Morning. Let's turn to Exodus chapter 5. Exodus 5 here. Now last week, we looked at the first three verses of this chapter, and we saw how that it's the gospel. Moses preached the gospel to Pharaoh, which is a picture for us of our ministration in preaching the gospel to the world. Pharaoh is a picture. He's representing the whole world there and representing Egypt. And the gospel reveals to men the mystery of God, which is hid from the beginning of the world. It's all in there of how that God saves his people graciously through the Lord Jesus Christ.

And we saw the response of Pharaoh was one of death. It's a response of the world. It's a dead response, a dead letter response so that we understand that if God, unless God makes it effectual to us, unless he gives us life, that's what our response is going to be. It's going to be one of spiritual death.

Contrary to that is the child of God and the Lord revealing to His child, His chosen child, He reveals to them His grace. He gives light and salvation. He delivers us from that bondage and death so that we are made by His grace to look to the Lamb of God, to look to Christ, believing in on Him who was delivered for our offenses and was raised again for our justification.

Now, as we look at the remainder of this chapter, that was the first three verses in preaching the gospel. But as we look at the remainder of this chapter, we see more responses to the gospel. We're just going to look at this response to the preaching of the gospel and those that hear it. because this is where God makes a distinction when we preach the gospel to all indiscriminately.

We don't know who are the lords. I pray that all of you are the lords and that myself is included in that body of believers. That's my hope, but only the Lord knows. And so we declare these things trusting that God makes the distinction. He makes the distinction in them that are his versus them that are not his. Four, Paul tells us, therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith. As it is written, the just shall live by faith. And so his people are people of faith, and that's going to be revealed in them.

They're going to believe Christ, and they're going to follow the Lord Jesus Christ and worship God in spirit and in truth. The world, however, they don't believe. They don't believe. They may pay lip service. They may have a form of it, but they don't believe and follow Christ.

And so that's why it comes down to the heart. That's why we suffer. long with one another, that's why we love one another, that's why we bear with one another in our faults, because we don't know the heart, but the Lord does, and we're trusting that the Lord gathers together his sheep in one body and reveals himself to us, and through our infirmities of the flesh and our need of Christ, the Lord ministers the gospel to us and bears fruits of righteousness in us, whereby we bear those fruits of love, and joy, and peace, and patience, and kindness, and goodness, and faith, and temperance, and meekness, and self-control. Those fruits are born in us by a spirit. And so those that are washed in the blood of Christ, they will believe.

Let's turn over to 2 Corinthians 2. And we see this, 2 Corinthians 2. And here's an outline of that distinction that God makes in his people. And it's an encouragement to us as the church of God to continue to preach the gospel, to minister the gospel, knowing that our God's word does not go out void, but it accomplishes that which God purposes it to accomplish. So 2 Corinthians 2, picking up in verse 14, Paul says, now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savor of his knowledge by us in every place. That's exactly, that's a good description of the ministry, right, of what this church is called and assembled to do, to minister the gospel, When we preach Christ crucified, we are making manifest the savor of God's knowledge. Wherever we preach it, we're making known what God's will is, which was a mystery hit from the foundation of the world, but now revealed in the preaching of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And so preaching Christ crucified is making known who he is, why he came, what he accomplished. If you have a friend or family member, you don't know what to say, just remember who Christ is. He's the son of God, come in the flesh. Well, why did the son of God come in the flesh? Because we're sinners, fallen and ruined in Adam. We come forth sinners born of corrupt seed. We need a salvation. We need a savior from beginning to end.

And that's what Christ accomplished when he went to the cross. as a Lamb of God, sacrificing Himself unto the Father, bearing the sins of His people to make satisfaction unto God for us. And He did it. He obtained eternal life. He obtained our forgiveness. And He reveals faith in them that He died for. so that all who believe are testified. It's a testimony of God in you that you are washed in the blood of Christ. You that believe Christ and continue in him. It's what he works in us. It's the life he gives us. And so who he is, why he came, and what he accomplished.

Now, some will believe it, and some won't. There's no purpose in arguing with people or getting upset when they don't believe it, even though they'll try and needle you and give you a hard time about it and poke fun and say things that they know. Press your buttons. Don't get upset. It's just some are going to believe it, and some are not going to believe it.

Paul goes on to say, verse 15 of 2 Corinthians 2, for we are unto God. regardless whether they believe it or not, we are unto God a sweet saver of Christ in them that are saved and in them that perish. You just bear witness, faithful witness of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he's gonna bear witness in those who are his. And even if they do reject it, just pray for them and bear with them patiently.

Because you don't know when the Lord's going to reveal his grace in his child. To the one, we are the saver of death unto death, and to the other, the saver of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things? We're not able to effect salvation and righteousness in another if they believe it's the grace of God. If they don't believe, it's the will of God. It's his will either way.

For we are not as many which corrupt the word of God. We don't put on plays and shows and entertainment for people to become part of a community. We're going to stay on Christ. We're going to preach Christ, trusting the Lord. As of sincerity, but as of God and the sight of God, speak we in Christ. That's the witness we are given to bear. That's it. That's what we are called to do.

And the Lord tells us, understand, you're not greater than your Lord. He says to his servants, you're not greater than your Lord. If they persecuted me, they're going to persecute you. If they received my word, they're going to receive your word also. It's as simple as that.

And in another place, our Lord said to the Jews, but ye believe not, because you are not of my sheep. If there's unbelief, and they continue in that unbelief, it's because they are not Christ's sheep. My sheep, he says, 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.

And so this is the gospel that the Lord has preached by his servants. It was hidden when Moses and Aaron preached, but we see it. We saw the gospel. We see what those signs testified to of Christ, who was sent to the Father, came with authority, and by his blood and righteousness, he cleanses the leper. He cleanses us of our sin and gives us life. And so some believed, the Jews believed, and Pharaoh rejected it, just like we see throughout history. God's people believe it and rejoice in it, and the world rejects it and does not believe. So as a result, Pharaoh's heart is hardened, and his response to what Moses and Aaron have declared to him is one of persecution now, right? It was a response of death.

And what he does now is says, I'm going to persecute. I'm going to make it worse for you now. For you that believe this gospel, I'm going to persecute you. That's what he says. I'm going to make it more difficult for you. So back in Exodus 5, verse 4 and 5 here, the king of Egypt said unto them, wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their works? He's now charging Moses and Aaron, saying, you are filling their minds up with nonsense, and they're not laboring anymore. Really, think about you hearing that under the law.

And you're hearing of the grace of God in the Lord Jesus Christ. Whoa, you're not working now? How dare you stop working? How dare you believe this grace in the Lord Jesus Christ? How dare you have confidence in him? Get back to work. Get back to your labors, trying to work a righteousness for yourselves.

And he says to the people, get you unto your burdens. And so he's going to make life harder. Pharaoh said, verse 5, behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them rest from their burdens. And so Pharaoh's heart's getting harder and harder.

He has a hard heart. He doesn't like what's going on. He doesn't like this word of grace. He doesn't want to hear it. He doesn't want to hear it from his people. And so he's going to fight against it. He's going to war against it, because this is the will of God. He's going to make an example of Pharaoh in the world to show his power. Verse six, and Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people and their officers saying, ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore let them go and gather straw for themselves. All right, don't speak peaceably to the people. Don't give them any peace or any assurance.

You put them to work. You give them labors to do, lest they should rejoice in the grace of God, and hear of Him, and continue on in that hope, and in that life, and in that light, and in that liberty of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the tale of the bricks, their works, The number of their bricks, the tale which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them. Ye shall not diminish or reduce it in any way, for they be idle. Therefore they cry, saying, let us go and sacrifice to our God. Let us go and look to the sacrifice which God has provided, the Lord Jesus Christ, and rejoice and rest in him. Let there more work be laid upon the men. that they may labor therein and let them not regard vain words."

Is the gospel vain words? Is God's gospel of his free grace, of his salvation, of what Christ has accomplished, are those vain words? We that believe Christ, that's our hope, that's our confidence, that when I die and stand before God, seated on his throne, having all authority and power to do whatsoever he pleases, because he is sovereign God and I'm not.

He can do whatever he wants. My hope is not to stand in my righteousness, God looking at the things I've done or not done, but that he looks upon me in the blood and righteousness of his darling son, Jesus Christ. and all who hope in Christ shall have a good and wonderful day of grace in that day. They shall be welcomed into the eternal kingdom of God.

So what we're seeing here with Pharaoh is we have a prison guard, a devil, trying to keep the people in bondage. I don't hear those words. Those are vain words, those words of grace. Don't listen to those things. You just keep working under the law. You keep laboring. And it's as a strong man over a prison house, keeping the people in darkness and in bondage to dead letter religion that cannot save. And that's the picture.

Our Lord tells us that no man can enter into a strong man's house and spoil his goods, take from him that treasure, except he first bind that strong man, and then he can take out of his house whatever he wants. Well, that strong man is the devil. That strong man is the prince of the power of the air, keeping us in darkness, keeping the people in darkness.

And when Christ comes in his light and glory, He goes up and binds the strong man. By his sacrifice, by his death, he destroyed the works of the devil so that he can say nothing to him and he can't stop him. And Christ just goes right in there and says, you, boop, plucks you right out. You, just plucks you right out and brings you with him. He delivers you from the strong man's prison of death. He takes you out and gives you life.

And so Pharaoh, He persecutes the people. He's trying to keep them shut up. He's trying to keep them bound and in shackles and chains and keep them in fear and in doubts and in worries. And now he removes that straw, right? That peace and that comfort that they once had is removed. All right, and so he's trying to destroy that.

But it's all in the will of God, because God uses it. He uses all these things to make us to see that what we were hoping and trusting in is no hope and no trust. It's all vain. Don't look there, he says. And so he'll allow us to be troubled. He'll allow that persecution to come and those doubts and fears, because if God's in it, he's going to pluck you out of that death and bring you into the light and life of Christ, where you're going to fall upon him and call upon him.

So this is as the peace and fellowship being taken away from us. Now, Pharaoh says in verse 10 here, The taskmasters of the people went out. And they did as he said, right? They're officers, they spake to the people, saying, thus saith Pharaoh, I will not give you straw. No more peace, no more fellowship with the world for you. Now it's persecution. You're going to listen to that stuff? Well, we don't want you around here. You're going to believe Christ? Well, you're not in our family anymore. That's not how you were raised. Grandma didn't tell us to live like that.

Whatever they got, they're going to use it against you. to make you tremble in fear and put you in bondage again. So they won't give them straw. Go ye, get you straw where you can find it. Yet not aught of your work shall be diminished. But you better keep working. You better keep working.

Now it's going to be painful in the world. Now you're going to have troubles in the world. Now you're going to have tribulations and afflictions and sorrows. If that's what you want, this is what you're going to get. You're going to have troubles and hardships to weigh you down.

So the people were scattered abroad. Now they're thinking, what's going on here? They're scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather, not straw, but stubble, little bits and little pieces to try and put together as many bricks as they can with stubble, things that just, it all burns up, the straw and the stubble, but it all just burns up. And the taskmasters hasted them, just whipped them and got on their cases and said, you better be doing something, saying, fulfill your works, your daily tasks, as when there was straw, and the officers of the children of Israel. So this would be the leaders that Egypt had appointed from the people over Israel, which Pharaoh's taskmasters had said over them, they were beaten and demanded. Wherefore, have ye not fulfilled your task in making brick, both yesterday and today, as you did before?"

And so the people of Israel have heard the gospel, right? They heard Moses and Aram preach the gospel. They saw the signs, how that God had visited them and seen their afflictions. how that God, in his word of promise, promised, I'll take you out. I'll take you out of this bondage, and I'm going to deliver you. And they rejoiced in that. They were looking forward to that. It was good news to them, but now they get punched in the mouth, so to speak. They get knocked down, they're being challenged, and now that hope is really being put to the test. Look back, what I'm talking about is in Exodus 4. Exodus 4, verse 30 and 31.

This is what the people heard. And Aaron spake all the words which the Lord had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people, which we saw the gospel pictured in those first two signs. And the people believed. And when they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshiped God.

That's exactly what, when you hear, grown up in religion or grown up in this world, and the Lord blesses that word to come to your heart with power and light, illuminating you and delivering you from that death, it's a rejoicing. You taste of the goodness of the Lord and see, wow, this is wonderful. I never heard this. I never heard this before. It's all new. And it's a rejoicing.

And then you go out into the world thinking the world's going to be all happy with you and everything's going to come together and work out good. And then you start hitting persecution and rejection of that word. And people in your family that you think are going to love it, hate it. And they don't believe. And so you begin to experience this persecution and these disappointments. And that's what the world does. That's what Satan does. He counters that good news.

Either the birds of the air come and pluck the seed up before it takes root, or that seed falls on stony ground so it springs up quickly, but it lacks root so that it withers very quickly under the heat of the day, the persecution of the world. Or you go a little longer and some of that seed falls among the thorns and the thistles, right? The curses and the works of this world, the way of this world, the troubles, the normal troubles that everybody has in this world, and it what? It chokes out the word. so that it becomes unfruitful and never grows to maturity. It dies getting overwhelmed by the weeds, because weeds in the garden grow faster than the good crops, right? They don't, it doesn't grow good there in that soil, so they get overwhelmed. But by the grace of God, some seed falls in good ground and it grows up and yields a good abundant crop to the praise of God." Some 30, some 60, some 100 fold.

And so the Jews here, they're now made to suffer. They're being tried and tested with persecution in this case. But this should not be a surprise to you. As the Lord grows us and matures us, we begin to understand this is not This is not weird. This is not out of place. This is exactly what we should expect.

As Peter said, that you're going to have manifold temptations, manifold ideas and thoughts and things coming against the truth to make you doubt and stumble if it can, if it could. It would make you troubled. And Peter said, wherein ye rejoice greatly. Ye greatly rejoice.

Think about Peter and John when they preached Christ and they were beaten for it. It says that they went away rejoicing, that they had been deemed worthy to suffer for Christ's name. The Lord gave them that grace. He gave them that grace there. And he says, you rejoice now, though for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations, that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.

And in that same book, 1 Peter, over in chapter 2, verse 9, he shows us that it's permitted of God. God has done this, that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. That's what he's producing. He's bearing fruit in you. You that suffer manifold temptations for the truth, whether it be in persecution or hardships or difficulties, the Lord bringing you through it, that's fruit. I know it doesn't seem like anything to you that are bearing it, but to the Lord, it's precious fruit. And to your brethren, it's precious fruit that encourages them and blesses them. He does it. We're looking elsewhere, but it's fruit that he brings.

All right, verse back in Exodus 5, 15, and 16. Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh. So this is the heads of the Jewish people. They came to Pharaoh. Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants? There is no straw given unto thy servants. And they say to us, make brick. And behold, thy servants are beaten. But the fault is in thine own people." Your people have got it all wrong. We're doing the best we can, and they got it all wrong.

You think that's going to work with the world? When you're being troubled and persecuted by the world, they don't want to hear you. It's on purpose. They purposely are trying to make life difficult for you. They don't realize that in going to Pharaoh, they're going to the prince of the power of the air, who's doing this on purpose. He's laughing and loving it. He's just making it bad. Is that where we go? Are we going to be able to reason with this world? Are we going to be able to lay out a logical, reasonable thought? Hey, we mean you good.

In Rome, didn't they persecute the Christians and blame the Christians for things that they themselves did? Of course they did. Even though it was clear that the Christians didn't, for example, they didn't set fire to Rome. Nero did, right? Their own emperor did it, and then blamed the Christians. And so you're not going to get anywhere with Nero.

He's not going to make life easy for you and say, yeah, you're right. It was all me. No, he's just going to continue in the persecution. Well, it's a mistake to think that we can turn to the world and get that straw, to get that peace and that fellowship with them. That's not what we're called to do. And we're not called to have that kind of peace with them. We're never going to reason with the world.

We're going to find our comfort in the true and living God. And so that's even part of the chastening that the Lord lays upon us, that's part of the scourging of every son whom the Lord receiveth, Hebrews 12, right? It's all part of what he does to strip us of the love of this world, in pursuing this world, having that close fellowship with this world. He strips us of that, that we may be delivered from death and have our comfort and life in peace with the Lord in the truth. And it's all according to his wisdom and his power and glory.

And so, of course, the response from Pharaoh back in verse 17, he said, you are idle. This is with you. You're the problem. That's what he's saying to them. You are idle. You're idle. Therefore, you say, let us go and do sacrifice to the Lord. See that? He's saying, your problem is you're listening to that good news, that gospel. That's your problem. If you put that away, everything will be good. Then you'll be at peace with the world.

Go therefore now and work, for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the tail or number of bricks." And the officers of the Children of Israel did see that they were in an evil case. They were in a bad spot because the world's not going to give them what they're looking for. And they understood it after it was said, ye shall not minish or lower from the number of bricks of your daily task that you owe. So that's it. Many of the world, so if this work there in them isn't of the Lord, then they're going to wither and die. They're going to just die under that. And we've seen it.

I've seen it where people start off loving what they've heard until the world troubles them, until they start having various problems. I've said it before, but I knew a young woman that heard, believed, rejoiced, had her family come in, and then after six months, after she got baptized, within six months, she had a car accident, her boyfriend was hurt, and that broke up, and she lost her job. Everything just started coming against her, and all she could relate it to was, it was this gospel that I believed. As soon as I believed the gospel and started following this way and was baptized, all this trouble came. And so she left and never came back. And that was the last time we saw her back in Jersey there.

So it's manifold temptations. It's just some of the manifold temptations that happen. It's what comes that proves whether that work is of God or of the flesh. Understand when it comes don't be discouraged. It's it's actually the Lord testifying that that He he's called you and that he's proving it right?

He's the one you're gonna turn you're gonna be fearful. Oh, this is it I think I'm gonna be lost now. I'm gonna be overwhelmed and But the Lord will keep providing. If you are his, he will keep providing you, keeping you, giving you repentance, sustaining you. And it may not be to the fullness that you want and the comfort level that you want, but you won't fall away. And you won't be able to leave.

And the Lord will bless it. And little by little, you will grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. You will see. You will be made more patient. You will gain experience through it. And through that experience, you will have hope in the Lord Jesus Christ. And then you'll be able to turn and encourage others that are going through the same thing from how the Lord has taught you. It's what he does. The Lord is going to prove that work.

And so what happened is we see the immaturity of Israel here, because they go out from Pharaoh, and it says in verse 20, they met Moses and Aaron who stood in the way. They're standing there, and as they're coming from Pharaoh, they said unto them, the Lord look upon you and judge, because ye have made our saver, there's that saver, to the world though, right? That's our savor to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of his servants to put a sword in their hand to slay us. And so, they're still babes, right? They tasted the milk, but now they're already starting to reject it and they're already having trouble.

And so, This is where we see our need of the grace of God. And Moses also, he's just been called of the Lord, and he's got to be taught in this as well. Because he comes now, and in a very questionable manner, he accuses the Lord. Now, he's laying this before the Lord, verse 22 and 23. Moses returned unto the Lord and said, Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? Why is it that thou hast sent me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people, neither hast thou delivered thy people at all."

And so we see here that the Lord, through these trials, he's exposing our insufficiency. He's exposing the infirmities of our flesh so that we would learn of him. It's a way of making us tender. It opens our ear, it makes us tender to know, Lord, why are these things so? Lord, strengthen me. Lord, keep me. Lord, bless your people. Lord, provide for your people. It's how he works his grace in us so that we see and know that we need him, that we need his grace.

Let me read for you from Romans 8. Romans 8, verse 11 through 16. where we see this work that our God does in the new creatures that he makes in the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 8, 11, but if the spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you. And that is our hope, that we have the spirit of Christ, otherwise we're none of his.

He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his spirit that dwelleth in you. In other words, we're being made to understand these things, to have an understanding of God. This flesh is still dead, this flesh is still warring against it, but we are made to know in the spirit that God is God, that he is the Lord and that he's called us, he's blessed us in the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors not to the flesh to live after the flesh, for if you live after the flesh, you shall die. But if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

That's right where these Israels and Moses and Aaron are being called. They're being brought right to that point. Are you going to just fold and fit in with the world, get your straw from the world, or are you going to trust the Lord? And we know that we can't do it. It's not saying you better do this or else, because we're all dead then.

But it makes us to see, Lord, I need you. Lord, I need your grace. Lord, keep me, sustain me, because I'm about to be overwhelmed here by the enemy. For as many as are led of the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear. And that's it, the persecution and the trouble comes. But ye have received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry, Abba, Father. And that's the testimony of God in you because you are crying out to him, Daddy, Father, save me.

Remember me, Lord. Have mercy upon me. Have mercy on my brethren. Lord, save us. Provide for us. That's where he brings his people who are persecuted and troubled in this world by the various ailments and manifold temptations that we all face in this world. We're driven to our Father. to cry out to him for strength and mercy and salvation.

The spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. Through that cry, through that cry, it's a testimony that God is your God, that he has sent his son to lay down his life for you, to shed his blood for you, and he has washed you in his blood. He has given you his spirit. You're walking by faith.

That's why you don't always see things as you would see them, but because it's of faith. And so of God are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God has made unto us wisdom righteousness and sanctification and redemption that according as it's written he that glorieth let him glory in the Lord. And I'm not gonna see the strength that I think I should see, I'm gonna see the strength of my Lord who keeps me in spite of of me.

And so the Jews here at this time they weren't ready for this. Pharaoh was going to be made an example of. in the world, right? God was going to display his power. It's building up to that. Trust the Lord. Wait on the Lord. The people, they weren't ready for this yet. They still thought it was all going to be easy and a cakewalk. They're learning. No, no. You're being called to be good soldiers in Christ. You're gonna march. I'm sure when you were in Vietnam, it was hot, sticky, horrible days with mosquitoes and all kinds of discomforts and things that troubled you, but you were sustained. You endured through it.

That's how the Lord, he's gonna keep us in the warfare, sustaining his soldiers, his people in the Lord Jesus Christ. And so we are made to see the inheritance that we've obtained in the Lord Jesus Christ and that our God is working all things according to the counsel of His own will. And He conforms us to His own will, being made content and at peace with God, who is wise and does all things well. To the praise, honor, and glory of His name. Amen.