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Pharaoh says No! - The Book of Exodus · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord
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  Speaker 1: that I should obey his voice to let Israel go?
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  Speaker 1: I do not know the Lord, neither will I let
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  Speaker 1: Israel go. Exodus 5.2 Dear Lord, as I meditate on
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  Speaker 1: today's scripture, I will charge my soul and encourage myself
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  Speaker 1: when it comes to my future. Today I choose to
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  Speaker 1: remind myself of your reputation of faithfulness and blessings. When
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  Speaker 1: people seem to get in my way to try to
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  Speaker 1: derail my future, I thank you that I do not
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  Speaker 1: have to worry or stress, because like Moses, it's not
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  Speaker 1: me against Pharaoh, it's Pharaoh against God. Therefore, I declare
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  Speaker 1: that all obstacles in my life that represent Pharaoh are
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  Speaker 1: not fighting against me, but they are going against the
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  Speaker 1: God of this universe who gave me my life mission
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  Speaker 1: and purpose. With this truth, I will continue to move
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  Speaker 1: forward with boldness and anticipation, knowing that if you are
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  Speaker 1: on my side, God, I have the majority, and nothing
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  Speaker 1: can stop me from seeing your vision come to pass
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  Speaker 1: in my life. So I command that every obstacle bow down,
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  Speaker 1: that every mountain of trouble moves out of my way,
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  Speaker 1: for I am God's child, anointed and appointed to do
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  Speaker 1: great things. Thank you, Jesus, that my freedom is here,
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  Speaker 1: that my moment is now, and that my blessings are
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  Speaker 1: upon me. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for making
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  Speaker 1: prayer a priority in your day. To learn more about
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  Speaker 1: the Bible, stay tuned for today's story. Brought to you
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  Speaker 1: by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: Pharaoh says no. In our last story, we learned about
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  Speaker 2: how Moses and Aaron were united under the call of
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  Speaker 2: God to free Israel from slavery. God gave them signs
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  Speaker 2: through Moses and the two began to win the hearts
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  Speaker 2: of the people. In this story, we will see Moses
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  Speaker 2: and Aaron approaching the throne of Pharaoh, the heartless tyrant.
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  Speaker 2: They challenge him. knowing full well it is not them
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  Speaker 2: against Pharaoh, but Pharaoh against God, as inspired by the
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  Speaker 2: book of Exodus.
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  Speaker 3: Hello, I'm Pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of the
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  Speaker 3: Bible in a Year podcast. In our previous episode, we
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  Speaker 3: journeyed with Moses out of Midian and back to Egypt.
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  Speaker 3: Along the way, God prepared Moses for his meeting with Pharaoh.
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  Speaker 3: God called Aaron to go to Moses and meet him
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  Speaker 3: so together they could tell the Hebrew people that God
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  Speaker 3: had heard their cries and answered. There was finally hope
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  Speaker 3: in Hebrew homes. Deliverance was coming. But would Pharaoh allow it?
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  Speaker 3: Today we'll hear as Moses and Aaron meet with Pharaoh
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  Speaker 3: and give him a message from God. Let my people go.
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  Speaker 3: Pharaoh will not make things easier for Israel. To the contrary,
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  Speaker 3: he will increase their suffering. Listen for how Moses reacts,
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  Speaker 3: how he speaks honestly with God, and for God's response
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  Speaker 3: to Moses. Let's go now to today's reading.
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  Speaker 2: The doors were as tall as houses. The grand opening
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  Speaker 2: in the throne room of Pharaoh opened with a loud
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  Speaker 2: rumbling as Moses and Aaron entered in with the light
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  Speaker 2: behind them. At the end of the wide hall adorned
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  Speaker 2: with ivory pillars sat Pharaoh upon his throne. Guards and
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  Speaker 2: noblemen of Egypt stood at his side and priests stood
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  Speaker 2: behind him. Moses and Aaron looked up and spoke clearly, saying,
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  Speaker 2: The Lord of Israel has spoken. He has declared, Let
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  Speaker 2: my people go, so they might worship me in the wilderness.
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  Speaker 2: Pharaoh sat motionless and said, Who is this God that
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  Speaker 2: I should obey his voice? I do not know your Lord,
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  Speaker 2: and moreover, I will not let Israel go. Aaron spoke
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  Speaker 2: as a mouthpiece for Moses and said, The God of
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  Speaker 2: the Hebrews has met with us. Allow us to depart
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  Speaker 2: for three days into the wilderness so we can worship
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  Speaker 2: him lest his hand be against us. Pharaoh, irritated by
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  Speaker 2: their very presence, replied to them, Moses and Aaron, why
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  Speaker 2: would you take my slaves away? Get out of my
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  Speaker 2: sight and go back to your own burdens. These people
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  Speaker 2: are mine, and you make them rest from their work.
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  Speaker 2: Moses and Aaron departed. Later that day, Pharaoh ordered to
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  Speaker 2: the foreman to make the Hebrews work even harder. He
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  Speaker 2: would limit their supplies for work, but continue to give
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  Speaker 2: them the same workload. And he explicitly ordered their work
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  Speaker 2: to be heavier if they cried out to worship their God.
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  Speaker 2: So the people of Israel worked harder, with more beatings
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  Speaker 2: in the heat of the day. Their work became more exhausting,
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  Speaker 2: and their days dragged on longer. They looked at Moses
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  Speaker 2: and Aaron with bloodshot eyes and backs torn apart by whips.
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  Speaker 2: They groaned and said,'' May the Lord judge you for this.
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  Speaker 2: You have sunk us even lower in the sight of
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  Speaker 2: Pharaoh and his men. You have put a sword in
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  Speaker 2: their hands to kill us.
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  Speaker 2: Moses left to go be with God, Moses' heart ached.
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  Speaker 2: He was riddled with guilt and compassion for the people,
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  Speaker 2: and he was mad at God for not making things easier.
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  Speaker 2: O Lord, he cried, why have you done this to them?
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  Speaker 2: Why did you send me? I have spoken to Pharaoh,
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  Speaker 2: but he was evil to them, and you have done nothing.
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  Speaker 2: Moses said these things with a heavy heart. His soul
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  Speaker 2: could barely take the suffering of his brothers and sisters.
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  Speaker 2: God spoke to Moses, not angrily, but with compassion. He
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  Speaker 2: comforted Moses and said, Moses, watch and see what I
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  Speaker 2: will do to Pharaoh, for he will beg them to
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  Speaker 2: leave soon enough. God's resolve and courage could be felt.
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  Speaker 2: His presence was strong. He spoke again to Moses, saying,
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  Speaker 2: I am the Lord. I am the God of Abraham, Isaac,
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  Speaker 2: and Jacob. I am God Almighty. I made my promise
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  Speaker 2: to give them the land of Canaan. I have heard
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  Speaker 2: the suffering of my people and remembered my covenant to them.
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  Speaker 2: Moses lifted his head towards heaven in awe of God,
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  Speaker 2: but in doubt of himself. God continued and said, Say
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  Speaker 2: to my people, I am the Lord, and I will
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  Speaker 2: bring you out from under the burden of Egypt. I
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  Speaker 2: will redeem you with an outstretched arm. By my mighty
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  Speaker 2: hand I will perform acts of judgment on all who
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  Speaker 2: take away your freedom. You are not Pharaoh's people. You
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  Speaker 2: are my people. I will be your God, and you
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  Speaker 2: shall know that I am the Lord of all. As
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  Speaker 2: a shepherd leads his sheep, I will lead you to
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  Speaker 2: the land I swore to your forefathers. I am God.
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  Speaker 2: Moses boldly declared this to the people of Israel, but
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  Speaker 2: their ears were closed off to him. Their spirits were
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  Speaker 2: broken by slavery. Tears no longer filled their eyes. They
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  Speaker 2: were crumbled under the heavy hand of Pharaoh and could
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  Speaker 2: no longer feel anything. They looked at Moses with weary eyes,
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  Speaker 2: unable to hope anymore. This brokenness grieved God. Pharaoh would
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  Speaker 2: not go unpunished for breaking the souls of his children.
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  Speaker 2: He turned to Moses and said.
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  Speaker 3: Go back in.
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  Speaker 2: Tell Pharaoh to let my people go. Moses said to God,
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  Speaker 2: If the people of Israel would not even listen to me,
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  Speaker 2: what makes you think Pharaoh will? I am not eloquent
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  Speaker 2: or polished with my words. The Lord's resolve to free
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  Speaker 2: his people did not wane. He charged Moses and Aaron
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  Speaker 2: to go forth and confront Pharaoh. He said, I have
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  Speaker 2: made you like me to Pharaoh, and Aaron is your prophet.
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  Speaker 2: Go with the confidence I give you. Know this, Pharaoh
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  Speaker 2: will have a hard heart, but I will lay my
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  Speaker 2: hand on all of Egypt. My mighty axe will not
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  Speaker 2: be ignored. The Egyptians shall know that I am the
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  Speaker 2: one true God, and my judgment will spread like a wildfire.
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  Speaker 2: So Moses and Aaron left to go before Pharaoh once again.
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  Speaker 3: Today's reading begins at the doors of Pharaoh's palace. God
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  Speaker 3: has sent Moses and his brother Aaron to tell Pharaoh
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  Speaker 3: he wants his children back. Boldly, Moses and Aaron delivered
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  Speaker 3: the familiar words to Pharaoh, Let my people go. It
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  Speaker 3: was a bodacious, outlandish request for his Hebrew slaves to
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  Speaker 3: simply be released. God had already told Moses things would
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  Speaker 3: not go well at first. God would not let them go.
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  Speaker 3: going to harden Pharaoh's heart and he would not relinquish
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  Speaker 3: control easily. But this would ultimately lead to God's power
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  Speaker 3: and glory being seen clearly by all. So Pharaoh refused
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  Speaker 3: to let the people go and told Moses he doesn't
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  Speaker 3: even know their God. The request frustrated him, so he
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  Speaker 3: made life harder for the Hebrew slaves. The people went
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  Speaker 3: to Moses and Aaron, pouring down accusations on them. Why
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  Speaker 3: did they bring even more trouble upon them? Moses knew
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  Speaker 3: Pharaoh wouldn't be a reasonable man. God had prepared him
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  Speaker 3: for this outcome, but that didn't make it easier. We
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  Speaker 3: can relate to this. Jesus told us, in this world,
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  Speaker 3: we will have trouble. There will be opposition and persecution
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  Speaker 3: and resistance, and sometimes, It is very painful. When that happens, we,
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  Speaker 3: like Moses, can be honest with God and share our
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  Speaker 3: deepest hurts and feelings. When this happens, we can, like Moses,
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  Speaker 3: go before God and share our hurts honestly. God's response
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  Speaker 3: is a lesson for you and me today. Throughout Scripture,
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  Speaker 3: we see people of great faith pouring out their hearts,
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  Speaker 3: sometimes in anger, fear, frustration, even despair. But God is
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  Speaker 3: always the loving Father, and His response is to love
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  Speaker 3: us and to be faithful to us in every situation,
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  Speaker 3: that God will be steadfast, that God will always be
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  Speaker 3: with us. That's what we see here. God was not
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  Speaker 3: angry with Moses for his honesty. He simply reminded Moses
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  Speaker 3: of his sovereignty, saying, I am in control of this situation,
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  Speaker 3: and God always is in control. So then he gave
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  Speaker 3: Moses a message to deliver to his people. God was
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  Speaker 3: about to show Pharaoh just how powerful he is. And
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  Speaker 3: he would show them that they were his children, not
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  Speaker 3: Pharaoh's people. What was to follow would leave no doubt
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  Speaker 3: who God is. He is the one true God, the
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  Speaker 3: great I Am. Still, the spirits of the Hebrews were crushed.
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  Speaker 3: So Moses' words didn't give them much hope or comfort
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  Speaker 3: at this point because they were despondent. Moses doesn't doubt God,
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  Speaker 3: but sometimes he still doubts himself. His own people have
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  Speaker 3: turned against him, so why would Pharaoh listen? That same insecurity,
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  Speaker 3: the same insecurity that he expressed on the mountain in
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  Speaker 3: Midian at the burning bush, rises up again. I can't
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  Speaker 3: do it. But God answered the same way. He always
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  Speaker 3: answers our fears and doubts. Yes, you can, because I
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  Speaker 3: am with you. Moses and Aaron returned to Pharaoh, and
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  Speaker 3: the next time We're going to see what happens. Dear God,
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  Speaker 3: we are so thankful that we can bring you our fears,
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  Speaker 3: our frustrations, our failures, and sometimes even our anger to you.
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  Speaker 3: And yet you are always patient with us and comfort
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  Speaker 3: us and strengthen us because you do not want our
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  Speaker 3: spirits to be crushed. You want to lift us up
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  Speaker 3: that we would be strong in you. Thank you for
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  Speaker 3: this story today, reminding us that you are always powerful
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  Speaker 3: and always present. in the power of your great name. Amen.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
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  Speaker 3: I'm Pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download the Pray.com
• 13:25
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• 13:31
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• 13:35
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• 13:39
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• 13:41
  Speaker 3: into God's life, God's power, God's strength for successful Christian living,
• 13:46
  Speaker 3: be sure to visit jackgram.org. God bless you.
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  Speaker 2: This episode is sponsored by MediShare, an innovative healthcare solution
• 14:00
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