Sermon Tone Analysis

*"Bad Boys of the Bible"*

*Exodus 5** and selected passages*

*Richard E. Powell*

     We are going to continue with our series called, "Bad Boys of the Bible."

And today we're going to open our Bibles to the Old Testament book of Exodus 5 as we talk about the third bad boy in our series.

We're talking about Pharaoh.

And today’s message is entitled, "Pharaoh, deal or no deal?"

That's right deal or no deal?

The television show, "Deal or no deal" has become a hit in America.

The basic format of deal or no deal consists of 26 metal cases each containing different amounts of money from zero up to $1 million dollars and not knowing the sum of money in each case, the contestant has to choose one case for themselves hoping that that case has a million dollars.

Then they have to make a series of choices of eliminating and opening the other cases that are left behind.

And during certain intervals the contestant is offered a buyout from the banker.

You see the contestant’s job is to get as much as they can; the banker’s job is to send that contestant home with as little as possible.

And so you have to make a decision, when the banker offers you the option, of either selling out and going home or continuing the game.

You've got a decision to make.

And you have to remember that the Banker wants to send you away with as little as possible.

Well, guess what?

The Devil also wants to engage you in making a deal.

Satan comes to every believer with the temptation to compromise our commitment to God.  Satan wants to us to sell out rather than going on with God and receiving all the blessings that He has for us.

Satan wants us to walk away from the riches of God's blessings supplied through faith in Christ, and he wants us to sell ourselves short.

And so when the Devil comes to you with the temptation to compromise your faith or compromise your commitment, you have a decision to make; deal, or no deal?

Well, the Jewish people also had to answer that question, “deal or no deal?”

There was once a time when they were slaves in Egypt.

They had been slaves for hundreds of years.

But God heard their cries and God sent Moses to deliver them.

As a matter of fact, God was going to use Moses to deliver them from Egyptian bondage, but God wanted to reveal the hardness of Pharaoh's heart, so he sent Moses and Aaron to go face to face with Pharaoh, the King of Egypt.

Pharaoh was most powerful man in the world.

They asked Pharaoh to let the people of God go into the wilderness to worship their God.

You see God knew that Pharaoh was not willing to let the children of Israel go into the wilderness to worship for three days much less let them go forever.

But God wanted to reveal the hardness of Pharaoh's heart.

So as you read Exodus Chapter 5:1, 2; you read about the hardness of his heart.

Listen to these words; Exodus 5:1, "Thus says the Lord God of Israel, let my people go that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness."

Now, remember God is just asking for them to go into the wilderness for a feast.

But look at what God says happens in Exodus 5:2.

“And Pharaoh said, ‘Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice to let Israel go.

I do not know the Lord nor will I let Israel go.’”

He's not willing to let them go for thee days much less let them go forever.

And so God starts inflicting plagues upon Egypt.

God starts inflicting dire judgments upon this pagan leader and his pagan land.

God sent that first plague where the water and the River Nile turned into blood.

Then he followed that plague up with the plague of frogs, where the land was inundated with frogs.

Wherever you stepped you not only heard croaks, you heard squish and then croaks.

Then he sent the plague of lice.

People were covered from head to toe with lice.

Then he sent the plague of flies.

And finally after that fourth plague, Pharaoh is ready to deal.

He's ready to tempt the people of God to compromise the clear command of God to leave and go into the wilderness and to sacrifice to their God.

The temptations the Jewish people faced to compromise their commitment to God are the same that you face every day.

So you will do well to learn how to stay true to God.

Some of you are already compromising with the devil in certain areas of your life.

You need to repent tonight and renew your commitment to God.

Others of you are faced with these compromises right now and you are about to make a decision.

You can read compromise number one in Exodus 8:25.

Why don't you take your Bibles, turn to Exodus chapter 8 and locate verse 25.

This is after the fourth plague, "Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, ’Go sacrifice to your God in the land.'"

It sounds like Pharaoh had a change of heart.

In chapter 5 he's saying, "I will not let you go.

I don't know your God.

You're not going anywhere."

And here in Exodus 8:25 he says, "Okay, go and sacrifice to your God."  Sounds like he's had a change of heart; sounds like he's more reasonable then what we first imagined.

But you haven't read his words clearly enough if you think he's willing to let the people go like God commands.

You see, God had plainly said, "Let my people go that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness."

Pharaoh is only willing to let them worship in the land.

Did you notice that phrase, "in the land"?

You'd better learn this lesson well because the Devil will temp you to compromise in the same way that Pharaoh tempted the Jewish people.

*     I.*

*Pharaoh wanted the people of God to compromise, first of all, in the area of the purity of their worship.*

You can worship your God but you're going to have to worship here in Egypt.

You see Egypt for us represents the lost world; it represents the pagan world; it represents the world that is under the judgment of God.

And the Devil wants us to mix the things of God with the things of the world thereby diluting the purity of our worship.

You and I need to recognize what Pharaoh is really saying.

Pharaoh is saying, "Go ahead, worship your God if you must, but do it here in Egypt.

Stop talking about this idea of separation between the people of God and the people of the world.

This is the only world you've ever known.

Just go ahead and stay here and add your religion to our religions."

And that's what the Devil wants believers to do.

And there are many believers, there are many congregations, there are many denominations that are heeding the call of Satan to compromise in the purity of worship.

Have you noticed that the world is becoming churchy and the church is becoming worldly?

Have you noticed?

In this political season the world is becoming churchy.

We're being told by politicians, who want our vote, that you can be a good Christian and still be okay with abortion.

They're saying you can be a good Christian and lower your standards of sexual immorality.

The world is becoming too churchy.

And by the way, the church is becoming too worldly.

It used to be that preachers would stand behind pulpits and say, "Thus saith the Lord"; but now they’re saying, "Well, you know it seems to me."

And they're preaching out of the book of opinions and they're standing up and they are watering down the Word of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

It used to be that we would boldly proclaim Jesus is not the best way to God; he's the only way to God.

And by the way as long as you have me as your pastor that's what you are going to hear.

Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).

And yet the church is becoming worldly.

We have turned the Bible into nothing more than a bunch of self-help principles.

We have started arguing over how much of ourselves we ought to give to God; we want to give God as little as possible and still be holy.

Some church members think the pastor only works one hour a week and they complain when he goes overtime.

Because they're wanting to get in, get out, check that box in their spiritual to do list; yes, I've been in church, I've lived for God on Sunday, now, I can live for the Devil on Monday.

There's something wrong with that.

We are being tempted by the Devil to compromise in the area of our purity in worship.

But the half brother of Jesus, the Apostle James said, "Adulterers and adulteresses."

Now, he's not talking about sexual adultery; he's talking about spiritual adultery.

He is talking about selling out on God, stepping out on God.

He says, "Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God, whoever, therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God?”