Our Heavenly Father, we do ask that your word may be a blessing to us in this morning hour, as it's read, as it's ministered, and as we respond to it, may your spirit be at work in us, the very spirit who inspired this word to begin with, may he also work in our hearts, may he work in us all, whether it's the word being proclaimed, whether it's being received, whether it's being a word to which we're responding. May it all be done, Lord, to your glory. We'd ask that you'd hear us in Jesus' name. Amen. So, yes, we're going back to Exodus, and we're going back to the 10 plagues, and we're up to the fourth plague today, which is the plague of the flies that we find in Exodus chapter 8, verses 20 through 32. Exodus chapter 8, 20 through 32. Looking today at the impact that's left by God's sign of the flies. The distinction that we see there, the destruction, the deception, as we turn to Exodus chapter 8, verses 20 to 32. Then the Lord said to Moses, rise up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh as he goes out to the water and say to him, thus says the Lord, let my people go that they may serve me. Or else if you will not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants and your people and into your houses. And the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with swarms of flies and also the ground on which they stand. But on that day, I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there. But you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth. Thus I will put a division between my people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall happen." And the Lord did so. There came great swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh and into the servants' houses. Throughout all the land of Egypt, the land was ruined by the swarms of flies. Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, go sacrifice to your God within the land. But Moses said, They would not be right to do so, for the offerings we shall sacrifice to the Lord our God are an abomination to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice offerings abominable to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us? We must go three days' journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as he tells us. Pharaoh said, I will let you go to sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness, only you must not go very far away. Plead for me. Then Moses said, Behold, I am going out from you, and I will plead with the Lord that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people tomorrow. Only let not Pharaoh cheat again by not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord. So Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord. The Lord did as Moses asked and removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants and from his people. Not one remained, but Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also and did not let the people go. We do thank the Lord for his word. Glad that we could read it publicly. May it be a blessing to us this day. Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ. that you may know that the Lord is in the midst of the land. Now that didn't make it into the points of the sermon or the title of the sermon. But it is a striking statement and it's a very relevant statement. It was for then and it is for now in our day as well. The Lord is in the midst. For some in our day, the need to know that the Lord is in the midst is what they need to be consoled and they need to be comforted. that despite what's going on in their lives, God's there. For others in our day, the need to know that the Lord is in the midst is what they need to know so that they may revere the Lord. For knowing that the Lord is in the midst can be a consoling manner for some, both spiritually and physically, but knowing that he is in the midst keeps other people from doing or believing as they please, as if God is far removed from them. It moves people to respect the holiness of God, the presence of God, the need for God, and the salvation of God that we all need in the Lord Jesus Christ for our lives, so that we can live quorum Deo, so that we can live in the presence of God. No doubt that most, if not all of us, would not typically associate flies with the need to be alert to the presence of God in the world. And you see flies flying around, that's not the first thing that you think of, or I do. We certainly don't think of them in terms of reminding ourselves about God and the comfort he brings, or God and the reverence that he deserves. But that's what God used here in Exodus. He called it a sign, it's the sign of the flies, and it was meant to declare to Pharaoh, as he was confronted with his need, and which is the need of all, that he had to bow the knee and he had to confess with the mouth that the covenant God is Lord. That's the very thing that every person is called to do today. That's the relevance of this, to bow the knee, to confess with the mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, Lord of creation, Lord of his church, Lord of salvation, to the glory of God the Father. And that's what brings us into our time, and we remember that. This morning as we continue our series on Exodus and on the 10 plagues, we're focusing our attention then on the impact of the flies, the sign of the flies. the fourth of the plates. And it declared distinction, did this sign, it declared destruction, and Pharaoh responded with deception to it. And of course, his deception and his lack of dependability, according to his word, was in stark contrast to the dependable word of the Lord, of which we can all count on today. So we hope as we look at this passage, we can come away responding with a faith that consoles us as those who believe that God is in our midst, but also challenges us to a renewed reverence, a reverence for God that declares that we live before the face of God all our days in Jesus Christ. So we look first of all at the distinction. God uses the sign of the flies to declare the difference between His people and others who are not His people. What we have with the fourth plague is the first of the second set of plagues. You can really divide the plagues into three, plus the climactic Passover plague, as you might call it. And this is that first plague in the second set of plagues. And being that first of the next set, we do see something new in this new set and in this first play. While there will be flies in Egypt, they won't be found in Goshen, where God's people live. And the Bible says to us here that God makes a distinction, a difference, between His people and Pharaoh's. people. This, I will put, verse 23, a division. Thus I will put a division between my people and your people, because as we read in verse 22, I'm going to set apart the land of Goshen where my people dwell. Now one of the things that the scriptures teach us and that we've been able to hear and that we can say about the Christian life is that the Christian life that we can live is a distinctive life. If you really want to stand out in the world the way that you ought, it should be by living the Christian life, because it's the Christian life that makes a difference. And that's the beauty of the Christian life in part. And I say in part because the only way that this different life, that this life that can make a difference can be that way is because of God. First of all, He is the one that makes a difference in our lives so that our lives can be different. And He does that by being in the midst of His people. You know, we read this in our men's and ladies' Bible studies this past week. It's God who makes the difference by his gospel of grace, by turning people's dead spiritual lives around, right? He makes them alive by his grace, apart from works, in Jesus Christ. He recreates his people, they become his workmanship, and he's the difference maker that way. And because he is, He's able to use what he's created in Christ for his purposes, which he has prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. He makes the difference. And we see that reality, that principle of how God makes the difference in the sign of the flies. If it were not for God, all would be the same. If it wasn't for God, all would remain dead in their trespasses and sins. If it wasn't for God, the flies would be everywhere. But they're not. If it were not for God, there wouldn't be any difference between one person and another. If it wasn't for God, nobody would be treated better than their sins deserve. But that happens here in Exodus, and that happens in people's lives in Jesus Christ all the time. God needs to be in the midst for that to happen, of course. God needs to be in the midst for that essential difference to be made, which is a difference between life and death, between blessing and curse, between all things working together for your good as opposed to all things working against you. God needs to be there. He needs to be there in the lives of his people to make that essential difference in a person's life. It's essential for people in this world in which we live, no matter who we are, to know that God is making the difference in our lives. That's something we all have to be asking ourselves. Is God making the difference in my life? Is He there? We need to know that about our status with Him. Are we no longer condemned? We need to know that about how our lives are unfolding from day to day. And we need to know that about our eternal future. Our contentment needs to be found not in that we're the same as the rest of sinful humanity. Our contentment and our peace and our strength and our courage needs to be found in being able to see that God has made us different. And that He's making us different. And that He'll make us different. from the rest of the world. And that's because he's in our midst. It's a presence that's essential to our lives. If we want our lives to make a difference, When it comes to facing God, facing life, and facing the future, God makes all the difference. That's the gospel. You know, before we know it, we're going to be celebrating the coming of Christ again. Of course, that's really something that should be happening all the time, because that's how we live, is in the joy of Emmanuel. With us is God. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. To hear God say not only to Joshua, but to say to people, be strong, be courageous. And why is that? Because the Lord is with you wherever you go. And when you know that God is with you, you know He's making a difference in your life. And what difference is that? Well, no longer any condemnation for those who are in Christ, no longer dead in sin but alive in Christ, no longer a life of chaos and a life of rebellion, but living for your Savior now, a life of order and obedience, no longer living for nothing, No longer all things working against you as you get up in the morning. You can start the morning and say, if God is for me, who can be against me? What a great way to start the day and to end it. Where God is moving you to see what's in front of you, to see what your world is all about through his eyes and not the eyes of the world. To be different. To be a light to the world rather than to be the world. And why is that? Because God's in your midst. Because God is making a difference in your life. We all have that question to ask ourselves. Has God made that kind of a difference in my life? And if he has, then you can be, and I can be, consoled in the midst of troubling times. Because even there where you may even be walking through the valley of the shadow of death, you need not fear, because God is there. And you know he's there. Because he's made this kind of a difference in your life by grace, and grace alone you are different from the world. And you have reason to be consoled. You have reason to get here and rejoice in the Lord. Because you know that he's made a difference in your life. And you have reason To carry on, you've got reason to persevere. You have reason to get up in the morning. Because the Lord's made a difference in your life. And the Lord's in your midst. The impact of the sign of the flies is also seen in the destruction that occurred. There's distinction, but there's also destruction. We read that the swarms of flies ruined the land. We see that in verse 24, don't we? The flies went everywhere. It didn't matter if you were in Pharaoh's house or you were in the servant's house. You were at the top or you were at the bottom. The flies went there. Throughout all the land, the land was ruined by the swarms of the flies. Pharaoh got what was coming to him. He said through Moses, you go tell Moses, let my people go, because literally he says, if you don't let my people go, then I am going to let go the swarms of flies. You get what you have coming to you. God doesn't punish in a way that isn't commensurate with the crime. He was supposed to let the people go so they could worship him, but because he would not let them go, God would literally let go a swarm of flies to ruin the land. Now, on the surface, when you read that, it can be hard to see how severe this punishment really was. You notice how we've looked before, and we can continue to do that, and you can do that with Scripture anyway, because it's a unit, and it's this revelation that's progressing from Genesis to Revelation, right? So you can always go forward, you can always go back, and everything holds together. And you can do that here, again, and we've done that before, where you're looking at Exodus, you can go back to Genesis and gain insight from what's going on here in Exodus. Now, the very first few times that you ever hear this word ruin being used in the Old Testament and in Genesis has to do with two significant events. One of them is the flood, and the other one is the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. If you went back to Genesis 6, you'd read about how the people were corrupt before the flood. and how God then brought destruction on the earth and on mankind. They got what they had coming to them, just like Pharaoh. And it's the same word that was used to speak of the punishment that came to the corrupted cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. We also hear that God would no longer destroy, he would no longer ruin the world by sending a flood. And so, This gives you a little bit of an idea then, when now finally that word gets used again in the Bible, about how severe these punishments were. How severe this punishment was. This ruinous impact arose from the ruinous ways of Pharaoh. You could say the land was corrupted because of the corruption of Pharaoh. And he was reaping what he was sowing. because his ways weren't the ways of the Lord. And yet that ruinous, destructive way was not only pointing backwards, so you say, okay, now I can see how bad this was. But there was also coming a greater destruction. And again, the same words used. And if you went over just a few chapters, you'd know what that ruinous situation was going to be. Because in chapter 12, verse 13, you read about what that ruin is going to be. The blood is going to be posted as a sign on the houses. And then we hear God say there, when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, to ruin you when I strike the land. So the ruining, that sign of destruction that the flies are bringing, is a bit of a forerunner, you see, to the Passover event, when the angel of destruction comes and destroys. Unless, of course, the blood of the lamb had been posted. Now in all these things that we're talking about, when you talk about the flood, or you talk about Sodom and Gomorrah, you talk about the flies, or you talk about the Passover event, while there's destruction in all those places, there's always preservation too, isn't there? Noah's saved from the flood, Lot is saved from the fire, Israel is saved from the flies and the ruin and the death of Passover. The flies remind us that not only how we can be consoled by God's presence, but also the ruinous impact there is in a life that doesn't revere God's presence. You don't want to be in that circle. It lives ruinously and it leads to a ruinous end. And really, that's what you see happening in a non-Christian life. And sad to say, so many people can't even see it in the midst of the ruining that they're carrying out by the faith they have, by the lives they live. And we'd all be in the same boat. were it not for the blood of the Lamb. Because in actuality, only the blood of the Lamb can make the difference, can remove the ruin. It's the blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And you know, really, if you think about it, it's really for the sake of Jesus and in the name of Jesus that Noah was saved from the water, Lot was saved from the fire, Israel from the flies, the angels and the angel of ruin. And what you can conclude from it all is that if you're without Christ, it's a ruinous life. If you're without Christ, it's a ruinous life. And it's that way in time, and it certainly is that way in eternity. It's a ruinous life that will not revere the God of justice nor rejoice in his mercy through Jesus Christ or appreciate it when others are called to do that, which certainly was Pharaoh's thing, right? He did not appreciate worshiping the Lord. He didn't appreciate that anybody else had to worship the Lord because he didn't see the mercy of the Lord. So yeah, the sign of the flies points to that ruin when we're without Christ. But briefly, we also see the deception as an impact in the sign of the flies. And I think we can appreciate this, too, what's going on here, this bargaining that Pharaoh is carrying out. Pharaoh had kind of a foxhole of religion for the moment, when things were going poorly for him. And you know what that is, of course. When things are going bad, some people find temporary spiritual relief. They find temporary religion. And they start making bargains with God. And that's what Pharaoh's doing here. You know, for some who are afraid to die, they may suddenly find religion, but will it last? That's always the question, and it doesn't here with Pharaoh, of course. Now, not everybody's like that when, you know, bad things happen. Not everybody looks up, you know, even temporarily, because for other people, when things go bad, they say, well, I just want to show you that you can't put your trust in God. But Pharaoh's ready to bargain with God. What happens with the bargaining, of course, is that while God keeps his word, Pharaoh does not. And as soon as he gets what he wants from God, then he figures he can turn his back on God, ignore him, and forget him until, unless he needs him some other time, maybe. And Pharaoh's not unique that way. It's a tempting thing to be. You know, when life's good, why do I need to listen to God? I see Him as somebody who needs to listen to me and to help me when it suits me, but then I really don't have much use for Him. God's there to grant my wishes, and I'm His master, and I'm my own. And of course, that can happen in the church as well, right? You know, the church can be a place where people say, well, you know, when I need the church, I'll use it. But once I'm done with that, and once the church has given me what I wanted, I really don't have much use of the church. It's along that same principle. The church is there for me. God is there for me. But I'm not there for God. But Moses does for Pharaoh what the church still does. And of course, we did it today again. He intercedes for the sake of the powerful, even though they may never acknowledge God themselves, even though the fear of God might not ever be in their hearts. But as followers of Christ who have known what it meant for us to know his Christ's intercession, we hear that calling, right, to be reflections of Christ. If, as followers of Christ, we don't pray for other people, powerful or not, believers or not, then who is going to pray for them? Who can pray for them? Only those who pray in Jesus' name. But you notice something here, too, that, you know, the powerful come and go. That's a good thing. Because I know talking with you people and talking with other people, you know, there's a fear out there of the powerful. There's a fear out there about who gets the reins of the power. Because You're afraid, and it's an understandable thing, about what people are going to do with their power. And can you trust them with the power? And you know, over the course of history, that you can't always trust the powerful. But you can always trust. the word and the sovereignty of God in Jesus Christ. And that's partly what we're here to learn from this passage. And that's especially consoling when you may fear the word of the politician. Or the lack of integrity of the politician. But that's the stability that we can have in turbulent times. It's the stability of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, whose Word you can always depend upon. My friends, if you're like me, I normally don't see the good in flies. Don't. But not in this case. Flies of Exodus are a different story. They tell a different story because they're God's signs. And they are signs that declare the gracious difference he makes in the lives of his people in Jesus Christ. And they are signs that guard us against the ruinous, irreverent life of unbelief. And they are signs that remind you and me that you will never have to regret putting your confidence in God's dependable Word. These are signs that God is in the midst. of whatever's going on in your life. And what good news that is when we know God is there for us in Jesus Christ. Amen. Let's respond in prayer, shall we? Heavenly Father, it's good to be able to receive your word today. and for the sign of the flies. Remind us of how you make a difference in our lives and to guard us against irreverence and to realize that we never have to regret putting our confidence in the sovereign God whose Son has all authority. May we find ourselves, Father, appreciating what this sign of the flies is meant to convey that way, so that in turbulent times, in troubled times, we may be consoled and we may be strengthened to believe, again, that you're in our midst. You make all the difference for us. And we have every reason to be strong and courageous to follow you and to rest in you. We know that you make all the difference in our lives when you're in our lives. Accept our prayers, dear Father, for the sake of Jesus.