Latest / Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast / #10209 - Today Is The Day of Salvation - Exodus 7:11 - CH8

Transcript

#10209 - Today Is The Day of Salvation - Exodus 7:11 - CH8 · Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast

0:03
Welcome to the Study of God's Word with pastor and author Ed
0:07
Taylor recorded live at Calvary Church in Aurora, Co To learn
0:11
more about the many resources available through a bounding
0:13
grace media or to tune into our live stream services, visit us
0:17
online at Calvary, Co dot Church or download our free Calvary
0:23
Church app. Now here's Pastor Ed to take us
0:26
into our study. Amen.
0:29
Take your Bibles. Open them, would you To Exodus
0:31
Chapter 7. We're going to pick up what we
0:34
left off last time. Couldn't finish Exodus Chapter
0:37
7. And we hope to get through all
0:39
of chapter 8. And I've entitled our Bible
0:42
study. Today is the day of salvation.
0:45
And I guess you could even say today is the day.
0:47
It's all we really have is today in the moment.
0:51
But today is the day of salvation.
0:53
Moses is in it. He's in the day.
0:56
Moses has stepped into the story of God, the story that God had
1:00
for him, one he faced with his flesh, one that he faced in
1:06
reluctance but was met by the supernatural power and the
1:10
presence of God. It's so good.
1:13
I was reminded in Philippians, even in those seasons where I
1:16
might respond in the flesh or I might respond in reluctance, I'm
1:20
reminded that it's God who works in me.
1:24
Did you know? It's God that works in you both
1:27
to will and to do for his good pleasure?
1:31
And the struggle with Pharaoh has begun.
1:34
Each plague he's facing is another opportunity for him to
1:39
repent. You know, you can look at it one
1:41
of two ways. You can be like, oh, I can't
1:42
believe what God is doing to Pharaoh.
1:44
And look at the plagues of these.
1:45
Yeah, but at the same time, Pharaoh didn't have to endure 10
1:48
plagues. He didn't have to go through the
1:50
whole process. He could have repented even at
1:54
the first message of Moses without any judgment whatsoever,
1:59
but every opportunity he was given to repent and to turn and
2:04
to surrender God is being very merciful to him time after time.
2:11
But instead of yielding, Pharaoh will double down in his pride
2:16
and his arrogance and his resistance and his rebellion
2:20
toward the one true God. Pick up with me in verse 12.
2:23
By way of review of Chapter 7, it says every man threw down his
2:27
rod and they became serpents. But Aaron's rod swallowed up
2:31
their rods and Pharaoh's heart grew hard and he did not heed
2:37
them as the Lord had said. Now remember as we move forward
2:44
that the plagues are really have a twofold purpose #1 They're
2:49
going to be used by God to bring Pharaoh to his knees to get his
2:52
attention, but secondly, they're going to be used by God to show
2:57
his supreme sovereign power over the false gods.
3:01
Little G of Egypt. They'll serve as concrete
3:05
evidence that Jehovah is the God worthy of worship.
3:09
I gave you homework last time. I hope you read it in Ezekiel
3:12
chapter 20, because in the 1st 9 verses of Ezekiel 20 we gain
3:17
insight into the hearts of the people of Israel during this
3:20
time of slavery. And sometimes we look at this
3:23
and we think, well, you know what?
3:24
What is it that they need except to be delivered?
3:27
But they didn't just need to be delivered from Egypt, they
3:30
needed to be delivered from their own sinful self.
3:34
They were filled with idolatry and abominations that they were
3:37
unwilling to let go of. And it wasn't, you know, the the
3:40
slavery and the difficulty and everything that they're feeling
3:43
pressure with is also designed to show God's sovereign love and
3:48
mercy and grace for them. Notice in verse 14.
3:52
So the Lord said to Moses, Pharaoh's heart is hard.
3:56
He refused to let the people go go to Pharaoh in the morning.
4:01
When he goes out to the water, you shall stand by the river's
4:04
bank to meet him. And the rod which is turned to a
4:07
serpent, you shall take in your hand, and you shall say to him,
4:10
The Lord God of the Hebrews has sent me to you, saying, Let my
4:15
people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness.
4:20
But indeed, until now you would not hear verse 17.
4:24
Thus says the Lord God. By this you shall know that I am
4:30
the Lord. Behold, I will strike the waters
4:33
which are in the river with the rod that is in my hand, and they
4:37
shall be turned to blood. Now we don't find the actual
4:41
word plague and used until Chapter 11, verse one.
4:46
But when we do get there, the word plague means a blow or a
4:51
strike or even a wound. The Lord is bringing blows to
4:55
the Egyptians. The longer the Pharaoh resists,
4:59
the more difficulty they would face and the deeper things would
5:05
get. Harder.
5:07
Now, in the plagues, there are 10 of them, and let me give you
5:10
categories for them so you can put them in categories in the
5:13
upcoming studies. The 1st 3 plagues that come upon
5:18
Pharaoh and Egypt are distressful.
5:22
Distressful. You have blood in the water,
5:25
stacks of nasty frogs, and then gnats come and they're
5:29
distressful. They're kind of annoying and
5:32
frustrating. The next three will become
5:35
painful and costly, painful and costly.
5:41
The flies, the dead livestock, the boils and sores on the skin.
5:47
And then the final four become very dangerous and destructive.
5:53
Hail, locust, darkness, and death to the first born.
6:01
In a very real way, this gives you the progress of a Sinner
6:06
that resists the word of God, both believer and unbeliever.
6:09
I think it's harder for a believer because they sin
6:11
against knowledge, but for those resisting the work of God,
6:15
things just get more difficult. And not only did it become more
6:20
difficult, but like with Pharaoh, the voice of God
6:23
becomes louder and more intense. Which is why in the New
6:27
Testament, the Bible describes A conscience being seared like
6:31
with a hot iron, where you don't feel it anymore, you don't hear
6:34
it anymore. And it's almost like you're
6:36
living life as an unbeliever. But he gives them warning, hey,
6:41
the waters are going to be struck.
6:43
Verse 17 and verse 18. The fish that are in the river
6:47
shall die, the river shall stink, and the Egyptians will
6:53
loathe to drink the water of the river.
6:57
Then the Lord spoke to Moses. Say to Aaron, take your rod and
7:01
stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their
7:04
streams, over their rivers, over their ponds, over all their
7:09
pools of water, that they may become blood.
7:12
And there shall be blood throughout all the land of
7:15
Egypt, both in the vessels of wood and also the vessels of
7:18
stone. Verse 20.
7:20
And Moses and Aaron did so. Remember, that's the pattern
7:23
that we want in our lives, to do what we're told to do, and to do
7:28
it quickly. Moses and Aaron did so, just as
7:33
the Lord commanded. He lifted up the rod, struck the
7:37
waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, in the
7:40
sight of his servants. And all the waters that were in
7:43
the river turn to blood. The fish that were in the river
7:47
died. The river stank, and the
7:51
Egyptians could not drink the water of the river, so there was
7:54
blood throughout all the land of Egypt.
7:57
Then the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments, and
8:02
Pharaoh's heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the
8:06
Lord had said. And Pharaoh turned and went into
8:09
his house. Neither his heart moved, neither
8:12
was his heart moved by this. So all the Egyptians dug around
8:16
the river for water to drink, because they could not drink the
8:19
water of the river. Seven days passed after the Lord
8:23
had struck the river, the precious Nile river.
8:28
The lifeblood, if you will, of Egypt becomes blood, and God is
8:34
establishing his dominion over creation, truly all over all the
8:38
false gods of Egypt. This was a judgment on the Nile
8:42
itself, on Happy Hapi, the God little G of the Nile, and Isis
8:50
the goddess of the Nile. Since the river was the nation's
8:54
major source of water and life, taking away was a blow to the
8:59
nation. It was enough to send a message
9:02
that God is. I mean, this alone is enough.
9:05
This alone is enough to move the heart of a hardened man.
9:11
And then you notice the Egyptian, the magicians in verse
9:14
22. This, this is what strikes me
9:17
the most. It could be even some time to do
9:21
a little bit of study. But here the Egyptians, the
9:24
magicians themselves, they duplicated in some way this
9:29
judgement. Now if the magicians really had
9:33
the power that they claim to have, they would have reversed
9:36
it. They would have brought healing
9:39
to it. But the devil is a liar.
9:42
He doesn't deliver. He promises that which he can't
9:45
deliver. And there's nothing to be
9:47
impressed here. The magicians are deceived.
9:50
They're dumb. They're not acting in wisdom.
9:55
If they truly had all the powers that they claim to, why didn't
9:57
they just reverse it? They could have proved they're
10:00
more powerful. They could have ended this.
10:03
So you know what, Moses? They just leave.
10:06
You have no power at all. But the answer, of course, is
10:10
they have no power. And this has become an issue
10:13
among many believers that have become superstitious over the
10:19
power of the enemy, just overly fearful of the threats of the
10:25
enemy, of the the enchantments of the enemy.
10:29
When the Bible is very clear that God has all power, you
10:33
don't need to be worrying about somebody that might put a curse
10:36
on you or something. You can't believe it.
10:37
Somebody put a curse, say, yeah, but Jesus Christ broke the
10:39
curse. You give the devil Too much
10:42
devil, too much credibility, too much attention.
10:48
And this is the struggle with Pharaoh, each plague
10:52
representing another opportunity to repent.
10:55
Perhaps some of you have the same story, true story, where
10:59
God was pursuing you and pursuing you and pursuing you,
11:04
and time after time after time you had the chance to repent.
11:07
But hard heart, hard heart, hard heart.
11:09
Till you finally come to the place where I give up.
11:13
You don't need to wait till things get worse to give up.
11:17
You don't need to wait for the divorce papers to repent.
11:22
You don't need to wait for your child to make some decision, to
11:27
walk away from the Lord, to repent, to begin to pray with
11:31
your kids that live in your home or call your kids that don't
11:34
live in your home and pray with them in their home.
11:38
You don't have to wait for things to get worse for you to
11:40
get right. Today is the day you don't have
11:45
to endure 10 plagues, each getting worse.
11:49
You know, instead of repenting even the people it says, it says
11:53
in verse 23, Pharaoh turned, went into his house.
11:56
His heart's not even moved by this.
11:59
Now his heart was moved. So we have to understand this is
12:02
not an absolute statement what the Bible is saying.
12:05
His heart wasn't moved toward God, His heart wasn't moved to
12:09
repent. His heart wasn't moved to be
12:11
softened. His heart was moved to heart be
12:14
hardened. Though he got more firm in his
12:19
stand against God and it left the Egyptians, It says in verse
12:24
24, to start digging around, looking for water to drink.
12:27
All because of the bad decisions of the leader of the known
12:30
world. Which reminds me today, those of
12:33
you in a position of leadership. And by the way, that's everyone
12:38
listening to me. We automatically begin to
12:42
categorize leadership. Well, you know, I'm not a leader
12:44
in the church, or I'm not a leader at work, or I'm not in
12:46
the Pope, and I'm not. No.
12:47
No. As Christians, God has bestowed
12:50
upon us, delegated authority from Jesus himself, given us the
12:54
opportunity to proclaim peace on someone's house, to share the
12:57
gospel into their life, to lead them in the ways of the Lord.
13:01
You know, when you give, listen, I don't know if you've ever
13:03
considered this, but God put somebody on your heart.
13:06
You go downstairs, you buy them a Bible, or you take one there
13:09
that we have to give away, and you want to give it away to
13:12
someone. When you give that Bible away,
13:15
you are leading someone toward the Lord.
13:19
You are giving them direction toward God.
13:22
You are saying without words, and although you might,
13:24
depending on the relationship, you may be able to, but just
13:27
think, maybe it's the person that has been working diligently
13:30
at Walmart and you just happen to go through the same line each
13:33
time you go there and it's the same precious woman that's there
13:36
and you can see she's tired and you and the conversations you
13:39
have waiting, you kind of find out she's going through it and
13:42
you just feel a burden. I think I want to give her a
13:44
Bible. I need to give her a Bible.
13:48
I'm going to give her a Bible, and you end up getting it and
13:51
you don't even know. You don't even have time to
13:53
explain it to her, but you hand it to her The next time you're
13:56
shopping, you say. I think this will help you.
14:00
You have taken a leadership position in her life.
14:03
You have said directly and indirectly that you love her,
14:07
that you care about her, and that you have given her the
14:09
solution to every weight that she's carrying on her shoulders.
14:14
You see, as leaders, people, men and women, those around us, they
14:20
have to deal with the benefits or the consequences of our
14:23
decisions. Let's take that same example of
14:27
that precious woman that works at Walmart and you decide, you
14:31
know, I I feel like God's telling me to give her a Bible.
14:34
No, that's not, that's not from the.
14:35
Oh, no, no, I would never. What am I?
14:37
What am I giving Bibles away? I mean she's at her work and I
14:40
don't want to bother her. And after all, what if she
14:42
doesn't want it? And and you know how all the
14:44
talking yourself out of taking a step of faith, and you don't do
14:48
it now, certainly if God's putting that on your heart and
14:51
you're disobedient, God will raise somebody up, somebody else
14:54
up. And the next time you go
14:56
through, you know, she's handing you a church card, inviting you
14:59
to her church and you're like, whoa, what happened here?
15:02
Oh, you know, it says, I was just here one day and somebody
15:04
gave me a Bible. I had the guy and I'm, I'm
15:05
saved. And you're like, oh, that's so
15:08
good. Could have been me.
15:12
But let's just say in the interim you decide not to be
15:14
obedient to a clear word from God.
15:17
Clear as clear could be she's going to suffer the consequence
15:21
of that digging around trying to find fresh water.
15:27
They didn't have to do that. They could have continued to go
15:30
for the fresh water if Pharaoh would have made the right
15:32
decision. I believe as we rise to the call
15:36
and we step into the story, I think of Moses and Aaron.
15:39
If they were disobedient and God allowed them to be and didn't
15:42
convince them and didn't like what?
15:43
Think about the consequences all the nation of Israel would have
15:46
faced in Moses and Aaron disobedience.
15:50
We have a great opportunity church to step into the lives of
15:54
even the most hardened people and see what God might do.
15:59
Well notice it doesn't get better.
16:01
Verse one seven days later Lord spoke to Moses.
16:05
Go to Pharaoh and say to him. Thus says the Lord.
16:08
Never mind. Changed my mind.
16:11
Not what it says in my Bible. What does it say in your Bible?
16:13
Go tell them. Let my people go.
16:16
What does God want? He wants his people to go.
16:21
You need to release them, Pharaoh.
16:22
And this is the repetitive instruction.
16:25
You go back, and you tell them to let my people go, that they
16:29
may serve me. Verse 2 But if you refuse to let
16:32
them go, behold, I will smite all your territory with frogs.
16:38
So the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go
16:42
up and come into your house, and into your bed chamber, and on
16:45
your bed, and into the houses of your servants, and on your
16:49
people, and into your ovens, and into your kneading bowls.
16:53
And the frogs shall come up on you and on your people and all
16:57
your servants. Quite the judgement or plague
17:03
that's coming. It's hard to even imagine.
17:06
It sounds almost exaggerated. It sounds as if for a hard
17:11
hearted person, that the blood and the magicians.
17:15
And you know it's we got oh, we got through.
17:17
That's a week later We found a way to survive and you're going
17:20
to do this to us. Well, notice verse four or five
17:24
and the Lord spoke to Moses. Say to Aaron, stretch out your
17:27
hand with your rod over the streams, over the rivers, over
17:31
the ponds, and cause frogs to come up on the land of Egypt.
17:36
So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and
17:40
the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt, and the
17:45
magicians did so with their enchantments.
17:48
You dummies and brought up frogs on the land of Egypt, just as
17:57
God said, So it happened in Egypt.
18:03
The frog was a sign of fertility.
18:07
They worshipped the frog God Heqet HEQET, the goddess of the
18:15
resurrection, fertility, childbirth.
18:20
This goddess was represented by a huge frog's head.
18:26
Kermit T frog. And so God reveals his judgment
18:34
once again on a very important God to them.
18:39
What they were worshipping became a loathsome.
18:45
That's some of the testimony in the house tonight.
18:47
You know, your false worship became a loathsome to you.
18:54
It became destructive and disgusting to you.
18:59
That's one of the prayers I have when I have a wife come and say
19:03
you need to pray for my husband because they're caught up in
19:05
this sin or a husband that comes you've got to pray for my wife
19:09
caught up in this sin, our kids and I get that sense that it's
19:12
time for a prayer like this, that you can just sense it and
19:15
feel it, see it in their face, the desperation.
19:18
And I start to pray that they would hate the sin, that it
19:22
would become loathsome to them. That what they started to enjoy,
19:27
like the prodigal son. Remember, he's sitting there
19:30
with no money, no friends, no food, big famine and a
19:36
separation from his dad. What he thought would give him
19:39
pleasure became loathsome to him.
19:42
So much so that when he considered going home, he didn't
19:46
even want to be a son anymore. He believed that through his
19:50
sinful actions toward his dad that he lost his sonship.
19:54
I just go home as a servant, I I just.
19:57
But the key wasn't how he went home.
19:59
The key was just that he went home.
20:02
The father would take care of it from there.
20:05
Just go home. How many today Need to hear the
20:09
word of the Lord? Just come home.
20:12
Come back to the father. Just bring your mess.
20:15
Get get an Uber and come here drunk or come here.
20:19
Hi. Don't drive here but come home.
20:22
You know. Make the phone call and repent.
20:25
But just come home. God will begin to do the work.
20:28
Humble yourself. Take the brokenness of the water
20:32
that's turned to blood, as it might be a reminder to you of
20:36
the blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses all your sins.
20:40
And take note of the lowsomeness of the frogs that came up.
20:44
And they were everywhere. One frog enough.
20:49
Somewhere in your clothes or on your hair, that would be enough,
20:52
don't you think? I mean, some of you go, I got a
20:54
lot of frog. We're not, you know, you got
20:56
pets. You know we're not.
20:58
Stop it. You're very unique.
21:01
Let's just put it that way. They're disgusting animals and
21:06
they come up everywhere. You sit down to use the restroom
21:11
and there's a frog. You go in to go to bed.
21:15
There's a frog. You're about ready to make some
21:17
bread. Oh, wouldn't you know it?
21:20
There's a frog in the flower. A frog.
21:22
There's frogs everywhere. Detestable, Loathsome.
21:28
And the magicians? What do they do?
21:31
They duplicate it. They give more.
21:34
It's already bad. But there's more.
21:38
Which reminds me, not only do the magicians not have the power
21:43
they claim, but they don't care about the people.
21:49
The devil doesn't care about you.
21:51
You know that. And those that might operate
21:55
within them. You know, the world system and
21:57
such. The the world, the splash and
21:59
the devil. The world.
22:00
The devil doesn't care about you.
22:03
The friends that are calling you out to party and come back
22:06
because you, they don't care about you the way they think
22:08
they do, Drawing you back into sin, making things worse.
22:13
You know, you think you come to the place where you are.
22:15
You're finally seeking the Lord. You know things are starting to
22:17
look up for you. You've been sober for 20 days.
22:20
Whatever. You just find yourself in just a
22:22
play. Great.
22:22
And then the phone rings. It might as well say in caller
22:25
ID 666. But it's not the devil himself.
22:29
It's somebody operating in that realm saying, you know, you got
22:32
to come back with us. It'll be all right.
22:33
We'll watch you. Just take a drink.
22:35
It will watch you. We'll make sure you don't.
22:37
And you're like what? What do you not understand?
22:39
I've been sober, bro. Don't you understand?
22:42
I wrecked my life. Don't you under Don't you
22:44
understand that God's working in mind?
22:45
What like, don't you? It's like, no, no, no.
22:47
We we we know. We know.
22:49
We're going to take good care of it.
22:50
We just miss you. We miss the fun.
22:52
We miss No, you. You don't even care about me.
22:56
Sometimes people just need to be told the truth.
22:59
And it doesn't even have to be some ugly conversation.
23:02
It's like, yeah, if you cared about me, you'd keep me away
23:05
from that stuff. If you cared about me, you'd
23:08
see. You'd see it.
23:10
The way I saw the damage in my life, you'd see.
23:15
I think of this Comes up a lot. We're in a relationship
23:20
sometimes in a marriage. Mostly it's revealed in a
23:23
marriage that there is this guy that shows up in your life or
23:27
this gal that shows up in your life.
23:30
It just starts out with a little talking, maybe a little
23:32
flirtation, a little attention. Feels good because it's coming
23:36
at a weak point in your marriage.
23:37
Your husband's not giving you the kind of attention you used
23:40
to or you've been arguing with a lot.
23:42
I mean, it's not dating time anymore, is it?
23:45
You got a life, you've got family.
23:47
You're living together, you've got kids to raise, you've got
23:49
bills to pay. There's a lot of stress that
23:51
wasn't there when you were dating.
23:52
But that's life. And sometimes you miss that.
23:54
Somebody gives you some attention and then you give
23:57
attention back. You become attached to them.
24:01
And it's amazing that all this attention comes right at the
24:05
time, that things aren't going well at home.
24:08
And it builds and it builds. And I remember in one particular
24:13
area that there was a woman I was talking to that was ready.
24:16
She's gone. This guy over here is way better
24:22
than the man that she's committed to in marriage
24:25
matrimony through vow. And I mean, it's like begging
24:28
and and pleading and and and here's what I always remind, and
24:32
I'll tell you I had I hope it never happens to you.
24:35
But I'm telling you right now, if a man enters into your
24:38
marriage or a woman enters into your marriage, they do not care
24:42
about you and they do not care about your kids and they do not
24:47
care about the glory of God. It all starts with them caring
24:51
about themselves. That's where it starts.
24:54
Oh, no, Pastor, you don't understand.
24:57
There may be quite a few things that I don't understand, but
25:00
that's why you come and you get counsel and discipleship in
25:04
those times of difficulty before you cross the line of no return.
25:08
So we can talk it out with you. That we might be able to be used
25:12
of God to rescue your marriage, to work on the things that we
25:16
may not understand, that we may not be a part of.
25:19
But I'm telling you right now, anyone that would enter into a
25:23
home to wreck it and take advantage of a vulnerable man or
25:27
a vulnerable woman. And again, I'm using the word
25:30
vulnerable here. Not as if they're innocent, but
25:34
if there is difficulty in your marriage that leads to
25:36
vulnerability. And the last thing you need is
25:41
some sweet talking person coming in, drawing you away from your
25:45
covenant, making more blood instead of cleaning up the
25:50
water, making more frogs, that you don't have enough frogs in
25:55
your flower. Let me give you a few more.
25:58
Are you out of your mind, Dude, Take magician.
26:01
Come over here. Just my house.
26:03
That's all I want. Just use your little
26:04
enchantments and get rid of them.
26:06
That'll prove to me that these little Hebrew guys have no
26:10
power. No whatsoever.
26:11
But no, that's not the case. Church, listen to me.
26:15
Trust me as your brother, as your friend, and as a man
26:20
standing here with the gifting and the title, if you will, or
26:25
the place that God has placed me as a pastor.
26:30
If people in your life are acting like these magicians, in
26:34
that moment, they don't care about you.
26:37
You need to run to the one that does care, the one that will
26:41
help. And God is going right after
26:46
their God of fertility, childbirth.
26:48
Given all the credit for life, some statue of a frog's head.
26:54
This is what gives us life, you guys, out of your minds.
26:58
Verse 8. Then Pharaoh called for Moses,
27:01
and Aaron said, entreat the Lord, that he may take away the
27:07
frogs from me and from my people, and I will let the
27:11
people go, that they may sacrifice to the Lord.
27:15
Really, it happened that fast. Read on.
27:19
Moses said to Pharaoh, accept the honor of saying, when I
27:22
shall intercede for you, for your servants and your people to
27:25
destroy the frogs from you and your houses, that they may re
27:29
remain in the river only. So he said, tomorrow Mark that
27:33
word very important. And he said, let it be according
27:37
to your word, that you may know that there is no one like the
27:40
Lord our God. And the frogs shall depart from
27:43
you and from your houses, from your servants, from your people.
27:46
They shall remain in the river only.
27:49
Sounds like Pharaoh softening a little the language.
27:53
Oh, please pray and take away the frogs.
27:58
But not really. We get a hint in verse 8 as you
28:02
read carefully by the word. The He says, entreat the Lord,
28:10
that he may take away the frogs from me and from my people.
28:14
Pharaoh calls upon the Lord, but he doesn't admit his power, his
28:20
authority, his ownership, his sovereignty.
28:24
He doesn't call upon his Lord, He just calls upon the Lord.
28:28
That's very important. This is not what it sounds,
28:32
which I thought was a wonderful thing for our brother Brad to
28:36
lead us in prayer today. Because that one prayer request
28:39
to see with spiritual eyes, all I could keep thinking and
28:41
praying for is discernment. Discernment that we could see
28:46
and to know the way God sees and knows in a situation.
28:51
And there's discernment here because all the words are right,
28:55
all the words are here right. He even offers in verse 8 to let
28:59
the people go. But he's not repenting here.
29:02
He's not admitting here. He's not declaring here.
29:08
No. Instead, quietly, progressively,
29:11
his heart continues to harden. Chapter 7 and verses 13 and 14.
29:17
Chapter 7, verses 22 and 23. Now later on, notice in verse
29:22
15, we know that you need discernment at verse 8.
29:26
But verse 15, you know, the Pharaoh saw there was relief.
29:30
He hardened. His heart did not heed them as
29:32
the Lord had said. And there's life like that.
29:35
There are times and situations where you need discernment, But
29:38
if you don't have discernment in verse 8, just know verse 15 is
29:42
coming. You'll know you can trust the
29:45
Lord. Sometimes God will give it to
29:47
you in verse 8 and go, no, no, I don't think this is legit.
29:51
But Moses doesn't know yet. And he's like, OK, this is it,
29:54
we're done. All it took was 2 blood and
29:58
frogs. That's it.
30:00
And Moses asked him, This is so instructive.
30:03
This is the word of the Lord to someone says, hey, when should I
30:07
do this? And Pharaoh's answer was
30:11
tomorrow. And you have to stand here.
30:15
Like, again, I want to encourage you, as you're reading through
30:17
the Bible, to the best of your sanctified imagination can hold,
30:23
just act like you're there watching it and listening it.
30:28
And you got all the nasty frogs around and you were out digging
30:31
for water around the bloody Nile, which is huge.
30:35
And you're just there. And you're listening to Pharaoh
30:39
say, hey, when you want me to ask God.
30:41
It's obvious that God listens. And I'm representing God when
30:44
you want. Oh, you know what?
30:45
We can go through this one more day.
30:49
Tell them tomorrow we'll be all right.
30:52
We've done seven days with the bloody river and we can last,
30:56
you know, we don't want seven days with the frogs.
30:58
But, you know, ask him tomorrow. Tomorrow.
31:01
Are you out of your mind? Yes, he is.
31:07
There's frogs everywhere. Frogs in his bed, frogs in his
31:11
kitchen, frogs in his robe. And he's saying tomorrow, why
31:17
not today? Well, maybe he was hoping they'd
31:20
disappear on his own. Maybe, But his heart is hard.
31:24
That's why there's no indication of a softened heart here.
31:30
Part of me, I'm looking at this and I'm like, this doesn't make
31:34
sense. But the other part of me, a
31:37
larger part of me, is not just looking at this puzzled, but I
31:41
also look at this grieved, because so many today are like
31:45
Pharaoh. Maybe tomorrow, maybe tomorrow,
31:51
they hear the gospel. They have that Bible that was
31:55
given to them. They've been invited to church.
31:58
There's some right now, as I'm speaking, that that little
32:01
invitation that you gave for Resurrection Weekend is in their
32:04
house. It's on one of their tables
32:07
behind the, you know, behind the little cubby there or maybe in
32:11
the back of their car on the, you know, how everybody puts
32:13
everything on that back window there and it's just getting
32:16
faded out. Maybe tomorrow, maybe tomorrow,
32:23
but today is the day of salvation.
32:25
The Bible says Second Corinthians chapter 6.
32:28
Behold, now is the accepted time.
32:31
Behold, now is the day of salvation, with all the frogs
32:39
and all the blood and all the stink, all the stink of life,
32:49
the separation, what sin has done, the stench, it says right
32:57
here in verse 12. Notice then Moses and Aaron went
33:00
out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried out to the Lord concerning
33:03
the frogs which he had brought against Pharaoh.
33:06
And the Lord did according to the word of Marrow of the word
33:09
of Moses. The frogs died out of the houses
33:11
and out of the courtyards, and out of the fields.
33:14
They gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank.
33:22
And when Pharaoh saw there was relief, he hardened his heart
33:25
and did not heed them as the Lord had said.
33:28
And the stench has filled the land, piles and piles, heaps and
33:33
heaps of dead decaying frogs. It reminded me of you have these
33:43
memories. But I remember visually.
33:46
I have a visual memory and a nose memory.
33:50
When we dissected frogs in high school, I couldn't keep it in,
33:56
like, I can't deal with that kind of stuff.
33:59
And I remember the smell and I remember it all.
34:03
And I remember having to step out of the class because it
34:06
wasn't just our frog. The classroom was filled with
34:10
cut up frogs that we were supposed to take and go really
34:14
close and take out all the pieces.
34:16
And I'm like, who wants to do this with their lives?
34:20
Why are we doing this? This is one of those things in
34:23
high school that I have never used in real life.
34:27
Can I get an Amen? Hello?
34:29
Never. They taught us all kinds of
34:31
things we never use in our entire life.
34:34
But I remember the smell. It came back to me as I was
34:36
like, yeah, just like 15 frogs. We had to all team up in our and
34:41
then we threw it though. But each smell, each breath of
34:49
the smell was a reminder of Pharaoh's failure, of the
34:57
magician's weakness and aptitude.
35:02
And Pharaoh had time to think on this.
35:05
And what was his response? He hardened his heart.
35:09
He didn't keep his word. He voluntarily hardened his
35:13
heart. Moses and Aaron kept their
35:16
commitment. God answered their prayer, kept
35:22
his part of the deal. But Pharaoh refused to keep his
35:25
word. Why?
35:27
Because he wasn't interested the way it sounds.
35:31
He wasn't interested in God or the children of Israel.
35:33
He didn't even at this point care about his reputation.
35:37
He just wanted relief. And I met many men and women who
35:41
in their desperation make promises and commitments and and
35:45
we hope you keep them. But many times they don't.
35:48
They're just stuck. They're in a place of
35:51
desperation. They're in a tough situation.
35:53
They're in trouble. They say if God will just Get Me
35:55
Out of this one. But this one is like the 20th,
35:58
this one the 21st, this one the 25th, 1:00 And God does come
36:04
through for them. And then they go right back and
36:06
forget the promises. Not everyone.
36:08
Some of you were like, no, no, pastor, I was my commitment.
36:10
I'm here today because I made that commitment.
36:12
And to that we give God the glory for you, keeping your
36:16
word. And he kept his word, but that's
36:18
not the norm. And Psalm 66, verse 13, It says
36:21
I will go into your house with burnt offerings and I will pay
36:25
my vows, which my lips have uttered and my mouth have spoken
36:29
when I was in trouble. Now most people don't get to a
36:32
place of desperation, OK, like most of it, that with that type
36:37
of illustration, it doesn't hit everyone.
36:39
But here's what does hit everyone.
36:41
We all make commitments to people.
36:44
We all say things that require us to come through.
36:49
We all say we're going to be somewhere at a certain time.
36:54
We all say we're going to pay a certain bill.
36:58
We all say that. I'll come and help you.
37:01
We all say that. I'll pray for you.
37:04
We all say. And Jesus says this, Let your
37:09
yes be yes and your no no. Otherwise you're going to be
37:13
like Pharaoh. You ever consider?
37:15
I'd never be like Pharaoh. Really.
37:18
Pharaoh hardened his heart and didn't keep his word.
37:23
Well, Ed, you know I don't harm my heart, but do you keep your
37:25
word because you don't want to be like Pharaoh?
37:29
I don't want to be like Pharaoh, so disconnected from God, so
37:31
close but so far away. And one way you can measure that
37:35
is whether you keep your word. The people on the earth that
37:38
should be the most trustworthy are those men and women who say
37:41
they follow the Lord, who say the name, the name of Christ,
37:46
where we say yes and we mean it and we say no and we mean it.
37:50
Well, notice here's the third plague, verse 16.
37:55
So the Lord said to Moses, say to Aaron, stretch out your rod
37:59
and strike the dust of the land so it'd be may become lice.
38:04
Or some of your translations say gnats throughout all the land of
38:07
Egypt. And they did so Aaron stretched
38:10
out his hand and his rod struck the dust of the earth, and it
38:13
became lice on man and beast. All the dust of the land became
38:16
lice throughout all the land of Egypt.
38:18
Now the magicians so worked with their enchantments to get rid of
38:23
the lice. No, they brought forth lice too.
38:28
But they couldn't. They wanted to, but they
38:31
couldn't. That was their heart.
38:34
In their hearts they did, but they couldn't.
38:39
There was lice on man and beast. They couldn't copy this one, the
38:44
magician said to Pharaoh. This is the finger of God.
38:47
But Pharaoh's heart grew hard and he did not heed them, just
38:51
as the Lord said so God showing abundant mercy to this man that
38:55
doesn't keep his word. His powerful grace and all
38:58
Pharaoh does is respond with a hard heart.
39:00
So God sends 1/3 plague right away.
39:03
The dust of the ground become lice or gnats.
39:06
Some have suggested they might even have been mosquitoes, which
39:08
would have been really bad. The root word in the Hebrew here
39:13
means to pinch or to nip waves and waves of annoying bugs.
39:18
It was a judgment against the earth God, Geb GEB.
39:24
This was a bug problem as thick as pervasive as the dust.
39:33
The land is stinking with dead frogs, which brings on a horde
39:37
of scavenger lice to feast upon the frogs judgment and the
39:43
magicians couldn't copy it. They tried.
39:46
They couldn't duplicate this miracle even though in their
39:49
hearts they wanted it. Their power is limited and they
39:53
know it's of God. This is the finger of God.
39:56
An interesting phrase. It's anthropomorphism.
40:00
It's when you describe God using human language, this is a
40:04
description of God using human language.
40:07
You look at the attributes of God and you're limited on in our
40:11
finite ability to describe it. So we use human attributes.
40:16
To describe God like in Psalm 61, He's described as a shelter.
40:21
Doesn't mean God is like a tough shed.
40:24
He's a shelter, a strong tower from the enemy.
40:28
I'll abide in your Tabernacle and trust in the shelter of your
40:31
wings. Second Chronicles 16 Nine The
40:33
eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout all the earth to show
40:37
himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal.
40:40
He has this description of God with eyes like human.
40:46
Truly the only time we physically see the finger of God
40:49
writing anything is when Jesus is writing in the dust.
40:52
Remember writing judgement that woman caught in adultery and we
40:58
don't actually know what he was writing.
41:00
But whatever it was brought great conviction to the
41:03
accusers. I found it interesting you and
41:07
jotted down in Luke Chapter 11 verse 20.
41:10
If I cast out demons with the finger of God again, it's a
41:14
euphemism described to describe ultimate power singularly from
41:21
God. Surely the Kingdom of God has
41:23
come upon you, so now you've got the lice here.
41:25
And in verse 19 Pharaoh's heart grew hard again verse 20.
41:30
And the Lord said to Moses, rise early in the morning, stand
41:33
before Pharaoh. When he comes out to the water
41:35
say to him. Thus says the Lord, let my
41:37
people go, that they may serve me.
41:39
This is the fifth time Pharaoh hears this.
41:44
If you won't let my people go, behold, I'll send swarms of
41:47
flies on you and your servants on the people and into your
41:51
houses. And the houses of the Egyptians
41:53
shall be full of swarms of flies and also on the ground on which
41:57
they stand. I wish it was just for a second.
42:00
Here, think about swarms of flies.
42:03
Have you ever had that situation where just one fly is annoying?
42:06
Just one laying down to take a nap and you hear.
42:13
Or they get stuck behind the blinds.
42:17
Just one fly swarm swarms of flies interesting on top of the
42:27
stink on top of the scavenger lice flies in that day.
42:34
Verse 22. This, this is an additional
42:36
thing. Now I'll set apart the land of
42:38
Goshen in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be
42:43
there, in order that they may know that I'm the Lord in the
42:46
midst of the land. I'll make a difference between
42:48
my people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall be.
42:52
And the Lord did so. Thick swarms of flies came into
42:55
the House of Pharaoh, into his servants houses, and all the
42:58
land of Egypt. The land was corrupted because
43:01
of the swarms of flies. Let my people go, is the
43:04
refrain. And if not, I'm going to send
43:07
these flies, and with flies come maggots.
43:15
It's a very difficult time in the land of Egypt.
43:21
And up to this time, there's no indication that there's been a
43:25
distinction between Goshen, where the Hebrews were given,
43:28
remember, with Joseph as we studied earlier, and the rest of
43:32
the land of Egypt. But now there brings a
43:34
distinction that there's going to be a obvious protection of
43:40
his own people in Goshen. Up to this point it seems like
43:44
the plagues have affected everyone.
43:46
But now God makes a distinction, makes a difference.
43:49
It's a very important principle. We haven't turned much.
43:52
But as we wind down here, would you turn over to Second Peter
43:54
chapter 4? God is able to make a
43:57
distinction, He is able to make a distinction.
44:03
And I want you to notice in Second Peter in chapter 2, pick
44:08
up with me in verse four, God can make a difference and make a
44:11
distinction in judgment, he says.
44:13
For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, this is
44:16
Second Peter 24, but cast them down to hell and deliver them
44:20
into the chains of darkness to be reserved for judgment.
44:24
And he didn't spare the ancient world but saved Noah.
44:28
That's a distinction, one of eight people.
44:31
That's a distinction. A preacher of righteousness,
44:33
bringing in the flood on the world.
44:35
That's a distinction of the ungodly.
44:38
He turned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes.
44:41
That's a distinction condemning them to destruction, making them
44:45
an example to those afterward who would live ungodly and
44:49
delivered righteous. That's a distinction.
44:52
Who was oppressed with the filthy conduct of the wicked?
44:55
For that righteous man dwelling among them, tormented this
44:58
righteous soul from day-to-day by seeing and hearing their
45:01
lawless deeds. Listen.
45:02
Distinction, distinction, distinction.
45:04
Listen. Here's the conclusion.
45:06
If God can do that, then notice verse 9.
45:09
Then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of
45:13
temptations and to receive reserve the unjust on her
45:17
punishment for the day of Judgement.
45:21
God knows and you know the difference.
45:24
Do you know the difference? The difference is between a hard
45:28
heart and a soft heart. The heart the the sum of who you
45:34
are. A hard heart speaks to ears that
45:37
don't hear and eyes that don't see.
45:41
But a soft heart sensitivity and feeling giving your attention,
45:48
listening carefully. Remember what Jesus said in
45:50
Revelation. He who has ears that I'm hear,
45:54
what the Spirit says to the churches said that seven times.
45:57
He who has ears and a soft heart hears the voice of the Lord.
46:03
And so as we wind down in history, we see it's imperfectly
46:06
in line with God to make a distinction.
46:10
Let me just add here, back in Exodus, as God is making a
46:15
distinction between Goshen and the rest of Egypt.
46:18
It's just a little hint. It's not the full revelation of
46:22
the doctrine, but it's just a little hint that we've already
46:24
seen in the New Covenant. But I want you to understand it
46:28
it As you see this unfold throughout the Scriptures, it
46:32
makes sense, perfectly in line with the character of God, to
46:36
deliver the church before the coming of the Great Tribulation
46:41
period. What we would know today is the
46:43
rapture of the Church. It's such a disturbing doctrine
46:47
to people that they have to attack it, that they have to
46:51
come after it and all kinds of fanciful ways to come after it.
46:55
But I see in my Bible that God makes a distinction very early
46:58
on. He is able to make a distinction
47:01
between black and white, between good and evil, between those who
47:06
believe and those who don't believe, between the hard
47:09
hearted and the soft hearted. We see it in the deliverance of
47:12
Noah and his family. We see it in the deliverance of
47:15
Lot and his family. We see it in the deliverance of
47:18
Rahab and her family, and we see it in the future that he will
47:22
deliver the church in a moment and a twinkling of an eye at the
47:26
last trumpet. The dead will be raised
47:28
incorruptible, and we shall be all changed.
47:31
There's a generation that will be changed at the last trumpet,
47:35
the rapture of the church distinctions.
47:37
You see it all throughout the scriptures.
47:39
Verse 25. And Pharaoh called for Moses,
47:42
And Aaron said, go sacrifice to your God in the land.
47:47
And Moses said it's not right to do so.
47:49
For we would we would be sacrificing the abomination of
47:52
the Egyptians to the Lord our God.
47:54
If we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their
47:57
eyes, then they will not, will they not stone us.
48:01
We will go three days journey into the wilderness and
48:05
sacrifice to the Lord our God as he will command us.
48:09
And Pharaoh said, I'll let you go, that you may sacrifice to
48:13
the Lord your God in the wilderness.
48:14
Notice only you shall not go very far away.
48:20
Pray for me. Oh, such spiritual words from
48:23
Pharaoh. We're going to get into this in
48:26
the next study. But this is an offer of
48:29
compromise. Have you ever been offered a
48:33
compromise? You're ready to just go for it?
48:37
You're going to step all in. You're just man.
48:40
The Lord brought you to the place of decision.
48:42
I mean, this is it. This is what God has called you
48:45
to do. And there's an offer.
48:46
Not so far, not so fast, not so much.
48:52
Oh, I'll let you go, but not so far.
48:56
But that wasn't what God commanded.
48:57
God said let my people go. That's it.
49:02
Oh, and by the way, intercede for me, as if they haven't been
49:05
interceding for him already. And Moses said, indeed, verse
49:09
29. I'm going out from you, and I'll
49:12
entreat the Lord that the storms of flies may depart tomorrow
49:15
from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people.
49:17
But let Pharaoh not deal deceitfully anymore, and not
49:23
letting the people go to sacrifice the Lord.
49:26
Now can I just pause here for a second with Pharaoh?
49:29
Him not keeping his word was indeed being deceitful.
49:33
We know that because the word of the Lord says such.
49:37
However, I just want you to consider this as it relates to
49:39
your testimony, even if your motives are some of the purest
49:46
motives, and you have no no intention of deceiving anyone,
49:52
no intention really, even of giving a false witness or a
49:55
false testimony to someone. When you don't keep your word,
50:00
that's what it looks like. When you don't keep your word,
50:08
it appears that you're not being truthful.
50:13
It appears that you're deceitful.
50:15
It appears to some that you never intended to help.
50:17
You just set it for such and such.
50:19
You give, and I give the enemy so much, so much room to play in
50:24
people's lives, so much room to demean our testimony when we
50:28
don't obey. Just a simple word of the Lord,
50:30
let your yes be a yes and your no be a no.
50:34
It's in the category, really. You know, this is in the
50:37
category of slam dunk keeping your yes and yes and your no.
50:42
No, it's a slam dunk. When you say something, you do
50:45
something. You keep your word.
50:49
Now, I want you to see that we know Pharaoh was deceitful, but
50:52
this is what it looked like, too.
50:54
He looked like a liar. He looked like a game player.
50:59
With Pharaoh, we know. And it's not me.
51:01
It's not me. OK.
51:03
I Hey, man, your motives in your hearts are before the Lord.
51:05
I don't know your heart. That's fine.
51:08
But I'm telling you what it looks like.
51:10
How much credibility could the Church receive today if you will
51:13
just repent of this wishy washy part of your life where you
51:17
don't keep your word and you start keeping your word, God, oh
51:21
bless it. The church will become so much
51:24
stronger just through your life and your testimony.
51:27
For example, when you tell somebody, you pray for them.
51:30
This is what I was taught and I'm grateful because so much
51:33
goes on in my mind and my head. I forget things all the time.
51:35
But I was discipled this way. I'm not going to pray for you.
51:38
Then I'm going to pray for you right now.
51:42
And perhaps I will pray for you. Then I'll remember you, and the
51:45
Lord will just help bring you to my memory.
51:46
Maybe I'll put a reminder or something.
51:48
But even with reminders, I'm at a place right now.
51:50
I got so many reminders that I missed some of my reminders and
51:54
I got to reassess it. It's time to reassess it.
51:56
It's time to get back so I can keep my word.
52:00
And this is just before the Lord.
52:01
Nobody would know if I'm keeping my well.
52:03
I'll pray for you. And then what happens if you
52:05
don't pray for them? And they come back and they say
52:07
thank you so much for praying for me?
52:09
And there you are. What are you going to do?
52:13
Are you going to admit that you forgot them?
52:16
Are you going to admit that you didn't think of them one more
52:18
time when you walked out the doors?
52:21
Probably not. And then what?
52:23
Does that make you? A liar, a hypocrite who wants to
52:28
live their life like that? None of us do, I'm telling you.
52:30
Our heart of hearts, our motives, they're clean before
52:33
the Lord so many times. But if you don't follow the
52:37
simple teaching, even as we sing the song today, the simplicity
52:40
of the Kingdom of God. If you don't follow the simple
52:42
teaching to let your yes be a yes, you're setting yourself up
52:45
for much failure and a great dark mark on your testimony.
52:51
The Church. We should be reliable and Moses
52:54
just tells him straight off. Don't be deceitful with us.
52:56
Verse 30. Moses went out from Pharaoh and
52:58
treated the Lord. The Lord did.
53:00
According to the word of Moses. He removed the swarms of flies
53:03
from Pharaoh, from his servants, from his people.
53:07
Not one remained. And Pharaoh, what did he do?
53:10
Hardened his heart at this time. Also neither would he let the
53:13
people go. Mercy, grace.
53:16
All throughout this story. Pharaoh's given these
53:19
compromises. He doesn't want the plagues, but
53:22
he also doesn't want to lose his workforce either, or his power.
53:27
And it will be through chapters 8910.
53:30
We gain great insights on the tactics of the enemy.
53:33
So be reading ahead, be looking at it, take some notes, circle
53:37
some things in your scriptures, get a notebook out, but look for
53:40
the tactics of the enemy. We'll look at them in depth, but
53:44
we'll see him trying to get the Christian to compromise values,
53:47
walk with the Lord. Some people, they have this high
53:50
level of compromise. It's just high level, you know?
53:52
No, it's really just at the base level.
53:55
Abide in Christ and obey. Do what he tells you to do.
54:00
Be read your Bible every day. I mean, that's the greatest
54:03
compromise, right? Just you're not in the word,
54:04
you're not in prayer and you're all set up to be manipulated and
54:09
taken advantage of. The enemy was like, go to
54:12
church. Don't change your life.
54:16
Read your Bible. Don't follow it.
54:18
Pray but don't really mean it. Go to church, but look at
54:23
everyone of how you can take advantage of them.
54:25
What? That's not the word.
54:28
Pharaoh only gets harder. He freezes and let them go.
54:30
Read ahead. We'll get into them in future
54:33
studies. So Father, thank you for your
54:35
word for the privilege of finishing these chapters.
54:38
But truly, God, for the prayer request tonight.
54:41
The music together, the praying for our week and what you have
54:45
for us and and even now those that need to know you personally
54:49
that they would repent of their sins.
54:52
Tomorrow is not the right answer today.
54:55
And I would just say, is there anyone among us that would say
54:57
today, Pastor, I want to follow Jesus Christ today.
55:01
I want the forgiveness of my sins today.
55:04
Is there anyone here that would say that I want you to stand to
55:06
your feet? I want to pray with you that you
55:08
would admit that you've sinned against God, That today you want
55:13
your sins forgiven, That today you want to turn from a
55:17
lifestyle of sin and turn to following God today, not
55:20
tomorrow, but today. You don't want to live with the
55:23
stink anymore, or the piles of dead frogs, or, you know, the
55:27
rivers filled with water. You're digging and digging 7
55:30
days, seven weeks, seven years. Today is the day of salvation.
55:36
And the good news is, is that everyone hearing my voice right
55:38
now, you have heard the word of the Lord that we have all sinned
55:42
and fallen short of the glory of God.
55:46
That God He tells us that the wages of our sin is death, but
55:50
that the gift of God is eternal life, forgiveness of sin through
55:55
Christ Jesus our Lord. That if we confess with our
55:58
mouth the Lord Jesus and we believe in our heart that God
56:01
raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
56:03
And here's the thing. Why?
56:09
Why is Pharaoh getting chance after chance?
56:11
You want to know why? Because God loved Pharaoh and
56:15
God loved the Egyptian people and God loved the Hebrews, even
56:20
in their abominations. If you didn't do your homework
56:22
last week, read Ezekiel 20, you will see God tells you what was
56:27
in their hearts during this time.
56:30
Why would God give chance after chance after chance?
56:34
Because he loves you. And you probably even know what
56:40
the Bible says, don't you? For God so loved the world that
56:45
he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever would believe in
56:49
him would not perish but have everlasting life.
56:53
Is there anyone today that would say that is the story of my
57:01
life. Step into it today.
57:07
It's not some dramatic thing here.
57:08
You just don't know what tomorrow brings.
57:11
Today is the day. Now is the time.
57:17
For the sake of you guys downstairs or maybe on the radio
57:20
or online, just ask God to forgive you of your sins.
57:24
And if you're online or on the radio, then e-mail us or call
57:26
us. We have all kinds of information
57:29
we can send you to help you follow God.
57:33
We pray that you've been encouraged by this Bible study
57:35
delivered live from the sanctuary of Calvary Church.
57:38
For prayer. Call us at 87730 Grace.
57:43
That's 877-304-7223. To listen to this message in its
57:49
entirety or to join us for our live stream services, visit us
57:54
online at Calvary, Co dot Church or download our free Calvary
57:59
Church app, Be Blessed as You Worship Jesus this week.