A New Beginning - Exodus 11:1-12:4

[0:00] Well, good morning, everybody. Welcome to Calvary Chapel Charlotte. All right, you can open your Bibles to Exodus chapter 11.

[0:11] Getting back to the book of Exodus, we've taken a break over December, kind of looking at the Savior, our need for a Savior, the promise of a Savior, the arrival of a Savior, and the effect of a Savior.

[0:24] I had a good time doing it. I hope you did. But it is very good to get back just to line by line, verse by verse. And man, I love God's Word. I wouldn't be able to teach anything other than it because I'd run out of things to say, guys.

[0:37] But today we're going to look at a new beginning. As we get into Exodus 11, you know, we've kind of a little backstory, right? We've gone through nine of the ten plagues, nine of those plagues, as we've traveled through Exodus.

[0:50] And it seems like they've taken a long time. You can almost feel like, wow, I mean, how long were these plagues? Like years? But when you look at the actual timeline that the Bible gives us, I mean, think of the plague of frogs.

[1:02] It comes and then Pharaoh calls Moses in and he's like, hey, I'm sick of frogs. The next day Moses goes out and there's no more frogs. So we're looking at a couple days per plague.

[1:13] You're talking at tops two months that this took, possibly about 40 days, which would fit with God's timetable of judgment. You know, 40 days is a number that he uses frequently.

[1:25] So this is not a lot of time. It's only a couple months this has taken place. And now we're coming into chapter 11. If you remember at the end of chapter 10, Pharaoh kind of loses it with Moses.

[1:35] And he says there in verse 28 of chapter 10, He says, Now, when we said, whether that meant Moses ever sees Pharaoh's face or not, because at the end of the 10th plague, Pharaoh is going to call Moses back.

[2:01] And whether it's dark or maybe Pharaoh just doesn't look at him, literally he may not see his face. Or as it indicates almost in the text, it's the idea of Moses saying, You're right. I'm not coming back here on my own.

[2:12] I'm not coming back. Because a lot of times Moses was the one initiating and coming in and saying, Hey, Pharaoh, let my people go, says the Lord. Here's what God's going to do. And that kind of brings us into chapter 11.

[2:24] We'll do 11 and we'll get a little bit into 12, I think. It's a short chapter, but there's a lot there. And Moses is still in Pharaoh's court. If you remember, as we've gone through the plagues, we've asked the question a couple different times, Well, why?

[2:40] Why is God doing this? Well, he's doing it to deliver his people. But there's another reason as well. In 2 Samuel chapter 7, I'll just read this to you. It's where David has just gone in before the Lord.

[2:52] And he's worshiping the Lord because God has just told him, David, I know you want to build me a house. You want to build the temple. But I'm going to build you a house instead. And his response to the Lord, he says, Wherefore thou art great, O Lord God, for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

[3:09] And what one nation in the earth is like your people, even like Israel? We're talking years after. We're talking decades and hundreds of years. Israel's come out of the land, 40 years in the wilderness.

[3:21] They've gone then, I mean, out of Egypt, 40 years in the wilderness. They've gone into the promised land, conquered the promised land with Joshua. All the years of the judges. Samuel, the last judge, the people reject him and say, Well, I want Saul to be king.

[3:33] Give us a king like the other nations. Saul comes on the scene and he is not the man they thought he was. Saul rejects God. And so God rejects Saul. God raises up David. Years, David has, of running from Saul.

[3:45] Until then, Saul is put down by God. David now is king. He's been king a while. And he sits down and he says, I'm living in this house and God's in a tent? And the Lord comes and says, Listen, David, I'm not in a tent.

[3:59] The heavens of heavens can't contain me. There's no way that any house or any tent or anything man builds can contain me. He says, but I'm going to build you a house. So here's this nation, the nation that we're reading about that is in Egypt.

[4:12] God has done it. He's brought it full circle. And David says, What one nation in the earth is there like your people? Even like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself.

[4:22] Why is God doing this? Because he went to redeem a people. He went to rescue his people, to deliver them. To redeem a people for himself. To make him a name and to do for you great things and terrible.

[4:35] For your land before your people, which you have redeemed to you from Egypt, David says. And from the nations and their gods. Why did God go to do that? Why did he redeem them?

[4:46] So that the world may know. So that he might say, This is who I am. I have redeemed for myself a people out of all of the lands. If you remember back in Exodus chapter 5, when Moses first came into Pharaoh.

[4:57] Pharaoh's response. I'm sorry. Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord? Who is he that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I don't know the Lord. Neither will I let Israel go. Who is the Lord and who is Israel?

[5:08] Years later, David will say, Man, Lord, look what you've done. But at this point, Pharaoh says, I don't know who you are. Fast forward a little to Exodus chapter 6. The people. And I will take you to me for a people and I will be to you a God.

[5:23] And you shall know that I'm the Lord your God. As God comes to the people through Moses and said, There's a reason I'm doing this. I want you to know that I'm your God. Which brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

[5:34] Pharaoh says, Who's the Lord that I should know him? Pharaoh says, And the Lord says, You're going to know me. He comes to the people and says, I want you to know who I am. They've been living in Egypt for decades, centuries.

[5:46] We know from other places in scripture, they're worshiping the Egyptian gods. Imagine if God came day one and just said, Hey, I'm going to deliver you from Egypt. And I'm going to do that.

[5:57] So we're going to see you through the 10th plague, through the death of the firstborn. And I need you to slaughter a lamb and put the blood in the doorpost. Would they have been ready at that point to do that? They're not going to do that. How do we know if the Lord is true?

[6:09] And then lastly, in Exodus chapter 7, verse 5, The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord. So to Pharaoh, to the people, and then also the people of Egypt.

[6:20] When I stretch forth my hand upon Egypt and bring out the children of Israel from among them. 10 different times God says throughout Exodus that they may know, that God's people may know, that the world may know, that the Egyptians may know, that Pharaoh may know.

[6:33] God wants people to know who he is. Well, why does he want people to know? Because our relationship with God is not like the false gods of this world, is it? It's based on relationship.

[6:45] It's based on knowing. Jesus says, and this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. God wants us to know him, because without knowing him, we have no part in him.

[6:58] If we don't know God, we can't partake in him. We can't partake through ritual. And so as God has come to deliver his people, it's not just to whoop on the Egyptians and get Israel out, but it's that they may know him and who he is.

[7:13] We read this verse a bunch over the last few weeks, looking at the arrival of the Savior. Isaiah 53, 11, And he shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied. Speaking of God, looking down and seeing the travail of the soul of the Messiah, of Jesus' suffering.

[7:29] And by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities. So the Savior will bear their iniquities. He shall see the travail of their soul.

[7:40] He shall justify many, but how is that going to happen? How does that come to us? How do we partake in that? By knowledge. Through knowledge, my servant shall justify many, as we know God.

[7:51] Man needs to know the only thing worth knowing. And so God pushes into our world. He pushes in through judgment and deliverance, so that we might know the only thing worth knowing. God judged Israel?

[8:04] I mean, God judged Egypt for the sake of Israel? Yes. But so that they might know him. The false gods of Egypt. God judged them for the sake of making known the true God, didn't he?

[8:18] We've gone through these nine plagues. Each one of them judging a false God. Each one of them showing that no, there's only one true God in that area. The God of the Nile.

[8:30] The goddess of fertility. The God of the earth. A God of creation. Mother goddess. A God of medicine. A God of the sky. A God of storms and order and disorder.

[8:43] The sun God. And now as we get into this 10th one. Ra. Pharaoh was considered to be the son of Ra. And so God will judge the firstborn of the God.

[8:54] The false God. As he reveals the true God and his firstborn. God destroyed Egypt, yes. But he did so in the hope of saving Egyptians. And we should never think that God would not hesitate to do the same today.

[9:08] God had created Egypt to be the nation that it is when he sent Joseph there. They became a superpower when there was seven years of famine. And Egypt, all the nations were coming to Egypt to buy grain.

[9:21] They became the superpower. God used them to rescue his people. But when he realized that his people needed to be delivered from Egypt, he's like, all right, that's nothing for me.

[9:32] For the sake of deliverance, don't think that God wouldn't destroy a nation. Let's jump into verse 1 now. And the Lord said unto Moses, as he's still there in the presence of Pharaoh.

[9:45] Pharaoh's just said, I'm never going to see your face again. And Moses said, yeah, that's right. You're never going to see my face again. And the Lord speaks to Moses right there. And the Lord said to Moses, yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt.

[9:58] And afterwards, he will let you go hence. Well, is this new? This is a new result. This is something different. Every other plague that's come, God has told Moses, hey, Moses, Pharaoh's not going to let you go.

[10:12] I'm going to harden his heart. And here he says, I'm going to bring one more and he will let you go. And when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence all together.

[10:24] Remember before Pharaoh said, okay, Moses, you can go. But your children have to stay here and your wives, the men can go. He's like, no, we're all going.

[10:34] Okay, okay, okay. You can go, but your cattle has to stay here. He's like, no, we're going to. Okay, you can go, but don't go too far. Don't take, don't go too far. You want to be a Christian? All right.

[10:45] But don't go too, don't involve the whole family. We don't all have to go to church. Come on now, Pharaoh. Let's not get carried away. Even the dog? No, the animals too.

[10:57] My cat is not saved. But God's deliverance is never half measured. It's all the way. He says, you will go. I will, he will thrust you out all together.

[11:07] And I love this word in the middle of this verse. And upon Egypt and afterwards, he will let you go. Well, Lord, none of these other plagues did this. None of them worked. And you're telling me this one did.

[11:18] What proof? How do I know? How do I know what's coming afterwards? Well, all we have is God's word. All Moses had was God's word. Faith never takes into account the afterwards, but always trusts God that all afterwards belong to God.

[11:34] Faith never takes into account the afterwards, but it trusts that all the afterwards belong to God. Romans 22, 13, I am the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the afterwards.

[11:46] It's all in God's hands. Faith doesn't look to the future. It looks now to what God is doing and walks by faith. Right? We talk about it all the time. A lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path.

[11:57] Not headlights to my road ahead. It's just in front of me. Faith doesn't worry about the afterwards. It says, all right, if God said it, I'm gonna walk forward into it. And right now, Moses is having to believe that God is gonna do something totally different with this plague.

[12:11] This last plague, it'll accomplish what? None of the others could. None of the others have brought deliverance, but he's gonna have to believe that this one will. The last plague will free God's people from the enemy and bondage.

[12:22] Well, that's new. And this last plague, there'll be no going back for God's people. Once you enter into God's deliverance, you don't go back. Nobody's gonna go back to Egypt.

[12:34] Now, they're gonna want to, and there may be times, sadly, we may wish the same. But once you enter into God's deliverance, there is no going back. And the Lord said this to Moses, he shall thrust you out together.

[12:47] And then he says in verse two, well, speak now in the ears of the people, the people of Israel, the Hebrews. Let every man borrow of his neighbor and every woman of her neighbor, jewels of silver and jewels of gold.

[12:59] The word borrow there means to ask, to beg, or to demand. To go to your neighbor. Well, what's this? If you remember back in Exodus chapter three at the burning bush, when the Lord's kind of giving Moses the whole game plan ahead of time, he said to them, no, sorry, that's a wall of text.

[13:17] He said, I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go. No, not by a mighty hand. In other words, not except, you see, a mighty hand. And I will stretch out my hand and smite Egypt with all my wonders, which I will do in the midst thereof.

[13:30] And after that, he will let you go. See that little colon right there? He will do in the midst thereof, colon, and after that. It's so easy to say, but there's a lot that happens between them.

[13:41] In that little space, there's all of the plagues, all the times Moses has to go into Pharaoh, all the times he has to speak God's word, all the times he has to stand there and think, he's not even gonna listen to me and I'm gonna look a fool again.

[13:55] After that, he will let you go and I will give this people favor, literally grace, in the sight of the Egyptians. And it shall come to pass that when you go, you shall not go empty.

[14:05] But every woman shall borrow of her neighbor and of her that sojourns in her house, jewels of silver and jewels of gold and raiment, and you shall put them upon your sons and your daughters, and you shall spoil the Egyptians.

[14:22] God knows how to settle accounts, doesn't he? Right? There's a whole lot of back pay that's owed to the Hebrews for years of servitude to the Egyptians. And God says, don't worry about it.

[14:33] I got it. God supplies all that is needed for our deliverance. The issue is, in the moment, sometimes it's hard to believe that. Never let a lack of resources keep you from moving forward along the path of God's deliverance.

[14:49] He says, Moses, we're heading out. You can just, I just, I'm just picturing some mom in their little mud hut or whatever in Egypt, like, oh, I know we're gonna leave, but we got nothing. We're gonna go out.

[14:59] What? Where are we gonna go? What are we gonna do? We don't have any resources. God says, it's time to go. Moses comes and says, we're gonna leave, but we don't have anything. We've worked for years and we have nothing. Trying to save what little she can, maybe.

[15:12] Never let a lack of resources keep you from moving forward along God's path of deliverance. He'll take care of the afterwards. God will always supply all of the resources that are needed for our progress in faith.

[15:24] Nothing, lack of resources never stops our progress in faith. We must never let God's timing and his methods cause us to lose focus on the one who gives the resources.

[15:36] God's timing and God's methods? Well, God, you're coming at the 11th hour? Well, no, but he's coming at the 10th plague. Wait until the end? Couldn't he have given us the resources in the beginning?

[15:48] You know, that would have been so much more helpful. He gives as we go. He gives as we go, doesn't he? Man, the journey of this church. He's never left us without resources. There's times that I've been very worried about the afterwards.

[16:01] And God's like, just keep progressing in faith. It's all right. And thankfully, there's enough of you that I can't stop. You know, it just kind of, everybody else is moving along, so I'm like, well, I guess I'm going too. Philippians 4, 19, but my God shall supply all your need according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus.

[16:18] All of our need comes from the Lord. Remember when Jesus sent out the disciples to go out and to preach the kingdom, the 70 disciples, he sends them out. He says, hey, don't take any money. Don't take a backpack.

[16:29] You know, don't even take shoes. Just go out because I'll provide. And then right before he goes to his crucifixion, he says to them, remember how I told you not to take anything? They're like, yeah, that was wild. You know, I mean, just someone came up to me and said, here's 10 bucks.

[16:41] Someone said, hey, I just bought some Chick-fil-A and I realized I don't like chicken. Here you go. Right? He says, well, now I'm telling you, take a backpack, take money, take a sword. Take, what is Jesus saying he's not going to provide?

[16:54] Not at all. Not at all. It's still his provision. Those are still his resources. God may provide resources miraculously or he may do it through the mundane. You're like, God, I need, I just, I need some resources.

[17:07] I need a place to live and to stay. He says, here's a job. He said, no, I don't want a job. I want a miracle. He says, go do that job. It's still his resources. And the Lord gave the people, verse three, this is kind of a footnote as he says, he's speaking to Moses, hey, I'm going to give the people favor and then he's giving us this little like footnote saying it did happen.

[17:26] And the Lord gave the people favor or grace in the sight of the Egyptians. The last plague that God is sending upon the Egyptians will plunder the Egyptians, will plunder God's enemies.

[17:39] But how does he do it? Does it through grace? All of God's riches come by grace. Second Titus 2.11, for the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.

[17:53] He didn't say, go into the Egyptians' homes, take your swords and they threw your babies in the river. So go and wipe them out and take all they have. He's just go ask. How do we receive grace? Let us therefore come boldly under the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

[18:08] We come and just ask. God, I need grace. Romans 5.21, that as sin has reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ, our Lord.

[18:22] And so God says, go and ask them. I will give you favor. I will give you grace in their sight. 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.

[18:36] Yeah, I bet he was at this point. I bet they made way when they saw him coming. But what made Moses great? You know, what's interesting is we've gone through this, but we're up to chapter 11 and all of these plagues.

[18:49] I've been surprised at how in the background Moses is. He's almost like not even there. There's Pharaoh and then there's God. And Moses is like, you don't even see Aaron. You just kind of hear he's there.

[19:00] Moses is just kind of there. We don't get a lot of press about him. He goes and says what he's supposed to do. He does what he's supposed to do. It says Moses was very great. Well, what made him so great? Moses was great in life because God's word was great in Moses.

[19:15] Moses respected and honored God's word. He lived according to God's word. Everything that's happened in Egypt has been according to God's word and one man's obedience to God's word.

[19:26] Moses. The Egyptians, they saw only a man. Remember at one point the servants of Pharaoh said, whoa, this is the finger of God. We can't create lice. This is God's finger.

[19:39] They only saw a man but in reality he was so much more than a man, wasn't he? He was God's man. And Moses as our type, as a shadow, right? Our shadow of God is deliverer, a shadow of Jesus who's gonna bring them out through the death of a firstborn, through the blood upon the doorpost, through the Red Sea like baptism, down into death and up into life.

[19:59] Moses is our shadow of Jesus. Well, Jesus was so much more than a man. In John chapter 10, Jesus is responding to the Pharisees and he said, many good works have I showed you from my Father.

[20:14] For which of those works do you stone me? I love how like Jesus is always just chill. They're ready to stone him and he's like, hey, can I ask you something? Hey, wait, don't throw it yet. Which of those works do you stone me?

[20:25] And the Jews answered him, well, we liked your good works but not for good works but for blasphemy because you being a man make yourself God. The Pharisees saw only a man but he was so much more, wasn't he?

[20:36] He was God. He was the God man. In John 14, 12, Jesus says, truly, truly, I say unto you, he that believes on me, the works that I do shall he do also.

[20:47] And greater works than these shall he do because I go unto my Father. Greater works? I shall do these works too? Whoa, we are so much more than what the world thinks we are. The world looks at us and just says, you're just religious and weird.

[21:01] We're so much more than that. We've been redeemed. We have the opportunity to go out and minister in Jesus' name and in Jesus' power through the power of the Holy Spirit. And Moses then says, and this is where, if you remember that chart at one point we had, where I wasn't, if you look on the far right-hand columns, was Pharaoh forewarned and were the Hebrews exempt?

[21:23] And we saw that pattern of three. You'd have two times where Pharaoh was forewarned and then he wasn't with the plague. Two times he was and then he wasn't. And the Hebrews were exempt after the third plague. God made a distinction.

[21:35] Literally, he made a redemption between his people and the Egyptians. And then the last one there, I kind of have a little asterisk next to it. Were the Hebrews exempt for this tenth plague, this plague of the firstborn?

[21:47] Well, yes and no. Because if they didn't put the blood on the doorpost, they wouldn't be exempt. But they all had the opportunity to be exempt. And it seems like from the text, they all did it. And then was Pharaoh forewarned?

[21:57] And at the time, I wasn't sure as I was studying through it, but now I think he was as we look at what's going on here. Because verse four, Moses is still there with Pharaoh and he said, thus saith the Lord, about midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt.

[22:12] So, Pharaoh and Moses just had this kind of like back and forth, you're never going to see my face. And God begins to speak to Moses. And as God speaks to Moses, then Moses seems like he speaks to Pharaoh and he said, thus saith the Lord, about midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt.

[22:29] You know what he didn't say? Pharaoh, it's over. Right now, you're smoked. There's still time. Pharaoh, there is still time to repent. Midnight hasn't struck yet.

[22:40] Might be the 11th hour. Might be the 9th plague, the 10th plague. But there was still time to repent. Remember when Jesus was hanging on the cross and next to him were those two thieves? Well, one of the Gospels tells us they were both railing on him.

[22:53] They were both mocking him. And then in Luke, at some point, as the one is mocking him, the other one turns and says, don't you fear God? God, seeing you are in the same condemnation and we indeed justly?

[23:04] For we receive the due reward of our deeds, but this man has done nothing amiss. Well, like he was only on the cross for three hours, right? So, a few minutes before he's mocking him and now all of a sudden he's like, well, I changed my mind.

[23:18] I think he's really God. And we know that because he does a couple things. He recognizes his own sin. He says, oh, we are here justly, but this man has done nothing. He recognizes Jesus' innocence.

[23:28] And he said to Jesus, Lord, recognizes Jesus as Lord. Remember me when you come into your kingdom and he recognizes Jesus will overcome death. Remember me when you come into your kingdom and Jesus says, truly I say unto you, today you'll be with me in paradise.

[23:44] It's never too late. There's still time for repentance. While there's life, there is hope. But we also know, just like for Pharaoh, midnight is eventually going to strike, right?

[23:55] The clock's going to strike. Genesis 6-3, the Lord says, my spirit shall not always strive with man. There will be a day when that clock will hit midnight and there'll be no more space for repentance.

[24:07] If you want, you can turn over to Luke chapter 23, where I can just read it to you. Jesus is dealing with the Pharisees about their covetousness. And in Luke 23, picking up in verse 39, he begins to tell them a story.

[24:22] And it's not a parable because he uses actual names in this. So he's telling an actual story. I'm sorry, not Luke 23. Luke, I think he's not showing me.

[24:38] Hang on, guys. Luke 16, sorry. 23 was the one with the thief on the cross. Luke 16, picking up in verse 19.

[24:49] So Jesus is responding to them regarding their covetousness and regarding the things that they're prioritizing in this life.

[25:01] He says, there was a certain rich man in verse 19, which was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate full of sores.

[25:13] What's going on there? Why did they do that? Well, he was desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Well, the idea in that time was there wasn't a welfare system, but if you were wealthy, if you were well off, they would lay beggars at your door.

[25:26] And the idea was you should be part of taking care of them. It's kind of like that was your beggar. If you want to look good, you made sure your beggar was taken care of, right? Well, the rich man, the idea here is that he did not.

[25:37] He ignored him. Even the dogs took better care of him. Moreover, the dogs came and licked his swords. Sores, not swords. And it came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by angels into Abraham's bosom.

[25:51] The rich man also died and he wasn't carried anywhere. He was just buried. And in hell or in Hades or in death, the place of death, he lifted up his eyes, being in torments and seeing Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom.

[26:04] And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me. Send Lazarus. Probably never called him by name before in his life. And in death, he's saying, send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue for I am tormented in this flame.

[26:20] But Abraham said, Son, remember that you in your lifetime received good things and likewise, Lazarus, evil things. But now he is comforted and you are tormented.

[26:32] You think, what does that mean? Does that mean that if I have a good life and I'm not suffering that I'm going to get punished in the afterlife? Or, oh, maybe if I want to get to heaven, I need to go out and live in poverty and not at all what he's saying here.

[26:45] What he's saying is, you prioritized the first life. All of your efforts was in that life. Lazarus had nothing good in that life, but guess what?

[26:57] He prioritized. We enter in the same way. Lazarus wasn't taken into Abraham's bosom because he was suffering or because he had a hard time in this life. He was taken the same way we will be, by faith.

[27:09] But he's saying to the rich man, you had a chance. Death in this life, it fixes our place in eternity. When we die here, we don't get another chance. That fixes our place in eternity.

[27:19] This is our window of repentance because midnight has not struck yet. Where there is life, there is hope. And we won't have an angel take us into Abraham's bosom, sorry to say.

[27:33] We'll have Jesus receive us into his bosom. On this side of the cross, so much better. Think of when Stephen was being stoned and he looks and he says, I see the son of man standing on the right hand of the throne, ready to receive him.

[27:46] But in this life, this is our chance. This is our chance to repent and our chance to respond to what God is doing. And so Moses was very great.

[27:57] He was very great because of what God had done in him and through him. And Moses is saying to Pharaoh, Pharaoh, there's only so much time left and God is going to go out. Notice who it is who goes out.

[28:08] It's the Lord himself. God takes judgment very serious and very personal. I will go out. Psalm 75, 7. But God is the judge. He puts down one and he sets up another. He doesn't give that to anyone else's hands.

[28:20] He alone. God entered into the world. He entered into Egypt and he entered into all our world for the sake of judgment and for the sake of deliverance. Verse 5. And now, Moses is speaking this, I think, to Pharaoh.

[28:33] He says, Pharaoh, doesn't matter if you're in Pharaoh's court.

[28:47] Doesn't matter if you're just a servant. Man, this is going all the way on to the animals. And even under the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill and all the firstborn of the beasts.

[29:00] God's judgment and deliverance is for all. But God's judgment, God's judgment isn't just coming upon Pharaoh and it's not coming upon Egypt because of Pharaoh, but Egypt as well, we know, has rejected God.

[29:17] They have chosen their gods instead of the one true God. God's judgment and deliverance is going to result in the death of a firstborn. One way or another, a firstborn would die. Pharaoh, it does not have to be your firstborn.

[29:30] It could be the firstborn of another. Colossians chapter one, God has delivered us from the power of darkness and has translated us into the kingdom of his dear son.

[29:41] How did he do that? In whom we have redemption through his blood, through death, through sacrifice, even the forgiveness of sins, who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature.

[29:53] Yes, a firstborn would have to die to satisfy God's judgment. But which firstborn? Firstborn is the key. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son.

[30:05] Pharaoh, it doesn't have to be your firstborn. Whoever you are in Egypt, made servant, man, it doesn't have to be, it doesn't have to be me. It doesn't have to be my life. There is another's.

[30:18] There is no escaping this judgment. It is universal. And we all come under that judgment. All of Egypt came under that judgment. But there is a way for that judgment to pass over us. So I don't want to be under judgment.

[30:30] Yes, you do. You want to be under judgment because only those under judgment can enter into deliverance. Jesus said, I didn't come for the sick. I didn't come to heal them. I mean, I didn't come for the healthy.

[30:41] I came for the sick. I didn't come for the righteous. I came for the sinner. So if you're like, well, I'm not sick and I'm not a sinner, well, then you don't need to be healed and you don't need to be saved. And if you're not under judgment, then you can't come under deliverance, can you?

[30:56] And there should be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, verse 6, such as there was none like it nor shall be like it anymore. This one final act of judgment, this one final act of judgment will finish it as Jesus hung on the cross and said, it is finished in that one final act of judgment for in that he died, he died unto sin once for all.

[31:18] Not in the text, but in parentheses, essentially, he died unto sin once for all, that there doesn't have to be another judgment. But, he says, against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue against man or beast.

[31:34] You may know that the Lord has put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel. Well, what does that mean? Not a dog shall move, I think what he's saying, Moses, God's saying through Moses to Pharaoh is like, Pharaoh, nobody's gonna bark at these people.

[31:50] Pharaoh, to me, you're just a barking dog with no bite. No one's gonna, no one is gonna even speak against them. Pharaoh, not even you are gonna say a word against them. Not even a dog will move his tongue because of what I will do.

[32:04] Is there anyone today who can speak against the judgment and deliverance that God has brought through the death of the firstborn? I mean, you can rail against it like the thief on the cross, you can complain about it, you can reject it, but I guarantee you you can't speak against it.

[32:19] You can't, well, that wasn't good enough, well, that didn't work, well, it's not for me because there will be a day where every knee will bow and every tongue will confess. Pharaoh, you're not gonna speak against this, that you may know, and there it is, the Lord has put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.

[32:33] And what is the difference? The difference that God put was their response to God's word. How did they respond to God's? Israel, if they didn't obey God's word, if they didn't put the blood on the doorpost, they would be in the same position that the Egyptians were.

[32:49] Over the course of nine plagues, God has prepared his people for this one final act of deliverance. Like we said, if he did it, when Moses shows up and says, hey guys, this is what we're gonna do, I'm the deliverer, God's gonna come through tonight, he's gonna kill all the firstborn unless you put the blood of this lamb upon your doorpost.

[33:06] Remember when Pharaoh said, okay, stay in the land and sacrifice to your God, what did Moses say? He said, well I can't, we can't sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians.

[33:17] Like to sacrifice in that way was an abomination because the Egyptians worshipped the animals. They said, the cow is a god and the sheep is a god and the mother goddess has a head of a cow. So they couldn't do that.

[33:29] So if Moses shows up on day one and says, go and slaughter all of these lambs and put the blood on your doorpost, they'd be like, no way, the Egyptians will hate us, will stink in their eyes.

[33:40] But God prepared them through these nine plagues to the point where I don't think one of them disobeyed because he said, there will not be one who will cry out in all the land of Israel because they have been prepared to obey God's voice.

[33:55] Israel needed to know that their God was the God and that's what God did over these nine plagues. Isaiah 54, 17 says that no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper and every tongue, every tongue of a dog that shall rise against you in judgment, you shall condemn.

[34:12] This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord. That's our heritage. That's what God hands off to us as he rises from the dead. He says, hey, this is part of your heritage.

[34:24] Nobody's going to speak against you either. Verse eight, and these, thy servants, Moses is saying to Pharaoh, and your servants, they will come down unto me and bow down themselves unto me saying, get thee out and all the people that follow you, literally all the people that are at your feet, well, after that, they will come to my feet and all the people that follow you and after that, and I will go out and then he goes out from Pharaoh in great anger.

[34:54] God's judgment on the firstborn would make his deliverer great. All of a sudden, all of Pharaoh's people, all of his servants that are at Pharaoh's feet now come, and they come to Moses' feet, and they recognize this is God's hand.

[35:09] God's judgment on the firstborn will make his deliverer great. Philippians chapter two, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation and took on him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, the death of the firstborn, even the death of the cross.

[35:43] Wherefore, God has highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name that at the name of Jesus, every knee would bow. God's judgment on the firstborn made great his deliverer, where every knee will bow, everyone will fall at his feet.

[35:58] In this life, boy, I hope so, but unfortunately not. There's many that will fall at his feet in that next life when their eternity has been fixed. But when God's deliverance comes, there's no misunderstanding it and there's no stopping it.

[36:12] Moses says to Pharaoh, hey, this is gonna happen. God's gonna deliver. You might not understand it, but you're not gonna misunderstand the timing of it. You might not agree with it, but you're not gonna be able to stop it.

[36:25] You know, there's a day coming where God's gonna deliver us. And that timing, we don't know when it is, but I can tell you this, when it happens, there's gonna be no stopping it. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first.

[36:43] Then we, which are alive and remain, we will sit around and think if we really wanna leave this earth or go and be with the Lord. No way. We shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

[36:56] There is a deliverance coming. There will be no mistaking it. There will be no misunderstanding it. And the timing of it, there will be no stopping it. And then Moses, he goes out from Pharaoh, very angry.

[37:07] You know what took Moses an awful lot to get angry? Moses himself will write in Numbers chapter 12, verse 3, Now the man Moses was very meek above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.

[37:18] He wrote the book of Numbers, so he wrote that about himself. Must have taken, you can see the Lord, write it Moses. I'm not gonna write that. Write it. No one's gonna think I'm meek if I write how meek I am. But this was at a time where Miriam and Aaron came to him and said, who do you think you are?

[37:32] We're part of this too. We should be leading God's people. And that's when Miriam gets leprosy. But it tells us at that point, Moses was the meekest man on the face of the earth. He's like, I'm not seeking this for myself.

[37:44] I'm not leading all these people for my glory. Because God has called me to do this and what else can I do? The word meek means humble or low, but it does not, however, mean what this world thinks it means.

[37:56] Weak. The world thinks meek means weak. Well, if you're humble, if you're low. You know, on the 25th, we're gonna have our men's conference. Guys, take out your phones.

[38:06] cccharlotte.org on the front page. It's right there. Log and register. We're gonna be looking at 1 Corinthians 11.1. Follow me as I follow Christ. The world says we follow strength.

[38:20] Yeah! But it's so not true. We follow meekness. We follow true strength, which is only found in meekness. True strength is not found in power and authority and aggression and strength.

[38:31] It's found in meekness. Why does Jesus' sheep follow him? Because what kind of sheep is gonna follow a shepherd that's all about himself or that's constantly whooping up the sheep just to prove how big he is?

[38:42] They're gonna follow a shepherd that's all, oh, that shepherd gave his life for me. This shepherd comes and finds me. This shepherd cares for me. The world says we need to follow power. And Jesus says, man, we follow.

[38:54] I made you to follow meekness. Ephesians 4.26 says, Be you angry and sin not. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath. Is anger wrong?

[39:05] Well, no. God gets angry. Psalm verse seven, chapter seven, beginning in verse 11. God judges the righteous and God is angry with the wicked every day. If he, the wicked, turns not, then God will wet his sword.

[39:19] He has bent his bow and made it ready. He has also prepared for him the instruments of death. He has ordained his arrows against the persecutors. God's angry with the wicked. Why? Because they won't turn.

[39:30] Because the means of their deliverance is there and they won't turn from it. The problem with anger is when we try to take up anger. James 1.20 says, the wrath of man works not the righteousness of God.

[39:41] Our anger and our wrath is not going to result in righteousness. We think it can. And in the short term, it does because we act in the flesh. Right? Man, anger accomplishes a lot in the short term.

[39:52] But you reap a harvest of destruction later. Man, you can motivate with anger. You can get people moving. You can get stuff done. But you'll sacrifice relationship. You'll sacrifice long-term fruit. And you'll sacrifice you'll grieve the Holy Spirit.

[40:06] The problem with anger is it has great potential to misrepresent God. Moses, that is the reason one of the times he got angry, one of the few times that he didn't get to enter into the promised land. He couldn't take God's people in because he misrepresented them.

[40:19] They wanted water. God said, go speak to the rock. Remember back at Mount Sinai, you struck the rock. Now this time at the waters of Meribah, I just want you to speak to the rock and represent that heart to the people.

[40:30] Hey, I've got resources. Well, Moses gets angry and he says, you stiff-necked and hard-hearted people. At that time, we'll get to it eventually, his staff, the staff that he threw down and it turned into a serpent.

[40:42] Well, at this point, it's also budded. It was an almond staff and it's got like, it's alive even though he's carrying it. So it's probably got like almonds hanging off of it and leaves and he's smacking the rock and it's like leaves flying and almonds going everywhere.

[40:54] And God honored that. God honored his word and his heart towards his people and water came out of the rock. But for Moses, he said, Moses, you did not sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel because you believed me not.

[41:09] Moses, the problem was your lack of faith. I can't have you bringing my people into a place of rest if it's not in faith. And so that's why he had to bring Joshua, right? The law couldn't do it.

[41:20] Yeshua could. But the problem with anger has great potential to misrepresent God. But at this point, Moses was representing God. He was angry over Pharaoh because Pharaoh, he knew the destruction Pharaoh was going to bring upon his people because of the hardness of Pharaoh's heart.

[41:36] And the Lord said unto Moses in verse nine, Pharaoh will not hearken unto you that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt. I don't know if this is in that moment. Nine and 10 almost seem like, like a quick recap of everything to this point.

[41:50] So he could be saying this to Moses right now or he's just in general saying, hey, the Lord has spoken to Moses and said, this is the reason that he won't hearken unto you that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.

[42:01] And it's the painful price of pride, the painful price of the destruction that pride brings. But you know, it's also the painful purpose of pride. Romans 8, 28 says, and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.

[42:16] What do you mean to purpose in pride? I mean that God can even use Pharaoh's hard heart and his pride to bring about blessing in the life of his people. It's hard to watch someone respond in pride to what God is doing.

[42:28] It's hard to watch them become so hard hearted that they bring destruction on themselves. But no, even through that, God can work deliverance in the life of another. And in our lives, all things work together for good.

[42:40] But that doesn't mean that all things are good. I could do something really stupid and God will turn that around for good in my life. But it doesn't mean it was a good thing.

[42:50] And it doesn't mean I won't also have to go through the consequences of that. For Moses and Aaron, they did all these wonders before Pharaoh in verse 10. And the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, as he said he would, so that he would not let the children of Israel go out of his land.

[43:04] As we said, God confirmed Pharaoh in the position that he affirmed himself to be in. Pharaoh affirmed himself as a rejecter of God and God said, I will confirm you in that position.

[43:14] He did not arbitrarily harden his heart. But Moses and Aaron here, they were willing to obey even when they knew their obedience was going to lead to destruction in the life of another. And that's hard.

[43:25] They knew that what they were going to say is God told them, hey, Pharaoh's going to harden his heart. He's not going to let Israel go. And I'm going to bring all of these signs and wonders on Egypt. I'm going to destroy this land and the people in it.

[43:35] That's hard. It's hard to obey when you know that your obedience, the truth you tell someone, the life you live before them is going to lead to their destruction. destruction. Hey, I just need to tell you this as a brother in Christ.

[43:49] Man, that's going to lead to destruction. The way you're treating your wife, the way you're acting, whatever it is. And you can lose relationships over that.

[43:59] Jesus says, think that not that I came to send peace on the earth. I came not to send peace, but a sword. What does that mean? It means that God's word is the sword, right? The sword of the Lord. And it divides. And it can divide even down to the most intimate of relationships and families.

[44:15] Why would Moses and Aaron be willing to obey under such conditions? Why obey under those conditions? Go, God, I don't, everything's fine. Okay, we're under oppression in Egypt, but you know, we're making two.

[44:26] Why would he do that? Because that same obedience that's bringing about destruction in the person's life who rejects it, it would work deliverance in the lives of countless others.

[44:37] And as Jesus enters into this world, why would he do that? Why would he give his life for those who would reject him? For by one man's disobedience, many were made sinners through Adam. So the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

[44:51] There will be many who will obey. Here we are who will be made righteous. That Jesus would give his life knowing that there would be those who reject him for the sake of those that would receive him. That's a hard place to leave Moses and Aaron as they exit Pharaoh's court.

[45:08] Moses is angry. He's upset. God's just told them, hey, that he's not going to listen to you so that I might bring all these things upon him. So we couldn't leave it there.

[45:19] We're just going to look at the first few verses in chapter 12. We're not going to break them down. We'll retread them next week, but God is so good. Let's just read some of these together. So here's Moses and Aaron.

[45:31] They're exiting and then what's the next thing that meets them in chapter 12? God's word. God's word is the remedy for every external and internal trial. The Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt.

[45:44] God's word comes at the right time. It comes right when we need it. God's word came to Moses and Aaron at a time of great trial. They were under a lot of stress, a lot of trial, a time of great emotion, the anger that Moses is feeling, the anguish, and in the midst of oppression, God's word comes at the right time, at the right moment.

[46:03] Psalm 119, 111. Thy testimonies have I taken as a heritage forever. Remember that heritage that we have that no weapon formed against us will prosper. This is another one of those heritages.

[46:15] For your testimonies, your word, are the rejoicing of my heart. God sends that at the right time, just at the right time when we need it. Verse 2, this month shall be unto you the beginning of months.

[46:28] It shall be the first month of the year to you. I had studied all the way through, we're gonna go through verse 4, and put all this together and then thought, it's a new year. The Lord's so good.

[46:39] It wasn't even planned. Just, I was like, thank you, Lord. This shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak you unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, in the tenth day of this month shall they take to them every man a lamb according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for a house.

[46:56] And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls. So like, if your house is only two of you, well, and there's a big family next door, then you pool your resources.

[47:11] I love it. God wants fellowship, right? Nobody to be alone. And if the household be too little for a lamb, let him and his neighbor next unto the house take it.

[47:22] According to the number of the souls, every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. And so here God's word comes. God's word comes at a time where since Moses is at the end, he's had it with Pharaoh.

[47:34] He knows this is the end of all this and God's word comes in and what does it bring? And it brings a new beginning. So Moses, this isn't the end. This is the start. It brings a fresh start.

[47:45] Moses was, is there anything? What's next, God? What's new? He said, I have something so fresh for you. It brought a new season. Daniel chapter two, verse 21, it says that God changes the times and the seasons.

[47:56] He's the one who establishes them. He removes kings and sets up kings. He gives wisdom unto the wise and knowledge to them that know understanding. And for Moses and Aaron, here comes God's word saying it's not over, Moses.

[48:09] It's just about to begin. And then lastly, well, he gives a future promise. You know, he's not making this new month and this new year. You're like, oh, but you're not going to live it out. If God promises a new year, that means he's got a future for us.

[48:23] And then lastly, a lamb for every soul. Every soul. Hey, if in your house, there's too many or not enough, then pull with your neighbors because God's desire is that there be one for every soul.

[48:37] As John the Baptist said when he saw Jesus, behold the lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world. God's word makes all time new and it makes all things new, doesn't it?

[48:48] Revelation 21, 5. And he that sat upon the throne said, behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, write, for these words are faithful and true.

[48:59] And for Moses and for Aaron and for Israel, God had done a new thing. He's doing a new thing. A new result to this plague. New grace in their lives. A new distinction between the Egyptians and the Hebrews.

[49:13] A new understanding of what God was doing and then a brand new time. But, praise God, the same God, right? Malachi chapter 3, verse 6. For I am the Lord, I change not.

[49:25] What hope does that give us? Therefore, you sons of Jacob are not consumed. Israel is still God's people and God says, I'm not going to change. Man, if I've made things new, understand that I'm making it new for you, but it's not new for me.

[49:39] It's just you're getting to experience new. It's something for you that's new. But the fact that God doesn't change, it means that I have the promise of new life because God's not going to take that away because he'd have to be changeable.

[49:53] Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. Look at the tenses there.

[50:04] If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. It's done. You're not becoming a new creation. You are. We live out the experience of that here. But our place in eternity, when we die, is fixed.

[50:16] But guess what? When you've been born again in this life, your place is fixed as well. We now live out what's already been done. We are a new creature. Old things are passed away.

[50:27] Behold, all things are become new. Guess what? Tomorrow, I haven't yet experienced tomorrow's things. Those are some of the all things that have become new. That the life we have ahead of us, God has put ahead of us, he says, I've delivered you from Pharaoh and from Egypt.

[50:42] Man, what's ahead of you is newness. Just walk in newness of life. We're gonna wake up tomorrow morning and say, well, this is all new. Hasn't God already done this?

[50:54] Yes, he already made it new, but I didn't get to experience it yet. You know, some of you I've just met this morning, that's a new thing that God has made new that I get to experience now that I get to walk in. You know, I want you to hear what God's word says about the new life that he has for you.

[51:09] Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. Even so, we also should walk in newness of life.

[51:24] For he is our peace, who has made both one and has broken down the middle wall of partition between us. And he came and he preached peace to you which were far off and to them which were near.

[51:38] Do not remember the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing. Now it shall spring forth and you will know it. I will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

[51:53] There is, therefore, now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. But you are in Christ Jesus, who of God has made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.

[52:06] Therefore, cast away from you all transgressions whereby you have transgressed. Get rid of the old and make you a new heart and a new spirit. For why will you die, O house of Israel?

[52:16] For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God. Wherefore, turn you yourselves and live. I am the vine. You are the branches.

[52:28] He that abides in me and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit. For without me, you can do nothing. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Continue in my love and I will give you a new heart and a new spirit will I put within you.

[52:45] and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and I will give you a heart of living flesh and I will put my spirit within you and I will cause you to walk in my statutes and you shall keep my judgments and do them and you shall dwell in the land that I give to your fathers and you shall be my people and I will be your God.

[53:05] Let not your heart be troubled. Everything ahead of us is new. It's all brand new. If any man be in Christ he is a new creation.

[53:18] Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. What are you holding on to that's old? Let it go. Some things we can't let go. These bodies, we can't let go of that yet. But when we do, know there's a new one waiting as well.

[53:31] Right? What relationship that just, can God make that new? Oh yes, he can. Yes, he can. At the moment of deliverance, there'll be no misunderstanding.

[53:42] At that moment, all things will be made new. There is no problem we have today that Jesus coming and getting his church won't solve. Amen? The Lord bless you and keep you.

[53:53] The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up the light of his countenance upon you and give you peace. God bless you. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[54:04] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.