If you would take a look at Exodus
chapter 5 I want to read the first three verses Exodus chapter 5 beginning in
verse 1 and afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh
Thus saith the Lord God of Israel let my people go, that they may
hold a feast unto me in the wilderness. And Pharaoh said, who is the
Lord that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not
the Lord, neither will I let Israel go. And they said, God
of the Hebrews hath met with us Let us go we pray thee three
days journey into the desert and sacrifice unto the Lord our
God Lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with sword. I'm
just gonna stop right there What I want to speak to you today
about is the problem with Pharaoh because he just admitted his
problem right there. He just told us all about it. Moses and Aaron had been to see
the elders of Israel, the elders of the congregation in the previous
chapter at the very end. Aaron told the elders what the
Lord had told Moses. And he made the signs, threw
down the rod, and it turned into a serpent and he picked it back
up, put his hand into his bosom, it became leprous, put it back
and it came back normal. Those were the signs that the
Lord gave to Moses to show the people of Israel that this is
what's going on, that I am the Lord. Aaron did the talking then. But here
Moses and Aaron show up to see Pharaoh Oh, by the way, have
you ever thought it was a strange thing that when Moses threw down
his rod, it became a serpent? I mean, that always kind of bothered
me, because usually a serpent is not a good thing in the scriptures. But then I was reading Macintosh
about this, and what he said made complete sense to me, and
made sense of that. Because when Moses put forth
his hand on that snake, by the tail, it became a rod again. And he wrote this, the serpent
is entirely under the hand of Christ. I said, boy, that makes
it, and guess what, it becomes a rod. Aaron did the same thing. before
Pharaoh's servants and Pharaoh's sorcerers. As a matter of fact,
his rod swallowed their rods. And he took hold of it again.
And I thought about what Walter was talking about in Job, where
it's always been there, that serpent, Satan, the adversary,
could not touch Job without the expressed permission of God.
The serpent has always been in the hand of God. He'll use it
as a rod if he wants to he'll use him as a rod But anyhow,
I mean that did it that always said it kind of just struck me.
It's funny when they use that but after they had seen the elders
of the children of Israel they went to see Pharaoh and Gave
Pharaoh the word that they were given to give to Pharaoh thus
saith the Lord God of Israel let my people go, that they may
hold a feast unto me in the wilderness. And Pharaoh answered this question.
And Pharaoh said, who is the Lord, that I should obey his
voice to let Israel go? He answered their statement with
a question. Who is the Lord? Now, most of
the time, you would consider that a good question. But the
way Pharaoh spoke it here, he is unequivocally putting forth
the fact that not only he doesn't know who the Lord is, he doesn't
care who the Lord is. That's the attitude of this statement
that's coming forth out of this man's mouth. But who is the Lord
is a good question. And it does deserve an answer.
Who is the Lord? Who is Yahweh? Well, he's creator. He's creator. And also, he created
everything. Everything. He made the earth
and the heavens and all therein. He made man and he made woman. He made all the animals, all
the fishes of the sea, the birds of the air, the trees, the grass,
everything, even the serpent. Everything that was made was
made by him. Now that's a phrase basically
taken from the chapter, John chapter 1, when he says the word was made
flesh. But he said the word was with God and was God So the one
who made everything the creator the Lord God of Israel is our
Lord Jesus Christ Who is the Lord Jesus Christ
as Lord it was his voice that spoke the worlds into being and
He's the one who made everything that was made and he is the Lord God of Israel. Already particularity is incoming
on this discussion. It's not done here yet, but it's
already in there in their statement to Pharaoh, he's the Lord God
of Israel. But Pharaoh said, who is this
Lord? I should what obey his voice to let Israel go well the
Lord demands commands obedience who is he that I should obey
he's the Lord God of Israel He's the creator of all the earth.
He's the creator of the universe. He's the creator of man. He was
the creator of Pharaoh, although Pharaoh didn't know it. The Lord rules and the Lord reigns
and he speaks as sovereign because he is sovereign. That's why you should obey his
voice. But Pharaoh didn't care. That's
why he said this the way he is. And he comes out and blatantly
states it in the next statement, I know not the Lord. Now that's Pharaoh's problem. As stated by Pharaoh, he didn't
understand it. comprehend it. He didn't know
really what he was saying, but I'll tell you this right now,
that man right there spoke the truth, Mason. I know not the Lord. That's
exactly what he did. And that's Pharaoh's problem.
It's self-admitted and completely accurate. And this is the problem
with Pharaoh. I know not the Lord. If you go back, I think I mentioned
it a couple of weeks ago, to the trouble that began with the
children of Israel in Egypt. Because it didn't start out that
way. When Joseph was there, everything was fine. But it says, there
arose a king who knew not Joseph. And that's when the enslavement
of the Israelites in Egypt began. And here we have a pharaoh here
now saying, I know not the Lord. Now the world teaches that admitting
you have a problem is the first step to solving a problem. Well,
that ain't always so. Sometimes it is. But Pharaoh
just admitted he had a problem, but Pharaoh admitted it without
really knowing he had a problem. Because this is the beginning
of all the problems in this world, not knowing the Lord. The world doesn't know that it
doesn't know the Lord. The world doesn't know what it
means not to know the Lord. There are some who say they know
another Lord, but there is no other. There are some who say
there is no Lord. They have a name for themselves.
They call themselves atheists. The scripture has a name for
them, but it ain't atheists. It's called fools. And then there's some that they
say they're not sure whether there is a Lord or not. This is the natural state of
man. This is the natural state of
man. The scripture's clear. The scripture is explicit in
this case. The fool has said in his heart,
no God. Or there is no God. You can take that both ways.
Because either way, you're a fool. Whether you say no to God, as
Pharaoh did here, Or whether you say, no, there is no God.
You're still a fool. And you're still disobedient.
Because that's what this is leading to here. I know not the Lord. Why should I listen to him? This
is the natural state of the world that we are still in right now. Why should I listen to you? Why
should I care anything about what you say? I've got my opinion,
Mason, and I know what I know. I think I do. I know what I believe. I've talked to people, Walter's
talked to people, and we've compared notes. You get this answer every
now and then. If you talk to some people, and they'll tell
you, they'll get upset in some ways, some of them will, and
they'll say, my God doesn't do that. Or my God wouldn't do that. Or my God doesn't act that way. They're exactly right. Their
God doesn't. But the God of the Bible does.
The God of the Bible commanded Pharaoh to let his people go.
And Pharaoh said, I don't know. Who is the Lord that I should
obey his voice? I don't know the Lord. He was
exactly right and exactly wrong at the same time. It doesn't matter what the world
says We have the testimony of God right here before us in black
and white He has preserved his word for us Translated into English
so that we can read it anyone can read it who can read the
largest selling book in the world is the Bible and But the Bible doesn't make Christians.
The Bible doesn't make believers. God does. Christ does. The Spirit does. But this is the problem with
Pharaoh. I know not the Lord. And because of that, there are
results. There are always results. We've been talking about it a
bit. Doctrine, true doctrine, the
truth of Jesus Christ leads to a walk in Christ. Knowing the truth of Christ encourages
endeavors and what you want to walk with him. But the other
point is this. The juxtaposition is this. Pharaoh's
doctrine leads to Pharaoh's actions. It's out of the abundance of
the heart that the mouth speaks. What's in your heart abundantly?
Pharaoh just told us here. Know not the Lord Guess what? I'm not gonna do what he says
The results of not knowing the Lord is rebellion against God
The results of this world not knowing God is rebellion against
God His Word and his Christ This is the result of every single
unbeliever. This is the result of the world's
problem, not only Pharaoh's problem. I will not do as the Lord commands. Rebellion. Acts 4 26 they put it this way
the kings of the earth stood up and the rulers were gathered
together against the Lord and against his Christ For of a truth against thy holy
child Jesus whom thou hast anointed both Herod and Pontius Pilate
with the Gentiles and the people of Israel and were gathered together
and they were gathered together against his holy child Jesus
whom thou anointed but he doesn't leave it there verse 28 for to
do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to
be done no matter what the plan of men
Matter the purpose of men no matter the hardness of any man's
heart The Lord's hand and the Lord's counsel stands That's
what we're gonna see here, you'll see here with Pharaoh if you
keep reading Council shall stand I shall do
all my pleasure Our Lord is in the heavens he hath done whatsoever
he hath pleased Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy
power This book this Bible is a book of the works of the Lord
His works Shows the actions of men it shows the rebellion of
men It shows their denial of God, and it shows God's treatment
for their denial But it always shows whatever the Lord said
happens in every case Before they ever got here. This is one
of the big things of free will oh Pharaoh hardened his own heart. Well, yeah, it says he did. But
if you look back in verse three, before he ever got there and
ever spoke to Pharaoh, and the Lord said unto Moses, this is
verse 21 of chapter three of Exodus, and the Lord said unto
Moses, when thou goest to return unto Egypt, see that thou doest
all these wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand,
but I will harden his heart that he shall not let the people go." Before Moses ever got to Pharaoh,
God said, I'm going to harden his heart. Then you'll look and
it says, and the Lord hardened his heart as he said. After that,
it says, Pharaoh hardened his heart. There's no lack of responsibility
for rebellion against God. There's no lack of responsibility. That's it. You understand? Pharaoh did exactly what Pharaoh
wanted to do. And Pharaoh did exactly what
God wanted him to do. There is no schism. There is
no, oh my God, he made Pharaoh bad after, no. Pharaoh did what Pharaoh did.
And Pharaoh was very happy to do it for a while. I was very happy in my life before
Christ met me. Sure, everything wasn't perfect,
but I had no knowledge of a lie. I had no care of a lack. I was going my own way, so I
thought. Yes, there are vessels of wrath fitted
to destruction. Walter said it as more on the
radio. There are vessels afore prepared unto glory, but that doesn't clear the vessel. Who are you that replies against
God? Pharaoh did exactly what he wanted
to do. Why? Because I know not the Lord.
And he didn't want to know the Lord God of Israel. Psalm 76 and verse 10 said, surely
the wrath of man shall praise thee. And the remainder of wrath
shalt thou restrain. So after Pharaoh's confession Moses replied and they said The
God of the Hebrews hath met with us let us go we pray thee three
days journey into the desert and Sacrifice unto the Lord our
God lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword The Lord, whom Pharaoh doesn't
know, is referred to here as the God of the Hebrews. The Lord is our God. The God of the Hebrews. What
does this mean? Well, in the negative sense,
this means that the Lord is not the God of the Egyptians. He's
not the God of the Canaanites the Hittites the Perizzites. He's not the God of the Jebusites
He's the God of the Hebrews That's what it means and the
Lord is going to show this to Pharaoh Anytime the Lord speaks of his
people he is I He's leaving someone out. There's a separation. There's a division between my
people and the people who are not my people. In Exodus 8 and
verse 23, and I will put a division between my people and thy people. Tomorrow shall this sign be. That's what he said before one
of the plagues. Because it was going to fall
on the Egyptians, but it was not going to fall on the Hebrews. It was going
to fall on the Egyptians, but it was not going to fall on the
Israelites. And the only reason why? I'm
making the division. I will put a division between
my people and thy people. That's the word of God. That's
the word of the Lord God. I will put a division. Always has and he always will
and he does right now Who maketh thee to differ What
do you have that you have not received I? Will put a division He is the Lord he is God he is
the Lord God Yahweh Elohim He is over all and never anything
less than the Lord God. However, he has, and it's stated,
I've talked about it before, he has a regard for the children
of Israel. He has a regard for his people. There's a psalm where it says,
let's praise the Lord. Sing unto the Lord, praise the
Lord. Praise his holy name, praise the king. It says he's king over
all the earth. But here he says, I'm the God
of the Hebrews. I'm the God of the Hebrews. And he met with us. Moses and Aaron, the God of the Hebrews, hath
met with us. We didn't meet with him. He met
with us. Moses and Aaron were not looking
for him. Neither one of them. Aaron was with the children of
Israel. Moses was in the backside of the wilderness. Moses and
Aaron were both being sheep. They were both astray. They were
busy. The Lord met with them. The Lord told Moses that Aaron
was coming to meet him. That's in verse 14 of chapter
three. He says, and I know, let's see,
is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well,
and also behold, he cometh forth to meet thee. That's verse 14. Then you look at verse 27, and
it says, and the Lord said to Aaron, go into the wilderness
to meet Moses. And he went and he met him in
the Mount of God and he kissed him. He's telling Moses, Aaron's coming
to meet you. Well then he tells Aaron, go
meet Moses. Who do you think's in charge
of this thing? Who's running this show? Who
is sovereign here? He had Moses exactly where he
wanted Moses and brought Aaron exactly where he wanted him.
And guess where they met? In the Mount of God. In the Mount of God. And kissed
him. Aaron, type of the high priest,
kissed Moses, a type of the deliverer or a type of the law. Whichever
way you want it. There's no schism between law
and grace. They both have their purpose, their true purpose. And they meet together in Christ. It's not a fight between law
and grace. It's the plan of God. Who is running this account?
Who is running this encounter? Who is running this world? It
ain't you, it ain't me, it ain't Pharaoh. It's the Lord God of
Israel, the God of the Hebrews. Moses, I mean, excuse me, Pharaoh
spoke the truth here. And Pharaoh spoke from his heart. This is how he really felt. Sure,
it's an evil heart of unbelief. But he spoke the truth. Because
like I said, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. Then Pharaoh went on to prove
his words. He would not let Israel go until
the Lord made him let them go. The Lord said, I'm going to fix
it so that he is going to thrust you out. You want to point there? Sometimes the world separates
you. We're bad for sometimes hanging
around places we shouldn't, Walter. We don't know sometimes what
places are actually like. I think back to New Zion. And what would have happened
if Fred hadn't been so hard-headed? We were thrust out. It was one
of the best things that ever happened to me, Mason. I didn't feel that way at the
time. But it led to meeting you and
Earl. and others who believe the truth,
who love the truth, who hear the truth, you know. There come
a time when Pharaoh says, go. And he's just as truthful and
heartfelt about that as he was about I know not the Lord, and
he still didn't know the Lord. But he had felt the Lord's power
with the death of the firstborn, his own firstborn. But I do have a reason for preaching
this today. Because I think there is a message
here for believers. Because I want you to know this. This was the way of the world. And this still is the way of
the world. There is a reason for the all
sorts of evil in this world, and this is the reason I know
not the Lord. Yes, there's the natural depravity
of man. There is. I am to pray still,
but I know the Lord. The world doesn't know him, and
that's the reason for the world being in the state it's in. I
don't want it to surprise you This is the reason, knowing not
the Lord, for the hatred of Christ Jesus and the Father. This is
the reason for all manner of error, all manner of heresy,
and all manner of blasphemy. And all manner of just outright
wickedness. Evil. I know not the Lord. That's the
problem. And I've said all that, say this.
If you're a believer, don't be too surprised when it seems the
world is, quote, going to hell in a handbasket. Well, it is. Evil men and seducers shall wax
worse and worse. This is the world we live in.
Paul wrote that a couple thousand years ago. The world has not
got any better. It's not getting any better.
Matter of fact, I'm hoping pretty soon you're going to start wrapping
this thing up. You know, the unrest in the Middle East that
I predicted came true. Don't look to the world. Look to Christ. Don't look to
the world, don't look to politicians, don't look to so-called religious
leaders, or don't look to scientists to make sense of anything in
this world. It's here in this book. This
book is true and every man's a liar. God is true and every man's a
liar. This is his book. This is his
word. But don't look for them to make
sense of anything because here's the point. Even when they're
right, they're wrong. I mean, this is the beauty of
this thing. I mean, and it does, it amuses the irony in me, you
know, to where they can be exactly right about something and exactly
wrong at the same time. That's the depravity of man.
Even when you're right, you're wrong. But God is always right. And the God of all the earth,
the judge of all the earth, shall do right. Whatever they're doing, and boy
are they doing, don't forget this, they are doing by thy counsel,
whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determine before to be done. He is king over all the earth.
He is sovereign over all the earth. He's the God of the Hebrews. He's the Lord God of the children
of Israel. He's the head of the church,
his body. He's king over all the earth.
Nothing is happening that he has not planned. That should
be a comfort to us. It's a comfort to me. Sometimes
it's the only thing that keeps me from shooting my television. He is in control. God's arm is not short that it
cannot shave. His counsel shall stand and He
is doing all His pleasure. The Middle East looks like a
mess to me, but it doesn't matter what it looks like to me or to
you, because know this, known unto God are all his works from
the beginning of the world. And as for Pharaoh's behavior
and Pharaoh's end, Exodus 9 and verse 16 put it this way, and
in very deed, in very deed, for this cause have I raised thee
up. For and stop there to show in
thee my power my power to manifest my power and that my name may
be declared throughout all the earth so there's the question do you
know the Lord Pharaoh didn't and said he did
perished Do you know the one in control
if you do Trust it He's working everything out according to the
counsel of his will You know Yeah, my will day never mattered
It still doesn't matter Thy will be done on earth as it is in
heaven. Christ said, pray that. Pray
thy will, his will, God's will, the Lord God's will be done on
earth as it is in heaven. It's going to be. Pray for it. Our Heavenly Father, we are thankful
again for this time and this place. Thank you, Lord. Thank you for everything you've
done. For what you're doing and we don't even know. For what
you're doing and we do know. Thank you. God, help us to take
comfort in your word and in you. Because Christ has purchased
all for us. Thank you. In his name we pray. Amen.