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Said a few moments ago there
was something to consider about this

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day, mothering Sunday, and
whether we do a baptism on mothering

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Sunday or not.

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But we have, and I think
that's good.

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But the second thing was I was
asked the question, are you really

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going to preach this passage
on mothering Sunday and on a Sunday

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when we do baptism?

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And the answer came as my
answer always is yes.

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Because if you're visiting
with us, we simply start at the beginning

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of one book of the Bible and
we make our way through.

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We don't dodge anything, we
don't skip over anything, but we

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declare what God says to us in
his word.

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And so if you are visiting
with us, since before Christmas,

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we have been looking at the
book of Exodus.

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And particularly in that first
week or that week before Christmas,

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we began looking at the 10
plagues that fell on Egypt.

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And these plagues of which we
have looked at nine of them, we come

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to the 10th one today, came
upon the people of Egypt because

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of their rebellion and because
of their disobedience against God.

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At first these plagues came
and they were a nuisance.

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There was flies that needed to
be swapped, there was frogs hopping

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everywhere.

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But as these plagues
progressed, they hit hard against

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a hard hearted people.

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Because these plagues
demonstrated that the false gods

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of Egypt were just that they
were fake and they were unable to

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do anything for the people.

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In fact, Pharaoh's wise men or
magicians couldn't actually take

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anything away.

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They could only multiply what
God had already sent.

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And so the people of Egypt
were being taught that they actually

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had no power whatsoever, even
though they thought they were the

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most powerful in all the
world, both militarily but also spiritually,

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that their gods were greater
than anybody else.

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But as these plagues
progressed in their severity, it

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also impacted upon the daily
life and it fell upon the backbone

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of the Egyptian economy.

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Because as they progressed, we
saw that the Lord distinguished Egypt

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from his own people who lived
in the land of Goshen.

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And where plagues would be
happening all around, the land of

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Goshen wouldn't have had them.

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You see, the plagues fall only
on the people of Egypt because of

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their rebellion and not on the
Lord's people.

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And the reason for this is
because the Lord was preparing to

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rescue his people from all
their troubles.

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And you see, the request had
been brought to Pharaoh.

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This is the Pharaoh who had
enslaved God's people.

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And that request came from
Moses and Aaron, on the instruction

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of God, to go to the king of
Egypt and ask him to let God's people

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go and offer sacrifices of
worship to him in the wilderness.

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And each time Pharaoh refused,
and each time he was warned of the

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consequences.

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Now, last week, in the passage
that we looked at at the start of

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chapter 12, the Lord told the
children of Israel to get ready for

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the tenth and final plague.

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They were to be ready to leave
Egypt finally, after over 400 years,

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because the Lord would pass
through the land of Egypt and pass

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over houses that had the blood
of the lamb that was killed for each

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household sprinkled on the
doorposts of and lintel.

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And it wasn't simply the act
of getting the blood and dipping

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the hyssop leaves into it and
just smearing this blood on the doorposts.

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This blood was an act of faith.

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It was an act of faith that as
the Lord described as the destroyer

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would pass by, so it would
pass over the houses where by faith

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that blood had been sprinkled,
but would enter the homes where there

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was no faith and so receive
the punishment that they deserved.

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So the scene was set for us.

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That scene was to wait
expectantly for the Lord to do what

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he had said he would do to his
people and what he had warned Pharaoh

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of giving him one last chance
to repent, so that indeed he would

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let the people go.

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But Pharaoh did not.

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And so it was the dead of night.

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Most people were in their
homes, and they were asleep.

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Families all over the land of
Egypt had gone down for the night.

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But then the visitor came with
that deadly purpose.

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He was a destroyer, as we're
told in verse 23, the angel of death.

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The visitor was on a mission
from God, and he swept across Egypt,

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calling on every house in
favor of.

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And it was obvious that he was
looking for something, because as

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he came to each house, he
paused to inspect the doorway.

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In the land of Goshen, where
the Israelites lived, he found what

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he was looking for.

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There was a mark of blood on
the top and on the sides of every

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door.

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And when the visitor saw the
blood, he passed over the house,

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holding back his deadly blow.

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Because a sacrifice had been
made for sin.

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The family inside had heard
that they could be saved by the blood

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of the lamb.

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And the sign on the door was a
public testimony of their faith in

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God's saving word.

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But it was different, as we
have seen in these plagues in the

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rest of the land of Egypt.

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Goshen was one place, but what
about the rest?

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Well, the rest of the houses
in Egypt were not marked with the

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sign of salvation.

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And as the visitor traveled up
and down the Nile, he came to entire

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towns and cities where not a
single household had offered a lamb

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for their sins.

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The visitor did not pass by
these houses, but slipped inside

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to claim the life of the
firstborn son.

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And so a night that began in
silence ended in suffering.

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As verse 29 tells us, at
midnight, the Lord struck down all

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the firstborn in Egypt, from
the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat

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on the throne, to the
firstborn of the prisoner who was

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in the dungeon.

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And the firstborn of all the
livestock as well.

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You see, no one would escape
the angel of death as it passed over.

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And indeed, the eldest in the
house of Pharaoh to the eldest in

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the dungeons would die that
night, just as the Lord had said.

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Now, we're not told why people
wake up in the middle of the night.

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Perhaps there was a sense of
something being wrong, as the presence

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of the angel of death moves
through the land.

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But we're told in scripture
that Pharaoh and all his officials

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and all the Egyptians awoke to
see the unthinkable in their homes.

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And as is the natural
response, they began to wail, just

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as if lights were being turned
on from one house to the next.

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So the cry of sorrow went up
and rippled throughout the land.

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And now Pharaoh will respond
to the request of the Lord for his

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people to go and worship him
in the wilderness.

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Now he will let them go, and
they will go for good, never to return

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as an enslaved people.

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In verse 31, we're told that
Moses and Aaron are summoned to Pharaoh's

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palace.

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And for the first time, he
does indeed tell them to go without

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condition.

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Because here is a defeated
man, his heir is dead before him,

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and all fight is out of him.

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For now, there won't be any
double crossing as there had been

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so many times before.

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Pharaoh's last words to Moses
were totally pathetic.

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Where he says at the end of
this section, and also, bless me,

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he pleads, you see, Pharaoh
has five finally realized his mistake.

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But it was too little, too late.

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Earlier, he had asked God's
prophet to pray for him.

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Now he was asking to receive a
benediction, a blessing upon him.

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But what blessing could Moses
possibly give to a man like Pharaoh?

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A man who had rejected the
word of the Lord again and again

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and again.

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A word that would have brought
salvation not only for the Israelites,

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but it would have brought
salvation for the Egyptians, as they

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trusted in the God of Israel.

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You see, the request that
Pharaoh makes here is a request that's

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reminiscent of a scene from
the musical the Fiddler on the Roof,

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in which a Young Russian Jew
asks the town rabbi if there is a

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blessing for the Tsar.

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And it's a tough question
because the Tsar is the oppressor

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of the Russian Jews.

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And yet surely God has some
kind of blessing for everyone.

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Well, the rabbi thinks about
it for a moment, and then he says,

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may the Lord bless the Tsar
and keep him far away from us.

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You see, there'd be no
blessing for the Czar in what he

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might want to expect.

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Nor is there a blessing here
for Pharaoh, not even a mixed blessing.

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Here was the man who believed
himself to be greater than God, wanting

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God's favor without ever
turning to him in faith and repentance.

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There was no real repentance
on the part of the King.

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He gave no recognition of any
personal responsibility.

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He wanted the blessing without
the liability, the shame, or the

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consequences.

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God will not bless a person
who will not repent of their sin.

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And I think if I was to go
around and ask everyone here this

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morning, if you want God's
blessing, even people who do not

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have a personal relationship
with Jesus Christ would say, yes,

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we want God's blessing because
there's something each of us will

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believe about God.

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That's probably why we're here
this morning.

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We will believe something
about him that is good, and we want

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that goodness.

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And so times come whenever
people approach other Christians

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and ask for their services, as
it were, but no promise is given

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because God tells us in his
word that his blessing is for those

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who trust in the blood.

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Isn't that what happened in Egypt?

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Those who trusted in the blood
of the Lamb knew the blessing of

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God?

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You see, in other words, it is
for people who admit that they are

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sinners and who believe that
God has paid for their sin with a

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perfect sacrifice.

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That's what it means to know
the blessing of God.

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And that ultimate blessing,
it's not going to be in health and

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wealth and riches.

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That may be what we benefit
from here and now, but the ultimate

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blessing is that blessing of
salvation that will take us from

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this pitiful world that is
destined to end, and we will be received

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in the fullness of blessing in eternity.

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See, in the time of Moses, God
only blessed people who were covered

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by the blood of the Passover lamb.

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Today, God blesses those who
trust in Jesus Christ, believing

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in the sacrifice he offered
for sin on the cross.

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And if you do not come to God
through faith in Jesus Christ, God

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will not bless you.

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As Jesus asks in Luke 6:46,
why do you call me Lord, Lord, and

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do not do what I say?

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Jesus then goes on to explain
in this passage what someone is like,

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who does do what he says.

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And they're described to us as
someone who builds a house on good

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foundations that when the
storm comes, so their house will

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stand.

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The one who calls on the name
of the Lord but refuses to seek forgiveness

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for their sins, who thinks
that God owes them a favor, or perhaps

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is treating God like a good
luck charm.

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Well, they're described as
those who build their houses on sand,

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who don't have a foundation,
whose lives without Christ will simply

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crumble and fall.

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And if you're treating God in
this way, just as Pharaoh did, then

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you need to do something about it.

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You need to come to Jesus
acknowledging your sin and seeking

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forgiveness.

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This is the only way that our
lives, both in this world and in

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eternity, can be saved.

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Built on a solid foundation in
Jesus Christ.

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Because what's Jesus warning
to us when we don't live under his

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shed blood?

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Well, the moment the torrent
struck the house, it collapsed and

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its destruction was complete.

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Now, let me preempt a question
that might be in someone's head.

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It's just not fair.

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We will say, surely God is a
loving God.

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Surely God would allow.

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Why would he allow this to happen?

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Surely he would want to save everyone.

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Pharaoh was only doing what he
believed was best, and surely his

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good works was enough.

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We'll set that argument aside
for a moment.

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Pharaoh had 10 opportunities
that he rejected again and again

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and again and did not
demonstrate good, only evil.

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And what is the wages of sin?

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What is owed to the work of sin?

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Well, it is eternal death.

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And that's what we're seeing
here in Jesus when he says, why do

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you call me Lord, Lord?

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Why did Pharaoh want a
blessing as it were, calling on the

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00:14:24,640 --> 00:14:29,020
name Lord, Lord, but wasn't
doing what he said because he thought

236
00:14:29,020 --> 00:14:32,980
he knew better, because he
thought he could get away with it

237
00:14:33,620 --> 00:14:34,860
and that he would be okay.

238
00:14:34,860 --> 00:14:37,860
But his foundation was not on
the blood that was shed.

239
00:14:39,460 --> 00:14:42,580
And what happens when our
foundation is not solid on Christ

240
00:14:42,580 --> 00:14:44,500
by his shed blood on Calvary?

241
00:14:45,140 --> 00:14:48,620
Well, the moment that the
torrent strikes the house, the moment

242
00:14:48,620 --> 00:14:53,540
when we do face God, well,
that house, that life of ours, will

243
00:14:53,540 --> 00:14:56,670
collapse on our destruction
will be complete.

244
00:14:58,270 --> 00:15:01,230
I can only speak what is true
from God's word.

245
00:15:02,910 --> 00:15:07,310
I'm not trying to make you
feel unhappy or sad on this day.

246
00:15:08,350 --> 00:15:12,950
I am trying to open your eyes
to see what the truth of your life

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00:15:12,950 --> 00:15:13,270
is.

248
00:15:13,270 --> 00:15:17,390
Because at one point I was
crying, lord, Lord, and didn't do

249
00:15:17,390 --> 00:15:18,430
what God had said.

250
00:15:18,750 --> 00:15:23,300
And I needed a moment of
awakening of knowing Jesus as my

251
00:15:23,300 --> 00:15:28,380
Savior, because I was never,
am never, and can never be good enough.

252
00:15:30,300 --> 00:15:35,540
And there's times I slip and
cry, lord, Lord, but don't do what

253
00:15:35,540 --> 00:15:36,060
he says.

254
00:15:37,900 --> 00:15:39,340
That's not what he wants.

255
00:15:39,340 --> 00:15:40,620
That's not his standard.

256
00:15:41,180 --> 00:15:45,900
He wants us to cry, Lord,
Lord, genuinely, so that we can know

257
00:15:45,900 --> 00:15:48,260
him and know rescue and salvation.

258
00:15:48,260 --> 00:15:50,900
Because that's actually what
the good news of this passage is

259
00:15:50,900 --> 00:15:51,180
about.

260
00:15:51,880 --> 00:15:54,720
So the first half is the
warning, as we see now in Egypt.

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00:15:54,720 --> 00:15:59,160
But the good news is that as
we come, God does exactly what he

262
00:15:59,160 --> 00:15:59,800
had said.

263
00:16:00,760 --> 00:16:03,680
Because back in Egypt, just as
the Lord said in chapter three, the

264
00:16:03,680 --> 00:16:07,480
Egyptians would force the
children of Israel out and give them

265
00:16:07,559 --> 00:16:09,120
silver and gold and clothing.

266
00:16:09,120 --> 00:16:13,160
Pharaoh had resisted, but now
the people were being urged out of

267
00:16:13,160 --> 00:16:13,560
the land.

268
00:16:13,960 --> 00:16:17,480
Because this is what we read
in verse 33 of chapter 3, the Egyptians

269
00:16:17,480 --> 00:16:20,440
urged the people to hurry and
leave the country, for otherwise,

270
00:16:20,920 --> 00:16:22,760
they said, we all will die there.

271
00:16:22,760 --> 00:16:23,040
Sorry.

272
00:16:23,040 --> 00:16:27,680
In chapter 12, the Israelites
leave Egypt in such a hurry that

273
00:16:27,680 --> 00:16:31,160
the people took their dough
before it was leavened, meaning either

274
00:16:31,160 --> 00:16:34,440
before they had added the
leaven to it or before the dough

275
00:16:34,440 --> 00:16:35,800
had a chance to rise.

276
00:16:36,120 --> 00:16:39,240
In either case, the detail is
given to us here because it's telling

277
00:16:39,240 --> 00:16:43,120
us how hastily the Israelites
leave and also explains why eating

278
00:16:43,120 --> 00:16:45,800
unleavened bread will
commemorate their departure.

279
00:16:46,930 --> 00:16:50,490
The additional note that's in
the text about their carrying their

280
00:16:50,490 --> 00:16:54,250
kneading bowls on their
shoulders in their cloaks as though

281
00:16:54,250 --> 00:16:58,130
it were a backpack shows the
importance of the equipment for daily

282
00:16:58,130 --> 00:17:02,050
bread making in that day and
age in verse 34.

283
00:17:02,050 --> 00:17:05,090
But they would need it,
because what was God going to do?

284
00:17:06,130 --> 00:17:09,210
He was going to rescue them,
they were going to survive, and they

285
00:17:09,210 --> 00:17:10,970
were going to need this for
daily provision.

286
00:17:10,970 --> 00:17:14,780
So even in how they packed,
God was making them ready for the

287
00:17:14,780 --> 00:17:17,660
future of rescue that he was
giving to them.

288
00:17:18,220 --> 00:17:21,860
And in verse 35, the people do
claim the gold, the silver, and the

289
00:17:21,860 --> 00:17:24,460
clothing that God commanded
them to ask.

290
00:17:24,460 --> 00:17:25,420
And so they're obedient.

291
00:17:25,420 --> 00:17:28,260
They're actually commended for
their obedience in following the

292
00:17:28,260 --> 00:17:29,500
instructions of Moses.

293
00:17:30,060 --> 00:17:33,580
And just as the Lord said, the
Egyptians were favorable to the people.

294
00:17:33,740 --> 00:17:38,180
As we read in verse 36, the
Lord had made the Egyptians favorably

295
00:17:38,180 --> 00:17:41,140
disposed towards the people,
and they give them what they asked

296
00:17:41,140 --> 00:17:41,500
for.

297
00:17:41,990 --> 00:17:43,910
So they plundered the Egyptians.

298
00:17:45,030 --> 00:17:45,830
There was more.

299
00:17:45,910 --> 00:17:48,310
There was more to the gold,
the silver, and the clothing.

300
00:17:48,870 --> 00:17:52,030
Rather than the blessing
coming on Pharaoh, that blessing

301
00:17:52,030 --> 00:17:54,670
that he was looking for
actually fell on the children of

302
00:17:54,670 --> 00:17:58,070
Israel, and they would be
blessed with riches as they left

303
00:17:58,070 --> 00:17:58,550
the land.

304
00:17:58,550 --> 00:17:59,910
Of there in slavery.

305
00:18:00,790 --> 00:18:05,590
This is the appropriate
compensation for those years where

306
00:18:05,590 --> 00:18:09,030
they submitted to bitterly
hard service.

307
00:18:10,300 --> 00:18:14,620
And so they leave the city of
Rameses the day after Passover.

308
00:18:14,940 --> 00:18:18,940
It's the city that they built,
which is northeast of modern day

309
00:18:18,940 --> 00:18:24,460
Cairo, and traveled to
Sukkoth, a city of a group now traveling

310
00:18:24,460 --> 00:18:28,340
of over 600,000 men, as well
as the women and children, and, as

311
00:18:28,340 --> 00:18:30,180
verse 38 tells us, with many
other people.

312
00:18:30,180 --> 00:18:33,420
And these other people were
most likely slaves of other nations

313
00:18:33,660 --> 00:18:35,540
whom the Egyptians had
captured and traded.

314
00:18:35,540 --> 00:18:37,510
But how do they get to be rescued?

315
00:18:37,990 --> 00:18:39,910
Well, they too, believed in
the blood.

316
00:18:40,390 --> 00:18:43,070
They too spread that blood on
their doorposts.

317
00:18:43,070 --> 00:18:46,310
That's the only reason how
they could escape from the land.

318
00:18:47,110 --> 00:18:50,510
And so this vast body of
people move with their flocks and

319
00:18:50,510 --> 00:18:55,270
their herds to their rescue,
to their salvation.

320
00:18:57,510 --> 00:19:02,120
And in verse 39, we return to
the Israelites unleavened dew, explaining

321
00:19:02,120 --> 00:19:05,120
that they now make it into
unleavened cakes because they are

322
00:19:05,120 --> 00:19:09,840
driven out in such haste, they
simply cannot delay, nor have they

323
00:19:09,840 --> 00:19:13,320
prepared the type of
provisions that they might need ahead

324
00:19:13,320 --> 00:19:14,160
of a journey.

325
00:19:15,040 --> 00:19:18,400
So the Israelites have known
their departure was coming, but are

326
00:19:18,400 --> 00:19:22,520
apparently surprised at just
how quickly and forcefully the Egyptians

327
00:19:22,520 --> 00:19:23,920
demand that they leave.

328
00:19:24,160 --> 00:19:27,600
And so this too makes clear
how devastating the final strike

329
00:19:27,600 --> 00:19:29,790
is on the Egyptian nation.

330
00:19:30,750 --> 00:19:35,710
And so there's an urgency now,
whenever we talk of rescue and salvation,

331
00:19:36,190 --> 00:19:37,550
there is an urgency.

332
00:19:38,750 --> 00:19:43,070
We need to know today, are we
with God or are we not?

333
00:19:43,710 --> 00:19:46,110
Are we crying like Pharaoh,
bless me?

334
00:19:46,110 --> 00:19:48,270
Yet we're not willing to
acknowledge our sin.

335
00:19:48,270 --> 00:19:50,750
We're not willing to
acknowledge our wrongdoing before

336
00:19:50,750 --> 00:19:51,630
him and before others.

337
00:19:51,630 --> 00:19:56,470
And we think God will just be,
oh, he'll just be nice, won't he?

338
00:19:59,750 --> 00:20:01,910
God is far greater than being nice.

339
00:20:03,030 --> 00:20:09,350
God is love, and he's fair,
and he's just.

340
00:20:10,710 --> 00:20:16,630
This is what we see here, his
love, his fairness and his justice.

341
00:20:17,510 --> 00:20:20,550
Chances were given, and they
were rejected.

342
00:20:21,270 --> 00:20:22,630
And so there's a fair judgment.

343
00:20:24,390 --> 00:20:30,150
Chances were given, and the
people responded, demonstrating justice

344
00:20:30,150 --> 00:20:33,190
yet again, because they
followed exactly what God had said.

345
00:20:34,790 --> 00:20:36,310
And so how does this finish?

346
00:20:36,310 --> 00:20:39,870
What do we see with this great
rescue of the children of Israel

347
00:20:39,870 --> 00:20:42,790
and this decimation of the
land of Egypt?

348
00:20:43,750 --> 00:20:47,150
Well, these closing verses
recap for us the situation that the

349
00:20:47,150 --> 00:20:48,670
children of Israel were in and.

350
00:20:48,740 --> 00:20:51,380
And who it is that brought
them out of the land.

351
00:20:52,020 --> 00:20:55,460
Because in verses 40 and 41
now, the length of time the Israelite

352
00:20:55,460 --> 00:20:58,980
people lived in Egypt was 430 years.

353
00:20:59,380 --> 00:21:03,820
At the end of the 430 years,
to the very day all the Lord's Divisions

354
00:21:03,820 --> 00:21:04,740
left Egypt.

355
00:21:05,220 --> 00:21:07,700
They went there as a people of 70.

356
00:21:09,300 --> 00:21:11,780
They went there to find food.

357
00:21:12,980 --> 00:21:16,180
They went to Egypt to find
salvation, and Joseph provided that

358
00:21:16,180 --> 00:21:16,660
for them.

359
00:21:17,870 --> 00:21:21,710
But the sinful nature of the
world took hold, where one nation

360
00:21:21,790 --> 00:21:26,510
became suspicious of another
and so enslaved them and belittled

361
00:21:26,510 --> 00:21:28,110
them and made very little of them.

362
00:21:28,910 --> 00:21:33,069
But yet the Lord delivers His
people, because verse 42 then goes

363
00:21:33,069 --> 00:21:36,430
on to credit all this work of
salvation and protection to the Lord.

364
00:21:36,510 --> 00:21:37,630
All because he kept.

365
00:21:43,880 --> 00:21:45,240
Sorry, I'll be back.

366
00:21:45,960 --> 00:21:50,560
And because he did what he
said he would do to the people and

367
00:21:50,560 --> 00:21:55,160
that they were to remember, to
honor God as He had protected them

368
00:21:55,160 --> 00:21:56,760
and kept vigil that night.

369
00:21:56,920 --> 00:22:01,040
So every Passover night they
were to keep vigil and celebrate

370
00:22:01,040 --> 00:22:05,800
year after year what God had
done through his great rescue.

371
00:22:06,440 --> 00:22:10,180
And so understanding Exodus is
important for us because.

372
00:22:10,330 --> 00:22:12,250
Because it is part of
salvation history.

373
00:22:12,730 --> 00:22:16,610
None of this is to be
overlooked because it points us to

374
00:22:16,610 --> 00:22:20,570
the one who will come as our
great rescuer, that God will send

375
00:22:20,570 --> 00:22:22,490
his one and only Son, Jesus Christ.

376
00:22:23,370 --> 00:22:27,770
And so we see the Lord's
continued salvation and keeping of

377
00:22:27,770 --> 00:22:28,130
his people.

378
00:22:28,130 --> 00:22:30,770
And that's why earlier I
stressed the need to understand that

379
00:22:30,770 --> 00:22:33,770
you simply can't take
advantage of Jesus and think that

380
00:22:33,770 --> 00:22:35,450
you can get away with it,
because you can't.

381
00:22:36,580 --> 00:22:40,100
Only those who know him as
Lord and Savior will be saved.

382
00:22:41,380 --> 00:22:44,420
And to those who do, let me
assure you that he will keep you.

383
00:22:45,780 --> 00:22:48,420
It's not insignificant about
the dew.

384
00:22:49,460 --> 00:22:53,460
They brought it with them
because they were assured a future.

385
00:22:54,820 --> 00:23:00,340
They were ready to live in the
wilderness and not die.

386
00:23:01,710 --> 00:23:06,110
God assured them of his
ongoing protection and care.

387
00:23:07,150 --> 00:23:10,910
You see, Jesus Christ is the
One who continues to assure us of

388
00:23:10,910 --> 00:23:14,110
this because he died and rose
again so that he could prove his

389
00:23:14,110 --> 00:23:18,510
authority over everything,
even death itself, so that our trust

390
00:23:18,510 --> 00:23:20,910
and faith in him would be well founded.

391
00:23:20,910 --> 00:23:24,510
That's why Jesus says what he
does in John 10:28, 30.

392
00:23:24,750 --> 00:23:28,030
I give them, speaking of his
people, those who trust in his blood.

393
00:23:28,380 --> 00:23:30,860
I give them eternal life and
they shall never perish.

394
00:23:31,180 --> 00:23:33,260
No one can snatch them out of
my hand.

395
00:23:33,660 --> 00:23:37,500
My Father, who has given them
to Me, is greater than all.

396
00:23:38,460 --> 00:23:41,340
No one can snatch them out of
My Father's hand.

397
00:23:41,740 --> 00:23:44,140
I and the Father are one.

398
00:23:45,020 --> 00:23:50,700
This is Jesus promise to us
that we need not fear judgment and

399
00:23:50,700 --> 00:23:54,140
punishment, because Christ has
done it all so that we can go free.

400
00:23:55,190 --> 00:23:58,110
And he will keep us, just like
he kept the children of Israel.

401
00:23:58,110 --> 00:24:03,270
And so let me say to you,
whatever you face, indeed whatever

402
00:24:03,270 --> 00:24:08,150
you might be facing today, you
have a Savior.

403
00:24:08,870 --> 00:24:11,350
And you have a Savior who will
keep you to the end.

404
00:24:12,310 --> 00:24:15,350
He will lead you through the
valley of the shadow.

405
00:24:16,870 --> 00:24:19,470
That valley does not end in
death, even though it's described

406
00:24:19,470 --> 00:24:20,530
as the valley of the shadow.

407
00:24:20,760 --> 00:24:22,200
Shadow of death.

408
00:24:23,480 --> 00:24:27,240
We go through those valleys
because indeed Jesus Christ is the

409
00:24:27,240 --> 00:24:28,600
good shepherd who leads us through.

410
00:24:29,400 --> 00:24:32,520
And at the end, he will
welcome you home.

411
00:24:33,720 --> 00:24:37,800
And he will do that because
your foundation is built on Him.

412
00:24:39,080 --> 00:24:40,280
The Psalms are rich.

413
00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:44,200
They tell us that God is our
refuge and our strength.

414
00:24:45,240 --> 00:24:49,250
They tell us that he is the
present help in times of trouble.

415
00:24:50,290 --> 00:24:54,570
They tell us that he is the
God of steadfast love who indeed

416
00:24:54,570 --> 00:24:55,570
will keep us.

417
00:24:57,330 --> 00:25:00,130
He is the God in whom today we
need to trust.

418
00:25:01,250 --> 00:25:05,410
Because if I didn't trust in
him today, I could not take another

419
00:25:05,410 --> 00:25:05,810
step.

420
00:25:09,250 --> 00:25:10,850
Egypt's foundations.

421
00:25:11,970 --> 00:25:15,130
Well, go to the British
Museum, as I did last October, and

422
00:25:15,130 --> 00:25:18,050
you will see those foundations
of that nation crumbled.

423
00:25:19,960 --> 00:25:20,200
Why?

424
00:25:20,920 --> 00:25:23,800
Why are all its artifacts now
in museums around the world?

425
00:25:24,520 --> 00:25:26,280
Because Egypt trusted in itself.

426
00:25:26,840 --> 00:25:31,040
Even the greatest statues of
the pharaohs who subjected the Jews

427
00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:36,000
or the Israelites to slavery
are now lying on the floor in the

428
00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:38,600
desert or in the British Museum.

429
00:25:39,560 --> 00:25:40,600
Don't be the same.

430
00:25:41,320 --> 00:25:44,080
Don't be like Egypt and think
you can do it yourself.

431
00:25:44,080 --> 00:25:45,160
You're not strong enough.

432
00:25:46,160 --> 00:25:47,120
You need someone.

433
00:25:47,360 --> 00:25:51,680
And that's why the invitation
for us all today is to trust in the

434
00:25:51,680 --> 00:25:52,240
Savior.

435
00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:55,720
To trust in him for that
salvation, so that that blood that

436
00:25:55,720 --> 00:26:00,760
was shed is blood for you that
will redeem you, but also to trust

437
00:26:00,760 --> 00:26:01,840
that he will keep you.

438
00:26:02,080 --> 00:26:07,480
Even if today is a hard day
for you, he will keep you to the

439
00:26:07,480 --> 00:26:07,760
end.

440
00:26:09,920 --> 00:26:12,600
You see, Christ is the One
that will keep us in the storms of

441
00:26:12,600 --> 00:26:16,880
life, and he will bless us
through them, just as he blessed

442
00:26:16,880 --> 00:26:17,400
his people.

443
00:26:18,600 --> 00:26:22,440
And so will you stand firm in
Christ, in His solid foundation this

444
00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:30,520
day, or indeed will you have
that strong judgment upon you that

445
00:26:30,520 --> 00:26:36,800
without Christ your life will
crumble and the destruction will

446
00:26:36,800 --> 00:26:37,720
be so ever great.

447
00:26:39,330 --> 00:26:44,210
Trust in the Savior and on him
alone, in his own words here in John

448
00:26:44,290 --> 00:26:44,690
10.

449
00:26:45,490 --> 00:26:51,850
We shall never perish when we
are trusting in Christ, no matter

450
00:26:51,850 --> 00:26:53,570
how fierce the storm.

451
00:26:54,529 --> 00:27:00,130
So trust in him and know him
truly forever.

452
00:27:01,090 --> 00:27:01,890
Let's pray.

453
00:27:03,170 --> 00:27:06,690
Our Father God, we thank you
for your word, as hard as it may

454
00:27:06,690 --> 00:27:10,520
be, and even the ability of
trying to understand what it means,

455
00:27:10,670 --> 00:27:10,910
means.

456
00:27:11,710 --> 00:27:17,550
Father, we ask that this day
that we'll look beyond what our eyes

457
00:27:17,710 --> 00:27:21,830
focused on this world would
teach us, a false definition of what

458
00:27:21,830 --> 00:27:26,110
love is, and rather look to
the Savior who loved us by providing

459
00:27:26,110 --> 00:27:30,190
us a way so that we will not
face the same fate as the Egyptians.

460
00:27:30,990 --> 00:27:32,910
We have a blood that covers us.

461
00:27:33,390 --> 00:27:35,870
We have a blood that forgives
us for our sins.

462
00:27:36,840 --> 00:27:40,600
We have a blood that will make
us right and indeed will bring us

463
00:27:40,600 --> 00:27:40,920
home.

464
00:27:42,280 --> 00:27:46,560
So may we never say we are a
Christian and yet don't live like

465
00:27:46,560 --> 00:27:46,840
it.

466
00:27:47,560 --> 00:27:50,160
May we never be found crying,
lord, Lord.

467
00:27:50,160 --> 00:27:53,720
And then do not do what the
Lord says, for that's simply being

468
00:27:53,720 --> 00:27:54,520
a hypocrite.

469
00:27:55,560 --> 00:27:59,240
Father, help us to live well
for Christ, trusting in him day by

470
00:27:59,240 --> 00:27:59,560
day.

471
00:28:00,920 --> 00:28:03,950
And Father, may we know your
goodness and your grace with each

472
00:28:03,950 --> 00:28:04,830
step that we take.

473
00:28:05,310 --> 00:28:07,870
In Jesus name, amen.