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<v Speaker 1>One.

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<v Speaker 1>It's good to be here with all of you this morning.

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<v Speaker 1>Please open your Bibles to Exodus, chapter five.

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<v Speaker 1>Exodus, chapter five this will be part five of a sort of an indefinite number of sermons preached on the book of Exodus, and last time we had looked at Exodus, chapter five and God's call on Moses' life and we explored and really dug into the conversation that in the back and forth that Moses had with God, the five different excuses that Moses gave to God's call on his life, and we ended with Moses finally coming to the place of surrender and saying, okay, god, I'm in, use me.

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<v Speaker 1>And Moses returns to Egypt.

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<v Speaker 1>And then chapter four ended then with all the elders and the people who were in Egypt believing that God had heard their cry and expecting his promised deliverance, and it ends beautifully with the people bowing their heads and worshiping, and so it's beautiful how that chapter ends.

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<v Speaker 1>We're gonna keep going with the story and we're gonna see a drastic turn.

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<v Speaker 1>From this like bowing our hearts and worshiping with this expectation of God's deliverance to to the story is gonna take a pretty drastic, almost like backwards turn, and so I've actually asked two brothers to read the text this morning Marcus Beechie and Kim Miller, if you guys don't mind coming up, and I'm gonna ask Marcus to read chapter five and then Kim to read chapter six through chapter seven, verse seven.

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<v Speaker 1>So we're covering a lot of ground today as far as the text goes, but I'm actually gonna just sort of hone in on one section and I'll explain that a little bit further.

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<v Speaker 1>But let's just let's read the text.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm gonna ask y'all to stand for the reading of God's word and just, I guess, pay attention to the story and keep in mind where the Israelites are at right now.

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<v Speaker 1>They've just bowed their heads and hearts in worship and they're expecting God's deliverance of them, and we'll, I guess, just see how the where the story goes from here.

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<v Speaker 1>So, marcus, if you wanna read chapter five, and then Kim, six through verse seven of chapter seven.

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<v Speaker 2>Exodus, chapter five.

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<v Speaker 2>Afterward, moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, let my people go that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.

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<v Speaker 2>But Pharaoh said who is the Lord that I should obey his voice and let Israel go?

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<v Speaker 2>I do not know the Lord and, moreover, I will not let Israel go.

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<v Speaker 2>Then they said the God of the Hebrews has met with us.

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<v Speaker 2>Please let us go a three days journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the Lord, our God.

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<v Speaker 2>Let's see fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.

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<v Speaker 2>But the king of Egypt said to them, moses and Aaron, why do you take the people away from their work?

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<v Speaker 2>Get back to your burdens.

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<v Speaker 2>And Pharaoh said behold, the people of the land are now many and you make them rest from their burdens.

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<v Speaker 2>The same day, pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their foremen you shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as in the past.

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<v Speaker 2>Let them go and gather straw for themselves, but the number of bricks that they made in the past you shall impose on them.

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<v Speaker 2>You shall by no means reduce it, for they are idle.

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<v Speaker 2>Therefore they cry let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.

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<v Speaker 2>Let heavier work be laid on the men, that they may labor at it and pay no regard to lying words.

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<v Speaker 2>So the taskmasters and the foremen of the people went out and said to the people thus says Pharaoh, I will not give you straw, go and get your straw yourselves, wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced in the least.

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<v Speaker 2>So the people were scattered throughout all the land of Egypt, together, stubble for straw.

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<v Speaker 2>The taskmasters were urgent saying complete your work, your daily task each day is when there was straw.

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<v Speaker 2>And the foremen of the people of Israel, whom Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked why have you not done all your task of making bricks today and yesterday, as in the past?

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<v Speaker 2>Then the foremen of the people of Israel came and cried to Pharaoh why do you treat your servants like this?

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<v Speaker 2>No straw is given to your servants.

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<v Speaker 2>Yet they say to us make bricks.

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<v Speaker 2>And behold, your servants are beaten.

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<v Speaker 2>But the fault is in your own people.

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<v Speaker 2>But he said you are idle.

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<v Speaker 2>You are idle.

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<v Speaker 2>That is why you say let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.

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<v Speaker 2>Go now and work.

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<v Speaker 2>No straw will be given you, but you must still deliver the same number of bricks.

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<v Speaker 2>The foremen of the people of Israel saw that they were in trouble when they said you shall by no means reduce your number of bricks, your daily task each day.

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<v Speaker 2>They met Moses and Aaron who were waiting for them as they came out from Pharaoh and they said to them the Lord, look on you and judge, because you have made a stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and I put a sword in their hand to kill us.

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<v Speaker 2>Then Moses turned to the Lord and said oh Lord, why have you done evil to this people?

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<v Speaker 2>Why did you ever send me?

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<v Speaker 2>For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people and you have not delivered your people at all.

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<v Speaker 3>When I said yes, I didn't realize I'm gonna be reading genealogy, so I'll do my best here.

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<v Speaker 3>I should have brought my reading glasses.

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<v Speaker 3>But the Lord said to Moses now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh, for with a strong hand he will send them out and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.

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<v Speaker 3>God spoke to Moses and said to him I am the Lord.

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<v Speaker 3>I appear to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God almighty, but by my name, the Lord, I did not make myself known to them.

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<v Speaker 3>I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, a land in which they lived as sojourners.

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<v Speaker 3>Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel, whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.

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<v Speaker 3>Say therefore to the people of Israel I am the Lord and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians and I will deliver you from the slavery to them and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment.

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<v Speaker 3>I will take you to be my people and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord, your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

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<v Speaker 3>I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob.

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<v Speaker 3>I will give it to you for a possession.

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<v Speaker 3>I am the Lord.

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<v Speaker 3>Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel.

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<v Speaker 3>Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery.

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<v Speaker 3>So the Lord said to Moses go in, tell Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to let the people of Israel go out of this land, his land.

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<v Speaker 3>But Moses said to the Lord behold, the people of Israel have not listened to me.

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<v Speaker 3>How then, shall Pharaoh listen to me?

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<v Speaker 3>For I am an uncircumcised lips?

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<v Speaker 3>But the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge about the people of Israel and about Pharaoh, to king of Egypt, to bring the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

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<v Speaker 3>Verse 14,.

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<v Speaker 3>These are the heads of their fathers houses.

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<v Speaker 3>The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, hanuk, palu, Ezra and Karmai.

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<v Speaker 3>These are the clans of Reuben.

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<v Speaker 3>The sons of Simeon, gemuel, jamin, ohab, ohad, Jachon, zahar and Shal, the sons of the heavy Canaanite woman.

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<v Speaker 3>These are the clans of Simeon.

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<v Speaker 3>These are the names of the sons of Levi according to the generation.

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<v Speaker 3>Gershon, kohat and Marari.

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<v Speaker 3>The years of the life of the Levi.

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<v Speaker 3>The years of the life of Levi being 137 years.

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<v Speaker 3>The sons of Gershon, libny and Shimei, by their clans.

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<v Speaker 3>The sons of Kohat, amram, ishar, hebron and Uzel.

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<v Speaker 3>The years of the life of Kohat being 133 years.

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<v Speaker 3>The sons of Marari, mahila and Moush'i.

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<v Speaker 3>These are the clans of the Levi's according to their generations.

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<v Speaker 3>Amram took as his wife Ahakabed and his father's sister, and she bore him Aaron and Moses, years of life of Amram being 137 years.

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<v Speaker 3>The sons of Ishar, korah, nephag and Zikray.

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<v Speaker 3>The sons of Uzel, michelle and the sons of Zikray, elzaphath and Zithri.

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<v Speaker 3>Aaron took as his wife Elah Shabah and the sons of Aminadab and the sister of Naishan, and she bore him, nadab and Abihu, eleazar and Ithamor.

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<v Speaker 3>The sons of Korah, azir, elkana and Abysath.

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<v Speaker 3>These are the clans of Korahites.

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<v Speaker 3>Eliasir and Aaron's son took as his wife one of the daughters of Putel, and she bore him Phinebez.

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<v Speaker 3>These are the heads of the father's houses of the Levites, by their clans.

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<v Speaker 3>These are the Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said bring out the people of Israel from the land of Egypt by their hosts.

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<v Speaker 3>It was they who spoke to Pharaoh and King of Egypt about bringing out the people of Israel from Egypt, this Moses and this Aaron.

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<v Speaker 3>On the day when the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, the Lord said to Moses I am the Lord.

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<v Speaker 3>Tell Pharaoh, king of Egypt, all that I say to you.

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<v Speaker 3>But Moses said to the Lord behold, I am an uncircumcised lips.

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<v Speaker 3>How will Pharaoh listen to me?

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<v Speaker 3>And the Lord said to Moses see, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet.

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<v Speaker 3>You shall speak all that I command you and your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go out of his land.

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<v Speaker 3>But I will harden Pharaoh's heart and, though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, pharaoh will not listen to you.

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<v Speaker 3>Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my hosts by people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment.

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<v Speaker 3>The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.

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<v Speaker 3>Moses and Aaron did so.

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<v Speaker 3>They did just as the Lord commanded them.

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<v Speaker 3>Now, moses was 80 years old and Aaron 83 years old, and when they spoke to Pharaoh.

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<v Speaker 1>All right, you may be seated.

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<v Speaker 1>Thank you, kim and Marcus.

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<v Speaker 1>That was a lot of ground to cover.

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<v Speaker 1>But quite the story, quite the account here that we're gonna cover.

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<v Speaker 1>Just a couple of things to note about the structure of this and how it's sort of laid out, just to make sense of this.

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<v Speaker 1>Chapter five is the account of Moses and Aaron's first confrontation with Pharaoh.

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<v Speaker 1>We see how that sort of doesn't go as they had hoped or planned.

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<v Speaker 1>We see chapter five end with a question why to God?

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<v Speaker 1>Then chapter six the first half of it is God sort of reiterating and restating his promised deliverance and he repeats, restates a lot of what we've heard in previous chapters.

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<v Speaker 1>Then from the second half of chapter six is a genealogy of Moses and Aaron and it sort of sets the stage for what's to come Like the showdown between Moses and Aaron and Pharaoh.

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<v Speaker 1>I guess it's sort of this genealogy of Moses and Aaron I guess sort of explains who they are and sort of helps us see I guess there are credentials in their family story there.

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<v Speaker 1>But then chapter seven, up to verse seven, is sort of the final, the stage being set for the ultimate showdown between God and Pharaoh and the gods of Egypt.

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<v Speaker 1>So we're just gonna look at it's gonna sort of go through chapter five and make a couple observations and then we're gonna focus sort of ultimately on Moses' question to God.

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<v Speaker 1>So the first several verses there you see Moses and Aaron come in to Pharaoh and you almost see this confidence, this excitement, this expectation that God is gonna move.

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<v Speaker 1>They come in to Pharaoh and they say thus says the Lord, god of Israel, let my people go that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.

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<v Speaker 1>And I don't know the way I read this is.

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<v Speaker 1>I almost imagine them sort of expecting okay, we said what we're supposed to say, and now God's gonna move, and the first word after that is but, but Pharaoh.

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<v Speaker 1>And we quickly see that Pharaoh is not gonna comply with what they've just commanded and stated.

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<v Speaker 1>He says who is the Lord that I should obey his voice and let Israel go?

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<v Speaker 1>I do not know the Lord.

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<v Speaker 1>Moreover, I will not let Israel go.

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<v Speaker 1>So this Yahweh, this God of the Hebrews, doesn't mean anything to Pharaoh.

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<v Speaker 1>And even if he had heard of this God before, he doesn't really care.

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<v Speaker 1>He's just like I'm the king, I'm the boss.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't really care who this God is that you Hebrew slaves worship.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm gonna do what I wanna do and I don't really care.

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<v Speaker 1>He says get back to work.

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<v Speaker 1>Pharaoh says behold, the people of the land are now many.

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<v Speaker 1>He says Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people away from their work?

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<v Speaker 1>Get back to your burdens.

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<v Speaker 1>So it's interesting to think about what it was costing Pharaoh to have his slave population, his labor, not working Every moment that they weren't working.

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<v Speaker 1>It was costing him resources, it was costing him production.

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<v Speaker 1>It was costing him profits.

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<v Speaker 1>His economy probably slowed to a grinding halt and I guess a modern day example of this is maybe just the strikes that were happening with the Ford Company this past fall and then also the riders for Hollywood.

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<v Speaker 1>I think it was SAG-AFTRA.

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<v Speaker 1>I read somewhere that the United Auto Workers strike.

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<v Speaker 1>It was a 41 day strike this fall.

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<v Speaker 1>It cost the Ford Company.

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<v Speaker 1>It cost him 1.7 billion in profits.

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<v Speaker 1>That sort of comes out to about 41 and a half million per day that this strike was costing Ford.

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<v Speaker 1>They lost production of about 100,000 trucks and so you can get a sense of for Pharaoh why he felt it was so important that he tells Moses and Aaron you're taking the people away from their work and that's costing me.

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<v Speaker 1>It's costing me money, resources.

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<v Speaker 1>My job as the king of Egypt is to maintain order and to keep things running smoothly, and you guys not working means that that order is no longer maintained.

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<v Speaker 1>It's causing chaos and I'm to answer for that.

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<v Speaker 1>So he tells the taskmasters to, basically says okay, so they apparently don't have enough to do.

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<v Speaker 1>If they have enough time to think about going and sacrificing to their God, they clearly don't have enough to do.

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<v Speaker 1>So I'm gonna make you guys go out and find your own straw.

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<v Speaker 1>And we see how that goes for them.

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<v Speaker 1>He says I will not give you straw, go get your own.

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<v Speaker 1>And so the people scatter throughout the land to gather stubble, and they're supposed to keep up their daily quota, but they don't have the resources that they need to do that.

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<v Speaker 1>And quickly the taskmasters get upset with the foreman why have you not done all the tasks of making the bricks today and yesterday?

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<v Speaker 1>And then the foreman of the people of Israel.

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<v Speaker 1>We see they cry out to Pharaoh why are you doing this?

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<v Speaker 1>It's not working.

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<v Speaker 1>And then we see the servants end up in chapter 5, towards the end of chapter 5.

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<v Speaker 1>They ultimately blame Moses and Aaron and they confront Moses and Aaron and say we were like, we were slaves before you guys showed up, but at least like it was, it's not as bad as it's now.

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<v Speaker 1>You guys have just made things worse.

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<v Speaker 1>They met Aaron and Moses and they said the Lord, look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.

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<v Speaker 1>And they see they're in trouble.

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<v Speaker 1>Their situation has gone from bad to worse.

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<v Speaker 1>I am gonna ask Christy, would you mind grabbing your tissue please?

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<v Speaker 1>Thank you.

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<v Speaker 1>In chapter 5 ends with Moses sort of I think maybe all of his worst fears sort of coming true.

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<v Speaker 1>He had come to a place where he believed God, believed that God was gonna act and move and deliver his people.

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<v Speaker 1>And then we see him ask a question that has been asked for, I think, most of recorded history, and it's a question that I actually want to focus on today.

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<v Speaker 1>He asked this oh Lord, why have you done evil to this people?

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<v Speaker 1>Why have you done evil to this people?

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<v Speaker 1>Why did you ever send me?

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<v Speaker 1>For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to his people and you have not delivered your people at all.

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<v Speaker 1>So we see Moses ultimately blaming God for the evil that's going on.

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<v Speaker 1>He's asking how can you allow this to happen?

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<v Speaker 1>Why are you allowing this suffering and this evil to go on?

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<v Speaker 1>And that's the question I want to explore today is how, why does God allow suffering?

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<v Speaker 1>It's a very it's a fundamental question that, as humans, we ask that, especially as believers, the question of evil and suffering in the world today.

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<v Speaker 1>How do we, what do we do with that?

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<v Speaker 1>And it's a question that Moses asked is the first time that that question is asked in in the Bible.

00:20:23.849 --> 00:20:27.605
<v Speaker 1>Later we see David ask that question over and over.

00:20:27.605 --> 00:20:28.429
<v Speaker 1>He says God, where?

00:20:28.429 --> 00:20:30.920
<v Speaker 1>Why do you hide yourself in the day of trouble?

00:20:30.920 --> 00:20:33.208
<v Speaker 1>Why do you stand afar off?

00:20:35.455 --> 00:20:39.267
<v Speaker 1>It's a question that humans have wrestled with for a long time, especially as Christians.

00:20:39.267 --> 00:20:48.634
<v Speaker 1>Why, how can a God, how can God, allow evil and suffering to live, I guess, to exist?

00:20:48.634 --> 00:21:12.228
<v Speaker 1>And this is a question that, if we're honest with ourselves, as we go through suffering, as we experience suffering, if we're honest with ourselves, there's times that we ask that same question why are you allowing me to experience this pain if you are all powerful and you could potentially take this away.

00:21:12.228 --> 00:21:40.140
<v Speaker 1>So as believers, we wrestle with that, we try to make sense of that, and I think on the far end of that, this is this actually ends up being one of the leading arguments that atheists use for against the existence of God, and it goes something like this how could an all-powerful, all-good God allow the suffering that we see in the world today?

00:21:40.140 --> 00:21:44.192
<v Speaker 1>And it's like a simple Google search we'll bring you up.

00:21:44.211 --> 00:21:53.402
<v Speaker 1>I just googled this question yesterday and came to an article by Jared Sinman by the Daily Maverick.

00:21:53.402 --> 00:21:59.686
<v Speaker 1>Not sure exactly what this website is exactly, but he explores this question clearly in atheists.

00:21:59.686 --> 00:22:01.576
<v Speaker 1>He asked this really cynically.

00:22:01.576 --> 00:22:05.411
<v Speaker 1>I don't think most of us are asking this question cynically.

00:22:05.411 --> 00:22:28.612
<v Speaker 1>We're trying to understand, but for the atheist or the person that ultimately this question is too big and doesn't make sense for a God in the world, he says this what kind of God, we may ask, has created a world in which children die in floods, starve to death, perish in agony from tuberculosis and malaria?

00:22:28.612 --> 00:22:40.096
<v Speaker 1>What kind of God allows people who worship and adore Him to be murdered, raped, tortured and come to countless other hideous ends?

00:22:40.096 --> 00:22:46.648
<v Speaker 1>When you hear that it's just like like, maybe there's a little part of you that's just like yeah, why?

00:22:46.648 --> 00:22:56.257
<v Speaker 1>Just like huh, and that question for a lot of people in the world today leads them to conclude that God cannot exist.

00:22:56.257 --> 00:23:05.692
<v Speaker 1>Now, clearly, I think most of you here believe that God exists and I would hope that you're here with a heart to worship and pursue Him.

00:23:05.692 --> 00:23:09.707
<v Speaker 1>But this idea gets really.

00:23:09.867 --> 00:23:12.778
<v Speaker 1>I think there's David Hume.

00:23:12.778 --> 00:23:13.721
<v Speaker 1>He was a philosopher.

00:23:13.721 --> 00:23:19.663
<v Speaker 1>He put it like this and I'm not trying to convince you guys to be atheists.

00:23:19.663 --> 00:23:26.596
<v Speaker 1>I think we actually need to, like wrestle with this question and try to come to a place where, like, okay, how can I answer this?

00:23:26.596 --> 00:23:28.726
<v Speaker 1>Like, how do I make sense of this as a Christian?

00:23:28.726 --> 00:23:35.866
<v Speaker 1>He says this so these are the two options that he gives this philosopher.

00:23:35.866 --> 00:23:43.006
<v Speaker 1>He says either God is willing to prevent evil but not able to do so.

00:23:43.006 --> 00:23:49.161
<v Speaker 1>Either God is willing to prevent evil but not able to.

00:23:49.161 --> 00:23:53.172
<v Speaker 1>If so, god is impotent or not at all powerful.

00:23:53.172 --> 00:23:58.916
<v Speaker 1>The second option is God is able to prevent evil but unwilling to.

00:23:58.916 --> 00:24:03.234
<v Speaker 1>God is able to prevent evil but unwilling to.

00:24:03.234 --> 00:24:11.728
<v Speaker 1>If so, god is malevolent or evil, or he just doesn't exist, and that's a.

00:24:11.728 --> 00:24:18.369
<v Speaker 1>It's an argument that you see a lot of atheists bring up, and it's one that a lot of people struggle with.

00:24:21.005 --> 00:24:28.051
<v Speaker 1>So I guess what I want to look at this morning is I think to some extent, this is the question that Moses is asking in chapter 5.

00:24:28.051 --> 00:24:39.834
<v Speaker 1>He sees the evil that Pharaoh is is causing on his people, but to some extent he's blaming God for allowing it to happen.

00:24:39.834 --> 00:24:43.872
<v Speaker 1>He says why have you done evil to this people?

00:24:43.872 --> 00:24:48.814
<v Speaker 1>And he sees this evil that's caused by humans.

00:24:48.814 --> 00:24:51.833
<v Speaker 1>He's blaming God for that.

00:24:51.833 --> 00:24:56.595
<v Speaker 1>We're at least struggling very much to understand why God is allowing it to happen.

00:24:57.765 --> 00:25:10.548
<v Speaker 1>And what I want to look at is is, as a believer, somebody who believes that there's evil in the world but who also believes that there is a all powerful, all good God, how can we reconcile that?

00:25:10.548 --> 00:25:11.868
<v Speaker 1>How do we make sense of that?

00:25:11.868 --> 00:25:20.355
<v Speaker 1>I believe there's there's three different ways and that we can, as believers, that we can make sense of suffering and evil in the world today.

00:25:20.355 --> 00:25:46.933
<v Speaker 1>And I think that the Christian worldview and the, the, the, the, the Christian worldview found in scripture and the truths found in scripture make the most sense to me and this is why I'm ultimately not an atheist Is because the alternatives to the Christian worldview make less sense to me, I think, than what, than what the Christian worldview says.

00:25:46.933 --> 00:25:51.015
<v Speaker 1>So three ways to make sense of suffering in the world as believers.

00:25:51.964 --> 00:25:55.734
<v Speaker 1>Number one God created you and I with free will.

00:25:55.734 --> 00:25:59.366
<v Speaker 1>God created us with free will and meaning.

00:25:59.366 --> 00:26:07.595
<v Speaker 1>By this I mean that God created us and he's created us with the freedom to choose right and wrong, to choose between good and evil.

00:26:07.595 --> 00:26:12.053
<v Speaker 1>And this all goes back to Genesis, chapter three, in the garden.

00:26:12.053 --> 00:26:20.317
<v Speaker 1>God creates the garden, god creates the world, creates man, woman, adam and Eve, and he commands them.

00:26:20.317 --> 00:26:29.433
<v Speaker 1>He says this to Adam and Eve you may surely eat of every tree of the garden except this one, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

00:26:29.433 --> 00:26:33.634
<v Speaker 1>You shall not eat, for in that day that you eat of it you shall surely die.

00:26:33.634 --> 00:26:39.457
<v Speaker 1>So we see God give them, adam and Eve, choice in in the garden.

00:26:39.457 --> 00:26:42.413
<v Speaker 1>He says you can choose whichever tree you want to eat from.

00:26:42.413 --> 00:26:46.095
<v Speaker 1>Go ahead and choose whichever one you want, except this one.

00:26:46.095 --> 00:26:47.390
<v Speaker 1>And he said some boundaries for them.

00:26:47.390 --> 00:26:52.795
<v Speaker 1>He said the day that you eat of this certain tree, you will surely die.

00:26:52.795 --> 00:27:04.807
<v Speaker 1>And we see them have that free choice and yet actively choose to disobey God and to choose evil.

00:27:04.807 --> 00:27:13.795
<v Speaker 1>But ever since Adam and Eve, humans have continued to make the same choice to choose to do evil.

00:27:13.795 --> 00:27:18.929
<v Speaker 1>God has given us free choice.

00:27:18.929 --> 00:27:28.031
<v Speaker 1>The suffering that Moses witnessed and much of the suffering that we see today is a direct outcome of humans choosing evil.

00:27:29.684 --> 00:27:45.191
<v Speaker 1>So Oscar, my son he's young enough that I can use this example, I think Finally, at home we've been trying to teach him to not touch our houseplants and he's just like obsessed with these houseplants, and Christy is too, so they're everywhere.

00:27:45.191 --> 00:27:53.454
<v Speaker 1>He tries to touch him and when he tries to, when he goes to touch the houseplants, we'll tell him no, no.

00:27:53.454 --> 00:28:07.576
<v Speaker 1>And he's learned very quickly what no means, because he'll sometimes reach out and touch it, like a little snap on the finger, just to teach him what no means.

00:28:07.576 --> 00:28:28.885
<v Speaker 1>And sometimes, like he's come to the place where he knows what no means, but yet he still sometimes chooses, actively chooses, to do what he I think he, I believe he knows not to do, because he'll look at us with like this guilty little look on his face and he'll start saying no to.

00:28:28.885 --> 00:28:35.430
<v Speaker 1>He'll say no, no, no, and reach out no and touch it and look at us with a really guilty face.

00:28:35.430 --> 00:28:52.892
<v Speaker 1>And one time he actually this happened several weeks ago he did this and the plant pot it was a clay pot fell over and like bumped his head and he was crying and it was a big bruise and it was just like it was a bit of a mess.

00:28:58.111 --> 00:29:02.798
<v Speaker 1>Now how could I, as a good dad, allow that to happen?

00:29:02.798 --> 00:29:18.449
<v Speaker 1>Obviously I didn't want it to happen, but I think this is what we ask of God and like let's suppose that somehow I would step in every time he tries to touch that plant.

00:29:18.449 --> 00:29:22.727
<v Speaker 1>I could just magically appear out of nowhere and like get between him and the plant and just stop him.

00:29:22.727 --> 00:29:29.869
<v Speaker 1>Or suppose I could, every time he's tempted to touch this plant, suppose this plant would just magically disappear.

00:29:29.869 --> 00:29:32.586
<v Speaker 1>Suppose I could.

00:29:32.586 --> 00:29:34.570
<v Speaker 1>Just I would take away every.

00:29:34.570 --> 00:29:49.595
<v Speaker 1>I could completely take away his ability to choose to touch the plant, and I could do that for every other thing that he's tempted to do wrong, even as he gets older.

00:29:49.595 --> 00:29:54.193
<v Speaker 1>I could just take away his ability to choose to do that thing.

00:29:54.193 --> 00:29:58.673
<v Speaker 1>That would, fundamentally, he would no longer be a human.

00:29:59.845 --> 00:30:03.473
<v Speaker 1>God has created us with the ability to choose right and wrong.

00:30:03.473 --> 00:30:09.476
<v Speaker 1>If he did not have the choice to do that, he would be a robot or just a machine.

00:30:09.476 --> 00:30:13.455
<v Speaker 1>What sets us as humans, as God's creation.

00:30:13.455 --> 00:30:27.055
<v Speaker 1>What makes us so unique as God's creatures and his creation is that he has given us the ability to choose between right and wrong, and this is the foundation for a relationship with him and relationship with each other.

00:30:27.055 --> 00:30:41.809
<v Speaker 1>Is that love and relationship is foundational to a love-based relationship is the ability to choose, to choose each other, to choose God.

00:30:41.809 --> 00:30:49.969
<v Speaker 1>We can either choose or reject.

00:30:49.969 --> 00:30:53.355
<v Speaker 1>Choose love or reject God and others.

00:30:54.664 --> 00:30:56.529
<v Speaker 1>So in this it's the story of Moses.

00:30:56.529 --> 00:30:57.593
<v Speaker 1>How does this all connect here?

00:30:57.593 --> 00:31:08.414
<v Speaker 1>Moses had free will, he had the ability to choose and he chose to rebel against God, and we're going to see God give him chance after chance after chance to change his mind.

00:31:08.414 --> 00:31:13.255
<v Speaker 1>But Pharaoh had free will and chose to oppress the Hebrews and not let them go.

00:31:13.255 --> 00:31:17.933
<v Speaker 1>So the suffering of the Hebrews was a direct result of Pharaoh's evil, not God's.

00:31:17.933 --> 00:31:23.374
<v Speaker 1>It was a result of Pharaoh's evil, not God's.

00:31:23.374 --> 00:31:28.847
<v Speaker 1>So that was the first, I guess first, of three ways that we can sort of make sense of suffering in the world as believers.

00:31:31.287 --> 00:31:35.035
<v Speaker 1>Secondly, god sees the big picture.

00:31:35.035 --> 00:31:46.990
<v Speaker 1>God sees the big picture and this, I think is is what he asks us to trust.

00:31:46.990 --> 00:31:48.252
<v Speaker 1>He asks us to trust in him.

00:31:48.252 --> 00:31:51.428
<v Speaker 1>So, like we look around the world today.

00:31:51.428 --> 00:32:08.045
<v Speaker 1>We see the suffering, the wars in Ukraine and in Israel, the horrible atrocities that happened in Israel, the way that people were just butchered and just awful suffering there, see hurricanes, earthquakes.

00:32:08.045 --> 00:32:13.803
<v Speaker 1>Just last night I read about a tornado in Tennessee that killed six people and a little boy.

00:32:13.803 --> 00:32:32.148
<v Speaker 1>I think we look around, we ask the question and actually, even closer to home, like our neighbor just her dad just died last week we have loved ones, friends who are suffering from things like cancer or other terminal illnesses.

00:32:32.148 --> 00:32:44.205
<v Speaker 1>Maybe somebody cheats you financially or in business, or like some dream comes to an end or dies and you're just like we don't get it.

00:32:44.205 --> 00:32:48.184
<v Speaker 1>We don't understand why and we don't understand how, why this makes.

00:32:48.184 --> 00:32:49.589
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, what to do with that?

00:32:49.589 --> 00:33:01.047
<v Speaker 1>But I think something that can help us is that is trusting that God sees the big picture and knows the why behind the suffering that's happening.

00:33:10.180 --> 00:33:14.191
<v Speaker 1>Moses had certain expectations as he came in to meet Pharaoh.

00:33:14.191 --> 00:33:15.945
<v Speaker 1>We saw him in like the first verse.

00:33:15.945 --> 00:33:25.728
<v Speaker 1>He came in with a boldness and almost like a confidence, like okay, I'm just gonna say this thing, and like he had expectations of how this was gonna work out and clearly it didn't work out how Moses wanted it to.

00:33:25.728 --> 00:33:32.847
<v Speaker 1>Moses didn't see the future and he didn't know what God knew.

00:33:32.847 --> 00:33:49.044
<v Speaker 1>God knew the big picture, he knew what was gonna come to pass in the short future and the near future, and God's plans were so much there's so much bigger than his plans and his purposes are so much bigger than ours or than Moses's.

00:33:49.044 --> 00:33:54.464
<v Speaker 1>He says my ways are higher than your ways, my thoughts than your thoughts.

00:33:54.464 --> 00:34:26.081
<v Speaker 1>And what God was calling Moses to do, and what God calls you and I to do, when we're either experiencing suffering or when we see it, is to trust his goodness, to trust that he is good, to trust him, to trust that he is sovereign and that he's in control, even when it doesn't feel like he's in control to us, and to trust that he sees the big picture and he has an ultimate purpose and a plan for the suffering All right.

00:34:26.101 --> 00:34:37.668
<v Speaker 1>Thirdly, god will ultimately eliminate suffering, and I think this is the great hope for the believer, that this is the great hope for the Christian.

00:34:37.668 --> 00:34:41.929
<v Speaker 1>Right after Moses asked God why have you done this evil?

00:34:41.929 --> 00:35:02.188
<v Speaker 1>We see chapter six, the first half of chapter six, God reissues his promise to deliver his people, and we'll see later on how that God will ultimately deliver his people out of Egypt and destroy the Egyptians in the Red Sea.

00:35:02.188 --> 00:35:38.065
<v Speaker 1>God will ultimately eliminate suffering, and that was a promise for Moses and the Hebrews in Egypt, and it's also the promise for us in the world of chaos and suffering and evil, is that God will ultimately completely rid the world of suffering, of pain, of death, of evil, of evil acts, people, and he has already begun that work in Jesus, and so it's ultimately the purpose.

00:35:38.179 --> 00:35:45.648
<v Speaker 1>Why Jesus came to earth is that he came to earth to defeat evil and death and suffering.

00:35:45.648 --> 00:35:54.567
<v Speaker 1>And what's amazing is that in confronting evil and defeating evil, he took that evil upon himself.

00:35:54.567 --> 00:36:01.092
<v Speaker 1>He took the evil of Hitler, of Hamas, every school shooter.

00:36:01.092 --> 00:36:05.851
<v Speaker 1>He took your evil, your sin, my sin.

00:36:05.851 --> 00:36:14.411
<v Speaker 1>He took all of that upon himself and then he drank the cup of God's wrath.

00:36:14.411 --> 00:36:17.467
<v Speaker 1>God's poured out for evil on evil.

00:36:17.467 --> 00:36:20.523
<v Speaker 1>He drank all of that.

00:36:20.523 --> 00:36:34.844
<v Speaker 1>The payment for that evil and we know how that story ends is that he rose again from the dead and in doing so he defeated the power of suffering, of evil and of Satan.

00:36:35.661 --> 00:36:48.027
<v Speaker 1>The Satan is the originator of evil and of suffering, and Jesus has given us victory over evil.

00:36:48.027 --> 00:37:06.463
<v Speaker 1>He's filled us with the Holy Spirit and he's left us with the Holy Spirit and it's the Holy Spirit that can help you and I to overcome evil in our own lives and sin the power of sin is the spirit of God within us that can help us overcome that.

00:37:06.463 --> 00:37:16.043
<v Speaker 1>And we have the future promise that he will come again and he will ultimately rid the world of evil in new creation.

00:37:16.043 --> 00:37:23.885
<v Speaker 1>We have the promise that he will return and ultimately do away with that.

00:37:23.885 --> 00:37:34.853
<v Speaker 1>So all the pharaohs, the Hitler's, the Hamas', every knee shall bow and proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord.

00:37:34.853 --> 00:37:47.947
<v Speaker 1>That's the promise that we have, is that Jesus will return and make all things new and completely eliminate and destroy evil.

00:37:47.947 --> 00:38:13.635
<v Speaker 1>So that's a hope for the believer, that's a hope for you and I is that when I see suffering in the world, when I see evil, when I see what Hamas did, or when I see what's going on in Ukraine, it does not, while I can understand the struggles that people have with how can God live with?

00:38:13.635 --> 00:38:16.708
<v Speaker 1>That ultimately does not drive me away from God.

00:38:16.708 --> 00:38:22.630
<v Speaker 1>It draws me towards him, because Jesus, god, god, jesus.

00:38:22.630 --> 00:38:35.967
<v Speaker 1>The story that we cling to, the hope that we cling to, is that God has the answers for that, and he has already and will continue to eliminate the evil in the world.

00:38:41.139 --> 00:38:54.293
<v Speaker 1>The season of the Christmas season we're in right now and, frankly, you let us this morning with a little bit of a maybe like an advent type worship service.

00:38:54.293 --> 00:39:19.688
<v Speaker 1>I think the song Veiled in Darkness, judea Lay portrays this picture, this reality that we're in right now so well Veiled in darkness, judea Lay, waiting for the promised day, while across the shadowy night streamed a flood of glorious light, heavenly voices chanting then peace on earth, goodwill to men.

00:39:19.688 --> 00:39:25.331
<v Speaker 1>And verse two still the earth in darkness lies.

00:39:25.331 --> 00:39:29.791
<v Speaker 1>We see that the earth, darkness all around us.

00:39:29.791 --> 00:39:41.445
<v Speaker 1>Up from death's dark veil arise voices of a world in grief, prayers of men who seek relief and just a prayer to God.

00:39:41.445 --> 00:39:43.586
<v Speaker 1>Now our darkness pierce again.

00:39:43.586 --> 00:39:48.166
<v Speaker 1>Peace on earth, goodwill to men, light of light we humbly pray.

00:39:48.166 --> 00:39:50.724
<v Speaker 1>Shine upon your world today.

00:39:50.724 --> 00:39:53.246
<v Speaker 1>Break the gloom of our dark night.

00:39:53.246 --> 00:39:55.324
<v Speaker 1>Fill our souls with love and light.

00:39:55.324 --> 00:40:00.005
<v Speaker 1>Send your blessed word again peace on earth, goodwill to men.

00:40:00.005 --> 00:40:09.304
<v Speaker 1>That's Moses heart.

00:40:09.304 --> 00:40:15.148
<v Speaker 1>God, do away with his suffering, deliver your people, rescue us.

00:40:18.360 --> 00:40:22.402
<v Speaker 1>Just a couple closing comments based on the text.

00:40:22.402 --> 00:40:28.523
<v Speaker 1>We see God reiterate his promise to deliver his people, like this is gonna happen.

00:40:28.523 --> 00:40:31.844
<v Speaker 1>This is gonna happen and he's going to move.

00:40:31.844 --> 00:40:35.085
<v Speaker 1>We just have to be patient and trust him.

00:40:35.085 --> 00:40:45.523
<v Speaker 1>And then he commands, reissues the command and the charge to go back to Pharaoh and confront him, give him the God's message.

00:40:45.523 --> 00:40:48.978
<v Speaker 1>We have the genealogies in the last half of chapter 6.

00:40:48.978 --> 00:41:05.485
<v Speaker 1>And then the first seven verses of chapter 7 are God reissuing his command and explaining what's going to happen when they go back to Pharaoh.

00:41:05.485 --> 00:41:15.505
<v Speaker 1>So we end the sermon today with Moses and Aaron like they're getting ready to go back for a second time to Pharaoh.

00:41:15.505 --> 00:41:31.686
<v Speaker 1>And the next three to four chapters are, I guess, the ultimate showdown between God and Pharaoh, between God and the gods of Pharaoh.

00:41:31.686 --> 00:41:50.443
<v Speaker 1>So that's where we close today and I think this sermon is incredibly hopeful for us, especially going into the Christmas time, is that we have a deliverer who saved us and who has the answers for suffering and for evil in the world today.

00:41:52.635 --> 00:41:54.340
<v Speaker 1>Let's pray and I'll turn the time over to Sean.

00:41:54.340 --> 00:42:01.217
<v Speaker 1>Father, we come before you in Jesus' name.

00:42:01.217 --> 00:42:14.684
<v Speaker 1>We're so grateful to you right now that you have the answers for our lives, that you have ultimately saved us from the grip of sin and Satan and evil.

00:42:14.684 --> 00:42:26.889
<v Speaker 1>Lord, we see so much darkness in the world around us today and we cling to the hope and the promise that you will redeem and restore this broken world.

00:42:26.889 --> 00:42:39.889
<v Speaker 1>We thank you for Jesus and for the sacrifice of Jesus, for pouring out his life on our behalf and on behalf of just the brokenness that's in the world today.

00:42:39.889 --> 00:42:44.458
<v Speaker 1>Lord, we look to you with expectation and with hope.

00:42:44.458 --> 00:42:51.889
<v Speaker 1>We look forward to your coming when you will ultimately destroy and do away with evil entirely and make all things new.

00:42:51.889 --> 00:42:56.318
<v Speaker 1>So we look to you with expectation.

00:42:56.318 --> 00:42:57.740
<v Speaker 1>In Jesus' name, I pray Amen.