Lessons From The Wonders

Q: What does the Bible say about God's sovereignty in disasters?

The Bible teaches that God is sovereign over all events, including disasters, and uses them for His purposes. The Scriptures declare that God is sovereign over all creation, including the calamities we witness in the world. As taught in Isaiah 45:7, 'I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I, the Lord, do all these things.' This indicates that nothing occurs outside of God's control and intention. In moments of disaster, God uses such events to communicate either judgment to His enemies or comfort to His chosen people. This theme resonates throughout the biblical narrative, as evident in the plagues of Egypt which portrayed both divine judgment and God's mercy towards His people. The plagues inflicted upon Egypt serve as an example of God’s sovereign rule; He orchestrates events to fulfill His redemptive purposes. Both the Old Testament and the Book of Revelation reveal that God administers His will through calamity, which can either serve as a means of judgment for the reprobate or as a way of strengthening and refining His elect. Understanding this high view of God's sovereignty provides comfort and assurance that His purposes will ultimately prevail, fulfilling Romans 8:28, that 'all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.'

Q: How do we know God's election is true?

God's election is affirmed in Scripture and demonstrated through His consistent providence and grace. The doctrine of election is rooted in the sovereign choice of God, as exemplified in passages such as Ephesians 1:4-5, which states that believers were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. This election is not based on foreseen merit but solely on God's grace and purpose. Throughout Scripture, we see God actively choosing individuals and nations to fulfill His redemptive plans, highlighting His sovereignty in salvation. In addition, the consistent biblical narrative reinforces the truth of election through various examples. God chose Israel as His covenant people despite their unworthiness, which signifies that His election is not contingent on human action but on His divine will. Moreover, Romans 8 elucidates that those whom God predestined, He also calls, justifies, and glorifies, underscoring the unbreakable chain of God's redemptive purposes that culminates in the salvation of His elect. Therefore, God's election is verifiable through His unwavering commitment to fulfill His promises and the providential guidance of His people throughout history.

Q: Why is it important for Christians to understand God's wonders?

Understanding God's wonders strengthens faith and recognition of His sovereignty and grace. For Christians, grasping the meaning and implications of God’s wonders is essential for nurturing a robust faith. The wonders He performs, such as the plagues in Egypt, serve as reminders of His supreme authority and His unfailing commitment to His people. These events not only illustrate His might but also provide profound lessons regarding His grace and providence in history. As seen in Psalm 136:4, 'To Him who alone doeth great wonders,' these actions encourage believers to trust in the Lord’s character and His overarching plan for humanity. Moreover, understanding these wonders allows Christians to appreciate the depths of God's love and mercy. They remind us that God is actively involved in the world, exercising His sovereignty even amid trials and calamities. This understanding fosters hope, reinforcing the truth that God works through all circumstances for the good of His people, as articulated in Romans 8:28. By contemplating God’s wonders, believers can cultivate a deeper appreciation for His redemptive work throughout history and in their personal lives, ultimately leading to greater worship and adoration for the God of all creation.

You will recall two weeks ago
tonight I preached to you on God's wonders in the land of
Ham, showing you how the plagues our God brought upon the Egyptians
portrayed his distinguishing grace upon his elect. Tonight
I want us to go back to Exodus 3, verses 19 and 20, and I want
us to once more look at these wonders God wrought in the land
of Ham, the plagues of Egypt. and look at some of the lessons
that are found in these plays. Exodus chapter 3 verse 19. The Lord Jesus speaks to Moses
and says, I am sure, I am sure that the king of Egypt will not
let you go. No, not by a mighty hand. And
I will stretch out my hand and smite Egypt with all my wonders,
which I will do in the midst thereof. And after that, he will
let you go. Now remember, these plagues that
God wrought in Egypt, wrought upon and against the Egyptians,
were wonders of his grace wrought in the land of Ham, by which
he accomplished the deliverance of his people out of Egyptian
bondage. Turn back to Psalm 105 for a
second. I want you to see this clearly.
To the children of Israel, these were plagues. To the people of
God, they were wonders of grace. Psalm 105, verse 23. Israel also
came into Egypt, and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham. Remember
Ham, Noah's cursed son, and his children represent all the reprobate
of this world who are servants of servants to God's elect. And
he, that is Israel, or the Lord God, increased his people. He
increased them greatly while they were in Egypt. And he made
them stronger than their enemies. But that's not all he did. He
turned their heart, he turned the hearts of the Egyptians to
hate his people. Now let that sink in. It wasn't
by accident that the Egyptians hated them. He turned their heart
to hate his people, to deal subtly with his servants. He sent Moses
his servant, and Aaron whom he had chosen. They showed signs
among them, and wonders in the land of Ham. It is natural, the
natural tendency of men, and our natural tendency as men. to look upon things like earthquakes,
tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, all those terrible things that
happen as freak accidents, things that have no explanation. How
often have you heard folks say, well, that just can't be explained?
Or how often have you said, well, there's just no explanation?
I beg to differ. There is an explanation. Believers
sometimes are lulled into thinking like the world. when terrorists
attack the nation or attack other nations, when nations make war
against us or against others. Our immediate response is to
retaliate against the enemy, and such a response is both demanded
and just. It is proper that we retaliate
against the enemy so that we protect the liberties we have
as a civil nation. But if anyone dares suggest that
the hand of God is to be seen in such things, he's looked upon
as something less than an idiot and a religious bigot. Why? Why is that? Why is it you just
almost are afraid to say God's hand is in that? Why is it that
you're almost afraid to, somebody says, well, how do you explain
this? You say, God did it. How come? because the whole world
prefers not to hear God speak. The whole world prefers to imagine
that God doesn't exist at all. Oh, I know most everybody sort
of tips his hat toward God in one way or another. He acknowledges
There is something that we call God, can't explain it, but we'll
reverence him or it or she or that and call it God and tip
our hat. We'll cover all the bases just
in case something happens and it turns out He really does exist.
But the whole world prefers to silence the voice of God that
screams in conscience. The voice of God that screams
in conscience particularly when disaster strikes. And the way
you do that is you pretend God has nothing to do with evil things. He speaks otherwise. It is God
who said He turned the heart of the Egyptians to hate His
people. It is God who declares He calls
the Egyptians to deal subtly with His people. It is God who
declares, I form light, and I create darkness. I make peace, and I
create evil. The fact is, God rules everywhere,
and he speaks in all his acts of providence. He speaks either
words of warning to those who are opposed to him, or words
of comfort to his people in the midst of trouble. Now you might
be thinking by now, Brother Don, what does that have to do with
the plagues in Egypt? I'm glad you asked. Let me give
you a homework assignment. Sometime tonight or tomorrow,
at least while this message is fresh on your mind, turn to the
book of Revelation and begin at chapter 5 and verse 9, where
the Lamb of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, takes the seven-sealed
book from the hand of the triune God. Now that seven-sealed book
is not sealed with seven imaginary dispensations. The seven seals
in the book represent the unfolding purpose of God Almighty written
in the book of his decrees before the world began. And the Lord
Jesus begins to open those seals in chapter 6 of Revelation and
verse 1. And that goes on until you get
to the first part of chapter 19. Read Revelation 5, 9 through
19, 1 through 6, and see the opening of the seals, those seven
seals being opened. This is the picture John gives
us in Revelation 10. The Lord Jesus stands with one
foot on the earth and one foot on the sea, sovereign over sovereign
over all the nations of the earth and all the things of the earth,
and he opens the seal. He just turns a page in the book
of God's purpose. The sun rose this morning, and
the Son of God just turned another page in the book of God's purpose. In all that came to pass throughout
all the universe this day, he just fulfilled another page in
God's purpose. both in that which appears to
be horribly evil and in that which appears to be blessedly
good. In all, he is doing good to his people and bringing judgment
upon his enemies. In all the things that we look
at as calamities, things that we look at as terrible disasters,
what we look at as accidents, freaks of nature, things that
shouldn't have happened but did, In all these things, the Lord
God warns his enemies of judgment to come. Do you see how God swept
away the thousands in the tsunami? Soon he's going to sweep the
whole earth clean of his enemies. And that's what he said, you
and me too. Do you see how thousands were
slain by the hand of God? as those Arabs flew those planes
into the trade centers, so he will slay all the world by the
hand of his judgment. Now, I know folks scream and
they fight against that and say, oh, you mean God did that? How
could God kill innocent people? Find me an innocent people and
I'll show you how. No such animal walks on this
earth. No such animal. None at all. God Almighty declared
by all these things so too he will rid the world of his adversaries,
and at the same time declares his tokens of mercy upon his
people, giving a word of comfort that these things shall in no
way harm his own, not in any way whatsoever. God speaks in
judgment as he speaks in acts of judgment. And he speaks in
mercy, as he speaks in acts of both judgment and of mercy. And there is a distinct parallel
between the ten plagues that God brought upon the Egyptians
and the opening of the seals portrayed by John in the vision
God gave him in Revelation, chapters 5 through 19. I'm often asked,
what does it take to save a sinner? And we like to categorize things. This is necessary, and this is
good, but it's not necessary. This is good, but it's not necessary.
Just certain things are necessary. This is what it takes to save
your soul. God must choose you. That's the
first thing. And without God's election, there's
no salvation. The Lord Jesus Christ must redeem
you from your sin by His blood. But God's choosing you and Christ
redeeming you is not the end of salvation. Nobody gets to
glory only by Christ dying. God the Holy Spirit must regenerate
you, give you life and faith in Jesus Christ. But it doesn't
stop there. He must keep you by His grace. He is continually saving us now,
holding us in the grip of His grace, just as much as when first
He loved us and chose us from eternity. And Him holding us
today is just as necessary to our salvation as Christ dying
for us at Calvary. But that's not all. That's not
all. What does it take to save you? Everything that is. Everything that has been. Everything
that shall be. For this God has purposed to
bring to pass the saving of all His people through the earth.
Is that not what Paul tells us in Romans chapter 8? We know
that all things work together for good to them that love God,
to them who are the called according to His purpose, for whom he did
foreknow, them he also did predestinate, to be conformed to the image
of his Son, that his Son might be the firstborn among many brethren. God's dealings with Israel, or
dealings with Egypt and Israel together in the book of Exodus,
were altogether typical. They portrayed divine judgment
upon the ungodly, and at the same time portrayed God's salvation
of His people. The Egyptians, the land of Ham,
represent all the reprobate of this world. They represent the
whole world. Now we need to learn this and
learn it well. The whole world, throughout this
book, beginning in Genesis chapter 3, or chapter 4, with Cain and
Abel, all the way through to the end of the book, the whole
world is constantly set before us here as being in opposition
to God and in opposition to his people. It has never, never changed. For the Bob just read that passage
in Psalm 33, blessed is that people, that nation whose God
is the Lord. There's only been one nation
in this world whose God is the Lord. And it didn't start on
this continent in 1776. The only nation whose God is
the Lord is that holy spiritual nation whom he's made his own,
the Church of the Living God. The whole world, the whole political
world, The whole science world, the whole educational world,
the whole civil world, the whole economic world, the whole religious
world is constantly opposed to God. So what was this nation
in the beginning? Oh, yes, it was. Read your history
books. It was started by rebellion.
That's just facts. That's just fact. I'm as loyal
an American as you're going to find, and I'm willing to fight
for my nation and the liberties God's given us in this nation.
But the whole world is opposed to God, including this one. No, no, probably this one more
than any other. Read the laws written on the
books, continually being enacted. The whole world is hell-bent
on the destruction of God's people. That's what we find in the book
of God throughout, particularly in the book of Revelation, as
John describes this world, slaughtering God's saints, persecuting God's
saints, the people of God crying, how long, oh Lord, how long will
you not avenge the blood of your saints? That's what the world
is doing, determined to cause God's people either to be extinguished
or to embrace all their obscenities and go along with them. God's
chosen Israel was languishing in Egyptian bondage. And the
Lord Jesus here in Exodus 3 raises up Moses and sends him to deliver
his people. He knew the Egyptians and their
Pharaoh would refuse to let his people go. So he told Moses,
I will stretch out my hand and smite Egypt with all my wonders,
which I will do in the midst thereof. And after that, he will
let you go. Now the plagues, those ten plagues,
turning water to blood, covering the land with frogs and then
with lice. And then swarms of flies and
pestilence, murain upon all the livestock. Boils breaking out
on people and on beasts. Hail and fire striking the people
and the livestock and the vegetation. Hordes of locusts eating the
vegetation. Deep darkness over all the land
of Egypt. And then at last God killed the
firstborn of all the Egyptians. Those ten plagues teach us much
about the sovereign providence of God our Savior, to whom the
Lord God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit has given dominion over
all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as God
has given him. They typified the work of our
Redeemer among the nations today and in all ages in his providence. That's how it's set forth in
the book of Revelation. Let me remind you. The opening
of the seven seals portrays the work of our sovereign Christ
in providence throughout history. The trumpet judgments are set
before us as God calling people who deserve His wrath to repentance,
but they will not repent. The vile judgments portray our
sovereign Savior dispensing, executing His holy wrath upon
a world that will not hear His voice, that hardens its heart
against Him and goes on hardening its heart all the more in impenitence. The judgments portrayed in John's
vision are not to be viewed as successive things. No, no, they
are parallel all the way through. Those judgments, the opening
of the seven seals, the trumpet judgments, the vial judgments,
they're not things that come one after the other, but they
are things to be seen throughout history running as a parallel.
constantly being performed, particularly from the first advent to the
second advent of Christ, because John sees him as that glorious
Savior who came to redeem and save his people and is coming
again to finish that work. The ten plagues, as in the seven
seals of Revelation, the Lord Jesus went out conquering and
to conquer all the world. In Revelation chapter 6, as in
Exodus and throughout the scriptures, we see him going forth conquering
the world that's bent on conquering him. He says, I will build my
church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. The Lord is a man of war, and
he's at war with all hell for the salvation of his people.
And there's no danger of him losing the war. No danger of
him losing the conflict. As the Egyptians slaughtered
the Israelites, their babies, the firstborn of the male children,
the world ever persecutes and murders God's people. So that
doesn't happen today. Oh, yes, it does. It just doesn't
happen in our society in our present day here. But it happens
still around the world. And if men could do so, it would
happen right here, right now. As the Egyptians imposed economic
hardships upon Israel, they required them not only to be their slaves,
But after enslaving them, making them work for them for nothing,
then they required them to provide straw to make bricks for the
Egyptians. They required Israel to buy their
own straw or to gather their own straw and give it to make
bricks for the Egyptians. And so it is that the world continually
seeks to enslave God's people. You're not going to find me in
any way giving any credibility to, or joining any group of people
marching in protest to abortion clinics, or marching to get them
to put the Ten Commandments up in schools, or marching to keep
them from taking the Ten Commandments out of the courthouses. But I
despise with all my heart the reason why those things are being
done. It is the attempt of the world
to rid society of every thought of God. Well, why don't you join
forces with them? Because those fellows, they'd
hang me up to die if they could. They crucified my Redeemer for
declaring the same things I do. So I won't join forces with those
religious folks who protest such things. But don't ever imagine
it's because we in some way are in agreement with the politicians
and the politics of the world. But even in such opposition as
the world makes, I'm not looking for words, I want you to hear
me. When the politicians pass a law requiring that doctors
perform abortion, when politicians pass a law requiring that queers
be married to one another, I chose my words on purpose. I'm sorry
if that offends you, you need to pay attention to what's going
on around you. Politicians pass laws. requiring all the obscenities
that politicians require. Oh, God's not in control. Listen
to me. Jesus Christ is still riding forth over the world on
his pure white horse, conquering and to conquer for the saving
of his people. Nothing is out of control. You
mean he uses those things too? Oh, yes he does. Oh, yes he does,
both to conquer hell and to save his own. This is what Moses sang
about in Exodus 15. Turn over there. When Moses got
done observing all that our Lord had done in Egypt, all those
wonders in Egypt, he led Israel into sorrow. Then sang Moses
and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord, saying, I
will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously. Verse 2. The Lord is my strength
and song. He has become my salvation. He
is my God, and I will prepare him a habitation, my Father's
God, and I will exalt him. The Lord is a man of war. The
Lord is His name. Verse 7, And in the greatness
of thine excellence said, Thou hast overthrown them that rose
up against thee. Thou settest forth thy wrath,
which consumed them as stubble. Verse 9, The enemy said, I will
pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil. Remember what
we read in the psalm? Thou turnest them to hate thy
people. The enemy said, I will draw my
sword, my hand shall destroy them. And Moses says, Thou didst
blow with Thy wind, the sea covered them, they sank as dead in the
mighty waters. Who is like unto Thee, O Lord,
among the gods? Who is like unto Thee, glorious
in holiness, fearful in praises, doing Now hear me, children of
God, this is what our Lord is doing all the time. With everybody,
everywhere, wonders. Wonders of grace. Wonders of
mercy. Not only does our Lord Jesus
assure us that he will avenge the blood of his saints, he assures
us that his chosen shall not be even slightly harmed by all
that is done against it. Read the 91st Psalm. We won't
turn there and look at it now, but you read the 91st Psalm.
He speaks of arrows flying by day and night. He speaks of plagues
and sickness and war and pestilence. And he says, it shall not come
nigh thee. Does that mean that God's people
are never hurt when a tsunami occurs? That none of God's people
are ever swept away in a hurricane or flood of His wrath? That none
of God's people are ever devoured in an earthquake or in a war?
Of course not. Of course not. What does it mean
then? Does it mean none of God's people
get sick if they live right and live close to God? Of course
not. No, it doesn't mean any of those things. What does it
mean? It means no harm comes to God's people, even when it
appears we are greatly harmed. Can you grasp that? Can you grasp
that? There shall no evil happen to
the just. Well, what about when you get
sick, brother Don? It ain't bad, it's good. What
about when someone you love is taken from you? It's not bad.
Bad as it feels, it's good. What about they perish under
God's wrath? Doesn't that hurt you? Breaks my heart, but it
doesn't harm me. Nothing going to harm anyone
who's in his hand. Can you get hold of that? Nothing
will harm anyone who's in his hand. It must first harm him,
and that can't be. Not only that, those things that
we look upon as evil, not only shall not harm God's elect, but
they shall work positively for the salvation of God's elect
according to God's purpose. Let me show you this clearly.
Isaiah 45. Isaiah 45. Did you ever notice, in reading
the book of Revelation, you get to chapter 6, and John sees the
opening of the seals, and he sees the judgments of God working. And then in chapter 7, he sees
something that seems strange. There seems to be an interruption.
He sees an angel who arises from the east and says, wait a minute!
Don't hurt the earth until we have sealed the 144,000 chosen
in the earth. It's not an interruption at all.
It's an explanation. The Lord Jesus has sealed His
own, and they shall not be hurt while all the earth is hurt,
but rather helped. Remember in Revelation 12, the
earth helped the woman and her child. The earth helped the church. Tried to kill him, but it only
helped him. Isaiah 45, verse 5, I am the
Lord, and there is none else. There is no God beside me. That
is to say, there's not another God other than me, and there's
no God sitting up there beside me, no rival to me. I girded
thee, though thou hast not known me, he said to Cyrus, that they
may know from the rising of the sun and from the west That is,
that the whole world may know that there is none beside me. I am the Lord and there is none
else. Now watch verse 7. I form the
light and create darkness. I make peace and create evil. But that's not where it ends.
I, the Lord, do all these things. Drop down, ye heavens from above,
and let the skies pour down righteousness. Let the earth open, and let them
bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together. Oh, I don't like that. I won't
worship a God like that. Yes, you will. Woe unto him that
stiveth with his maker. Let the potsherds stive with
the potsherds of the earth. Ask Pharaoh about it. Shall the
clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou, or thy
work he hath no hands? The seven trumpets and seven
vials of revelation were also typified in these plagues. The
earth is stricken with hail and fire, destroying vegetation,
stricken with sores that afflict that part of mankind worshiping
the beast. just as in Egypt God sent the
hail and the fire and sores. The sea is stricken, we're told
in John's vision, with death, turning the waters of the earth
into death, into blood, just as God struck the Nile River,
turning it into blood and into death. We're told in Revelation
8 that the heavens are stricken with darkness, God turning light
to darkness. just as darkness covered Egypt
for three days, but there was nothing but sunlight in the land
of Goshen." Hold your hand here in Exodus and turn to 2 Thessalonians
2. I think I know exactly what John
was talking about, and I think I know exactly what the darkness
in Egypt portrayed. The Holy Spirit is here telling
us about the Antichrist and the opening of evil upon the earth
by the hand of God. And he says in verse 11, For
this cause God shall send them strong delusion that they should
believe a lie, that they all might be damned who believe not
the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. But there's
no darkness in the land of Goshen. Look here. But we're bound to
give thanks all way to God for you, brethren beloved of the
Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation. Why was there no darkness in
Goshen? Because a chosen people dwelt there to whom God is never
anything but light. Why is it that in this world,
covered with darkness, so darkness so thick you can taste it, darkness
of religious superstition and nonsense that's unimaginable,
how come it ends? that you walk in light as children
of the light because God chose you. The only difference between
the damned living and the damned already in hell and you and me
is God's sovereign love and election and grace. He alone makes us
to differ. The wicked today are afflicted
with locust and with darkness and pain. We read in Revelation
9, Revelation 16, just as the Egyptians were back in Exodus
8, 9, and 10. That darkness with locusts and
pain devours everything that men look upon as being pleasurable
and desirable and wanted and turns everything into a curse
upon their head. But there's no pain. no bitterness,
and no locust in the land of Goshen. As the firstborn in every
house of Egypt was slain, so we are told that the Lord God
our Savior commands His angels to kill the third part of men
dwelling upon the earth. And yet still, even in the slaughter
of their firstborn, neither Pharaoh nor the Egyptians repented. They
just hardened their hearts to more, and so it is today. The
wrath and judgment of God upon men never, ever produce repentance. And then we read about the end.
In the end, our Savior makes this announcement. The kingdoms
of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His
Christ. He lifts His hand to heaven and
says, It's done. It's done. Everything exactly
as it was purposed from eternity is done. And he presents the
kingdom to the Father, that God may be all in all. Now, what
is all this written to teach us? Why did God the Holy Spirit
reveal these things back in Exodus? And why does he speak of them
again by way of explanation in the book of Revelation? For what
purpose were they written? Listen. Now, all these things
happened unto them for example. and they are written for our
admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are called." That
means David Burge, God did this to teach you and me something.
He did this to teach us something, to write something on our hearts.
For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our
learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures
might have hope. The plagues God brought upon the Egyptians,
the wonders He is performing today in the land of Ham are
intended to teach us, number one, that Jesus Christ, our God
and Savior, is the God of gods. Over and over and over again
we are told He is the God of gods. Turn to Psalm 136. Our Savior said the plagues He
executed in Egypt were executed against the gods of Egypt. what
those people in that land of darkness worshipped. Now, we
admire the Egyptians, and we still explore the tombs of the
pharaohs, and we get all excited when they discover something
new, those marvelous pyramids, those great architectural feats,
the science that's still being discovered among those brilliant,
brilliant people of Egypt. You know, they were almost as
brilliant as the scientists in our day. Almost as brilliant
as the great scholars of our day. Let me tell you what they
worshipped. Throughout the land, people worshiped dogs, and cats,
and goats, and jackals, and lions, and hippopotamuses, and apes,
and birds, and frogs. They even worshiped the Nile
River and the sun. All those things. When God performs
his wonders in Egypt. Y'all worship cattle? Let me
show you what I do, you gods. Y'all worship the Nile River?
That's our life. Oh, this is our God. Let me show
you what I'll do with your Nile River. The Lord God seems to
just mock and humiliate the gods of the Egyptians. Sort of like
Elijah on Mount Carmel with the gods of Baal. He said, cry a
little louder. Maybe your God had to go to the
bathroom. Maybe he's gone to ease himself
a little bit. Well, we respect all religions.
I respect one religion. I respect one God and one Savior. All others, you might as well
worship a pile of manure. They're called dung gods in this
book. Look at Psalm 136. Oh, give thanks
unto the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endureth forever.
Oh, give thanks unto the God of gods. What a word! For his mercy endureth forever. Oh, give thanks to the Lord of
lords. for his mercy endureth forever.
To him who alone doeth great wonders, for his mercy endureth
forever. Our God is in the heavens. He
and he alone hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. Number two,
these things are written to teach us that our great God and Savior
afflicts and even sacrifices men and nations upon the altar
of His infinite love for His people. He says, I gave Egypt
for thee, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. Oh, how I glory in God's
distinguishing grace. By God, teach me to trust you. He who raises up and tears down
nations for me. He who raises up and overthrows
pharaohs for me. He who rules the world for me. Whom shall I fear? Of what shall
I be afraid? My God is the God of gods. Third, learn this. You remember
what Pharaoh's sorcerers did? His magicians? His prophets? Moses and Abram performed a miracle
and they said, we can do that. And they did it until at last. We can't do that. That's the
finger of God. His magicians withstood Moses,
but they didn't prevent Moses. They opposed Moses, but they
didn't prevent Moses. They fought against Moses, but
they didn't hinder Moses. They derided Moses, but they
didn't stop Moses. They imitated Moses, the most
dangerous thing of all. But they still did nothing to
hurt Moses or his cause, or to stop the deliverance of Israel.
Now hear me. Hear this book. As Janes and
Jambres withstood Moses, so shall they. But they shall proceed
no further. You mean preacher, false prophets
aren't going to hurt God's church? Not slightly. You mean Antichrist
is not going to hinder God's purpose? Not slightly. They too are but instruments
in the hands of our God, as much so as Satan himself for the accomplishing
of his purpose. I can't explain it, but I can
worship God who rules them. I can't begin to explain how
this thing works. I'm not about to try to tell
you how God sovereignly rules everything. I can't even grasp
the idea of sovereignty. But I worship God who sovereignly
rules everything. Either all things work together
for good to them that love God, to them who are the call to His
purpose, or they don't. Which does the book say? All
things. All things. Fourth, learn this. Salvation is of the Lord. It is the work of His goodness.
Wrath, judgment, and law never produce repentance. They produce
terror so that people will, when they are in a time of great dread
or fear of Christ, oh, I sinned against the Lord. Pharaoh did,
several times, several times. But he never repented to give
God the glory. You see, repentance comes not
by wrath, not by judgment, not by law, but by the revelation
of Jesus Christ crucified in you. They shall look on me whom
they have pierced. Oh, if God ever reveals His Son
in you, the work's done. Repentance shall be wrought in
you, but unless God stops you, Hell will be your everlasting
portion, for you will continually harden your heart against Him.
One more thing. God's wonders in the land of
Ham, those plagues performed in Egypt and those wonders still
being performed in the land of Ham, declare in bold letters,
all Israel shall be saved. He said He would save His people. He said, I'm going to bring them
out. I'm going to bring them out. And you know, the way some
folks talk, this is an astonishing thing. He didn't. He did it. With an outstretched arm and
a mighty hand, he brought them out, everyone, not one left behind. When the Lord brought Israel
out, not so much as a hoof was left behind. You remember Pharaoh's
final attempt to get Moses to compromise? He told him, you
go out here and leave your children here. You go out and you go out
just three days and come back. Final compromise was, he said,
all right, y'all go. Y'all go. Just leave your cattle
behind. And Moses said, there shall not
so much as the hoof of a calf be left behind when we go out
of here. We're going out with a high hand. When we go out,
we're going to take everything out of here that's worth anything. And that's exactly what they
did. How? God gave them favor in the eyes
of the Egyptians so that when they went out, they spoiled the
Egyptians. You need some pots and pans to
worship your God? Here, take them. You need some gold? Take
them. You need a little silver? Take it! Whatever it takes to
get you out of here! Go ahead! We want you and your
God out of this place!" And they went out and spoiled the Egyptians
exactly as God had purposed before the world began. And so it shall
be. He will save. His people by His
mighty stretched out arm to the praise of the glory of His grace. Amen.

Lessons From The Wonders

What does the Bible say about God's sovereignty in disasters?

How do we know God's election is true?

Why is it important for Christians to understand God's wonders?

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Lessons From The Wonders

What does the Bible say about God's sovereignty in disasters?

How do we know God's election is true?

Why is it important for Christians to understand God's wonders?

Sermon Transcript

About Don Fortner

Comments

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Joshua

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