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Well, if you were here last
week, you will know that I wasn't.

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And I was attending an
evangelism conference.

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It was on the Mediterranean.

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I'm sorry, I feel I have to
apologize for where they said it

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was.

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But there was over 40
countries of Europe there, and we

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were learning and thinking a
year on from what we were thinking

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about in South Korea, what it
means specifically in Europe, and

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what it means moving forward
in Europe to see the gospel go forth.

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One thing I want to say,
because I need to pass this on, because

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we were asked to, and there
was a very small team.

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Each country could only bring
about five or six people.

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And there were six of us here
from the island of Ireland, there

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were six from gb, but there
were three from Ukraine who were

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able to make it out and able
to get it back, to get back in again.

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And they were given a moment
on the Saturday evening, quite an

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emotional moment for us all,
because as we were round the room

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of 40 nations, we all
acknowledged that as the church we

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had been praying for, the
church in Ukraine, they asked us

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to continue to pray, but
before that, they thanked us and

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they asked us to pass on to
you their thanks as a representation

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of the church in Ukraine and
their thanks for your prayers.

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And they asked us to continue
in prayer.

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They wanted us to continue to
pray with thanksgiving for what God

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is doing in Ukraine, because
they are seeing the church growing,

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not declining.

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They also ask us to pray for peace.

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Not a political peace, which I
think caught us off guard, but a

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peace that will last in human
hearts, because only when there is

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peace in the human heart that
ultimately comes from the Lord, then,

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yes, we will have political
peace, but we will have a hope for

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the future.

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So I said we would pass this
on, and I have done that and ask

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you, as our brothers and
sisters in Ukraine have asked us

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to, to continue to pray for them.

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So while we were thinking
about all of these things last week,

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Ken was here in Exodus,
chapter three, focusing on verses

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five and six, by the way,
which he did ask my permission to

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do.

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So he's not in trouble.

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And of course, he pointed to
this image that we have on the pulpit

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and on the lectern.

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And if you go into any
Presbyterian church, you will see

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the burning bush.

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Now, I don't know if he
actually explained why the burning

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bush is the logo of the
Presbyterian Church, but I'm going

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to tell you anyway, because it
was by mistake.

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The Presbyterian Church in its
first 70 years didn't have any emblem

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or didn't have anything like that.

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And it was only when the
Presbyterian Herald, in its first

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edition, figured they needed
to put something on the front page.

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And they put the burning bush.

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And under it they said,
Arden's said, verns, burning but

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evergreen or burning but not consumed.

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And of course, that's what we
know happened at the burning bush.

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Well, in Exodus 4, we simply
continue that conversation at the

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burning bush.

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And we're perhaps familiar
with this story because of this very

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image that we have presented
to us on anything Presbyterian that

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goes out.

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Well, the burning bush was the
moment when Moses was brought before

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God and he was commissioned to
rescue the children of Israel from

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Egypt.

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And verse 10 of chapter three
gives us this commission.

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God says, so now go.

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I am sending you to Pharaoh to
bring my people, the Israelites,

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out of Egypt.

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And with these words, Moses
future is presented to us.

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He will be God's agent to
rescue God's people.

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And at first you can see what
appears to be humility on the part

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of Moses.

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He thinks himself too lowly
and asks God who he is that he should

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go to Pharaoh and rescue the Israelites.

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But God wants to very quickly
assure Moses.

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And so the promise comes that
should remove all the fear that Moses

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would have in verse 12.

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And God said, I will be with
you, and this will be the sign to

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you that it is I who have sent you.

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When you have brought the
people out of Egypt, you will worship

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God on this mountain.

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God gives Moses assurances
that he will be with him and that

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indeed it will be God who will
save his people from slavery in Egypt.

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This should be good enough for Moses.

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But it isn't.

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Because after 40 years of
being a shepherd in Midian, he still

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has no appetite to return to Egypt.

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And his first thought brings
him back to the reason why he left

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the people of Israel.

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Remember, it was an Israelite
who had called Moses out for killing

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an Egyptian, and that's why he fled.

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And now it is God who is
asking him to go back and to face

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those accusers.

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And of course, Moses initial
concern is one of being rejected

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by the Israelites.

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But notice that's not what God
has asked him to do.

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God has asked him to go to Pharaoh.

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God knows the children of
Israel will follow Moses lead.

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It's Moses who's not so sure.

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And so all of a sudden, this
account turns around.

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And rather than thinking about
the king of Egypt, Moses is more

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concerned about his own people
and their rejection, not Pharaoh's

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rejection.

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And so, as we get into chapter
four, we're going to see that the

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arguments that Moses make are
a bit of a red herring.

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Oh, I'm sure that he was
concerned that the people might remember

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what he'd done.

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But as we see in the three
excuses in chapter four, Moses really

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doesn't want to go.

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And so he makes up various
reasons why he is not the man for

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the job.

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There's one thing Moses has
forgotten, though.

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What had God said at the end
of chapter two?

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He had heard the cries of his people.

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Since Moses left, it's got worse.

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And so Moses is going to a
very different children of Israel

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than when he left.

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Now, let's be honest with ourselves.

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I think we're all good at
making excuses for things that we

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don't want to do or for why
things didn't happen.

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When I taught business studies
at a school in Ballymena, I heard

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many excuses as to why
homework wasn't done.

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And yes, there were numerous
times that the dog had been sick

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or eaten the homework.

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Now, this made me greatly
concerned for all the pets in Ballymena

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because they seemed to have
this great attraction to homework.

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And then it would cause
something to their digestive system

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that would either make them
barf it up and that that's why the

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homework was never presented,
or that there was an incident at

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home that led to
hospitalization of someone, only

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to discover that the people in
question had indeed been playing

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the PlayStation to three o'
clock that very morning.

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And so of course, the homework
wasn't done.

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So we know all these excuses.

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And by the way, young people,
I'm not giving you any examples that

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you can use whenever you get
back into school after half term,

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because trust me, your
teachers know no matter what excuse,

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whether you have a homework
done or not.

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But we know as adults, it's
not just in school.

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These excuses come because
there was a person, a business person

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that I had dealings with, and
he simply wasn't delivering on what

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he'd promised.

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Phone calls and emails were
going unanswered, and when I did

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get a message back, I was told
that his grandmother was ill and

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had died.

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And of course I was very
sympathetic, only to hear that on

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a number of occasions, the
grandmother seemed to have been resurrected

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because the same excuse was
given to similar people over the

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next 18 months.

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If we're all honest, we can
make excuses when we need to, and

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that includes myself.

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We think that these are ways
of getting us out of situations without

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confrontation or to see a face.

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Moses, however, should have
known better.

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He was making excuses to the
one who knew him better than he knew

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himself.

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Where Moses Concern was with
rejection of the Israelites.

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God was telling him to go to
the king of Egypt.

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Simply go and request a three
day journey for the people to leave

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Egypt to go into the desert to
offer sacrifices to God.

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Now, God had already told
Moses that the elders of Israel would

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support him.

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But Moses doesn't believe him.

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And that's why we have our
first excuse.

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In verse one of chapter four,
Moses answered, what if they do not

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believe me or listen to me and
say, the Lord did not appear to you.

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So Moses concern is that they
will reject him.

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But this is going against what
God had promised only a few verses

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earlier in verse 18 of chapter
3, that they would listen to his

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voice.

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And so the Lord responds
patiently, providing Moses with three

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signs to confirm Moses status
as the Lord's spokesman for the people.

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And that's what the Lord does
throughout scripture.

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He gives signs to help people
understand who he is.

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And the first sign involves
Moses staff, an item commonly carried

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by shepherds.

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But it was also carried by leaders.

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And here we're getting a
foreshadowing of what Moses coming

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rule would be.

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And so the Lord's question
that we read in the text, what's

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in your hand?

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Draws his attention to the
staff and its so ordinary nature.

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When Moses throws it down and
it turns into a snake, he is surprised

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as anyone would and he runs
away in fear.

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But he did what the Lord told him.

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But what comes next perhaps is
even more surprising for Moses and

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for us, because the Lord's
next command is to grab it by the

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tail.

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Now, I hate snakes.

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The thought of going anywhere
near a snake would petrify me.

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And whenever you.

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I'm not a snake catcher,
obviously, but whenever you grab

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a snake by the tail, where's
its head gonna go?

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Well, it's gonna swing round.

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So don't think that this was
an easy thing for Moses to do.

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Just like any of us wouldn't
want to grab the tail of a snake,

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what do snake catchers do?

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They have those little pointy
things that they grab the head because

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they know that's where the
danger in most snakes is, the head.

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But Moses does it.

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Even for him, reaching out to
grasp the snake was so unnatural,

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it required faith.

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And when Moses obeys, the
snake turns back into a staff.

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And the Lord affirms that this
sign will lead the Israelites to

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believe that he has appeared
to Moses.

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But if not, and notice it's
the Lord who goes through these,

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there is a second sign.

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The Lord commands Moses to put
his hand inside his cloak or a Better

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translation is to rest it on
your chest.

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And when he pulls it out,
well, it's covered by disease and

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it's covered in dead and
blistered skin, and it flakes off

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like snow, like leprosy.

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The Lord then commands him to
put that diseased hand back in his

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cloak on his healthy body.

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Now, why would you do that,
particularly if you know about leprosy?

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Because it's so infectious, if
you touch somewhere else, you will

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be infected.

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So once again, faith is needed
for the hand to go back onto the

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body.

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And another unnatural act
requiring faith demonstrates that

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that faith is well placed.

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Because verse 8 says, as the
hand is cleansed, if they do not

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believe you or pay attention
to the first miraculous sign, they

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may believe the second two
signs that demand faith.

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But the Lord continues, and in
case they don't believe the first

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two signs, the Lord gives
Moses a third.

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And with this sign, Moses is
to take Nile water and pour it on

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the ground, and it will turn
into blood.

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And unlike the first two
signs, he can't perform this one

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in that moment because he's
nowhere near the Nile.

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But we would guess that having
seen the Lord's work in the first

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two, Moses has every reason to
believe that the third sign is possible

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and that thereby the Lord is
with him.

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Now, if you take this as
evidence alone, you will think by

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now, surely Moses would
respond with the enthusiastic, I'll

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go.

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But he doesn't.

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Now we begin to see tension in
this story, if you haven't picked

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it up already in the reading,
because we see for a fourth time

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Moses resistance to God.

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This time he draws attention
to his inability to speak.

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Now, surely this isn't the
Moses that we'll come to know about

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as the great leader of Israel,
who is commended in Hebrews 11:27

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by faith.

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He left Egypt not fearing the
king's anger.

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He persevered because he saw
him who is invisible.

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In other words, Moses is
commended for his deep faith in God.

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Well, where's that faith now?

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He's now making up excuses
about his physicality, what he can

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and can't do.

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You see, Moses didn't fear the
king's anger because he trusted God

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more.

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Leaving Egypt 40 years before,
he was going into the unknown in

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Midian.

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And the Lord had kept him all
these years.

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And surely now, with all of
these signs that had been given to

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convince, that were given to
convince the Israelites, they would

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also convince Moses.

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And in the end, the final
excuse is one of a lack of, of persuasive

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eloquence.

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Moses says in verse 10, O
Lord, I have never been eloquent,

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neither in the past nor since
you have spoken to your servant.

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I am slow of speech and tongue.

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From Moses perspective, the
Lord is asking him to do something

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that he feels unqualified to do.

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But the Lord meets Moses
weakness with his own strength and

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his own presence.

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In terms of strength, he is
the sovereign God.

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He made people's minds so that
they can speak.

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00:14:10,740 --> 00:14:16,020
And he can make people deaf or
mute, seeing or blind, as he confirms

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in verse 11.

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How much more can he do?

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Something as simple as
enabling Moses to speak well in terms

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00:14:22,420 --> 00:14:22,980
of presence.

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Then he promises to be with
them in verse 12.

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Now go.

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I will help you speak, and I
will teach you what to say.

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00:14:31,920 --> 00:14:36,040
God says that he will be Moses
mouth, and he will teach Moses what

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he shall speak.

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00:14:37,440 --> 00:14:41,200
What God requires of his
servants, he equips them to do.

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Yet Moses continues to refuse
to go, and he now resists for a fifth

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00:14:47,440 --> 00:14:48,560
and final time.

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00:14:49,440 --> 00:14:53,840
Unlike the first four excuses,
this time he gives no excuse.

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00:14:54,640 --> 00:14:58,480
He simply asks the Lord to
send someone else, anyone but him.

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His refusal of the Lord's call
is now clear to us.

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00:15:03,410 --> 00:15:08,610
O Lord, please send someone
else to do it.

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00:15:10,450 --> 00:15:13,090
With the other excuses, the
Lord responded patiently.

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00:15:13,250 --> 00:15:16,690
But this time his anger is aroused.

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00:15:17,330 --> 00:15:20,890
The Lord is abundantly
merciful with our weaknesses and

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00:15:20,890 --> 00:15:21,730
lack of faith.

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00:15:21,970 --> 00:15:24,210
But there comes a point when
he says, enough.

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You must take me at my word.

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00:15:28,310 --> 00:15:31,510
But even here he accommodates
Moses fear by providing a support

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00:15:31,750 --> 00:15:35,190
in the person of his brother
Aaron, three years his elder and

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able to speak well, as we're
told in verse 14.

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00:15:38,230 --> 00:15:41,630
Then the Lord's anger burned
against Moses, and he said, what

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about your brother Aaron the Levite?

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00:15:43,590 --> 00:15:45,230
I know he can speak well.

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He is already on his way to
meet you, and his heart will be glad

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when he sees you.

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00:15:50,800 --> 00:15:54,000
The mention of Aaron being a
Levite here gets us ready for what

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00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:57,600
his priestly rule is going to
be later in the Exodus.

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00:15:57,680 --> 00:16:01,920
And the mention of Aaron's
being glad when he comes assures

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00:16:01,920 --> 00:16:06,119
Moses that Aaron still loves
him after all these years and will

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00:16:06,119 --> 00:16:07,360
be happy to work with him.

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00:16:08,320 --> 00:16:12,560
But even here, the Lord re
emphasizes his own empowering and

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00:16:12,560 --> 00:16:17,420
guiding presence, because he
affirms in verse 15, I will help

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00:16:17,740 --> 00:16:22,460
both of you speak and will
teach you what to do.

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00:16:23,660 --> 00:16:28,500
You see, Aaron was going to
need God as much as Moses, and God

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00:16:28,500 --> 00:16:28,980
knows this.

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00:16:28,980 --> 00:16:31,740
And so he affirms, I will help
both of you.

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00:16:31,820 --> 00:16:36,780
And we want to shout to Moses,
wake up and follow the Lord.

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00:16:38,940 --> 00:16:43,300
You see, in these verses we
see that The Lord's help remains

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00:16:43,300 --> 00:16:45,920
with his people for their
ultimate need.

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00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:49,360
In this case, Aaron will be
the one who will speak to the people,

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00:16:49,360 --> 00:16:52,840
but it will be Moses who will
receive the message from God that

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00:16:52,840 --> 00:16:54,000
is to be communicated.

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00:16:54,720 --> 00:16:57,680
And as the section closes,
there's one final command.

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00:16:58,160 --> 00:17:03,480
But take this staff in your
hand so you can perform miraculous

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00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:04,400
signs with it.

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00:17:05,280 --> 00:17:08,960
Now, as we'll see, this staff
will be central to many of the signs

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00:17:08,960 --> 00:17:10,960
that the Lord will perform
through Moses.

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00:17:11,570 --> 00:17:14,690
And the Lord's focus on it
here foreshadows the significant

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00:17:15,010 --> 00:17:16,210
role that it will play.

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00:17:17,490 --> 00:17:22,050
And with this, the scene is
ready to take Moses back to Egypt

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00:17:22,370 --> 00:17:27,010
and begin the work, God's
work, of rescuing the people from

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00:17:27,010 --> 00:17:29,010
slavery in Egypt.

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00:17:29,730 --> 00:17:33,170
But, you know, it's taken
quite a lot to get to this point.

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00:17:34,130 --> 00:17:38,570
Moses has been stubborn, or
the word we would use around these

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00:17:38,570 --> 00:17:40,330
parts is he's been thrown.

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00:17:41,450 --> 00:17:44,650
He's refused to pay attention
to the Lord and to trust him.

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00:17:45,050 --> 00:17:48,850
And before we sit back in our
seats, before we fold our arms and

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00:17:48,850 --> 00:17:53,130
before we declare, Moses
should have known better, is that

333
00:17:53,130 --> 00:17:56,890
not the same charge that can
be made against us?

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00:17:58,170 --> 00:18:05,540
Should we too not know better
when it comes to the Lord, it turns

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00:18:05,540 --> 00:18:11,020
out we make excuses all the
time when it comes to God and when

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00:18:11,020 --> 00:18:12,900
it comes to his salvation.

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00:18:13,620 --> 00:18:16,860
I don't think there is anyone
here this morning who would say that

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00:18:16,860 --> 00:18:19,140
they don't believe in the
existence of God.

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00:18:19,620 --> 00:18:22,580
We have either grown up
knowing this, or we simply accept

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00:18:22,580 --> 00:18:24,100
that the Creator exists.

341
00:18:24,820 --> 00:18:28,340
But for one reason or another,
you have ignored Him.

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00:18:28,580 --> 00:18:32,260
And by ignoring him, you have
made excuses of why you won't come

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00:18:32,260 --> 00:18:33,460
to him for salvation.

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00:18:34,420 --> 00:18:38,580
It might be that from your
perspective, that your good works

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00:18:38,740 --> 00:18:44,020
and doing nobody any harm will
be enough to get you into eternity

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00:18:44,180 --> 00:18:44,980
in heaven.

347
00:18:46,740 --> 00:18:48,740
But that's not what the Bible says.

348
00:18:50,500 --> 00:18:53,580
If you think that your good
works and doing no harm to anybody

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00:18:53,580 --> 00:18:56,500
is enough, well, you've let
yourself believe a lie.

350
00:18:56,980 --> 00:18:59,780
And that lie is a lie of
comfort and complacency.

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00:19:00,290 --> 00:19:02,530
It's a lie that you have
become quite cavalier.

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00:19:02,530 --> 00:19:05,650
In other words, you're showing
a lack of proper concern.

353
00:19:06,290 --> 00:19:09,490
And so you've become
dismissive of the truth of who God

354
00:19:09,490 --> 00:19:11,810
is and what his salvation means.

355
00:19:13,330 --> 00:19:17,930
You see, we need to stop
making the excuses because a day

356
00:19:17,930 --> 00:19:22,170
is coming as a child, like a
child stands before a teacher, with

357
00:19:22,170 --> 00:19:25,410
the teacher knowing full well
that this excuse is not real and

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00:19:25,410 --> 00:19:26,450
cannot be justified.

359
00:19:27,560 --> 00:19:30,680
There will come a day where we
will not be able to make any excuses

360
00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:34,200
because we will be with the
one who knows all.

361
00:19:35,240 --> 00:19:39,280
Just like Moses was Moses
shouldn't have tried to take God

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00:19:39,280 --> 00:19:39,560
on.

363
00:19:39,640 --> 00:19:40,880
He was never going to win.

364
00:19:40,880 --> 00:19:45,680
Because, as I said at the very
start, God knew Moses better than

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00:19:45,680 --> 00:19:46,840
Moses knew himself.

366
00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:51,480
And that still remains the
truth for each and every one of us

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00:19:51,480 --> 00:19:51,800
today.

368
00:19:54,050 --> 00:19:58,970
See, it's Jesus who makes it
clear of what we must know and what

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00:19:58,970 --> 00:19:59,570
we must do.

370
00:19:59,570 --> 00:20:04,890
In John 14:6, it's Jesus who
says of himself, I am the way and

371
00:20:04,890 --> 00:20:05,810
the truth and the life.

372
00:20:06,210 --> 00:20:11,250
No one comes to the Father
except through me.

373
00:20:12,930 --> 00:20:16,690
We often talk about Christ's
love being displayed on the cross

374
00:20:16,690 --> 00:20:17,810
and through the resurrection.

375
00:20:18,570 --> 00:20:23,730
But here we hear his love
spoken to us because why would we

376
00:20:23,730 --> 00:20:26,810
not want to hear the truth of salvation?

377
00:20:26,810 --> 00:20:30,530
That there is no other way but
Him, for he is the way, the truth

378
00:20:30,530 --> 00:20:31,130
and the life.

379
00:20:31,690 --> 00:20:35,930
We cannot get into eternity
with the Father except through Him.

380
00:20:36,890 --> 00:20:40,450
There's only one way to have
assurance of salvation, and it's

381
00:20:40,450 --> 00:20:44,460
not by our own thinking of how
we can be good enough, because we

382
00:20:44,460 --> 00:20:45,700
will never be good enough.

383
00:20:46,340 --> 00:20:50,060
Jesus says that he is the only
way, the only truth, and the only

384
00:20:50,060 --> 00:20:53,380
life by which we can know salvation.

385
00:20:55,060 --> 00:20:57,860
And maybe your excuses this
morning, and I want to be honest

386
00:20:57,860 --> 00:21:01,420
about this, maybe your excuses
this morning come from something

387
00:21:01,420 --> 00:21:02,660
that happened long ago.

388
00:21:03,540 --> 00:21:05,780
Perhaps you felt the church
did you wrong.

389
00:21:06,580 --> 00:21:09,660
Maybe you thought the church
and Christians were judgmental and

390
00:21:09,660 --> 00:21:10,340
hypocritical.

391
00:21:10,880 --> 00:21:14,080
And maybe you've got a wee bit
of truth in that.

392
00:21:15,360 --> 00:21:17,680
Well, let me say that I'm
sorry for that.

393
00:21:18,720 --> 00:21:24,040
I'm sorry that the church and
fellow believers have hurt you and

394
00:21:24,040 --> 00:21:26,320
that that has kept you away
for so long.

395
00:21:27,200 --> 00:21:29,600
Because I'm not asking you to
trust in a church.

396
00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:32,720
I'm not asking you to trust in
any other Christian.

397
00:21:33,600 --> 00:21:35,440
I'm asking you to trust in Jesus.

398
00:21:35,760 --> 00:21:39,550
I'm asking you to look afresh
at the Savior as if for the first

399
00:21:39,550 --> 00:21:44,710
time and know his great love,
because it is only his great love

400
00:21:45,750 --> 00:21:46,630
that will save.

401
00:21:48,710 --> 00:21:54,070
But you know, the excuses can
also often continue as to why Christians

402
00:21:54,630 --> 00:21:56,230
don't go deeper in their faith.

403
00:21:57,270 --> 00:21:58,710
They say I don't have enough time.

404
00:21:59,510 --> 00:22:02,790
I don't like the style of
church or simply don't like other

405
00:22:02,790 --> 00:22:05,590
Christians and so don't want
to spend time with them.

406
00:22:07,480 --> 00:22:11,760
Christian, you too cannot sit
back with your arms folded and think

407
00:22:11,760 --> 00:22:14,440
you'll be fine doing it your way.

408
00:22:15,240 --> 00:22:20,360
You are called to one body,
the church, and to worship God with

409
00:22:20,360 --> 00:22:21,160
His people.

410
00:22:22,600 --> 00:22:28,120
And I hear excuses all the
time, excuses of waiting.

411
00:22:28,760 --> 00:22:31,160
I'm too young to come to salvation.

412
00:22:32,290 --> 00:22:35,330
I've got something else more
important to do on a Sunday morning.

413
00:22:38,130 --> 00:22:44,570
Surely it Comes like what
Moses said to the Lord, I just don't

414
00:22:44,570 --> 00:22:45,730
want to do it.

415
00:22:46,850 --> 00:22:48,530
And there's our problem.

416
00:22:49,650 --> 00:22:54,490
We look and make much of
ourselves when the one who is calling

417
00:22:54,490 --> 00:22:57,330
us to follow him is the one
that we should be looking to.

418
00:22:57,910 --> 00:23:01,430
And as we've done already,
make much of Him.

419
00:23:02,790 --> 00:23:07,110
So for each of us this
morning, including myself, we must

420
00:23:07,110 --> 00:23:09,110
stop making excuses.

421
00:23:09,510 --> 00:23:14,390
We must draw near to God and
deeper fellowship with his people

422
00:23:14,870 --> 00:23:20,030
to trust only in him and live
for him for there is an eternity

423
00:23:20,030 --> 00:23:21,190
being made ready.

424
00:23:21,830 --> 00:23:25,670
Only those fully trusting in
Jesus will know the security of heaven.

425
00:23:26,350 --> 00:23:29,950
Those who trust in themselves
will only know a place of great torment

426
00:23:30,030 --> 00:23:31,310
and sorrow.

427
00:23:33,230 --> 00:23:38,030
Peter assures us that there is
a way we can all follow.

428
00:23:38,590 --> 00:23:41,750
It's the verse that the boys
and girls are hiding in their hearts

429
00:23:41,750 --> 00:23:43,470
so they will know it as their truth.

430
00:23:43,870 --> 00:23:47,190
It's what Peter says in his
great sermon to the Sanhedrin, that

431
00:23:47,190 --> 00:23:50,590
salvation is found in no one
else, for there is no other name

432
00:23:50,750 --> 00:23:55,840
under heaven given to men, by
which we must be saved.

433
00:23:58,000 --> 00:23:59,520
Stop making the excuses.

434
00:24:00,560 --> 00:24:02,640
They're getting you nowhere.

435
00:24:03,680 --> 00:24:07,000
And one of the hymns that I
enjoy, or one of the songs, it's

436
00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:10,400
a version of Psalm 130 that
I've been listening to a lot at home.

437
00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:16,240
The closing verses say, now he
has come to make a way and God Himself

438
00:24:16,320 --> 00:24:25,820
has paid the price so that all
who trust in him today find healing

439
00:24:26,860 --> 00:24:28,140
in his sacrifice.

440
00:24:29,100 --> 00:24:31,580
What's the opposite of excuses?

441
00:24:32,620 --> 00:24:35,260
It's this healing in Jesus.

442
00:24:37,020 --> 00:24:38,700
So stop making the excuses.

443
00:24:39,660 --> 00:24:44,860
Come to him in living faith
and know him as the Savior, who indeed

444
00:24:44,940 --> 00:24:49,750
will bring you whole as you
trust in him today.

445
00:24:50,470 --> 00:24:51,270
Let's pray.

446
00:24:51,830 --> 00:24:54,790
Our Father God, we thank you
for your goodness to us.

447
00:24:54,790 --> 00:24:56,790
We thank you for your word
that challenges us.

448
00:24:56,790 --> 00:25:00,590
Because this is a challenge we
must hear, for it is the challenge

449
00:25:00,590 --> 00:25:02,710
that brings us onto eternal
life in Jesus.

450
00:25:03,990 --> 00:25:09,070
And so, Father, as we look to
you, may you keep us ever in your

451
00:25:09,070 --> 00:25:11,670
faith, keep us ever in Christ.

452
00:25:12,470 --> 00:25:16,110
Take the excuses away, and may
we not allow the evil One to get

453
00:25:16,110 --> 00:25:16,710
a foothold.

454
00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:20,920
For unless we are in Christ,
well, then we are in bondage to Him.

455
00:25:21,720 --> 00:25:24,840
So, Father, take us, we pray,
and may we respond well.

456
00:25:25,080 --> 00:25:27,320
In Jesus name, amen.