"Who Are You Relying On?"
F.R.O.G. = Fully Reliant On Grace

Exodus 8:5-10  "And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod (matteh, a rod used for walking or chastening) over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt.  [6] And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt.  [7] And the magicians did so with their enchantments, (lat, incantations, soft utterances to other gods) and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt.  [8] Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Intreat (`athar, to burn incense in worship) the LORD, that he may take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice unto the LORD.  [9] And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Glory over me: when shall I intreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses, [that] they may remain in the river only?  [10] And he said, To morrow. And he said, [Be it] according to thy word: that thou mayest know that [there is] none like unto the LORD our God."

As we come to this time of Revival for Morrison Baptist Church, the question that God keeps putting in my mind to ask each and every one of you is - "Who are you relying on?". As we approached this Revival God kept confronting me with this same question - "David, who are you relying on?". That's a fair enough question. I admit, as I stand before you today, that I have never preached an entire revival from start to finish. There are others, in my own mind, much more qualified to preach this Revival. Men of learning, men of degrees.

"Who are you relying on?". On the backside of a mountain an old man watched a flock of sheep for his father-in-law Jethro. Years before this young man discovered a shocking secret. He found out that he was not of the royal house of Egypt, not one of the elite, not one of the creme of the crop. No, this young man was of common blood - merely a slave, a Jew of all things! The young man, learning of his lower estate, saw an Egyptian beating on a Jew. So the young man attacked and killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand, then ran far away to the land of Midian. Here he would be safe from Pharaoh, here he would escape punishment for his sins. Here he would lick his wounds and make a new life.

The old man thought back over his life. He had made a better life for himself. He married a beautiful woman, had a child, and at eighty years old felt that he had earned his rest. He was watching Jethro's sheep, relaxing, when he saw something that surely astonished him. He saw a bush that was burning, but not burning up! And as Moses stepped up to the bush, on holy ground, he met ... God.

Tonight we're going to talk about three types of believers. Everyone believes in something - even the atheist - so I can safely say that everyone in this room tonight falls into one of these categories: The Magician Believer, the Pharaoh Believer, and the Moses Believer.

SLIDE ONE

Exodus 8.6-7  "And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt.  [7] And the magicians did so with their enchantments, (lat, incantations, soft utterances to other gods) and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt."

The magician believer can be found all around us, ready to believe in anything that moves. This is the master of illusion, ready to  magically accept whatever comes his or her way, no matter what. The magician believer has lost sight of truth and Jesus because, quite frankly, he or she has compromised themselves to death.

Chuck Swindoll in his Book, "The Tale Of The Tardy Oxcart (p. 434)" related this story: "A Few years ago psychologist Ruth W. Berenda and her associates carried out an interesting experiment with teenagers designed to show how a person handled group pressure. The plan was simple. They brought groups of ten adolescents into a room for a test. Subsequently each group of ten was instructed to raise their hands when the teacher pointed to the longest line on three separate charts. What one person in the group did not know was that nine of the others in the room had been instructed ahead of time to vote for the second longest line.

Regardless of the instructions they heard, once they were all together in the group, the nine were not to vote for the longest line, but rather vote for the next - to - the - longest line. The desire of the psychologists was to determine how one person reacted when completely surrounded by a large number of people who obviously stood against what was true.

The experiment began with nine teen-agers voting for the wrong line. The stooge would typically glance around, frown in confusion, and slip his hand up with the group. The instructions were repeated and the next card was raised. Time after time, the self-conscious stooge would sit there saying a short line is longer than a long line, simply because he lacked the courage to challenge the group. This remarkable conformity occurred in about seventy-five percent of the cases, and was true of small children and high school students as well."

The magician believer does not have his faith rooted and grounded in God, but in things that look like God. We are told, "Go with the flow, accept it - God is love, so as long as we love, it doesn't matter". But I tell you, I tell you all, it does matter. I want you to notice that the magician believers brought frogs forth just as Moses did, yet Pharaoh asked Moses, not the magicians, to get rid of these frogs.

Nothing works like God! No one saves like Jesus Christ. The New Age Movement and the spirit of worldly compromise can tell you otherwise, but there is power in the Jesus of Scripture you'll not find in the world around you.

SLIDE TWO

Exodus 8.8-10a "Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Intreat (`athar, to burn incense in worship) the LORD, that he may take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice unto the LORD.  [9] And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Glory over me: when shall I intreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses, [that] they may remain in the river only?  [10] And he said, To morrow."

The Pharaoh believer is the person who believes in God while its profitable to believe in God, and at all other times he or she believes in themselves. I've visited Pharaoh believers in the hospital. While visiting them or their family, they speak holy and righteous - yet once the crisis is removed they forget about the God who saved them from death.

The Pharaoh believer is a selfish believer, and though Christians can fall into this category of "believer" these people are usually unsaved, destined to eternal damnation unless they repent and turn to Christ. While Pharaoh was plagued with frogs he asked Moses to "burn incense" for him. "Intercede for me, preacher, because I know God will hear you". After the trial is over, and deliverance comes, the Pharaoh believer forgets God once more.

I used to think that this type of person got away with murder, and like King David I often lifted up my voice and cried out, "Lord, why do you allow this? Why do the heathen rage?". Yet, in reality, the Pharaohs of this world do not get away with anything. Look at Pharaoh. Though he kept promising and breaking his promises to God, look at the results of his behavior:

- Eight more plagues would come on him, and on his mighty nation.
- God would eventually kill his firstborn child, along with all the other firstborn of Egypt.
- God would destroy the mighty Egyptian armies and leave that mighty nation at the mercy of its neighbors for years to come.

No, if you're a Pharaoh believer - making promises to God until the trial is past - can I warn you, you're not getting away with anything.

SLIDE THREE

Exodus 8:5-6  "And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod (matteh, a rod used for walking or chastening) over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt.  [6] And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt.

The first type of believer I want you to look at is the "Moses Believer". I would like to be able to tell you that Moses was "FullyReliantOnGod" in all that he did. But this wasn't the case. I want you to notice that God told Moses to tell Aaron to stretch out his "matteh", his rod of chastening, over the waters of Egypt. There was a reason for this. You see, when God called Moses rather than focus his eyes on God, Moses lookedat himself.

Now, before you think I'm picking on Moses, I want you to know that this is a common condition among Christians. Anytime a Christian, a person of God, stands next to the God of the universe, stands next to our Holy Creator, then we're bound to look at ourselves. We know that black is black, but until you compare black against a brilliant white background you don't really appreciate how devoid of color black is. When God called Moses, Moses had three responses:

1. Who Am I?

Exodus 3:11  "Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?"

"Who am I, Lord"? Moses question showed that he compare his estate against that of Pharaoh. He looked at himself and compared himself with Pharaoh, and in so doing found himself wanting. Yet the Lord told Moses, "Look, when they ask you who you are, tell them that "HAYAH", the Eternal God - this is who has sent you. Tell them, Moses, that you come representing me - not yourself - and in your capacity as my Ambassador you are greater than Pharaoh, greater than the Empire, greater than All."

When Moses walked into Pharaoh's presence, it was as if God walked into his presence, for Moses represented God. God said, "You are my proxy, you are my representative". Well, Moses heard this, but in his lack of confidence he said:

2. They will not listen to me.

Exodus 4:1  "... But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee."

Here was excuse number two - an excuse born of fear and humiliation, not humility. "They'll have no reason to believe little old me". Again, Moses looks at himself, and finds himself wanting. So God tells Moses, "Look, I'll give you power. You can take your rod, your "matteh", throw it on the ground and it'll become a serpent. You can take your hand, put it in your shirt, and it will become leprous then clean. You can take water out of the river, pour it on the ground, and it'll become blood. Yes, you'll have power".

Yes, God gave Moses power, and the authority to act in His behalf. God gave Moses every opportunity to say "yes" to serving Him, yet Moses had one more excuse. Moses said:

3. I haven't had the proper training.

Exodus 4:10  "... O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue."

Moses' final excuse was this - "Lord, I'm not a good speaker, not a trained lecturer. Who am I who will stutter out commands to Pharaoh. Lord, they'll laugh at me". Yet God had an answer for Moses in the person of Aaron. God told Moses "Look, I'll let Aaron be your mouthpiece - he will speak for you. But go you will!" And so, Moses went.
 

A fourteenth century Italian stained-glass artist was summoned to design and create a huge portrait for the window of a cathedral in Chartres, France, a place well known for its stained-glass work. He laid all of the pieces he was going to use out on the floor of the cathedral. They were beautiful to behold; most of them were large and colorful. Some of the colors from that time cannot even be reproduced today. Among these awesome pieces of glass was a small, clear piece about as big as your fingernail. As the stained-glass portrait was assembled, that little piece remained on the floor. Only the big colorful pieces of glass were used. On the day of the window's completion, the tiny piece of clear glass was still lying on the ground. The entire city gathered to witness the unveiling of the brilliant and beautiful stained-glass portrait. The artist stood in front of the crowd, made his speech, and dramatically pulled down the cloth cover. The crowd gasped at the beauty of the colorful window glowing in the sunlight. After a few seconds, however, the crowd grew silent. They sensed that something was missing, that the portrait was unfinished. The great artist then walked over to where the little clear piece of glass lay, picked it up, and placed it in the portrait, right in the center of Jesus’ eye. As the sun hit that little piece, it gave off a dazzling sparkle. The magnificent stained glass window still draws visitors. The first thing they see is that sparkle in Jesus’ eye. Do you ever feel like that little piece of clear glass? Left out. Untalented. A disappointment. You doubt you can ever do anything for God. Let the story of that last little piece remind you that God thinks of you as the apple of His eye (Psalm 17:8). No matter that in your eyes you don't measure up to others; you are an important part of the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12). (Still More Hot Illustration For Youth Talks Wayne Rice, Zondervan, p. 30.)

Can I share something with you about Moses? When you look at Moses and his weaknesses, you'll see that there's a little of Moses in each one of us. God is calling us who believe in Him to serve Him - to be Fully Reliant On our God - but we always seem to have an excuse for not serving.

Yes, we have excuses, but none are good enough for our God. Moses used His excuses, and God negated each of these excuses one by one. Our God, our Lord Jesus called on Moses to be fully reliant on Him and Moses was unable to do this. So Jesus did the same thing for Moses that He did for us - when we couldn't reach Him, He lowered Himself without sinning to where He could reach us. The Lord allowed Moses to use Aaron to speak for Him. God said, "You can have Aaron, but do like I say - go and get My people".

So Moses stood before Pharaoh, and told Aaron to stretch out his rod. Moses was reliant on Aaron, not fully reliant on God. But God was willing to work with Moses, just as He's willing to work with us. God understands our limitations, just as He understood Moses' limitations - but wants better for us. He wants us to be fully reliant on Him, on Jesus, not on Aaron. But if He can only get us to serve through Aaron, then He'll reach down and meet us there. One way or the other though, we cannot serve God without first repenting!

God called Pharaoh to repent. He refused, so first blood, then frogs, came out of the water. The land stunk, and became diseased. God called Pharaoh, and called the Magicians to repentance. They heard God, saw His miracles, were under His chastening hand - and refused to repent. The water was soiled, polluted, the land soiled, polluted.

God has better for each and every one of you. God realizes your weaknesses, and calls you to serve Him by first repenting of your failures and by casting all your hope and strength on Christ. God wants us to be Fully Reliant On God, fully reliant on Jesus Christ His Son, our Lord. Jesus said:

John 7:37-39 "In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. [38]  He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. [39]  (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)"

You cannot partake of Jesus and partake of the world. You cannot be Pharaoh and be in Christ, nor be a magician and be in Him. No, if you're thirsty tonight, and want to commit your life to Christ, this demands that you first repent of any other belief system. You cannot believe in yourself and be saved, but on the other hand you cannot allow your own sense of worthlessness to keep you from serving Jesus. What does Christ require of each of us?

1. Recognize that we are sinners, lost and undone. Our way is insufficient for living, much less for salvation. Come to Jesus with a broken heart:

2. Repent from following after Pharaoh, from following the Magicians:

3. Realize that you can only be saved if you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord: