The High Price of Self-Will

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign. [00:00:04] Speaker B: Welcome to Hope for Today, a weekly Bible teaching program that will bring you hope for every day. It is good to have you join us for today's teaching from Exodus. We hope our study in Exodus will remind you that there is no God like our God. Let's go with Bible teacher J. Mark to Exodus for today's teaching. [00:00:35] Speaker A: In the beginning of the creation, God made Adam with a will. That is, he was given the ability and the freedom to choose. From the very beginning, from creation, man was able to exercise that will. He was able to choose. God knew when he made man with a free will that man would be able to exercise that very same will against his Creator. But because mankind was made in the image of God, he had to be able to have that capacity to choose to make moral distinctions. Man was not created as a pre programmed robot. You know. To be a creature of choice is a wonderful privilege because we have the whole area of good things we can choose from. It's beautiful. There's so much in our world that is good and right and beautiful. So much that is fulfilling and satisfying. God has created so much for our enjoyment and for our blessing. But you know, we can also choose evil. We can choose to serve ourselves and our desires. That's what makes the exercise of our will or our choices so very, very serious. You know, I have regrets about the times I made wrong choices. Times when I allowed my desires to control me instead of my will controlling my desires. Times when I was selfish instead of serving others. Times when I was harsh and unloving. You know, when I think back on those experiences, I feel sorry and I have regrets. But I'm so grateful for God's willingness to forgive me and to restore my joy. But I also have joyful moments when I think of the good choices I've made. I chose the right way and those right choices still bring me joy today. I hope you have joy in the choices that you've made in life too. Self will is the result of the abuse of freedom of choice. Self will is when you and I set up our own will against the will of God. The high price of self will stands out clearly when we don't choose what is right. We see this in Exodus chapter 11 and verses 1 to 10. The high price of self will is clearly shown in this portion of Scripture. So listen as I read Exodus 11:1, 10 and the Lord said unto Moses, yet will I bring one more plague upon Pharaoh and and upon Egypt afterwards. He will let you go. When he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out altogether. 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 favour in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, and in the sight of Pharaoh's servants, and in the sight of the people. And Moses said, thus says the about midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt, and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sits 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 be like it any more. But against any of the children of Israel shall not even a dog move his tongue against man or beast. That you may know how that the Lord puts a difference between the Egyptians and Israel. And all these your servants shall come down unto me and bow down themselves unto me, saying, get out. And all the people that follow you, and after that I will go out. And he went out from Pharaoh in great anger. And the Lord said to Moses, pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that my wonders may be multiplied in 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. In these opening verses From Exodus, chapter 11, I bring to you three evidences of the high price of self will. The first evidence is the last plague. God said, this is the last time I am going to deal with Pharaoh. I will come once more, just one more plague on Pharaoh. That's all. It will be the last time that I deal with him like this. You know, I'm thinking what a tremendous price this was going to be for Pharaoh. Moses was instructed by the Lord to tell the people of Israel to ask their neighbors for their silver and gold. This was part of the last plague, the last time God would deal with Pharaoh. And I notice also that God's man Moses was very well esteemed in the eyes of the Egyptians. That's not surprising. Think of all that Moses did in the eyes of the people, as God had instructed him. Through all these judgments, God is showing that he is superior to the pagan gods of the Egyptians. That people saw what was going on. And so when the people of God asked their Egyptian neighbors for their gold and silver, they readily gave it to them. But self will must meet its decisive moment. There is a time when the battle is finally joined between God's will and and our will. Try to grasp the awfulness of this word from God. Yet will I bring one more plague upon Pharaoh. Think of what it means to come to the end of the dealing with God when it's all over. What's the cost? That's the high price of self will. The last plague, the last word from God. And then there's a second evidence of the high price of self will. It's the firstborn. Moses went on to tell Pharaoh how this last plague was going to happen. It would be aimed at the firstborn. You know, all the other judgments dealt with things. The cattle, the elements, the vegetation. And there were boils and lice, flies. The water turned to blood, the cattle got sick, there was hail, there was darkness. But this one was going to be different. This was going to affect the firstborn of every Egyptian household, from Pharaoh on the throne to the maidservant behind the mill. And Moses further added, it would also affect the cattle and the beasts of the field. And so this was a very extensive judgment. And there was no mercy. All would be affected. You know, we can learn a rather striking lesson from this. Self will leads to decisions that affect our most treasured possessions. And the consequences of our choices aren't restricted to us personally. Once our choices are made and the consequences are set in motion, they cannot be changed. So Pharaoh insisted upon having his own way. And it led to the destruction of his most treasured possession, his firstborn son. This was the heir, the one who was to follow him on the throne of Egypt. But his self will affected his entire country, all of his people. Do you follow me? Evidence of the high price of self will is found in that God leveled his judgment against the firstborn of both man and beast. And this man on the throne. Pharaoh was responsible for judgment throughout his kingdom because of his own self will. If there are people under your authority, they will be affected by your choices, whether for good or for ill. And then there is a third evidence of the high price of self will. It is the final difference. Moses said that the children of Israel would not be affected by this last plague, he said, not so much as the tongue of a dog would be moved against them in their cattle. Can you imagine this big procession and not one dog barks in previous occasions. God protected and preserved his people at the time of these plagues. But this one, Moses said, would be final. That you may know how that the Lord has put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel. And this difference had nothing to do with the ethnic background of the people. It wasn't because some were Egyptians and some were Israelites. God is the Creator of all and he shows no partiality based on nationality or ethnicity. He loves everybody equally. The difference was the Israelites worshiped the true God and the Egyptians worshipped idols. This would be a great humbling of the Egyptians and their gods because God would magnify his name in all the earth by his acts. We are told that the wonders of God would be multiplied in the land of Egypt. God did all this to vindicate his high and holy name. But there was a real difference between Israel and Egypt. The reason why this difference was so sharp and so broad was because the Egyptians refused to hear God and especially Pharaoh, their king. They would not listen to the voice of the Lord as it came to them from the prophet Moses. And now they would suffer the consequences of their refusal to listen. God has made you and me free moral agents. We can make our own choices. We have both the ability and the privilege. But he has also made us that we must live with the consequences of those choices. And that's where the price often becomes quite high. That's what happened with Pharaoh. He made his own choice. That was his privilege. But he paid the high price of living with the consequences of that he hadn't counted on. He didn't think carefully enough about the consequences of his choices. And there are many people just like him today, my friend. I hope so much that you are not one of them. Here are the evidences which we gather from Pharaoh to show how high a price one pays for self will. The last plague showed that God was not going to deal with this man again in any measure of mercy. Pharaoh had made his choices. And now there was no turning away from the consequences of those choices. Then the firstborn of every family all across the land would die. From the firstborn of the king to the firstborn of the slave to the firstborn of the cattle and the other beasts. And that final difference between the Egyptians and the Israelites would never be erased. Those who reject God will face his divine wrath. There is no escape. There is no alternative. And so, my friend, I want you to consider where you are. Turn to God. The God who holds your life and breath in his hands. Don't hold out against him or you will learn to your regret the high price of self will. [00:12:10] Speaker B: Thank you J Mark for this teaching from Exodus. And we thank you for joining us as Christians. It is a privilege to serve and trust our God, Our God who is above every nation as his people. It is good for us to remember the important principle in Daniel 4:17. It says that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdoms of men, and gives it to whomever he will, and sets over it the lowest of men. This verse teaches, our sovereign God is over the kingdoms on earth. What happens here among our leaders is known and directed by Him. Our leaders may be powerful and important, or minor and less known, but it is our God who has placed them there and our God is using them to accomplish his will. We don't always know how this can be, and when I don't, I usually tell God. I don't know why this is happening or why you are allowing it. But I trust you and I pray that your people will stay faithful, be encouraged in this story from Exodus that our God was in control and the same God who was in control back then is still in control now do you have any thoughts from today's teaching? If you want to share them with us, here are a few ways you can contact us. One of the best ways is via email. Our email is hopeheraldsofhope.org if you don't have email, no problem. Our address is HopeFor Today, Box 3, Breezewood, Pa 15533 or you can connect with us on our website. Our website is heraldsofhope.org While you're there, please check out the Listen tab and listen to our other teaching again. The website is heraldsofhope.org this brings us to the end of today's program. Thanks again for being there. Please join us again next week for another lesson from Exodus. Go with God this week and know that he is big enough for your circumstance. Trust him because because the Most High rules in the kingdoms of men.