This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alpharetta, Georgia. It is our prayer that you'll be blessed by the preaching of God's word. In Exodus 11, we're going to get there and we're going to look at the last of the 10 plagues. We're leaving the plagues. The pastor's been preaching, speaking of which, I'm glad to have my special guest here with me today, my pastor. In all these years, I don't know how many few times I've been standing here when he's sitting there. And I am a little bit nervous, but hopefully he's less nervous than I am. Because it used to be when I preached, he was more nervous than I was. So hopefully the balance has changed a little bit. And as I get more nervous, the less crazy things I'll say. The pastor has been teaching on the plagues, and he's about to take us into the Passover, and we're going to look at that in detail in chapter number 12. It's spoken to Moses here in chapter 11, and he's told, now you need to go tell the people what's going to happen. You need to go tell Pharaoh what's going to happen. And that is not an easy thing given for somebody to do. So I want us to look specifically at the characteristic of what it would take in a person like Moses The be the type of man that would stand stand there and deliver that type of message in his setting Because pastor just got done preaching on sunday a wonderful message which will be a hallmark in our church about we want to There's a certain thing. We're looking to produce and that is people that can boldly proclaim the gospel, that we are going to produce men, goers and senders, that preach the gospel, that are disciple-makers. As senders that go on Sender Night, we can't say that we're senders because we give twenty dollars and a missionary has to give their life to be a missionary. The level ground here is that we both are disciple-makers. So I could say I may not go, but I have a work to do here. Well, the work that I have to do here is the same work they have to go and do which is to produce disciples. But since I live on the part of the world that is overabundant in resources, I also have the responsibility of channeling resources to them as I'm making disciples. So we do well when we look at a characteristic of somebody like Moses and say, how did he stand before Pharaoh? How did he stand before the children of Israel and give such a strong message? Because that's the type of people we have to be if we want to send out people, if we want those teenagers up there and those kids and the people on the back wall to be the type of Christians that can stand and say, thus saith the Lord to a perverse and wicked generation. So if you didn't know, the last couple of days it snowed here in Atlanta. I told Vince, I said you would do well not to say anything about Southerners not being able to drive in the snow. We don't want to talk about that because it's not true and I don't have enough time to explain why it's not true there. But I was amazed, I'm getting to the message here, on the Facebook yesterday, a page came up A lady created it, and like 21,000 people joined it, and it was a way of connecting pieces of information. People that were stranded on the road were being connected with other people that were, they were saying, hey, I have a couch that you can stay on if you're down in Roswell. And people were reaching out, and it was fairly moving to read that, as I'm at home drinking hot chocolate. there as I'm reading about these other people. But as I read, I'm thinking, man, these people are doing great things. And this lady, they're saying she's such a great hero and all that. I don't know about all that. It's pretty easy to create a Facebook page. But she created a wonderful platform where people with some information were getting information to the people where it really mattered. I mean, the fact that there's a kind person that works with the National Guard on Marietta Street doesn't matter to you most of the time. until you have a loved one who's broken down half a block from there, then the news matters. And so the lady really assisted the community by giving this platform where information went back and forth, the people. Well, you know, we have such a greater job because we are that go-between between God and man. Not in the sense that the Pope or somebody that creates information, but we are the people that have been given the words of God. And he says, now go and speak that to a people that need the information. It's urgent and it's a timely message. And it's a wonderful thing that we get to do. So before we get to 11 in Exodus chapter number 3, he told him what was going to happen. He said, Moses, I'm going to work this out so they're going to throw you out of there. Don't worry about getting let go. I am going to make it so that Pharaoh sends you packing out of the city. And he says, on your way out, They're going to let you borrow some stuff. They're going to let you have some stuff from all those years of work, and they're just going to give you stuff because they're going to see what your God is doing. So that's back in chapter number 3. Now we're in chapter number 11, and he's got to be wondering. And we know in chapter number 5, verse 23, it says, For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, He hath done evil to his people, neither hast thou delivered thy people at all. He goes to God in prayer and says, God, since I said that message you told me to tell the Pharaoh, things aren't working out so good. It doesn't look like he's going to send us on our way with a parting gift. It looks like we're all going to die. Are you sure this is what you wanted me to do? Verse number 28 of the chapter, the suspense builds all the way up to that. And in chapter number, or I'm sorry, in verse number 10 there, in a chapter before in chapter 10 of verse 28. And Pharaoh said unto him, Get thee from me, take ye to thyself, see my face no more, for in that day thou seest my face, thou shalt die. And listen to what Moses says. Moses said, Thou hast spoken well, I will see thy face again no more. The sessence builds, the camera pans over the shoulder of the person. And we're about to get to a climax here in the story. Moses says, I don't want to see your face no more. And Moses says, that's OK, because that's God's plan. You're not going to see me anymore. And then God says, Moses, I got one more plague that I need you to speak for me for. I have one more plague, and verse number one there, Yet I will bring one more, I will bring one plague more, and he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether." Now as you're reading here, we don't know exactly when this comes to Moses. We know it's happened after the other plagues, the ninth plague, but somewhere between that ninth plague and the tenth plague, maybe as he's standing there in that spot in front of Pharaoh, God says, I have one more plague that I want you to tell everybody about, that I'm going to come there and I'm going to kill the Otis And can you imagine, as we read the Bible, some of you are reading faster than others, but no matter how fast or slow you're reading, it seems to go pretty quick. I can imagine as Moses is standing there in that point, and he says, this is the message I have to deliver to this man right now, the man that's already mad at me for the other nine plagues and all that's going on. You want me to say what to them? And he says, I want you to tell them that there's one more plague coming And in this, they're going to throw you out of that. And so there's an assignment given to them. In chapter number six, he tells Moses what he's going to do and he's going to be forced out. And then he reminds Moses that God is not going to forsake him. And then in that same chapter, this is what God says to Moses. He says, I will bring you out. I will rescue you from bondage. I will redeem you. I will take you as my people. I will be your God. I will bring you to land. I will give you a heritage. And He says, Moses, I want you to know that I am going to do the work. You don't have to figure out how He's going to throw you out. You don't have to figure out how to cross the sea. I just want you to speak, and I don't even want you to come up with it. I'm going to tell you what to say, and I'm going to give you favor in the land so that people will listen to you, but all you have to do is to speak there. And then He has the job as a messenger that He instructs the people of Israel in Ezekiel 20, verses 5 through 9, He goes on, we're told here that the people of Israel, their hearts begin to turn away from God, and they begin to look at Pharaoh as if he is more powerful. Verse 7 of Ezekiel 20, it says, Then I said unto thee, Cast ye away every man the abomination of his eyes, and the fowl, not yourselves, with the idols of Egypt. I am the Lord your God, and they rebelled against me, and would not hearken unto me. And they did not every man cast abominations of their eyes. In chapter 6 and verse number 9, it says that they didn't take heed to his teaching. And I want you to know, as he's standing here speaking to Pharaoh, which is hard enough, he has to deliver the same message from God to a group of people who have turned their hearts towards somebody else, towards a group of people that aren't listening to him. Moses stands in a very difficult place as he's there. They had fallen into pagan worship. And it says this inward pressure has caused this anguish, and they're like children, unable to breathe and crying. These people are hyperventilating, that they're so distraught and upset, and He has sent to them, and He is going to give instructions to them, to the children of Israel, and He's going to tell them how to do the Passover, and they're going to continue to do it, and it's going to become so clear to them, that when Jesus arrives on the scene in Matthew chapter number 3, which we've been on, Sunday mornings, they're going to look, John the Baptist is going to say, behold the Lamb of God, And all those people are going to know what he is talking about. And this is going to be full of power because all the way now Moses has been given some instructions that teach the people the Passover. And he's at a very important place in life. He calls Pharaoh to repentance here. So Moses to the children of Israel, he tells them to listen. And now the Pharaoh, he tells them that he must humble himself and repent and that he says that God is going to bring one more plague now. Can you imagine this is the ultimate unpopular message of the day that we see here? You will feel the full weight of sin. is at this point. You know, we often joke about different things. Thatcher went to the dentist last week. You expected a Thatcher story? Here you go. All right? Then I went to the dentist last week, and he had that laughing gas. And I told the dentist, I said, you know, the two most honest people in the world are children and drunk people. So you have some really honest people laying on your table, because they have drunk children all the time there at the dentist. And they said, Thatcher, are you floating? And he said, yeah, that's OK, because the TV's floating also. And so I watched my five-year-old, he's drunk as a skunk there, and he's laying there. And we laughed and joked about it, and we did. But you know something I never joke about? Is an accident where there's a drunk driver involved and he kills somebody. I would never joke about that. Because at that moment, I feel the real weight of alcohol and of that sin. At this moment, where God says, I am going to kill the oldest of every child, in that moment everybody recognized that the weight of sin is heavy, and it's severe, and how God feels about it, and it's not a joking matter at all. And there's Moses standing there all alone, giving this message to people, and that was his job. He said, Thus saith the Lord. God spoke to Moses, Moses went to the people and said, Thus saith the Lord. He went back and forth. You'd never find out what Moses' opinion is on anything. Moses was not very innovative. Moses wasn't very creative. Moses went to the Lord, heard a message, went to a group of people and shared it with them. Then he went to call Pharaoh to repentance and sharing that message, and he just had to stand there. Knowing where you're going to stand and what you're going to say is so very important. A few weeks ago I was at my sister's wedding and my little brother, you would have thought he was singing or performing at the wedding because he was so scared. At one point we told him, my sister is going to be doing the Sand Ceremony, her and her husband, and you're just supposed to get out of the way. Don't get in the way, so just walk over to the corner. Well, my little brother took some tape, and he walked over to a place, and he marked it. And he said, am I out of the way now? And I said, yeah. And he put a piece of tape down. And then he went back to his other place, and he had duct tape, and he put another X right there where to stand. So he said, do I say anything? I said, Todd, have you ever been to a wedding before? I don't think he had. He said, no, you don't say anything. You just stand there, and you stand at this place, and then you go and stand at that place. And he said, well, I got it. I know where my place is. that I am going to stand." Moses knew where his place was standing between God and man, and he knew what he was supposed to say. And I ask you tonight, do you know where you're supposed to stand and what it is that you're supposed to be saying? Those of you that hear from God by reading his word, people of the book, you know that you should share his teaching because you stand in the same place. The only messenger of the wrath of God and hope for Pharaoh would ever have was standing right in front of him. The mouthpiece for God that would warn of the destruction to come and the hope that was offered and the one true God was standing right there, the only one that he would have. And we find that this favor is given to him by God. Verse number three, not only were they given a favor, but it said that the name of Moses had become great, which must be really odd for Moses, because he definitely did not think that he was aiming for that. He said, nobody's going to like me. It reminds me of a preacher I know who says, you're not going to like this, you know. And so as Moses was up there, he would say, you're not going to like this. And every time as he's speaking, And he felt all alone, but he got influence and he got favor. And he didn't seek it, but it was given to him because he was a man in a generation that would speak. And he knew exactly what he was supposed to do with the favor that was given. It's not the kind of influence that you get by being jealous of other people and fighting for. It's not the kind of influence you get by trying to be cool with the people around. It's not the kind of influence we get when we sell out and we compromise with other people. But it's the type of influence that God gives the people that will speak the truth. And when he gives you that influence, you have a purpose. And in that purpose, you're supposed to stand and you're supposed to speak, not of yourself, but you're supposed to speak what has already been spoken to you. And then we see the response in chapter, verse number 11, verse 7, we find here it says, But again, if any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue against man or beast, that he might know that the Lord hath put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel. What's the response to what God said He was going to do? First of all, very simply, it's like God does it. God says, I'm going to make a complete difference between those of those that believe in faith and those that don't believe in faith. The difference is going to be night and day. There was a crying that went through Egypt unlike anything that had been heard or will ever be heard again on that night. And what happens in Israel? Men and ladies sit around the table packed and ready to go as the Passover blood had been shed upon the door and people sleep, not in confidence that they did things right, but in confidence that they have a God that loves them and that obedience there. And Pharaoh is in hell today not for being an evil king, not for any of those things, but because he did not believe in faith in one true God, because he did not obey what was told to him, and that he did not bow his knee, but he did not go to hell without a man standing in front of him, saying, Thus saith the Lord. And in Egypt, and in Pharaoh, all those years ago, that man had greater access to the gospel than nearly three billion people in this world. that will never have anybody stand between God and man, in their language, with all of their heart, say, this is what God has said, thus saith the Lord. Pharaoh responds by disbelief, and he goes. The children of Israel, they obey. They go Passover. Then Moses gets to keep teaching them. They keep obeying, and the relationship there grows. But you know how Moses responds when Pharaoh doesn't respond the way that you would think that he should? It says that Moses became angry, in verse number 8. And the people that followed thee, and after that I will go out. And he went out from Pharaoh in great anger. I don't have the knowledge or the time to explain all that goes into the makeup of Moses' anger. As he stood there in his place, and he gave it all that he had, he had those nine plagues before the shield of the power of God, here comes the tenth one, thus saith the Lord, and he speaks to him, and he doesn't obey, and he says that he leaves in anger. You could say, why is he not angry? And the question that I'd ask you and ask me is like, why is it that we have no emotional response to the fact that we stand in front of people and share the gospel and they don't respond? I don't know what type of anger this is, but I know that it was some kind of response. I know that he wasn't indifferent. I know that he was emotionally, he felt that he gave his all and he stood there because he said, thus saith the Lord. So I believe that he gave his all to it. I believe he did it as if it was real. I believe that he thought that Pharaoh would split hell wide open. I believe that he believed what he was saying as he stood there and he presented what God had given him to do. And so here we have a group of people in this room, and some will go to Argentina, and that's wonderful, and some will stay in this community. But hopefully all of us will be people that, like my little brother, say, where am I supposed to stand, and am I supposed to say anything? I would like to go to work with you and pray and ask God to give me divine revelation, and say, right here by this coffee pot, you're supposed to stand right there, and you're supposed to speak this. In your office here, during this meeting, when you have this influence, because somebody said, hey, I'm having a hard time with my children. That's a God given influence because you're a person of truth. This is what you're supposed to say and mark the spot. Would you go around tomorrow asking God to mark the spot and say, stand here and speak this, Lord, through me. That's what Moses had. And what a wonderful testimony of a man of faith that he had. And as a church, let's build people like that. Men and ladies that would stand in their place and speak what God would have for them. We are both messengers and we see clearly the need to present a high view of God to the unrepentant sinners. We stand together with an open book before a rebellious world. We should see our need to teach our children how to respond to God's word. All the children of Israel hear what Moses says, and you know what they do? They respond. The Word of God is taught, it's preached, and they respond. And so, as you come to church and you bring your children here, and as you're studying the Bible in small groups and different things, and your children see you hearing the Word, they should say, my dad, my mom, they respond when the Word of God is taught. They're not like Pharaoh. They are like people that are driven and moved by the text. here. We also see that repentance is a matter of the heart and no outward circumstances can guarantee it will be produced in the heart of a rebel. We must be people of prayer. This should affect us on a spiritual level, an emotional level, and even a physical level in the fact that it affects how we spend our days. We started the night being challenged by Brother Sean Bateman when he said, Do you pray for me? Will you pray for me? Because it will become a time where he will stand in this place and he will speak the message of God to some Argentine people and they're not going to respond. And all the circumstances ought to cause them to respond, the nine plagues, a faithful servant before them, but they're not going to because it's a matter of the heart. And the Stower family will preach the gospel there in Lexington to the people and they will leave rooms with broken hearts and angry at times if God does not do a work and the hearts of the people. Let me read 2 Corinthians 5.20 here to you tonight. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ as though God did beseech you by us. We pray you in Christ's name be reconciled to God. So if for a moment you thought, well that's a neat story that Moses had a place to stand in his generation and he was supposed to be a messenger, that this is a verse for all Christians that says, you are my ambassadors in this world and that you are there and God did beseech you by us, that God is beseeching this lost and dying world through you. But he can only beseech this lost and dying world if you will stand and speak as he has told us to do. So let's be that type of person. Let's be a man and a woman that will stand. Heavenly Father, thank you for the example here given for Moses. Lord, make us men and women like that, that will stand wherever you call us, near or far away. but we will be people that proclaim your book, even though it's not popular, even though it's not accepted well. Help us have the courage and boldness there. Help us be people, Lord, that will not speak of our own opinions, but people that will say, thus saith the Lord, because you have spoken unto us. This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. For more information, log on to www.visionbaptist.com, where you can find our service times, location, contact information, and more audio and video recordings.