Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20090628.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
Exodus: God's Forming The Nation Israel For His Abrahamic Covenant
Part I: God's Deliverance Of Israel From Egypt, Exodus 1:1-15:21
H. God's Glorifying Himself By Egypt's Plagues, Exodus 7:14-12:36
5. God's Support Of His People's Holiness By The Livestock Plague
(Exodus 9:1-7)
Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

If we choose not to compromise our stands for the truth, it can rub the world and even fellow believers, creating tension, so, how are we able to maintain our stand? Consider the following:

(1) Marcus Borg, a leader in the Emerging Church Movement that is claiming many former evangelicals as followers, has said: "'I let go of the notion that the Bible is a divine product. I learned that it is a human cultural product, the product of two ancient communities, biblical Israel and early Christianity . . . they did not mean that the Bible was a divine product with divine authority.'" (The Berean Call, September 2007, p. 8 in citing Roger Oakland's work, Faith Undone )

However, in our Church bylaws we hold that the Bible is God's written revelation to man, that it is verbally divinely inspired. (Nepaug Bible Church bylaws, Article III, Section 1, "The Word of God")

Well, how are we able to maintain this stand when, as Dave Hunt's newsletter reports, this Emerging Church Movement "is influencing Christianity to a significant degree"?

(2) Tony Campolo, long recognized as an evangelical leader, is part of the Emerging Church Movement according to Roger Oakland's book cited above in Dave Hunt's newsletter, The Berean Call . It cites Campolo as claiming: "In my case intimacy with Christ has developed gradually over the years, primarily through what Catholic mystics call 'centering prayer.' Each morning, as soon as I wake up, I take time--sometimes as much as a half hour--to center myself on Jesus. I say his name over and over again to drive back the 101 things that begin to clutter up my mind the minute I open my eyes. Jesus is my mantra, as some would say." (Ibid.)

However, in our Church bylaws we hold that true spirituality is not based on ritual exercises, but "through depending on the Holy Spirit to produce Jesus Christ's quality of obedience to the Father and love to God and man." (Ibid., Nepaug Bible Church bylaws, Article III, Section 8, "The Believer's Walk.")

Again, how are we able to maintain our stand when, as Dave Hunt's newsletter reports, this Emerging Church Movement "is influencing Christianity to a significant degree"?



Thus, we may ask, "How are we to maintain our stand against compromising the truth if doing so rubs against others?!"

Need: "If I do not compromise on an issue, I risk creating tension with others, so how am I to handle it all?!"

  1. On the one hand, God's livestock plague critiqued Egypt's livestock gods, revealing the need for Israel not to worship these pagan gods:
    1. The Lord had Moses tell Pharaoh to let Israel leave Egypt to serve Him or He would destroy Egypt's field animals, Exodus 9:1-3.
    2. This plague would affect only the Egyptians, NOT Israel, Ex. 9:4.
    3. To certify that this would be a miracle, not just a natural plague, God predicted the plague would occur the next day, Exodus 9:5.
    4. Pharaoh hardened his heart, so God sent the plague (Exodus 9:6), and though Pharaoh learned that not one field animal in Israel died, but only those of the Egyptians, he still hardened his heart, Exodus 9:7.
    5. [From Exodus 9:19 in the future plague of hail, we know Egypt still had some land animals that survived this plague, so it likely affected only the animals in the FIELD, Bible Know. Com., O. T., p. 123. Individual Egyptians who revered God apparently had time (the next day, Exodus 9:5) to bring their animals in for shelter from the plague!]
    6. This plague critiqued Apis, a sacred bull deity, Mnevis, a bull-god symbolizing fertility, Hathor, the cow-like maternal goddess and Isis, queen of the gods who had cow's horns on her head, R. Grigg, "The Ten Plagues of Egypt," Creation (v. 27, no. 1), Dec.- Feb. 2005, p. 37.
  2. [Greta Hort's view that many evangelicals have adopted (Ibid., p. 34) offers a natural explanation for this plague opposite belief that it was a divine miracle, but science and Scripture counter her view:
    1. Hort held the livestock died of anthrax via the dead frogs plague, Ibid.
    2. However, this view is countered by science and Scripture:
      1. Anthrax does not infect aquatic animals like fish or frogs, Ibid., p. 36. It "infects . . . land animals which graze upon grass contaminated by anthrax . . . in the soil." (Ibid.)
      2. Exodus 8:11 reveals some of the frogs returned safely to the Nile, so they did not die from a virulent epidemic of anthrax!]
  3. However, God ALSO used the livestock plague to VINDICATE Moses' UNCOMPROMISING STAND in the LAST PLAGUE:
    1. A connection exists between the livestock plague and the past plague of flies, for a FOCUS on LIVESTOCK appears in BOTH plagues:
      1. In the plague of flies, Moses refused Pharaoh's compromise to sacrifice in Egypt since Israel's sacrifice of CATTLE was an abomination to the Egyptians as some of their key gods were typified by CATTLE, Exodus 8:26; Ibid., B.K.C., O. T., p. 122.
      2. In the plague on Egypt's land animals, these very CATTLE left in the field were destroyed in defiance of Egyptian CATTLE gods !
    2. Thus, God used the livestock plague to VINDICATE Moses' refusal to compromise with Pharaoh by leaving Egypt to sacrifice cattle :
      1. In the plague of flies, Moses had refused to let Egyptian pagan beliefs dictate what animals he and Israel would sacrifice to the Lord, so he insisted on leaving Egypt to sacrifice cattle, an offering that was an abomination to pagan Egyptians, Exodus 8:26.
      2. Pharaoh hardened his heart, not letting Israel leave, Exodus 8:32.
      3. Accordingly, in the livestock plague, God SUPPORTED Moses' STAND by slaying Egypt's CATTLE, for as Pharaoh had blocked Israel's sacrificing of her cattle to God by not letting Israel leave in the plague of flies, God slew Egypt's CATTLE in retribution!
      4. However, God EXCEEDED slaying JUST Egypt's CATTLE to destroy much of Egypt's horses, donkeys, camels and sheep (Ex. 9:3), PUNISHING the Egyptians SEVERELY in leaving them economically destitute of the animals they needed for commerce!
      5. God thus ABUNDANTLY VINDICATED Moses' STAND on WORSHIPING HIM in SACRIFICING CATTLE in the WILDERNESS, thereby ENCOURAGING Moses and Israel!
Application: If concerned about creating tension with others for refusing to compromise with the wrong, may we (1) become sons of God [if we have not yet done so] by believing in Christ to be translated into His kingdom from Satan's domain, John 3:16; Colossians 1:12-14. (2) Then, (a) may we rely by faith on the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:16-23) for the power and motivation to (b) stand uncompromisingly in God's will, (c) trusting HIM to do what He did for Moses -- to VINDICATE and ENCOURAGE us BEFORE OTHERS in the process as His REWARD for such obedience!

Lesson: When Moses chose NOT to COMPROMISE with pagan Egypt regarding Israel's WORSHIP in sacrificing CATTLE unto the Lord, and Pharaoh STILL RESISTED Moses, God ABUNDANTLY VINDICATED and ENCOURAGED Moses and Israel by SUPPORTING Moses' stand in taking of EGYPT'S CATTLE, including many OTHER land ANIMALS!

Conclusion:

 God has recently repeatedly encouraged us by vindicating us as a Church for Biblical stands we have taken, and we share these here for the encouragement of all. Amazingly, God has done this via people OUTSIDE our BODY like He used the livestock plague WITH OTHERS to vindicate Moses' refusal to compromise with Pharaoh:

(1) In our communion services, we contrast what is Biblically involved in the Lord's Table versus the error of key denominations.

God recently vindicated this stand by way of folk in another Church. One of our Church families had attended a christening of an associate's infant in an area mainline Protestant church, and it included a communion service. One of the family's sons reacted to its dead ritualism, saying he much preferred the Nepaug communion service!

(2) Last week, I got a call from a believer outside our Church who relayed in the conversation that his Church was not going to have a VBS this year, noting the difficulty his body faced in finding Biblical VBS programs! I replied that we had found it better to create our own programs, and he asked for information on our VBS to give to his Church so its children might attend our ministry this year!

(3) I got another call last week from a believer who reported on the dearth of sound Bible teaching in churches in another part of the country that she had recently visited. She asserted, "You keep right on teaching the Word like you've been doing!" adding that she had been blessed by our recent sermon notes on Exodus!

(4) I recently got a request from another believer outside our body who wanted us to get involved in an issue he faced. Well, nearly 20 years ago, he told me he was "putting Nepaug Church behind" him "and moving on" due in part to Biblical stands I had taken with him!

When he thus recently asked for my involvement in his issue, I realized God had permitted him to part long ago based on our stands to save us from a much bigger crisis now! So, relying partly on his own 20-year-old claim about parting company with us, I replied we had no Biblical jurisdiction in his issue as he was not a part of our Church!

As God used the livestock plague on the Egyptians to vindicate Moses for refusing to compromise with Pharaoh, He has vindicated our stands by way of others outside our body!

May we STAY UNCOMPROMISED on the truth, for GOD WILL VALIDATE our stands and ENCOURAGE us IF we DO!