Series: Questions
Title: How Long Will You Refuse to Humble
Yourself Before God?
Text: Hebrews 10: 3
Date: April 11, 2013
Place: SGBC, New Jersey
Exodus 10:3: And Moses and Aaron came in unto
Pharaoh, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, How long
wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? let my people go, that they may
serve me.
What
keeps a sinner from humbling himself before God? It is the pride of the natural heart. God did not have to do anything to Pharaoh
for this pride to be in his heart. It
was there by nature. The same is true of
every sinner in their natural born state.
1 Corinthians 2: 14: But the natural man receiveth not
the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can
he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
Sinner,
“How long will you refuse to humble
yourself before God?”-title.
Divisions:
I want to show you four times where Pharaoh attempted to strike a deal with
God. They will make up our divisions.
Proposition: We will look at each one to see that compromise is not
true humility. God requires total separation from this world, with no
compromise with this world. God requires total submission to him, trusting his
Son alone to save us, apart from our works, and God will not compromise.
Psalm 51: 17: The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit:
a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
I. PHARAOH FIRST PROUD OFFER—Exodus 8: 25:
And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your
God in the land.
God’s Command
First,
note God’s command to Pharaoh in verse 20, “Thus saith the LORD, Let my people
go, that they may serve me.” Egypt represents the world and its false
religion. Pharaoh is not only a hard-hearted sinner, but a picture of Satan who
binds God’s people—“the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now
worketh in the children of disobedience.” (Eph 2: 2)
2 Corinthians
4: 3: But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 4: In whom the
god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the
light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine
unto them.
Christ must bind the strongman, commanding Satan to let
his people go that we may serve him. And
he shall. None shall be lost but all
shall be separated from this world unto Christ.
God’s
Sovereign Grace
Secondly, notice the LORD sent Moses with the
message that God alone sovereignly performs this
operation. God promised to send flies upon Egypt. Then in verses 22-24, he says, “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 thou mayest know that I AM THE LORD IN THE MIDST OF THE
EARTH. And I WILL PUT A DIVISION between MY PEOPLE and THY PEOPLE: to morrow
shall this sign be. And the LORD DID SO; and there came a grievous swarm of
flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants’ houses, and
into all the land of Egypt: the land was corrupted by reason of the swarm of
flies.”
God has
a people he calls “MY PEOPLE.”--- Not everyone in the world is chosen of God.
God clearly said, “My people” and “thy people.” (Eph 1:4) God alone separates his people by his
sovereign power and right, “And I will SEVER in that day the LAND OF GOSHEN, in
which MY PEOPLE dwell,…And I WILL PUT A DIVISION between MY PEOPLE and THY
PEOPLE:…And the LORD DID SO;”
Application:
It is not the sinner who makes us to differ or separates us from the world into
Christ. “God is the LORD in the midst of the earth.” It is the electing,
redeeming, sanctifying grace and power of our sovereign God who makes men to
differ.
1
Corinthians 4: 7: For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what
hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why
dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?
The children of Israel in bondage in Egypt, along with
Pharaoh and the Egyptians dead in sins, represent all mankind. “For all have sinned and come short of the
glory of God.” (Rom 3: 23; Rom 3: 19) Yet, among all these unrighteous men, God
graciously chose to separate some and deliver them unto himself freely by his
grace!
Romans
9: 14: What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God
forbid. 15: For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 16: So then it is
not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth
mercy.
No Compromise with the World and False
Religion
Thirdly,
notice, it was when Pharaoh heard and saw that God sovereignly
chooses and separates his people from the rest of the world, that Pharaoh
attempted to compromise in verse 25, “And
Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the
land.” Note the craftiness. Pharaoh gives them permission to
worship amongst themselves, he says, “Go ye.”
Pharaoh does not insist they worship his god, he says, “Go ye, sacrifice to YOUR GOD.” BUT he says, “sacrifice to your God IN THE
LAND.”
Application: In our day, most think that a man willing to compromise like Pharaoh is a man
of true humility. When religious men hear us speak dogmatically as Moses did,
declaring God separates his people, they say something like, “Now, I believe we
are being a bit judgmental. Those who
differ from us worship God. There is no need for us to be divided from them.”
Most
think it is humility to join with those whose doctrine differs from the truth
of God in this book. They consider us bigots and judgmental who refuse to do
so. But God clearly says this was not
humility in Pharaoh, it was compromise—“Thus
saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself
before me? let my people go, that they may serve me.” The only sacrifice which
God’s people offered in Egypt was the Passover to bring God’s people out of
Egypt.
Moses answer declares why Moses could not compromise with the world
and with false religionists—and why we cannot—Moses shows us true humility
toward God.
Not Meet So to Do
“And
Moses said, It is not meet so to do;” (Ex 8: 26) “Meet” means “upright”—it
would be “underhanded”, not on the “up and up.” “Meet” means “firm,
established, faithful”—compromise concerning the truth of God is an indication
of not being firmly established upon Christ our Rock, of not being faithful to
God or his people. Moses was sent as an
ambassador for Christ to lead God’s people. If Moses accepted Pharaoh’s offer
he would betray God and betray God’s people.
Illustration: “Will you bring your congregation to ours
on Sunday? Many other congregations are
doing it.”
Our Sacrifice is an Abomination to the World
Moses
said in verse 26, “for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to
the LORD our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians
before their eyes, and will they not stone us?” In Genesis 46:34 we are told that “every shepherd is an abomination unto the
Egyptians.” Therefore, the
Egyptians considered sheep an abomination. So Moses says that when we sacrifice sheep,
“we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the LORD our God:…and
will they not stone us?”
Our
sacrifice is Christ and him crucified. Both Christ, his under-shepherds, along
with Christ’s sheep are an abomination to the whole self-righteous world. They
crucified our Savior and they would stone us if they could. Why?
Because we preach and believe Christ redeemed each of God’s elect alone,
and that he did it successfully by himself by his blood when he laid down his
life on the cross. We believe God
put us in Christ and that God makes Christ All unto us: our completion, our
Acceptance with God, our Wisdom, Righteousness, Sancification and Redemption is
Christ. So we glory only in the Lord. (1 Co 1: 30-31) Our Sacrifice declares men must be humbled by the
mighty hand of God, to ask God to be merciful, “If thou wilt…” This is the “offense of the cross.” Our Sacrifice
declares every man totally depraved, unable to contribute, much less save
himself. Therefore, “The preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness.” All natural men consider our
Sacrifice, Christ Jesus, an abomination, and because we will not compromise
with them, they would stone us to death if they could get away with it.
Those
Born of God Worship Christ and Obey God
Moses said in verse 27, “We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness, and
sacrifice to the LORD our God, as he shall command us.” The third day, in scripture, speaks of
resurrection. God alone resurrects his
child to newness of life in the new birth. When he does, Christ becomes our
only sacrifice to the LORD and he becomes our Lord, our Master so that God’s
word becomes our only Authority from then on.
Therefore, i the day of his power, by having our hearts humbled before
God, we obey his command to come out from among those who preach lies because
Christ speaks his command effectually.
1 Corinthians 6: 16: And what agreement hath
the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God
hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and
they shall be my people. 17: Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye
separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive
you, 18 And
will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the
Lord Almighty.
We are no longer ashamed of Christ. Therefore, we go
forth outside the camp of this world and its religion, bearing the reproach
because our Savior did the same for us, sanctifying us with his blood.
Hebrews
13: 12: Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own
blood, suffered without the gate. 13: Let us go forth therefore unto him
without the camp, bearing his reproach.
The proud heart, like Pharaoh, thinks the
differences between him and Moses were differences that could be settled if
they met in the middle—each making mutual concessions. But God does not operate like natural men
operate. In the church and kingdom of God, in all things spiritual, where
hearts are humbled, there can be no compromise. Lest
“by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds
should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” (2 Cor 11: 3) Moses
was a truly humbled man.
II. PHARAOH’S SECOND ATTEMPT AT
COMPROMISE—Exodus 8: 28 And Pharaoh
said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the
wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away:…
One Foot in the Church, One Foot in the World
Many
think they have humbled themselves under the mighty hand of God who have
compromised so as to have one foot in the church and the other foot in the
world. Satan has
no problem allowing us to think we are free, even giving us freedom to become
religious, just so long as he keeps us not very far away from this world.
But God demands, and
effectually works in us, a complete separation of our hearts from this world
before we can worship, serve and walk with God. It
is not enough to “not go very far” we must go all the way out. Our heart must
be like that of the apostle Paul who said,
Galatians 6:14: But God forbid that I should glory, save
in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me,
and I unto the world.
This
separation is a separation of the heart. All in Israel came out of Egypt
physically, but most never did in heart.
Lot’s wife left Sodom physically but her heart remained—she looked back
and God turned her into a pillar of salt.
Many make an outward change: they dress different, act different, speak
different—but their heart is not made new.
Perhaps,
that is the case with some here: outwardly you have separated from the world,
confessed Christ in baptism, joined the church, you come to every service, yet
your heart is still set on this world.
God says,
Proverbs 23: 26: My son, give me thine heart, and let
thine eyes observe my ways.
Be
honest with yourself. Where is your heart set?
Whose ways do you prefer to observe most? When the heart is set on
Christ we are more eager to hear his gospel and read his word than all the racket
of this world; because we are more eager to observe his ways, than the ways of
this world.
The
heart that has been truly humbled is not satisfied with going “not very far
away” from this world, but never sees self as far enough away from this world,
we are always longing to be further and further away from this world and nearer
and nearer to Christ. (John 15:19)
III. PHARAOH’S THIRD COMPROMISE--Exodus 10:
10 And [Pharaoh] said unto them, Let the
LORD be so with you, as I will let YOU GO, and YOUR LITTLE ONES: LOOK to it;
for evil is before you. 11: Not so: go now YE that are MEN, and
serve the LORD; for that ye did desire. And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s
presence.
Whole Hearted Devotion
Satan
knows, as did Pharaoh, if we leave our children behind in the world then half
our heart will be in the worship of God, the other half in world with our
children. But Christ demands whole-hearted worship. Christ says we are to love Christ
preeminently, with our whole heart.
Matthew 10: 37: He
that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that
loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Our
Savior requires, as we follow him, that we must allow no one, not even husband
or wife, son or daughter, mother or father to come between us and the worship
of Christ. That means if we love Christ
there is something we must do for those we love most—especially our children.
Satan,
like Pharaoh, tries to prevent our whole hearts being set on Christ by keeping
those dearest to our hearts in the world.
He makes the things of this world appeal to our children—sports, music,
academics, travel, and so on—so that our children often beg us to do those
things. I have two young children. I know this becomes a very great trial at
times. Christ said, “a man’s foes shall
be they of his own household.” (Mt 10: 36)
But if
Christ is first in our heart, and we truly love our children, then we will not
let them come between us and Christ. Also, we will see to it, as long as we
are able, that they are under the sound of the gospel and taught the word in
our homes. Notice in verse 9, “And Moses
said, We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our
daughters…for we must hold a feast unto the LORD.”
Brethren,
it is the responsibility of parents to have our children under the preaching of
the gospel AND to teach them in our homes—to teach them the gospel is more
important than the things of this world.
It is the responsibility of the father first, as head of the house. And
in cases where the father has not been called by God’s grace, it is the
responsibility of the mother first.
We
cannot make them believe, and should not try to force them to believe, that is
not our responsibility. Our
responsibility is to see to it this world does not interfere with them hearing
the gospel preached and to teach them the truth in our homes. Notice, the LORD says he has shown grace to
Moses and to us in,
Exodus 10: 2: And that thou mayest tell in the ears of
thy son, and of thy son’s son, what things I have wrought in Egypt, and my
signs which I have done among them; that ye may know how that I am the
LORD.
The
word in Ezekiel 3 is given to the preacher, but it applies to us who are the
heads of our homes as well,
Ezekiel 3: 17: Son of man, I have made thee a watchman
unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them
warning from me. 18 When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou
givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to
save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his
blood will I require at thine hand. 19 Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn
not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity;
but thou hast delivered thy soul.
“Thus
saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself
before me? True humility—a broken and contrite spirit—is to worship Christ with
whole-hearted devotion, letting nothing, not even our dearest loved ones, come
between us and Christ. That means we
keep them under the sound of the gospel and teach them while we can.
IV. PHARAOH’S FOURTH COMPROMISE--Exodus 10:
24: And Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said, Go ye, serve the LORD; only let
your flocks and your herds be stayed: let your little ones also go with you.
Stewards
Their
flocks and herds represented their possessions.
True humility is to worship God will all our possessions. When our Master walked this earth many whose
heart was really set on their money, who did not support their elderly parents,
said to their parents, “We can’t give you this-it is Corban—set apart to be
used for the Lord.” Christ said, “Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of
you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth
me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.” (Mt. 15: 7 -8) The LORD said of old,
Malachi 3:8: Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me.
But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
Note: It
would be good for preachers who try to fleece God’s people, to note that God
said those words to the priests. This
word begins with the preachers and is so of all God’s people. Moses was a humbled man. He said, “there shall not an hoof be left
behind”—meaning we will worship God with everything he has given to us because
that is the purpose for which he has given it to us.
Truth
is, brethren, nothing we possess is really ours. The things we have, God has
given to us. He has made us stewards of his goods. We are to use them according to his will, for
his glory, and for the interests of his house.
Those humbled before the Lord do so.
Good News of our Gospel
And
this also pictured the good news of our gospel: not one of Christ’s redeemed
children will be left behind in this world.
Every soul for whom a lamb was slain in Egypt came out of Egypt, and all
came out with full provision made by God. “Not a hoof” was “left
behind.” So, too, every sinner for whom Christ our Passover was sacrificed,
every sinner for whom the Lamb of God was slain shall come out of Egypt. — “There
shall not an hoof be left behind!
Let’s go home remembering these four things we have
seen. First, those with a true broken and contrite
spirit toward God do not worship in the land with idolaters—Moses said, “no
compromise.” Secondly, those humbled by
the grace of God go further than “not very far away” from this world. We set
our hearts on Christ above at God’s right hand and this world is become dead to
us. Thirdly, those humbled by grace, let
nothing come between us and the worship of Christ, not even those dearest to
us. We make every effort to keep them under the gospel and out of this world. Fourthly, those humbled by God’s grace
worship God with every possession he has given us. Christ gave all! He is
worthy of giving to him all that he has given to us.
“Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, How
long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me?” May the Lord of heaven and earth give us a
broken and contrite heart so that we can worship, serve and walk with Christ
both now and forever.
Amen!