in I Samuel 15. God had ordered him to wipe out an entire community including the animals. But, for various reasons that seemed good to him, Saul spared the wicked king, as well as some animals. And this was the prophet Samuel’s words of response to Saul:

I Samuel 15:22 – “…Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice…”

Let’s bring this down to us today. If you pick and chose what you want to obey, you are not really obeying. If you obey part way, or do half the things God has asked, you are not obeying. God is a jealous God. He doesn’t want part of you, but all of you. When he asks you to forgive someone, don’t do it half-heartedly or too quickly without thought or externally but not in the heart. Don’t just do your part, in your mind, by coming to church and listening to a message. The real test is after the message has been preached:

James 1:22 – “But prove yourselves to be doers of the Word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”

Just as half the truth is a full lie, so obeying part of the way is full disobedience. Learn the lesson of Pharaoh. God will teach this lesson over and over again when His people are wandering about in the desert.

Plague 9 (10:21-27)

Exodus 10:21 – “Then the LORD said to Moses Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.”

The warning: NONE

Just as with the first 2 cycles of plagues, with the 3rd plague comes no warning, just judgment. There is warning after warning, but eventually the warnings run out.

Exodus 10:22, 23 – “So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but all the people of Israel had light where they lived.”

Plague: darkness

This was not just that the electricity went out for 3 days; which would have been bad enough (even if they had electricity!) This was complete darkness, so that they could not even see one another, nothing, for 3 days. Only those 100% blind could try to describe what that was like. What did verse 21 say: this was “a darkness that could be felt.” Can you imagine it? Because of the darkness, they couldn’t really do anything, not even move freely in their own homes. This plague basically disabled the entire country, so that everyone would have to just stay where they were and contemplate this plague and who it as that had the power to bring it on them.

Dr. Alfred Edersheim, A Hebrew scholar wrote this:
“Let us try to realize the scene. Suddenly and without warning would the [darkness come]. The air, charged with electricity, draws up the fine dust and the coarser particles of sand till the light of the sun is hid, the heavens are covered as with a thick veil, and darkness deepens into such night that even artificial light is of no avail. The floating dust and sand enter every apartment, pervade every pore, find their way even through closed windows and doors. [It is a plague on Egypt’s very air supply!] Men and beasts make for any kind of shelter, seek refuge in cellars and out-of-the-way places from the terrible plague. And so, in utter darkness and suffering, three wary nights and long days pass, no one venturing to stir from his hiding.”

· Distinction: Egypt had no light, but Israel had full light

Once again, God brought distinction by bringing the plague to the land of Egypt but not Israel. As verse 23 states, “but all the people of Israel had light where they lived.” This was no accidental power outage, this was no mistake. This was a specific plague by God on the land and people of Egypt.

Exodus 10:24-26 – “Then Pharaoh called Moses and said, Go, serve the LORD; your little ones also may go with you; only let your flocks and your herds remain behind. But Moses said, you must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God. Our livestock also must go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we must take of them to serve the LORD our God, and we do not know with what we must serve the LORD until we arrive there.”

The Response:
· Pharaoh said that all the people could go, including the children; but not the animals

Unbelievable! Pharaoh now says the children can go but he wants the wealth, food and everything else the animals bring to stay with them. Moses says that is impossible because it was those very animals that they were to use in worshipping God through the animal sacrifices. It was so precise, Moses said in verse 26: “…not a hoof shall be left behind…”

Perhaps Pharaoh thought he could restore his own livestock by having Israel’s and then he could just send his army to retrieve the people later.

Exodus 10:27 - “But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go.”

SO WHAT?
1. God’s people and the land they occupied had His protection
Land was a part of the promises that God had given to His people. Land was a very important issue and reason to fight back then; and it still is today, especially in the Middle East. Today, we saw that the plagues focused in on a particular land: Egypt, while the land where God’s people were dwelling, gets God’s protection.

Remember, that a key phrase in this story has been: The Earth is the Lord’s, a reminder that even all the land is created by Him and His to do with as He pleases.

Even if we don’t see this happening the same exact way today, we still know, that near the end, according to the Bible, the chosen nation of God return to their land; and all the people of God, in the end, are protected and have the special land that God is preparing for them.

2. God will do as He pleases, and makes sure His will comes to pass
Although we have used the old song that said I did it my way to describe the attitude of Pharaoh that many have today, there is only one person that can truly say this, and be right about it: GOD! He is the one that will be able to say, when this is over: I did it my way. He is truly in control.

The prime example of that, in this story, is the truth that God hardens Pharaoh’s heart. We cannot fully understand this, even though we have explained it the best we can over the past few weeks. But, we can accept it as truth, according to biblical principle:

Isaiah 55:8 – “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.

Daniel 4:35 – “All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, What you have done?”

Psalm 115:3 – “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.”

3. Make it a goal of your life, to say in the end: “I did it God’s way.”
This doesn’t mean you are perfect. It includes the truth that you fail, that you sin, often. But, it reflects your heart, a humble heart before God. You aren’t concerned about your will, your way; but you truly want to please God by living life His way. So, you make sure you read your Bible and pray; and you make sure you are a part of a church that preaches God’s Word; and you get involved with others who are growing in their walk with God who can help you walk with God more closely. You ask God to keep you sensitive to sin; and you confess your sins to God as soon as He brings them to your attention. You want to live out the truths of God’s Word, and you trust it, even if there are things you cannot fully understand or explain. Each day, your goal is to please God. This is possible, no matter how you have sinned in the past, or how often you fail. This is about your commitment, now, to move ahead to live life God’s way. Now that is a truly successful life!

GOD vs. gods

2009-04-20T11:21:00.002-04:00

I am loving the opportunity to preach through the book of Exodus. I have been asked to post these messages, as some would prefer reading it here than listening to it at www.gbcwestlake.org This study has strengthened my faith, as I continue to learn about the one and only true God; and His dominace over all other "pretend" gods.

GOD vs. gods
Exodus 8:20-9:12

Please turn in your Bible to the second book of the Bible: Exodus, and find chapter 8. Exodus 8.

With 56 wins and 5 losses in a career, Muhammad Ali was known and is still known as the greatest professional boxer of all time. 3 of those losses came at the very end of his 20 year boxing career. His nicknames included: “The Greatest”, “The Champ” and “The Louisville lip”. I can even remember as a kid, not liking boxing; and yet I liked Muhammad Ali, and begged my parents for boxing gloves so I could beat up on my little brother and pretend to be “The Champ.”

He was known for his talking almost as much as for his boxing. Before his first title fight against Sonny Liston, he called him "the big ugly bear" (among other things), declared that he would "float like a butterfly and sting like a bee," saying "Your hands can't hit what your eyes can't see." For the next 20 years, Ali was greater than any other when it came to boxing; and celebrated as such. No matter how good another boxer was, Ali seemed to tower over him. And in the couple instances when Ali did lose, it didn’t take him long to regain the heavyweight championship and be known as The Greatest once again.

This morning, we are going to see how a King and his gods seemed to be greater than all others. This King had God’s people in bondage and had them under his control. Any stories of God’s power were quickly squashed by reminding people that the great nation of Egypt had the so-called people of God under their control for over 400 years. Who was The Champ now? Who was the Greatest?

Like with any other athlete or human being that was once great, there comes a time for the fall from glory and greatness. Although human history will still revere Ali as the greatest boxer of all time, his dominance that lasted for 20 years did come to an end. His parkinson’s disease has slowed him and made it more difficult to be seen as the man of power from the past. His past racial battles, religious dogma and battles with the law revealed a heart that was dedicated to himself more than any other; and that this boxer was revered as a god, chose to follow a god that was not the God who created all things, the God of Israel, the God of all Christians today. Even as a religious man, he lived for himself. Married 4 times to different women, with many adulterous relationships on the side, He was not dedicated to God’s way, but to his own.
So, although Ali towered in comparison to any other boxer and may be seen that way for years to come, he has been revealed to be just a man, weakened over time in physical power; and in the end, at the same place that every human being will be: accountable to the one and only true God, whose incredible power is recorded for us here, in the book of Exodus. He is the God that makes all other gods, whether human, made of gold, wood or metal, to be nothing in His presence.

For 430 years, God’s chosen people, Israel, had been slaves in Egypt. But God decided it was time to bring them out of bondage and lead them to the promised land, which was a part of special promises He gave to Abraham, who was the first of the nation of Israel; and to his son Isaac and to his son Jacob.

God called an 80 year old man, who had been wandering in the desert region of Midian as a shepherd, to be the guy to lead His people out of bondage. Through providing support through Aaron, Moses’ brother, and through miracles, God demonstrated that it would be the power He provided that would bring His people out, not the ability of Moses. God wanted everyone to know who He was, that He was the LORD, the promise keeping God who desires a special relationship with His people.

Since the king of Egypt, known as Pharaoh, did not want to let God’s people go, God decided to bring 10 plagues of judgment on Egypt and its people. We covered the first 3 a few weeks ago; and the main question that was answered was this:: Who has the power: God’s servants or Pharaoh’s servants? We found out, that even though the servants of Pharaoh seemed to have just as much or more power than God’s servants, in the end it was evident the real power was with God and His servants.

This morning, we move into the next cycle of plagues, numbers 4-6. A key question that can be asked is this: Who has the protection: God’s people (the people of Israel) or Pharaoh’s people (the people of Egypt)? The way we are going to find out the answer to that, is to see how the God of Israel fairs against the gods of Egypt. But, instead of fighting face to face, since the gods of Egypt were not real, God uses plagues to show that the gods of Egypt are no match for the one and only true God.

In his book: Be Delivered, Warren Wiersbe reviews how the first 3 plagues were victories for God against the gods of Egypt. In Plague 1, water was turned to blood.This was a judgment on the Nile River itself, which was treated like a god, and on Hapi, the god of the Nile, and Isis, the goddess of the Nile.
In Plague 2, which was the frogs, the goddess of resurrection, fertility and childbirth that had the head of a frog, Heqet was shown to be powerless. Plus, in Egypt, the frog was a fertility symbol. In fact, it was during this plague, that Moses told Pharaoh that the frogs would be taken away for this purpose:

Exodus 8:10 – “…so that you may know that there is no one like the LORD our God.”

And in plague 3, there were the gnats. The fact that the desert dust became gnats was judgment against Set, the Egyptian god of the desert. Jehovah was so great that He could give life to insignificant dust and use that life to punish the people who revered Set. This brings us up to date, and to plague number 4.

Plague 4 (8:20-32)

Exodus 8:20,21 – “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.”

A couple of weeks ago, I explained that the first 9 of these 10 plagues are presented to us in 3 cycles of 3. God chose to have Moses record them this way, so that we would learn, not only from the facts of what took place, but from how God chose to communicate them to us and have them recorded.

In the first plague of each cycle, the LORD (remember this is the name of God: Jehovah, who was known for keeping His promises and desiring a close, special relationship with His people)…the LORD told Moses to go to Pharaoh in the morning; and with that, each cycle begins. The LORD, once again, instructed Moses to confront Pharaoh by the Nile River, a very significant site for Pharaoh, Moses and the plagues so far. And also, with the first plagues of each cycle, there is…

The Warning: If you do not let MY PEOPLE go, to serve me, I will…

Over and over again, God, through Moses and Aaron, says to Pharaoh, release My people from bondage so that they can serve Me, that is, worship Me. These were Jehovah’s people and that special relationship He talked about was to include their corporate worship of Him, where He wanted them to be. So, in 3 of the first 4 plagues, there is this warning: let My people go, or else.

But, in this cycle of plagues, we have some comments made by God there were not made in the first 3. Although it was evident that these plagues were on Egypt and not Israel, He now makes it clear as to why:

Exodus 8:22,23 – “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.”

The Distinction: I will plague YOUR PEOPLE but not MY PEOPLE

God is making it very clear here: I am going to deliver and protect the people I have chosen. But you and your people, who have opposed me, I will judge with these plagues. God makes a distinction here between His people and Pharaoh’s people, the people of Israel and the people of Egypt, the people of the many and various gods; and the people of the one and only true God.

And God gives the major reason for why He is making this distinction. Here is the purpose (v.22):
· So that you will know who I am (The LORD)

That is a constant theme throughout these plagues. God wanted His own people to know Him, and His enemies to know exactly who He was as well. In fact, the very things that God does in these plagues directly oppose and defeat the gods that Pharaoh and all of Egypt worship, instead of Him. God is making a very strong statement about Himself as He brings these plagues of judgment, only on Egypt and its possessions.

Exodus 8:24 – “And the LORD did so. There came great swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh and into his servants’ houses. Throughout all the land of Egypt the land was ruined by the swarms of flies.”

The Plague: Flies
Literally, the “great swarms of flies” here is “a heavy or oppressive swarm”. It could be interpreted flies or seen as a variety of insects. They came into Pharaoh’s house, his servants’ houses and all throughout the land of Egypt, it was just swarming with these flies. And there weren’t enough fly swatters available to care for them. This was not just an inconvenient accident; but this was a purposeful plague intended to judge the people of Egypt. These were most likely the biting types of flies that were not just irritating because they were all over the place, but painful as well.

The Statement: “I am God and Beelzebub, the god of flies, is not!”
I use the word statement and put this statement in quotes because God doesn’t say this out loud here. He says it, emphatically, through His actions. Some think this was a direct strike against Re, a main Egyptian god; or even their god Uatchit. Regardless, God demonstrated that He was in power, and no other god, that was represented by a fly or insect, was greater than He.

This brought a response from the king of Egypt:
Exodus 8:25-27 – “Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, Go, sacrifice to your God within the land. 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. It we sacrifice offerings abominable to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us? We must go three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD our God as he tells us.”

The Response:
· Pharaoh tried a compromise: worship your God right where you are

Pharaoh tried to get out of this mess through compromise, still trying to accomplish his goals. He suggested they go and worship to their God, but stay within the boundaries of the land where they were right then. But Moses immediately responded that it was not good enough. In fact, the bull or cow, that the Israelites would be sacrificing, were specifically sacred to the Egyptian people and there would be riots that resulted. Instead, they needed to do exactly what God had called them to do. As Moses said: Our God is the LORD and we will do what He says.

Exodus 8:28-30 – “So Pharaoh said, I will let you go to sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only you must not go very far away. Plead for me. 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. Only let not Pharaoh cheat again by not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD. So Moses went out form Pharaoh and prayed to the LORD”

· Pharaoh said they could take a short journey away, but God needed to stop the plague

Pharaoh continued his bargaining and tried what had worked before: he promised to let them go, if the LORD stopped the plague right away; and he pleaded with them to not go very far. So, Moses goes out from Pharaoh’s presence, warning him like you might a child: now, don’t cheat again as you did before and not really let God’s people go. I can just see Pharaoh giving him a nod and weak “ok” (thumbs up) as Moses left to plead with God to stop the plague. Moses was praying that this all was about to be over…no such luck.

Exodus 8:31,32 – “So Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the LORD. And the LORD did as Moses asked, and removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one remained. But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and did not let the people go.

God was not fooled by this, but this was all a part of His plan. Moses prayed, He stopped the plague, even to the point, where verse 31 states: “not one (fly) remained”. BUT, the final response in this plague revealed the true heart of the King:

· Pharaoh continued to harden his heart and went back on his promise

No, we shouldn’t be surprised by this anymore; but it should still be amazing to us, that this man would have this hard of heart. A hard heart, as we defined it a few weeks ago, is unresponsive to the truth; and usually revolves around power and control. Pharaoh was the epitome of that! He promised to let the people go, but once the flies had disappeared, so did his promise!

SO WHAT?
· God makes Himself known as a promise keeper- trust in His Word

The purpose for this plague was so that people would know He was the LORD: the promise keeping God. He said He would protect His people and only bring these plagues on the people of Egypt and that is exactly what happened. He had promised that Pharaoh would harden his heart; and he did. God promised to send the plague; and it was no empty threat.

· God’s enemies are deceitful – don’t believe their lies

The King of Egypt here, Pharaoh, represents all enemies of God, as well as His arch enemy, Satan. The enemy of God will say anything to make it easier on Himself; and when it is more comfortable, he “forgets” about his promises. As it relates to Satan, the Bible tells us that He is the Father of Lies; and that He spends His time trying to deceive as many people as possible. The best way to be prepared for this is to know God and His Word, so that you can discern when someone is trying to deceive you. And, of course, we need to make sure that we are not being deceitful in our lives, living as His enemy.

Ok – if you are a cat lover, you may want to close your ears for a couple minutes! Haddon Robinson tells this story in his book: “What Jesus said about successful living.” A man in New York City met and married a wife who had a cat. Actually the cat had her. She loved the cat. She stroked it, combed its fur, fed it, and pampered it. The man detested the cat. He was allergic to cat hair; he hated the smell of the litter box; he couldn’t stand the scratching on the furniture; and he couldn’t get a good night’s sleep because the cat kept jumping on the bed. When his wife was out of town for the weekend, he put the cat in a bag with some rocks, dumped it in the Hudson River, and uttered a joyful good-bye to the cat. When his wife returned and could not find her cat, she was overwhelmed with grief.

Her husband said, look Honey, I know how much that cat meant to you. I’m going to put an ad in the paper and give a reward of five hundred dollars to anyone who finds the cat. No cat showed up, so a few days later he said, honey, you mean ore to me than anything else on earth. If that cat is precious to you, it is precious to me. I’ll tell you what I’ll do. I’ll buy another ad and raise the ante. We’ll increase the reward to one thousand dollars.

A friend saw the ad and exclaimed, you must be nuts; there isn’t a cat on earth that is worth a thousand dollars. The man replied, Well, when you know what I know, you can afford to be generous. Don’t hate me cat lovers! Here is a man that desires comfort over true sacrificial love; and gets rid of the cat. Not only that, he takes the position of power that it is his right to it, and to cover it up. So, he makes promises he has no intention of keeping and uses deception to make himself look good.

So did Pharaoh, King of Egypt. This was about power, even though he should have figured it out by now – he was overmatched. In order to bring himself comfort, which in this case, meant getting rid of the current plague, he deceived Moses and seemingly, God as well. In his mind, he still had the power, the control, and could manipulate things as he desired. That had always been his experience.

Perhaps if he could just get rid of this plague through deception, empty promises, then maybe the plagues would be over, the luck of Moses would run out, his magicians power or the power of the gods would return and make everything his again. But, as with all deceivers, and even with Satan Himself, the end will bring out the truth, and in the end, God will judge the deceivers and reveal that it is He who is really in control.

Plague 5 (9:1-7)

Exodus 9:1-3 – “Then the LORD said to Moses, Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. For if you refuse to let them go and still hold them, behold, the hand of the LORD will fall with a very severe plague upon your livestock that are in the field, the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the herds, and the flocks.”

The warning: If you do not let MY PEOPLE go, to serve Me…

· I am the God of the Jews (v.2)

He did not mean by this that He was only their God; but that these were His chosen people; and in distinction to the people of Egypt, it is the people of Israel, the Jews, who were worshippers of Him, while the Egyptian people and leaders worshipped a varied assortment of dead gods.

Exodus 9:4 – “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.”

The Distinction: I will kill Egypt’s livestock but protect Israel’s livestock.
Here was another way God was going to make a distinction between His people and Pharaoh’s. And this is the first time, it will include death; but it won’t be the last.

· The hand of the LORD will fall…
In plague 3, the end of the first cycle of plagues, the Egyptian magicians noted: This is the finger of God. Here, Moses predicts that God’s hand will fall on Egypt and bring about this plague. God is personally involved, even to the extent of demonstrating human like qualities in carrying out His judgment.

Exodus 9:5,6 – “And the LORD set a time, saying, Tomorrow the LORD will do this thing in the land. And the next day the LORD did this thing. All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one of the livestock of the people of Israel died.”

The Plague: The livestock of Egypt died
Just as the LORD had said, all the livestock of Egypt that were in the field, died; but not one of the domesticated animals of Israel. They were protected. Whether this plague was brought by God through disease because of the dead frogs and swarms of flies carrying germs, or God just killed the animals, the result was the same. The livestock of Egypt that were in the field – all dead…the livestock where Israel was – all alive. Coincidence? Not a chance! And once again, this was a clear message as to which God was real and which one had the power. It is as though God were making:

The Statement: I am God, and Apis, the sacred bull or Hathor, the goddess of love, beauty and joy, depicted as a woman with the head of a cow..they are not!

Exodus 9:7 – “And Pharaoh sent, and behold, not one of the livestock of Israel was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.”

The Response:
· Pharaoh checked to see if God was telling the truth
God had said that it would only be those animals in Egypt that would die, and none in Israel. But, Pharaoh had to see for himself if this was true. He found out that everything happened just as God said it would. Once he saw it was true, guess what?

· Pharaoh hardened his heart again
Pharaoh was a king that didn’t let the facts get in the way. He had seen God bring 5 plagues on He and His people and the animals of Egypt. He checked it out for himself to make sure that what God said about Israel being protected was true. And yet, his heart was still hard, unresponsive to the truth.

In Martha Ostenso’s Dictionary of Humorous Quotations, she wrote: “Edith lived in a little world bounded on the north, south, east, and west by Edith.” That could have said of Pharaoh. Pharaoh lived in a little world bounded on the north, south, east and west by Pharaoh. This was all about Pharaoh. He didn’t care who had protection or not – God’s people or his people. He cared about himself and his power. He questioned God at every turn, even when it was clear who was really in control.

In his book: Spiritual Leadership, J. Oswald Sanders writes: “Egotism is one of the repulsive manifestations of pride. It is the practice of thinking and speaking much of oneself, the habit of magnifying one’s attainments or importance. It leads one to consider everything in its relation to himself rather than in relation to God and the welfare of his people.”

SO WHAT?
· God is interested in His people worshipping Him
This is not just for the people of Israel back in Egypt. This is something God has always been interested in; and it is something every believer is to pursue. God talked about His people serving Him, worshipping Him. He talked about being the God of the Hebrews, the Jews. When we come into the New Testament, we find out that He is the God of all who believe; and that we become His children when we trust in Christ:

John 1:12 – “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”

Speaking to all Christians, the Bible says:
I Peter 2:9 – “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

· The enemies of God question Him
Pharaoh questioned whether God was telling the truth and checked to see if what God said had come true. This is indicative of the enemies of God. They don’t believe what God has said in His Word – they don’t trust Him. From the very beginning of the human race, Satan Himself has been questioning God and trying to get any other humans to question the validity of God’s promises and claims as well. Be careful not to make yourself like an enemy of God by questioning His Word yourself.
Plague 6 (9:8-12)

Exodus 9:8– “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.”

The Warning: NONE
The 3rd plague in this cycle is just like the 3rd plague in the first cycle. There was a warning for the first 2 plagues of the cycle, but none for this third. There comes a time when God stops giving warnings, and the judgment just comes without one.

Exodus 9:9 – “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.”

The Distinction: The boils would be on the people and animals of Egypt
As with the first 2 plagues in this cycle, it is clear that the plague is for Egypt only; which means the people and animals of Israel are once again protected.

Exodus 9:10 – “So they took soot from the kiln and stood before Pharaoh. And Moses threw it in the air, and it became boils breaking out in sores on man and beast.”

The Plague: Boils

You might wonder how boils, this 6th plague could break out on the animals of Egypt if they had none left after plague 5, right? Well, back in verse 3, it tells us that the plague of livestock dying would be for those animals that were in the fields. Apparently, there were also animals in some type of shelter; and these would be the animals that received part of this plague of boils. Out of the kiln, the furnace, the soot is thrown into the air, and incredible pain comes on the Egyptians.

Charles Swindoll, in his book on Moses, wrote: “The Hebrew language describes these boils as “inflamed eruptions, breaking forth into [puss filled blisters on the skin …Think of the anguish such sores would cause behind your knee, where your body bends at the joints, or under the arms, at the elbows, around the waist, on the ankles and feet. You wouldn’t be able to walk, or sleep, or even sit down and relax. Perhaps, like Job, you’d find yourself huddled on some ash heap, scraping yourself with a shard of pottery. The pain would be intolerable. And remember, these boils came unannounced…”

As it relates to the gods that were shown to be inept in this plague:The Bible knowledge Commentary says: “The Egyptians, fearfully aware of epidemics, worshiped Sekhmet, a lion-headed goddess with alleged power over disease; Sunu, the pestilence god; and Isis, goddess of healing. Yet these deities could not deliver the people and animals from their torments.”

The Statement: I am God, and Sekhmet, Sunu and Isis are not!
There were even more gods that they may have looked to for help that we haven’t even mentioned. But, it doesn’t matter. Each time, God demonstrated, through the plagues, that it was He was bringing the judgment; and none of these gods could do anything about it. And yet, this is where Pharaoh and the people of Egypt put their trust!

Exodus 9:11 – “And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils came upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians.”

The Response:
· Egypt’s magicians were not exempt and could do nothing about it

Egypt’s magicians should have had total access to the power that all of their gods provided; and yet they were also suffering with the boils to the point that they could not even face off with Moses. They and their gods had no power, could not duplicate the plague, and certainly could not get rid of the boils!

Exodus 9:12 – “But the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not listen to them, as the LORD had spoken to Moses.”

· God hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he did not listen
We can easily struggle with this “God hardened Pharaoh’s heart” phrase. I spent some extra time on it in the message on March 29th entitled: Act of God. You can listen to that online or get the CD if you would like to hear more about this phrase and what it means. Some of you purchased the Life Change personal Bible study book for Exodus; and I want to read you something from there that helps a little with this: how can the Bible tell us that Pharaoh hardened his heart but it also tells us that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart?

“Europeans and Americans are raised with a system of thought that originated in ancient Greece. This system stresses logic – the kind mathematicians use to deduce axioms in geometry, and the kind Sherlock Holmes made famous for solving crimes. Greek logic insists that opposites contradict each other and cannot both be true.

By contrast, Hebrews believed that opposites are often both true. In the Bible we find Jesus, the apostles, and the prophets often holding apparently conflicting ideas in tension. A prime example is divine sovereignty versus human responsibility. This is a logical contradiction for Greek-minded people, but for the Hebrew mind it is a profound paradox to be held together. ‘Both…and’, not ‘either/or’, is often the biblical viewpoint.”

SO WHAT?
· God’s judgment is eventually on His enemies
His enemies would be anyone that does not believe everything He has said; and those who have not been willing to give their lives to Jesus Christ. You can be His enemy, even though you believe there is a God and you are a religious person. It is all about whether or not you have made the personal decision to follow Jesus.

Yes it is true that God disciplines even His own children. Yes it is additionally true that sometime the enemies of God seem to prosper while the people of God suffer and die. It does happen. Things don’t always go according to our plan. But, an important thing to keep in mind, is that, in the end, it is the enemies of God that receive the judgment, not God’s people.

And in this case, it is most important to point out that when our human experience is over, there will be final judgments. Those judgments are not based on who was more moral; but according to whom placed their faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone for their salvation. The Bible says:

John 3:18 – “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

There is a condemnation, already, on those who do not believe. That condemnation results in final separation from God and eternal suffering:

Revelation 20:15 – “And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

Those who truly believe are not condemned, even though we continually fail. The Bible says that those who have believed have life with God for eternity:

John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

If you are confused by this at all; or want to make sure that you have eternal life waiting for you, with God, after death, just let us know; and we would love to talk with you.

· God’s enemies are no match for the power of the one and only true God

We see it in this story, when God brings these plagues and the gods they worshipped could do nothing about it. No matter how powerful the world seems to be and the gods that they worship (even self); the truth is that there is only one true God. He has the power and control; even though He chooses, for now, to allow Satan and the rest of His enemies to seem like the one in control.

His plan is being carried out. The timing, from His perspective, is just right. And just as with the magicians and gods of Egypt, there will come a time when it is evident to all that the true God is the only one to be worshipped. The Bible tells us that any day Jesus could return to the clouds, to receive His people to Himself:

I Thessalonians 4:16,17 – “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them it he clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.”

The Bible also says that those who do not believe will be left behind to face 7 terrible years of Tribulation – a time that will be incredibly worse than the 10 plagues! And when it is all over, even those who had always opposed God, will have to admit that God was right all along. And even though they never chose to worship Him while alive, they will have no choice as they face their final judgment:

Philippians 2:10,11 – “So that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Let me encourage you to learn a lesson from the story of these plagues in Egypt. Choose now to be one who will believe in God’s Word and follow Him wholeheartedly. What is God asking you to do in response to this message today?

THE BEST CHURCH SERVICE EVER

2009-04-13T10:17:00.003-04:00

This might be overstating it a little bit, and I do admit I am a little prejudice. I am sure that if I was at your church on Easter Sunday, I would say the same thing about your service. But, I really think that yesterday, here at Grace Baptist Church in Westlake, Ohio, I experienced the best church service ever. Maybe I should just say that it was my personal favorite and not the best one; but this is my blog, so I get to write whatever I want!

Let me just briefly tell you why I think it was the best service ever. After the opening video clip of the resurrection from the movie: "The Gospel of John", with Newsong's "Arise My Love" playing in the background, we entered into a 3 part Easter service. First, I talked about the statement Jesus made that everyone has to make a decision about whether they believe it or not: "I am the Resurrection and the Life".

In that section, I had the privilege of baptizing 9 people (5 adults, 4 children) and this included my daughter Breanna! There were testimonies given of how God changed their lives, so that they came to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and then decided to take this step of obedience through baptism. Each testimony was unique and heartfelt. Even one of the men shed tears as he shared his story - it was awesome!

After some traditional Easter worship with the choir leading, we entered the next section of the service. The second section was about the disciples of Jesus who were a part of the first church; and because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, they experienced incredible fellowship as they set out to serve God together. In this section, we heard 8 additional testimonies from people who had been baptized in the past, but were now interested in joining with us as members, for accountability and partnership in the gospel.

I never get tired of hearing how God has changed lives. Again, these testimonies were varied, as some were young, some older, coming from a variety of backgrounds. I realized, as they were speaking, that what I hoped for was true: any message I could have spoken (I spoke for about 15 minutes all together) paled in comparison to the messages spoken by changed lives. These testimonies by those who were already followers of Christ were great presentations of the good news of what Jesus did for us. I was thinking about and praying for those non-believers that were present at our Easter service, listening to these powerful "messages".

Our worship team led in some great classic worship songs for Easter: In Christ Alone and The Power of the Cross. These helped me focus on what Jesus did for us, as well as how the resurrection made such a difference. This led into the 3rd and final section of the service. I talked about the Apostle Paul and his pursuit of growing in his relationship with Jesus Christ. Because of the power of the resurrection, Paul faced his sins and weaknesses, and gave his full effort to know Christ and serve Him faithfully.

Before our closing song, we finished the service with 22 cardboard testimonies. Although it is not our church, you can see somewhat what is was like by looking at another church doing it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvDDc5RB6FQ

But, I testify that watching this on video, although moving, doesn't come remotely close to how moving our 22 cardboard testimonies were. The reason is, of course, that I knew the people that were sharing these things. The idea was that the person had written a "negative" thing on one side of the poster (i.e. working hard for the praise of others; unexplained infertility; Old life - foul mouth). And then, because of the power of Jesus Christ and His resurrection, a positive change was listed (i.e. Resting in God's acceptance as His child; We're pregnant, trusting God's plan; New Life- new vocabulary by the power of Christ).

Again, there were a variety of ages involved and a variety of testimonies: some about physical healings or struggles; relationship problems; personal, spiritual growth; and just the change brought about by salvation. I cannot explain in this writing how I was feeling as I watched each person go up and "share their testimony" by showing their poster. All the while, in the background, the songs were playing: "Hallelujah to My King" and "Lift High". To see people sharing their personal struggles and how God is working in their lives is exactly what I go into ministry for in the first place. And the great thing is: it has nothing to do with me and everything to do with the ongoing power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ!

We ended our service by singing together our song for the month: "Hallelujah to My King". Even for me, it was hard to keep the tears back, based on what I had just experienced. May God use those powerful "messages" in the lives of those that were there to witness it. The power of God still changes lives. I'm counting on it!

I'm sure this didn't convince you it was the best service ever; but then again - I don't care - this is my blog! (and my reading audience is not that big). Hi MOM!

Greg

PASSION OF THE CHRIST

2009-04-10T23:12:00.002-04:00

I am up late tonight because I am participating in my personal Good Friday tradition. I enjoyed another tradition earlier as I attended the Good Friday service at our church. It is helpful for me to hear music, celebrate the Lord's Table, and just take time to consider what Jesus did for me some 2,000 years ago. Then, usually by myself, I do what I am doing now: watching the movie, The Passion of the Christ. I know there are people that refuse to watch it. Either it is because of the R rating, or they just don't watch movies, or they are concerned whenever a movie trys to dramatize something in the Bible, because it cannot do it full justice. Others don't like the particular slant they feel that Mel Gibson put on it when he produced it; or the violence it protrays. I understand all of those concerns.

But, the reason I have watched it year after year, is because of the profound effect it has on me. The movie, from what I can tell, is very accurate in terms of what the Bible says. I know there are liberties taken, as with every movie. It is very well done, good acting, with a powerful message. But, there is one thing about this movie that leaves an impression on me every time I watch it. I really feel like I have a much better idea of what Jesus may have gone through, when He died on the cross for my sins.

When I read the biblical accounts, it is certainly moving, to read about Jesus suffering, trials and death. But, to watch a re-enactment of these things reminds me that this was no fairy tale. Jesus was real, and the suffering He went through on His way to the cross was also real, cruel, and incredibly painful. It has become much more real to me, as I can imagine it much better through this medium. Perhaps I shouldn't need the visual representation; but I can say that every time I watch this, my heart breaks as I consider what Jesus did for me.

I am humbled, and extremely grateful for the sacrifice that was given on my behalf. I don't want to forget what Jesus went through. I don't want it to be just words on the page. I don't want to just see it as another story in the Bible. I want to feel it. I want to let it touch my heart and mind in a deep way. I don't want to be the same, just going through the Good Friday and Easter motions year after year after year.

Watchig this movie is not as fun as an Easter egg hunt; and its gruesome protrayal will probably never leave my mind. I enjoy a good Easter egg filled with chocolate like anyone else; but I want these pictures to remain vivid, so that, hopefully, I will NEVER forget what Easter is really all about: the TRUE story of the death, burial and resurrection of my LORD and SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST!

Even if you never see this movie, I pray you also will be touched, deep in your soul, by what Jesus really went through to provide for your salvation. And that is the real reason I can wish you a:

HAPPY EASTER!

YOU'RE 14 - Say it ain't so!!

2009-04-06T08:58:00.002-04:00

Dear Alex and Isabella,

Today is your 14th birthday! Although I have always asked you to stop growing so quickly, you adamantly refuse to obey your father. Therefore, you deserve all 14 spankings today. You have already been teenagers for a year now; and I am still not used to saying that I have 2 teenagers in the house. It's your birthday, and I'm the one feeling old - thanks kids! Well, I guess I have to accept this - you're 14, and getting older by the second. So, I suppose I should, somehow, force myself to say:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

I want both of you to know how blessed I am to be your dad. Most parents know 9 months before their child is born that they are going to have a child. We didn't know until 2 years after you were born, that God was blessing your mom and I with both of you. You were incredible gifts given to us, directly from God, even though you began in Romania and spent some time in New Jersey. God used your birth parents and a loving family here in the U.S. to bring you to us, just as God had intended. It is an amazing story. We knew we couldn't afford the costs for adoption, and yet God used others to make it possible. From the first time we heard about you until we brought you home was an amazingly short 2 months. That is pretty much unheard of in the adoption world. We had not been on a waiting list, hadn't filled out any paperwork or sent in any money; but that phone call we received on a Monday night in April of 1997 changed our lives forever!

Both of you adjusted so well to our family, very quickly. You were, and still are, amazing. I look at the pictures of when we first got you, and I have those same feelings of awe and excitement - of thanks and gratitude to God. We have never hidden from you the fact that you were adopted, because that has been something to celebrate how God has brought our family together. Both of you are so special, not only because you were our first children; but since you were adopted, you are a forever reminder of the incredible privilege we all have of being adopted children by God.

The Bible tells us, since you have trusted in Jesus Christ alone for your salvation, that what really happened, is that God lovingly chose to adopt you into His family, before we ever adopted you into ours. We just didn't know He adopted you as well, until you made your own, personal, decisions to follow Jesus Christ, accepting His free gift of eternal life.

Ephesians 1:5 - "Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will."

John 1:12 - "But as many as received Him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name."

Both of you are growing up, and you are now entering an incredibly challenging and exciting time of life. As you get ready to enter high school. you will be making some decisions that could very well have an impact on your life for many years to come: who are your closest friends going to be; how hard are you going to work at your education; are you willing to start earning your own money and saving well; are you going to pursue a closer relationship with Jesus Christ; what does God want for your life; are you going to resist the temptations of drugs, alcohol and pre-marital sex; are you going to be more concerned about what your peers think of you, or what God thinks of you; are you going to develop skills and abilities God has given you, etc. And these are just a little sampling of the different things you will face in the next 4 years.

Your mom and I want you to know that we are praying for you, and that we want to walk along side of you in this exciting journey - during these years of opportunity. We can't be looking over your shoulder every second, and that would not be good for you. But, we do want to talk with you, find out what you are experiencing, and how we can be an encouragement and help to you. You are growing into a young man and woman, and you are going to need to make some of these important decisions on your own. But, please know that we are always here for you; and that we are very glad that we get to experience these next 4 years together, as a family.

No matter what God brings your way, or even the mistakes you may make, we will always love you, pray for you, and be ready to help you honor God with your life. He has blessed both of you with unique personalities and abilities that can be used greatly to impact others for Him. Our prayer is that you both will stay close to God in your hearts, seek His desires for your life; and find out for yourselves that true happiness is found in living for God.

I love you, Alex and Isabella, and I hope you have a great birthday!

Love, Dad

When are you going to preach from the Bible again?

2009-04-03T07:01:00.004-04:00

A couple of months ago, this was a question posed to me on Sunday morning, just before our Sunday school classes were to begin. I was getting ready to leave my office, when Harriet (this person's name has been changed to protect the innocent) stopped me at the door. There was no "good morning Greg" or "how are you Greg" or "Greg, I had something I wanted to talk to you about. When would be a good time?" No, just the question, with a stern look: When are you going to preach from the Bible again?

Harriet had been coming to church for a long time, so I figured she knew I used the Bible every week for my messages. It didn't take me long to ask: "Harriet, are you asking about when we are going to start working through a book of the Bible again?" She responded: "yes"; and I was able to tell her: "today". She then, seemingly satisfied, said "good" and walked away. I said "bye Harriet" and that was it.

That conversation has caused me to reflect on my preaching, and how I use the Bible to communicate God's truth. I realize that Harriet probably didn't mean it literally, that I wasn't using the Bible in my preaching recently; but there is no doubt that she was making clear what kind of preaching she preferred. That led her to the question: "When are you going to preach from the Bible again?"

If Harriet was simply saying that she preferred it when I preach through a book of the Bible, I actually agree with her. I enjoy that more than a topical series, because I know where I am going and what to do: just go to the next verse in the book or the next passage. I am loving preaching through Exodus at the moment. In a topical series, the topic drives where we go in the Bible to discuss it; and normally, we are not in one place in the Bible for very long, before we are turning somewhere else to look at another aspect of that particular topic. Although, I do try to have one main text that we are looking at during each week of a topical message series.

The week before Harriet said this, I didn't preach because I was just getting back from out of town, and transitioning from a message series I had just completed. And that topical series: The Perfect Church, is probably the real reason why Harriet made her opinion known by asking her question. During that series, I was sharing, from the Bible, why we do what we do as a church. I talked about the message of salvation, the morning service, our Adult Bible Fellowships (Sunday school) and Life groups (small group ministry). The decisions we make about these services and programs all come from principles found in passages of Scripture; and that is what we did for 7 weeks. At the end of that message series, I encouraged everyone to be a positive part of our church and to help us move forward with what God had called us to do.

Because I was so specific about why we were doing what we were doing, it caused some people consternation and led to many meetings trying to calm some people down. I have learned that when you specifically appy the Bible to individual and church life, especially if it means change, it makes people uncomfortable. That's just the way it is. I understnad that. I guess I wish people would understand where I am coming from when it comes to preaching.

Years ago, it was all about content for me. I didn't care about illustrations or applications. In fact, I was taught that those were not really that important. Just "preach the Word" and it will do its work. I do still believe the power is in the Word of God. The Holy Spirit uses His Word to change hearts and lives. But, I also realize that great preachers like Jesus and the Apostle Paul, didn't emphasize knowledge of content as much as they emphasized applying the truth of God to everyday real life. In fact, they criticized those who were all about gaining more knowledge of the Scriptures and were not living out the truth of those very Scriptures in love.

So, some years back, my approach changed. I have become what I call an applicational preacher. In other words, my goal is not that people would just be "hearers of the Word" but "doers of it". Therefore, I am going to do whatever I need to, in order to clearly communicate to those who come, the truth of the Word of God in a way they can undertand and apply it to life. If the people of my church are best known for their ability to win Bible trivia games, then I have failed. If, however, they are known for their love, and their humble application of the Word of God, I can't think of anything more rewarding.

With that in mind, I try to balance preaching through books of the Bible and topical messages. I will preach through an Old Testament book, such as Judges or Ecclesiastes (I have done both); then, preach a topical series, such as What the Bible has to say about worship or the church or politics (I've done all three); then, to a New Testament book (I have done books such as Mark and Philippians); then back to a topical series. Normally, the books of the Bible take longer to get through, so I probably spend about 65% of my preaching in Bible books. I like it that way.

By doing this, I seek to accomplish Paul's desire: to "preach the whole counsel of God", realizing God's Spirit will use books and topics based on His Word, to change people's lives. Helping people take the next step in their spiritual journey is my desire; and this preaching philosophy fits that perfectly (at least for me).

So, Harriet, thank you for saying what you said, because it made me evaluate what I have been doing (in my preaching) and to be more confident that I am doing, at least for now, exactly what God has asked of me. I am so thankful, to God, for His Word, the privilege of preaching it every Sunday; and for the gracious people who sit and listen (as far as I know) each week.

Growing in Grace,
Greg

ACT OF GOD

2009-03-31T16:34:00.001-04:00

I had stopped putting my messages on my blog, until I received a few requests from some of our church people (www.gbcwestlake.org) to do so. Apparently, some of them would rather read my message as a review than listen to it online; or want to do both. So, sorry to those of you who don’t want to read my messages; but for those who do, I will try to remember to include these once a week.

This is the very time I have preached through the book of Exodus; and I am absolutely loving it! I am learning so much and growing personally through it. I hope, that if you read these messages or listen to them (by going to the site above), you will also find Exodus to be a great book for learning about God, ourselves, and to grow spiritually. ENJOY!

ACT OF GOD
Exodus 6:28-7:13

Please turn in your Bible to the 2nd book of the Bible: Exodus and find chapter 6…Exodus 6.
According to the news reports: On the morning of December 26, 2004 a magnitude 9.3 earthquake struck off the Northwest coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, at 6:58 a.m. local time. The earthquake deformed the ocean floor, pushing the overlying water up into a tsunami wave. A tsunami is a series of waves that is created when a large volume of a body of water, such as an ocean, is rapidly displaced.

The tsunami wave devastated nearby areas where the wave may have been as high as 80 feet tall and killed nearly 300,000 people from nations in the region and tourists from around the world. The tsunami wave itself also traveled the globe, and was measured in the Pacific and many other places by tide gauges. It fanned out over the Indian Ocean causing severe and sudden flooding in Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, Indonesia and other areas.
Over a million people have been reported as homeless in Sri Lanka alone, at least 5 million were left without the basic necessities of life. Over 100,000 are reported dead in Indonesia. This tsunami was one of the largest ever in terms of casualties because it hit in heavily populated low lying coastal areas that were not well prepared.

This is one of those events, to which people would use the phrase: “It was an ACT OF GOD”. That is a phrase that has been used described an event, normally catastrophic, which cannot be blamed on anyone in particular; or something that seems to be outside of human control. People are not necessarily saying that God caused something; but are just excusing any human responsibility. People who do not even believe in God might use this legal term.

Now, let’s bring this phrase into the story of Exodus, in the Bible. Let’s bring this phrase: “Act of God”, into what we are about to read in Exodus, chapters 7-12 concerning the 10 plagues. When people talk about the tsunami being an “Act of God”, some people are simply stating the legal term that might be used on an insurance form. Some might use it, saying that God was bringing judgment on a certain nation or individuals, because of their sin. Some might try to leave God out of it all together and talk about “mother nature” or other human deficiencies that might be at blame. Depending on the perspective people are coming from, they are going to interpret disasters in their own way, either blaming God, or blaming something or someone else.

By the way, the article I read to you earlier ended with this exhortation: “To prepare for future tsunamis, we encourage everyone to educate themselves about what they can do now, and in the event that they should ever be threatened by a tsunami.”

As human beings, we like to think that we can somehow control natural disasters; or at least guarantee that we, ourselves, would not be harmed. But, as we move into this section of Scripture today, we are going to learn that when God specifically claims responsibility for something, there is no other way to interpret it than to say: This is an act of God; whether we agree with His actions or not. The fact is, attributing disasters to God’s specific action causes us all kinds of emotional and intellectual problems. It is something, in our lives, that we have to wrestle with; and dealing with it as it relates to the 10 plagues will be instructive, challenging, and good for our spiritual growth today. Are you ready?

In Exodus, chapters 3,4, God had appeared to Moses, telling him that he was the guy God had chosen to go to Pharaoh and then to lead His people out of Egypt. Moses argued with God, listing all of the reasons why there was no way he was the guy to do this impossible job. And God agreed with him, making sure Moses knew that he would not be doing it, in his own power; but despite his personal weaknesses and inability, God would be doing it through him, by the power and ability that God alone possesses. And he gave Moses a helper in his brother Aaron, and commanded them to go confront Pharaoh and deliver His message to him.

In chapter 5, Moses and Aaron confronted Pharaoh, king of Egypt for the first time, giving God’s message:
Exodus 5:1 – “…Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, Let me people go…”
Pharaoh responded:
Exodus 5:2 – “…Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go?”

Then, Pharaoh made it even more difficult on the people of Israel in their slavery; and this caused the leaders of Israel to condemn Moses and Aaron, and blame them for the increased hardship they were experiencing. But, none of this surprised God, and it was all a part of His plan. So, here, at the end of chapter 6 and beginning of chapter 7, God repeats His plan:

Exodus 6:28-7:2 – “On the day when the LORD spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, the LORD said to Moses, I am the LORD; tell Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you. But Moses said to the LORD, Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips. How will Pharaoh listen to me? And the LORD said to Moses, See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall tell pharaoh to let the people of Israel go out of this land.”

A Review (6:28-7:7):

The People (6:28-7:2): Who were the people that were going to bring God’s deliverance about? First, the most important player in this (6:29):
· I am the LORD
He has stated this over and over again, in revealing His plan to Moses. As we have mentioned before, this name for God: LORD is sometimes to referred to as Yahweh or Jehovah; but translated LORD, it refers to God as the promise keeping God, who wants relationship with His people. That was the name by which He wanted to be known. And then we are reminded of whom God chose to use:

· I am going to use Moses and Aaron to deliver my message
Despite Moses’ continual objections, such as “I am of uncircumcised lips”, God reiterated that He would use him despite his inability. Moses did not feel he could deliver God’s message or be followed by 2 million Israelites out of bondage; but God kept saying that he was the one He chose to deliver this message; and He provided Aaron to help as well. This was God’s plan.

The Plan (7:3,4)
Question: What was God going to do? Let’s tackle the most difficult part of this plan first:

Exodus 7:3,4 – “But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, Pharaoh will not listen to you…”

· I will harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he will not obey right away

O.k. We need to take a few moments here to consider this. Now, this is still review, because God had actually already said this very thing earlier.
Exodus 4:21 – “…But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go.”

Did that say that Pharaoh would harden his heart? No, God said: I will harden his heart. You can try to interpret this by saying that God knew that Pharaoh would harden his heart and that this is what it means; but you cannot get around the fact that God said, several times, I will harden his heart.

First, let’s be clear on what it means to have a hardened heart. This is something we all experience, even Christians, from time to time. Here is a definition I like:

A hard heart is a heart that is unresponsive to the truth; and it usually revolves around power and control. A hard heart is a heart that is unresponsive to the truth; and it usually revolves around power and control. We are going to see that is definitely true in this case. If you have a hard heart, you have basically determined you are going to do what you want to do, regardless of what God says. You want to be in control of your life, even if that means disobeying God’s Word.

Consider this: 3 different times in Exodus, God says: “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart.” 6 times, Exodus tells us: “The LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart.” 7 times, Exodus reveals: “Pharaoh’s heart was hardened.” And 3 times, we read: “Pharaoh hardened his [own] heart.”

There is no doubt that this King was going to have a hardened heart. We have already seen it. What can become a problem for us is whether or not we want to say that Pharaoh hardened his own heart or that God hardened his heart. The answer is clear, and the answer is: BOTH. Pharaoh hardened his heart AND God hardened it. But, we cannot leave out the fact that God did harden Pharaoh’s heart also. In fact, the first time we read about Pharaoh’s heart being hardened, it is in 4:21, when God said that He would harden Pharaoh’s heart. And here, in 7:3, we read it again, before we get to verse 13, where we will read that Pharaoh’s heart was hardened; and it will not be until 8:15 that we read for the first time that Pharaoh hardened his own heart. So, what do we do with this?

Please turn in your Bible to Romans 9. In the Bible in front of you, it is on page 945.

I want you to see this with your own eyes; so keep something here in Exodus 7, and turn with me to the New Testament book of Romans, chapter 9: Romans 9. If you are using the Bible in front of you, it is on page 945.
Just accept the truth for what it is, even though you cannot fully understand it. We are talking about God and His ways here, so there comes a point when our human minds cannot fully comprehend it; but we can believe it, even though we cannot fully explain it. Let me quote for you from the Bible Knowledge Commentary:

“Pharaoh’s heart was not enabled to heed the message and demonstrate repentance by releasing the people. God demonstrates His absolute sovereignty over mankind by using them as He pleases; some, like Moses, to honor Him and others, like this Pharaoh, to dishonor Him. Both kinds of people bring glory to God though it is beyond man’s finite ability to understand how this can be.” True.

In our minds, we start thinking things like: “Wait a second. That seems unfair. Pharaoh really didn’t have a chance. Well, the Apostle Paul, in the New Testament, knew that we would be struggling with this issue, as it relates to salvation; so he wrote this:

Romans 9:14-18 – “What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! For he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.”

That is hard to get our minds around, isn’t it? It is. The key is not necessarily being about to fully comprehend this; but to accept it as biblical truth; and to make sure we do not get a hardened heart against God because of His choices. Paul continues to try to answer the obvious questions and objections we might have to something like this:

Romans 9:19 – “You will say to me then, Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?”

In Romans, chapters 1-3, it explained that every person is responsible to believe in Jesus Christ for salvation; and if they do not, they are held accountable for it. But, in cases like Pharaoh’s it almost seems like he had no choice (in our minds); and we are tempted to almost argue with God on this point. Paul continues:

Romans 9:20-21 – “But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, Why have you made me like this? Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?”

Paul’s argument is this: Listen, God is God, and you are not. He made you, not the other way around. So, when it comes right down to it, when there is something like this that is hard to accept and comprehend, remember that you, who were created by God, have no right to tell God what to do, or what is right, or what is fair. God is always right, and will do what will bring Him the most glory.

Was Pharaoh responsible for his own actions? Yes. Did he harden his own heart? Yes. But, before we read that, do we also read it correctly: that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that he would not let the people go? Yes, that is the truth. Do we fully understand that? No. Does it cause some difficulties for us? Yes. But, can we trust in God and His Word, and know that He will only do what is right? YES!

Let’s get back to Exodus 7. I know I took some extra time there with this one phrase: “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart”; but it was important for us to lay this foundation, since we will be reading more about this in the next several chapters. The second part of God’s plan was this:

Exodus 7:4 – “Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment.”

· I will bring my people out of bondage with acts of judgment

This is where the plagues come in. God’s plan, as is reviewed here, is to do incredible acts of judgment, on the nation of Egypt, and to cause them to release His people, at just the right time (from God’s perspective). Finally, after God reviewed the key people involved, and the basic plan, He reminded Moses of His:

The Purpose
This will answer the questions: Why would God harden Pharaoh’s heart? Why wouldn’t God bring His people out of bondage much more quickly and more easily? Why is God going to act with such harsh judgment on Egypt? Here is the reason, as He has explained before:

Exodus 7:5 – “The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD when I stretch out may hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.”

This was God’s purpose for the coming plagues and for not allowing Pharaoh to let His people go, until He was finished. He wanted all the people of Egypt, His enemies, Israel’s enemies, to know that He was the one and only true God. We are going to see how the 10 plagues were in direct competition and in opposition to the many gods of Egypt. God was going to show who He was compared to their lifeless, impotent gods. And God had already stated that these acts would also help His own people know who He was:

Exodus 6:7 – “…and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.”

His purpose in all of this?
· I want everyone to know who I am

That is what God was after, when it came to these plagues. He wanted them to know who He was, that He was the only true God, the God who kept His promises, and the God who wanted a close relationship with His people. And then, this review section is closed out, with a reminder, once again, of who God chose to carry out this plan, and how they did obey God in it:

Exodus 7:6,7 – “Moses and Aaron did so; they did just as the LORD commanded them. Now Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.”

The headline on June 14, 2008, in the Los Angeles Times read: “40 years after brutal murders, Susan Atkins asks for mercy.” On an infamous summer night in 1969, young followers of Charles Manson entered a Benedict Canyon mansion and murdered five people gathered on the compound. Actress Sharon Tate, 8 1/2 months pregnant with the son of director Roman Polanski, begged one of the knife-wielding killers to spare her life. The attacker was Susan Atkins, and her response was cold and unequivocal.

"She asked me to let her baby live," Atkins told parole officials in 1993. "I told her I didn't have mercy for her." Almost 40 years later, it's Atkins who is asking for mercy.The Manson 'family' member has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, but her victims' relatives say that doesn't mean she deserves to get out of jail.”

Just like the Kings of Egypt, who ordered the midwives to kill all baby boys; and then ordered all Egyptians to throw any baby boys they found into the Nile River, so Susan Atkins is an example of a hardened heart that leads to death and destruction. That is where all hardened hearts eventually lead. This is an extreme example, perhaps, but a true story of a woman with such a hardened heart, that she had no mercy to give to her victims: a young woman and her unborn child.
But, unlike the king of Egypt here in the Exodus story, Susan Atkins professed to turn her life over to Jesus Christ, and is now dedicated to sharing the good news of His love and mercy. You see, the story of Susan Atkins, the story of the plagues in Exodus, and your story, is all about how the mercy of God can make a life changing difference, if you will respond with a humble heart.

Here, in Exodus 7, before the details of the plagues are given, we had a review of the truths about what God was doing and who He was using to do it. He is now going to get into how He is going to do it. Still, before the 10 plagues begin, we have what could be called:

A Preview (7:8-13)

Exodus 7:8-10 – “Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, When Pharaoh says to you, Prove yourselves by working a miracle, then you shall say to Aaron, Take your staff an cast it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a serpent. So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD commanded. Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent.”

Just before the plagues began, God sent Moses and Aaron to do a miracle before Pharaoh, which would really give a preview for how the plagues were going to go and how people would respond. God had already showed this miracle, of the staff turning into a snake, to Moses, and now it was time for Moses and Aaron to show it to Pharaoh, in the context of demonstrating that it was the LORD who had sent them with the message of deliverance. Something that happens here that we will see throughout the plagues is this:

· Moses and Aaron obeyed God and delivered His message

Despite their failures and shortcomings, throughout this story of the plagues, we will see Moses and Aaron do what God asks them to do, time and time again, in delivering His specific messages to the King of Egypt. There is something else we will see at play during these plagues, especially during the first cycle (plagues 1-3).

God did a miracle, through Moses and Aaron, in the sight of the King of Egypt. It was meant to show that God has the power, and that Pharaoh should obey and let God’s people go. Remember, in response to the first thing that Moses said to Pharaoh in 5:1 – “Thus says the LORD.”, Pharaoh responded: “Who is the LORD that I should obey Him”?; and then his servants responded with: “Thus says Pharaoh”, just before making their bondage much more unbearable.

There was a battle that was being waged here, between the servants of God and the servants of the King of Egypt.

Exodus 7:11,12 – “Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts. For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents…”

This is something else we will see in the plagues:
· God’s enemies seemed to have as much power as God

Pharaoh wanted to show that maybe the God of Israel wasn’t so great and powerful after all. So, he called his magicians and sorcerers, and they were able to reproduce the same miracle, casting down their staffs, and seeing them become snakes right before their eyes.

For those present at that moment, it would seem that God’s enemies had just as much power, or maybe even more than the God of Israel did. Yes, Moses and Aaron were able to make their staff turn into a snake, but each of the sorcerers and magicians, were able to throw their staffs down and the same thing happened. As they were watching all the snakes slither around, it seemed the enemies of God had the upper hand.

Are you making the connection to our world today? Every since the days of Moses and Aaron, those who have not trusted in God sometimes seems as though they have as much or more power than God Himself. They want to show they are wiser than God, if there even is a God; and they are in control of their own lives and eternal destiny.

In today’s world, those who do not accept God as He has presented Himself to be, try to prove that He is not really needed.

In a U.S. News and World Report, there was a section, where readers could write in their comments. This is what John, from San Diego wrote: “Many thanks for Jay Tolson’s thoughtful [article] ‘The New Unbelievers’. What is new about the new atheism is that science is just beginning to explore religion as a natural phenomenon of the brain, not the supernatural phenomenon of gods, spirits, and demons that most people still believe it to be. Atheism is a positive and uplifting worldview. Liberation from darkness, superstition, and irrationality of religion often brings great happiness, along with a serious commitment to do what is right for our fellow human and for our natural world – the only world there is.”

The enemies of God in Moses’ day would have liked to show that, by their own power, they could re-create what God supposedly did, to show that God wasn’t involved in the so-called miracle at all. People are still trying to demonstrate that same message today.

In an article by the American Policy Roundtable, they included a picture and then described it: “Richard Dawkins, the world’s most prolific and profitable atheist, standing before a public bus in London. On the bus is a huge sign reading ‘There probably is no God. Now stop worrying and live your life.’ The campaign began when atheists in Great Britain got angry over Christian advertising appearing on buses. So they tried to raise $8,000 to put their godless message on the same trams. A few weeks later they had raised over $200,000 to advertise atheism on 8,000 buses.”

There is a battle going on between those who follow Jesus Christ and those who want God out public life, for good. There may be times, when you feel outnumbered by those who put down Christianity and try to squeeze God out of public life.

But, just as with Moses’ experience here in Exodus, you can trust that, at some point, God will do what He did back then:
· In the end, God’s power overcame all other powers

Look with me, again, at chapter 7, and verse 12:
Exodus 7:12 – “For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs.”

“But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs.” Don’t you wish you could have seen that! They were able to duplicate the miracle; but in the end, it was the power of God that proved superior, as Aaron’s snake swallowed up all the other snakes. This is a preview of what will take place in the first few plagues, as the battle continues.
There is one more part of the preview to the plagues that needs to be seen, here in:

Exodus 7:13 – “Still Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the LORD had said.”

Even after Aaron’s snake, from the Moses’ staff, empowered by the God of Israel, showed who was superior, Pharaoh’s heart was still hard. This should be of no surprise to us, however, since God told us exactly what would happen. And this is only the beginning! This is a pattern that will continue:

· Regardless of God’s superiority, Pharaoh would not obey

If someone’s heart is hard, it doesn’t matter what proof there is of creation. If someone’s heart is hard, it doesn’t matter how God’s way makes so much more sense. If someone’s heart is hard, you cannot even beat the truth into them. I am sure you have seen that with your own children. You may have seen that, in your frustration with others, who will just not listen to the truth. And, if you are honest, you will admit, along with me, that we, at times, also have a power struggle with God over who is in control.

SO WHAT?

Follow the example of Moses and Aaron:
1. Obey God, even in the midst of uncertainty.
Moses and Aaron questioned at times, and not everything went according to their timing or plan. But, even in the midst of uncertainty, they obeyed God anyway. That is a great lesson for us. God has called you to do certain things that are uncomfortable, and not everyone is going to appreciate them. Your responsibility is not to wait until everything seems safe. Your job, before God, is to understand what He is asking you to do, and then to do it.

Perhaps, in the midst of financial uncertainty, God’s command to give of your money joyfully, voluntarily and sacrificially is a hard one. Or, you have a relationship that seems unstable…the other person is not responding the way they should; and yet God has asked you to love anyway, and to do the right thing regardless of their response.

2. Trust in God’s choices, even if you don’t understand them.
It is very hard for us to understand what God said: “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart”; but it is, nonetheless, what God chose to do, for His own glory. There will be many, many times, when you just won’t understand why God is allowing certain things in your life, or not allowing certain things you think He should. We could continually question God on His choices; but you don’t have to. You can choose to trust Him, instead. You don’t have to fully comprehend God or His ways. In fact, that Bible tells us that it is impossible, in this lifetime, to do so. What you can do is this: When you read something in the Bible about God and His ways, you can study it; but in the end, just accept it as truth. You aren’t expected to figure everything out; but God does expect you to trust Him.

3. Keep a humble heart before God.
Probably the greatest thing we can take away from these passages that talk about God, His unbelievable acts, and His judgment on hard hearts, is to evaluate our own hearts. The opposite of a hardened heart is a responsive heart. And a good description of a responsive heart, I believe, is this: The responsive heart says: “God, just tell me what to do. I will humbly receive it; and I will do it.” A humble heart does not think he has everything figured out or that he can do God’s will in his own power. He is open to learning, more every day, about God, His Word, and what He wants for his life. Are you willing to go to God in prayer, reading His Word, and being sensitive to how He wants you to live? If so, then you are responding to God’s Word, here in Exodus, in an appropriate way.

CARDBOARD FOR EASTER

2009-03-20T06:44:00.002-04:00

Every Easter Sunday, I feel this expectation that it needs to be special; that there needs to be something different, in order to mark the incredible celebration that it is. We are celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and it is the singular event that makes Him different and Christianity different than any other religious leader or religion. And, of course, this is not about a religion of trying to do enough good works to be known as religous; but it is about having a growing, personal relationship with the person of Jesus Christ. Therefore, Easter Sunday is extra special. It is one of the only times I cease whatever series of messages I am involved in, whatever book we are studying through, and I focus on Resurrection Sunday.

Last year, I wrote a drama that served as our message: a court trial, where witnesses to the resurrection, as described in the Bible, gave testimony as to what they saw. This year, I was not up to writing another drama, and it didn't seem that it is what God was leading me to do. Then, we remembered that a woman in our church had sent our pastors a youtube video months ago entitled: cardboard testomonies. It stuck in our minds and that was the first thing we thought of that needed to be included in our Easter service.

This is especially for all those who attend Grace Baptist Church of Westlake, Ohio, as I would like for you to consider being a part of this powerful testimony to God's grace in your life. Easter is about new beginnings, and about what Jesus Christ has done in our lives. So, I am encouraging every attender of Grace to give glory to God by giving a very easy, simple CARBOARD TESTIMONY.

What is a cardboard testimony? Very simply: you take a piece of cardboard or posterboard (I have posterboard in my office that any of you are welcome to take). That was easy, right? Then, take a marker and write, on one side of the poster a word or short phrase that describes a negative circumstance or struggle or hurt that you have experienced in your life. Then, on the other side of the poster, write a word or phrase that describes the difference Jesus Christ has made concerning that very thing.

For example, on one side of the poster, you might write: despair, attempted suicide; and on the other side, you might write: new hope, pursuing joy. Another example might be: working my way to Heaven (on one side); and then: trusted in Jesus for salvation in March 2009, on the other side. Hopefully, you got the idea. Every person, if they desire, can think of some way that Jesus has changed their life or is changing their life, in one way or the other. It just takes some time to think about it. If you need any ideas about what you could write down, please contact me, and I would be happy to help!

During the service on Easter Sunday, probably near the end, we will have everyone who is going to participate line up in the hallway outside the worship center. If you drop your posterboard off in my office, I can have it ready for you that day. Then, with an appropriate song playing in the background, we will come, one by one, to the center of the platform, and show our testimonies, without speaking, by showing each side of our poster. Then, we will go off to the side aisles to wait for everyone to be done, and then we will gather back in the front.

If you would like to see the video I first saw that gave us the idea for this, you can see it for yourself at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvDDc5RB6FQ

Watching the video may give you an idea of how you could give a testimony that day that can give glory to God. That is what this activity is all about. It is what our church is all about. Seeing God change lives and then giving glory to Him is absolutely the best thing we can do on Easter Sunday!

Thanks for considering how you can be a part of this.

Growing in Grace,

Greg

IT'S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR

2009-03-14T07:43:00.005-04:00

Some of you, even in March, read this blog title, and are still thinking back to Christmas. You think I'm 3 months late, writing about Christmas time: Wrong.
Some of you, my spiritual reades out there, think I'm talking about Lent season: Wrong.
Some of you, who believe you have some type of seasonal disorder, and hate winter, think I must be talking about the soon coming of spring: wrong.

Let me give you a hint: It has 2 m's in it. No, you chocoholics: I'm not talking about the M&M candy (although I love it). Let me give you another hint: it has to do with something round, something orange, something beautiful. Have you figured it out yet? If not, you must be a woman or alien (or both). I know it sounds like a disease, but are there any more wonderful than these two M words put together?

MARCH MADNESS!

Please don't tell me that you still don't know what I'm talking about. This is the time of year, when most men, and some women, have this unexplainable magnetic draw to sit for hours in the lazy boy and watch basketball game (college basketball!) after basketball game, game after game, after game after game. They call in sick even if they are not sick, the children go hungry and the spouses feel lonely. But, how can you blame us? It's the newest disorder, that has been around for decades: We are inflicted with March Madness! It's a wonderful sickness.

It has already begun, with over 300 division 1 basketball teams in college, they have been having tournaments to decide who gets to go to the Big Dance (the tournament of 64 teams, that begin play this coming Thursday). That is what the whole season of college basketball is about. That is the desire of every division 1 fan, coach and player: make it to the tournament. And if you watch any sports these next couple of weeks, that will be the main story. This weekend, it will be: who are the bubble teams (teams that might not make it into the 64 team tourney)? Who are probably going to be the four #1 seeds for the tournament? And on and on the questioning goes. The big leaue tournaments finish today or tomorrow; and the final selection of the 64 teams happens on Sunday afternoon. I think there might still be a 65th team that is selected, and a playoff early this next week to determine who the 64th team is.

So after all the league tournament championships and the selection of the 65 teams on Sunday and the playoff on Monday or Tuesday; then the anticipation builds for Thursday, when at about noon, all television sets somehow turn automatically to the tournament, every worker suddenly feels ill and has to go home; or hides in his cubicle and finds a live stream for the opening round of the NCAA tournament. Then, he goes home and stays up until midnight watching the final West coast game. Then, he does the same thing on Friday, as the teams go from 64 to 32.

On Saturday and Sunday afternoons and evenings of that first weekend, nothing but basketball (I would suggest going to church in there somewhere as well. I am a pastor you know!). Then, when all the excitement dies down late Sunday night, we crash into bed and have a basketball hangover on Monday. We take a couple days to recover and do it again the following weekend as we watch the final 16 teams (the Sweet 16 as it is affectionately called) go all the way down to a final four (outside of winning the championship, making the final four is the goal).

Then, there is an entire week of waiting and talking about it. Of course, during the waiting of these few weeks, the lesser teams, who couldn't make the real tournament, are playing in the 3 letter tournament (NIT), in case you just have to watch more basketball! And then, the final four on the final weekend, on Saturday and Sunday; and then the anticipation builds to the following Monday for the national championship game.

So, there it is: the full explanation. Now, do you understand? Is there anything bette than that?There can be no doubt, right, that this is truly: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!
Let the games begin!