Don't Go Too Far - Pastor Stacey Shiflett
Don’t Go Too Far
Exodus 8:28 “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: intreat for me.”
Intro: In this story, we find Pharaoh and the nation of Egypt on the receiving end of a number of devastating plagues. God has commanded Pharaoh through His servant Moses to release the Israelites from slavery and let them go to offer sacrifices in the wilderness.
The first time Pharaoh was confronted is chapter 5:1.
· 1 And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.
Pharaoh’s response was one of total defiance to God.
· 2 And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.
Over and over again, God sent plagues and Pharaoh would reluctantly agree to let them go, only to change his mind.
· The plague of the frogs - 8:8, 15
· The plague of the lice - 8:25, 32
· The plague of the hail - 9:27, 35
· The plague of the locusts – 10:20, 20
· The plague of the darkness – 10:24, 27
Pharaoh kept trying to negotiate with Moses.
· Do leave here – Exodus 8:25
· Don’t go too far – Exodus 8:28
· Don’t take your family – Exodus 10:11
· Don’t take your flocks. – 10:24
Moses refused to accept any of Pharaoh’s stipulations.
· The Devil is still trying that on God’s people today.
· He doesn’t mind you being religious, just DON’T GO TOO FAR!
· He doesn’t mind you going to church every now and then, just DON’T GO TOO FAR!
· He kept adding all of these stipulations to KEEP CONTROL over them.
· He didn’t want to lose the influence and ability to dictate your every move.
Bottom line: Pharaoh’s first concern was that they didn’t GO TOO FAR.
I. In Your Consecration for Worship
Consecration means to consecrate, sanctify, prepare, dedicate, be hallowed, be holy, be sanctified, be separate
Pharaoh did not want them to go too far.
He did not mind them worshipping as long as they did it in Egypt.
Moses flat out refused to worship in Egypt.
Pharaoh’s condition appears fine at first glance.
Pharaoh’s first offer was found in chapter 8 verse 25.
· 25 And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land.
Moses’ answer was clear.
· 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.
John 4
· 23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
· 24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
II. In Your Contribution of Work
Pharaoh wanted them working for him, not God.
They were his slaves.
He wanted all of their energy and effort directed toward him, not to God.
The world thinks it’s commendable to work 50 to 60 hours a week for their earthly master, but serving your Lord and Master in your local church makes you a fanatic.
The world has no problem with you spending thousands of dollars on your hobby.
It’s perfectly normal to blow thousands of dollars on a vacation to Disney.
But giving thousands of dollars to the work of God or to world missions makes you a nutjob.
In fact, if you give to much money to the church, the IRS will audit you.
You can spend all the money you want to on property, automobiles, tools, etc.
But they cannot tolerate you laboring and working to give your money to God.
They want us to build THEIR kingdom.
They want us to serve their agenda.
III. In Your Condemnation of the World
Moses said, We can’t worship here.
“It is not meet to do so.” - vs. 26
It is not proper; it is not right; it is not acceptable.
Our God will not allow us to sacrifice and worship him while under the control of Egypt!!
Moses was in essence saying:
· What we do, and how we worship God is an abomination in the eyes of the Egyptians.
· We cannot tone it down.
· We cannot dial it back.
· We cannot meet the approval of the Egyptians.
· We cannot worship God here without getting stoned.
· We don’t worship like you do.
· We don’t serve the same God that you do.
· We don’t offer sacrifices the same way that you do.
One of the greatest causes of God’s people to backslide and get out of God’s will is their willingness to listen to the Devil in his warnings DON’T GO TOO FAR in your condemnation of the world.
If you do, the world will hate you!
· 1 John 3:13 Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.
Pharaoh wanted them to stay close enough so he could control what they did.
If they went too far away, they would be free of his influence and dominance.
This present world is a problem for the believer.
· Titus 2:12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
We cannot serve God and the world.
· 2 Timothy 4:10 For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world,
We cannot serve God and be conformed to this world.
· Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
We cannot walk with God and love the things of this world.
· 1 John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.