Exodus Chapter 11. Moses goes in one more time to
Pharaoh, demanding that Pharaoh let Israel
go out of Egypt by the command of God. But Pharaoh's heart was hardened
and he refused. God sent his prophet to this
pagan king time and time and time again only to harden his
heart. God sent his prophet to Pharaoh.
time and time again only to harden his heart. Only that Pharaoh might obstinately
rebel and make his damnation greater than it would otherwise
be. God sent his prophet to Pharaoh
only to harden his heart. Now let's begin reading at verse
1 of Exodus chapter 11. The Lord said unto Moses, yet
will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. Afterwards, he will let you go
hence. When he shall let you go, he
shall surely thrust you out hints altogether. Pharaoh's not only
going to let you go, he's going to beg you to go. Speak now in
the ears of the people. Speak to the children of Israel.
Don't tell this to Pharaoh. Don't tell this to the Egyptians.
Tell it only to my elect. And let every man borrow of his
neighbor and every woman of her neighbor jewels of silver and
jewels of gold. And the Lord gave the people
favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was very
great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants,
and in the sight of the people. And Moses said, thus saith the
Lord, about midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt,
and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die. from
the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even
unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill, and
all the firstborn of the beast. And there shall be a great cry
throughout the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it,
nor shall be like it any more. But against any of the children
of Israel, shall not a dog move his tongue against any of the children of
Israel shall not a dog move his tongue against man or beast now
here's my text that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a
difference between the Egyptians and Israel. According to this
seventh verse of Exodus chapter 11, God did everything he did
to Pharaoh and the Egyptians, and God did everything he did
to and for his people Israel for one specific purpose. that
you may know how the Lord doth put a difference between the
Egyptians and Israel. My subject this morning is distinguishing
grace. My purpose in preaching this
message is that you may know how that the Lord doth put a
difference between the Egyptians and Israel. If you are the object of God's
grace, you're born again by his spirit.
You trust and worship the Lord Jesus. It is because God has
set Christ, his righteousness and his kingdom in your heart. And if you perish in your sins,
in obstinate unbelief, rejecting God's word, despising God's counsel,
trampling under your feet the blood of God's dear son, you
will do so because God's determined to destroy you and he set the
world in your heart. Brother Don, You can't really
believe that God is determined to destroy anyone. Let's see. Turn to 2 Chronicles chapter
25. Hamaziah king of Judah Was a
man who did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, but
not with a perfect heart And in verse 16 It came to pass
that as he talked with him that the king said unto him art thou
made of the king's counsel Forbear Why shouldest thou be smitten? Then the prophet forbear and
said, you got it? Are you looking at it? God sent
his prophet to him. I know that God is determined
to destroy thee because thou has done this and has not hearkened
unto my counsel. I know God's determined to destroy
you. because I sent my prophet to
you and another prophet and you despise my counsel and you would
not hear my word. I want you to hear what I'm saying
this morning. I want you to hear what God teaches
in this book. The object of my message is to
show you from the word of God that whatever differences there
are between believers and unbelievers, between God's elect and the reprobate,
Those differences must be traced to the distinguishing grace of
God alone. That ought to take some of the
starch and pride out of us, Bobby. Such is the depraved nature of
our hearts that we naturally cherish, nurture, and cling to. We naturally promote in ourselves
and in one another and especially in our children that which is
most abhorrent to God and most certain to bring us at last to
ruin. The evil I speak of is the original
evil of the universe, the persistent sin of the human race, the most
abominable of all evils in the sight of God, the sin I have
to battle every day. every waking hour. Pride. My pride. Pride was the sin of Lucifer
in the beginning. Pride was the problem with Adam
in the garden. Pride arises like an ugly weed
and a monstrous destroyer in her heart. There's no such thing
in this world, not truly, as a man who is humble by nature. Man's pretense of humility is
just another expression of pride with man calling attention to
himself by his pretense of humility. It's pride that hardens the heart
and keeps sinners from coming to Christ. The psalmist says
the wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not
seek after God. The wicked, through the pride
of his countenance, will not seek after God. The only thing
that keeps you from seeking God is the pride of your countenance,
your arrogance, your presumption, your presumed goodness and might
and wisdom. God is not in all his thoughts. Jeremiah tells us nothing but
pride. causes anyone to reject the word
of God. You read the book of God and
say, well, I just, no, I don't believe that. You call it reason,
you call it intellect, you call it being smart. Pride, that's all, that's all. The root and cause of all carnal
strife between men, all divisions, all whisperings, All backbitings,
all slander, the cause of it all. Doesn't matter whether it's
you doing it or me doing it. Doesn't matter whether it's divisions
that we think we've just got to work on and maintain and stifle
and slander, whispering and backbiting. All of it arises from pride. There's never been a war that
didn't start with pride. There's never been a fuss in
a family that didn't start with pride. It's all pride. That's the root. That's the root.
Pride is the great deceiver of men. It makes men and women behave
in cruel, mean-spirited, self-righteousness under the guise of doing God's
service. They'll get upset with children
because they give children who are less fortunate than them,
children who don't have the things they have or children who are
not as strong as them or as smart as them or can't dress as well
as they do. They give them a hard time. And they do. Children are
cruel. They're cruel, almost as cruel
as mom and dad. They learn it at home. I don't have I don't see how
white children have paid like they do they learn it from you
and me. That's why they do That's why
they do Be warned my friends be warned. Oh my soul be warned
pride goeth before destruction and the heart is spirit before
fall He has showed thee old man what is good and what does the
Lord require of thee but to do justly and to love mercy and
and to walk humbly with thy God. Oh, Holy Spirit of God, teach
me what I am. Teach me what I am, that I may
truly walk humbly with my God. Now, turn to a very familiar
text of scripture, 1 Corinthians chapter 4. I quote 1 Corinthians
chapter 4, verse 7, frequently from this pulpit. And I do so
deliberately because it is a passage I hope never to forget. And I hope you will never forget. Let's read it together. First
Corinthians chapter four, verse seven. For who maketh thee to differ
from another? And what hast thou that thou
didst not receive? Now if thou didst receive it,
why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it? Who makes
you different from anybody else? What do you have that you've
not received? If you received it, why do you puff out your
chest and lift up your chin and walk so tall as if you had not
received it? Those three questions may and
should be applied to any and all differences which appear
among men. Men are different. We have natural
differences, physical differences, mental differences, and moral
differences. According to our nature, we have
physical mental and moral differences. Some are bigger and stronger.
Some are better looking. Some are weaker and smaller and
less appealing to the eye. Some are brilliant. Some are
not so brilliant. Some have moral uprightness and
some seem to have no moral compass at all. There are differences
among preachers. Some are very gifted. Others
less gifted. Some are greatly used of God
as far as we can see. Others less so. Some are placed
in a position and place where they have many heroes. Some preach
to a handful here and there. There are differences between
believers and unbelievers. Some are strong in faith. Some
are weak. Some are fathers. Some are babes. Some are outwardly
very faithful and dependable, some are not. Whatever the differences
are, David Peterson, whatever differences there are between
me and you, whatever they are, whatever they are, good for you
or good for me, whatever they are, they must be dealt with
with these three questions. Who makes you to differ from
another? What do you have that you've not received? Now, if
you received it, why do you glory as if you'd not received it?
I want to spend the bulk of my time trying to answer that one,
that first question. And I'll summarize my message
with the other two. Who maketh thee to differ from
another? Understand this first. There
is a very real sense in which God's people in this world are
no different from anyone else. And God's people know it. There is a very real sense in
which God's people are no different from anyone else. And God's people
all know it. Though we've been chosen by God
our father, redeemed by the precious blood of our Lord Jesus and called
by his blessed Holy Spirit a promise. Though we're saved by God's adorable,
amazing grace, God's people in this world are sinners still. And that's a shocking reality
to which the believer is soon awakened after God gives him
faith in Christ. We've taught better, but somehow
we have the idea that once a person is converted, once you're born
again, once you're given faith in Christ, then you don't have
any more trouble with sin. You don't have any more trouble
with temptation. You don't have any more trouble
with the lust of your hearts. And then suddenly you wake up
one day and that ugly monster that's in you raises his ugly
head like you've never seen him before. and you see what you
are still, just sin, just sin. Grace does not eradicate sin
from the believer. Grace does not change a man's
heart. We often talk about a change
in the heart, and that's wrong, that's wrong. Grace gives you
a new heart. It doesn't change that old heart.
It doesn't change that old heart. Thank God grace rules. Thank God soon grace shall utterly
destroy this old nature of Adam in me. But grace doesn't change
the old nature. We know something about the depravity
of our hearts. Out of the heart, let me read
that another way. Out of my heart, Proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications,
thefts, false witness, blasphemies. Yours too. That's a sad fact, but a fact. Every day I am made increasingly
aware of the depths of my depravity. And yet I know I haven't even
begun to discover the hideous enormity of the sin that I am. We know that our best deeds of
righteousness are just filthy rags. We know it because the
book of God says so. And we know it because of everything
we do, we recognize sin in it. I have sinned. I do sin. I am sinning. But that's not
the worst of it, Alvin. I am sin. That's what I am by
nature. Nothing more, just sin. You are
sin. You can quit categorizing it.
You can quit measuring yourself by other folks. You are sin.
You can quit measuring yourself by the things you do. You are
sin. And it is manifest by the things
you do to one degree or another. But sin is what you are. Sin
is what we are. Let me see if I can state this
clearly. All I am and all I do is sin. There's nothing I can do with
these hands. Nothing I can do with these hands
that doesn't have the smudge of my fingerprint on it. And
there's nothing we do in this body of flesh, physically, mentally,
morally, nothing we do. that is not corrupted, dirtied,
defiled by sin, what we are. There's nothing in the world
more delightful to me than prayer, but nothing more difficult. There's absolutely nothing in
this world I more desire than to believe God. An old man asked me, Just last
week, a dear friend, he said, Brother Don, do you ever have
trouble with unbelief? I find it the most difficult
thing on this earth to believe God. To believe God. You can brag
about your faith if you want to. I frankly tell you this. If you can brag about your faith,
I fear you don't have any and don't know what it is to believe
God. There's nothing in the world
I want more to do than worship Christ and walk with him in sweet
communion. But there's nothing that seems
beyond my reach more distantly than that. There's nothing in
this world I strive harder to attain than conformity to Christ
in thought, in word, and deed. I want to be like him, don't
you, Mark? I want to be like him. I want to think like him,
speak like him, act like him. And the more I strive for it,
the farther it seems beyond me. The fact is I'm a man at war
with myself. I know that in me that is in
my flesh dwelleth no good thing. The flesh lusteth against the
spirit and the spirit against the flesh and these two are contrary
one to the other so that I cannot do the things I would. Newton
put it this way. If I pray or hear or read, sin
is mixed with all I do. Without question, there's a very
real sense in which believers are no different from other people.
We acknowledge that. Here's the second thing. Our texts clearly and distinctly
suggest God's saints are indeed different from other people.
Turn to 1 Corinthians 6. We're sinners still, yes, but
sane sinners. Men and women with a new nature,
people who are born of God. The question, who maketh thee
to differ, would be redundant if there's no difference. Believers
are different from unbelievers. God's saints are a peculiar people. There are many women who have
undergone a marvelous change called the new birth. Any man
be in Christ, he's a new creature. Old things have passed away.
Behold, all things have become new. Look here, 1 Corinthians
6, verse 9. Know ye not that the unrighteous
shall not inherit the kingdom of God? The unrighteous shall
not inherit the kingdom of God. You remember the porters in the
Old Testament? Porters who kept the gates. Their
responsibility at the gates of the temple was to keep out everything
unclaimed. And we, by the word of God declared
to you, the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God. It's not going to happen. It's
not going to happen. Be not deceived. Neither fornicators,
nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of
themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards,
nor revilers, nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of
God. I believe that covers everybody here. I haven't missed anybody. And such were some of you. Oscar is obviously talking about
the practice of a man's life. This is where God found you.
This is how you used to live. This is how you used to behave.
And such were some of you, but you are washed, but you are sanctified,
but you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by
the Spirit of our God. You're washed. We who are born
of God have been washed from our sins by the precious blood
of Jesus Christ so that the record of our sin is totally expunged
from the book of God and we are without sin in his son. We're
washed. We've been sanctified. Sanctified,
regenerated, born again by God the Holy Spirit. We have a righteous
nature imparted to us, Jesus Christ himself being formed in
us if we're born of God. We're made partakers of the divine
nature. We have a new man formed in us,
created in us after righteousness and true holiness. All of that
is the very language of Scripture. Those who are born of God are
sanctified. They are made holy by the marvelous
work of God's grace, making them new creatures in Christ Jesus
the Lord. And we're justified. We were
justified before we were sanctified. No question about that. Our justification
was done at Calvary. Indeed, it was done in eternity.
But we do not know anything about justification until we've been
sanctified. So Paul speaks of it here by
divine inspiration as that which follows sanctification. In experience,
it does. God gives the chosen sinner a
new nature. He gives us life in Christ and
giving us life and faith in Christ sprinkles the conscience with
the blood of Christ. And we realize now that we're just before God,
believing on his son. Therefore, if any man be in Christ,
he's a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold,
all things have become new. Recently, I was preaching in
England and all around the coalfields. I was reminded of Whitefield
and God's marvelous works during the days of the Great Awakening.
Whitefield would preach and those coal miners stand listening to
him, their faces covered with coal soot and have white streaks
where their tears had washed away the coal soot. When they
were converted by God's grace, they couldn't hardly get their
donkeys to obey them because they quit cussing them. Things
just change. Things just change. Their own
animals didn't recognize them. They were made new in Christ
Jesus. We have a new master, Christ
the Lord. We have a new motive in life. My master used to be myself,
my lust. I wouldn't bow to anybody. for
anything, refused to bow. Authority I despised. My parents' authority, school's
authority, the law's authority, everybody's authority. And I
brought misery on myself and everybody around me because I
hated authority. Oh, now I love it. I love to have a ruler. over me and in me to rule me
for good. His name is the Son of God, Jesus
Christ the Lord. I have a new motive. I used to
live for God. I used to live for God. To live for Lindsay Campbell
is to live for hell. To live for Don Fortner is to
live for hell. To live for yourself is to live
for hell. That's all. That's all. Oh, you
young people. Would to God we could teach you
these things. And we as parents and your teachers and instructors
try to teach you don't live like you lived in this world by yourself.
And maybe somehow some of it rubs off in a moral sense on
folks, but you still live for yourself. And living for yourself,
you live in misery. You live in misery. Now my motive
is God's glory and God's will. New master, new motive. And we
have a new manner of life, a new manner of life. It is no longer
ungodliness, but godliness. It is no longer sin, but righteousness. It is no longer serving self,
but serving others. It is no longer living to self,
but living unto Christ and others. Look at Galatians chapter 5.
I quoted a portion of it a moment ago. Galatians 5 verse 22. The fruit of the Spirit. The
fruit of the Spirit. Not something we produce by the
Spirit's help. The fruit of the Spirit. The
fruit of the Spirit. This is that good seed planted
in you. The fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. Against such there is no law.
Love, joy, and peace toward God. Oh, I can't tell you what it
is. Oh, I can't tell you what it is to have this life-changing
gift of the Spirit, causing a man who once lived in hatred of God
and terrified of God now to live with love, joy, and peace toward
God. Long-suffering, gentleness, and
goodness has reference to how we live with one another. Believers are long-suffering. They're gentle. They're good. That is kind. Long-suffering,
gentle, kind with one another. They deal with other people,
but especially with God's people, with long-suffering, gentleness,
kindness. And believers, with reference
to themselves, live in faith, meekness, temperance. Dave Coleman, if you're born
of God, you believe God and you know what you are and whose you
are. So you walk humbly with God in
temperance. Temperance is control from within. Ruled by the Spirit of God in
you, ruled by Christ sitting on his throne in you. Believers
are men and women who live by faith in Christ, who trust the
Son of God. The just shall live by faith. What the Crabtree preached to
you here a few weeks ago, I live by faith of the Son of God, who
loved me, gave himself for me. It's not just that we believe
on Christ and now we have eternal life. But believers are men and
women who live in this world, trusting Christ, trusting his
blood as our only atonement for sin, his righteousness as our
only righteousness with God, his goodness and his faithfulness,
trusting his providential rule. trusting his heavenly intercession.
Believers are many women who've been made to differ from others.
They are continually taught of God to live soberly, righteously,
and godly in this present evil world. That's just how believers live.
That's just how they live. Yes, we strive to live so. But Cody Hinson you're in school
over there UK. You got to go back next fall
go back in dormitory with a whole City of reprobate teenagers What are 30,000 people on campus
over there That's a good-sized city of reprobate teenagers And
I tell you what I expect from Cody Hinson. Tell you what I
expect from you all that I've had report of soberly Righteously
and godly. Just expect that. Well, kids
have so much more to face these days. No, they don't. No, they
don't. We just make more excuses. No,
they don't. How can you expect anybody to
be soberly, righteously, and godly in this present evil world? Your daddy does. He's got to
work with them every day. Soberly, righteously, and godly. Live soberly, righteously for
God. That's what I'm talking about.
Believers do. That's how we have learned Christ. Turn over to Ephesians chapter
four. Let me show you Ephesians four. Paul is talking to us here about
walking in the spirit. He's talking about faith, believing
Christ. Verse 17. This I say therefore and testify
in the Lord that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk
in the vanity of their minds. That's how everybody around you
lives. That's how your brothers and sisters by nature live. That's
how your mom and dad live. That's how your son and daughters
live. That's how your neighbors live. In the vanity of their
mind. Having the understanding darkened.
Being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance
that's in them. Because of the blindness of their
heart, who being past feeding have given themselves over unto
lasciviousness to work all uncleanness with all greediness. But you
have not so learned Christ. If so be that you've heard him
and have been taught by him as the truth is in Jesus. that you
put off concerning the former conversation, the old man, which
is corrupt according to the deceitful lust and be renewed in the spirit
of your mind, and that you put on the new man, which after God
is created in righteousness and true holiness. Those are the
facts. God's people are very much just like other
folks. That's our nature. The old nature
hasn't changed, but God's people had been made to differ from
others by his grace. And the one who made the difference
is God. Look in Philippians chapter 2. Philippians chapter 2. Verse 13. Who maketh thee to
differ? It is God which worketh in you
both to will and to do of His good pleasure. That which distinguishes
God's elect from the reprobate of this world is the distinguishing
grace of God. The Lord doth put a difference
between the Egyptians and Israel. Let me show you how this is.
Turn back to Ecclesiastes. I want you to look at two texts
in this regard. Turn back to the book of Ecclesiastes. Chapter three. I'll give you
a minute to find it. Ecclesiastes chapter three. You children and young people,
I hope your mom and dad pray for you just this very thing.
I assure you your pastor does. This is what I pray for my own
grandchildren constantly. Because I fear for them as I
fear for you. God, please don't set the world
in their hearts. Here's how he describes the reprobate.
Ecclesiastes 3 verse 11. He hath made everything beautiful
in his time, also he hath set the world in their heart, so
that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the
beginning to the end. set the world in their hearts. Rex, don't you find it astounding
that from their infancy, we try our best to set the world in
their hearts and tell them not to. From their infancy, we instilled
in them that drive and ambition to get on with it! Make something
of yourself! and beg God don't set the world
in their hearts. And I don't know where the medium
is. I, from Faith's childhood, from
her earliest days, we wanted her to make something of herself,
to go to school, get a good education, and do the best she could in
everything she did. I want those grandchildren Will
plays ball all the graces involved in soccer and tracker man. Give
it your best give it give it your best Be the best you can
and anything you do, but don't set your heart on it Don't set your heart there set
your heart on Christ Only on Christ and be willing Immediately
to let go anything that rivals him I am a pastor and a preacher.
God forgive me for the pride that's involved in this, but
some of it is something beyond pride. I take it to be my responsibility
to be the very best pastor, the very best preacher I can possibly
be with what God's given me. It's my responsibility. You work
at your job. You ought to be the very best
there is there but don't set your heart on it. Does that make
any sense? It's exactly how things must
be. Let me show you about a man.
God set his heart on these things. Turn back to 2 Chronicles 25.
2 Chronicles 25. This king in Israel and Judah
did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not with
a perfect heart. And he went out to go to war against the
Edomites. And he realized that it didn't look like he was going
to win the war. He just figured that it was useless for him to
go out. So he went down and hired 100,000 mercenaries. 100,000 mercenaries and he gave each
of them a hundred talents of silver. That's a lot of money
That's a lot of money and God's prophet came to him and he told
him something look at the last sentence of verse 8 God hath
power to help and to cast down You don't need these mercenaries
and if you take them you're gonna lose the war God has power to help. God has power to cast down. You don't need anybody else. You don't need anybody else. And you know what Amaziah's reaction
was? Look at the next verse. He said, but what about the 100
shekels I've given to 100,000 men? I can't afford to lose that I
can't afford to lose that I Can't afford to do what God has shown
me I must do I Can't afford to lose this money
even to do the will of God I Wrote an article a couple of days some
of you got it by email on this very text And as I wrote the
article, I couldn't help but think of a number of things.
I have a friend, a young man, God saved him just a couple of
years ago, baptized, made a profession of faith, got a wife and young
children. And he packed up this past week,
got him a good job. Got him a good job, making good
money, a bit scratchy. Oh, he'd been scratching. Bill
scratching to get by, just like we all have. Just scratching
to get by. Got him a good job. And moved 1,000 miles away from
the nearest gospel witness I know of. Well, what do you expect, Brother
Donovan? You've got to live in this world.
My dear friend, Brother Harry Graham, I never will forget it.
I hope I never forget it. Somebody said to him one time,
when he was just a young man going through the same struggles,
and he told me this as an older man, he said, said, Harry, you've
got to live in this world. Harry said, I stopped what I
was doing, turned around and looked at him. He said, that's the one thing I don't have to
do. That's the one thing I don't have to do. Got to live in this.
How am I going to get by? Now, let me show you something
this prophet told Amaziah. I commented about this to Shelby
the other day. She said, as I read that, I thought we proved that
over and over again, haven't we? God hath power to help or
to cast down. And of course it says in verse
nine, last sentence, the Lord is able to give thee much more
than this. Curtis, you'll be graduating
soon. Get you a job as an engineer. Man, make good money. Make good
money. If it means staying at home and
scrubbing manure out of toilets. Stay at home and scrub the manure
out of toilets. But don't abandon the worship
of God. Don't do it. God's able to give
you much more than anything you think you might have to give
up. He's able to do it. And so Amaziah paid no regard. And he went down and conquered
these folks, and he took their spoils, and he took their gods. And he set up their gods. Their
gods who couldn't help them, and worshiped them as his god. And the prophet said, I know
God hath determined to destroy thee. because thou hast done
this and hast not hearkened to my counsel. Who maketh thee to differ from
another? What hast thou that thou didst
not receive? Nothing. Nothing in nature, nothing
in grace, Nothing in time, nothing in eternity. Now if thou didst
receive it, why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received
it? God forgive us of our pride. Our pride. So proud of our place. Proud
of our face. Proud of our race. even proud
of God's grace bestowed on us. Look at 1 Corinthians chapter
1 and I'll quit. Pick up here tonight. Verse 26. 1 Corinthians chapter
1. You see your calling, brethren.
that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not
many noble are called. But God hath chosen the foolish
things of the world to confound the wise, and God hath chosen
the weak things of the world to confound the things which
are mighty, and base things of the world and things which are
despised hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not to bring
to naught the things that are. that no flesh should glory in
his presence. That no flesh should glory in
his presence. Who maketh thee to differ from
another? What hast thou that thou didst
not receive? Now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory
as if thou hadst not received it? The Lord doth put the difference. between the Egyptians and Israel. It's His work and His alone. To Him be the praise. Amen.