Sermon
April 19,2026
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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The subject of today's study, but it was something, it's kind
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of where my heart is when I, when I go to people's
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businesses. I mean, if you're going to ask a
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friend for a favour, you know, that's different.
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But if you're going to go to their place of business and
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support them, you know, be willing to support them because
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they're good at their job and they're going to do good for you
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because they're going to do it for the Lord.
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That's the goal, right? So today we're going to be in
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Exodus 5, but we're going to start with the last verse of
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Exodus 4. And it's so the people believed.
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And when they heard that the Lord had visited the children of
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Israel and that he looked on their affliction, then they
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bowed their heads and worshipped.
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And Lord, I just lift up this time.
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I lift up just just you and and thank you to give us this time
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that we get to just spend with you and Lord that you you care
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enough to to look down and see us Lord, but that you are so you
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are also so worthy to be seen or that you you're so big and so
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mighty and Lord that you were able to do more than we could
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ever ask or think. And I pray all this in Jesus
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name, Amen. So Israel, the name of my the
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name of my study and it's really it's going to make sense.
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But feeling is a victim and or, or feeling victim or surrender
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surrendered victor, which is Israel you will see through
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through Exodus. Israel is all about how they
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feel today, right? And they, they have a hard time
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understanding who God is and why this is happening kind of thing.
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But anyway, we'll go first one of X of chapter 5 says after
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afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh.
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Thus says the Lord God of Israel, let my people go that
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they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.
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So we're just going to go through this real quick because
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it's kind of a funny story. But Moses here gives credit,
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right? This is the most when you when
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you look at Moses, sorry, when you look at Moses, you got to
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give him some credit. This is the most powerful man in
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the known world and Moses is going to go in and demand.
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So Moses automatically knows who he's speaking for, right?
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Moses, however he thinks this is going to go, Moses doesn't think
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he's walking in and getting it done right?
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This this is literally stating this command, this demand is
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this is the kind of thing that could get you killed, right?
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This is Moses walking in has to, I mean, just the fact that he
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did it means he was trusting the Lord because this year or more
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to the point of even trusting, he was submitted to what the
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Lord wanted him to do. He was surrendered, which is,
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you know, the if he dies, he dies kind of thing because he's
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just going to follow the Lord. And then verse 2, it's Pharaoh
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said, who is the Lord that I should obey Bay the obey his
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voice to let Israel go. I do not know the Lord, nor will
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I let Israel go. And this is I mean, as much as
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we're going to pick on the Pharaoh through this whole
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thing, this is not this is really not unreasonable, right?
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This is Moses, who he probably knew of Moses and he may have
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known him when he was younger, but this is 40 years later.
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And Moses is like, who is this Lord you were talking about?
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Who who are you talking about? My slaves have a Lord.
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And then Moses here, you know, after after Pharaoh asked that
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Moses starts, you know, he started in with gusto.
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The Lord said, let my people go. Verse three, he goes to I think
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we do this right, blame God and not not in a bad way, but in a,
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in a please, please do this so God doesn't doesn't get mad at
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us, which is so they said the God of the Hebrews has met with
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us. Please let us go three days
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journey into the desert and sacrifice to the Lord our God,
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lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.
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So Pharaoh, please do this so God doesn't get mad at us.
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And you know, please let us go and this the Pharaoh then
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chapter verse 4 and and reason we're going through this quick
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is there is a whole application thing that we'll get into.
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But I just wanted to step through these verses as they
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went because it's kind of a funny story when you, if you can
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picture be in there, you know, Pharaoh this pretty flat footed
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for the as far as when Moses comes in, Pharaoh has no idea
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this is coming and then this back and forth, right.
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And this is verse 4. It's the king of Egypt said to
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them, Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people from their
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work get back to your labor. And the Pharaoh said, look, the
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people of the land are many now and you make them rest from
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their labor. Like what are you doing?
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And so the first one is, is Pharaoh's kind of shocked by the
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conversation now. Now Pharaoh kind of gets his
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wits about me. Like who are who are you?
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What are you doing? Why are you talking to me about
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my slaves? And they have a God.
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I'm their God, I'm their master, I'm their Lord.
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And they need to remember who's in charge.
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So then MO then the Pharaoh says in verse 6, and this is this is
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the part that a lot of times we don't like is when when God
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stirs up our life, right? So the same day Pharaoh
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commanded the taskmasters of the people and their officers
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saying, you shall no longer give the people straw to make brick
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as before. Let them go and gather straw for
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themselves, and you shall lay on them a quota of bricks, which
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they may or they made before you shall not reduce it for their
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for they are idle. Therefore they cry out, saying,
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Let us go and sacrifice to our God.
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Let more work be laid on the men, that they may labor in it,
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and let them not regard false words.
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The taskmasters of the people and their officers went out and
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spoke to the people, saying, Thus says Pharaoh, I will give
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you straw, I will not give you straw, Go get yourself straw
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where you can find it. Yet none of your work will be
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reduced. So the people were scattered
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abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather straw instead
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of stubble or stubble instead of straw.
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And the taskmasters forced them to hurry, saying, Fulfill your
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work, your daily quota, as when there was straw.
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Also the officers of the children of Israel whom
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Pharaoh's taskmaster had sent over them were beaten and were
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asked why have you not fulfilled your task in making bricks both
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yesterday and today as before? So the disruption of the status
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quo was complete, right? Suddenly, suddenly the children
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of Israel got got the idea of what what was going to happen,
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right? This is, and, and a lot of times
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in our lives, that is what happens.
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You know, I, I want Jesus to come in and fix things and well,
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he's going to, he's going to fix things and it's going to disrupt
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my life. I mean, I can remember when I
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first got saved, you know, I, I worked in construction and there
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were, you know, jokes that I wasn't going to tell.
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There were words that weren't going to come out of my mouth.
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There were, there were stands I was going to have to make and
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that wasn't going to be easy. The my flesh was going to want
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to do what it'd only done and be comfortable.
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And the Lord was going to make it awkward.
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He was going to make it difficult because that's, that's
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who he is. And I, I think you guys have all
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heard Jesus takes me as I am and that that's how he takes us.
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Exactly. I mean, he took Israel exactly
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as they are, but he loves me too much to lead me that way, right?
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So with Israel in this, he accepted them as they were.
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He looked down, he saw their affliction and now he's going to
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come and he's going to fix it. But like most things, we,
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they're, they're looking outward and the Lord's going to fix
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their hearts, right? And and he's going to work on
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the world. But it's, it's definitely not a
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easy, you know, the our flesh doesn't die easy is basically it
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the end of chapter 4. God was praised and worshipped
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because he saw them and was going to help.
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And and that's we get excited, right?
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Our feelings can get all welled up in a worship service or in a
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somebody, somebody can come up and give a great message, you
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know, other than me, somebody that gives great messages and
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you can get excited. But to remember that when when
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you get home and it's you and God, right, there's a there's a
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you and him thing that that he's going to work on this right.
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He always knows what needs to change and the this is the
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Israel part and and kind of where we're at is thinking.
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I know what I need is kind of a crazy thought since what I
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thought is what got me into the mess, right, Israel.
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Israel wanted to continue on the status quo they had and be
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saved. Well, that's never going to work
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because that's what got him into the mess in the 1st place right
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there. There's got to be some
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disruption. And the, the leadership here
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suddenly was, was not comfortable.
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They, they suddenly they were getting beaten.
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I mean, you got to figure picture our Congress, right?
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This is tell, tell our Congress they have to balance the budget
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and they they're like, oh, oh, well, you know, they come up
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with all the reasons. Well, if the ballot, the budget
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wasn't balanced, they didn't get paid.
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Suddenly, I'm betting the that might change the way they
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balance the budget, right? Or if they had to pay out of
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their pockets any money that wasn't covered, right?
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It wasn't only that they didn't get paid, is that it cost them.
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You know, these guys were getting beaten because they
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weren't getting the quota. And and what we say and what
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they say, what they said was Lord help.
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And what God says is I am, trust me.
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And Israel felt like victims. And this is Israel going through
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the the Old Testament, through judges and on biz.
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Israel plays the victim. They when I say that they play
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the it's, it's all happening to me and it's happening to me and
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I had nothing to do with it. And Lord, you need to fix it.
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And that's what Israel comes to Moses with in verse 15.
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Then the officers of the children of Israel came and
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cried or sorry. They came to Pharaoh first
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Israel and came and cried out to Pharaoh saying we are.
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Why are you dealing with your servants?
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Thus with your servants, there is no straw given to your
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servants. And they say to us, make bricks.
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And indeed your servants are beaten, but the fault is your
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own people. They aren't giving a straw,
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right? So they go to the world and ask
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for, for relief, right? They don't go to God, They go to
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the world and they want, they want God to rescue, but they,
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they, they don't want to be in trouble in the world at the same
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time. So remember my, my line, God
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wants all the blame. And so therefore he wants you to
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trust in Him completely, and he is willing to take you to a
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place where all you have is him so that you have to trust Him,
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right? And that but that The thing is
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when you get there, that's where true rest is is true rest is
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found in complete surrender to Him.
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And Pharaoh, of course, here is is angry.
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But I would tell you that Pharaoh is probably kind of
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vindictively angry, more of a more of just a funny because
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they come, they come whining. And Pharaoh, Pharaoh probably is
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mad, but at the same time kind of chuckling on the inside
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because this is, you know, I got them back.
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I got them back where they need to be.
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Verse 17 it says, But he said you were idle, idle.
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Therefore you say, let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.
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Therefore go now and work, for no straw shall be given you, yet
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you shall deliver the quota of bricks.
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And the officers of the children of Israel saw that there was
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they were in trouble. After it was said, You shall not
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reduce any bricks from your daily quota.
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So Pharaoh's just got him right back where he wants them, right
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back under his thumb. They understand I'm in charge.
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This this whole thing with the Lord's going to go away because
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that I'm just, they're just silly slaves.
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And they started out with excitement.
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They started out with excitement that God saw them and he, he was
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going to help them. And they were, they were
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excited. Moses and Aaron had heard from
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the Lord, but suddenly this was their problem.
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The, the leaders, they had a problem and they, they didn't
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understand who God was or who God is in, in, in our terms,
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right? And so then they come to Moses
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and Aaron because that's who spoke to them.
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And they say then as they came out from Pharaoh, they met Moses
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and Aaron who stood there to meet them.
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And they said to them, let the Lord look on you and judge,
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because you have made us abhorrent in the sight of
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Pharaoh, in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in
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their hands to kill us. And over and over again Israel
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will accuse Moses of taking him out into the wilderness to
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starve taking him out of the wilderness.
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So they all kinds of things right because they continually
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think that Moses is in charge and they they don't recognize
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who God is and they don't recognize how big he is.
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It's what I've got in my notes is God save me from this evil
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world instead of God save me a Sinner.
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Israel doesn't recognize that they are in need.
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They are in need personally for a savior, not not the the evil.
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The evil world is doing bad things to me and I need you to
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protect me from the evil world. It's I'm, I have fallen short,
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right? I I need God and Moses and Aaron
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here. Moses returned to the Lord and
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said, Lord, why have you brought trouble on these people?
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Why is it you have sent me for since I came to Pharaoh to speak
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in your name, he is none evil to the people, neither have you
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delivered your people at all. And I said last week, Moses,
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Moses had got in and sat down, right?
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So he was bought into what the Lord wanted to do.
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And this isn't Moses trying to get out.
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This is Moses asking the questions, right?
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Trying to get some clarity on what's going on and and why is
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it going on And this is it. So I haven't heard this is, this
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is a question and, and it's a whiny question because I, I
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think we, we whine quite a bit. If you go through the book of
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Job, you'll find Job never curses.
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God doesn't rebel against him, but he whines quite a bit.
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So whining is something that God's people do.
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Not saying it's not sinful, it's we, we need to trust him, but
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it's, this is not a voice of rebellion.
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Israel has a voice of rebellion that they don't want what God's
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offering. They want to go back to the way
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it was and if you think about what Moses's understanding of
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who God is, Moses understood how big God was and what God was
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asking him to do. When you, when you look back at
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the first thing he did, you can imagine the faith it took and
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the, the, the stepping out of himself it took to walk into the
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the most powerful man in the world and saying, the Lord says,
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let my people go. That is not something Moses did
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in his flesh. It's not something Moses did
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going, this is going to go well. But it was something Moses did
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because he trusted God and he trusted God because God had told
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him what was going to go on. He gave him an outline right
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back in back in chapter 4, verse 23, it says, so I say to you,
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and this is God talking to Pharaoh or what God's going to
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say to Pharaoh. So I say to you, let my son go
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that he may serve me. But if you refuse to let him go,
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indeed I will kill your son, your first born.
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Moses knows God wins and Moses doesn't know how God wins.
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He but he knows God wins. Now doesn't mean that there
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aren't questions, right? There's always always that that
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questioning hard. It's trying to get that wine out
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of our voice of, you know, Mary. When you think of Mary and
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Gabriel coming to her, she had questions, but they were they
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were questions on how are you going to do this?
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Not not you're not able to do this.
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And and really that's Moses here is is why are we doing it this
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way? And it's something that as we go
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through our Christian walk, do we understand how big the God we
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serve is? Have we had that moment with him
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that we have like surrendered my understanding for his his
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ability? Right.
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I don't know how he's going to do it.
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I mean, that's, you know, building a water line across
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Africa. Probably hundreds of times I've
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been asked how are you going to do that?
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I have no idea, right. And that was doesn't mean that I
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didn't do the next thing every time it was open, right.
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I, I just kept moving forward on whatever the next thing God put
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in front of me. But it wasn't that I knew I or
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to this day that I know how we build a living water line across
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Africa. I know he said that's what we're
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going to do. So it's going to happen.
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And, and so anywhere that I have opportunities from, from this
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position to help in Uganda, in Africa, I do right.
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I, I pray for those people. I, I send encouraging messages
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to them. I do what I can do from here as
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those opportunities line up, but I don't, I don't ever question
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whether or not God's going to do it because he said he would.
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And and that's, that is the God we serve.
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He is big enough to do what he says he's going to do.
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And Israel never shouldn't say never haven't in most of their
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history really recognized they, they understand he's holy, but
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they never recognized that they're not the victim.
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They're the victor. You're not the victim.
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You're the victor if you were in Christ.
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And the reason you're the victor is because he already won.
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And that doesn't mean there isn't a battle, right?
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It just means that he is who he says he is.
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And something Moses understood who God was.
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And if you look at the two different ways that Moses met
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God and the Israelites met God, Moses met God in a fire, right?
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And that's he met him in a fire. Isaiah met him in the temple.
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Job met him in a cloud, right? And it's Isaiah when he met him,
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said, woe is me, for I am undone because I'm a man of unclean
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lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips.
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Job, when he met him said, behold, I am vile, what shall I
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answer you? I lay my hand over my mouth.
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Peter when he met Jesus and recognized his position, he said
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when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus's knees and
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saying, depart from me for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
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And Ezekiel, you ever read the vision in in Ezekiel one, it
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says, I like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy
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day. So was the appearance of the
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brightness all around it. It was the appearance of the
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likeness of the glory of the Lord.
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So when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard the voice of one
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speaking. John met Jesus in revelation in
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his glorified body and said, I fell at his feet as dead.
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And Jesus said, don't be afraid. I am the 1st and the last, which
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is Paul met him. When Paul, when Saul met him
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trembling and astonished, said, Lord, what do you want me to do?
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And Joshua, when he met the commander of the Lord's army,
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fell on his face to the earth and worship.
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These guys met God and when they met him, they understood how big
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he was and how small they were and how much they needed what he
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had. And it's Israel accepted God on
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their team. He was their champion.
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He wasn't their Lord. He he was going to be part of
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their team. They weren't, they weren't in
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his story. They were.
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He was just part of their story. And if and if he didn't do what
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they wanted him to do, they were going another way, right?
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They had No Fear of the Lord, right?
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Next, Proverbs 910 says the fear of the Lord is beginning of
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wisdom. They didn't understand He is God
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and is worthy. They were the children of
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Israel. They were God's children and
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they deserved help. Guys, we don't deserve anything
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except death. He, he came and died to give,
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right? And we, we deserve death and he
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loved us enough to come. And my, one of my favorite
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quotes in the Narnia books is from Beaver.
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And I can't remember which one of the kids sees Aslan for the
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first time. It was probably the youngest one
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and sees Aslan for the first time.
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And he's a big lion and he's walking towards them and, and
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looks at Beaver and goes, boy, is he safe.
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And Beaver says no, but he's good.
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That's the God we serve. Is he safe?
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No, but he's good. He is.
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He is the maker of everything, the builder of all, and he is
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good. And when we, when we come to
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him, it's just kind of disrupt our lives because our lives are
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built on, on this earth. And we think that there's stuff
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here that is, that is worthy of our, our praise and, and honor
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and, and joy and where happiness comes from.
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And it's just not. And so Moses here was 100%
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obeying God and got the back of his head slapped by the Pharaoh,
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right. And Peter gives us some insight
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about how our walk here on earth is going to go in first.
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Peter 1-6. This is the game plan God has
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for us. In this you greatly rejoice,
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though now for a little while, if need be, you have been
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grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith,
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being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is
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tested by fire, may be found to praise and honor and glory at
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the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love,
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though now you do not see him, yet believing, you rejoice with
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joy inexpressible, full of glory, receiving the end of your
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face, the salvation of your souls.
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And that we will have trials. It's not if it's will, it's
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when. The Lord cares what's going on
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and wants to help, right? And, and is 100% able to do it.
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But that takes growth for us, right?
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We, we talked, I think on don't remember it was last week or
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Wednesday, talked about Stony ground like Wednesday I talked
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about Stony ground and Stony ground.
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Mark 416. These likewise are the ones sewn
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on Stony ground. When they hear the word,
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immediately they received it with gladness, and they have no
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root in themselves and so endure only for a time afterwards, when
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tribulations or persecutions arise for the word's sake,
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immediately they stumble. So did that not sound like what
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Israel did right? They, they were excited.
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They heard it. They, they, they heard what
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Moses said and they were excited because they were going to be
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saved, but they had no root in it.
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There was they, they wanted, they wanted to have all the
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fruit with none of the none of the growth that that's required.
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I, one of the pastors down down the Tri-City said, and I imagine
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he got it from somebody because it's, is that fruit is not grown
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on the mountaintop. It's grown in the valley, right?
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And as believers, we don't go from mountaintop to mountaintop
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to mountaintop. We go mountaintop into valleys
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to mountaintop, right? Which we have those great.
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We're going to go to the ministry conference.
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And I, I guarantee that when you just dedicate a weekend to the
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Lord, you're going to hear from him and you're going to, you're
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going to have some highs that are just wonderful.
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And then you're going to come back and Monday mornings going
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to happen and you're going to be at work and all those highs you
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were feeling over the weekend, suddenly reality strikes and
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you're back in a valley, right? And the key there is to remember
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that God is in both places and is using both of them for his
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glory to get you where he wants you to be and to never be in
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that position of not trusting him right in in Hebrews 11/1
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says now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the
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evidence of things not seen. If I know who God is and I
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recognize how big he is and in the beginning God created and on
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the third day Jesus rose again. I'm pretty sure he's got my work
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life figured out and, and whatever's got whatever or my,
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my home life, my family life, whatever The thing is, God has
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that in his control. And there's, I don't have the
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verse, but it's when I die, I'm going to be with Jesus.
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So the only thing that somebody, the the worst thing somebody
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could do to me is kill me. And what is that going to do but
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send me to Jesus? Everything that goes on in this
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world, in this time is a blip of my future.
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I live for eternity. I don't live for tomorrow.
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I don't live. I live in such a way that I can
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trust that he's got it under control.
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And that means there's suck that happens out there, guys that
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that real hurt happens. And it really sucks.
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These these leaders truly got beat.
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Joshua makes a mistake. They're sin in the camp and 36
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men truly die and left their families as widows and orphans,
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right? Real bad things happen.
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If we trust God, we know that those things happen and the most
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people that can get saved are going to get saved through all
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of the junk. If there was a better way,
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that's the way it would happen. You know, Joe, when you go
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through Job, all of those things, if there was a better
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way, that's the way it would happen.
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We have to trust the Lord's plan and a lot of times that's laying
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down everybody around us, right? It is Luke 1426 and believe it
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or not this is became one of my favorite verses as I was going
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through 2020. If anyone comes to me and does
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not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and
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sisters, yes, and even his own life also, He cannot be my
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disciple. And whoever does not bear his
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cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
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And everybody's like, wow, you can't hate people.
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You have to, you have to understand that Jesus, it's
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pretty simple. He wants 100%, not not 92%, not
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99.9%. He wants 100%.
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And that isn't because he's selfish.
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That's because he knows if you have anything between you and
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him, it's poisonous to you. It is it.
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It will poison your spirit because it's something the enemy
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can use against you. If you have anything that is a
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Yeah, but it is outside of Christ, right?
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It is the moment you think that this thing will make me happy
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instead of I am already full of joy, full of peace because I'm
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in Christ now. God, God gives us great things.
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He gives. I mean, I have a wonderful wife.
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She's not in here so I can talk about her.
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I have a wonderful wife who loves me and he's a she's a gift
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from him. He wants to give us good things.
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But if at any point I put my hands around her and I say she's
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mine guiding me, you're going to have a problem, right, because
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he's going to say you got to keep your hand open, right?
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You got to keep your hand open with your relationships in your
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life, their your vehicles in your life, your your job,
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everything. It's like Lord, whatever you
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want to do with it, right, Uganda, right.
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So here, here's a so my plan, because I always have plans, my
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plan nuclear nuclear supervisor spend three to six months in
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Uganda work outages, have a fifth wheel, go to work.
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My plan is working and then go be a pastor in Sandpoint.
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If if my hand wasn't open about Uganda, I'd, I'd have said said
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this is this is what I do, Lord, I, I'm a missionary in Uganda.
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This is this is mine. This is what I do.
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But my job is really simple. Not my will, but your will be
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done, Lord. And and that is truly it.
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If I, if I exchange my my wants and desires for his wants and
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desires, guys, there is nothing better on this earth than what
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he wants from me. I mean, if it, if I were, if I
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had decided I was going to do Uganda, my work life would be
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miserable right now and Uganda would be falling apart because
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there's no way if I step out of his will that I get to do all
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the things that he wants me to do because I'm not doing what he
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wants me to do. So even in ministry, if you
-
decide that you're just going to be about your work, then you're
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just a slave to the world because you're trying to make
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yourself happy in the world system instead of resting and
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trusting in his plan. And, and it's been his plan
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since before the foundations of the Earth, right?
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It isn't. None of this is a shock to him,
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but it you know John 316 which gets beat up, but the the
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problem with John 316 and it's not the verse, it's our
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understanding of it is very often we we settle like Israel
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in John 316 for God so loved the world.
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I am so excited praise and worship he gave his only
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begotten son That is so awesome praise and worship that whoever
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believes in him should not perish but have everlasting
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life. I am a victim and I need Jesus
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to come and save me. That that the problem with that
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is there's this who that whomever believes in him that
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not that is not I believe that Jesus because before I was a
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believer, I believed I had went through the whole thing and
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figured out how I could sleep at night and I believed that Jesus
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was a real man and he really walked on the earth.
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I believed that he was crucified.
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I believe that I believed I even believed he was born of a
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virgin. Right, that fine, I'll believe
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that. And I believed he rose on the
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third day. I believe that, and so I'm good.
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So I am now. I am now saved and I'm good.
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Except I didn't believe in him, right?
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And that believe word is to trust in him, to rely upon him,
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to place all confidence in him, to entrust myself to him, to
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lean all of my weight of my life on him.
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That's believe. That's what that word mean.
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And if we're not doing that, then we're acting like Israel.
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We're just victims. I need, I need to get out of
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jail free card because I'm a good person and the world is
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evil. I'm not a good person.
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The world is evil, but I'm not a good person.
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I'm in the world. I need a Savior that is able to
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do what He says, and I believe Jesus is that He is.
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He is above and beyond right. Hebrews 11611 six through 8
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says. But without faith it is
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impossible to please him, for he who comes to God must believe
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that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently
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seek Him by faith. Noah, being divinely warned of
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things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for
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the saving of his household, by which he commanded, commended
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the world, and became heir of righteousness, which is in
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accord to faith. By faith Abraham obeyed when he
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was called to go out to the place which he was would receive
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as an inheritance, and he went out, not knowing where he was
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going. So Noah and Abraham did things
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not because they understood what God was asking.
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They understood who God was in the in the in the human mind,
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right is they understood God was big enough to do what he said
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right. They Noah understood that God
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said build a boat on the land. It has never you got to remember
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that in Noah's eight day it had never rained.
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The dew came up from the from the ground and watered the
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fields. So Noah had no explanation on.
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Why or how this boat was going to be used.
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Abraham got called to go to a a place he had never been because
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God said that isn't trusting that the world has a plan that's
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trusting that God's big enough to use the plan that he's got
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for me. And if and if we've given our
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life to Christ, this is the cost to trust him right?
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And that is my when that that full surrender is full faith and
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full belief He is able to do what he says.
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And that my job as a believer is to do everything as unto the
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Lord and not to men, which is get my eyes off the world and
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just do what he tells me to do. And that takes prayer and that
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takes time. But that trust is when we look
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at Romans 828 and you will over the years, you will hear me beat
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that verse up because it is so misquoted so often.
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But what Israel's missing is they don't understand Roman 828,
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which is God does uses all things together for the good of
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those who love him, right? That does not mean that God uses
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everything for my good. He uses everything for the good
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and the good is as many souls into heaven as can get there.
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And my life surrender to him is saying, Lord, use my life for
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that process. I am willingly surrendering that
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to you. And The thing is, when that
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happens, when I'm in Christ and I am made new, I'm able to do
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that. Second Corinthians 517 is all I
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just, I hate it when I do that. Gosh, it's like one of my life
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verses and I just space it because I'm standing up here
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and you get a new Bible and all the pages are in the wrong
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place. It's the it's the Bible.
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It isn't me. So 2nd Corinthians 517 says
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therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.
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Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become
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new and that all things have become new guys is when I give
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my life to Jesus. He doesn't take he doesn't take
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Nick and go, man, there's a lot of good pieces here.
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We can make something out of this.
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No, they're nothing good there. All things become new.
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The old passes away. And and that's what I'm trusting
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in is that he is able to use this broken, useless person and
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do amazing things in the Kingdom.
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You know, you guys hear it all the time, but we're in his
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story, right? The beginning of this was Moses
-
in God's words. Moses trusted God's words,
-
right? And then Moses shared God word,
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God's words. Thus says the Lord God of
-
Israel, let my people go and and Moses didn't know how that was
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going to happen. He he just trusted God, said it
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and told him to repeat it. Do we do that right?
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And how important is God's word in our life?
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And God's word obviously is like I say, it's twofold.
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It is what is it is what is here written down in the Bible?
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And it's also that still small voice that's speaking to you
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that obviously won't go against the words of the other
-
Scriptures, but it also will will take you right and say, go
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talk to that person. Go do these things right.
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John 11 says in the beginning was the Word and the word was
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with God and the word was God that's Speaking of Jesus.
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But then Revelation 1913, he would clothe in a robe dipped in
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blood and his name is called the word of God.
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So do you trust that God has a plan for you?
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Do you trust that he can speak to you?
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And when He speaks to you, do you trust and go and do?
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Do you obey, right? And that's when you get back to
-
that believe. Do you believe the Word?
-
Do you trust His word? Do you rely upon His word?
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Do you believe confidently in His word?
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Do you entrust yourself to His Word?
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Just like Moses said, let my people go.
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Jesus is saying that each of us. He is saying, let go of this
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world and trust me. I won.
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Write that surrender if we surrender to Jesus, we have one
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if, if we just feel like a victim who who needs somebody to
-
save them. We are we're we're missing it
-
because we we think that he's coming to defend us from the
-
world and he's actually using us to conquer the world because
-
that's what he's going to do with Israel, right?
-
He's going to Israel is literally going to lay waste to
-
Egypt. He, they're going to plunder
-
them, right? They're going to take all their
-
valuables and it's all going to be because God did it, right?
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But it's when Israel and Moses as they, as they go through this
-
process, guys, I'm not saying, I mean, Israel's going to fail
-
over and over and over and over again.
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Do you know anybody like that, right?
-
So, but there are little glimpses of moments when they
-
get it, Moses gets it. Do you get it?
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Do I get it? He's bigger than we can imagine.
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And he is able to use all the stuff in all the stuff on our
-
level, all the stuff at the city level, all the stuff at the
-
state level, all the stuff at the national level, all the
-
stuff at the international level.
-
He is able to use all of it for his will, for his glory.
-
And and it will. That does not mean at any point
-
that life goes along smooth and level, which I would tell you
-
Israel's life definitely does not go along smooth and level,
-
but God will use it all for his glory.
-
That good stuff. That's good stuff, right?
-
I I, I really enjoy the idea of getting serious with him right
-
of being that exchange life of just if guys, if you read your
-
word, if you're in your Bible, reading the word and you just
-
listen and follow the rest that you receive is you don't get it
-
in the world that my when life sucks, like I've said,
-
Colossians 323. I just work for the Lord, which
-
means I just need to do my best. It doesn't mean my best is good
-
enough. You know, it's I need to die to
-
myself. You know, Galatians 220, which
-
is this life. I I mean, it's, I've been
-
crucified, but the end is this life I now live in in the flesh.
-
I live by faith, right, which means I don't have it in me to
-
do everything as unto the Lord. I have to live by faith in him
-
and what he already did. And then when I do that, he,
-
when, when I live for him, he manifests himself to me, which
-
is John 1421. You know, when I, when I follow
-
his commandments, he manifests himself.
-
He grows. The more I follow, the bigger he
-
gets, the, the clearer I see him.
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We're we're going to do communion and it's a time, guys,
-
that that's that question to ask yourself.
-
Say, Lord, is there anything I have that I got my hand around?
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Is there anything that I think you can't do that I'm that I'm
-
trying to do that. I'm going to the world to try
-
and fix it instead of coming to you, Lord, am I, am I listening?
-
Am I willing to just say yes, Lord, am I willing to walk into
-
the Pharaoh and say, let my people go?
-
And I mean, guys, give Moses and Aaron credit for that moment.
-
That moment is the is the declaration, right?
-
It's the IT is the declaration that there that Moses is well,
-
here we go, right? This is this is an UN, this
-
wasn't irrevocable moment, right?
-
I, I can't remember in nuclear, there is a thing like that where
-
it's a critical step is something that can't be backed
-
up from. Well, you going in and demanding
-
to the Pharaoh is something that can't be backed up from because
-
and when I say that, what I mean is Moses declared the Lord said
-
let my people go, which means Moses is making a stand that his
-
God is big enough to force the Pharaoh to let him go.
-
You know, if Moses walks away and and and Israel doesn't end
-
up free, then God failed and Pharaoh's bigger.
-
But we know how that the end of the book is and trust me when I
-
tell you Pharaoh is not bigger, but this is Jesus, right?
-
And when he instituted the Lord's Supper, says the Lord
-
Jesus, on the same night in which he would was portrayed,
-
took bread. And when he had given thanks, he
-
broke it and said, take, eat. This is my body which is broken
-
for you. Do this in remembrance of me.
-
In the same manner he also took the cup after supper, saying,
-
This cup is the new covenant in my blood.
-
Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.
-
So guys, as we do this, like I talked about it on Easter, He
-
said this, and then he rose again on the third day and
-
proved that it was true, that His blood does wash us clean.
-
He paid for our sins, but He didn't pay for our sins.
-
So we had a box of them. He paid for you and me and threw
-
our sins away. And when we're we're going to
-
sing a song and just spend some time with him, freshly
-
remembering what he's done in your life, freshly remembering
-
how far you've come in that relationship with him.
-
And if you don't have that relationship, it's a simple
-
request. Lord, I need you to save me a
-
Sinner. It's that it's that easy.
-
It's not a it's a heart thing. Moses got it.
-
Ezekiel got it. Isaiah got it.
-
It's not a you don't need to be saved from an evil world.
-
You need to see saved from yourself and then he will use
-
you in an evil world to change lives.
-
And Lord, I just thank you for that.
-
Lord, I thank you that you cared enough and that you still care
-
and that you're big enough. Just be with us now and just
-
lift our voices up to you. Jesus name Amen.