Good morning and welcome to our, if I'm not mistaken, 13th Sunday apart from one another from our church location. And we welcome you to this service and thank God that you're able to join us today. And if you want to turn your Bibles to Exodus chapter 9, that's our text. this morning, Exodus chapter nine. Trust God's giving you a good week this past week. This is the first day of the week, Sunday, and our opportunity to give to God first place. And so praise God again that you've chosen to do that and obey God and be in here for our Sunday morning service, and maybe our Sunday school class as well, and maybe our Zoom Bible study tonight. But anyway, it's good to have you with us today. I've enjoyed the Sunday school classes that I've been able to see that my wife is teaching online and our family's routine. Obviously, we have our Zoom meetings on Wednesday night and Sunday night with our church. But then on Thursday night, we watch our Thursday night classes. The younger ones in my office watching my wife's lesson and then our family in our living room watching the Thursday night Bible study and right now in Hebrews. And then on Sunday, Sunday morning, we have our we all watch the Sunday school class together. And then we watch the Sunday morning service together and at our normal Sunday morning times. And so that's what our family has been doing. during this time. But I've enjoyed being back in Sunday school. And I haven't sat in children's Sunday school class for a long time. And so it's been nice to get back to that. Our text this morning, Exodus chapter 9, is one of the great Sunday school stories from our Sunday school years. It's a story of the Exodus that takes place. Obviously, the name of the book is Exodus. But it begins with Moses' call at the burning bush and God raising up a deliverer in Moses that would go back and lead God's people out of the land of Egypt. Now, God had said to Abraham, even back in his day, that his people, his offspring, would go into bondage and that they would be there for a certain time And the preacher Stephen preaching about that in the book of Acts in chapter 7 and verse 6, he says, "'and the nation to whom they shall be in bondage "'will I judge,' said God, "'and after that shall they come forth "'and serve me in this place.'" And so God said this is gonna happen and there's gonna be the severe judgment that comes. And again, as Moses came, he was the spokesperson about God's judgment. And that judgment is the stories that we love, especially as children, of the plagues that take place in Egypt. They're horrible realities. and yet make for a very interesting Sunday school lesson. And so we have the story of the plague of the blood in Exodus 7 verse 19. And the Lord spake unto Moses saying, say unto Aaron, take thy rod and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon the rivers, upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood, that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone. And again, if you were a child in that day and you lived in that day, you would come in and there would be a cistern or a vessel that had water in it. And you'd look inside and rather than seeing water, there'd be blood. And if you poured it out, it would be blood. And they had to dig around the river to try to get water so that they could drink. And then the plague of the frogs. In Exodus 8, verse 3, it says, And if you're not familiar with the story, it's one plague at a time, and then God removes it, and then another plague, and then God removes it. And every time, God is seeking to get Pharaoh to yield and to let his people go and obey him and worship him. And yet Pharaoh is refusing, so God just keeps increasing the punishment. So this is everywhere in your house and even in your bed, you've got these frogs that are there. And then the lice and the gnats. Exodus 8, verse 16, the Lord said unto Moses, say unto Aaron, stretch out thy rod and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt. And again, a very horrible, judgment that God sends as there's all this lice that is there. And then the flies, in chapter 8 verse 24 says the land was corrupted by reason of the flies. And after the flies, then the livestock are judged. In Exodus 9 verse 3 it says, Behold, the hand of the Lord is upon the cattle, which is in the field, and it's not just speaking about cows, but livestock. Upon the horses, upon the donkeys, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep there shall be a very grievous murraying. And all the cattle of Egypt, in this case, of these different types of animals, are going to die. And yet God would spare the cattle of the Israelites. And then the Boyle's judgment, where God says, And in Exodus 9 verse 9, it shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt and shall be a boil breaking forth with blains upon men and upon beasts throughout all the land of Egypt. Now the seventh judgment that we come to is the judgment of the hail. And that is our text this morning. So we're going to pass that and just give an account for what is coming after our story. And that is the plague of the locusts. In Exodus 10 verse 12, the Lord said unto Moses, stretch out thine hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts that they may come up upon the land of Egypt and eat every herb of the land, even all that the hail hath left. And even recently, I've seen it in the news where they're speaking about a plague of locusts that has come in some country, I think in Africa, and they said it's of biblical proportions because the world knows about these judgments that God sent. And then darkness, Exodus 10 verse 21, the Lord said to Moses, stretch out thy hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt. And that is an intense darkness that is perceptive. You can't see it because it's dark, but it is that oppressive darkness. And then the death of the firstborn, except for those that had the blood of the doorpost on their doors, the Israelites as they took the lamb and lived with that lamb and then killed that lamb and then ate that lamb in obedience to God and took the blood and put it on the doorpost. And when the death angel came, if the death angel sent from God saw the blood, the death angel passed over. Except for obviously in the case of the Egyptians who did not have the blood. And so Exodus 12 verse 30 says, And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians. And there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not in house where there was not one dead. And again, it's a horrible judgment. It makes for a good Sunday school lesson in talking about these different plagues that took place and how awful they were. But they're interesting in Sunday school. In life, they're grievous, the things that were taking place that God was bringing upon Egypt and the king of Egypt to convince him to let his people, the children of Israel, the Hebrews, go free. Dr. Bob Senior has a good quote. He said this, your arms too short to box with God. But Pharaoh thought he would try. He thought he'd lift up his fists and try to fight with God and Pharaoh lost. You wonder as you read this story why Pharaoh didn't just get right with God and just submit. And as these judgments are coming, just bow the knee and say, okay, I am gonna obey God and what God says I will do. Our text this morning again is Exodus chapter 9, and we see that God in his mercy gave Pharaoh ample warning about this. He sent him a preacher, and if you look at verse 13, it says, And the Lord said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him. And you look at Again, the mercy of God, and we'll see this at different times in this text, that God sent him a preacher, and God sent him to him early, and he is sent directly to him, and he had a message from God for him. And I wonder today how many people are in hell that had the same mercy from God. The preacher came early. It might have been that Sunday school lesson that many remember of sitting in and listening and hearing about God and hearing even these stories about what God did here. But God, again, in their life even reached out to them early. The preacher came to them. God's messenger might have knocked on their door. It might have been a preacher or a Sunday school teacher or somebody encouraging that person to be faithful to God and to get out of church, out to church. The preacher told them a message from God, but they didn't get right with God and respond to it. But God in his mercy gave Pharaoh ample warning. He sent him a preacher and the preacher told him what God wanted him to do. It says, thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, let my people go that they may serve me. This is a very simple instruction. Pharaoh, this is what you need to do. Let my people go. And Pharaoh could have yielded to God. But in yielding to God, Pharaoh would have to give up control of his kingdom. He was king. Nobody told Pharaoh what to do. So Pharaoh would have to yield to a greater authority, the authority of God. And then Pharaoh would have to let go of something that he didn't want to let go of. But what he wouldn't let go of was what was going to hurt him. Again, how many people today refuse to get right with God because they have to give up control of their kingdom, their king, their authority. They don't want to submit to a greater authority, and they have things in their life that are keeping them from surrender. They're things that they don't want to let go of that God says to let go of, and those things are going to hurt them. Sadly, it wasn't worth it to Pharaoh to hold on to those things, and it's not worth it for any man. The preacher told him what God wanted him to do. And then the preacher warned what God would do if Pharaoh didn't get right. It says in verse 14, for I will, God said, at this time send all my plagues upon thy heart and upon thy servants, upon thy people, that thou mayest know that there's none like me in all the earth. And when God says, I will, man should stop, look and listen and say, if God said it, God is gonna do it. for now I will stretch out my hand that I may smite thee and the people with pestilence and thou shalt be cut off from the earth and in very deed for this cause I have raised thee up for to show indeed my power and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth. Not everybody that's in power as a governmental authority is there because they're a great person or they're a moral person or they believe in God and yet God has put them up there for his purpose and God can take them down from there according to his purpose. Daniel 4.17 says, As we look at our governments that we would rightly say God has given to us because God is the one that has set them up. God is the one that can cast them down, but he's put them there for his purpose. And verse 17 says, As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou will not let them go. It's amazing. I mean, here, this is judgment number seven. You'd think at judgment one or two or three or four that that Pharaoh would have given in, but as yet he had not responded. 18 Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof, even until now. God's wrath is so evident and yet man refuses to yield. and prophetically as well in Revelation when the tribulation is taking place and biblical plagues such as what we read here are taking place again. In fact, in the judgment of God where the hail falls, it says in Revelation 18 verse 21, ìAnd men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, for the plague thereof was exceeding great.î And rather than men yielding to God in Revelation, a lot of times as you read about it, even there as they acknowledge that there is a God, they blaspheme God rather than yielding. And yet God didn't hide from Pharaoh what judgment was coming and God hasn't hidden from mankind what judgment will come. 2 Thessalonians 1 verse 7 says about our future, and to you who are troubled, rest with us. when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power. Very sadly, there's a day coming that this world is gonna face the eternal wrath of God, and believers can rest in the mercy of God when that judgment day comes, but Jesus Christ is gonna come with all authority, and he's gonna punish mankind with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord. Mankind right now has the blessing of God, no matter who they are and where they are, and they've got access to the mercy of God as well. but in hell, they'll be separated from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power. The fact that God right now could save a man from hell. Revelation 20 verse 15 says, and whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. And so God has sent the preacher out. God has sent that declaration about that judgment. The preacher warned what God would do. and the preacher told him how to be spared the judgment of God. It says in verse 19, send therefore now and gather thy cattle and all that thou hast in the field for upon every man and beast which shall be found in the field and shall not be brought home, the hail shall come down upon them and they shall die. And God in his mercy said to his preacher, as you preach this, preach that if you'll obey and fear me, you'll be spared my judgment. My judgment's coming, but if you've got cattle out there and that hill's gonna fall, then all you gotta do is fear me and your cattle can be spared. Despite Pharaoh not responding to God, some of the people of Egypt were wise enough, having heard what God said and seeing what God did, to respond. And so the Bible says in verse 20, he that feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses. And he that regarded not the word of the Lord left his servants and his cattle in the field. And so if somebody feared God, they responded, God said this, I'm gonna obey what God has said and I'm gonna be spared God's judgment. If they didn't fear God, they would pass on and be judged. Let me ask you today, have you begun to fear God? We have a very wicked society, a society that is very perverse against God, and yet being a wicked government or a wicked populace does not make that generation right because they join together against God. Proverbs 16 verse 5 says, Everyone that is proud in heart is abomination to the Lord. Though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished. Are you wise enough to look at the Word of God and say, you know what, I can see that this is true, that the judgment of God is coming. Even COVID-19 is just a taste of what God can do, that God can shut down the world, that God has ultimate power. Are you a wise enough person to respond to that and say, you know what, I fear God, therefore I'm going to make preparations for the judgment that is coming? Psalm 2 verse 1 says, Why do the heathen rage? And the people imagine a vain thing. The kings of the earth set themselves. That means they lock themselves down. And the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed Jesus saying, let us break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us. And that is our society. They are unrestrained. And we're seeing the rebellion of that on our streets. That anarchy that says, I'm going to cast off authority. He that sitteth in the heaven shall laugh. The Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath and vex them in his sword is pleasure. God's wrath has not left. Hell has not disappeared. God isn't worried in heaven thinking, oh no, man's gonna get away with their rebellion against me. God's wrath is coming. It's a wise person that looks at that and says, I got things out there that are gonna be damaged when the wrath of God comes, whether it's family and friends and neighbors or self, I'm gonna get that into a place of safety. God's judgment came just as he said. Verse 22, the Lord said to Moses, stretch forth thine hand toward heaven that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt upon man and upon beast and upon every herb of the field throughout the land of Egypt. And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven and the Lord sent thunder and hail and the fire ran along upon the ground and the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt. So there was hail and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt, since it became a nation, and the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt, all that was in the field, both man and beast, and the hail smote every herb of the field and break every tree of the field. I remember back when I was in high school, I had a good friend who was interested in science, even back then. He's a science teacher at Bob Jones Academy in Greenville, South Carolina now. But he told me back then about something called ball lightning. And it's a phenomenon that has not been verified by scientists and yet there's a lot of stories about this phenomenon where there's basically almost like a ball of lightning in power that floats and comes along and then explodes. And the Bible says here in our story that there was fire mingled with the hail and that it burned up things. You know, as you think about this judgment, it was supernatural, it was everywhere, and it destroyed everything. You know, if you're in the place where God's judgment falls, you will not escape. Hebrews 2 verse 3, we've been studying Hebrews, we just completed Hebrews chapter 2, says, how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? Which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him. If I were to walk down the streets by my house today, I could point after house, after house, after house and say the judgment of God will not miss that. The judgment of God will not miss that. The judgment of God will not miss that because God's judgment is absolutely complete. God's judgment will come just as he said, as it did in our story. And that God's judgment didn't fall on God's people. It says only in the land of Goshen where the children of Israel were. Was there no hell? And I don't know about you, but I want a Goshen postcode. If I was back then and this judgment was coming, I'd say, you know, I want to be where the people of God are that are going to be spared the wrath of God. Let me ask you today, what is your eternal postcode? Do you have that address that is secure, that place where God's wrath is not gonna fall? John chapter 14 verse one says, let not your heart be troubled, Jesus is speaking. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself. That where I am, there you may be also. And whither I go, you know, and the way you know. And so there is a place of eternal security that God has given us. It's heaven. And Jesus is preparing a place there for believers. It is a place away from the wrath of God. It is a place of the blessing of God. And Thomas said unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest. How can we know the way? Jesus said unto him, I am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh unto the father, but by me. The children of Israel ended up in Egypt and in Goshen because of Joseph and that place of God's blessing. We end up by the grace of God in the place of God's eternal blessing if we go the way of the Lord Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for our sins, who paid the complete price, who didn't stay in the grave, but rose from the dead. And by faith in his sacrifice, God will gift us and give us everlasting life. Have you gone the right way? to that place of eternal security from the wrath of God. And then God was merciful even in judgment. It says in verse 31, the flax and the barley was smitten, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was bulled. Okay, and so God in his mercy is gonna preserve some, even though he destroyed everything in verse 31. In verse 32, it says, but the wheat and the rye were not smitten, for they were not grown up. And as God's judgment came, the fact that God didn't destroy everything showed the mercy of God. Lamentations 3.33 says, 2 Peter 3, 9 says, The Lord is not slack concerning his promises. Some men count slackness, but is long-suffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. It's not God's desire today to bring judgment to all these that are in our area and all these addresses that the wrath of God is gonna fall on. God would rather extend to them mercy. He's not willing that any should perish. And that's why he sent his son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for their sin. And so God is a merciful God. God would rather give mercy today. As we consider this story this morning, we're reminded that we must get right with God. We must get right with God. And so let me ask you this morning, are you right with God? So right that you're not afraid of God's judgment. Is there any fear in your heart that someday you're gonna face the wrath of God and accountability to God because of your sins and your disobedience? Are you so right with God that you're in complete obedience to God that as best you know, you could honestly say, pastor, preacher, you know, as best I know, my life is in obedience to God. Are you so right with God that God doesn't have to motivate you by judgment, but you're motivated by love? It's no more, God's wrath is going to come, but man, I want to serve God and obey God. Elisha Hoffman's hymn, Is Thy Heart Right With God, says this, Have thy affections been nailed to the cross? Is thy heart right with God? Dost thou count all things for Jesus but loss? Is thy heart right with God? Is thy heart right with God, washed in the crimson flood, cleansed and made holy, humble and lowly, right in the sight of God? And so this morning, with the time that we have remaining, and that was introductory, but the message is, I hope, condensed, and we'll go quickly through what we wanna consider. But are we right with God? Because man must get right with God. Let's pray. Father, we're not worthy to study the Word of God. It's a privilege. And Father, even to consider what we considered this morning and to see the mercy of God and the warnings of God and the clarity of God about the coming judgment, and yet we see a man that refused to get right with God. And Father, as we look at Pharaoh as a bad example this morning, may the Spirit of God speak to our hearts about the need to get right with God and to really get right with God. And Father, I pray that you'd help me as I declare your truth. Thank you for helping me thus far. I pray that the Spirit of God would guide me as I speak. I pray that, Lord, I would preach biblically. I pray that I preach practically. I pray that I preach lovingly. And Father, I pray that I preach with the power of the Spirit of God, the enablement of God that I so need. And Father, I pray that you touch hearts. That's the main thing. Lord, I pray, whether I say things well or not, I pray the Spirit of God would touch hearts, touch lives, warn people, Father, to get right with God. It's in Christ's name we pray. Amen. And so we must get right with God. And Pharaoh, again, he's a bad example of how basically not to get right with God. And so we're gonna look at that bad example to consider how to get right with God. And so, first of all, get right with God completely. Get right with God completely. Pharaoh made an incomplete confession. In verse 27, it says, and Pharaoh sent and called for Moses and Aaron and said unto them, I have sinned this time. Pharaoh didn't say I have sinned. Pharaoh said I have sinned this time. He's going to limit his confession to his immediate situation. You know, it's not enough to get right with God about a sin. It's right to get right with God about A-L-L sin, all sin that is in our life. Because you can ask the question this morning, how much sin is okay with God? You know, did Jesus on the cross, what did he die for? Did he die for little lies as well as big murders? If there were only little lies, would Jesus have had to die? The answer is absolutely. It doesn't matter if it's a little lie, a little curse, a little taking of God's name in vain. It doesn't matter how insignificant man would view that sin, that that sin put Jesus Christ on the cross. And so does God think little lies, little lust, little covetousness is little? Or does he see it like the poison that crucified his son? You wonder today, did God give commands and not expect man to fulfill those commands? He gave us commands like going into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He gave us commands like forsake not the assembling of yourselves together as a manner of some is, but so much the more as you see the day approaching, that is a command that God has given that the church assemble, that the church be faithful. And I'll just say this from a pastor, perspective. It's not my responsibility to assemble for my church. It is the responsibility of every believer in our assembly to say, by the grace of God, if there's no providential hindrance that God is keeping me from assembly, by the grace of God, I want to be there in that place to worship God and honor God on the Lord's day. It's truth like the tithe is the Lord's. Does God look at that and say, well, that's no big deal, that they're robbing me. Wherein have we robbed God? In tithes and offerings. Or the command, present your bodies, a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto God. That means without sin, set apart from sin, sanctified as God intends it. You know, our world looks at it and says that, you know what? I don't agree with God about sin. Our world says sexual perversion is okay. God says it's abomination. Our world says evolution is true. God says it's a lie. Our world says all religion is good. God says that false religion is damning people to an eternity in hell. I wonder today, do you agree with God completely? Do you agree with God about your entertainment, your music, your language, your thoughts, your dress, your actions, your associations, your appetites? Are you willing to renounce anything that is in disobedience to God to please Jesus Christ? Romans 8.29 says, but he that sent me is with, or John 8.29, he that sent me is with me. The father hath not left me alone, for I do always those things that please him. Jesus didn't do some things that pleased God, Jesus did everything that pleased God. Again, the word of God says to us, be ye holy, for I am holy. God isn't pleased today to have someone faithful to church, even attending who is unfaithful to him in sin. If you want to be right with God, we must completely confess our sin. 1 John 1 says if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. if we confess our sins. But listen, if we don't think it's a big deal and that God somehow accepts this sin, it's not going to be confessed and it's not going to be dealt with. But we got to, when we understand and agree with God and look at it and says that thing displeases God, then by the grace of God, we can get right with God completely. Not saying to God, I have sinned this time, but saying to God, God, I have sinned this time, and that time, and that time, and that time, and God, it's not okay. And I'm gonna bow my head, and I'm gonna make complete confession, because I desire to get right with God completely. And so we must get right with God. And so get right with God completely. And then get right with God sincerely. We see again in Pharaoh's example that Pharaoh made an insincere confession. Although what Pharaoh said sounds good because it's true, it's made false because of his insincerity. Verse 27, he said, The Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. Again, you look at that statement, the Lord is righteous, I and my people are wicked, and you're like, that's like Daniel, or that's like Nehemiah, as they go to God in prayer and they begin to get right with God, they confess their sin and the sin of the people. He says it, but he does not mean it from his heart. It says in Matthew 15 verse 7 and 8, Jesus said, ye hypocrites, while did Isaiah prophesy of you saying, this people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth and honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Pharaoh had a good creed. He would have been, in that case, in that statement, doctrinally correct. And yet that good creed didn't get Pharaoh right with God because he was insincere. Salvation is not a mental assent to a creed. It's a deep settled heart conviction. It is a convincement from within that what God says is absolutely true. It's true that someone could get saved today by praying in faith something like this. Dear Jesus, I'm a sinner, but you died for me and paid the complete price for my sin. You didn't stay in the grave, but you rose again. Would you please forgive me of my sin and give me your gift of everlasting life? We know that somebody can get saved today by praying that prayer. The Bible says in Romans 10, 13, for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And you could be listening to this message today, and you can think, right, okay, preacher, I get that. I'm a little bit scared. I think this might be true, what you're saying. I don't fully believe it, but I think just in case, I'm gonna pray that prayer that you said, and I'm gonna see if it works. And you know the fact is today if you pray to prayer like that, not believing the truth of it by inner conviction, but with insincerity, you just try to say those words and think somehow God's going to save you, that is deception. The Bible says that salvation is by faith from the heart. Romans 10 says that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead. I can tell you with the authority of the word of God today that if you don't believe that crucifixion of Christ for your sin, that in his complete death and being put into the tomb and his resurrection to the eternal life that he possessed, then the fact is you cannot be born again until that conviction comes into your heart. And in sincerity, you put your faith in Jesus Christ because what you need is righteousness and what you cannot have without complete faith in the death and the resurrection of Christ is righteousness. It says in verse 10, for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. And so I would say to you, even though I'm a preacher that believes in salvation, my grace, your faith, I would say to you, do not pray the sinner's prayer unless it is an inner conviction in your heart that you absolutely believe that Jesus Christ died for you and that he rose again for you. If that is your convincement, it's a settled reality, then hey, praise God, go to God in prayer. Because if you're gonna confess, confess sincerely, get right with God sincerely. And so we must get right with God. And so get right with God completely, get right with God sincerely, and then get right with God willingly. Get right with God willingly. Pharaoh's confession, you could call it something like this, is somewhat of a forced confession. Verse 28, he says, and treat the Lord, for it is enough. Pharaoh gives in because he's in a painful position, I've had enough, that's it, that's all I can handle, and so I'll confess and I'll get right with God. There's a game that we played a little bit in our youth, and maybe you've played this game as well, and we called the game Mercy or Uncle, you know? And you get somebody in a really painful position wrestling them, and the game wasn't over until they cried out for mercy. And something like that, that idea that since you twisted my arm, I'll do it. People in tight spots will promise anything to get out of a predicament, but if it is not a willing confession, as soon as the problem is taken away and that which brought them to confession, then they turn back on their word. COVID-19 may have brought some people to an unwilling surrender to God. It might be, and I pray not, I pray that what we see following COVID-19 is genuine repentance, a genuine desire to get right with God. But there might be some that in the time of COVID-19 and the fear of COVID-19, they've gotten online, they've gotten in the Word of God, they're listening to truth, but as soon as that pressure is taken away, All they're saying to God right now is it's enough. I've had enough. I'm a little bit scared because of what's taking place. But as soon as that COVID-19 disappears, so will they. In New York City, as a youth pastor in 2001, my wife and I were there when 9-11 happened. In this city, the whole world was scared by 9-11, but no more so than there in New York City. You heard the sounds of the sirens, and you saw the police work taking place, and you saw the smoke from the towers that had come down. There were people who knew people that were there or had experiences with what had taken place. And we anticipated revival and we thought this is it. I mean, the God's blessing is gonna come. People are gonna turn back to God. And the next Sunday, sure enough, the churches were packed. But the following Sunday, the churches were back empty because as soon as the threat and as soon as the fear was over, man became hardened again against God. Let me ask you this morning, does God have to keep pressure on you? to keep you in obedience, knowing that as soon as he takes the pressure off, that you're gonna return to your old ways. If you willingly get right with God, then when that pressure is off, you're gonna stay the course and stay in that place of obedience to God. We must get right with God, but it must be willing. It must be sincere. It must be complete. And then get right with God unconditionally. Get right with God unconditionally. Again, as we look at the bad example of Pharaoh, Pharaoh tries to make a bargain with God. It says in verse 28, and treat the Lord that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail, and I will let you go and ye shall stay no longer. Pharaoh says, okay, talk to God about it, that he take this away, and if that's taken away, then I will let you go. It's like a child repenting, not because they're sorry, not because that they really wanna get right and make things right, but they're concerned about the fact that they got caught and they're trying to lessen their punishment. Let me ask you today, If you're going to get right with God, is it on your terms or is it on God's terms? Are you willing today to get right with God and say, God, you are God, you are right, I am wrong. And whatever you wanna do about that, God, no matter what it is, I yield whether you take this away or not. The prodigal son came back unconditionally, just depending upon the goodness of the father. It says in Luke 15 verse 18, as Jesus told this story, I will rise and go to my father and will say unto him, father, I've sinned against heaven and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. Make me as one of thy hired servants. And if you know the story, it's a young man that said to his dad, give me my inheritance. And he was a rebellious son and he went off into the world and he wasted his living on riotous living and just living it up. And he lost it all. And he became a a feeder of pigs. And he came to himself, he realized, I gotta get right with my dad and go back to my dad. And when he comes back, he says, I'm no more worthy to be called thy son. Make me as one of thy hired servants. And so he arose, came to his father when he was yet a great way off. His father saw him and had compassion and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said unto him, father, I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight and am no more worthy to be called thy son. He said, I'm coming back, not on my terms. I'm not saying restore me to that position that I deserve to have because my life's been really rough. He said, I'm just coming back and dad, just make me a servant. I'll just take a lowly place. If you wanna judge your own heart, as you think about this this morning, just judge the terms of your surrender to God. If you're a surrendering to God, does God have to fix your life and then you'll get right with him? Are you saying to God, God, if you'll take that pressure off of me, if you'll do this and take that away, then okay, then I'll get right with you and then I'll serve you, then I'll obey you. Does God owe you something to earn your submission? Does God have to give you some benefit? Does God have to give you some blessing to get you into a place of obedience to him? Or today, are you just willing to come to God and say, God, I come on your terms. I'm just a sinner. I deserve your wrath. I deserve your judgment. I deserve my life to be rough like it is. And that's fine. If it stays like that, that's fine. I just want to get right with God. Luke 18 verse 13 there was a publican that got to that position and a tax collector that was a thief and he was standing way off in the temple, he would not lift up so much as his eyes into heaven, but he smote upon his breast saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. Listen, is that your heart today, that you just wanna get right with God? You just wanna deal with the sin that God knows is in your heart, that God knows in your life, and it doesn't matter if God makes everything that is a mess in your life because of your sin work out or not, but that you'll just get right with God and let God deal with it according to his goodness. We must get right with God. But to get right with God, we have to get right unconditionally and just come back to say, God, it's on your terms. We must get right with God willingly. We must get right with God sincerely. We must get right with God completely. And then get right with God and show it. Get right with God and show it. Pharaoh made an incorrigible confession. An incorrigible person is a person that refuses to be changed or reformed. They're repeat offenders. It says in verse 29, And Moses said unto him, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands unto the Lord, and the thunder shall cease. Neither shall there be any more hail, that thou mayest know how that the earth is the Lord's. But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will not yet fear the Lord God. And Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and spread abroad his hands unto the Lord, and the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth. And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more and hardened his heart, he and his servants." Pharaoh wanted God to accept his words. I'm sorry, I wanna get right, but Pharaoh didn't show any determination on his part to actually get right with God. Pharaoh's words were disproven by his actions. It says in Proverbs 26, verse 11, as a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly. Somebody cannot get right with God today by saying, God, I'm really sorry about that, but I'm gonna hold on to that, but please forgive me for that. The Bible says, whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. Again, today, as you think about your life, are you willing to deal in that way with God, to say, God, it's sin, it's grievous in your sight, and God, I put it from me? If you read the books of Acts and read about the early church, you see them, when they got saved, they took their books of witchcraft that were against God, and they took those out, and they set them in a pile, and they set that pile on fire. They followed the Lord in believers baptism. They unashamedly identified with Christ in a day where there was intense persecution to those that would follow Jesus Christ who had just recently been crucified. But as they got right with God, they didn't care what anybody else said. They would take and make a public testimony. They began congregating with the church. They stopped eating meat offered to idols. They changed their lifestyle that was against God. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 6, 11, And such were some of you, but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of our Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. Why? Because they're people that genuinely got right with God. They confessed it and forsook it and God gave them cleansing and gave them victory over it. I wonder today, as you think about this idea, I want to get right with God. Are you willing to take those things that are things that dishonor God? It used to be back in the day when they'd have camp meetings or Christian camp that the Spirit of God would speak to a young person's heart or speak to an adult's heart, and they'd have a service where they would have a fire, an actual fire that would be there, and people would bring things, whether it was wicked music, wicked things and they would cast it into that fire to be burned and destroy it, showing the sincerity of their desire to get right with God. Are you willing to get right with God enough that you're willing to change? Enough that you're willing to say to God, okay, God, that was my life, it was against you, it was in disobedience to you, but by the grace of God, I'm going to step forward into obedience to you. If you wanna get right with God, prove your sincerity by cleaning house on that which is displeasing to God. And so we must get right with God. We must get right with God and show it. We must get right with God unconditionally, willingly, sincerely, completely. And then lastly, this morning, we need to get right with God while we can. Get right with God while you can. Pharaoh in his rebellion, was soon faced with an impossible confession. There was mercy that was given, mercy that was given. The fact that there's 10 plagues and that the first plague wasn't the death of the firstborn. God didn't begin by the hardest. God was getting tougher and tougher, but God's mercy was working on Pharaoh's heart, but it was gonna become impossible soon. It says in verse 34, when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he send yet more and hardened his heart, he and his servants. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go as the Lord had spoken by Moses. It's that Pharaoh hardened his heart and then Pharaoh's heart was hardened. It could be this today, that the spirit of God is speaking to a heart that might be a little bit tender, even though there's a hardness there against God. And yet that heart that resists God and resists God and resists God can get to the point where God says, enough, I'm gonna let you have what you desire in hardening your heart against me. And God removes his restraining grace. Three times in Exodus, God's word said, and I will harden Pharaoh's heart. I will harden Pharaoh's heart. We see a Pharaoh refusing to get right with God and then Pharaoh coming to the point where Pharaoh cannot get right with God because God's restraining grace is removed and that man's heart goes so hard against God. Romans 21-28 says, Do you know there could come a point in your life where God in his mercy doesn't reach out and say, you know what, get right with me. It's a sad thing for a man to get to that point where it's too late because there's no more opportunity for repentance. Achan in the Bible was the one that stole what was to be God's own possessions as the city of Jericho was taken and God said everything that's in that city is sanctified to me and yet Achan coveted it and Achan took it and Achan hid it in his tent And then there came a judgment day as God knew where it was, knew what Achan had done. And Joshua calls the different tribes and then the different families. And then Achan stands before Joshua and he finally confesses, but it's too late. And his family is judged. The Bible says in Mark 3, 29, and he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost shall never, hath never forgiveness. but is in eternal, is in danger of eternal damnation. That means it could come to the point where if somebody has resisted God, resisted God, they blaspheme God and they blaspheme God's spirit. And it's like they took their life boat and they pushed it away. And they sacrificed their eternity by rejecting the mercy of God. There's a hymn by John W. Peterson, it's called God's Final Call. It says, someday you'll hear God's final call to you, to take his offer of salvation true. This could be it my friend, if you but knew God's final call, God's final call. How can you live another day in sin, thinking someday with Christ you will begin, or will you hear above the world's loud din, God's final call, God's final call. If you reject God's final call of grace, you'll have no chance, your footsteps to retrace. All hope will then be gone and doom you'll face. Oh, here is call, God's final call. I wonder today, as I preach this message, is this God's final call to somebody? Is this your last opportunity to get right with God? Is this your last opportunity for the mercy of God to reach out and to say, it is time to get right with God? You wonder as you read this story, how could Pharaoh endure all these judgments and not get right with God? The truth that he teaches us is we need to get right with God. Are you right with God? Are you right with God so right that you're not afraid of God's judgment? Can you honestly say today, preacher, I'm not scared about hell because I know Jesus Christ as my personal savior. Are you so right that you're in complete obedience to God? As best you know, you can say, preacher, as best I know, there's not anything in my life that is displeasing to God that I've not dealt with. So right that God doesn't have to motivate us by judgment, but he can motivate us by love. Let me encourage you today, get right with God. And as you do that, the way to do that, it's not like Pharaoh, but get right with God completely. If there's anything that you're not doing or that you are doing that displeases God, to say to God, God, I'm gonna deal with that. I sincerely desire to get right with God. Do you mean it from your heart? Is it sincere? That that is not, it is your desire to get right with God? Are you getting right with God willingly? Do you feel forced like, you know, well, okay, to get this pressure off or is it your choice? and then get right with God unconditionally. Not that God, you've got to do something in my life, but I'm just going to get right with you and then get right with God and show it. Does your life back up that you want to get right with God? And then let me encourage you today. Get right with God while you can. Praise God in his mercy. God is a very merciful God, but there could come a day where it's too late. And it came to that day in Pharaoh's life, by God's grace, may it not come to that day. in our lives. Let's pray. Father, I pray for your mercy. And Father, I pray that the Spirit of God would touch the heart of those that are listening and that, Father, we'd examine our life and say, by the grace of God, I want to be right with God. And Father, I pray that that person today would make a confession completely sincerely, willingly. Father, that would be demonstrable and it could show that they really mean business with God. Father, I thank you today if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I pray, Father, bless your word to our hearts. It's in Christ's name we pray. Amen.