Conference yukon::christian_v7

311.0. ""Don't go too far..."" by TOKNOW::METCALFE (Eschew Obfuscatory Monikers) Mon Nov 08 1993 11:59

    Exodus is a familiar story to most of us since Cecil B. DeMille
    popularized it on the silver screen.  I heard a sermon yesterday which
    highlighted a progression I found interesting, which I would like to
    share with you.

    
Exodus 8
 25  And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice
to your God in the land.
 26  And Moses said, it is not meet so to do; 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?
 27  We will go three days journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the
LORD our God, as he shall command us.
 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: entreat for
me.
 29  And Moses said, behold, I go out from thee, and I will entreat the LORD
that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from
his people, to morrow: but let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not
letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD.
 30  And Moses went out from Pharaoh, and entreated the LORD.
 31  And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and he removed the
swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; there
remained not one.
 32  And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let
the people go.

    God called the Israelites out of Egypt and slavery to worship Him.
    The Israelites were under the bondage of Pharaoh, and to the land which
    he ruled.

    By the time we get to Exodus 8:25, Pharaoh had been suffering under the
    plagues of God to the point that he was willing to deal.  

    Many of us Christians come under the conviction to come out from our
    bondage to sin, and when we do, we are faced with someone who is ready
    to deal with us.  

    Progression #1:  Go and sacrifice to your God in the land. (8:25)

    Worship the Lord, but do it here.  Don't change anything.  You want to
    be a Christian?  Okay, fine.  Whatever works for you.  But do it where
    you are.

    Moses shows what would happen if the Christian remains in his
    environment of sin:  If we become and act like Christians in this
    environment (the land of the Egyptians, as it were), they will consider
    it an affront to their lifestyle, their beliefs, and it would serve to
    convict them of their sin, and they would destroy (stone) us.

    Progression #2:  Go and sacrificed, but do not go far. (8:28)

    "Okay.  I see your point.  I'll let you go, but don't go too far."

    This is a concession that many newborn Christians have quickly accepted
    thinking they've won a great victory, but the damning words of "don't
    go too far" will come back to destroy a Christian.  

    "You don't have to go way off the deep end to be a Christian.  Don't
    go too far into the things of God.  Keep close to the real world so
    that you're not thought of as a fanatic."

    These half-truths are designed to place one foot squarely in Egypt.
    They are half-truths because you don't have to be a whacko to be a
    Christian, but you do have to take everything out of the old world of
    bondage and sin.  Everything, which brings us to the next progression.

    Progression #3:  Go, but leave your families behind. (10:11)

Exodus 10
  8  And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto pharaoh: and he said unto
them, go, serve the Lord your God: but who are they that shall go?
  9  And Moses said, we will go with our young and with our old, with our
sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go;
for we must hold a feast unto the Lord.
 10  And he 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 pharaohs presence.

    "If you're going to be so resolute, you can go, and good riddance.  But
    don't pressure your families into your foolishness."

    When the enemy know he's lost you, he will attempt to minimize his
    losses and indeed will become more hostile as you intend to bring the
    good news to others.  ***The enemy is determine to isolate you, if you
    are resolute to come out of his country.***

    Many Christians settle for this, having saved their own hides and not
    wishing to impose upon family members who are doomed to destruction in
    Egypt.  It shows that they are unsure of their own way, wondering
    whether those who remain in Egypt will be just as well off, or better.
    So, we'll take our chances on Jesus, and allow others to choose their
    way.

    The half-truth of this is that people will choose their own way, but we
    need not stand by idly and withhold the other half of the truth that
    there is a choice between life and death, and God would have us choose
    life.
        
    Progression #4:  Go, but leave your possessions behind. (10:24)

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.
 25  And Moses said, thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt offerings,
that we may sacrifice unto the Lord our God.
 26  Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not an hoof be left
behind; for thereof must we take to serve the Lord our God; and we know not
with what we must serve the Lord, until we come thither.

    Pharaoh grasps at his last straw to deprive you of your possessions. 
    God wants our all.  Everything.  Some things will be sacrificed to God,
    but will not be left in Egypt.  Some things are necessary to sustaining
    life.  

    The sermon did not go into further progressions so I add this:

    Progression #5: Go, but I am coming after you to bring you back.
    (14:5-9)


Exodus 14:5  And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled: and the
heart of pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they
said, why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?
  6  And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him:
  7  And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt,
and captains over every one of them.
  8  And the Lord hardened the heart of pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued
after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high
hand.
  9  But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of
pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the
sea, beside Pihahiroth, before Baalzephon.

    When Pharaoh was beaten by the plagues God brought onto him, He let
    the Israelites go, and the people of Egypt were glad to see them go
    (most of them).  They couldn't take God's judgment on them any longer.
    But it wasn't long before they realized all the more what slave labor
    meant to the economy, and what shame they had been put to by the God of
    the Israelites.  And so pharaoh set out in his anger and with his
    mighty army to enslave the Israelites again. And they would have been
    enslaved again, except that God intervened on their behalf.

    When you declare your intent to leave the land of anti-Christianity,
    you will be asked not to make a big deal about it and relax where you
    are.  "Be a Christian in your heart, home, and closet.  Enjoy the land
    in which you've been raised and practice your peculiarities in
    private."

    "If this isn't acceptable, then take short vacations to practice your
    Christianity.  Once a week should suffice.  But certainly, don't go too
    far."

    "And well, if you need to be so open about your Christianity, then by
    all means, go and practice as you like, but leave the rest of us alone.
    Don't bother those close to you.  They're not interested in your
    practices.  It's whatever works for you."

    "But if you must be a practicing Christian, these things of this world
    are mine and you shouldn't touch them.  They belong to the evil one so
    leave without it."

    "If you take everything and give it to God, I will come after you, and
    I will be leading a whole army of people against you.  You will come
    back with me or die."
    -----

    What these progressions have indicated are some of the variations on
    "nominal Christianity."  You must know there is no such thing as a
    nominal Christian, because the Bible uses another term for such as
    these: luke-warm.  

    If Jesus told the rich young ruler to sell all he had to follow Him, he
    asks no less of us, but to give our all to God.  You can put on your
    Christianity on Sundays, you can even "witness" to a friend when they
    ask you for spiritual advice; but if you are not living every day and
    every moment for God, consider what deal from Pharaoh you have found
    acceptable.

    Mark

      Thanks Mark...I really appreciated this entry.
      Almost looks like Rev 13!
    
                                                  God Bless,
    
                                                  Tony

Your comment is not appreciated, Greg.  

And you know I do not consider praying (or speaking) in tongues to be
essential (or even important) to the Christian life. Sorry.

MM

>And you know I do not consider praying (or speaking) in tongues to be
>essential (or even important) to the Christian life. Sorry.
    
    Neither did the apostle Paul, for that matter. ;-)

RE: .0

	Excellent sermon, Mark.  Thanks.

	Tony
	

    Mark,
    
    May I use this in my woman's fellowship?  I'll give you credit for it?
    
    Nancy

Nancy, you may use it, and credit is not mine.  I wrote down my impressions
from the sermon I heard on Sunday, which means I filtered it through my
fingers.

MM

Those are excellent points, Mark!

The symbolism in the Exodus story never ceases to amaze me.

There is also more symbolism here.

- Before they leave, the Jews sacrifice the Lamb, eat its flesh, and spread its
blood on their doorposts.  By doing this, they are protected from the Angel
of Death.  This symbolizes that by Christ's sacrificial death and the blood he
shed for us, we are saved from the wrath of God.

- As they leave, a pillar of fire guides them and protects them from the Enemy.
As you have pointed out, Egypt represents the world, and also the Enemy - Satan.
The pillar of fire is the Holy Spirit.

- When they approach the Red Sea, they find that they are compelled to pass
through it.  But God sends his wind (spirit? the words are the same) across the 
waters so that the Israelites can pass through; all of them who pass through are
saved and freed from the enemy.  The enemy is conquered and defeated in the
waters, and Israel is set free from the enemy.  The Red Sea symbolizes baptism,
by which we enter the new Christian life and begin our trek in the desert,
having been freed from the power of the enemy.

- The forty years in the desert represents our life here on earth: a place where
we are foreigners, where we wander homeless yet awaiting the promise God has
given us.  During this time, God feeds us with manna from heaven (cf. John 
6:26-70), which represents the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ.  This heavenly
food feeds and nourishes us spiritually and permits us to make it through the
desert of life.

- We also have the Fountain of Living Water, symbolized by the rock Moses
struck from which flowed a spring, that we can drink from. 

- The Promised Land flowing with milk and honey represents the place that Christ
has prepared for his people after they leave the desert of life -- also 
symbolized by the Wedding Feast of the Lamb.

Thanks Eric for your follow on.  This one gave me pause for thought:

>- We also have the Fountain of Living Water, symbolized by the rock Moses
>struck from which flowed a spring, that we can drink from. 

Jesus referred to himself a Living Water (see the story of the woman at
the well).  Moses sinned and struck the rock rather than obeying the 
command of God (to speak to it), and thus was forbidden to enter Canaan.
We, too, have struck the rock out of which Living Water flows, disobeying
the commandment of God.  Jesus was bruised in his heel (struck by our sin).
And we cannot enter the promised land because of our sin, except that
we have an Advocate and Atonement for us in the Living Water, given to
us as a gift, despite our disobedience, if we choose to accept the gift.

MM

    ....and I *love* the thought of Moses (Moshe) being with the L-rd
    Yeshua, *in* the holy land at Yeshua's transfiguration....