The Great Confrontation

Introduction

Well, we have made this morning some awesome appeals to the throne of God. And I’m excited about my role today in the worship of the Lord’s people who meet in this place, and for all you who have come to be with us. It is an awesome responsibility. It is a tremendous blessing to be able to preach the message of salvation. In the words of the late and legendary broadcaster. How word co self.

October 1st, 1975. The last fight in the trilogy of Muhammad Ali and Joe Fraser. It lived up to all the hype, all the anticipation in the 14th round, TKO. Muhammad Alid his adversary. From near my hometown, Muhammad Ali Cassius Clay, formerly from Louisville, Kentucky. I float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. His hands can’t hit what his eyes don’t see. And he said of George Foreman, whom he would later fight, now you see me, now you don’t. George thinks he will, but he won’t. And his self-praise signature was born. I am the greatest of all time. It’s not bragging if you can back it up, he says. That reminds me of a sermon I heard recently. Let another man praise you, not your own lips.

Snoop Dogg. He actually said, I am the greatest. I said that even before I knew I was. One noted this about that statement. You should imagine where you want to before you ever get there. And I think spiritually that’s true. Finally, Muhammad Ali said once, I should be a postage stamp. That’s the only way I’ll ever get licked. What a confrontation it was. The thriller in Manila. I just had to say that one more time. This morning, I want to talk to you about an even greater confrontation. But I would suggest to you that in comparison to the thrilla in Manila, this was the ultimate mismatch. This was as one-sided as a confrontation can go. This was Jehovah versus Pharaoh.

There would be no rematch. God knows both the stubborn will of Pharaoh and the significance then and even now of the demonstration of his power in the days of Pharaoh. I affirm to you with zero doubt. That powerful God that we read about in Exodus, that powerful God still acts in our world on behalf of his people and to accomplish his purposes, which are great.

Not only affects the rest of the Bible story, but has an impact on history at large. There are several things about the story of Jehovah versus Pharaoh that are emphasized. God’s rule over creation evidenced in all the plagues. The ten plagues that unfold. God’s powerful leading of his people, his deliverance of them and his guidance of them to the promised land. The ample provisions that he made for them along the way when it seemed the situation was impossible. And that’s just the thing with God. God demonstrates in this moment in history that he surmounts the impossible. And he has done it many times. He could do it still. And then there was this.

When Pharaoh hardens his heart once more and follows the nation of Israel to the place where they are hemmed in. And they must stand and see the salvation of the Lord. I love Exodus 14. When God says, you will never see their faces.

This is about you, the worshiper, coming to me and coming to me on my terms. And that’s just the problem that we have. It’s the problem that I have. It’s the problem that most humanity has. We want to come to God with us dictating the terms. I want what God has to offer. I want to embrace his plentiful and ample provisions. But I want to do that in my way. I want to approach him in the way that I want to approach him. I want to live my life in the way I want to live and be his disciple. This story tells us we cannot approach God on our terms. And thus he says at the end of Psalm 50, consider this. You who forget God.

It’s not that God has totally been removed from their minds. If you’re reading the Psalm, they are still people of worship. But they have cast God’s laws behind their back. They have made up their own set of rules, and they expect God to be fine with it. And he says, You should know better than that. You who forget God, lest I tear you into pieces, and there be none to deliver. Insert the name of Pharaoh here. He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors me. And to him who orders his way aright, I shall show the salvation of God. And then we read it’s New Testament equivalent. It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God, a statement made to believers.

And then in verse 25, do not refuse him who is speaking. We receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, and thus we should serve God with fear and reverence and awe. For our God is a consuming fire. What we learn in the great confrontation is that God rules powerfully over all that he created. Our vast universe, our incredible surroundings are all putty in his hands. And that’s really the message to Job out of the whirlwind, is it not? How are you going to demonstrate to Job that you’re really in control when it appears to Job that it really is all out of control? You speak to him out of a whirlwind.

I wish God would speak to me out of a whirlwind, though I’m not sure what he might say. You gird up your loins like a man, Job, and you tell me about how it is. I will ask you, and you instruct me. Have you ever in your life caused the dawn to know its place? I’ve got this, Job. You let me be God. You trust me. You know why I think we struggle with faith? Because I think we don’t spend enough time reflecting on stories like this. This isn’t a kid’s story. You know that’s a figure of speech, right, kids? It is a kid’s story. But it is an adult story. We need to be impressed with the power of God. That power is still there.

1. At First, Pharaoh Rejects God Altogether

That God is still there. And one day you will know it. But if you do not acknowledge it now, it will be too late. These stories are real. I want to make four observations about this great confrontation. That reflect, Pharaoh does the sentiments of man. At first, Pharaoh rejects God altogether. Remember Exodus 5 that I had on the screen a moment ago? When Moses first comes before the presence of the mighty king of the world, Pharaoh, and says, You need to let my people go. This is a message from Jehovah our God.

That I should obey his voice. You know what he couldn’t fathom in his mind? These people are subservient to me. These Israelites serve me, the great God of Egypt. He saw himself as a God. How could this God of these slaves be anything in comparison to me? Why should I listen to him? Pharaoh actually thought he was in control. Allah Nebuchadnezzar, much later on. But it is he that reduces rulers to nothing. Scarcely have they been planted, scarcely have they been sown. He blows upon them and they go away. Psalm 75, 6 and 7. Exaltation does not come from the east or the west or the deserts. God is judge. He exalts. He puts down one and exalts another. Even though Pharaoh sees divine power. As the water is turned to blood, oh, the magicians did something similar.

2. Pharaoh Procrastinated

I don’t know how they were able to do something even close to what Moses did in the first plague upon Egypt. That’s an interesting part of the story, isn’t it? How could the wield some kind of power that’s not present today? Hard to say. But in some way they matched what Moses did. I’m going to suggest it was an inferior display. I’m just saying. But nonetheless, they were able to make something happen. And as a result, Pharaoh, it says of Pharaoh at the end of Exodus 7, he had no concern for this. He didn’t pay any attention at all. Trust me. You need to pay attention to your creator. And then secondly, Pharaoh’s like a lot of people today because he procrastinated. The second plague has an intriguing storyline.

I mean, frogs aren’t any big deal, right? The girls are saying, yeah, that’s a big deal. Some of you girls are over that, you know, you’re tough. You can handle frogs and snakes. Personally, I don’t like either. Frogs, what’s the big deal? Well, it’s a pretty big deal if you’re sleeping with a hundred of them. It’s a pretty big deal if you’re trying to cook in the kitchen and they’re all in your pots and pans. And like absolutely everywhere you go, there are frogs. Apparently, it got to Pharaoh a little bit. And Moses comes and says, The honor is yours. You tell me, when do you want him to go away? Now, that says something about God, does it not? That he would allow this pitiful man, this pitiful God, this reprobate heart, to even get the choice.

God gives him a choice. I love it’s just like the sign of Isaiah 7 when Ahaz is told, ask for a sign. Wicked King Ahaz, the father of Hezekiah, ask for a sign. Oh no, I’m not going to try the Lord. What are you talking about? You try the Lord all the time. Just ask. I told you to ask. Why does God do this? He is merciful. And so Pharaoh says, tomorrow. Say what? What do you think he was thinking? Tomorrow. Maybe he thought God couldn’t do it right now. He hadn’t read his Bible. Of course, the Bible hadn’t been written yet. He hadn’t read his Bible because I tell you what. If someone comes to me and says, hey, Tony, we can rid the face of the earth of all snakes, you decide today, I’m saying right now.

They have no use whatsoever. Remove them. Right now. What does one day mean? If God can do it tomorrow, he can do it today. He created everything by merely saying a word. But for some reason, Pharaoh says, tomorrow. Maybe he thinks, well, maybe if we go one more night, it’ll take care of it. The problem will take care of itself. All the frogs of magically go away, and I won’t be indebted to this God that I thought I was more powerful than.

Maybe he didn’t think God had the ability to remove them all at once, right now. Maybe that’s why he said tomorrow. But for some outlandish reason, Pharaoh decides to spend one more night with the frogs. Every day, every day you spend away from the Lord, you hurt and cheat yourself. You choose the inferior.

Every day you put off obedience to the Lord and making your life right with him, you take a gigantic step toward the worst of all outcomes. Do not procrastinate. After waiting years to obey the gospel, people will sometimes choose. They’ve known what was right for years. They finally decide on that day I’m going to choose to serve the Lord and they’re baptized into Christ. When that happens, and my brother-in-law knows this situation, he knows the person. He goes up to them and he asks them this question. Why did you wait so long? And the common refrain has been that he’s heard from them. I just didn’t believe I could live up to the Christian standard. When people say that, number one, they fail to see the grace and mercy and help of God.

3. Compromise Whenever He's in Distress

The mercy and help of heaven. That acts on our behalf when we become Christians. And number two, that we’re not on our own in this. And God saves us, as I said a couple of weeks ago, not on the basis of who we are, but on the knowledge of what we will become. He knows what we can potentially be in him. And I think there’s also true this perception that everybody else is living perfectly. They’re not. Point number three. Compromise. It’s amazing in this story. Whenever he’s in distress, Pharaoh is willing to yield. I love it. Later on, after the hail. Several of the plagues unfold. And after the hail, you know, the hail is devastating everything. That’s their livelihood. People are going to blame Pharaoh.

I mean, this things are going to be less than they were in Egypt because all these plagues keep unfolding. There’s the pestilence, the cattle dying, and all of this. Boils on all men in Egypt, even the magicians. I mean, it’s been a mess. Finally, the hail comes. And I love Pharaoh, I sinned this time. You sinned every time. I sinned this time. This is big. I’m sorry. Make it go away. I’ll let you go out of the wilderness. And then God, okay, here you go. He changed his mind. Over and over again. We’re not like that, are we? We encounter a tough spot in our lives. Oh God, I need you to fix it. I need you to fix it. We pray. I need answers. I need solutions.

Please show me. I’ll serve you. I’ll be faithful to you. Make it better. Make it better. And then things get better. Are we still as faithful? The judges cycle. They cry out to the Lord, this is awful. We’re under oppression. Our circumstances are horrible. God sends the deliverer, He sends the Savior. The land has rest. The cycle repeats. They forget. And the cycle gets worse. The behavior gets worse. They don’t get better. Faith doesn’t stick because, hey, everything’s going well for me right now. How many people think they need to turn to the Lord when all the circumstances go up in smoke? Do you remember 9 11? Do you remember how everyone was talking about God and talking about worshiping God and turning to God? And where are we now?

We’re killing babies like never before. People forget. When you’re in a tough spot, you realize you need a power beyond yourself. You cry out. But deliverance should always yield. Let me just stop there. Deliverance should always yield in our lives. It should yield profuse thanksgiving. And I love the word profuse. I mean, I just love it. This is the most intense word. Profuse. It should yield profuse thanksgiving, not in the moment of deliverance, but on going in our lives. Today should be about profuse thanksgiving before God. It should be as much of a marvel to us now as the day that we were baptized into Christ and our sins were lifted by the blood of our Savior. We ought to be as profusely thankful today as we were that day.

4. Insincere Repentance

And it ought to yield. Confident. Trust. Finally. We see in the cycles that I mentioned in regard to the plagues. Insincere repentance. He keeps saying he will, but he doesn’t. Time would fail me to talk about the story of the parable the two sons in Matthew 21. The first son says, Nope, not going to do it. I’m not going to go out in the venue. Don’t want to work today. I will not. We’ve been there. God is commissioning us to go, to be, to do, to work, to serve, to walk in his ways. And somewhere along the way, we have said more than once, I will not. But the son that does the will of the Father, the Son that garners the blessings and favor and provisions of the Father is the one who changes his mind, who repents and says, That was wrong.

I will go. I will go. With so many people. Yeah, I’ll go with you, God. I’ll go with you. But again, it’s on their terms. It’s when it’s convenient for them. When it fits into their schedule, when it’s not too hard to do, when I don’t have to sacrifice, when I don’t have to make the hard call, when I don’t have to hear peers ridicule me.

Insincere. Repentance. You come to God. It is always about change. It is no longer me. I no longer serve myself. But him who died and rose again on my behalf. That’s easy for a day. It’s not too hard for a week. It’s a challenge for thirty-five years. It’s a challenge for fifty years. You’ve got to be determined to walk with God all the way. Sometimes you will say, I will not. But you must, you must repent. And come back to I will. Coming to the Lord is I will.

Conclusion

Let us learn while there’s time and opportunity. Can I share something with you? Preaching can only do so much. I try to deliver this message with the most power I can bring.

I’m humbled that my God uses me this way. But I could preach the most beautiful and amazing sermons. Wish I could.

Moved people. It’s hard when you do this week in and week out. Say things that are going to help people. To hit them in the right the right way. That I could say all the most beautiful words. And that alone will not save you or me.

Because here’s what it’s all about. There was a great man by the name of Asa. Who won great battles for the Lord. The Ethiopian army was massive, and he won. Because he trusted in God. A great legacy of spiritual faithfulness and devotion, and he was a great king who walked in the footsteps of his father David. But toward the end of his life, he had stopped nurturing his father in a time of crisis when King Basha of Israel was threatening an inferior army to the Ethiopians years ago. Instead of turning to the Lord, he turned to a foreign power, to the Syrians of the north. And God says and comes to him. Anani the seer comes to him and says, He would have given you them also.

You’ve acted foolishly in this. From now on, you will have wars. You didn’t trust me like you used to. His faith he had allowed to diminish. We must not do that. We must not find ourselves just going through the motions year after year and decade after decade and forget about where it began. Stop being profusely thankful and having confident trust. We must not let that happen to ourselves. And then this, and this is where it ends. Asa, don’t you know? The eyes of the Lord search to and fro throughout the earth to strongly support those whose hearts are completely his. That verse you probably heard, it’s been quoted many times, but I tell you’ve got to appreciate it in its context. Asa, your heart isn’t right with God.

God looks to and fro throughout the earth and in an auditorium where there are two hundred and twenty people present. And let me tell you, his scrutiny of you is intense. He knows what I may not know. He knows your heart. He knows whether your heart is completely his.

Are you ready to say I will to God? Let’s stand a second.