Exodus 11Scripture
Everybody turn your Bibles this morning to Exodus chapter 11. Have you ever found that sometimes you open a Scripture and you begin reading, and things begin to jump off the page that strike you to the heart and make you begin to contemplate and wonder about your life and about the goodness of God? And then there are other times you open the Bible and you begin to read a text, and it doesn't seem like it's saying anything pertinent at all. Matter of fact, it becomes an arduous task, and you sit with it, and you sit with it, and you sit with it some more, and you wonder, what does this have to do with me? How does this really impact my life, and how is this beneficial for me today? I felt that when I opened up and read Exodus 11. Although it is a continuation of the story, it's kind of like one part of the story that we tend to skim over when we're reading to get to the good stuff. It almost is like a little bit of a closing of one chapter and the opening of the other. It's a prelude. If you ever open a book, how many of you are guilty of opening the book, looking to see what the book is about in the index, and then there's a preface, right? And how many of you are guilty of skipping over that and just getting to chapter one? That's what I felt like chapter 11 was. And I'll be honest with you, I tried to think of some real spiritual reason, some really good thing I could do to set up maybe another chapter for when I return next week, so that I could skip it. And then I thought, is it really my right to skip parts of the
Introduction
Verses of the Bible because I'm bored with it? Or is it the responsibility of the reader to sit with something until God speaks? And so here's what I feel like, and let me tell you, I've had to sit with this verse a long time to be able to draw anything out. And sometimes it's that way.
Sometimes I believe God speaks to our hearts quickly through his Word, and other times I think it's a seed that has to get down to the deeper parts of our heart, and it just takes time. How long are you willing to sit with God's Word? Exodus 11:1–3. I'm just going to break it down in sections. There may be a few verses I jump over, because I can't talk about it all. There is way more than what I expected to be in here. I'm less bored with it now, because I sat with it long enough. Don't ever deny the fact that God has something to say. Sometimes we don't have much hearing. We don't have much in the way of bandwidth regarding our hearing on a subject. Sometimes it's hard to hear what God's trying to say when you don't like what he's trying to say. All right, Exodus 11:1–3 says, "The LORD said to Moses, 'Yet one plague more.'" And by the way, this is the plague of all plagues. This is the plague that was prophesied from the beginning. This was the plague that Moses said would come that would end all plagues. You could eliminate all the other plagues, and this plague would have accomplished the task. Matter of fact, you could eliminate this plague and all the other plagues, and God could have still got what he wanted, 'cause he's God, right? He didn't need to get Pharaoh on his side to get the people out. He could have just got the people out. He could have sent Moses to the people and said, "By the way, tell the people we're leaving in an hour," and they would have obeyed him, and then he just could have stopped Pharaoh from doing anything about it. There's a thousand ways. God could have "beam me up, scotty"-ed him to another part of the earth and put him there, because he's God. But this is the way he does it, and he's trying to do something with these signs that not only impact the people but impact nations beyond the people, the children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and then us today. We are benefactors of understanding that God does what he pleases, and that's important. And by the way, this is God who does it. This is not happenstance. This is not the will of men. This is God doing what he pleases. "The LORD said to Moses, 'Yet one plague more I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will drive you away completely. Speak now in the hearing of the people, that they ask, every man of his neighbor and every woman of her neighbor, for silver and gold jewelry.'" Very interesting. This is the weirdest part of this whole story to me. What in the world?
God is just sending plague after plague: "I want you to say to the people..." And then they're going to go trick-or-treating door to door for jewelry? It's weird. Like, what in the world? Panhandling for jewelry door to the Egyptians. "And the LORD gave the people favor." Everybody say "favor." "In the sight of the egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants and in the sight of the people."
Point 1God gives favor, not human effort
It's all a part of the favor that God gave. Notice who gives the favor. And this is my first point, and I think this is an important one out of the four that I have: God gives favor. That's who gives it. Notice it's not your efforts that bring favor to your life.
Notice it's not your work ethic that brings favor to your life. Notice that there's no amount of money or intellect or experience or skill set or any of those things that bring favor to your life. Notice that it isn't the way you pitch it when you go to the door and ask for jewelry. It's not that you articulate things well, or you're a manipulator, or you can convince people to give you all of their stuff. Notice that the people were able to accomplish what God intended them to accomplish not because of their skill set, not because of anything in them, but because God gave them favor in the sight of the people.
It's God-given, not man-achieved. Now, this
Pastor Shawn Gray · 7:13
is very important today, because many of us as believers have the favor of the Lord on our lives, but then we come to church and we begin to believe that the favor we have is because of what we do. It has nothing to do with you.
The favor you have is a gift from God, that no man can boast.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 7:37
It's his favor granted to man. Now, why is this important? Because as we enter into a relationship with Christ, when we call on his name, when we make him Lord of our lives, what tends to happen is we tend to turn to our own devices in life, and we begin to believe that we have to strengthen our faith, we have to improve our walk, we have to do all of these things in human effort. And we forget the fact of how we have achieved what we have achieved. We have a new mindset, a new life, a new power, a new strength that we've never had in our life, to overcome sin and death and the vices of sin and death, and we can live this way, and we are blessed and we are made new because God granted it. So now this is important. And the people didn't too quickly forget that it was God who did it. Or did they? Because they take the same jewelry just moments later, when Moses goes up on the mountain. They burn that jewelry, melt it down, and they make a golden calf, and they worship around it, because Moses was gone and they needed a god to lead them.
Isn't it amazing how quickly God can redeem us and we can forget him?
Pastor Shawn Gray · 9:06
Isn't it amazing how quickly he can grant us favor, and we think that it's about what we do, and we turn and take the thing that he gave us in our favor and make other gods with it? It's crazy to me how easy it is for us to be silly. I won't say stupid, because that's insulting, but it ain't smart. Ignorance pervades our lives even after we come to Christ. Thank goodness that his mercies never cease, because if his mercies ceased... It ain't like you get saved and you ain't need no mercy anymore. I'm sorry I said "ain't," but I'm from the South, and that's good Englishing in the
Point 2Favor can be fortune or fatal
South. There are two types of favor that we see throughout the entire gospel. The favor of fortune, which we see here with the Israelites. Favor of fortune. I want that kind of favor. I mean, isn't it wonderful to be fortunate? And then there's a favor that is fatal. Now we see the dichotomy between the two of these, because the Egyptians, let's be honest, the Egyptians were wealthy. Notice where they got the jewelry and the gold and the riches from. They got it from someone who had favor to have it, which was the Egyptians. Are you with me? And if the Egyptians had favor to have fortune, guess where that came from? God. And now there's a transfer of favor. The favor that was once with the Egyptians has now been transferred to the Israelites. And let me tell you, now they have the fortune, and they leave and exit the land with the fortune. But notice the difference here.
The favor given to the Israelites is not the same as the favor given to the Egyptians. The favor given to the Egyptians is fatal. It was a fortune for a season, but it was ultimately fatal.
How many of you know that in America today there is a favor of fortune on the land that will prove to be fatal, because we put our trust in what we are fortunate to have rather than him?
Pastor Shawn Gray · 12:05
Sound familiar? And the Egyptians, although they had a favor of fortune, they trusted the fortune as their god, and they denied the God that could redeem them. And ultimately they were prideful, and they trusted in self and their wealth and their wisdom, and it proved to be fatal in the land, to the degree that every firstborn son was offed by God. Sounds encouraging today on this Lord's day. Sounds encouraging. Sometimes God gives favor that's fatal for his purposes. Let's talk about the favor of fortune before we go to the favor that's fatal. Here in Exodus 11, we see God give favor to the Israelites. He gives favor of fortune. Why does he do this? Here's one reason he does this; there's two reasons. In Genesis 15, God makes a promise to Abraham that foreshadows the events of Exodus, including the plundering of the Egyptians. This can be found in Genesis 15:13–14, where God tells Abraham this: "Then the LORD said to him, 'Know for certain that for 400 years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves.'" This is a prophecy. "'And afterward they will come out with great possessions.'" Sound familiar? We also discover later that the Israelites take the gold possessions to make the temple. So number one, it was prophesied, and God delivers on his promises. So God prophesies. He prophesies to Abraham that eventually your people will be taken into captivity for 400 years, and when they are released, they will leave with great possessions. So when we hear in Exodus 11, when they're going door to door and asking for the possessions of the egyptians, these are the possessions that they will leave with. And it's a lot of gold, folks. It's a lot of gold. I'm talking about a lot of earrings. I'm talking about wagonfuls. The Egyptians had favor. Why? Because there was going to be a transfer of wealth. But why? We're going to soon find out what God was doing. See, sometimes we think it's to enrich us, but God gives favor of fortune to bring glory to himself.
The fortune is not for you. The fortune is for his glory.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 15:17
Okay, so number one, it was prophesied. Number two, we discover that the Israelites take gold possessions to make the temple.
Later on, we see that they make the temple with all of the jewelry, silver, gold, and jewels. They take all of that, and God gives instruction of how to build the temple. There's the outer court, the inner court, and the Holy of Holies. In the Holy of Holies we have the ark of the covenant, totally covered in gold. Everything's gold-plated. Everything is beautiful. There are jewels on stuff. The priests have gold tablets and tassels hanging off them. Everything is ornate.
And they use everything that they have taken from the Egyptians to build the temple unto the worship of the God that gave the favor and the fortune to the people. So everything comes full circle back to God, unto his glory. That's what worship is. So in a service, when we have an opportunity in worship to give through giving, this is not a tithe sermon, we have an opportunity, it is the way that it comes full circle back up to the glory of God, that ultimately everything that is given to us is ultimately his.
None of it is truly ours.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 16:53
Can I get an amen up in here? Because if he did not give you favor, you wouldn't have an earring, much less enough to cover and build out a whole temple, ultimately tabernacle. The Israelites used some gold.
Let me give you some examples, not to get to you; you just got to see where this happens, because you got to see what I'm talking about, what they do with this provision. The Israelites used some gold and silver and other valuables they received from the Egyptians during the Exodus to construct the tabernacle as God instructed. This wealth came as a result of the Egyptians giving the Israelites various items as they were leaving Egypt. Exodus 12:35–36. Do you have that?
Exodus 12:35–36 says this: "The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. And the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians." So they gave them large amounts of gold, silver, bronze, and precious material. Now here's the breakdown of how the Israelites applied their wealth in the construction of the tabernacle. Number one, collection of materials. In Exodus 25:1–7, God tells Moses to gather a freewill offering from the people for the materials needed for the tabernacle. Here's the verse. Okay, Exodus 25, let's turn there. Well, you have it up there. I got to turn there real quick so I don't look backwards. 1 through 7. This is a lot of Scripture, but listen to this. So later on, when they're building the tabernacle, Moses is instructed to inquire of the people for a collection out of what they were favored to get before they exited the land. That's what we're reading about in Exodus 11.
And here's what it says: "The LORD said to Moses, 'Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for me a contribution.'" -oh, they're having an offering time at church. "'From every man whose heart moves him you shall receive the contribution for me. And this is the contribution that you shall receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze.'" Some of us think two bucks is bad. "'Gold, silver, and bronze, blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, goats' hair, tanned rams' skins, goatskins, acacia wood, oil for the lamps, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, onyx stones.'" I always say "enyx." I don't know, but Brook thinks it's hilarious. "'Onyx stones, and stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece.'" This is for the high priest. "'And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it.'" How shall they make it? Out of the proceeds of what they were favored to get, out of the contributions the people make from it. Then later on, we read the offering for the tabernacle in Exodus 35:20–29. Let's look there. "Then all the congregation of the people of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. And they came, everyone whose heart stirred him, and everyone whose spirit moved him, and brought the LORD's contribution to be used for the tent of meeting, and for all its service, and for the holy garments. So they came, both men and women. All who were of a willing heart brought brooches and earrings and signet rings and armlets, all sorts of gold objects, every man dedicating an offering of gold to the LORD." How quickly we forget where this came from. This all came from the pillaging, or the favor that the people had to go door to door. They got all this from the Egyptians. Where'd the Egyptians get it from? God. Where'd the people get it from?
The Egyptians. Why'd the people get it from the Egyptians? Because God gave them favor to get it. So who ultimately gave it? God. And then what does God do in return, as he wants to build a tabernacle, where sacrifice can be made, where worship is done, where God's presence could remain in the midst of the people? What does God do to build this tabernacle? After giving the instructions, he goes and asks for a contribution out of what he gave. That's crazy. Let me make sure I read to the end. "And every one who possessed blue or purple or scarlet yarns or fine linen or goats' hair or tanned rams' skins or goatskins brought them.
Everyone who could make a contribution of silver or bronze brought it as the LORD's contribution. And every one who possessed acacia wood of any use in the work brought it. And every skillful woman spun with her hands, and they all brought what they had spun in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. All the women whose hearts stirred them to use their skill spun the goats' hair. And the leaders brought onyx stones and stones to be set, for the ephod and for the breast- piece, and spices and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense. All the men and women, the people of Israel, whose heart moved them to bring anything for the work that the LORD had commanded by Moses to be done brought it as a freewill offering to the LORD." Isn't it amazing that God asks for a freewill offering from you, but he gives all things to you, including favor to receive it? Isn't that beautiful?
Why can we give with a joyful heart? Because we know that everything we have came from him.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 23:25
This is not about mustering up a joyful heart that you might freely give. This is about acknowledging that everything was given to you. He only asked for a freewill offering from you. How could you not give with a joyful heart? Exodus 36 through 39, they crafted the tabernacle. Skilled artisans, such as Bezalel, and I don't know how to say these names, were appointed to create the various parts of the tabernacle. They used the donated gold to make things like the ark of the covenant and the table and the lampstand and the altar and other components in the Holy of holies. That's a lot of stuff. That's a lot of stuff. Favor is fortune, and out of the fortune we give a freewill offering unto his glory, and that is our ultimate worship. Favor is also fatal. Just, okay, because we're Echo Church, and because I'm me, we always got to look at the other side of the thing. Because sometimes God gives favor for fortune, and sometimes he gives it for fatality. You know what I mean? Like back in the day, how many of you, see, all the guys laughed immediately, right? Because we know Mortal Kombat. I'm not saying it's the most appropriate thing to watch, but I remember playing, I don't know why I'm saying this, it's so ridiculous, I'm going to want to delete this out of the video. I remember growing up playing Mortal Kombat, and there was, you could always do, after you won the fight, you could do a fatality move, and it was crazy stuff like up, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, select, start.
Like, that's Contra. That's actually unlimited lives on Contra, in case you... I still remember it, right? So you would do these moves, and it would be a fatality move. It would be like an extra special move that would end the life of the person you fought, right? It would be like, "Fatality!" You know? And it would just do this really horrible thing to that person. And I thought about this when I thought that God gives favor that is fatal. I thought, "Fatality," you know, because that's the way my brain works. But it's true. We think of things like, God gives and he takes away. We think of our stuff. We don't think of life. Are you with me today? It says God knows the hairs on your head and the number of them, and he knows the days that you have, and he assigns them. God gives and he takes away, and this sometimes even applies to what is fatal. Notice that sometimes God uses the devil to do his business. Here's what the devil actually said to Jesus, just for perspective, at the temptation in the wilderness, that creates the question that we're kind of discussing.
It says in Matthew 4:8–9, "Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, 'All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.'" "I'll give you riches and kingdoms and glory." And here in Luke 4:5–7, "And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him, 'To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me.'" It has been delivered to me. It has been delivered to me by who? Who gave him this authority? Who gave him power over this stuff? Now notice that Jesus doesn't argue with him, like, "No, you can't." He doesn't say that, because Jesus is God, and God gave him that stuff. God gave him that favor. But that favor will one day be fatal to Satan and all his demons. Are you with me today? And all those who serve him. That favor is fatal. I'm glad that Jesus didn't say yes to that favor that he offered, because if he did, that favor would have been fatal for me. There is a favor you should reject that only comes from Satan, because a favor that comes from Satan ultimately comes from God. Just track with me here. A favor that comes from Satan can only be given by Satan if authority had been given by God for Satan to give it. And ultimately God gives favor that's fatal, and if you accept that, it will not only be fatal to you but could be fatal to your children and to your grandchildren. Are you with me today? Okay. Yikes. Yikes. But notice the words in Luke 4. Satan has all the authority in the world, because in Luke 4:6 he admits this: "To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me." By whom? God. In God's sovereignty, God considered it wise, as part of his curse on the world after the fall of Adam and Eve, to give Satan a huge power in this world. You don't have to like it. That's just what God did. Thank God for his favor. Thank God for his favor. Exodus 11:4–6: "So Moses said, 'Thus says the LORD: About midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt, and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the cattle. There shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt,'" listen to this, "'such as there has never been, nor ever will be again.'" I don't want to be at that wailing
Point 3God gives a lamb for the firstborn
Wall. No, thank you. God gives favor. God gives a lamb. God gives a lamb. So here we are, one plague more. God's patience has run out, and his final judgment, death to the firstborn, was about to fall on the nation. Note that death was to come to everyone. Okay? Death was coming to everyone. Okay, quite specifically, to every firstborn. It does not say every firstborn son; it says every firstborn. That's important. Note that death was coming to every firstborn, both the Israelites' firstborn and the Egyptians' firstborn, because neither were worthy of being saved. But God created a provision. Okay, what is the provision? A lamb that would be slain, and blood that would be sprinkled, that would cover the house where the firstborn resided. That was the provision. God provided a lamb. God gave a lamb. God gave favor, and God gave a lamb. Thank goodness that God gave a lamb. Thank goodness. The Bible, Romans 3:23, says all have sinned, and the wages of sin is death, Romans 6:23. God specifies that the firstborn will die. Don't check out on me here. Listen to me today. This is very important for you, because this applies to you too. The firstborn will die. Who's the firstborn? I was actually making cracks, going, "I'm glad that I'm a part of God's elect, 'cause I'm a firstborn, so I get to go to heaven, and I feel sorry for my sister, but she's getting doomed. I'm a part of the remnant. I'm a firstborn." And we begin to delineate and draw these conclusionary lines between those who are born first, okay, by time. But when the Bible uses the word "firstborn," it's saying something specific. It's not talking about a timeline, or one that came first or one that came second, or any of those things. God is using, when he uses the word "firstborn," he's saying something specific. God specifies the firstborn will die, and this speaks of God's rejection of all of our first birth. The Bible says it this way: all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Why have we sinned? Because we're born into sin. All of us, when we are born, we are born under the curse. When you are born, it is your first birth. Are you with me today? Your first birth is born into sin. You are a slave to sin. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and all of us need a lamb, and to be sprinkled with the blood of the Lamb. All of us, all of us need that. All people are firstborn. God's coming to take all of you out, but he provided a way for salvation for you and for your house, and his name is Jesus, and he is the Lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world. That which is born of flesh is flesh.
The way I would say it is this, quite briefly: all people are firstborn who have not been born again.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 34:50
That's why the second birth is important. What is the second birth? It is for all those who believe in him, who call on his name, who put their faith in him, and who follow him. We are born-again believers in Christ. That's who we are. God rejects the first birth; he embraces the second. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh. You must be born again." John 3:6–7. People cannot save themselves from the penalty of death. They need Christ. They
Point 4God gives and takes life
Ultimately need the Lamb of God and his blood that was shed for all of us. God gave a lamb. God gave a lamb. God gives and takes life. That's not fun to think about, is it? Because at the same time he's giving life to the Israelites, he's taking life from the Egyptian firstborns. We only tend to hyper-focus on the Israelite part. God gives life, but it is God, we read in 12 and in 13, that takes it.
It's God that takes it. What gives God the right to take life? The audacity of God!
There is no difference between the firstborn of Egypt and the firstborn of Israel. The difference was in the application of the blood.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 36:29
And that seems encouraging, until you realize that God only protects the firstborn in the houses that have blood over the doorpost and the lintel, and he kills the firstborn of the houses that don't. And then that sounds all great and everything, but then you realize that God never gave the instruction to the Egyptians of how to save themselves. What gives him the right? What kind of sovereignty is this? What kind of a loving God does not lay out the instruction for a whole nation of how to save themselves? What is he doing? Who is this God, and why should I serve him?
He only gives directions to the Israelites. So some might ask, doesn't God desire that all should not perish? And here's the one I'm badgered with. Here's the Scripture I'm badgered with over and over again, and so let's just talk about it. 2 Peter 3:9. "Shawn, what about this verse?" "The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward us," some versions say "you," "not wishing that any should perish."
That's interesting. Then why didn't he give the instruction to all of Egypt? "Not wishing that any should perish, but that all," everybody say "all," "should reach repentance." But what about all the firstborns of Egypt? It's amazing how much this Scripture is thrown at me when we talk about God's sovereignty, when we talk about election, when we talk about predestination, when we talk about God's sovereign will. Because the reality is that some of the things we read in the Bible don't jive with everyone getting to heaven. And PS, regardless of what side of the equation you stand on, and there are solid believers on both sides of this conversation regarding election, and they're good, solid believers, and there are good, solid believers in this house on both sides of this conversation, but I will say universally, we are not universalists. So even though we read this here, and it says that God doesn't wish that any would perish, but that all would come to repentance, we know that all don't. Because why? Wide is the gate to destruction and to perishing, and narrow is the gate to eternal life. Are you with me today? We understand that many will perish. Matter of fact, more will perish than don't. So then who is he patient towards? It says here, "but is patient toward us," or "you."
Who is the "you" here? Who's the "you" he's referring to? Who's the "any" that he's referring to? If we go back to 1 Peter, okay, who is the "you" he is patient towards? Who is he patient towards? Who does he not wish... And who is the "any" that shouldn't perish? What is the "you," the "any," and the "all"? What is it connected to, and what people is it connected to contextually, if you don't cherry-pick the Scripture out of 2 Peter? Well, let's go back to 1 Peter 1 and see who the whole letter is written to: to those, it says, who are elect. Now, in 1 Peter 1 we see that these letters are written to those who are elect, the elect exiles. Let me see here. He doesn't wish that any of them would perish, and he's long-suffering and patient. Matter of fact, the Bible says he will delay his coming until all that he has elected will come in. God gives and he takes life. And listen, you can contextualize it all you want and wonder why. It's because he's God, and he can do what he pleases.
And you may not like that, because you want to vote in the matter, but you don't get a vote, even though it is election
Pastor Shawn Gray · 42:01
Point 5God opens ears to his Word
Time. God decides, and it's all according to his purposes and his will, and ultimately for his glory. All right, last point: God opens ears. Okay, now this is encouraging, just for me. I don't know if it will be encouraging for you, but I thought I'd just throw it out there. I almost left it off my notes, because this is mainly encouraging for me. If you've ever been in ministry, this might be encouraging to you. If you're a parent of children and your children never listen to you, and you feel like you're a tree in the wind, and you're just saying stuff and nobody's listening, then this will be encouraging to you as well. Husbands and wives, if you feel like you're constantly speaking to each other but no one's ever hearing, this will be important to you. Young people, if you're constantly trying to tell your parents stuff and it's lost in translation because you're using words that made no sense to us when we were your age. There's a new one that came out called "no cap." Are we talking about bottle caps? What in the world are we talking about?
You don't like caps? You're anti-caps? You're voting against caps? What did caps ever do to you? And we don't even really have caps anymore. We have plastic bottles. You understand what I'm saying? And so, young people, I know you're talking to your... I had to ask my son what "no cap" means, and he tried to explain it. I said, "It still don't make sense to me." And so, young people, today this might be edifying to you and helpful to you, because I know you're speaking a language your parents don't understand, and you just want to be heard.
But let me tell you something: be encouraged that your responsibility is to speak, and it is God's responsibility to open ears, specifically pertaining to his Word.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 43:50
Let's just draw this back to the Word of God, because that's really what this is about. It's not about you being heard for your feelings. This is about you proclaiming the Word of God, and you valuing the Word of God, and the Word of God has changed your life, and you want the Word of God to change the people you know, their life, and you speak the Word, but it doesn't change their life. And it creates a tension in your heart, because you want people to be set free like you've been set free by the Word, and you proclaim the Word, and it hardens them, but it softens you.
That's immensely frustrating, that the same Word that softened you hardens others, and the more you speak the Word that softens you, the more hard someone else becomes.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 44:35
How many of you have ever been in a situation like that with somebody you love dearly, and you speak a word and it hardens, and you know that the only thing that saves them is the Word, because the Word is the power unto salvation? And so you begin to continue to speak it, because you know it's their only hope, but the more you speak it, the more hard they get. So whether you're a pastor, whether you're a loved one, whether you're a member of the church, whatever your occupation, many of us who have been saved by his Word and softened by his Word and transformed by his Word have been in situations where we speak to loved ones the Word that redeemed and saved us, and we see it harden them, and it's immensely frustrating, and it makes us walk out in rage and in anger from situation after situation. Can you relate to Moses? You're like, "What are you talking about, Shawn?" Well, I'm glad you asked. Exodus 11:8–9 says, "'And all these your servants shall come down to me and bow down to me, saying, "Get out, you and all the people who follow you." And after that I will go out.' and he went out from Pharaoh in hot anger. Then the LORD said to Moses..." He's trying to help him with his anger. And this is what he's saying to you today, I believe, as well, for those who have been speaking the Word but see no fruit from the Word we've spoken. God said, "Go and speak on my behalf." He called Moses to go and speak: "Speak the words that I tell you." And Moses had this idea that if he spoke God's Word, the hearts would be changed. But then he realized the more he spoke God's Word, God hardened with the Word. And so sometimes we begin to feel used as a vessel of hardening, and with the tool that's supposed to soften, we see it hardening, and we begin to attach our value to the result of the Word we share. Does that make anybody angry? It made Moses angry. "I thought if I spoke your Word, I thought it would change and soften Pharaoh's heart." Oh, it didn't happen that way. And here's what God said to Moses in his anger: "Pharaoh will not listen to you." Why? Because God opens ears. You know that book of Amos? You know, that real popular one that you read every Thanksgiving, where it says that God will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread or of water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD? There won't be a shortage of words. Track with me now. Now we live in a generation, in a culture, where there is more word than has ever been. You go on Facebook, you can get a word. You go on Instagram, you can get a word.
But you're hearing a word that's not the Word. You're hearing a truth that's not the truth.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 47:55
"Pharaoh will not listen to you." Why? There's a purpose that he shut his ears. There's a purpose: "that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt." "Well, I don't like that. I would do it different. Matter of fact, I'd be a better God."
Yeah, many people, maybe even in this room this morning, think they would be better at being God than God.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 48:44
And you develop theological biases based on your godness and not the Word, and it is not him you trust and worship; it is you. Are you with me today? But know this today. Know this: God gives favor. Why? For his purposes and his will to be accomplished, ultimately to his glory. God gave a lamb. Why? That his will and his purposes would be accomplished, ultimately that he would receive glory. God gives and takes life away. Why does he do that? That his will and his purposes might be accomplished, ultimately to his glory. And God closes and opens ears. Why? That his will and his purposes would be accomplished, ultimately to his glory. And many of you are walking away and saying, "Well, Shawn, that doesn't leave me with much hope, because what I need from you is for you to give me the why." Here's what the Bible says the why is: his ways are higher than your ways. You cannot understand them. You know why he leaves it that way?
Because he's God, and he's not entering into a debate with you about how you think he should do it. He's the boss. You're fired.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 50:07
Are you with me today? You're fired from being the boss. He's the boss.
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