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You You You Well good evening everyone welcome to Mountain Baptist Church Take your song books and turn to song number one Song number one in your song books And if you would stand it will sing Jesus I my cross have taken song number one Jesus I my cross have taken all to leave and follow thee That's the to despise forsaken thou from hence my all shall be Perish every bonfant ambition all I've sought and hoped and known Yet, how rich is my? Condition God and heaven are still my own Let the world Despise and leave me they have left my Savior to human hearts and looks Deceive me thou are not like man untrue And while thou shalt smile upon me God of wisdom love and mine Foes may hate and friends may shine me show thy face and all is bright man may trouble and distress me twill but drive me to thy breast life and trials Hard may press me and will bring me sweet arrest. Oh Tis not and grieve to harm me while thy love is love to me. Oh Tore not enjoy to charm me were that joy unmixed with thee Hey Theon from grace to glory Armed by faith and we by prayer Have external day Before the God's own hand shall guide thee there Soon shall close thy earthly mission Swift shall pass thy pilgrim days Hope shall change to glad fruition faith to side and prayer to praise All right, let's pray heavenly follow the Lord We just want to thank you God for another night that we get to gather and hear your word preach I pray Lord that you would just be with our pastor and I pray that you would be honored and glorified with everything. It's said and done for it's in Jesus name Let's call but amen. All right may be seated and turn in your song books to song number five Song number five will sing when I survey the wondrous cross song song number five Song number five will sing when I survey the wondrous cross When I survey the wondrous cross On which the prince of glory died My richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride. Forbidden, Lord, that I should boast, Save in the death of Christ my God, All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to His blood. See from His head, His hands, His feet, Sorrow and love for me go down, Did e'er such love and sorrow mean, O'er thorns composed so rich a crown, Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were a present far too small, Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all. So I have to take this into work, and I'll just start writing with this, and people will just be asking questions, that's for sure. But thanks for that. I got Bob Ross everything, actually. My daughter found the plush Bob Ross toy the other day. But just some announcements here. Be in prayer for those that aren't feeling well. My wife is still not feeling good. Actually, today, she's saying that she was feeling worse than she had earlier. So hopefully she'll get over it here soon. But then my kids are kind of sniffling and coughing and all that stuff, too, on top of that. So just be in prayer for those that aren't feeling well. I'm sure it's not just my family that's dealing with it. It hasn't been bothering me. Praise the Lord for that. So if you think – I have been shaking hands, but I don't think I'm sick. So I don't have any signs of being sick or anything like that. But that being said, a big thing that's going to be happening after the service is a baptism. And so Avery got saved and she's wanting to get baptized. So we're going to be doing that after the service. And so if you want to stick around for that. But then just normal church announcements here. Our service times are normal. We have our Sunday services are all going to be the same. Our soul winning time at 1 p.m. on Sunday. And then the regional times – did you say there was a – what was that today? But next week I think the regional times will be as normal, I guess, as far as the Monday and Wednesday there. So just get on the WhatsApp for that. And then Colossians Chapter 2 is our memory chapter for the month. And so I know the men – we have a lot of men that are still in Chapter 1 and getting caught up on that. And then others that are in Chapter 2 going over that midway mark, going towards the end of the chapter there. And so just be – keep plugging away at that. And then 1 Peter 2, 11 is our memory verse for the week. Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul. That is our memory verse for the week. And then we do have the men's prayer meeting. That's this Friday, actually, I just realized. So it's already, what, the 23rd today or something like that. So yeah, when it comes to these prayer meetings, I'm usually having to remind myself because I always end up forgetting about them. But I usually try on Friday to like remind myself by like texting the WhatsApp and reminding more so for myself. But that is coming up this Friday. And then the women's prayer meeting will be the next Saturday. And then April 9th is the Terra Alta Soul Winning Marathon. So it looks like we have a lot that are going to be planning on going out. So I'm happy about that. Hopefully the weather is nice or hopefully the weather is at least not horrible. So I'm hoping to knock out all of Terra Alta that one day. It's not a huge town. But there are some areas that are a little more spread out. So I'm hoping to do that. We're going to be meeting up at the Denny's on exit one, 68 exit one. And then we'll be heading up there after that. And so we haven't decided on where we're going to eat, I think, for lunch necessarily. But we'll figure that out. But we'll provide breakfast and lunch for the soul winners that want to come. And then on here we have the Lord's Supper. So April 13th, that's actually a Wednesday. So we usually have Lord's Supper on a Sunday evening. But because that next Sunday is going to be Easter, we're going to be celebrating the resurrection. So we're going to do the Lord's Supper that Wednesday to celebrate and to remember His death as we go into Easter to celebrate His resurrection. And so that's why that's on there. Just remember that that's a Wednesday. So try to make it out for that. And then the birthdays, the anniversaries. And then just be in prayer for all the ladies on the pregnancy list. Ginger, Catherine, Alyssa and Rachel. And then just be in prayer for all the ladies that just had babies as well. And so dealing with newborns and all that. And it's not Mother's Day yet, but I keep thinking it is. But that's not until May. So someone needs to keep reminding me about that, though, because whenever that does come, I don't want to forget about it. So especially I don't want to preach something like really hard those sermon like on Mother's Day, you know, I don't want to necessarily be cliche on Mother's Day, but I don't want to be like, all right, it's time to preach about the rich man and Lazarus and hell and like all this stuff. And Happy Mother's Day, everybody. So but that's about all I got for announcements. We have the offering box in the back there. The mother baby room is behind the wall that has the Mount Baptist sign. And that is for mothers and babies only. And so we want to keep reminding you about that. And so we want to keep that to the mothers and babies and keep the older children out and everything else, just so that that stays fit for that area there. And that's about all I got for announcements. Brother Dave is going to be singing one more song, and then Brother Wade is going to be reading. Oh, there you are. I thought you were back there. Brother Wade is going to be reading Exodus 11 for us. All right, take your songbooks and turn to song number 30. Song number 30 in your songbook. We'll sing Nothing But the Blood. Song number 30. One can wash away my sin Nothing but the blood of Jesus One can make me whole again Nothing but the blood of Jesus Oh, precious is the flow That makes me white as snow No other fount I know Nothing but the blood of Jesus For my part and this I see Nothing but the blood of Jesus For my cleansing, this my plea Nothing but the blood of Jesus Oh, precious is the flow That makes me white as snow No other fount I know Nothing but the blood of Jesus Nothing can force it atone Nothing but the blood of Jesus Not of good that I have done Nothing but the blood of Jesus Oh, precious is the flow That makes me white as snow No other fount I know Nothing but the blood of Jesus This is all my hope and peace Nothing but the blood of Jesus This is all my righteousness Nothing but the blood of Jesus Oh, precious is the flow That makes me white as snow No other fount I know Nothing but the blood of Jesus All right, take your Bibles and turn to Exodus, chapter number 11. Exodus, chapter number 11. We'll have Brother Wade come and read that for us. Exodus, chapter 11. When you find your place, say, Amen. And the Lord said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. Afterwards, he will let you go. Hence, when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out. Hence, altogether. Speak now in the ears of the people, and let not every man borrow. Let every man borrow of his neighbor and every woman of her neighbor, jewels of silver and jewels of gold. And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants and in the sight of the people. And Moses said, Thus saith the Lord, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt. And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill, and all the firstborn of the beasts. And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall like it anymore. But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue against man or beast, that ye may know how the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel. And all these, thy servants, shall come down unto me, and bow down themselves unto me, saying, Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee, and after that I will go out. And he went out from Pharaoh in a great anger. And the Lord said unto Moses, Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that my wonders may be multiplied into the land of Egypt. And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, and the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go out of his land. Let us pray. Dear Lord, please be with the pastor tonight. Let us get something from the message, and let us hear your word. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. So you're there in Exodus chapter 11, and we are continuing our study through the book of Exodus, and we are coming to the last plague. Actually, this chapter is kind of a warning about that last plague, but chapter 12 is where that last plague is going to take place. So if you remember, there's ten plagues. Who here has memorized the ten plagues? Some? Okay. Or no one wants to admit whether they've done it or not. But we remember we had the water and the blood, we had the frogs, so one, two. Then we had the lice. The lice was when basically the magicians said, this is the finger of God, we can't replicate that. Then we had the swarms of flies. Then we had the grievous morain, morain, however you want to say it. Basically a pestilence on the land. Then you had the boils, so that was number six. And then you had the hail, number seven. Then you had the locusts, number eight. And then the darkness for three days that could be felt was number nine. So number ten is the one that we're going to be discussing, or it's going to be brought up here. And then in chapter 12 is where it actually happens. Okay. So let's look at verse one here. It says, it says, And the Lord said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. Afterwards he will let you go hence. When he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether. Now the reason that's important is if you're just reading this verse right here, it kind of makes a lot more sense though when you read the chapters before this, because he kept saying, well, go out, but don't go very far. Well, you can go out, but it's only the men that can go. Well, you can go out and you can take your little ones with you, but don't take any animals with you. Right. It was this idea of like you can kind of go out, but not really. And then Moses obviously wouldn't give it in. She's like, no, we're going to go three days journey. We're going to take everybody with us and we're going to take all the animals with us. A hoof shall not be left behind. And right here it's basically stating that after this plague, he's going to let you go out altogether. There's not going to be any compromise. It's going to be thrust out completely. Okay. So, but it also shows you that there's one last plague that's going to be done. Okay. And we're going to be seeing that that's the death of the firstborn. Now, look at Exodus chapter 11, verse 2. And the thing that's interesting here is that God basically makes the Israelites and, well, Moses obviously is an Israelite too, but I mean the idea here is that he's going to give them favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Okay. So in verse 2 there it says, Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbor and every woman of her neighbor jewels of silver and jewels of gold. And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt in the sight of Pharaoh's servants and in the sight of the people. So even in this time where obviously they're not exactly the favorite. I mean, they're bond servants, essentially. They're slaves to the Egyptians. But when all this stuff is going on, they're actually given favor, meaning that they're not being abused or hurt during this time by the Egyptians, even though the Egyptians are getting all these plagues put upon them. And then over here you look over at the Israelites and nothing's happening to them. Right? You know, there's darkness that can be felt over there in Egypt, but then you're over in Goshen and it's a sunny day. You know, it's kind of a crazy dichotomy of how Israel's just being completely blessed by God and then Egypt's being completely cursed. But in that, God can cause His people to be favored in the sight of the Egyptians. And when I think about this, I think about the fact that we live in a wicked world. We live in a crooked and perverse nation. And, you know, that's written in the Bible. So that's something that's not – there's nothing new under the sun. When we live in America here and there's a lot of wickedness that's being pushed, there's babies being aborted, there's, you know, the LGBTQAARP sodomite agenda that's being pushed down our throats, all the wickedness that's out there is being pushed down our throats. You know, there's nothing new under the sun, but in that wicked, you know, nation that you're in and you're trying to shine His lights in this world, God can give you favor even in that – in the sight of those people. And obviously there's going to be people that are past feeling and they're going to hate you no matter what. But I believe also that not all the Egyptians were hardened by God. You know, it talks about how His servants were and obviously the magicians were and obviously Pharaoh is the poster boy child of being hardened, his heart being hardened by God. But Egypt as a whole and a nation I don't believe was completely hardened and, you know, without hope of salvation. Actually you'll see when they go out from Egypt, there's going to be a lot of Egyptians that go with them. And so there's a lot of Egyptians that actually follow with them and actually become part of that nation of Israel. And so that being said, you can have an influence and you can be a light that shines in this dark world. You know, holding forth the word of life that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain. You know, we're supposed to shine as lights in this crooked and perverse nation and we can make a difference within that and God can even give us favor inside of that type of nation as well. But go to Exodus chapter 3. Exodus chapter 3, God said He was going to do this, okay? So I kind of want to point these, there's a couple places in this chapter where it's bringing up what God said He was already going to do. So if you remember in chapter 3 and in chapter 4 we had the burning bush story, but God's basically telling Moses what He's going to do. And in verse 20 here, it says, and I will stretch out my hand, so Exodus 3 verse 20, 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. And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, and it shall come to pass that when ye go, ye shall not go empty. But every woman shall borrow of her neighbor, and of her that sojourneth in her house jewels of silver and jewels of gold and raiment, and ye shall put them upon your sons and upon your daughters, and ye shall spoil the Egyptians. So if you think about this, they are in hard bondage with the Egyptians, but when they leave, they're not going to leave empty-handed. Now there's going to be laws that are going to be in Exodus. Once we get to Exodus in the 20s, there's going to be like all these judgments and commandments and everything that's going to be done, and it's going to talk about servants or what we would normally call, in school this is what we call them, indentured servants, which meant like they were basically servants that were to pay off a debt. They weren't like slaves where you just steal somebody from their country and then just force them to work forever, and, you know, there's no wage, nothing that's given to them. An indentured servant is like a bond servant, so they're in hard bondage and God is giving them their reward. Basically, they're going to go out with some kind of substance for this bondage that they went through, and actually He's going to make a law about that, meaning that if you have a bond servant that's paying off a debt and then it's time to release them, you don't just leave them, you don't just send them out empty-handed. Okay, and that's going to be a principle that God puts forth there. So, He's kind of showing that in this story, but it says that they're going to borrow other neighbor jewels of silver and jewels of gold. And again, when it comes to that term borrow, you know, we usually think of the term borrow like you're just using it for a short amount of time and then giving it back, but in this case it's actually talking about you're basically, they're lending it to them for their life, you know. Basically, it's like lent to you for the rest of your life kind of thing. And so, it's not a matter of they're going to come back and give it to the Egyptians later on. They're not going to come back. They're going out for good. Now, go back to, or go to Exodus chapter 11 again. Now, this is a short chapter, but I got eight pages of notes. I'm just kidding. I don't. We're joking about that. No, I don't have any. Got three. So, if you're counting when I flip the pages, you can see where we're at, right? I know some that do that, so. I'll preach against you later, so. No. Exodus chapter 11 verse 4 here. It says, And Moses said, Thus saith the Lord, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt, and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill, and all the firstborn of beasts. And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more. Okay. So, this is a warning. This is the tenth plague. This is the final plague, is the death of the firstborn in Egypt. Now, what I want to show you is that this was told to Pharaoh from the very beginning. Okay. Something to kind of notice here is that in Exodus chapter, go to Exodus chapter 4. Exodus chapter 4, this was told to him from the start that this was the end game. That if you don't let my people go, right, if you don't let them go, ultimately this is what's going to happen. Because he didn't spell out every plague that he was going to do to Pharaoh. At least it's not written in the Bible that he spelled all that out. But he's basically, all these plagues are coming, and you get to the final one, and it's kind of like, this is what I told you was going to happen. This is the end game, and this is the one that's going to cause them to be actually let go. And verse 21 here of Exodus chapter 4, it says, And the Lord said unto Moses, When thou goest to return unto Egypt, see that thou do all these wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand. But I will harden his heart that he shall not let the people go. So this is before Pharaoh's heart is hardened. If you remember, it was after he caused the rod to be turned into a serpent. It was right after that that he hardened Pharaoh's heart. So he kept saying, I'm going to harden it, I will harden it, then it says it is hardened. But notice what it says here in verse 22, And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my firstborn, and I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me. And if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn. So from the very beginning, he's laying it out and gives this warning shot that if you don't let them go, your firstborn is going to die. Your firstborn son is going to die. And so that's laid out from the beginning, and then here you're coming down to where this is going to happen. That it's actually coming down to what was warned about from the very beginning. Now something I want to point out with this and something that, at least what I believe, is I believe that when it's talking about the firstborn being killed, we're talking about firstborn males, firstborn boys, if you will. Okay, and I'm going to give you my reasons why. Exodus chapter 13, Exodus chapter 13, Exodus chapter 13 and verse 14, Exodus chapter 13 and verse 14. It says in verse 14, And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this that thou shalt say unto him? By strength of hand the Lord brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage. And it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that the Lord slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn a man and the firstborn a beast. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all that openeth the matrix, being males, but all the firstborn of my children I redeem. Okay, now I'm going to explain that verse a little more later on when we get into, you know, later chapters here, because basically what he's going to state here is that all the firstborn sons of Israel that are redeemed from every tribe, he's going to take the whole tribe of Levi and say that's being redeemed for all the firstborn of all the other tribes. And that's why Levi is set apart from every other tribe and stated to be that the Lord is their inheritance and they don't have any lot in the land. And basically they're going to live in all the different tribes. They're going to be the, you know, obviously they're going to do the service of the tabernacle. They're going to be, those that are of Aaron are going to be the priests and the high priests and all that stuff. That's for another sermon for another day as far as like that idea of I've redeemed the firstborn of Israel and the fact that the firstborn he says are mine. Because I've redeemed them. Now, that's another sermon for another day, but I do believe it's boys that are saved here and I'm going to give you another reason here in a minute. But the first thing I want to state here or another thing I want to state here is that God is not a respecter of persons. Notice in verse 5 of chapter 11, so Exodus chapter 11 verse 5, that God is not a respecter of persons. Meaning no matter what status you are in society, God will judge you based off of your sins and, you know, whether you're the president of the United States or whether you're a janitor at a school. And it gives kind of this high up like Pharaoh, but then it talks about someone that's a maidservant. And I don't have it in my notes or at least I don't think so, but in Exodus chapter 12 it talks about even the person that's in the dungeon, their firstborn. Now notice what it says in verse 5 here. It says in all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die. From the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill, and all the firstborn of beasts. So even the beasts are dying here. All the animals are dying. All the firstborn of these animals. And obviously the animals it says being males, which I believe applies to the people as well when it comes to what firstborn we're talking about. And it says then there shall be a cry throughout all the land of Egypt such as there was not like it nor shall be like it anymore. So the thing I want to get across here is that God is not a respecter person. What's it mean to be a respecter person? Basically to respect someone that's rich compared to someone that's poor, right? If someone commits murder, does it matter whether they're rich or poor? Does it make it any less wrong or more right? Either way you look at it, it doesn't matter. It shouldn't matter if you're rich or poor, what your last name is. It doesn't matter whether you're a celebrity, whether you're not well known at all, right? The idea here is that if you commit sin, you've committed sin. If you've, you know, if you've done right, then you've done right and it doesn't matter whether where you're at in society status, if you will. Go to Romans chapter 2. Romans chapter 2. Romans chapter 2. And I'm going to give you a, I'm going to show you too why I believe all of Egypt is being judged for this, not just Pharaoh. Because one would say, well, Pharaoh's the one that's giving, you know, that's the one that's doing all this damage. He's the one that's basically ordering all this stuff to be done. But go to Romans chapter 2 and verse 8. It says, So it's basically saying it doesn't matter who you are, Jew, Gentile, barbarian, Scythian, male, female, it doesn't matter. If you do evil, then you're going to suffer punishment for that. If you do good, then you're going to get rewarded for what you do, okay? Obviously this isn't talking about going to heaven. This is just talking about, you know, what you do in the flesh and in your body and the repercussions for that. And, you know, a verse that we use all the time or at least I use all the time is, Be not deceived, for God is not mocked, for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. The Bible also says that he that soweth, they that have, I'm sorry, for they have sown the wind and they shall reap the whirlwind. And the idea there is that you're going to reap what you sow, okay? The world calls this karma or Buddhism, Buddhists call it karma. I don't know where, what religion karma comes from, okay? But karma is not a biblical term. The Bible says you reap what you sow, okay? You sow good things, you're going to reap good things. If you sow bad things, you're going to reap bad things, okay? But go to Exodus chapter 1. Exodus chapter 1. I'm going to give you not only a reason for you say, Well, why is this maidservant that's behind the mill have to suffer this plague, okay? Notice what it says in Exodus chapter 1 and verse 22. This is when the decree was given, there's a decree given to kill all the male children of Israel. And this is what prompts the whole story of why Moses was put into a little ark of bulrushes and he was saved by Pharaoh's daughter from this ark. The whole reason that story even happened is because of what was said here. In verse 22 here it says, And Pharaoh charged all his people. Did it say that he charged his soldiers? Did it say that Pharaoh just went out and did this himself? He charged all his people saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river and every daughter ye shall save alive. Now can you see why God is killing particularly the firstborn boys? And why it's not just Pharaoh that he's judging, but it's all of the Egyptians, okay? Because all the Egyptians took part in this massacre that happened with the boys, the boys that were born at that time in Moses' day, okay? And you can think about that cry that's brought forth. And I kind of already hit on this when I was in that story there where this definitely parallels what happened when Jesus was born, right? When Jesus was born and he was a child, Herod killed all the children from two years old and younger in Bethlehem and all those coasts, right? And it says there was a voice word in Rhema weeping and wailing, Rachel weeping for her children and would not be comforted because they are not, that obviously weeping for children that are being murdered, and obviously all these Egyptians are going to be crying and wailing because of all their firstborns that are being killed, okay? Now when it comes to the firstborn, I don't believe it has to be a child, right? I mean, think about, there's a lot of people that have firstborns that are adults, okay? Sorry, Joseph, but if you were an Egyptian at that time, you'd be done, you know? Like you're the firstborn. I'm second born, so I'd be all right. But that being said, I don't think it's just children, you know, like people think it's just children dying. I think it's like all ages that would be taken out by this plague, okay? If you're a firstborn, you could be an adult and you'd be taken out. But just kind of showing you that as far as the fact that they're going to reap what they sow, and this is a harsh plague, of course. I mean, this is the plague where they are going to thrust them out because the people are going to come to Pharaoh and say, you need to get rid of them. We're all dead men. We're going to die. We're all going to die because this happens in one night. This happens at midnight when we see, well, we'll see, it states here in this chapter that it's going to happen around midnight and obviously in chapter 12 it really spells out exactly what happens. And obviously that's the Passover with the blood on the lentil and on the doorposts and all that. Now in Exodus 22 and verse 31 here, there's an interesting, I'm sorry, Exodus 11 verse 7. Exodus 11 verse 7 first. There's an interesting thing that's stated here, and I kind of want to just kind of park it here just for a second, is what it says in verse 7. So it's basically stating that he's going to kill all the firstborn in Egypt, and obviously I believe that's talking about firstborn males, which obviously goes back to they reap what they've sown, what they did to all the males that were being born at the time of Moses. So they're kind of reaping the whirlwind, if you will. But in verse 7 here it says, 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. Now that's an interesting phrase, isn't it? I mean, I think it is anyway that it's just like, what are we talking about? Why are we talking about a dog moving his tongue? Are we talking about a dog panting? Like, what are we talking about here? So when you look at these other plagues, remember it's saying that he's putting a difference. So when there was flies, there wasn't flies in Goshen, right? If there was darkness in Egypt, there wasn't darkness. So it's basically the opposite, meaning this is that what he's stating is that there's not going to be any firstborns that are going to die, whether man or beast, in Israel. That's the idea he's getting across there. But he's using this terminology that a dog will not move his tongue against any man or beast. And I believe it's saying beast because obviously beasts are being killed as well in this plague. Now, you say, well, why is it talking about dogs moving their tongues? Well, go to Exodus chapter 22. I'm going to give you the physical meaning and I'm going to give you the spiritual meaning. In a lot of these cases, there's like the physical, like this is exactly, like right now this is what this is talking about. Physical dogs moving their tongues. But then you have the spiritual application of what a spiritual dog would be and what that would even mean to move their tongue against God's people. Now, in Exodus chapter 22 and verse 31, it says, And ye shall be holy men unto me, neither shall ye eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field, ye shall cast it to the dogs. So we're talking about that it's not going to move a tongue against any beast. We're talking about these dogs eating animals, right? And in this case, it's talking about them eating an animal that's torn of beasts, meaning that it wasn't killed by somebody. They didn't like slit its throat and let it bleed out and all that stuff like you're supposed to do to like butcher an animal, right? Basically, they find this animal that's just been torn to shreds by an animal or whatever and they're saying don't eat that, just give that to the dogs, okay? And so the idea here is that dogs eat that type of flesh. And go to 2 Kings chapter 9, 2 Kings chapter 9. Not only will they eat animals, they'll eat people too. And I know this isn't a pleasant subject, but this is what the Bible talks about, okay? So I like dogs, like as pets, okay? I'm a dog person. I don't like cats, okay? But the Bible doesn't talk good about dogs. Let's just put it on the bottom shelf here. The Bible talks about dogs in a very bad light and it is what it is. But that being said, in 2 Kings chapter 9 verse 10, this is the story of Jezebel, okay? Jezebel was not a good woman. Actually, I believe she was a child of the devil. And this is where she's thrown out of her window, remember? And it talks about her basically dying and they trode upon her with horses and all that stuff. Anyway, the whole story here is that they go in to the building and then they're like, well, we need a barrier. She's a prince's daughter. We need a barrier. They go out there and all they find is her skull and her hands, the palms of her hands, because the dogs ate her, okay? So this isn't Sunday morning. I can preach this hard stuff, right? Usually it's Sunday morning. I'm like hitting you with this type of stuff. In verse 10 here, it says, And the dog shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her. And he opened the door and fled. Okay? So it's a vicious type of death. Obviously she's thrown out of this tower. It says that her blood was sprinkled upon the wall and then they trode upon her with horses and then dogs ate her. And, you know, that's another story for another day. But the idea here is that when it talks about a dog moving its tongue on man or beast, you know what that means is that none of them are going to die and no dog is going to be coming after their corpse, right? Whether it's an animal or whether it's a beast. There's your physical meaning of what that is, okay? But then there's a spiritual meaning to this as far as obviously he's talking about the children of Israel. And in the Bible, you know, when we're talking about the nation of Israel and the Old Testament and all this stuff, it says that though the children of Israel be as the sand that is upon the seashore, a remnant shall be saved. Meaning this is that the Bible is very clear that there was a lot of Israelites, but most of them weren't saved. They weren't believers, and that means they weren't going to heaven, okay? But there was a remnant. There was always a remnant in that nation, okay? And even in Jesus' day, there was a remnant, okay? There was Nathaniel. There was other people that believed. And there were people that believed on Christ when he came. Obviously, most of the 12 were Israelites. I mean, even Simon the Canaanite was technically an Israelite even though he was basically joined Israel, okay? But that being said is that there's a remnant that's going to believe, and the idea that I want to get across here is that Israel can be spiritually looked at as God's people, like believers, if you will, okay? Now go to Deuteronomy 23. Deuteronomy 23 and verse 17. I want to give you a spiritual application of the fact that a dog shall not move his tongue against his people, essentially. So physical application, none of them are going to die, so you're not going to have that demise of Jezebel with a dog eating that. There's also the story of Lazarus where the dog licked his wounds. I mean, the idea there, I don't believe that was, you know, if you had wounds, you don't really want a dog licking your wounds, right? That's not exactly a good thing, but it just shows you, you know, what dogs do, okay? Now, in Deuteronomy 23 and verse 17, notice what it says. There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel. Thou shall not bring the hire of a whore or the price of a dog into the house of the Lord thy God for any vow, for even both these are abomination unto the Lord thy God. Now, I want you to play a little game here. It's called match, I forget, what's that game called where you're like matching what's similar or what's the same, right? You have like two columns and over here, this one matches this one, like synonyms, okay? When you look at these two verses, it's repeating it over, okay? What two things are exactly the same that no doubt when it talks about a whore, okay? Those are the two same things it's talking about. So, in that same manner, a dog is a sodomite. You know, you're like, I can't believe you said that. That's actually the Bible that said that, okay? And so, that being said is that what I want to get across is that dogs, obviously there's physical dogs in the Bible, okay? There's dogs that lick Lazarus' wounds. I don't believe it was like some like reprobate licking his wounds, okay? I believe it's an actual dog. But what I want to get across here is that what the Bible uses, it uses terminology to describe people that have been hardened, that have been rejected by God. And one of those terms is a dog, another term is a swine, okay? And I want to show you this in Matthew 7, verse 6. So, I'm laying groundwork to show you what this means spiritually is the fact that no dog shall move his tongue against those of the children of Israel. And they are not all Israel which are of Israel. And just because they're the children of the flesh does not mean that they're the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. And we are the Israel of God as believers, okay? So, spiritually speaking, we are the Israel of God and I believe this verse where it's saying that no dog shall move his tongue against the children of Israel is talking to believers, spiritually speaking, okay? Now, in Matthew 7, verse 6, this is the Sermon on the Mount, very famous sermon, obviously, but we're coming to the tail end of the sermon. Verse 6 here says, Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. Now, you could say, well, this is just talking about physical dogs and physical swine. Well, yeah, I mean that, I guess you could, I guess it makes sense that you wouldn't throw that which is holy unto the dogs or pearls before swine, that would be common sense. That you're not going to throw a bunch of pearls before a bunch of pigs, right? But obviously, it's giving you names, it's talking about, it's actually in that passage, it talks about false prophets and how you're going to know them by their fruits. And go to Philippians chapter 3 and verse 2, Philippians chapter 3 and verse 2. This isn't a whole sermon on dogs, okay, but that phrase or that verse, that statement kind of sticks out to me as far as like what is this talking about exactly. Philippians chapter 3 and verse 2, it says, Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. And then it goes on to say, For we are the circumcision. Now, the concision is kind of synonymous with circumcision, but he's basically saying the circumcision according to the flesh, right? There's those that are circumcised, but they're not circumcised spiritually. And he's saying beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. So when he's saying beware of dogs, I don't believe he's talking about phyto. I don't believe he's talking about that pit bull that's at the door when you're going out soul hunting. I think you should beware of that too, okay? You know, you go out soul hunting, I think, you know, we need to be careful when it comes to animals and stuff like that. But in this passage, I don't believe he's talking about a physical dog. He's talking about spiritually speaking. He's talking about that, you know, not giving that which is holy unto the dogs. And he's saying beware of these dogs because then later on he says, Mark them which walk so as ye have as friend and sample from any walk of whom I have told you often, and not tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ. So when he says that, who's he talking about? The dogs, the evil workers, and the concision. That's what he's talking about. He's saying beware of them. Why? Because they're enemies of the cross of Christ. So go to 2 Peter 2. I'm showing you all of these because I want to be very clear that the Bible uses the term dog to represent, to talk about certain people, okay? And even if you don't believe Deuteronomy 23 where it says a dog is a sodomite, which I think is very clear, you can't get around the fact that it uses the term dog to talk about certain people, okay? And not good people, okay? He's talking about evil people. He's talking about people that we need to beware of, that we shouldn't cast our pearls before or holy things before. Verse 20 of 2 Peter 2, it says, For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than after they had known it to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it has happened unto them according to the true proverb, the dog is turned to his own vomit again, and a sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire. Now what's a sow? It's a female pig, okay? You think of a hog, that's like a male pig. But a sow would be the female version of a swine. Okay? So you kind of have the male version and the female version. That's why it says, Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, and cast ye not your pearls before swine. And the Bible even talks about how a jewel and a swine's snout is like a fair woman without discretion. Okay? So these things are used a lot to talk about people. And in this case, in 2 Peter 2, it's very clear, you're talking about someone that knew the truth, but they turned from the holy commandment delivered unto them, meaning this is that they held the truth in unrighteousness, and they didn't give God the glory, they didn't get saved, they didn't believe on Christ. Okay? So we're not talking about someone that's ignorant. Now go to Luke chapter 21, and the last thing I'm going to say here, I want to lay that groundwork that when you're talking about dogs, who are you talking about? I don't believe you're talking about just some unsaved person. You know, most of the people in the world are not dogs. The majority of the people in the world are just dead in trespasses and sins. They're children of disobedience because they haven't obeyed the gospel by believing on Christ. They're children of wrath because he that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. That's all true about the unsaved person that's out there, and that's most everybody that's out in the world. But when we're talking about dogs, we're not talking about that typical unsaved person. We're talking about like a pharaoh, okay? We're talking about Janus and Jamborees that withstood Moses, that were ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth, that were men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. That's what we're talking about. We're talking about dogs, okay? And Luke 21, the thing that I want to mention here is that, spiritually speaking, I believe that God will cause, can cause us to not, to basically, that what we say, no dog can move his tongue to gainsay or resist what we say because of the word of God, okay? Because what's stated there in that passage? It says that he shall not move their tongue, okay? It doesn't say teeth, right? It says tongue. So when tongue, you can think about like obviously licking something or tasting something, but you can also think about just talking. You talk with your tongue. You speak with your tongue, okay? And notice what it says in Luke 21 and verse 12, and this is obviously dealing with end times, you know, the tribulation, if you will. But this also, I believe, if you look at verse 12 here, it says, but before all these. So he's basically saying, before all this even happens, before you even get to the beginning of sorrows, what does it say here? They shall lay their hands on you and persecute you and deliver you up to the synagogues and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake, and it shall turn to you for a testimony. Settle it therefore in your hearts not to meditate before what you shall answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist. You know what's interesting is when you look at, like, Stephen, like, they're speechless. I haven't counted how many times in the Bible, but you'd see, like, a prophet of God, and they're just, like, they're speechless. They don't even know what to say. They're just completely without words because of the wisdom and knowledge that comes through the Word of God through a spirit-filled person that God is leading through the Holy Ghost to say. And obviously when we're talking about, you know, giving us a mouth of wisdom, the Holy Ghost is not going to speak of himself, the Bible says, but he will bring to remembrance that which Jesus has already said to you. So the more you know, the more you read, the more you memorize, the more that that Holy Ghost can pull out of you in those times, okay? That's why it says, but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks you through a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. The idea there is that you need to sanctify the Lord God in your hearts for that to be the case, but when you do that and you're standing before there, it's stating, don't worry about what you're going to say because at that moment, the Holy Ghost is going to bring to remembrance what you should say and they won't be able to gainsay nor resist what you say. Why? Because if you hold fast the faithful word, then you know what? You're going to be able to resist the gainsayers and convince the gainsayers and you know what? I believe when you're dealing with that case where they're bringing you before synagogues and all that stuff, you're dealing with people that are dogs, right? I mean, you're dealing with where they're brought before the high priest and all those that put Jesus to death. You don't think that those are the dogs of the Bible there? I mean, he called Herod a fox, so it's not just dog that they use or that the Bible uses. It'll say serpents, vipers. It'll use different terms. It's interesting that they're all animals that they're using and they're like a serpent, a dog, like different things like that. There's attributes of those creatures that they're pointing out that they're like, okay? Fox is sly, right? Mischievous. But go to Exodus 11. So I thought that phrase was interesting. You know, the idea of what's he mean by that? That a dog will not move his tongue, okay? And that's another study for another day. I did a sermon on that about dogs and swine. I think it got taken down. Shocker. But the idea that it's interesting that dog is always referred to in a masculine sense but then swine is always referred to in a feminine sense because people that are hardened, it's not just men, okay? Women can be hardened too. That's Jezebel. Jezebel, I believe, was hardened. Her heart was hardened by God. And Pharaoh's heart was hardened by God, and he's a man, obviously. And so it's not just reserved to men, but men are referred to as dogs and women are referred to as swine when they're given over to everybody in mind in the Bible. And how did we get off on that? Like I said, there's certain phrases that kind of just stick out to me, and I just kind of wanted to hit on that because, honestly, we're going to be hitting on this last plague a lot next week. Lord willing, we get into this chapter next week. It's a long chapter, so I don't want to really just tell you everything about this plague because everything's going to be spelled out in the next chapter. But in Exodus 11, we're going to finish off the chapter here. In verse 8 here, notice what it says. It says, And all these, thy servants, shall come down unto me, and bow down themselves unto me, saying, Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee, and after that I will go out. And he went out from Pharaoh in a great anger. And the Lord said unto Moses, Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt. Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, and the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart so that he would not let the children of Israel go out of his land. Now, what's interesting about this is that the end of chapter 10, go to verse 28 and the end of chapter 10, notice what Pharaoh says. So this is after the three days of darkness that could be felt. This is what Pharaoh says to Moses. Because remember, he's kind of giving him a plea bargain. He's saying, you know, well, you can go, but you can't take any animals with you, and he's like, no, there shall not be a hoof left behind. We're going to take everything with us. Okay? And then, you know, Pharaoh basically gets angry with him, and verse 28 here says, And Pharaoh said unto him, Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more, for in that day thou seest my face, thou shalt die. And Moses said, Thou hast spoken well, I will see thy face again no more. Now, if you read that, you kind of think, well, all right, he steps away, and then in chapter 11, like, where's Moses at? Right? I personally believe that Moses is still there in chapter 11. Okay? So basically, Pharaoh is stating that you're not going to see my face again. If you see my face again, then you're going to die, and Moses is like, good. I don't want to see your face anymore. Now, he doesn't say it like that, but that's essentially what I get out of it. It's like, well, you know, I'm not going to see you anymore. So finally, you don't get to see anyone. So what I think is going on here is that when he's basically going down the line about the fact, well, you can go out, but you can't take any animals with you, Pharaoh's getting angry with them, but then Moses tells them this last plague. He's like, if you don't let them go, if you don't let the Israelites go, then this is going to happen, and that's when Moses goes out in great anger. Okay? Notice that in verse 8 there, it says, Now, what you'll see in chapter 12 is that Pharaoh, they don't see each other again. And it's stating here what's going to happen. Pharaoh's going to tell him to leave, but he's going to have his servants go tell him. Okay? Notice what it says here in verse 8. It says, And all these thy servants shall come down unto me. Okay? So he's foretelling him what's going to happen. This is going to happen, all the firstborn are going to die, and your servants are going to come to me and tell me this. They're not only going to come to me, they're going to bow down themselves unto me and say this. And it's going to say, Get thee out and all the people that follow thee, and after that, I will go out. I don't know why, but I just love that because he's stating this to Pharaoh. He's like, Your servants are going to come down to me, they're going to bow down before me, and they're going to say to get out of here, and I will go out. Like, he goes out with great anger, okay? He's not like, he's not up, it's kind of showing you the state and manner in which he is right at this moment, is that he's stating, I will go out, and he went out from Pharaoh in a great anger. Okay? Now, I don't believe Moses was wrong for being angry. The Bible says, Be ye angry and sin not. It's right to be, you know, have righteous indignation, to be angry. You know, God is angry with the wicked every day, so it's not wrong to be angry with the wicked, and obviously, Moses is angry with a wicked person. Now, you know, Moses shouldn't go home and go to sleep angry, but he doesn't have to because that night at midnight, all the firstborn are going to die. So, you know, basically, that's going to happen, and I just kind of want you to see it, because when you read this, sometimes it will state something, and then there's more information given, or kind of step back, take a little step back, and so this could have very well been the fact that he's talking about the fact, no, not a hoof shall be left behind. By the way, there's one more plague coming, and then you've got Pharaoh saying, you know what, you're not going to see my face again. If you see my face again, you know, then you're going to die, and he's like, well, I'm not going to see your face anymore. By the way, your servants are going to come down, they're going to bow down before me, and they're going to tell me that you're going to tell us to leave, and then I will go out. You know, and so it's kind of this finale between him and Pharaoh, and then when you go to chapter 12, which we'll get to next week, Lord willing, is the fact that, yeah, you don't see Pharaoh coming down to him. You don't see them meeting up face to face. So, now if they did, it's not like there'd be, I mean, Moses is just a man. I mean, he's saying I won't see your face again, and Pharaoh is saying that. I mean, reprobates are covenant breakers by definition, so, I mean, wouldn't be that out of the ordinary if Pharaoh was just like, yeah, I'm not going to see your face. If I do, you're going to die, and then he sees his face and doesn't put him to death and be like, well, shocker, you didn't keep your covenant, you know. But that being said is I do think that he actually doesn't see his face again after that, but he just shows you kind of this anger. You got Pharaoh that's angry at him saying, you're not going to see my face again. If you do, then you're going to die, and then, you know, Moses is hitting him right back. He's like, good. So it shows that kind of like, you know, fight that they're having there, but it also, like I said, you know, there's all kinds of movies that are out there about Moses and about this story, and, you know, one of the popular ones that's out there is like a cartoon movie where they're like hearts torn between each other because they were like really close when they were younger, and then even when like the Red Sea, you know, like kills all his army, you know, Moses is still a little heartbroken over his brother that's gone and like how he didn't, you know, it didn't work out. That's not the Bible. The Bible shows that he has no love for Pharaoh here, okay. And so you got to take the Bible for what it is, and chapter 12 is a longer chapter, so I'm going to be trying to hit on some highlights when it comes to that, but it's a famous Passover story when you have the death of the firstborn of Egypt, but also just the fact of what the Israelites had to do in order to be saved from that plague, okay, and obviously how that represents spiritually, you know, most of you know what I'm talking about with the blood and we're saved by the blood and all that. So let's end with a word prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for today. Thank you for your word. Thank you for the story of Moses and the story of these plagues, and Lord, help us to learn from these stories and help us to apply them to our lives and to bring glory to your name in any way that we can. I pray that you would also be with those that aren't feeling well. I pray that you heal them of any sicknesses. I pray that you give us safe travels, and Lord, we love you and pray all this in Jesus Christ's name. Amen. Right able, come and sing one more song, and then we'll be dismissed. All right, take your song books and turn to song number 75. Song number 75 in your song books. If you would stand, we'll sing On Jordan's Stormy Banks, song number 75. On Jordan's stormy banks I stand and cast a wishful light To Canaan's fair and happy land where my possessions lie I am bound for the promised land, I am bound for the promised land Oh, who will come and go with me? I am bound for the promised land O'er those wide extended plains shines one eternal day There God the Son forever reigns and scatters night away I am bound for the promised land, I am bound for the promised land Oh, who will come and go with me? I am bound for the promised land