All right, let's open back up
to Exodus chapter seven. Exodus chapter seven. And let's read verses eight and
nine. It says, And the Lord spake unto
Moses and unto Aaron, saying, When Pharaoh shall speak unto
you, saying, Show a miracle for you. Then thou shalt say unto
Aaron, Take thy rod and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall
become a serpent. Now, I don't want to start this
off like a college lecture. I got hung up on the word serpent
for a while. And I just want to say this. First of all, look back at chapter
4, verse 2. It says, And the Lord said unto
him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. And he said,
cast it on the ground and he cast it on the ground and it
became a serpent and Moses fled from before it. That word serpent
is not the same word serpent that we just read in Exodus 7.
It's a different word. Exodus 7 verse 9 and look at
the last word of verse 10. Moses and Aaron went in unto
Pharaoh, and they did so as the Lord had commanded. And Aaron
cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and
it became a serpent." Those two times, that is the only two times
where that word serpent is used in the whole Bible. Every other
word serpent is different. And what that means is, it was
written in Hebrew, And those Hebrew words had a certain meaning,
and then they translated it into English, and it was the same
word in English. This word means a sea monster. Okay, now, after this, the lecture's
over, I promise. Most of the commentators believed
it was a crocodile or something like that, something that lived
in the Nile, and we'll see why in just a minute. It doesn't
matter to me what it was. I don't care. But here's what it means. That word serpent means a sea
monster and it's better described as a whale. It doesn't mean that's
what it was, that's what that word means, okay? A whale. Now, when it comes to scripture and
you hear about a whale, what do you think of? Jonah, right? Jonah in the belly of the whale. Turn with me over to Matthew
chapter 12. Now remember, we just read that
Moses and Aaron went in like the Lord commanded them and Pharaoh
said, show me a miracle. That's what he said to them,
right? All right, Matthew chapter 12 and look at verse 38. It says, Then certain of the scribes
and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see
a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto
them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign. And there shall no sign be given
to it but the sign of the prophet Jonas. For as Jonas was three
days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son
of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
The men of Nineveh shall rise in the judgment with this generation
and shall condemn it because they repented at the preaching
of Jonas. And behold, A greater than Jonas
is here. As Jonas was three days and three
nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of Man be three
days and three nights in the heart of the earth. That whale
represented death, right? That's what the whale represented.
All right, now turn with me over to Matthew 16. Matthew 16 verse 1 says, The
Pharisees also with the Sadducees came and tempting desired Him
that He would show them a sign from heaven. He answered and
said unto them, When it is evening, you say it will be fair weather
for the skies red, and in the morning it will be foul weather
today for the skies red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, you can discern
the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the
times. A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign,
and there shall no sign be given unto it but the sign of the prophet
Jonas, and he left them and departed." Now I'm going to read verse 5
for a reason. And when his disciples were come
to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. Alright? Our Lord is saying, when you
go before men, you lay down the fact that man
is dead. Start right there. That's saying
wrong on the fall, wrong on it all. Moses, when you go in to see
Pharaoh and his men, that's the first thing you tell them. They're
dead. You're dead. Alright, now turn with me to
Mark chapter 8. Mark chapter 8, this is the same
account we just read. Verse 10 says, And straightway
he entered into a ship with his disciples, and came into the
parts of Dalmanitha. And the Pharisees came forth
and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven,
tempting him. And he sighed deeply in his spirit
and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? Verily I say
unto you, there shall no sign be given unto this generation.
And he left them, and entering into the ship again, departed
to the other side. Now the disciples had forgotten
to take bread." I read that to show that's the same account.
He got angry with them. Why did this generation seek
after a sign? Believe my word. That's his commandment. Believe
my word. Moses and Aaron went in and told
Pharaoh, this is the word of the Lord. And you know what Pharaoh
said? Show me a miracle. Prove it. I don't believe you. That's what he was saying. All
right, now turn with me back to Exodus 7. Exodus chapter 7 verse 8 says,
And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, When
Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Show a miracle for you,
then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod and cast it before
Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent. And Moses and Aaron
went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the LORD had commanded,
And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants,
and it became a serpent." What they were saying was, death is
coming to you. Death is coming to you. As an
enemy of the Most High God, death is coming to you. When Pharaoh
saw that, he didn't cry out for mercy. He didn't. Verse 11 says, Then Pharaoh also
called the wise men and the sorcerers. Now the magicians of Egypt, they
also did in like manner with their enchantments. For they
cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents. They
did. And I read a lot of commentaries
on that. And I've got some different opinions,
but I believe the ones that say this is what the Word said, no
matter how it happened, it happened. They cast down every man his
rod and they became serpents. What they said in response was,
we can create death too. We're little gods. We can do as we please. I can
kill. Verse 12 says, But Aaron's rod
swallowed up their rods. His rod swallowed up their rods. Now those of you who love the
Lord Jesus Christ, don't you love seeing things
like this? Here's why. We're weak, okay? We are weak. Bless her little
heart back there. She's having a hard time. We're
weak, right? And we have a lot of fears. We
have a lot of fears. Now, turn with me over to Luke
chapter 12. Luke chapter 12, look at verse
4. Our Lord says, And I say unto
you, my friends, be not afraid of them that kill the body, and
after that, have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn
you whom you shall fear. Fear Him, which after he hath
killed hath power to cast into hell. Yea, I say unto you, fear
him, fear him, fear him. Moses and Aaron went in and they
cast down the rod and they said, Oh yeah, we can cast down our
rods. But Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods. Back in our text, verse 12, they
cast down every man his rod and they became serpents, but Aaron's
rod swallowed up their rods. You're going to be swallowed
up in death. That's what he was saying. Death
is coming to you and you're going to be swallowed up in death. There's one more thing he was
saying, listen to this. Death is going to be swallowed
up in me. That's the good part. Death is
going to be swallowed up in me. Aaron's rod, that's Jesus Christ,
swallowed up their rods. Now, turn with me over to Joshua
chapter 2. Joshua chapter 2, this is the
story of Rahab. Joshua 2, look at verse 9. These men came unto her and she
hid them, okay? And in verse 9, she said unto
the men, I know that the Lord hath given you the land, and
that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants
of the land faint because of you. For we have heard how the
Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came
out of Egypt, and what you did unto the two kings of the Amorites
that were on the other side, Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you
utterly destroyed. And as soon as we had heard these
things, our hearts did melt Neither did there remain any more courage
in any man because of you. For the Lord your God, He is
God in heaven above and in earth beneath." The Lord your God, He is God. Moses said in Deuteronomy 32,
their rock is not as our rock. Now, I know I'm having you turn
to a lot of places. I knew this was going to be a big turning
night. But turn with me to 1 Corinthians
15. 1 Corinthians chapter 15. Verse 51 says, Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we
shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling
of an eye, at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound,
and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be
changed. For this corruptible must put
on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when
this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal
shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass
the saying that is written, DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP IN VICTORY. O DEATH, WHERE IS THY STING? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and
the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." Moses and Aaron came in and said,
Death is coming to you. You're going to be swallowed
up in death. And in doing so, Death is going to be swallowed
up in me. The Lord sent Moses and Aaron
to say, my people are coming out. I'm going to do something
for every single one of my people. Go back over to our text, Exodus
chapter 7. Verse 12 says, For they cast
down every man his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron's
rod swallowed up their rods, and he hardened Pharaoh's heart,
that he hearkened not unto them, as the Lord had said." He hardened
Pharaoh's heart, that he hearkened not unto them.
He didn't listen, he didn't obey, he didn't believe, as the Lord
had said. Now look at verse 3 right here
in Exodus 7. It says, And I will harden Pharaoh's
heart and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.
But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you that I may lay my hand
upon Egypt and bring forth mine armies and my people, the children
of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. And
the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord when I stretch
forth my hand upon Egypt and bring out the children of Israel
from among them. Romans chapter 9 says, Therefore
hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will
he hardeneth. Alright, now just listen. Don't turn to Proverbs 21 verse
1. It says this. The king's heart is in the hand
of the Lord. As the rivers of water, he turneth
it whithersoever he will. The king's heart is in the hand
of the Lord. Every king's heart. My heart
is in the hand of the Lord. It says, He hardened Pharaoh's
heart. He will have mercy on whom He
will, and whom He will, He hardeneth. That's comforting to me. That's
revealing of how mighty and powerful our God really is. The King's
heart is in His hands. Now turn to Deuteronomy 32. Deuteronomy chapter 32. Verse 35 says, To me belongeth
vengeance and recompense. Their foot shall slide in due
time. For the day of their calamity
is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.
For the Lord shall judge his people and repent himself for
his servants when he seeth that their power is gone, and there
is none shut up or left. And he shall say, Where are their
gods, their rock in whom they trusted? which did eat the fat
of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their drink offerings,
let them rise up and help you and be your protection. See now
that I, even I, am he. And there is no God with me. I kill and I make alive. I wound and I heal. Neither is there any that can
deliver out of my hand? None. Don't you love our God? Really? Really? Aren't you so thankful
our God is in such control? Pharaoh was a mighty man. His
people are in bondage, hard bondage. And he sends his messenger in
to say, they're coming out and you show them just how powerful
I really am and the fact that this is really going to happen. Just listen to John chapter 10,
verse 24 says, Then came the Jews round about him and said
unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be
the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you,
and you believe not. The works that I do in my Father's
name, they bear witness of me, but you believe not, because
you're not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice,
and I know them, and they follow me, and I give unto them eternal
life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand." He's pretty sure about that, isn't he? He's
pretty sure about that. Our text, Exodus 7 verse 13 says,
Now the title of this message is, As the Lord Had Said. And
this was very comforting to me. We're going to find everything
in this life to be as the Lord had said. You remember the Lord kept saying,
you're coming out. You're coming out. You go tell
Pharaoh you're coming out. We're going to find every single
thing in this life to be as the Lord said. The Lord said, I'm
going to send plagues on you. Turn over one chapter to chapter
8, look at verse 19. Then the magician said unto Pharaoh,
This is the finger of God. And Pharaoh's heart was hardened,
and he hearkened not unto them, as the Lord had said. We are
next time, whether it's next Wednesday or next time, we're
starting the plagues. He hardened Pharaoh's heart and
the next verse is the beginning of the plagues. Here it comes.
He said to His people, I'm going to bring you out of this place.
Look at chapter 12, verse 31. And he called for Moses and Aaron
by night and said, Rise up and get you forth from among my people,
both ye and the children of Israel, and go serve the Lord as you
have said. Also take your flocks and your
herds as you have said, and be gone and bless me also. And the
Egyptians were urgent upon the people that they might send them
out of the land in haste, for they said, We be all dead men.
Verse 36 says, And the LORD gave the people favor in the sight
of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as
they required, and they spoiled the Egyptians. Verse 40 says,
Now the sojourning of the children of Israel who dwelt in Egypt
was four hundred and thirty years, And it came to pass at the end
of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day
it came to pass, that all the host of the Lord went out from
the land of Egypt. It is a night to be much observed
unto the Lord for bringing them out from the land of Egypt. This
is that night of the Lord to be observed of all the children
of Israel in their generations. Verse 51 says, And it came to
pass the selfsame day that the Lord did bring the children of
Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies. It happened
as the Lord had said. Now watch this. Turn to Psalm 22. Psalm 22 verse 1 says, My God,
my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Who said that? The Lord Jesus Christ said that. Now look at verse 16. For dogs
have compassed me, the assembly of the wicked have enclosed me,
They pierced my hands and my feet. I may tell all my bones they
look and stare upon me. They part my garments among them
and cast lots upon my vesture." Did that happen? As the Lord
had said. Turn over to Isaiah 50. Isaiah 50, look at verse 5, it
says, The Lord God hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious,
neither turned away back. I gave my back to the smiters,
and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair. I hid not my face
from shame and spitting." They spit in my face. They plucked
out my beard. Did that happen? As the Lord had said. Now turn to Matthew 16. Matthew 16 verse 21 says, From
that time forth began Jesus to show unto His disciples how that
He must go unto Jerusalem and suffer many things of the elders
and chief priests and scribes and be killed and be raised again
the third day. Did that happen? As the Lord had said. Now go
to John 14. John 14 verse 2 says, 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. Will that happen? Does that place exist? You ever stop and just for one
second in sin say, is all this real? I've given my life to this. Yes, it's real. Isabella, when she was really
young, when the Walt Disney World commercial would come on and
they'd surprise their kids, we're going to Disney World. And they'd
entice you with the ears and all that. And at the end of the
commercial, it would show the Magic Kingdom Castle, and then
they'd do the big... She would always look at me and
say, Daddy, is that a real place in this world? Yes, it is, honey. Would you like to go sometime?
Will that really happen? Does that place really exist? Just listen, the Apostle Paul,
speaking about himself, said, I knew a man who was caught up
to the third heaven, and I heard things that are not possible for a man's
mouth to utter. He said, I hath not seen nor
ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things
which God hath prepared for them that love him. If we belong to
Him, we are going to spend the rest of eternity saying, it was
all exactly as He said. Every bit of it. Isn't that wonderful?
We have a sure word of promise. Death is going to be swallowed
up in victory. Our enemies are going to be swallowed
up in death. And it's all going to be exactly
like He said it would be. That's wonderful, isn't it? Well,
may the Lord bless His Word. Let's stand together.