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Voddie Baucham - God's Sovereignty over His People · Voddie Baucham Sermons

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  Speaker 1: If you have your Bibles with you, open them to
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  Speaker 1: Exodus Chapter four. Exodus chapter four, beginning in verse eighteen.
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  Speaker 1: We'll look at eighteen verses eighteen through twenty three. As
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  Speaker 1: we transition from Moses's call to ministry to his actual ministry,
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  Speaker 1: we come to this particular passage where God in essence
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  Speaker 1: gives us an overview of what it is that He
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  Speaker 1: is about to do. In this little aside, we actually
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  Speaker 1: have kind of a thesis statement of the Book of Exodus,
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  Speaker 1: sort of a summary of what is about to take
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  Speaker 1: place as Moses goes and confronts Pharaoh. And it says
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  Speaker 1: much about the way we are to view the rest
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  Speaker 1: of this book. It says much about the way that
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  Speaker 1: we are to view history. It says much about the
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  Speaker 1: way that we are to view God. I thought about
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  Speaker 1: this a while back. I was I was on a
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  Speaker 1: plane a couple of weeks ago, and as I was
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  Speaker 1: coming back from Chicago, it was Game seven of the
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  Speaker 1: Western Conference Finals in hockey.
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  Speaker 2: I do not watch hockey. I do not like hockey,
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  Speaker 2: or so I thought.
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  Speaker 1: It was one of those planes with the direct TV
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  Speaker 1: on there and everybody's watching, you know, the direct TV.
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  Speaker 1: And because it was the Chicago Blackhawks against the La Kings,
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  Speaker 1: and it was game seven. Two thirds of the screens
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  Speaker 1: on the plane had this game on, and eventually I
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  Speaker 1: got so tired of crane in my neck to watch
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  Speaker 1: other people's I just turned it on mine as well,
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  Speaker 1: and I just got so engrossed in the excitement of
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  Speaker 1: this game. It was amazing. And that's how we are,
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  Speaker 1: isn't it?
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  Speaker 2: Here?
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  Speaker 1: It was game seven, Everything is on the line, everybody's excited.
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  Speaker 1: The crowd is going crazy. People are standing on their
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  Speaker 1: feet towards the end of the game trying to see
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  Speaker 1: who is going to prevail. And as I watched that,
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  Speaker 1: I thought, I thought about the way we view God
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  Speaker 1: and how we think God views the events of history.
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  Speaker 1: Some of us think that God watches the events of
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  Speaker 1: history like a person watching a game whose end is
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  Speaker 1: in doubt, as though God is on the edge of
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  Speaker 1: his seat, hoping against hope that his team wins.
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  Speaker 2: There are some people who.
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  Speaker 1: Believe that that's the way God views history. There are
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  Speaker 1: other individuals who view it differently. Others who would see
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  Speaker 1: God as sitting there on the sideline, yes, and watching
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  Speaker 1: what goes on, but he has actually chosen who he
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  Speaker 1: wants to win, and he intervenes from time to time.
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  Speaker 2: He allows the game to.
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  Speaker 1: Go on, but if the person who's not supposed to
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  Speaker 1: win gets a little too close, then he'll blow the
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  Speaker 1: puck so that it won't go into the net, but
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  Speaker 1: that he doesn't mess with too many things, and only
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  Speaker 1: when he has to. There are some who think that
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  Speaker 1: that's the way God looks at history.
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  Speaker 2: There are others, however, who believe that.
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  Speaker 1: God just knows all of the possibilities, everything that could
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  Speaker 1: conceivably happen, and therefore sits and watches, and he's not surprised,
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  Speaker 1: not because he knows what's going to happen, but because
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  Speaker 1: he knows all the conceivable possibilities. And therefore, when one
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  Speaker 1: of those conceivable possibilities comes to pass, God's not surprised,
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  Speaker 1: but not because he's in control, just because he's so
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  Speaker 1: knowledgeable about everything that he knew that this was one
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  Speaker 1: of the possible eventualities. None of those describes the way
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  Speaker 1: God actually views events that happen in time. None of
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  Speaker 1: those things describes what we see here in Exodus chapter four.
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  Speaker 1: What we see here in Exodus chapter four is a
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  Speaker 1: picture of God's total sovereignty and it's a picture of
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  Speaker 1: something that we don't like all that much and talk
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  Speaker 1: about even less. And that is the idea of God's decree.
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  Speaker 1: And that's what I want us to look at today,
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  Speaker 1: this concept of the decrees of God. Look with me
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  Speaker 1: beginning of verse eighteen, and listen to the way that
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  Speaker 1: God describes the events that are about to unfold. Verse eighteen,
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  Speaker 1: Moses went back to Jethro, his father in law, and
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  Speaker 1: said to him, please let me go back to my
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  Speaker 1: brothers in Egypt to see whether they are still alive.
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  Speaker 1: And Jethro said to Moses, go in peace. It's interesting
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  Speaker 1: there's sort of a frame here. He goes to his
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  Speaker 1: father in law and asks to be released to go
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  Speaker 1: to Egypt, and his father in law simply says, go
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  Speaker 1: in peace. Later on, we're going to have a picture
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  Speaker 1: of him going to Pharaoh and asking for Israel to
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  Speaker 1: be released, and we're going to be informed that Pharaoh's
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  Speaker 1: answer will not be anything like Jethro's answer. And the
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  Speaker 1: Lord said to Moses and Midian, go back to Egypt,
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  Speaker 1: for all the men who were seeking your.
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  Speaker 2: Life are dead.
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  Speaker 1: So Moses took his wife and his sons and had
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  Speaker 1: them ride on a donkey and went back to the
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  Speaker 1: land of Egypt, and Moses took the staff of God
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  Speaker 1: in his hand. Isn't it amazing? It used to be
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  Speaker 1: a shepherd's rod. Now it's the staff of God. By
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  Speaker 1: the way, so is Moses. He used to be a shepherd.
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  Speaker 1: Now he's the voice of God to Aaron, to Pharaoh,
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  Speaker 1: to Israel. He's the prophet of God. And what he
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  Speaker 1: holds in his hand is the staff of God, because
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  Speaker 1: God has.
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  Speaker 2: Claimed them as his own.
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  Speaker 1: And the Lord said to Moses, when you go back
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  Speaker 1: to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh. All the
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  Speaker 1: miracles that I have put in your power stop right there.
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  Speaker 1: Because the way we normally think about God's interaction with
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  Speaker 1: history is this, the way we think God interacts with
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  Speaker 1: history would lead us to believe that God has given
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  Speaker 1: me these miracles to Moses because he knows that these
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  Speaker 1: are just the right miracles to get to get Pharaoh
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  Speaker 1: to do what it is that he wants him to do.
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  Speaker 1: Because after all, Pharaoh is completely free, and Pharaoh's will
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  Speaker 1: is completely free, and so God really wants Pharaoh to
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  Speaker 1: do something. So God's going to intervene, and this intervention
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  Speaker 1: is going to be these miracles that he knows will
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  Speaker 1: convince Pharaoh to exercise his free will and do what
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  Speaker 1: it is that God wants done. Next phrase will harden
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  Speaker 1: his heart so that he will not let the people go.
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  Speaker 1: Then you shall say to Pharaoh, Thus says the Lord
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  Speaker 1: Israel is my firstborn, and I say to you, let
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  Speaker 1: my son go, that he may serve me. If you
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  Speaker 1: refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your
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  Speaker 1: firstborn son. That is not God sitting on the sideline
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  Speaker 1: watching the game unfold and rooting for his favorite team.
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  Speaker 1: Nor is that God sitting on the sideline watching the
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  Speaker 1: game unfold and deciding every now and then to maybe
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  Speaker 1: get involved just a little bit in order to nudge
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  Speaker 1: things in the favor of his favorite team. Is God,
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  Speaker 1: who is sovereign over all, who is telling Moses exactly
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  Speaker 1: what is about to happen, because it's going to happen
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  Speaker 1: in accordance with the decree of the sovereign God of
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  Speaker 1: the universe. Again, this is something that we do not like.
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  Speaker 1: We don't like this because we don't understand this. We
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  Speaker 1: don't like it because we cannot wrap our minds around
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  Speaker 1: the idea of God's decree. We don't like it because
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  Speaker 1: we like the idea and that we are actually in control.
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  Speaker 1: And it's amazing how we act about that, because we
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  Speaker 1: live our lives every day as though we are in
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  Speaker 1: total control of everything that happens, until something goes wrong,
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  Speaker 1: and then we blame God for not having done what
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  Speaker 1: we think he ought to have done in the situation.
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  Speaker 2: Because we want it both ways.
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  Speaker 1: I want to have complete freedom and sovereignty over my
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  Speaker 1: own life, and I want to hold God accountable for
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  Speaker 1: all of those things around me that don't go the
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  Speaker 1: way I want them to go.
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  Speaker 2: I want it both ways.
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  Speaker 1: In other words, I don't want God to be completely sovereign.
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  Speaker 1: I want God to be sovereign to the extent that
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  Speaker 1: he causes things to happen in accordance with my view
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  Speaker 1: of the way they ought to go.
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  Speaker 2: If you can't say amen, you ought to say ouch.
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  Speaker 2: That's what we want.
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  Speaker 1: We want a God who's powerful enough to do anything
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  Speaker 1: that we desire. We want a God who's free enough
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  Speaker 1: to control those things outside of us that don't concern us.
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  Speaker 1: But at the same time, we don't want him to
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  Speaker 1: exercise that freedom when it comes to me, myself and mine.
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  Speaker 1: I want complete sovereignty in my sphere of influence, and
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  Speaker 1: God can have the rest of the world. And as
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  Speaker 1: God has the rest of the world, he is free
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  Speaker 1: as long as He doesn't allow the rest of the
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  Speaker 1: world to interfere with my sovereignty in my sphere.
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  Speaker 2: That's the way we think about it, folks. But that's
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  Speaker 2: not God.
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  Speaker 1: The doctrine of God's decree is something that has been
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  Speaker 1: thought about, written about, spoken about throughout the history of
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  Speaker 1: the Church, as long as men have read the Bible
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  Speaker 1: and thought through what it means. Men have understood this
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  Speaker 1: idea of God's decree. Listen to the way the Westminster
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  Speaker 1: Shorter Catechism deals with it, question number seven, What are
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  Speaker 1: the decrees of God?
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  Speaker 2: Answer?
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  Speaker 1: The decrees of God are his eternal purpose according to
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  Speaker 1: the counsel of his will, whereby for his own glory
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  Speaker 1: he hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass? Is it just
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  Speaker 1: Westminster Press? That's just as mister Presbyterian idea of God's
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  Speaker 1: decree and of God's sovereignty way Grudem in his systematic theology.
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  Speaker 2: No Presbyterian, By the way.
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  Speaker 1: The decrees of God are the eternal plans of God,
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  Speaker 1: whereby before the creation of the world. He determined to
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  Speaker 1: bring about everything that happens. This doctrine is similar to
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  Speaker 1: the doctrine of providence, but here we are thinking about
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  Speaker 1: God's decisions before the world was created, rather than his
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  Speaker 1: providential actions in time. His providential actions are the outworking
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  Speaker 1: of the eternal decrees that He.
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  Speaker 2: Made long ago.
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  Speaker 1: You see, God's providence is the way he brings about
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  Speaker 1: his decrees. God decrees the end from the beginning. John Gill,
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  Speaker 1: legendary Baptist theologian, says that the decrees of God are
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  Speaker 1: nonumber one internal to God himself. Number two, They are eternal.
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  Speaker 1: He decreed these things in eternity past. God doesn't watch
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  Speaker 1: what's going on and make decrees as history unfolds. He
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  Speaker 1: decreed everything in eternity past, before things began. The decrees
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  Speaker 1: of God are free. He does not make them because
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  Speaker 1: of anything acting upon him. The decrees of God are wise, why,
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  Speaker 1: because God is all wise. There is no one wise
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  Speaker 1: as God, and anyone who is wise is wise because
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  Speaker 1: they have wisdom from God. Therefore, it is only God
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  Speaker 1: who is able to decree whatever comes to past.
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  Speaker 2: We don't want anyone else.
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  Speaker 1: In control of what comes to past because no one
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  Speaker 1: has the wisdom of God to bring those things about.
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  Speaker 1: God's decrees are immutable. They don't change. Why because his
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  Speaker 1: wisdom is infallible. Why would they need to change. And
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  Speaker 1: God's decrees are affectual. They accomplish whatever God set out
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  Speaker 1: to accomplish. Abraham Kuyper put it this way. There is
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  Speaker 1: not a square inch in the whole domain of our
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  Speaker 1: human existence over which Christ, who is sovereign overall, does
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  Speaker 1: not cry.
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  Speaker 2: Mine, not a square inch. Now.
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  Speaker 1: And we say this, and on the one hand, we go, well, yeah, absolutely,
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  Speaker 1: that's right. But there's one area where this becomes problematic,
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  Speaker 1: and that is the problem of evil and suffering. We
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  Speaker 1: love to say that God is sovereign when things work
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  Speaker 1: out well for us.
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  Speaker 2: Or for others.
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  Speaker 1: Well, we love it when we're riding down the street
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  Speaker 1: and we nod off at the wheel, and just before
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  Speaker 1: we run into the telephone pole and kill ourselves and
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  Speaker 1: whoever else is in the car, we wake up and
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  Speaker 1: we swerve and we're back on the road. In moments
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  Speaker 1: like that, we want to say God is sovereign. Praise
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  Speaker 1: the sovereign God of the universe, whose hand protected me.
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  Speaker 1: But what happens if you don't wake up, if you
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  Speaker 1: do hit that pole, if you do.
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  Speaker 2: Kill yourself and everyone else in the car.
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  Speaker 1: Now, all of a sudden, we want to protect God
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  Speaker 1: from the doctrine of sovereignty and say, well, he doesn't
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  Speaker 1: control those things. That's like being almost pregnant or kind
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  Speaker 1: of pregnant. Either he is or he isn't. Either he
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  Speaker 1: is sovereign over all things that come to pass, or
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  Speaker 1: he is not solid at all. We don't like this,
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  Speaker 1: but it's a reality. If you have your hymnals, it
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  Speaker 1: can open them to page six seventy two, not Him
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  Speaker 1: six seventy two, but page six seventy two, where you'll
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  Speaker 1: find our confession, and you'll find the statement on God's Decree.
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  Speaker 1: I want to walk through that simultaneously as we walk
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  Speaker 1: through this passage, we'll look at the first three paragraphs
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  Speaker 1: in that chapter on God's decree. The first thing we
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  Speaker 1: need to understand is that God decrees whatever comes to pass.
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  Speaker 1: Whatever comes to pass. Nothing happens by accident, and nothing
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  Speaker 1: happens without God's decree or apart from God's.
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  Speaker 2: We get paragraph one.
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  Speaker 1: God hath decreed in himself from all eternity by the
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  Speaker 1: most wise and holy counsel of his own will, freely
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  Speaker 1: and unchangeably all things whatsoever come to pass. Yet, so
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  Speaker 1: as thereby is God neither the author of sin, nor
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  Speaker 1: hath fellowship with any therein, nor is violence offered to
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  Speaker 1: the will of the creature. Nor yet is the liberty
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  Speaker 1: or contingency of second cause is taken away, but rather
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  Speaker 1: established in which appears His wisdom in disposing all things,
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  Speaker 1: and power and faithfulness in accomplishing his decree. There's the
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  Speaker 1: statement of the doctrine, God has decreed all things. We
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  Speaker 1: usually have a problem. Why we have a problem when
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  Speaker 1: things happen that we don't like. We have a problem
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  Speaker 1: when things happen that are wicked, when things happen that
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  Speaker 1: are sinful. And what we want to do is we
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  Speaker 1: want to say, well, God didn't have anything.
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  Speaker 2: To do with that.
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  Speaker 1: Be very, very careful, because if that's not part of
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  Speaker 1: God's decree, then that means there are renegade molecules running
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  Speaker 1: around in the universe and God's not in control, that
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  Speaker 1: there are renegade sinners running around in the world, and
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  Speaker 1: that God is not in control. Folks, God is in control,
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  Speaker 1: and yet sinner's sin and he isn't to have to
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  Speaker 1: make sinner's sin. I've said it before and I'll say
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  Speaker 1: it again. Before you get upset with God for using
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  Speaker 1: evil people and the actions of evil people, what you
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  Speaker 1: have to do is find him one that's not evil
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  Speaker 1: that he can use, and in lesson. Until you've done that,
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  Speaker 1: you have no right to be upset with God none whatsoever.
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  Speaker 1: Where is he going to find a completely righteous man
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  Speaker 1: that he can use to accomplish his will? Where is
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  Speaker 1: he going to find a man who does a man
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  Speaker 1: who doesn't sin? And if there are men who sin,
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  Speaker 1: here are your two choices. Either you have the God
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  Speaker 1: of the universe who looks at men who sin and
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  Speaker 1: allows them to sin indiscriminately, or you have God who
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  Speaker 1: is all wise, who actually restrains and constrains and uses
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  Speaker 1: even the sinful actions of sinful men to bring about
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  Speaker 1: his glory and the salvation of his elect.
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  Speaker 2: Those are your two choices.
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  Speaker 1: This is clear in this statement here where God says
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  Speaker 1: I will harden Pharaoh's heart. It's an amazing thing. It
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  Speaker 1: stated three different ways in the Exodus. Sometimes it's stated
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  Speaker 1: this way, look at chapter seven.
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  Speaker 2: In verse three. But I will harden Pharaoh's heart.
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  Speaker 1: And though I multiply my signs and wonders in the
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  Speaker 1: land of Egypt. Pharaoh will not listen to you. So
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  Speaker 1: the signs and wonders. God didn't give the signs and
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  Speaker 1: wonders hoping that maybe he could convince Pharaoh.
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  Speaker 2: This dispels that. This dispels that.
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  Speaker 1: By the way, it should also dispel any idea that
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  Speaker 1: we actually need signs and wonders in order to do
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  Speaker 1: the work of evangelism, because there's a movement out there
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  Speaker 1: who believes that as well. They believe in power encounters.
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  Speaker 1: And then what we really need is signs and wonders,
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  Speaker 1: because it's signs and wonders that will bring people to faith. No,
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  Speaker 1: it's the Gospel that brings people to faith, and it's
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  Speaker 1: the sovereign God of the universe who awakens sinners so
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  Speaker 1: that they might come to faith. God is not doing
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  Speaker 1: these signs because he's bowing before Pharaoh, trying to convince
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  Speaker 1: him of something. Pharaoh exists at the will and for
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  Speaker 1: the bidding of God. Chapter ten, beginning of verse one,
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  Speaker 1: Then the Lord said to Moses, go to Pharaoh, for
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  Speaker 1: I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants,
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  Speaker 1: that I may show these signs of mine among them,
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  Speaker 1: and that you may tell in the hearing of your
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  Speaker 1: son and of your grandson, how I have dealt harshly
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  Speaker 1: with the Egyptians, and what signs I have done among them,
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  Speaker 1: that you may know that I am the Lord. Interestingly enough,
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  Speaker 1: the signs are for his people. Chapter eleven, verse ten.
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  Speaker 1: Moses and Aaron did all the wonders before Pharaoh, and
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  Speaker 1: the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let
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  Speaker 1: the people of Israel go out of his land. Chapter fourteen,
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  Speaker 1: verse four. And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he
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  Speaker 1: will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh
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  Speaker 1: and all his hosts, and the Egyptians shall know that
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  Speaker 1: I am the Lord, and they did so, will harden
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  Speaker 1: their hearts, and they're going to come after you, and
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  Speaker 1: I'm going to destroy them, and in destroying them, I
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  Speaker 1: will make myself known and gain glory for myself. This
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  Speaker 1: is our God. Chapter fourteen, verse eight. And the Lord
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  Speaker 1: hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he
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  Speaker 1: pursued the people of Israel, while the people of Israel
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  Speaker 1: were going out defiantly. It's also stated another way. It
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  Speaker 1: stated just in general Pharaoh's heart was hardened. Doesn't say
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  Speaker 1: necessarily that the Lord hardened his heart, but just to
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  Speaker 1: this heart was hardened. This happens in Exodus seven thirteen.
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  Speaker 1: Still Pharaoh's heart was hardened seven fourteen. Then the Lord
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  Speaker 1: said to Moses, Pharaoh's heart is hardened. Eight nineteen. Then
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  Speaker 1: the magician said to Pharaoh, this is the finger of God.
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  Speaker 1: But Pharaoh's heart was hardened nine to seven. Pharaoh sent,
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  Speaker 1: and behold, not one of his livestock in Israel was dead.
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  Speaker 1: But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened nine thirty five.
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: So the heart of Pharaoh was hardened again.
• 23:06
  Speaker 2: And again and again. So on the one hand we.
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: Have this picture God's saying I will harden Pharaoh's heart,
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: and then just Pharaoh's heart was hardened. But then we
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: also have a number of times Pharaoh hardening his own heart.
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: Chapter eight, verse fifteen. Look there, but when Pharaoh saw
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: that there was respite, he hardened his heart and would
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: not listen to them. As the Lord had said. That
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: last phrase is important. As the Lord had said, did
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: the Lord say that Pharaoh was going to harden his heart?
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: Or did the Lord say, I'm going to harden Pharaoh's
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: heart eight thirty two. But Pharaoh hardened his heart this
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: time also and did not let the people go.
• 24:00
  Speaker 2: Nine four.
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet again and
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: hardened his heart, he and his servants.
• 24:15
  Speaker 2: So which is it. Did God harden Pharaoh's heart? Yes?
• 24:26
  Speaker 2: Was Pharaoh's heart just hardened? Yes? Did Pharaoh harden his heart? Yes?
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: But no matter how you say it, there's one thing
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: that you have to keep in mind. God has decreed
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: everything that comes to pass. So whether it was God
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: acting to hardened Pharaoh's heart or whether it was Pharaoh
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: hardening his heart, it is the sovereign Lord of the
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: universe who is behind it all. God doesn't harden or
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: Pharaoh doesn't harden his own heart apart from the hand
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: of God, or apart from the decree of God? Who
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: made Pharaoh? God did? Who put Pharaoh where he was?
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: God did? Who have Pharaoh raised where he was raised?
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: God did? See We often use this illustration. I can
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: put before you ice cream, chocolate and vanilla and strawberry,
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: and I can say to you, choose which ice cream
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: you want, and you are free to choose but there's
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: a couple of things you're not free to choose. You
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: didn't choose your taste buds, you didn't choose your first
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: encounter with ice cream. You didn't choose any of that.
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: So when you walk up here to exercise your free will,
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: there are things that you have absolutely no control over
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: that will lead you in one direction or another. Who
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: has control over those things? God does. Does this mean
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: you're an automaton? And no, it doesn't at all. This
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: is about God's sovereign decree and his providence is the
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: way that he brings about those things that he has decreed.
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: We don't like this, but it is of the utmost importance.
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: It's of the utmost importance because of this second thing.
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: God's decree is not contingent on anyone or anything. If
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: it were, he would not be sovereign, and if it were,
• 26:32
  Speaker 1: he could not promise or guarantee us anything if his
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: decree were contingent. Look at this second paragraph in that
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: chapter on God's Decree, page six seventy two on your Hymnal.
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: Although God knoweth whatsoever may or can come to pass
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: upon all supposed conditions, Yet hath not God decreed yet
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: he had not decreed anything because he foresaw it as future,
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: or as that which would come to pass upon such conditions. Oftentimes,
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: this is how people talk when they don't like the
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: idea of God's sovereignty and salvation. They don't like the
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: doctrine of election. We don't like Romans eight. We just
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: don't like it. Those of God fore knew He also
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: predestined to be conformed in the image of his son.
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: And so we take fore knowledge and turn it into
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: something that the word could never mean, and we say no, no, no, no no.
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: God just looked into the future and he saw who
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: was going to choose him, and then he chose them
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: because he saw that they were going to choose him.
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: So now man is sovereign and not God. It's not
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: what the Bible says anywhere. You know what the Bible
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: does say Isaiah forty six eight through ten. Remember this
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: and stand firm. Recall it to mind, you transgressors, remember
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: the former things of old. For I am God, and
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: there is no other. I am God, and there is
• 27:58
  Speaker 1: none like me, declaring in from the beginning and from
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: ancient times things not yet done, saying my counsel shall stand,
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: and I will accomplish all my purpose.
• 28:08
  Speaker 2: That's God.
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: Our God is enthroned in the heavens, and he does
• 28:13
  Speaker 1: whatever he pleases. That's God. God is not waiting on anyone.
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: God is not running for God. He's God. He's the
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: sovereign Lord of the universe. And when men come to salvation,
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: it is because God has decreed that they will.
• 28:30
  Speaker 2: Come to salvation.
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: Not only does the Bible makes it make this clear,
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: the nature of God makes this clear. God is not
• 28:50
  Speaker 1: dependent upon sinful man. Can you can you wrap your
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: mind around that? That God is all wise but in
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: to run the universe rightly, he needs men who are frail, flawed, sinful,
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: and fragile and limited to fill in his infinite, untainted wisdom. Folks,
• 29:20
  Speaker 1: that dog won't hunt. How could that possibly be? How
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: could God be God and yet need frail, flawed, fragile,
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: sinful man in order to direct him how to exercise
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: or execute his will. This is not what we find
• 29:41
  Speaker 1: in the scriptures. This is not what we find in
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: this paragraph. We find God saying, here's what you're gonna say,
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: and here's what Pharaoh's gonna do. And then here's what
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: you're gonna do, and here's how Pharaoh's going to respond,
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: and then here's what you're going to tell him when
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: he responds that way. God is telling us exactly how
• 30:09
  Speaker 1: the encounter with Pharaoh is going to go. And it's
• 30:13
  Speaker 1: not just because he can figure it out. It's because
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: he has decreed since before the world was formed, because
• 30:25
  Speaker 1: he's God, and when he created the world, there were
• 30:27
  Speaker 1: no accidents in his creation. He's God, and as he
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: works out history, there are no accidents in his working
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: out of history. Well, then doesn't this make him the
• 30:49
  Speaker 1: author of sinful things? Doesn't this make him guilty? James one,
• 30:56
  Speaker 1: sixteen and seventeen, Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers,
• 31:00
  Speaker 1: Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,
• 31:03
  Speaker 1: coming down from the Father of Lights, with whom there
• 31:06
  Speaker 1: is no variation or shadow due to change. To put
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: an even finer point on it, John says in one
• 31:14
  Speaker 1: John one to five, this is the message we have
• 31:17
  Speaker 1: heard from him, and proclaim to you that God is
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: light and in him is no darkness at all.
• 31:27
  Speaker 2: None. Whatever God does is right. Whatever God decrees is right.
• 31:38
  Speaker 1: Even when God uses the sinful actions of sinful men
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: to bring glory to himself, it is right because God
• 31:48
  Speaker 1: can only do right when things happen in our lives
• 31:56
  Speaker 1: that are unpleasant, when there are frowning providence. It is
• 32:00
  Speaker 1: okay for us to say I don't understand. It's even
• 32:04
  Speaker 1: okay for us to say I don't like or I
• 32:06
  Speaker 1: don't want. But it's not okay for us to say
• 32:09
  Speaker 1: God is wrong, because not only is he not wrong,
• 32:16
  Speaker 1: he can't be wrong. And the reason that I don't
• 32:24
  Speaker 1: like whatever it is, and the reason that I don't
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: want whatever it is, is because I cannot see things
• 32:31
  Speaker 1: from the perspective of Almighty, alwise God, who is working
• 32:36
  Speaker 1: out everything, everything in accordance with His will and for
• 32:40
  Speaker 1: his glory, so that whatever it is that I am
• 32:43
  Speaker 1: being called to endure, it's for the glory of God,
• 32:52
  Speaker 1: which means that ultimately it's for my good. Because we
• 32:58
  Speaker 1: know that all things work together for good for those
• 33:04
  Speaker 1: who love God, for those who are called according to
• 33:08
  Speaker 1: His purposes. All things work together for eventually work out
• 33:13
  Speaker 1: for it. Then say that all things are all things feel,
• 33:22
  Speaker 1: but ultimately, think about the ways in which God has
• 33:28
  Speaker 1: shaped you as a believer. And if your experience is
• 33:33
  Speaker 1: anything like mine, here's what you know. The greatest changes
• 33:39
  Speaker 1: in your life in terms of conforming you to the
• 33:43
  Speaker 1: image of Christ and making you more like Jesus and
• 33:49
  Speaker 1: less like the sinful wretch that.
• 33:51
  Speaker 3: You are.
• 33:53
  Speaker 1: Usually in your darkest days, in those hardest hours, in
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: those times where you cannot fathom how you will ever
• 34:05
  Speaker 1: be okay again, when you cannot even comprehend how you
• 34:10
  Speaker 1: will figure out how to put one foot in front
• 34:14
  Speaker 1: of another again.
• 34:16
  Speaker 2: It is in those times when you are in.
• 34:18
  Speaker 1: The valley of the shadow of death and you are
• 34:21
  Speaker 1: utterly dependent upon God, when you are tempted to shake
• 34:25
  Speaker 1: your fists at God. It is in those times that
• 34:29
  Speaker 1: God chisels away at you and conforms you to the
• 34:33
  Speaker 1: very image of his son. Those times that you would
• 34:38
  Speaker 1: never wish for, and those times that you don't want
• 34:41
  Speaker 1: to be in, when you're in them, it.
• 34:44
  Speaker 2: Is those times that God.
• 34:46
  Speaker 1: Uses you, that he builds you, that he strengthens you,
• 34:54
  Speaker 1: that he equips you, that he draws you to himself.
• 35:00
  Speaker 1: Do not despise those times. God's decree is what covers
• 35:12
  Speaker 1: and what brings about the salvation of his elect and
• 35:15
  Speaker 1: the condemnation of the wicked. Keep that in mind that ultimately,
• 35:22
  Speaker 1: when we think about what God is doing in history,
• 35:26
  Speaker 1: what God is doing in my life. What God is
• 35:29
  Speaker 1: doing with his people. Ultimately, what he's doing is he's
• 35:31
  Speaker 1: saving us, and he's saving us for his own glory.
• 35:38
  Speaker 1: You see, here's the problem. I don't think about my
• 35:40
  Speaker 1: life from that perspective. I just think about my life
• 35:44
  Speaker 1: from the perspective of right here, right now, what.
• 35:47
  Speaker 2: I want, what I like, what I need, so on
• 35:50
  Speaker 2: and so on.
• 35:50
  Speaker 1: And when I'm thinking about my life from that perspective,
• 35:52
  Speaker 1: and all I can see is the here and the now,
• 35:55
  Speaker 1: and something comes that is difficult, that is hard, that
• 35:58
  Speaker 1: is painful, all I'm thinking about is how difficult and
• 36:01
  Speaker 1: how heart and how painful it is. I'm not thinking
• 36:03
  Speaker 1: about the fact that God is actually making me fit
• 36:06
  Speaker 1: for heaven, and that whatever loss I suffered, I don't
• 36:16
  Speaker 1: need it for heaven. I don't need it to be
• 36:21
  Speaker 1: conformed to the image of Christ paragraph three, by the
• 36:32
  Speaker 1: decree of God for the manifestation of his glory. Some
• 36:36
  Speaker 1: men and angels are predestinated or foreordained to eternal life
• 36:43
  Speaker 1: through Jesus Christ, to the praise of his glorious grace.
• 36:47
  Speaker 1: Others don't miss this, being left to act in their
• 36:51
  Speaker 1: sin to their just condemnation to the praise of his
• 36:56
  Speaker 1: glorious grace. Several things we see here and several things
• 37:01
  Speaker 1: that we see in this paragraph. In Chapter four number one,
• 37:04
  Speaker 1: God saves his elect for his own glory. God is
• 37:06
  Speaker 1: going to save Israel for his own glory. We see this.
• 37:09
  Speaker 1: That's what Exodus is about. God is going to save
• 37:12
  Speaker 1: Israel for his own glory. What he's doing here with
• 37:14
  Speaker 1: Pharaoh is about the salvation of his elect people, Israel.
• 37:19
  Speaker 1: That's his elect people here. That's what he's talking about here.
• 37:22
  Speaker 1: And he's doing this for the salvation of his people.
• 37:26
  Speaker 1: Everything that's going on is ultimately for the salvation of
• 37:29
  Speaker 1: his people and for the glory that he gains as
• 37:32
  Speaker 1: he saves his people.
• 37:33
  Speaker 2: But there's another side of the coin. God is also.
• 37:37
  Speaker 1: Glorified as he brings just condemnation to the wicked. Look
• 37:44
  Speaker 1: at Ephesians one and verse eleven. In him we have
• 37:51
  Speaker 1: obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose
• 37:55
  Speaker 1: of Him who works all things according to the counsel
• 37:58
  Speaker 1: of his willing. He works according to the counsel of
• 38:01
  Speaker 1: his will. Why was that predestined to eternal life? Why
• 38:05
  Speaker 1: was I saved? Why did God bring about all of
• 38:08
  Speaker 1: those things. There were millions of things that happened, had
• 38:11
  Speaker 1: to happen in my life and in yours for you
• 38:13
  Speaker 1: to come to faith, millions of them, and all of
• 38:16
  Speaker 1: them came to pass, and God brought you to faith.
• 38:21
  Speaker 2: And there's millions more to get you from here to glory.
• 38:25
  Speaker 1: And yet God, in his sovereignty and in his providence,
• 38:30
  Speaker 1: brings those things to pass, and He's glorified as a
• 38:35
  Speaker 1: result of doing those things. I don't make that happen.
• 38:38
  Speaker 1: God does, and it brings God much glory. That last
• 38:46
  Speaker 1: paragraph is important. With that last statement verse twenty two,
• 38:54
  Speaker 1: then you shall say to Pharaoh, Thus says the Lord
• 38:58
  Speaker 1: Israel is my first born son. And I say to you,
• 39:02
  Speaker 1: let my son go, that he may serve me. If
• 39:06
  Speaker 1: you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill
• 39:10
  Speaker 1: your firstborn son. God's not being capricious here. God's not
• 39:16
  Speaker 1: being capricious here at all. Listen to what Cured says
• 39:20
  Speaker 1: commenting on this passage. Because Pharaoh had oppressed and murdered
• 39:24
  Speaker 1: many of the Israelites, God, measure for measure, would destroy
• 39:29
  Speaker 1: Pharaoh's firstborn son. This constituted a direct assault on the
• 39:34
  Speaker 1: royal succession in Egypt. In all likelihood, the firstborn male
• 39:39
  Speaker 1: was directly in line to follow his father on the throne.
• 39:42
  Speaker 1: The new pharaoh would be a god, the incarnation of Raw, eternal, omnicient, omnipotent,
• 39:48
  Speaker 1: and worthy of worship. The point here is that Yahweh
• 39:51
  Speaker 1: is the one who decides who will sit on the
• 39:54
  Speaker 1: throne of Egypt.
• 39:55
  Speaker 2: He is sovereign king. Listen to me. Pharaoh believes that
• 40:00
  Speaker 2: he is.
• 40:00
  Speaker 1: The incarnation of Ra, which means Number one, he is
• 40:04
  Speaker 1: guilty of idolatry because he believes in and worships a
• 40:08
  Speaker 1: God who is not the one true God.
• 40:10
  Speaker 2: He deserves to die.
• 40:12
  Speaker 1: Number two, Not only is he guilty of idolatry, but
• 40:16
  Speaker 1: he is also the object of idolatry because the Egyptians
• 40:20
  Speaker 1: are worshiping him as the incarnation of Ra. Therefore, not
• 40:24
  Speaker 1: only does he deserve to die, but all of Egypt
• 40:27
  Speaker 1: deserves to die.
• 40:29
  Speaker 2: And so we see something like this and.
• 40:30
  Speaker 1: We think, oh, God is being unfair, God is being capricious.
• 40:34
  Speaker 2: Why would God do this? Folks?
• 40:36
  Speaker 1: Every one of these people deserves to die, every one
• 40:41
  Speaker 1: of them. They have sinned against and defended a holy
• 40:46
  Speaker 1: and righteous God, every one of them. And news flesh.
• 40:49
  Speaker 1: Every one of us deserves it too. And God is
• 40:54
  Speaker 1: glorified both when he punishes the wicked for their wickedness
• 41:04
  Speaker 1: and when he redeems some sinners by his grace. This
• 41:11
  Speaker 1: brings glory to God. We rejoice in his justice, and
• 41:21
  Speaker 1: we rejoice in his mercy. Romans nine fourteen to eighteen.
• 41:26
  Speaker 1: What shall we say, then, is there injustice on God's
• 41:30
  Speaker 1: part by no means? For he says to Moses, I
• 41:34
  Speaker 1: will have mercy on whom I will have mercy.
• 41:37
  Speaker 2: And I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.
• 41:40
  Speaker 1: So then it depends not on human will or exertion,
• 41:43
  Speaker 1: but on God, who has mercy. For the Scripture says
• 41:47
  Speaker 1: to Pharaoh, for this very purpose, I have raised you
• 41:50
  Speaker 1: up that I might show my power in you, and
• 41:52
  Speaker 1: that MY name might be proclaimed in all the earth.
• 41:56
  Speaker 1: So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and
• 41:59
  Speaker 1: heardens whomever he wills. This is our God, And as
• 42:07
  Speaker 1: I said before, he doesn't have to make the wicked rebel.
• 42:11
  Speaker 1: And there are many who object to this idea of
• 42:14
  Speaker 1: election because they wait a minute. You know, how is
• 42:16
  Speaker 1: it that you know God?
• 42:17
  Speaker 2: Will you know?
• 42:18
  Speaker 1: Elect some for this? And He'll elect some for that,
• 42:20
  Speaker 1: and he'll let We're not seeing the picture. We don't
• 42:22
  Speaker 1: understand reprobation. We don't understand that everyone deserves hell. We
• 42:26
  Speaker 1: don't get that every all have sinned and fall short
• 42:29
  Speaker 1: of the glory of God. So in the doctrine of election,
• 42:32
  Speaker 1: it is not that God makes some people be wicked
• 42:36
  Speaker 1: and sends him to hell unjustly. It is that everyone
• 42:41
  Speaker 1: is wicked and everyone deserves hell. But God, being rich
• 42:50
  Speaker 1: and mercy, because of the great love with which He
• 42:53
  Speaker 1: loved us, made us alive. Together with Christ. By grace,
• 42:58
  Speaker 1: you have been saved. It is grace every one of
• 43:05
  Speaker 1: us is counted among the wicked. Every one of us
• 43:09
  Speaker 1: deserved for God to execute his wrath upon us and
• 43:13
  Speaker 1: glorify himself by executing his wrath upon us. But God determined,
• 43:19
  Speaker 1: according to his own will, that some he would elect
• 43:25
  Speaker 1: to salvation and to righteousness in order to glorify himself
• 43:28
  Speaker 1: in that also, had God chosen not to save a
• 43:34
  Speaker 1: single one of us, he would have been well within
• 43:39
  Speaker 1: his rights as God, and it would have been good
• 43:44
  Speaker 1: and true and just. Yet God determined that his glory
• 43:54
  Speaker 1: would be served even more abundantly if, according to his
• 44:01
  Speaker 1: grace and his mercy he elected to save some. And
• 44:08
  Speaker 1: how this is the great irony. God says, let my
• 44:17
  Speaker 1: firstborn son go. And if you don't let my firstborn
• 44:21
  Speaker 1: son go, I'll kill your firstborn son.
• 44:23
  Speaker 2: By the way, they've already done this.
• 44:25
  Speaker 1: They deserve this because of what happened with the Egyptian children.
• 44:29
  Speaker 1: God could have just wiped them out then, but instead,
• 44:33
  Speaker 1: that his glory might be shown more fully, he does
• 44:37
  Speaker 1: what he does here in order that Israel might see
• 44:40
  Speaker 1: and know who their God is, and in order that
• 44:43
  Speaker 1: the world might see and know who Israel's God is.
• 44:46
  Speaker 1: He does it in this way, and the Israelites are
• 44:50
  Speaker 1: waiting and they're wondering. They're saying, why how could God
• 44:53
  Speaker 1: allow this to happen to our children and not do
• 44:55
  Speaker 1: something about it? Because all they could see was the
• 44:58
  Speaker 1: hear and now. And God's saying, I got But there's more. Israel,
• 45:09
  Speaker 1: his firstborn son, his elect one, his chosen one, comprised
• 45:15
  Speaker 1: of sinful Israelites who don't deserve to be elect and chosen.
• 45:20
  Speaker 1: Yet they are elect and chosen, and he calls them
• 45:23
  Speaker 1: his firstborn son. They've been sinned against grievously, and God
• 45:27
  Speaker 1: is going to vindicate his firstborn son Israel, because of
• 45:30
  Speaker 1: how grievously they've been treated, And there is going to
• 45:33
  Speaker 1: be the death of the wicked in Egypt in order
• 45:37
  Speaker 1: for God to vindicate his righteousness and vindicate his people.
• 45:39
  Speaker 1: But this is nothing when you compare it to the
• 45:42
  Speaker 1: fact that his only begotten son will be on both
• 45:54
  Speaker 1: sides of this ledger. You see, Jesus, he's the only
• 46:01
  Speaker 1: begotten son of God, and he is true Israel. Out
• 46:07
  Speaker 1: of Egypt, I've called my son Jesus goes into Egypt
• 46:12
  Speaker 1: to flee from Herod in order to fulfill that prophecy.
• 46:15
  Speaker 1: Out of Egypt, I've called my son, his only begotten son, Jesus.
• 46:23
  Speaker 1: And in this instance, Pharaoh is guilty because he has
• 46:26
  Speaker 1: killed many who represent God's firstborn son Israel. However, in
• 46:32
  Speaker 1: the last instance, God himself will kill his only begotten
• 46:36
  Speaker 1: son Jesus. Why why will he do that so that
• 46:41
  Speaker 1: Jesus could be the first born among many brethren? Because
• 46:46
  Speaker 1: God is going to save his elect And it is
• 46:50
  Speaker 1: Christ who allows God to be both just and the
• 46:54
  Speaker 1: justifier of the one who places faith in Jesus. You see,
• 46:58
  Speaker 1: Because we can't just go around all will well God
• 47:00
  Speaker 1: is going to be glorified because some wicked people are
• 47:03
  Speaker 1: going to be saved, because this justice would be in question.
• 47:07
  Speaker 2: How is it that.
• 47:08
  Speaker 1: God can look at some sinners and say I save you,
• 47:10
  Speaker 1: and look at other sinners and say I don't and
• 47:13
  Speaker 1: still be the just God who punishes sin.
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  Speaker 2: Here's how.
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  Speaker 1: God made him who knew no sin, to be sin
• 47:22
  Speaker 1: for us, in order that we might become the rightlessness
• 47:26
  Speaker 1: of God in him. Isaiah says it this way, all we,
• 47:30
  Speaker 1: like sheep, had gone astray. Each of us had turned
• 47:32
  Speaker 1: to his own way. But God hath caused the iniquity
• 47:35
  Speaker 1: of us all to be placed on him. God receives more,
• 47:44
  Speaker 1: or Jesus receives more wrath from the Father than Pharaoh
• 47:48
  Speaker 1: ever received, and Jesus saves more sinners than Moses ever
• 47:58
  Speaker 1: could say. Jesus is all at once the oppressed, mistreated, abused,
• 48:12
  Speaker 1: and murdered firstborn son that we see pictured here in Israel,
• 48:17
  Speaker 1: and at the same time the deliverer who announces what
• 48:21
  Speaker 1: thus saith the Lord, and at the.
• 48:24
  Speaker 2: Same time the one whom we leave Egypt to worship.
• 48:32
  Speaker 1: All at the same time, this is our Savior, this
• 48:43
  Speaker 1: is our Christ, and what God is doing is all
• 48:49
  Speaker 1: about the salvation of his elect We don't get that,
• 48:53
  Speaker 1: We don't understand that, but we will, as the hem writer.
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  Speaker 2: Says, we'll understand it better by and by amen. But
• 49:05
  Speaker 2: for now know this.
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  Speaker 1: As you read Exodus, and as we go through whatever
• 49:13
  Speaker 1: it is we go through from here on out. In
• 49:15
  Speaker 1: the Book of Exodus, remember, God is not sitting idly
• 49:19
  Speaker 1: by watching the game hoping his side wins. Nor is
• 49:25
  Speaker 1: God sitting watching the game and then every once in
• 49:27
  Speaker 1: a while intervening to give his side an advantage. God
• 49:37
  Speaker 1: is the sovereign lord of the universe who has decreed
• 49:43
  Speaker 1: whatsoever comes to pass. His decree does not negate, but
• 49:49
  Speaker 1: actually includes man's choices and his accountability for those choices.
• 49:58
  Speaker 1: All of that is in cl looted in the decree
• 50:01
  Speaker 1: of God. Do we understand all that God has decreed? No,
• 50:06
  Speaker 1: we can't because it has not yet unfolded.
• 50:10
  Speaker 2: It is still in the process of being unfolded.
• 50:13
  Speaker 1: But one day it will all be unfolded and will
• 50:16
  Speaker 1: spend the rest of eternity never exhausting what God has
• 50:21
  Speaker 1: done in and through creation to bring glory to himself. So,
• 50:33
  Speaker 1: if you are here today and you are outside of Christ.
• 50:40
  Speaker 1: What do you take from this? Here's what you take
• 50:43
  Speaker 1: from this. You take from this that the sovereign God
• 50:48
  Speaker 1: of the universe has seen fit to allow you to
• 50:52
  Speaker 1: hear this message today, to allow you to be exposed
• 50:57
  Speaker 1: to the Gospel today, to allow you to be exposed
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  Speaker 1: to the fact that you are a sinner who deserves
• 51:03
  Speaker 1: the wrath of God, and that yet there is one
• 51:06
  Speaker 1: who has taken the wrath of God for those who
• 51:09
  Speaker 1: come to him in repentance and faith. It is no
• 51:11
  Speaker 1: accident that you are listening to my voice right now,
• 51:18
  Speaker 1: and I believe that there are those in our midst
• 51:22
  Speaker 1: There are those who are listening for whom the sovereign
• 51:25
  Speaker 1: God of the universe picked today to be the day
• 51:28
  Speaker 1: of salvation. Turn from your sin, do not harden your heart, repent, believe,
• 51:45
  Speaker 1: flee to Christ, embrace Him as your only hope, or
• 51:50
  Speaker 1: else continue to stand under the condemnation and wrath of
• 51:56
  Speaker 1: Almighty God. There are others here who are believers who've
• 52:05
  Speaker 1: already come to faith in Christ. And yet for those
• 52:09
  Speaker 1: of us who find ourselves in that situation, there is
• 52:11
  Speaker 1: still a response for us. And the response for us
• 52:14
  Speaker 1: is to recognize God's sovereignty over every area of our lives,
• 52:20
  Speaker 1: and to stop being little children tossed to and fro,
• 52:26
  Speaker 1: and to move toward a more mature response to God's
• 52:30
  Speaker 1: providence as he works out his decree, and instead of
• 52:35
  Speaker 1: allowing everything that befalls us to cause us to doubt
• 52:40
  Speaker 1: or to blame God, begin to look at the world
• 52:46
  Speaker 1: through the lens of God's sovereignty and the lens of
• 52:49
  Speaker 1: God's decree and say to God, even on our worst day,
• 52:53
  Speaker 1: I don't understand it, I don't like it, but I believe.
• 53:01
  Speaker 1: I believe you are a sovereign and this wasn't an accident.
• 53:05
  Speaker 1: I believe you are sovereign and you're working things together
• 53:08
  Speaker 1: for my good. I believe that you're a sovereign and
• 53:11
  Speaker 1: that this is going to conform me to the image
• 53:13
  Speaker 1: of Christ. I believe that you are a sovereign and
• 53:15
  Speaker 1: that you are going to gain glory for yourself as
• 53:18
  Speaker 1: a result of this. And if I am who I
• 53:21
  Speaker 1: say that I am, and believe that you are who
• 53:24
  Speaker 1: you say that you are, I will rejoice even on
• 53:27
  Speaker 1: my worst day.
• 53:36
  Speaker 3: That's not easy, but it's right, it's right.
• 53:52
  Speaker 1: Could you bother with me? Gracious God, our Father, we
• 54:11
  Speaker 1: bow before you, acknowledging in all humility that we live
• 54:22
  Speaker 1: in denial of these truths. We live as though you
• 54:28
  Speaker 1: are not sovereign, but.
• 54:37
  Speaker 2: We know that you are.
• 54:41
  Speaker 1: We live as though you are not in control, but
• 54:42
  Speaker 1: we know that you are. We live as though we
• 54:51
  Speaker 1: believe you make mistakes, but we know that you don't.
• 54:57
  Speaker 1: We live as though we believe we deserve better, but
• 55:01
  Speaker 1: we know that that's not right. And in living in
• 55:09
  Speaker 1: this way, we unwittingly live as though we don't believe
• 55:15
  Speaker 1: that you can and will save your people no matter
• 55:18
  Speaker 1: what comes, And yet we know you will, because you
• 55:26
  Speaker 1: are the sovereign lord of all things. Grant by your
• 55:33
  Speaker 1: grace that we would embrace this truth, that we would
• 55:38
  Speaker 1: live in light of it, and that we would walk
• 55:44
  Speaker 1: as though we believe it to be true. Grant by
• 55:47
  Speaker 1: your grace that those who have come into this room,
• 55:51
  Speaker 1: who have not come to know you in the pardon
• 55:53
  Speaker 1: of their sins, would flee to Christ and repentance and faith.
• 56:01
  Speaker 1: We asked that you would save your people. We asked
• 56:06
  Speaker 1: that you would judge the wicked, and that as you
• 56:11
  Speaker 1: judge the wicked, we asked that you would grant us
• 56:15
  Speaker 1: the wisdom to rejoice in your righteousness, yet at the
• 56:19
  Speaker 1: same time be reminded of what our own guilt deserves.
• 56:25
  Speaker 2: And how Christ endured it on our behalf. Father.
• 56:34
  Speaker 1: We thank you for all these things. We rejoice in
• 56:40
  Speaker 1: all these things, and we ask them because we believe
• 56:44
  Speaker 1: them to be in accordance with the will and the
• 56:47
  Speaker 1: nature and the authority of Jesus, who is the Christ,
• 56:51
  Speaker 1: your only begotten son, who died for sinners and ended
• 56:58
  Speaker 1: your wrath and saved your people for your glory his name.
• 57:13
  Speaker 2: Amen.