How often have you as a believer
been fully convinced, absolutely confident, that God
would have you to do something? And you began to look at yourself
or the demands that obedience would require. or the cost or
the apparent likelihood of success and chose disobedience rather
than obedience. How often? God forgive me. Such rebellion, which is the
fruit, always the fruit of unbelief. Perhaps you ask sometimes because
we recognize salvation is by God's free grace. We recognize
that God will never impute sin to His own. We recognize that
we are accepted in Jesus Christ. Our sin is washed away in His
blood, past, present, and future. We recognize that our only acceptance
with God is the righteousness of Christ our Savior. All those
things We say yea and amen. That's exactly right. In that
case then, how important can obedience be? Is it really necessary? Let's look at Exodus chapter
4 and find an answer given to us by God the Holy Spirit. Moses
had been called of God to go down to Egypt to deliver his
people from the oppressive bondage of Pharaoh and the Egyptians. Moses took his wife and his two
sons and started to Egypt, and along the way they stopped for
a night's rest at the local Hilton. And it came to pass by the way
in the inn that the Lord met and sought to kill him. Be sure you hear that. The Lord
met him while he was going down to Egypt, going down to do what
God told him to do, and sought to kill him. Then Zipporah took
a sharp stone, a piece of flint, and cut off the foreskin of her
son and cast it at Moses' feet and said, Surely a bloody husband
art thou to me. So the Lord let him go. Then she said, A bloody husband
thou art because of the circumcision. I think it is safe to say God
requires obedience in his children. How important is it? That's the
question I want to answer in this message. And I want to show
you five or six things that are clearly set before us in Scripture.
Number one, obviously Moses was a believer. He was a saved man. He was a child of God. This was
not just some fellow on the streets who had, by some act or failure
to act, had incurred the displeasure of God upon that which he had
either done or not done. The Holy Spirit tells us in Hebrews
chapter 11, that when Moses had left Egypt 40 years earlier,
when he had risen up to defend his brethren in Egypt and flew
from Egypt, flew from Pharaoh and went into Midian, when he
left Egypt he was acting in faith. This man Moses was already a
believer when the Lord Jesus appeared to him in the burning
bush. and revealed his purpose of grace to redeem the children
of Israel out of Egyptian bondage. He was already a believer when
he turned aside to see this great sight, how that the bush was
burned but was not consumed. And he heard God speak to him
out of the bush and revealed himself in his glorious, redemptive
name, Jehovah. Moses was already a believer
when all these things took place. had already now received word
and commission from God as his messenger, as his servant to
go down to Egypt and deliver his people. No question there.
Moses was washed in the blood of Christ. Justified, sanctified,
accepted in Jesus Christ. A saved man. One like you who
know God. A believer. A believer. but still a man with much sin. Now I stress that, all these
things, because I want you to make no mistake about this child
of God, or about ourselves. God's people in this world, while
complete in Christ, lacking nothing, while perfectly accepted in Jesus
Christ, with an acceptance that can never vary, not from eternity. God's people in this world are
still a people who have to struggle hard with sin. Struggle hard
with sin because we don't really want to struggle with sin. Struggle
hard with sin because that which is most natural to us is sin. That's what we are in our nature. That's what our hearts are by
nature. And that nature is in no way
eradicated from us or even diminished by the grace of God coming to
save us. Not until at last we are taken
out of this world. There is this constant warfare,
flesh lusting against spirit and spirit against flesh. As
you read through the book of God, you cannot avoid observing
the fact that God the Holy Spirit makes no effort to hide, cover
up, in any way excuse or justify the evil deeds of the most imminent
men and women held before us as examples of faith in Holy
Scripture. Why? Why? Why does he tell us about Moses'
drunkenness? Why does he tell us about lots
of going down to Sodom and his incest with his daughters. Why
does it tell us about David's adultery and murder? Why does
it tell us about such things here as Moses, for some reason,
had done something that caused God to seek to kill him on the
spot as he's on his way down to Egypt? Is it so that we will
not think highly of God's people? Or think highly of God's servants?
Oh, no. No, no. He would have us to esteem
them and one another even as we esteem Jesus Christ our Lord. But he tells us these things
and tells them repeatedly to make us be reminded constantly
that salvation is all together with God, the work of His free
grace. Our goodness, our works, our
obedience, even our disobedience has nothing to do with God's
saving grace. It is altogether His work. Our only acceptance with God
is the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ. In Him we are
accepted, all the time accepted. And He would have us ever to
be lenient, gracious, and kind with regard to one another in
the midst of our own falls and weaknesses. God teach me that. God teach me that. Don't ever be lenient with yourself.
Don't be lenient with yourself. But bend over backwards with
your brethren. Bend over backwards in leniency
with them. This man Moses, not only was
a saved man, but he was one who had been called of God. Equipped
and sent of God to do a great work in the name of God. In Exodus
chapter 4 verses 18 through 23, the Lord God told him plainly
what he would have him to do. He told him, back in chapter
3, he said, I'm going to send you to Pharaoh, that you may
bring forth my people. And Moses, being aware of his
inability even to speak for God, much less to be a deliverer of
God's people, pleaded with the Lord God to Send someone else. I can't do this. God said, I'll
go with you. Moses still pleased with him.
Send somebody else. I'm not sufficient for this. God says, I'll make
Aaron your mouthpiece. And Moses finally starts off
toward Egypt. God gave him powers by which
he confirmed him as his messenger. The rod in his hand gobbling
up the serpent. hand being turned to leprosy
and then turned whole again, demonstrating the power of God,
cleansing His people and delivering His people. And then the water
poured out on the ground being made to blood, indicating judgment. All these by the hand of Moses. When God sends a man to do a
work for Him, you can mark it down. You can mark it down. If
God Almighty sends this man, if He sends me, On this errand
I'm about to make, if God sends me, whatever it is that His intent
is, these next few days shall be accomplished. And if I decide I just want to
go preach, that's another story. If I just decide, well, it'd
be a good thing to go out there and preach, that's another story.
If I decide, well, it'd be great to visit my friends and rescue
again, maybe preach to them a little bit, that's another story. But
if, as I stand to preach the Word of God, I stand as one sent
of God, there shall be nothing vain about it. And the same true
with any man every time he stands to preach. If he's sent of God,
Failure is an impossibility. If it is not sent of God, nothing
else but failure and vanity comes, no matter how it appears to the
eye of the flesh. And every man sent of God is
sent with a message. Look in chapter 4, verse 22.
God gave Moses a message. He said, Thou shalt say unto
Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord God, the Lord Israel is my son,
even my firstborn. It was a message of grace. He
said, Israel is my son. That's free grace. Israel is
my son, because I chose him, my firstborn. That is, he is
that one, this nation of people, are a people accepted in him
who is the firstborn, so that he looks upon Israel, his elect,
as he looks upon Christ, undivided from Christ, who is his firstborn
son. Oh, what a word of grace. God
says concerning you who are His, you and Christ are indivisible,
as really and truly one with Him as He is one with the Father. It was also a message of judgment.
The Lord said, And I say unto thee, Let my Son go, that he
may serve me. And if thou refuse to let him
go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn. In verse
12, it was a message of redemption. The Lord said, I will bring them
out of Egypt. I will bring them out. And Moses
has taken his wife Zipporah. He's got his two sons, Gershom
and Eleazar, and they're headed down to Egypt. I can just imagine. I can imagine the questions that
must be going through his mind. Questions that he probably doesn't
even discuss with Zipporah. And Gershwin, probably doesn't
even discuss it with him, questions that he dare not speak to another,
lest he cause others to have the same fears he has. He's going
down to Pharaoh. But God sent him. And God said,
I'm going to cause Pharaoh to let my people go, and you're
going to bring them out. So in the midst of personal unfitness,
he recognizes the descent of God to do a work that nobody
else on the earth could do, because God sent him to do it. What an
honor. What an honor. And then something
happened. God slapped him in the face. slapped him in the face because
of something, something that had transpired. Let's look at
Moses' sin. What was it? He had been guilty
of terrible evil. Terrible evil against God, his
Savior. It may be that Moses thought
it really didn't matter whether he circumcised his sons or didn't
circumcise his sons. I say that because he appears
to have circumcised the older boy, but not the younger. He
knew that it was the will of God for him to circumcise him.
He knew that God commanded it in the covenant that he gave
to Abraham, circumcision representing both redemption by blood and
the new birth, because by the new birth, the blood of Christ
is applied to our hearts. But Moses simply chose not to
do it. He chose not to. But the evil
began long, long before this. After leaving Egypt, Moses married
a Midianite woman. Not just an unbeliever, a pagan
unbeliever. The Midianites were the descendants
of Ishmael. And Moses knew full well I know
Moses knew because Moses wrote it himself in Genesis 6, verse
2, that God Almighty, in the fury of His wrath, destroyed
the whole world in a flood because His people chose to marry Pagans. Moses was in a strange land.
He was in Midian. And I don't have any doubt that
he was a whole lot like me. I won't say you. I have this
knack, this horrible, godless, selfish knack for justifying
myself about anything I want to do. Don't you? I'll justify it if I want to
do it. I don't have any question. Well,
I'm in this strange land. I'm getting to be an old man
now. And I believe this should be all
right. The Lord would get overlooking if I marry this Midianite woman.
After all, her daddy is powerful and she's pretty. So I'll take
her to be my wife. Be certain you understand this. Light and darkness. have no fellowship
with one another. You who are the Lord's, yes,
you're free to marry. Let no one talk to you about
celibacy being somehow a higher spiritual state. It ain't. It
ain't. But don't you even think about
marrying somebody who hates God. You do, you're going to marry
trouble for the rest of your life. unless God intervenes and
saves that one that you choose in rebellion. Oh, but I believe. It don't matter what you believe.
It don't matter what you believe. Zipporah proved to be a terrible
hindrance to Moses. It's obvious in reading this
passage that the reason Moses neglected his known duty can't
be but one thing. He was married to Zipporah. Not
any other reason. Their firstborn son, Gershom,
had apparently been circumcised when he was eight days old, as
God commanded. But Zipporah despised the ordinance
of God. That's a needless thing. Moses,
would you tell me what good it will do to circumcise that boy?
Why put him through that pain? Why do such a thing? That's barbaric. That's inhuman. Surely that's
not something we ought to do. And she opposed it. Our text
shows us that she was apparently a fiery, hot-tempered woman. I started to say a redhead, but
I've got a redheaded grandson now, so I can't say those things.
She was fiery, hot-tempered woman. She got what she wanted by tantrums. That's how she got what she wanted
from Moses, by pitching a fit. And Moses, he said, all right, honey, have
it your way. Have it your way. Let Moses stand
as a beacon of warning. We must each carefully watch
our own heart. We must not allow our fondness
for anyone or any relationship with anyone keep us from obedience
to our Redeemer. We dare not do so. Eli honored
his sons who were rebels rather than honoring God. But God loved
Eli, so he killed his sons. Moses in this area showed a great
deal more fear of Zipporah than of the Lord God, so the Lord
God sought to kill Moses. If we would follow Christ, if
Don Fortner would follow Christ, preacher, talk to yourself, my
earthly relations, love for that woman and my love
for my daughter and son-in-law and my grandchildren must never
even be considered when it comes to obedience. Never. A man's foes, our Savior said,
shall be they of his own household. Not necessarily because they
are going to turn against you. but because he that loveth father
or mother more than me is not worthy of me." I can't tell you,
and I fear this, I fear this, I can't tell you how many times
I have seen preachers suddenly decide that God had
changed His mind about what He wanted them to do because it
was getting time for the children to leave home. So they got to
come back from missionary field, getting time for this thing or
that to take place. The children are here, the children
are there. So they take off. Always convincing themselves,
God said in this, I've never seen one be of any use afterwards. Not once. Moses had been obedient
in so many things. He had followed Christ regardless
of cost or consequence. This man Moses, he acted somewhat
in presumption, but the Spirit of God tells us he acted in faith
when he slew that Egyptian. It was presumptuous because he
presumed the Lord had sent him before he sent him, but still,
he believed God. And he was willing to hazard
his life all those days. But now, he met with something
he had a tough time dealing with. Zipporah. He must have loved
that woman. This was one area where he was
not in obedience to his master. One matter which he had not surrendered
to Christ. He had not circumcised his son
Eliezer because he wanted to please Zipporah. You women probably cannot begin
to imagine what I'm talking about. There's not a married man here
who doesn't know what I'm talking about. How's this going to affect my
wife? That's what happened. Can you imagine what would have
happened if Abraham had come back when God said, now I want
you to go with three days journey into the wilderness. Take your
son, leave Sarah at home. Take your son up to the mountain,
I'm going to show you and kill him. Well, let me go discuss
this with Sarah. I'll guarantee you he didn't
tell Sarah where he was going the morning he packed up and
left. I'll guarantee you he didn't. If he had, Sarah would have tried
her best to talk him out of it. This issue had to be settled.
It was for Moses a point of rebellion. And I'll tell you something our
Lord demands. Take something he demands. He
demands it in the beginning and he demands it every day. The
surrender of our lives in totality to him. And he just keeps crossing us.
He just keeps crossing us. Thank God he keeps crossing us. He could let us go and kill us.
But he just keeps crossing us. Now, look how God settles the
issue in verse 24. The matter was so serious that
the Lord sought to kill Moses because of his sin. I don't know how the Lord sought
to kill him, we're not told. We're not told that Zipporah
was even aware of what was going on between God and Moses. Maybe
she was, maybe she wasn't, but Moses dead sure knew what was
going on. God met him at his point of rebellion and he said,
all right boy, Let this go long enough. We're going to settle
this issue right now and right here. Either you're going to
surrender to me or I'm going to kill you. One of the two.
Read it. And it came to pass by the way
in the end that the Lord met him and sought to kill him. Now, I'll tell you what. Larry,
I've read that every way I can read it. Looked up everything
I can look up on it. And you know how it comes out?
The Lord sought to kill him. Man, that throws a monkey wrench
in predestination theology, doesn't it? How are you going to reconcile
that? I'll tell you what I'm willing
to do. I'm willing to let folks argue with God about it until
they go to hell if they want to. I want to know what God has
to say here. Yes, the Lord God purposed to
bring Israel out of Egypt, purposed to bring Israel out of Egypt
by the hand of Moses. They must come out of Egypt by
Moses' hand. There's no question about that.
But Moses was fully aware that here the Lord God stood against
him as though he were his enemy and sought to kill him. God's
displeasure was revealed against Moses, not Zipporah. Hmm. Reckon how come? Because contrary as it is to
the insanity, I started to say the philosophy, the insanity
of the age, whether men and women recognize it or don't, a man
is still responsible to be the head of his house. He's still responsible. What
his wife is like is no excuse. Whether she's good or bad, no
excuse. Every man is responsible under
God to be a king and priest in his house, leading his family
in the worship of God all the time. Well, what if he's an unbeliever? That doesn't change his responsibility.
And the believer is responsible. God sought to kill Moses, not
Zipporah, because obedience of the household was on Moses' shoulder. It's not unusual for a man to
be united to a woman who opposes him in everything he seeks to
do, as he seeks to lead his family in the worship and service of
Christ, seeks to maintain discipline and rule over his household.
But that doesn't absolve any man from his responsibility.
Zipporah's wickedness is no excuse for Moses' disobedience. Before
Moses would be allowed to go on As God's spokesman, as God's
representative delivering Israel out of Egyptian bondage, God
said, set your own house in order. You see, no man, no man can be
allowed to undertake the rule of God's house who doesn't exercise
rule in his own house. He can't do it. Paul speaks of
that as a qualification for anyone set apart for the work of the
ministry. It is my responsibility as your pastor, I am Christ's
under-shepherd, but the pastor-teacher in this assembly is this man.
to whom the Lord Jesus has entrusted the rule of his house in this
place, ruled by his word. But I can't exercise that rule
here spiritually if I don't exercise that rule spiritually in my own
home. The neglect of any known duty
is a horrible evil. Any. Behold, to obey is better than
to sacrifice. We tend to gloss over things
we don't do, don't we? Well, I didn't do this, I didn't
do that. Not to do what you know God would have you to do is just
like committing adultery, murder, or idolatry. Anytime I fail to
do something, something I know God would have me to do, there
can be only one cause. Proud rebellion, covetousness,
and unbelief. No other excuse. No other excuse. I look at things and, no, Lord,
you'll have to forgive me this time. I can't do that. It just
costs too much. That's it. That's it. Whatever
it is, that's my point of rebellion at that time. And that's the
place where God's going to cross me if I'm His. Surrender to Christ is the only way we walk by faith
in Christ. Well, E.W. Johnson, years ago,
Darwin, I think you were present, his dad had asked him one time,
preaching on Lordship of Christ, and he said, There's just one
problem that I have with that. He keeps insisting on being boss,
and I keep hating it. And that's the problem we've
got. And he's going to make us like it, no matter what it takes. The Lord takes notice of and
is displeased with the sins of His people. Thank God He's forgiven
our sins, removed them from us. Brother Bob read back in the
office a little bit ago, as far as the East is from the West.
Thank God. He's not dealt with us after
our sins nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. And the man
who said that was a man whose son God killed because of his
iniquity. Thank God He's forgiven us our
sins. Thank God He will not impute sin to us. But don't ever imagine
that he isn't displeased with unbelief, rebellion, and sin. The thing that David did displeased
the Lord, and the thing that Moses did or didn't do displeased
the Lord. And as a grieved father, thank
God, never as an angry judge. But as a grieved father, he sharply
reproves our consciences by his word. and by his Spirit, chastens
us in his good providence. And in this place we're plainly
told God sought to kill him. It's gone on long enough. It's
gone on long enough. Brother Rothbard once made this
statement, the only way God will ever kill
a Christian It's when he's done with him, or he gets in the way. And in my lifetime, I've seen
a few men, I have every reason to believe, every reason to believe,
were born of God, who got in the way. And God killed them in such a
way that it was manifest, this thing is God's hand. Here's the fifth thing. After
God met him and sought to kill him, Moses repented. That is to say, and this is what
repentance is, He now did what he refused to do before. He turned from rebellion to obedience. His obedience to the Lord was
costly, very costly. We'll see that in just a minute.
But it was absolutely necessary. Moses knew that God meant business. He knew he had been wrong. And
therefore, he quickly circumcised his son. No, he didn't. No, he
didn't. Yes, he did. But Zipporah did
it. Yeah, Moses did. I don't know
because we're not told. Maybe the Lord had smitten him
so grievously that he physically could not get up and circumcise
his son. Maybe that's the case. Perhaps
that's not the case. Either way, he obviously commanded
his wife to circumcise their son. And when she got done, she
cut off his foreskin and threw it at Moses' feet and said, you're
a bloody husband to me. And she wasn't speaking in faith.
I read fellows trying to prepare this message, they said, this
is possibly an expression of faith. Not hardly. Not hardly. Thou art a bloody husband unto
me. It was an act of rebellion. Moses'
obedience was immediate. God said, circumcise the boy
or you're a dead man. You can do it right here and
right now, even if you have to do it with a piece of rock. Yes,
it was Zipporah who did the circumcising. She did it because Moses now
demanded it, assuming again the reigns of his house. And it was
a costly thing. It was a costly thing. We won't
turn there now for the sake of time. Well, let's do it. Turn
over to Exodus 18. Let me show you how costly it was. When they got done and God raised
up Moses, Moses packed two mules the next morning. Packed two mules. I'm sure Zipporah wondered, what
on earth are you doing, old man? And he said to her, on one of
the mules, put reins in one of the boy's hands, gave him provisions,
and said, you're going back to your daddy. And he sent him off. Now be assured, that was no easier
for Moses than it was for Abraham to kiss Ishmael and Hagar goodbye.
That's no easy thing. He didn't divorce her. No, no,
no. He provided for her, took care of her, but he had business
to do that was going to require every fiber of his being. It'd be enough to have to contend
with Pharaoh and those Israelites, the Egyptians and those Israelites,
the other folks and those Israelites. That's enough to contend with.
rather than having to do that all day and then go home and
contend with that hot-headed, angry woman. Now, how do you
know that's the case? Look here in Exodus 18. When
Jethro the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard of
all that God had done for Moses and for Israel, his people, and
that the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt, then Jethro, Moses'
father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent
her back. and her two sons. The name of
one was Gershom, for he said I had been an alien in a strange
land. The name of the other Eliezer,
for the God of my father said he was my help and delivered
me from the sword of Pharaoh." After Moses had done the work
God sent him to do, He sent and fetched Zipporah and his two
boys to him in the mount of God. He faced the fact that Zipporah
would be a constant hindrance to him, and he knew he could
not relinquish the command of God, no matter if Zipporah pitched
a fit every night. Oh, I thank God. for the constant
support and inspiration this dear lady gives me. And I honestly
don't know, Clare, whether I could do what I do if I had to face
what this man faced. I don't know. But I know men
who do. I know men who do. Once Moses bowed to the will
of God, God let him go. And oh, how he used him. Oh,
how he used him. Never a man in history other
than the God-man was so used. Never a man in history other
than the God-man accomplished such feats. Next time your children and grandchildren
take a notion they want you to read to them about Hercules or
Ben-Hur or some mythological figure, read to them about somebody
who did something. And there's no myth. Moses, this
man whom God sought to kill in the end, as soon as he bowed
to the rule of God his Savior, everything's at peace. And you
know what God never did? You know what God never did?
Never mentioned it again. Never mentioned it again. When
I was growing up, I got plenty of beatings. And I deserved every
one I got. I deserved that and some more.
But you know what I used to wish would happen? I started to pray
what happened. I wished so much that I'd just
get beat for what I did that time. Every time my mother took
the belt out, she brought up everything she could remember
all my life long. When I was 16 years old, she
was still beating me for what I did when I was three. And add
to that all the other things. The Lord God chastens us, not
because He's angry, but because He's displeased, and He loves
us, and He's determined to make His own. He says, my son, give me your
heart. And I promise you, one way or
another, he's going to seek to it, you give him your heart. One way or another. Moses and
Aaron now go to Egypt together. The Lord sends Moses home and
here he is out in the wilderness going back to Egypt I thought of this today, I thought,
what a remarkable thing. Here's this man 80 years old,
80 years old, at least 80, maybe a little more than that by now.
He's going back to Egypt, exactly like he went out of Egypt, with
nothing but the promise of God. Nothing. Completely alone. And
while he's going along his way, look at verse 27. The Lord said to Aaron, Go into
the wilderness and meet Moses. And he went, met him in the mouth
of God, and kissed him. Oh, when God causes heartache
from one side, He gives cheer and consolation from another.
Can you imagine how Moses' heart must have jumped within him when
he saw Abram come in? Hadn't seen him in 40 years. He comes
to greet him. And Moses told Aaron all the
words of the Lord who had sent him, and all the signs which
he commanded him. And Moses and Aaron went down
to Israel to tell them what God was determined to do. Verses
29, 30, and 31. And when they did, look at verse
31. When they heard, they believed, and they bowed, and they worshiped. Now let me say one more thing
to you. Do you remember when our Lord
was at the marriage of Cana of Galilee? Do you remember what
Mary told the servants there, told His disciples? I told the
servants at the marriage feast, I said, Whatsoever He sayeth
to you, do it. Children of God, Whatever He
says to you, do it. When I was 17 years old, I was thrust into the work of
the ministry and had never been a man more unfit. Never been a man more unfit.
You can't do that. You're right, I can't. But if
God says do it, I can do it. You see, obedience to our God has no possibility of failure. No possibility. You think you
can do it? If God tells me to, I can. How do you know? Because all
heaven waits to assist God's people, His servants, as they
do His bidding. Failure? No possibility. How do you know? Well, let's
see what happened down in Egypt. Moses went down there, killed
Pharaoh, destroyed Egypt. and brought Israel out by the
mighty hand of God. Whatsoever He saith to you, do
it. And do it with all your might
for the glory of His name. Amen.