Beyond Moralism: Finding Christ, Not Just an Example, in Exodus

[00:00:01] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Let's pray.
[00:03:14] Let's pray.

[00:04:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
There is one who is worthy of all honor and glory

[00:05:11] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
The highest of names, the Ancient of Days Come now, let's give Him the praise There is one who is righteous Full of mercy, full of justice
[00:05:37] The King of all kings above everything Let's celebrate Him and sing Glory, Hallelujah Lift His holy name up
[00:06:08] Alleluia!
[00:06:34] Lift His holy name up!
[00:06:36] There is one testimony
[00:06:41] That redeems every story The Lamb that was slain His blood overcame Let heaven and earth give Him praise Glory, Hallelujah
[00:07:10] Holy Name of Glory Hallelujah Lift His Holy Name up Glory Hallelujah
[00:07:38] In the sanctuary, give Him praise
[00:08:07] He is great and mighty Give Him praise Every nation rise and sing For the Lord has done great things Give Him praise Give Him praise In the sanctuary Give Him praise
[00:08:37] He is great and mighty Give Him praise Every nation rise and sing For the Lord has done great things Give Him praise The Lamb that was slain His blood

[00:09:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
We give Him praise, we give Him praise
[00:10:03] We give Him praise!
[00:10:07] We give Him praise!
[00:10:10] We give Him praise!
[00:10:14] We give Him praise!
[00:10:18] We give Him praise!
[00:10:22] Glory!
[00:10:24] Hallelujah!

[00:10:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
The gift is only mine.
[00:11:02] Alleluia Alleluia Alleluia Alleluia

[00:11:28] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Amen!
[00:11:29] Who's awake now?
[00:11:31] Yes!
[00:11:32] Good morning, Watermark!
[00:11:33] My name is Krista, and I am so glad you came to worship with us on this gorgeous fall morning.
[00:11:39] Let's talk about a few things coming up around here at Watermark.
[00:11:44] First up, thank you to all of you who donated to our Marketplace Ministry.
[00:11:50] This ministry provides holiday meals for families in need.
[00:11:54] Today is the last day to donate any food items, so if you'd like to do so, you can place them in the cards in the lobby.
[00:12:01] Also, next Sunday, November 23rd, is the very last Sunday to bring your stuffed-to-the-brim Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes.
[00:12:12] This ministry is amazing.
[00:12:14] They share the love of Jesus Christ with these kiddos all around the world.
[00:12:20] So please, do not forget those shoeboxes.
[00:12:23] Next Sunday, please.
[00:12:25] Sarah appreciates it.
[00:12:27] Alright, I cannot believe that the holidays are here.
[00:12:30] It is time to deck the Watermark Halls.
[00:12:33] If you would like to hang out following Second Service next Sunday, November 23rd,
[00:12:39] Please scan the QR code in your bulletin to let us know you're going to help out.
[00:12:44] That way we can have enough food because bonus, lunch is provided.
[00:12:49] Last but not least, I personally am so excited about our Jingle and Mingle coming up on Sunday, December 7th.
[00:12:57] Five to seven.
[00:12:59] This is always a super fun evening of Christmas caroling together, followed by a yummy sweet time of fellowship.
[00:13:06] If your last name begins with A through M, you're going to bring an appetizer.
[00:13:11] N through Z, you're going to bring a dessert to share.
[00:13:14] Alrighty guys, let's get back to worship.

[00:13:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
The weapon may be formed but it won't prosper And when the darkness falls it won't prevail Cause the God I serve knows only how to triumph My God will never fail Oh my God will never fail

[00:14:09] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
I'm gonna see a victory I'm gonna see a victory For the battle belongs to You, Lord I'm gonna see a victory I'm gonna see a victory For the battle belongs to You, Lord
[00:14:47] There's power in the mighty name of Jesus And every war He wages He will win Oh, I'm not backing down from any giant Cause I know how this story ends
[00:15:11] We just gotta know how this story ends I'm gonna see a victory I'm gonna see a victory For the battle belongs to You, Lord I'm gonna see a victory I'm gonna see a victory
[00:15:35] For the battle belongs to You, Lord I'm gonna see a victory I'm gonna see a victory For the battle belongs to You, Lord I'm gonna see a victory I'm gonna see a victory For the battle belongs to You, Lord

[00:16:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
It belongs to you, Lord The victory is yours You take what the enemy meant for evil And you turn it for good You turn it for good

[00:16:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
You take what the enemy meant for evil and you turn it for good You turn it for good You take what the enemy meant for evil and you turn it for good You turn it for good
[00:16:58] You take what the enemy meant for evil and you turn it for good.
[00:17:05] You turn it for good.
[00:17:10] You take what the enemy meant for evil and you turn it for good.
[00:17:18] You turn it for good.
[00:17:22] You take what the enemy meant for evil And you turn it for good You turn it for good I'm gonna see a victory I'm gonna see a victory For the battle belongs to You, Lord
[00:17:45] I'm gonna see a victory I'm gonna see a victory For the Bible belongs to You, Lord I'm gonna see a victory I'm gonna see a victory For the Bible belongs to You, Lord
[00:18:10] I'm gonna see a victory I'm gonna see a victory For the battle belongs to You, Lord You take what the enemy meant for evil And You turn it for good You turn it for good
[00:18:37] You take what the enemy meant for evil And you turn it for good You turn it for good Oh, you turn it for good

[00:19:30] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
And let the King of my heart be the mountain where I run The fountain I drink from, oh He is my song And let the King of my heart be the shadow where I hide
[00:19:51] The ransom for my life, oh, He is my salt Cause you are good, you're good Oh, you are good, you're good

[00:20:09] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Oh, you are good, you're good Oh, you are good, you're good

[00:20:27] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
Let the King of my heart be the wind inside my sails The anchor in the waves, oh He is my song Let the King of my heart be the fire inside my veins The echo of my days, oh He is my song

[00:20:55] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Let the King of my heart be the wind inside my sails The anchor in the waves, oh He is my song Let the King of my heart be the fire inside my veins The anchor of my days, oh He is my song Cause You are God

[00:21:30] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
You are good, You're good, oh You are good, You're good, oh You are good, You're good, oh You're never going to, You're never going to let me down

[00:22:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
You're never gonna let, you're never gonna let me die
[00:22:28] You're never gonna let, you're never gonna let me down You're never gonna let, you're never gonna let me down You're never gonna let, you're never gonna let me down Cause you are good, you're good
[00:23:03] You are good, You're good, oh You are good, You're good, oh And I know You're never gonna let, You're never gonna let me down You're never gonna let, You're never gonna let me down
[00:23:31] You're never gonna let, you're never gonna let me down You're never gonna let, you're never gonna let me down You are good, you're good, oh You are good, you're good, oh

[00:23:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
God, we could sing of your goodness and of your love forever.
[00:24:04] And we are so thankful for every opportunity that we have to get to gather like this, to lift up your name, to praise your Son, to be in reverence for you.
[00:24:20] God, you are an awesome God.
[00:24:22] You're an amazing God.
[00:24:25] Thank you for your goodness.
[00:24:28] Thank you for your kindness.
[00:24:30] Thank you for your mercies.
[00:24:33] Thank you for each new day, for the fellowship, for our church.
[00:24:37] There are so many blessings that you pour out.
[00:24:40] We thank you for our family members and friends who are here.
[00:24:43] And we thank you for allowing Watermark to be a light to our community.
[00:24:48] But God, none of it would be possible without you and without your Son, Jesus.
[00:24:54] We are so thankful that the morning is not yet over and that we're not done with the opportunity to worship you.
[00:25:01] God, you have all our attention, you have all our focus, and may you be glorified by us.

[00:25:08] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Amen.

[00:25:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Well, good morning.
[00:25:34] Hey, it's great to see y'all today.
[00:25:36] So glad you're here on what I said earlier.
[00:25:39] It's kind of a spring day, right?
[00:25:41] It feels like it out there.
[00:25:42] We love this fall weather in the South, and it's beautiful here today.
[00:25:46] And we're glad you're in this place.
[00:25:48] It's always great to be in the Lord's house.
[00:25:50] So we're glad you're with us today.
[00:25:53] Hey, I noticed in the first service there are a lot of alerts going off on the phones.
[00:25:59] Have you all noticed that this morning?
[00:26:00] So I might ask you, if you don't mind, I did this, I normally don't, but I didn't just silence my phone, I turned it off.
[00:26:09] So you might want to do that because we had a plethora of alerts going off in the first service.
[00:26:14] And it was a little distracting, I'm just saying.
[00:26:17] So if you get a chance, if you don't mind, if you don't know how to do it, maybe slip it to the person beside you.
[00:26:21] They can help you turn it off.
[00:26:23] I rarely turn mine off, but today you might need to.
[00:26:26] Just to get through this hour.
[00:26:28] So I'm glad you're here.
[00:26:29] And you know, I think it's always a good day to be in God's house, but sometimes we have bad days.
[00:26:36] You know, any of you ever have a bad day?
[00:26:39] Anybody in here ever had a bad day?
[00:26:41] How many of you have ever had an epically, comically bad day?
[00:26:47] Right?
[00:26:47] Yeah, everybody can relate to that.
[00:26:49] So I've had a few of those, and when you have those, you never forget them, right?
[00:26:54] So I'll tell you about one of mine really quickly.
[00:26:57] So about 25 years ago, I got this bright idea.
[00:27:00] We were going on vacation.
[00:27:02] It was a 10-hour drive.
[00:27:03] My kids were young.
[00:27:04] I had a really young one, like a toddler.
[00:27:07] And I'm like,
[00:27:08] Let's fly, right?
[00:27:10] We'll maximize our time there.
[00:27:12] We'll have more fun.
[00:27:13] It'll work.
[00:27:15] The kids have never flown, so let's do it.
[00:27:17] So we saved up our pennies and we flew.
[00:27:20] Now when we got down there, things went pretty well, but then
[00:27:24] They didn't come at home.
[00:27:25] It got kind of a little nightmarish to say the least.
[00:27:28] So when we were headed to the airport we had to get a taxi, a taxi van because we had a pretty big crowd with us.
[00:27:35] And when we got to the airport we finally got everything in and then I discovered something.
[00:27:41] I didn't have our boarding passes and in that time I know some of you are thinking well that's no big deal it's on your phone well back then our phones weren't as smart as they are today so we didn't have we didn't have that on our phone so you had to have the paper copy well I had left it on the taxi so in that time you know I had to go through call the taxi service they had to get in touch with the guy with an old you know probably the CB or something
[00:28:05] So he circled back, came to the airport, we got him, had to pay him for another trip, right?
[00:28:10] And then a tip on top of that, but I'm like, okay, we got the boarding passes.
[00:28:14] Just one problem.
[00:28:15] My little guy had not had his nap, and he was none too happy.
[00:28:20] So he was crying before we got on the plane.
[00:28:23] I said, this is going to be a nightmare.
[00:28:25] So then we started feeding him whatever we had.
[00:28:27] We didn't have much, but we did have some M&M's.
[00:28:31] So we fed him these M&Ms and we were just stuffing, just doing whatever we could, giving him M&M after M&M and we're thinking, this will work, this will work.
[00:28:39] And it did.
[00:28:40] Till it upset his stomach.
[00:28:42] So then I get on the plane.
[00:28:43] He's still inconsolable.
[00:28:45] Now he's got an upset stomach and I can't get up to change his diaper.
[00:28:49] So I'm that guy on a crowded plane.
[00:28:53] So imagine that in this room, this crowded, there's one that's just screaming, not happy.
[00:28:58] And I'm that guy sitting there with that little fella and I felt terrible.
[00:29:02] I thought it was good.
[00:29:02] I said, how can this day get any worse?
[00:29:05] Then finally we made it.
[00:29:06] And for whatever reason, I had a connecting flight in Atlanta.
[00:29:09] We stopped there.
[00:29:10] Couldn't get back in the air soon enough, so we had a delay there.
[00:29:15] Ran out of diapers.
[00:29:18] And we couldn't find any diapers in that airport for whatever reason.
[00:29:22] So finally we get home.
[00:29:24] Now again, it's a 10-hour drive.
[00:29:27] We get home, we get back to the airport, we're trying to unload.
[00:29:30] They lost our luggage on top of all that.
[00:29:33] And then when I finally got home after midnight with exhausted children, it was about 14 hours later.
[00:29:41] I could have driven.
[00:29:42] I'm like, why did I sign up for this?
[00:29:45] Epically bad day.
[00:29:47] Maybe you've been there.
[00:29:48] Bad days tend to get worse before they get better, right?
[00:29:52] So Moses found himself in a situation just like that.
[00:29:57] And the truth is, some of us, for some of our bad days, they can be kind of comical and we laugh at them looking back.
[00:30:03] But in the moment, we didn't feel that way.
[00:30:05] and the truth is sometimes when life gets bad it gets really bad and there's no laughing about it Moses found himself in that place so after finally submitting to the Lord's call in his life remember he called him in that burning bush I want you to go rescue the Israelites Moses said okay I'm gonna do it so last week we talked about the fact that God began a smooth Moses path except for one area
[00:30:28] There was an area of neglect in his life.
[00:30:31] So Moses had to get that cleaned up.
[00:30:33] And he did.
[00:30:34] And once that area was resolved, that sin, that disobedience was resolved, Moses met up with his brother Aaron.
[00:30:41] And then he told Aaron everything that God had been up to.
[00:30:44] And together they went and met with the Israelite elders and they told them that God had heard their pleas for help and that they had been sent by God to rescue them from Egyptian captivity, from slavery.
[00:31:00] So the people were so excited they bowed and they worshipped God.
[00:31:05] So there's this mountaintop moment for Aaron and for Moses as they worship with God's people celebrating the fact that they are going to be rescued after generations of oppression and slavery.
[00:31:19] So things were going pretty good.
[00:31:21] Now it was just time to go to Pharaoh and tell him, you got to let God's people go.
[00:31:27] Now I'm sure Pharaoh is going to see it Moses way, right?
[00:31:32] You know this story, don't you?
[00:31:34] Things are going to get kind of bad before they get better, that's for sure.
[00:31:38] The truth is, it's going to go that way.
[00:31:40] In fact, after coming off of that mountaintop, that spiritual high with this fellow Israelites, Moses is about to have a very bad day.
[00:31:52] But not just him, all of his fellow Israelites.
[00:31:55] Because just when Moses thought everything was going to go perfectly, everything was smoothly, he had in his mind how beautiful this was going to be, right?
[00:32:03] Kind of like my vacation, flying with the kids.
[00:32:06] He's about to encounter a huge roadblock.
[00:32:08] One that will test his resolve, his faith, his trust.
[00:32:13] But isn't that the way life works?
[00:32:17] You know, some of you know exactly what I'm talking about because you've had that same experience, especially coming off of a mountaintop experience, a spiritual high or victory in your life.
[00:32:29] Now you're facing a serious test.
[00:32:32] Some of you, maybe you had a really bad day this week.
[00:32:36] Some of you have had a bad month.
[00:32:37] You've had a bad year.
[00:32:38] You're ready to put a bow on 2025.
[00:32:41] You're ready to move on to 2026 and it's just six weeks away.
[00:32:45] Maybe you're listing in life and you really need some help writing the ship.
[00:32:51] Some of you, you're really trying hard to follow God's will in your life.
[00:32:55] You're navigating life's challenges, but you keep running into obstacles and roadblocks in your life.
[00:33:01] You need some encouragement today.
[00:33:04] You need some inspiration.
[00:33:06] You need some guidance.
[00:33:07] Good news.
[00:33:09] You're in the right place.
[00:33:11] You see, I don't think that you're here today by accident.
[00:33:14] I think that God brought you to this place today on purpose.
[00:33:17] He brought you to this place today for a purpose.
[00:33:21] Because all of us have bad days.
[00:33:24] All of us go through difficult seasons in life and sometimes it's hard to navigate those seasons.
[00:33:31] And what God wants to teach you today
[00:33:34] is how he works in less than ideal circumstances.
[00:33:38] How he works when you're having a bad day, a bad month, a bad year.
[00:33:45] God's ready to go to work in your life.
[00:33:47] And he's ready to encourage you today.
[00:33:49] But before we dig into his word, let's pray.
[00:33:54] God, we're so grateful again for this chance to come together, to be able to worship you, to sing these songs of praises, God, to you.
[00:34:02] God, we experience victories in our lives and we thank you for that.
[00:34:06] And God, sometimes after those victories we face some real challenges in life.
[00:34:12] and God we know Moses is going to face a very difficult challenge today and as we open your word and and we learn what he went through and how he dealt with that and how you showed yourself in his situation I pray God you will inspire us today teach us something fresh and new about a story we may have heard many times but God open our ears our minds our hearts to receive what you have for us today God I thank you for meeting us right where we are especially when we're having a bad
[00:34:43] I pray it in Jesus' holy name.
[00:34:46] Amen.
[00:34:48] So have you ever at some point during that very bad day you've had found yourself thinking, I should have just stayed in bed this morning, right?
[00:34:56] Or, I'd like a do-over on this day.
[00:34:59] Or maybe you thought, man, how could things get any worse?
[00:35:04] Don't think that, right?
[00:35:05] Because they might.
[00:35:07] We've all been there.
[00:35:08] And some of you had a day like that just this past week.
[00:35:12] It may help you to know that you're not alone.
[00:35:15] That even Moses had days like that, which is hard for us to believe because when we think about this guy, Moses, we think of this, you know, this grizzled, chiseled man's man.
[00:35:26] You know, how could he have a bad day?
[00:35:27] God used him in such spectacular ways.
[00:35:31] How could he possibly have a bad day?
[00:35:34] But we're going to walk through a really difficult day for him in Exodus chapter 5 and 6.
[00:35:40] So we're going to cover a lot of ground this morning.
[00:35:42] And along the way I'm going to make some observations.
[00:35:45] And then I'm going to offer some applications for how we can put what God teaches us in His Word into practice in our lives.
[00:35:53] So I hope you'll be ready for that and maybe you can take some notes along the way if that serves you.
[00:35:58] If you want to follow along in your Bible, you're certainly welcome to do that.
[00:36:01] Again in Exodus chapter 5.
[00:36:04] So it starts this bad day for Moses when he's granted an opportunity to speak to Pharaoh.
[00:36:11] And Moses gets right to the heart of the matter.
[00:36:15] Afterward, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and they said, this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says, let my people go so that they may hold a festival to me in the wilderness.
[00:36:26] So Moses and Aaron are coming off again that spiritual high, that mountaintop experience, that victory in their lives with the Israelite elders.
[00:36:35] And I'm sure they're feeling really good, feeling really inspired and empowered, expecting this conversation with Pharaoh to be a slam dunk, right?
[00:36:44] Now we're going to get this ball rolling.
[00:36:46] We're going to get these people out of here.
[00:36:47] Despite the fact that God had already warned them that things weren't going to go swimmingly with Pharaoh.
[00:36:55] He was going to make this really hard on everyone.
[00:36:59] And it was about to get really tough for the Israelites and fast.
[00:37:03] You see, here's the truth.
[00:37:05] Even when God is with us, that doesn't mean the world will be with us.
[00:37:11] I want you to note this.
[00:37:12] Moses got a heaping dose of reality and depravity.
[00:37:18] Here's the truth.
[00:37:19] In Exodus 5-2, Pharaoh said, Who's the Lord that I should obey Him?
[00:37:25] Let Israel go.
[00:37:26] I don't know the Lord, and I won't let Israel go.
[00:37:30] Now Pharaoh was a pretty arrogant dude, to say the least, right?
[00:37:35] Now keep in mind, in Egypt, Pharaoh was treated like a god.
[00:37:38] And he believed that he was God.
[00:37:42] So for Moses and Aaron to tell him that the Lord wanted the Israelites released wasn't much of a motivator.
[00:37:49] And Pharaoh essentially says, Who is this God?
[00:37:53] I should obey Him.
[00:37:54] Never heard of Him.
[00:37:55] I don't know Him.
[00:37:56] I don't know anything about Him.
[00:37:58] So no, I'm not going to release these people.
[00:38:01] Not for your God and not for anybody for that matter.
[00:38:06] So at this point, Moses' day was about to take a turn for the worse.
[00:38:11] Again, after coming off of that really inspiring worship experience, seeing the Israelite elders stirred that God had heard their pleas, that He was about to rescue them, Moses went to this meeting with Pharaoh feeling really confident, right?
[00:38:27] I mean, who could blame him?
[00:38:29] But even when God is with us, it doesn't mean the world will be with us.
[00:38:34] Moses got a sad lesson in reality and depravity when Pharaoh dashed his high hopes in an instant.
[00:38:43] You ever been there?
[00:38:44] You had high hopes about an idea that you hoped would take and you'd put a lot of thought, put a lot of energy, a lot of research into the prep and then when you pitched it, your idea got shot down.
[00:38:56] I'm sure that was
[00:38:58] Really discouraging for you when it happened.
[00:39:00] And I'm sure this was really discouraging for Moses too.
[00:39:04] But Moses and Aaron regrouped quickly.
[00:39:06] They offered this modified proposal to Pharaoh.
[00:39:10] Look at verse 3.
[00:39:12] Then they said, The God of the Hebrews has met with us.
[00:39:16] Now let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God.
[00:39:22] Or He may strike us with plagues or with the sword.
[00:39:27] You know, it's interesting, they pivoted kind of quickly here, right?
[00:39:30] Okay, Pharaoh, well, if you won't let us go, how about letting us take a little three-day retreat in the wilderness?
[00:39:37] We can worship our God there.
[00:39:38] We won't be gone long, and we won't want our God to get angry, so it would be a good idea to let us go.
[00:39:46] Now if you look back in Exodus chapter 3 verse 18 you'll see that what Moses says here is exactly what the Lord had told him to say when he saw Pharaoh.
[00:39:57] I want you to note something right here.
[00:39:59] That Moses was following the script that God had given him.
[00:40:03] But Pharaoh still wasn't playing ball.
[00:40:06] Look at verse 4.
[00:40:08] But the king of Egypt said, Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor?
[00:40:14] Get back to work.
[00:40:16] Then Pharaoh said, look at the people.
[00:40:17] Look, the people of the land, they're numerous, and you're stopping them from working.
[00:40:23] So that same day, Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and overseers in order to in charge of the people.
[00:40:29] And I'll tell you what that order is in a minute.
[00:40:31] And here's the truth.
[00:40:32] Pharaoh was a hard man.
[00:40:34] He didn't like Moses putting what he saw as ridiculous ideas in the minds of the Hebrew people.
[00:40:40] They were good for one thing to him.
[00:40:43] And what was that?
[00:40:45] Labor.
[00:40:46] Working.
[00:40:47] That's it.
[00:40:48] And Moses was distracting them from their work.
[00:40:51] So he called all their taskmasters, their slave drivers, together to give them an order that he thought would assure that no Israelite would have time to think about worship or retreats in the wilderness.
[00:41:04] And verse 7.
[00:41:05] You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks.
[00:41:09] Let them go, gather their own straw, but require them to make the same number of bricks as before.
[00:41:14] Don't reduce their quota.
[00:41:17] They are lazy.
[00:41:18] That's why they're crying out, let us go and sacrifice to our God.
[00:41:23] He says, look, I'll tell you what the problem is with these people.
[00:41:26] They're a bunch of lazy whiners.
[00:41:29] They don't want to work.
[00:41:30] They're just blowing smoke about this wilderness retreat, trying to get out of work.
[00:41:34] They don't need another God.
[00:41:36] I'm the only God they need.
[00:41:38] We'll work this laziness out of them.
[00:41:40] We'll double their quota by making them find their own materials.
[00:41:44] No more straw deliveries.
[00:41:45] They can supply their own.
[00:41:47] By the way, in case you missed it, look at verse 6.
[00:41:51] That same day.
[00:41:54] This is all taking place on one no good, very bad day.
[00:41:58] As if it couldn't get any worse for Moses and his people.
[00:42:01] Look at verse 9.
[00:42:03] Make the work harder for the people so they keep working and pay no attention to lies.
[00:42:10] How could it get any harder?
[00:42:12] And scripture tells us that these people had been moaning and groaning in their misery for generations.
[00:42:19] But it was about to get even worse for them.
[00:42:22] I'll write this down.
[00:42:23] Pharaoh wanted this Moses mission squelched before it got any traction.
[00:42:31] Take a look at verse 10.
[00:42:33] Then the slave drivers, the overseers, went out.
[00:42:35] They said to the people, This is what Pharaoh says, I will not give you any more straw.
[00:42:41] Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced at all.
[00:42:47] So the people scattered all over Egypt together stubble to use for straw.
[00:42:51] The slave drivers kept pressing them saying, complete the work required for you each day just as when you had straw.
[00:43:00] Imagine these poor slaves, right?
[00:43:03] They're mired in mud, they're caked in filth, making these bricks day after day, every day, and now having to meet their quotas while trying to gather their own materials to do it.
[00:43:15] This wasn't just more difficult.
[00:43:18] This was impossible.
[00:43:21] Who could do it?
[00:43:23] But Pharaoh wanted somebody to pay for this slowdown in production.
[00:43:27] He was making a point.
[00:43:29] And here's verse 14.
[00:43:31] Pharaoh's slave drivers beat the Israelite overseers they had appointed, demanding, Why haven't you met your quota of bricks yesterday or today or as before?
[00:43:41] Then the Israelite overseers went and they appealed to Pharaoh.
[00:43:46] Now, let me ask you a question.
[00:43:49] Do you think that Pharaoh is going to care one iota about what these Israelite overseers have to say?
[00:43:55] He won't care.
[00:43:58] He already thinks there are too many Israelites in Egypt anyway, so if he loses a few thousand because of this harsh treatment, that's no problem to him.
[00:44:06] I doubt Pharaoh will care even a little about their concerns, but they give it a try anyway.
[00:44:13] In verse 15, why have you treated your servants this way?
[00:44:18] Your servants are given no straw, yet we're told, make bricks.
[00:44:22] Your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people.
[00:44:27] See, these guys at this point, they have no idea why they're being deprived of straw.
[00:44:32] They don't understand.
[00:44:33] It's baffling to them.
[00:44:35] They just don't understand.
[00:44:38] But they're about to.
[00:44:40] Look at verse 17.
[00:44:41] Pharaoh said, Lazy.
[00:44:42] That's what you are here.
[00:44:43] Lazy.
[00:44:45] That's why you keep saying, Let us go.
[00:44:47] Let's sacrifice to the Lord.
[00:44:49] Now get to work.
[00:44:51] You'll not be given any straw, yet you must produce your full quota of bricks.
[00:44:57] Now Pharaoh wasn't having it, right?
[00:44:59] He was in no mood for compromise.
[00:45:01] He gives them the business and with both barrels blazing.
[00:45:06] No straw for you.
[00:45:07] You're all just a bunch of lazy whiners trying to get out of work.
[00:45:10] Now get back to work and you better not make one less brick either.
[00:45:16] So I have to believe in this moment, you tell me if you think this is true, that it dawned on these guys.
[00:45:23] Wait a minute.
[00:45:25] This has to be because of something Moses and Aaron said to him.
[00:45:28] It has to be.
[00:45:29] What did those guys say that caused him to be so vicious to respond to us in this way?
[00:45:35] I want you to note this.
[00:45:37] It's worth writing down.
[00:45:38] The Israelite overseers are now overwhelmed by fear and seething with anger.
[00:45:46] Look at what happens in verse 19 and following.
[00:45:49] The Israelite overseers realized that they were in trouble when they were told, You are not to reduce the number of bricks required of you for each day.
[00:45:57] And when they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting for them.
[00:46:02] And they said, May the Lord look on you and judge you.
[00:46:07] You have made us obnoxious to Pharaoh and his officials.
[00:46:10] You put a sword in his hand to kill us.
[00:46:13] A bad day?
[00:46:15] Just got exponentially worse for Moses, right?
[00:46:18] I mean the very people that he had come to rescue had turned on him.
[00:46:22] How could that be?
[00:46:23] He had followed the script the Lord had given him.
[00:46:26] He had done exactly what he had been instructed to do.
[00:46:30] He was doing what he had been told, yet now things were getting worse for him.
[00:46:35] and worse for these people far worse than before he ever showed up these poor people they had it bad before and now they've got it terrible and Moses and Aaron are taking the blame and not without fault after all they're the ones who went to pharaoh and got him riled up to start with but yet here's the deal that was never their intention was it not even close they wanted to make the lives of these poor people better not worse
[00:47:05] Sadly, I want you to write this down.
[00:47:08] Moses' motives were misunderstood and it hurt him to the core.
[00:47:16] Have you ever been there?
[00:47:18] And some of you may be there today.
[00:47:20] You did the right things in the right way in the right time.
[00:47:23] But someone misjudged you.
[00:47:25] They read something into your motives or actions that was far from what you intended, that was far from the truth.
[00:47:33] And now you're reeling from it.
[00:47:36] You're wrestling to change the minds of the people who turned against you.
[00:47:40] You know, I love this quote from Chuck Swindoll in the book that I'm reading on Moses' life.
[00:47:45] And here's what Charles Swindoll says.
[00:47:49] There isn't a leader in the world who holds that post for very long who isn't compelled to stand alone.
[00:47:59] Standing alone is a lonely place.
[00:48:02] And some of you know what I'm talking about because you've been there.
[00:48:05] You've been misunderstood by a boss or a co-worker, a friend, a family member, a neighbor, maybe even your spouse.
[00:48:12] In his book on spiritual leadership, J. Oswald Sanders says that a leader must be able to stand alone and be prepared to have no one but God.
[00:48:26] If you're in leadership for any length of time, and all of us are leaders to a certain degree, you're gonna find yourself in that place in life.
[00:48:35] You know, as a pastor, I've been there a few times myself over the years.
[00:48:40] This is where Moses found himself on that gut-wrenching day.
[00:48:46] So he went where we must all go when we find ourselves in that lonely place in life.
[00:48:51] To the one who stands with us.
[00:48:53] To the one who stands for us.
[00:48:56] Even when others have abandoned us.
[00:48:59] Look at verse 22.
[00:49:01] Moses returned to the Lord.
[00:49:05] Where else could he go?
[00:49:06] His wife was back in Midian.
[00:49:09] Jethro was back there too, taking care of those scrawny sheep.
[00:49:13] He hadn't made any friends in Egypt since he got there, right?
[00:49:17] In fact, he probably made plenty of enemies.
[00:49:20] Aaron, he wasn't much help at this point.
[00:49:23] So Moses goes back to the one who had called him to this seemingly impossible task.
[00:49:30] And he pours out his heart to him.
[00:49:32] Look at verse 22.
[00:49:34] Why?
[00:49:35] Oh, why Lord?
[00:49:36] Why have you brought trouble on this people?
[00:49:39] Is this why you sent me?
[00:49:43] And you can feel the emotion, right?
[00:49:45] Emanating from that verse from Moses' heart, his words, he's wrestling with those doubts and those insecurities again, isn't he?
[00:49:54] You see, loneliness and conflict and disappointment, they'll conjure up all of those old feelings of inferiority and insecurity and uncertainty.
[00:50:05] Look at this mess I've made.
[00:50:07] I told you I was the wrong guy for this job.
[00:50:10] I told you that.
[00:50:11] I had no chance of pulling this off.
[00:50:13] It's too big for me, Lord.
[00:50:15] Everybody's mad at me now.
[00:50:17] Have you ever been there?
[00:50:20] You know, we kind of laugh a little bit, but that's not really how we feel.
[00:50:24] Because if you've been there, you know how hard it is.
[00:50:26] I want you to note this.
[00:50:28] Moses asked the Lord two questions that you and I may ask when we find ourselves under intense pressure, feeling the pains of loneliness and insecurity.
[00:50:38] Here's the first question.
[00:50:40] Why?
[00:50:42] Why?
[00:50:43] Why me, Lord?
[00:50:44] Why is this happening to me?
[00:50:45] Why am I going through this?
[00:50:47] Why did you lead me here?
[00:50:48] Is this why you sent me here?
[00:50:51] And the second question is, how?
[00:50:54] How am I going to get through this?
[00:50:56] How can I possibly endure?
[00:50:58] How can I survive this?
[00:50:59] How am I going to make it?
[00:51:00] Some of you, you're right there now in your life and you're asking those same questions to God.
[00:51:07] You're in that lonely place trying to figure out why you're here and how you're going to get through it.
[00:51:14] You'll appreciate what God says next.
[00:51:17] I love this response to Moses.
[00:51:19] You know, the great thing about our God is that He gives us a chance to be brutally honest with Him.
[00:51:26] To tell Him how we really feel, to pour out our hearts, to share our pain, to share our heartache.
[00:51:32] He never shames us.
[00:51:33] He never makes us feel any worse about that.
[00:51:36] He always meets us right where we are.
[00:51:39] But He never leaves us there.
[00:51:41] Listen to what God says to Moses.
[00:51:44] Then the Lord said to Moses, Now you will see what I will do.
[00:51:51] I would circle that.
[00:51:52] You'll see what I will do to Pharaoh.
[00:51:55] Because of my mighty hand, he will let you go.
[00:51:59] Because of my mighty hand, he will drive them out of his country.
[00:52:04] You know, isn't that awesome?
[00:52:06] You know, first of all,
[00:52:07] That God doesn't harangue, He doesn't shame Moses for asking why.
[00:52:11] He doesn't give him a hard time.
[00:52:13] I'd write this down.
[00:52:15] God reassures and He reminds Moses of His promise and His providence.
[00:52:21] You haven't seen anything yet, Moses.
[00:52:23] You just wait.
[00:52:24] I have a plan and I assure you that when I act,
[00:52:27] Pharaoh will know it.
[00:52:29] He may think he is God, but he's about to come face to face with my mighty hand.
[00:52:36] This is not over, Moses.
[00:52:39] Moses needed that reassurance.
[00:52:41] He needed that reminder from God so that he could stay the course, not give up.
[00:52:48] You see, we need that reminder too sometimes, don't we?
[00:52:51] You and I?
[00:52:52] You see, when you're down and discouraged and lonely, doing your best to follow God's will, to lead with integrity, to lead with fidelity, you want to believe that God is still at work, that He will do what you can't do.
[00:53:11] So Moses took that word from the Lord to the Israelites, but this time they weren't listening.
[00:53:17] Look at verse 9.
[00:53:20] Moses reported this to the Israelites but they didn't listen to him because of their discouragement and their harsh labor.
[00:53:29] You know, it makes sense, doesn't it?
[00:53:31] They aren't open to what Moses has to say for two reasons.
[00:53:34] They're discouraged and they're overworked and they blame Moses for it.
[00:53:40] You know, Moses has to be feeling really horrible in this moment, right?
[00:53:45] I mean, wouldn't you?
[00:53:46] So what does he do?
[00:53:48] He does what we should all do, especially when our bad days keep getting worse.
[00:53:55] We go back to the one who stands with us and who stands for us.
[00:54:01] I want you to give Moses credit.
[00:54:02] Write this down.
[00:54:03] He knew where to turn when life wasn't going his way.
[00:54:07] And the Lord met him there.
[00:54:10] Look at verse 10.
[00:54:12] Then the Lord said to Moses, Go, tell the Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his country.
[00:54:19] But Moses said to the Lord, If the Israelites will not listen to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips?
[00:54:29] The Lord tells Moses to go talk to Pharaoh again.
[00:54:32] But now Moses brings up that excuse.
[00:54:36] Remember this one?
[00:54:37] The same one he used at the burning bush.
[00:54:39] God, they won't understand me.
[00:54:41] They won't listen to me.
[00:54:42] I get tongue-tied.
[00:54:44] I start stammering.
[00:54:45] I can't get the words to flow.
[00:54:47] I'll sound like an idiot.
[00:54:50] Moses is resorting to those old objections, those old insecurities again.
[00:54:55] He was in a bad place.
[00:54:58] As low as he could go, he was doubting that he was God's man for this job.
[00:55:03] There's a really important truth here that I don't want you to miss.
[00:55:08] And it's this.
[00:55:09] Write it down.
[00:55:09] God does His most amazing work when we find ourselves in an impossible situation.
[00:55:15] Utterly unqualified and unable to do it on our own.
[00:55:22] You see, for us, that would be far from ideal working conditions, right?
[00:55:27] But not for God.
[00:55:29] You see, that's where God does his best work.
[00:55:32] That's an ideal condition.
[00:55:33] You know why?
[00:55:34] Because in those conditions, God can say, watch me work.
[00:55:39] Watch what I do.
[00:55:41] To which we gladly say, have at it, Lord.
[00:55:44] Please do what I can't do.
[00:55:45] Amen?
[00:55:46] I can't tell you how many times in life and ministry I've found myself in a difficult, anything but ideal situation.
[00:55:55] Where I was left with God to do only what God could do.
[00:55:59] Where I stood alone and He delivered time and time again.
[00:56:05] And we see this over and over in God's Word.
[00:56:08] It's the story of His Word.
[00:56:11] And Moses would see it again in his life too and in the not too distant future when he stood between a mighty charging Egyptian army and the Red Sea.
[00:56:20] An impossible situation.
[00:56:22] Yet God would show up there too.
[00:56:24] You'll get to see that.
[00:56:26] You know that same God will show up in your life and He'll go to work in your life even when and especially when you find yourself discouraged and alone in less than ideal circumstances.
[00:56:38] That's when God does His amazing work.
[00:56:42] So I want to finish up and I'll just ask you this question.
[00:56:47] What can you do when your day, when your month, when your year goes from bad to worse?
[00:56:53] I want you to see a subtle but really important theme that runs throughout Exodus 6 here.
[00:56:59] You may miss it unless you're paying close attention because God offers Moses two vital reminders in Exodus 6 to help him to get through this bad day.
[00:57:08] It's two reminders that will help you to get through a very bad day and a bad season of your life.
[00:57:14] The first is this, God reminds Moses who he is.
[00:57:19] God repeated the message from that burning bush five times here.
[00:57:23] He reminds Moses, I am the Lord.
[00:57:26] You look at it.
[00:57:27] You'll see it in verses 2, 6, 7, 8, and 29.
[00:57:31] God had to remind Moses to look at Him, to remember who He is, to fix His eyes on Him.
[00:57:40] You see, when Moses took his eyes off the Lord, he faltered.
[00:57:44] He got discouraged.
[00:57:45] He became insecure.
[00:57:47] God said, get your eyes back on me.
[00:57:49] Here's the truth.
[00:57:51] When your eyes, without your eyes fixed on the Lord, you will not be able to endure those days that go from bad to worse.
[00:58:02] It's why the Bible tells us in Hebrews 12, 1 and 2, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
[00:58:10] Circle this, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer, the perfecter of faith.
[00:58:17] So fix your eyes on Jesus.
[00:58:19] Remember who God is and what He's done for you.
[00:58:21] If He can conquer death, if He can rescue you from your sins, if He can give you a brand new life in Jesus Christ, He can help you to persevere through any bad day that this world throws at you.
[00:58:34] Do you believe that?
[00:58:36] God reminds Moses who He is.
[00:58:38] Fix your eyes on Him.
[00:58:41] And then God reminds Moses what He will do.
[00:58:45] After God told Moses, I am, five times, He told him, I will, eight times.
[00:58:51] You can count His promises over and over again in Exodus chapter 6.
[00:58:55] And that repetition
[00:58:57] is an encouragement to me and I think it will be for you.
[00:59:00] The Lord didn't want Moses to forget what he had promised to do and he doesn't want you or me to forget what he's promised to do.
[00:59:09] You might write this down.
[00:59:11] God will always do what is best for you.
[00:59:15] and Me.
[00:59:16] That may be hard to grasp when you're enduring a bad day, when you're going through a bad month or bad season in life.
[00:59:23] But God has not abandoned you.
[00:59:25] God will do what He promises.
[00:59:27] You can believe that.
[00:59:29] And when you do, your bad day will go from bad to better.
[00:59:36] God always shows up.
[00:59:37] He did not let Moses down and He won't let you down either.
[00:59:42] So after
[00:59:43] God reminded Moses and Aaron of who He is and what He will do.
[00:59:47] He told them to believe it and then to act on it.
[00:59:51] Here's what He says in verse 13.
[00:59:53] Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron about the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt and He commanded them to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.
[01:00:03] God said to Moses, this will happen.
[01:00:07] The Israelites will be delivered.
[01:00:10] Now let's make it so.
[01:00:12] Actions always reveal how you and I really feel.
[01:00:16] Always.
[01:00:17] What we truly believe.
[01:00:19] If you want to know what a person really believes, don't just listen to what they say.
[01:00:24] You watch what they do.
[01:00:27] How they act.
[01:00:29] You see, actions reveal core beliefs.
[01:00:31] God wanted Moses to believe Him, to trust Him, to have faith in Him, and to act on that belief.
[01:00:39] And that's not always easy.
[01:00:41] It's been said, talk is cheap.
[01:00:43] You show me what you really believe.
[01:00:45] Here's the truth.
[01:00:47] When life takes a turn from bad to worse, you can cower in fear or you can soar in faith.
[01:00:55] When you trust God's plan, when you lean into His will, life will move from bad to better.
[01:01:04] And you will soar.
[01:01:06] Amen.
[01:01:08] I don't know where you are in life's journey.
[01:01:12] I don't know where you are in your faith journey.
[01:01:14] But as I said about 30 minutes ago, I don't think you're in this place by accident today.
[01:01:21] I think God brought you here on purpose and for a purpose.
[01:01:25] Not the least of which is to tell you to fix your eyes on me.
[01:01:30] To fix your eyes on Jesus.
[01:01:33] If your eyes have been off of Him, get them back where they need to be.
[01:01:38] If you're going through a bad day or a bad season in life, understand who God is and what He will do for you.
[01:01:44] God keeps His promises.
[01:01:48] Always.
[01:01:49] Forever.
[01:01:50] So fix your eyes on Him today.
[01:01:53] I want to invite you to stand to your feet.
[01:01:56] And as I pray for us, here's the truth.
[01:01:58] I don't know where you are in your relationship with Jesus.
[01:02:01] I don't even know if you have a relationship yet with Jesus.
[01:02:06] And if you're here today and you say, you know what, I've never invited Him to be Savior and Lord of my life, but I recognize that I'm a sinner in need of a Savior who is Jesus Christ.
[01:02:17] If you want to surrender your life to Him today, if you want to begin to fix your eyes on Him, it starts in this moment and with this prayer.
[01:02:26] Let's pray together.
[01:02:28] Father, I thank you so much for this day.
[01:02:30] I thank you for bringing us to this place today.
[01:02:33] God, I thank you for meeting us right where we are and hearing our hearts as we pour out our hearts to you.
[01:02:40] God, sometimes we ask questions like why and how.
[01:02:43] We don't ask that out of faith, God.
[01:02:45] We ask that because we know you have the answers.
[01:02:48] God, thank you for the constant reminder, even today, of who you are and what you will do.
[01:02:53] God, thank you for being ever present in our lives.
[01:02:57] God, thank you for meeting us right here in our pain, but God, taking a bad day from really bad to so much better than you.
[01:03:06] God, if there's one in this place today who would say for the very first time, I'm a sinner in need of a Savior, who I know is Jesus Christ.
[01:03:16] I know He died for me on Calvary's cross.
[01:03:18] I know His blood was shed for me there.
[01:03:20] I know that He paid my sins penalty of death.
[01:03:24] That's how I want to place my faith in Him.
[01:03:27] I want to invite Him to save me.
[01:03:29] I want to trust Him to be Lord, Leader of my life from this point forward.
[01:03:35] So guide me in all that I do.
[01:03:37] God, guide all of us in all that we do.
[01:03:42] that we might do Your will.
[01:03:44] In Jesus' holy name.

[01:04:20] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
You are life, You are love You bring light to the darkness You give hope, You restore every heart that is broken And great are You, Lord
[01:04:50] It's your breath in our lungs So we pour out our praise We pour out our praise It's your breath in our lungs So we pour out our praise to all of thee
[01:05:27] To the darkness You give hope You restore Every heart that is broken Great are You, Lord It's Your breath
[01:05:53] In our lungs So we pour out our praise We pour out our praise It's Your breath In our lungs So we pour out our praise To You only It's Your breath In our lungs So we pour out our praise We pour out our praise It's Your breath
[01:06:23] In heart loves, so we pour out our praise to you only
[01:06:51] and all the earth will shout your praise our hearts will cry these bones will sing great are you
[01:07:12] All the earth will shout your praise Our hearts will cry, these bones will sing
[01:07:31] All the earth will shout your praise Our hearts will cry, these bones will sing
[01:07:53] In our lungs So we pour out our praise We pour out our praise It's your breath In our lungs So we pour out our praise to you Lord
[01:08:18] We pour out our praise, it's Your breath in our lungs So we pour out our praise to You only Great are You, Lord Great are You, Lord

[01:09:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Sometimes we just need that reminder, don't we?
[01:09:03] Grace is our Lord.
[01:09:06] We need that every day.
[01:09:07] And especially on bad days.
[01:09:10] Maybe you've had a bad day in the past week.
[01:09:13] Maybe you're going to have a bad day this week.
[01:09:15] And I hope in those moments you'll remember great is He.
[01:09:18] Remember who He is.
[01:09:19] Remember what He will do for you.
[01:09:22] That He never lets you down.
[01:09:24] That He'll never leave you.
[01:09:25] He'll never forsake you.
[01:09:26] That He will draw near to you.
[01:09:29] In your pain, and especially in your pain and heart, you can believe that.
[01:09:33] Fix your eyes on Him.
[01:09:35] Can you do that this week?
[01:09:38] Maybe there's someone in your life right now who's struggling.
[01:09:41] Maybe they've had a bad day, a bad month, a bad year.
[01:09:45] Can you share a word of hope with them?
[01:09:48] A word of encouragement?
[01:09:48] Maybe even this message, you can take it and share it with them.
[01:09:53] Thank you so much for being here today.
[01:09:55] I hope you'll be back next week and I hope you'll make an impression and leave a mark for Jesus Christ in your community, in your world this week.
[01:10:05] So before we go, let's pray.
[01:10:11] Our Father, again, we just thank you so much.
[01:10:13] We are humbled to be able to worship you.
[01:10:18] God, you are so worthy in every way of our praise, of our adoration, of our thanksgiving.
[01:10:24] God, we thank you for who you are.
[01:10:26] We thank you for what you do in our lives.
[01:10:28] And God, we thank you that you meet us right where we are in our pain, in our heartache, in our suffering.
[01:10:34] God, just like you met Moses and your people in Egypt, you meet us.
[01:10:39] In the same way.
[01:10:41] So God, thank you.
[01:10:42] Don't leave us there.
[01:10:43] We know you won't.
[01:10:44] Continue to move and to stir in our lives as only you can.
[01:10:48] Help us to share a word of hope, of life, of life in a world that's desperate to hear it.
[01:10:53] We pray for your guidance in all that we do.
[01:10:55] May we make an impression and leave a mark for Jesus Christ.
[01:11:00] We pray it in his holy, his precious, his redemptive name.
[01:11:05] And all God's children said, Amen.
[01:11:08] Blessings.
[01:11:09] and more.