That hymn brought back some memories
to me. That is the first hymn that I
remember the Lord ever speaking to me in. That particular hymn
by John Newton. And the first line goes like
this. In evil long I took delight,
unawed by shame or fear, until a new object caught my sight. And stop my wild career. I saw one hanging on a tree. In agony and blood. That's the
first hymn that I remember ever truly speaking to me, and that's
the first time I've heard it in a long time. That was a blessing.
Turn to Exodus chapter 7. Exodus chapter 6, excuse me. Verse 7, And I will take you to me for
a people, and I will be to you a God, and you shall know that
I am the Lord your God which bringeth you out from under
the burdens of the Egyptians." I've entitled this message, That
You May Know. I've had at least two conversations
in the last couple of days about some very important issues that
would affect people's lives in a very monumental way. And they
were talking to me about these issues. And I could only answer, I don't
know. I do not know the answer. I really just don't know. Wish I could give a better answer
than that, but it's the only answer I could give. I do not
know the answer. There are things about myself,
thinking about this. You know when you say, I just
don't know about that person. You ever said that about somebody?
I just don't know about that person. You know, when you say
that you're expressing or at least implying a suspicion for
some reason, aren't you? I just don't know about that
person. Well, I have reason to say this
about myself. I just don't know about me. And maybe that's easier than
saying what's something I'm really more afraid to say. Yes, I do
know about me. That's what we're afraid of,
isn't it? But I don't know. There's a lot of uncertainty
in those words, isn't there? I do not know. There's nothing wrong with saying
it when you don't know. Matter of fact, that's what you
ought to say when you don't know. I do not know. I've been reading over and over
the account of the ten plagues that God destroyed Egypt with. The water turned to blood. The frogs. The lice. The swarms of flies. The disease of the livestock. The boils. The hail. The locusts. The darkness that could be felt. And the death of the firstborn. The ten plagues. People speak
of disasters of biblical proportions. You've probably heard that statement
before, haven't you? With these, in fact, happened
to the land of Egypt. Can you even begin to imagine
living through that? That as I was reading this account,
and I've read it I don't know how many times in the last several
weeks, just thinking about what this passage of Scripture is
saying, there was a phrase that kept jumping out at me. And the
phrase was this, that you might know. As a matter of fact, that phrase
is found 11 times in the account of the Exodus. That you might
know. Well, I want to know, don't you? Whatever it is I'm supposed to
know, I want to know. I still love and I've referred
to it several times. It's something Brother McSherry
said that's always hit me. I thought about it. He said,
I want to be right. Who doesn't? Don't you want to
be right? There's a lot of flesh in that,
isn't there? I want to be right. But more importantly, I want
to know what's right. Now, I do. I want to know what's right. Well, we're going
to look at these statements in the Word of God that you might
know You know, there's a lot of things
we don't know. A whole lot of things we don't know. But there's
some things we know, too. And every believer will be able
to identify right off the bat with these things. You're going
to say, yes, I know that. Lord, I do not know, but I do
know that. Exodus 6, verse 7, And I will
take you to me for a people, and will be to you a God, and
you shall know that I am the Lord your God, which bringeth
you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians." You'll know
that I do this. Now, if you are saved, whatever
that means, if you are in fact saved, You know it was Him who
saved you. You're dead sure of that, aren't
you? If you're saved, you know it was Him who saved you. It is He that saved us, David
said, and not we ourselves. We know that salvation is of
the Lord. And we know that He is the one
who did it. It's all of grace. And you, if
you are saved, you know this is so. I don't have to argue
this with you. You know that if you know something about what
the Bible means by salvation, you know it was God that saved
you. You know you didn't save yourself.
You know that, don't you? You're sure of it. You don't
have to be argued into it. There's no debate here. You know
it. Now, this next one is very similar.
Look at Exodus chapter seven, verse five. And the Egyptians shall know.
That I am the Lord, when I stretch forth my hand upon Egypt and
bring out the children of Israel from among them. When they see
the success of what I do. When they see that I actually
bring the children of Israel out. They'll know that I am the
Lord. They'll see that I do not fail
in my intentions. I have purposed it. I will also
do it. Whatsoever the Lord pleased,
that did He. In earth and sea and in all deep
places. Our God is in the heavens. He
hath done whatsoever He hath pleased. Now, He's saying when
you see my success, You know that I am the Lord. The gospel we believe, listen
real carefully, the gospel we believe is a successful gospel. Now, most people, when they preach,
most churches, they preach that God loves everybody. Christ died for everybody. God
wants to save everybody. That was his intention. He wanted
to save everybody, but many of those people that he intended
to save. Were not saved. Question. If he intended these
people to be saved. And they were not saved. Is that
not failure? That's exactly what it is, it's
a failure. You know, if I believe. That
Jesus Christ died for everybody and intended to save everybody.
That all those people that He died for were not saved. If I
believe that, that Jesus Christ I believe is a failure. But that's
not the Christ of the Bible. He said, All that the Father
giveth me shall, shall come to me. This is the will of Him that
sent me, that of all which He hath given me, I should lose
how much? Nothing. But raise it up again
at the last day. We know, we know our Christ,
we know our Redeemer, we know our Lord is successful. We know
that, don't we? There's no question he cannot
fail. The scripture says in Isaiah
42, he shall not fail nor be discouraged. It can happen. Can happen and we know that.
Now look in verse 17 of chapter 7. This is very interesting. Thus saith the Lord. In this. In this now before I go on reading,
I want you to read this passage of Scripture very carefully.
We'll miss a great blessing if we don't see what's being said.
This is very powerful. In this thou shalt know that
I am the Lord. Behold, I will smite with the
rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river,
and they shall be turned to blood. Now, who is speaking here? the Lord. Thus saith the Lord."
Who is holding the rod? Aaron. Look down in verse 19,
And the Lord spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod,
and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their
streams, upon their rivers, upon their ponds, and upon all the
pools of the water, that they may become blood, that there
may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in the vessels
of wood and the vessels of stone. Aaron was holding that rod. But
what does God say? Thus saith the Lord, and this
thou shalt know, that I am the Lord. Behold, I will smite with
the rod that is in my hand upon the waters which are the river."
Now, Aaron was the one holding the rod. That's evident, isn't
it? Yet the Lord said, I'll smite
with the rod that is in my hand. What do I see here? the blessed
truth of union with Jesus Christ. If I'm in Christ, if I hold it,
He holds it. And if He holds it, I hold it. This is the blessed truth of
union with the Lord Jesus Christ. The two are one. The Lord's hand
is Aaron's hand, and Aaron's hand is the Lord's hand. Union
with Christ is throughout the Scriptures. I believe, right now, I believe
this is the biggest thing in Scripture, the most glorious
thing. By this you shall know that I
am the Lord. Union with the Lord Jesus Christ.
The two Christ and whoever He's united with, and that's me. I'll
talk about me. I'll talk about you. You're a
believer. This is you. This is talking about us. It's talking about
every believer. The two become one. All that I am, He becomes. All that He is, I become. The two become one. The two become
united. And you know what the great proof
of this is? And I say this reverently, but the great proof of this,
the great illustration is the wrong word. It's just what shows
it is the cross. Jesus Christ died. He really
died. They took him down dead. Why
does anybody die? There's only one reason. The
soul that sinneth shall surely die. He became what I am. He was made sin, and that's why
the Father killed Him. And just as truly as He became
what I... How real was His death? How real
was His death? That's how real union with Christ
is. Just as truly as He became sin, I am made, every believer
is made the very righteousness of God. Bold shall I stand in
that great day. How come? How can you be bold?
I'm the very righteous. Is Jesus Christ righteous? I
am, too. Now, that's amazing, isn't it? God says, I'll smite with my
hand. Now, wait a minute. Aaron wasn't
holding that rod. Aaron was holding the rod, but
God says, I'm holding it. The two are one. Union with the
Lord. Doesn't that give you confidence
to come into God's presence? I come united to Him. And I tell you
what, only the Lord can do this. Isn't that so? Only the Lord
can do this. By this you shall know that I
am the Lord. We know by this that he is the
Lord. God gives us grace to see the glory of this. Okay, Exodus
8, verse 10. Let's begin reading in verse
9. And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Glory over me, when shall I entreat
for thee and for thy servants and for thy people to destroy
the frogs from thee and for the houses that they may remain in
the river only? When do you want me to get rid of the frogs, is
what Moses is saying. He's got a reason for saying
it. And Pharaoh said, tomorrow. And he said, be it according
to thy word, they're going to leave tomorrow, that thou mayest
know that there is none like unto the Lord our God. Look in chapter 9, verse 14. For I will at this time send
all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon
thy people, that thou mayest know that there is none like
me in all the earth." We know, those of us who know him, we
know this. We're sure of this. We're sure
that he is utterly unique. We know there's nobody like him.
There's nobody that you can even compare to him. Now, you and
I, we've got our differences. There's no doubt. We've got our
differences. No two people are alike. People have different
personalities, different characteristics. They've got different DNA, you
know. I mean, it's, we're different.
I realize that. But there's not much difference
between us, is there? We're pretty much cut out of
the same mold, aren't we? And we're all, we're all a whole
lot alike. And I could say so many things
about that. We're all a whole lot alike.
But you know, there's nobody like him. He is utterly unique. He said, there's none beside
me. You know, he's the only one. For instance, only he is sovereign.
You know, we talk about sovereign nations. This is a sovereign
nation and that's a sovereign nation. There can't be two sovereign
nations. It's impossible. There's only one sovereign. Everybody
else is under the sovereign, aren't they? If they're truly
sovereign. Only He is all-powerful. You know what that means? How
much power we have in and of ourselves? None. Only He is all-powerful. Only He is all-wise. Only He is omnipresent everywhere. Only He is, well, I could go
on and on talking about only He is. He is utterly unique. You and I differ, but we're a
lot alike, but nobody's like the Lord. And if you know Him,
you know that, don't you? We sing that song, no mortal
can with Him compare among the sons of men. Fairer is He than
all the fair who fill the heavenly train. Nobody can be compared
to Him. Exodus chapter 8. Verse 21, "...else if thou wilt not let
my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee,
and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses,
and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies."
and also the ground whereon they are. And I will sever in that
day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms
of flies shall be there, to the end that thou mayest know that
I am the Lord in the midst, in the center of the earth." Have you ever wondered about
flies? What purpose do they serve? Never thought that about flies.
I tell you, there isn't anything about flies that I like. I mean,
you know, they're so, when one's, well, you all feel the same way.
We don't like flies, do we? What purpose do they serve? Why
did the Lord make flies? They seem so pointless. But one
thing we'll know from these flies and all flies, He said, I am
the Lord in the midst, in the center of the earth. I'm in the
center. I'm the cause of all things.
I'm the cause of those flies. You ever wonder what the point
of flies are? Well, the Lord put them there. That's what the
point is. And everything else. He is the
cause of causes. He controls everything. You know,
people talk about the permissive will of God and the directive
will of God, like one aspect of the will of God is a little
bit less the will of God than the other aspect of the will. No, that's
foolish. He is the cause of causes. He is God in the midst, in the
center of the earth. There will be swarms of flies
everywhere but one place, and you'll know that I am the Lord
in the midst, the center. I am the cause. Philosophers
like to speak of what they call the problem of evil. You ever
heard of that? The problem of evil. If there's
a good God, how can there be evil? If He really loves, if
He really... the problem of evil. Now let
me tell you something, evil's not a problem. God said in Isaiah 45, verse
7, I form the light, I create darkness, I make peace, I create
evil, I the Lord do all these things. Everything that happens,
He's in control of. Every horrible event that breaks
our heart, He's in control of. He is the Lord. He said, I kill
and I make alive. God is in control. Regarding everything, He is the
center. He's in the midst. He's the cause
of it. Aren't you glad it's that way?
I mean, think of the opposite. It'd be bad news, wouldn't it? If He's not in control of everything.
But thank God He is the cause of cause. And we know that, don't
we? Don't you know that? You know that so. You know it. Exodus chapter 9. This is after the plague of hell
coming down, verse 27. And Pharaoh sent and called for
Moses and Aaron and said unto them, I've sinned this time.
Huh, as if he didn't sin the other times. Everything he'd
ever done was sin. But you could see the insincerity
of his confession. I've sinned this time. This time.
I've blown it. The Lord, and this sounds good,
doesn't it? The Lord is righteous and I and my people are wicked.
Entreat the Lord, for it is enough that there be no more mighty
thunderings and hells, scared him to death. And I will let
you go, and you shall stay no longer.' And Moses said unto
him, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad
my hands unto the Lord, and the thunder shall cease, neither
shall there be any more hell, that thou mayest know how that
the earth is the Lord's." The earth is the Lord's and the
fullness thereof. The world and they that dwell
therein. He says, if the cattle on a thousand
hills were mine, if I were hungry, I wouldn't tell you about it.
The earth is the Lord's. Our Lord said, can I not do what
I will with my life? Is everything the Lord's? Can he not do whatever he's pleased
to do with what belongs to him? If he sends you to hell, is he
right? Is he just? Whatever he does
is right. The earth is the Lord's, and
we know he has the right to do whatever he wants. He'd do it
according to his will. in the armies of heaven and among
the inhabitants of the earth, and none could stay his hand
or say unto him, What doest thou? I love what Eli said when he
found out that the Lord was going to kill his two boys. You know
what he said? It's the Lord. Let him do what seemeth him good. You feel that way? It's the Lord. You know, how many times, you
know, there'll be something in our hearts that we're dissatisfied. We pray for the Lord to change
it. We pray for the Lord to do this. We pray for the Lord to
do that. And nothing happens. We get so frustrated. Lord, how
come you're not hearing this? Why aren't you responding to my prayer?
Hey, oh, you get so frustrated. At least I do. I don't know if
you're like that, but I imagine you are. We're pretty much alike.
We think, why isn't the Lord doing this for me? And then He
gives you the grace to see it's the Lord. I might not understand
it, but if He does it, it's right. It's right. And you know, when
God gives me the grace to see that, you know what I do? I bow. I bow. It's best. I might not
understand. If I could, I probably would
have changed it. But if I really believe it's
the Lord, I wouldn't change it if I could. And God gives me
the grace to see that. The earth is the Lord's and the
fullness thereof. Well. The next one. I don't have the scripture for
it. I can't believe it. It's in here somewhere. In chapter
10 or chapter 11, it's where Forgive me, I hate it when I
do stuff like this. But what it's about, it's where he said,
I'm doing this that you may know to tell your children what I'm
doing. I'm doing this. You find this yourself. I didn't
write the Scripture down. I don't know how I missed it,
but I did. He said, I'm doing this that you might tell your
children. your children's children, that
I'm the one who did this, that I'm the one who wrought this. Now, what we know, we are to
tell others. That's the point. What we know,
we are to tell others. What we know, as a matter of
fact, if you know something that's the truth of God, It is treacherous
not to tell somebody about it. To withhold that which you know,
it would be treacherous, it would be monstrous, it would be cruel
to not tell others what you know. We want our children to know
what he has wrought. And that's if you want to look
up in a concordance, the word, I think the word rot is in the
verse, and that's the way you define it. It's in there somewhere
in 11, 12, 13. I'm not sure which chapter it's
in, but what we really know, we will proclaim from the housetops.
I believe, therefore, have I spoken. What you believe is what you
preach. And if you don't preach it, you
do not believe. What a man believes is what he
preaches. I was talking to somebody that
used to attend church here. They were attending another church.
And I said, well, do they believe grace there? He said, oh, yeah.
Yeah. I said, well, good. I said, does the preacher believe
in election? He said, well, I don't know about that. I've never heard
him talk about it. Well, if he believed it, I believe he preached
it with him. OK, Exodus 11. We've got two
more. Exodus 11, verse 6. And there shall be a great cry
throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it,
nor shall like it be any more, but against any of the children
of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast,
that you may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between
the Egyptians and Israel. Who put the difference between
the Egyptians? First, there was a difference between the Egyptians
and the Israelites. Israel had the blood over their door. God
passed by in mercy where He saw the blood. There was a difference
between the Egyptians and the Israelites. Who made the difference? Well, God says, I want you to
know that I have made the difference between the Egyptians and the
Israelites. It's God that makes the difference
between the believer and the unbeliever. You know that, don't
you? Who makes you to differ from another? Every believer knows it's God
that made me to differ. God made me to differ. God the
Father made me to differ in eternal election. God the Son made me
to differ in redemption. God the Holy Spirit made me to
differ in regeneration. God made the difference. Not
me. God made the difference. I love
a story about a I read this somewhere where a preacher was, he was
working in his garden and a member of his church came up and said,
Pastor, I just don't understand election. And he said, well,
let me see if I can give you something to help you. He said,
are you saved? And she said, yes, I am. He said, well, did you save yourself
or did God save you? And she said, oh, God saved me. He said, did He do it all? She
said, yes, He did. He did it all. He said, did He
do it by accident or on purpose? She said, I see. I see. We know that He made And
here's the last one, Exodus 14. Verse 4, And I will harden Pharaoh's heart,
that he shall follow after them. And I will be honored upon Pharaoh
and upon all his hosts. that the Egyptians may know that
I am the Lord. And they did so. Look in verse
18, same thing. Chapter 14, verse 18. And the
Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord when I have gotten me
honor upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots and upon his horsemen. We know that God does what he
does for his honor and for his glory. Why did He raise up Pharaoh? For His honor and for His glory. And we know that whatever God
does, He does for His honor and for His glory. And this is what
is interesting. If I do something for my honor
and my glory, what is it? Sin, isn't it? If you do something for your
honor, and for your glory. What is it? It's sin. But it is right for Him to do
what He does for His honor and for His glory. He's God. And we know that He does what
He does for His honor and His glory. The Scripture says we're
saved to the praise of the glory of His grace. We know that, don't
we? There's a lot we don't know,
but there's also a lot we do. We know that he saved us. We
know that the reason he saved us was because of union with
Christ. We know that. We know that there's none like
him. We know that he is the cause of causes. We know that the earth
is his and he can do with it as he will. We know that He has
the right to do whatsoever He wills. We know to tell others
what we know. We know He made the difference.
We know what He does, He does for His glory. We know those
things, don't we? Amen. Let's pray together.