Abounding Grace

Guest (Male): Giving God the very best. That's next on Abounding Grace.

Pastor Ed Taylor: Doesn't God deserve the best? He gave the best. I love what Matthew—that's why I thought Matthew Henry had such a great comment. Because God is the first and the best, He should have the first and the best. I just thought that's so good. That's my heart for Him. That's my desire. This is His pattern. For all that He's done, He deserves the best.

And if we're not careful, we begin to offer God what's left over, what's used, what we're going to throw away anyway, what didn't sell at the garage sale. People at your garage sale didn't even want it. I drive through the neighborhood; there's always something on the curb that says "free." Nobody takes it. I don't know why they just don't throw it away. Nobody takes it.

Guest (Male): It is great to have you along with us today as we begin another great time of Bible study here on Abounding Grace. Today, Pastor Ed Taylor takes us once again to the book of Exodus and the actual exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. In chapters 13 and 14, we see a great example of how God both leads and protects His people.

But we also learn something about how to follow God too, and that's the emphasis of today's time in the Word. Here is Pastor Ed.

Pastor Ed Taylor: Open your Bibles; Exodus chapter 13 is where we are. Exodus chapter 13, verse by verse through the book of Exodus. It's always good to take notes, jot some things down, maybe write notes in your Bible so you'll remember things. If you're listening on the radio right now, obviously you may not be in a place, but you can always podcast and pick up these studies at another time. Writing down helps you to remember. You want to learn to take notes.

Our previous study last weekend, we talked about the five things that will help you share the gospel and engage with culture better. You should remember them and know them, pray them into your life, see how they're lived out in the scriptures. I'll give you a few things today as well that are worth remembering. But in chapter 13, this nation is learning how to follow God. That's the title of our study: Learning How to Follow God.

It's the next day in the life of the children of Israel. It's also the next day here in chapter 13 in the life of the Egyptians. The tenth plague has come. There's weeping and wailing, the morning after, great judgment from God. It's a solemn time, a silent time. It goes from weeping and wailing to silent, and you can hear the cries of the Egyptians as they mourn the loss of the firstborn throughout the land. Utter devastation.

Why? I'll tell you why. Their leader led them astray. The nation of Egypt is suffering because of Pharaoh. It was Pharaoh's decisions that brought not one, not two, not four, not nine, but ten judgments. The leader could have ended it single-handedly by cooperating with the messengers of God, Moses and Aaron, and he chose not to, and the people suffered. And the people suffered greatly. The Bible says, if you read carefully in our study last time, the Bible says that judgment began in Pharaoh's house.

It started with him. That was the first place. Then it made its way throughout the country. And remember, if they had placed the blood over the doorposts, which they didn't, the Egyptians, but like the Israelites, if they placed the blood over the doorposts and on the lintels, then God would pass over them. Because of Pharaoh's bad leadership, Egypt is suffering. It's been said that everything rises and falls on leadership.

Having been born with a leadership gift throughout most of my life, and even the spiritual gift of leadership, I agree. As a leader myself, I take that phrase very seriously, whoever came up with it. Leadership matters. And I would say in the church, everything rises or falls on those entrusted with the spiritual care of the church, those chosen by God to lead.

Remember, jot it down, in Psalm 75, even those of you who might be struggling with where your place is and why I'm not a leader and why don't I have that title and why don't I have that position. Well, you always remember this: Psalm 75:6 says, exaltation comes neither from the east nor from the west nor from the south, but God is the judge. He's the one that puts down and He's the one that exalts another.

You can't even exalt yourself. I mean, you can if you want. You can print out your business cards and put up your website and you can come through and tell everybody a title that you've put up. You can do that, but it's not from the Lord. You want what's from the Lord, and you want it in His timing. Listen, if there's a leadership gifting on you, then God will take care of it. It may not be the right time. There may be more development.

There may be things in your home. There may be things in your personal life. There may be things God is trying to work out in you so that when you are in that position where people look to you within the church for leadership, you'll know this: that everything in the church rises or falls on your leadership. The people entrusted to your care. And here's the key with you that are leaders and overseers in any church—this church, that church—here's the key. Are you ready?

Are you in tune with God? That's the key. Yes, we look for faithfulness, and yes, we look for availability, yes, we look for teachability, but the key in all of that with all the attributes is, are you in tune with the Lord? Do you have an abiding relationship with Jesus where He can lead you and guide you in a moment's notice? Are we hearing from the one who has clear direction for His church? Are we living a righteous and upright life?

As Paul would tell young Timothy again, jot it down in 1st Timothy chapter 4 and verse 12, Paul tells Timothy, don't let anyone despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, and to doctrine. And once again this week, another prominent, well-known pastor stepped down or was disqualified from ministry.

The way it went down, I don't quite understand, but it doesn't really matter. He's no longer in the position that God had entrusted to him because of an admitted disqualifying sin. Once again. Now, of course, we get the attention of all the popular or well-used or, you know, the men that God used in great ways. They're the ones that get the headlines, but this happens over and over and over and over on different scales throughout the church.

And it should put a holy fear in us. It should put—you're like, well, I'm not a leader. Yeah, but the Lord wants to use you that way. And so when I read a headline like that, my heart sinks. It makes me angry at the devil. Yeah, I'm a little upset with the brother too, but man, it makes me more angry at the devil. It makes me understand, it makes me just so frustrated with the shortcuts that people might take around me or in my own flesh.

Just thinking in my own life, trying to make decisions in my life that will minimize my flesh and maximize the spirit in my life. Because who am I? One decision away from an announcement. And I don't want that on my life, man. I do not. I have not dedicated my life to Jesus to disqualify myself here now in the last leg of my race. And so it bums me out because it's going to lead to all kinds of confusion and another black eye in the church.

And we just think, okay, Lord, everything rises and falls on leadership. Israel now here in Exodus 13, we're reminded, was blessed with a tremendous man of God in Moses. I don't really believe we get the depth of the character and the integrity of this man revealed to us in the scriptures. We only get snapshots. He has been tried and tested by the time he comes to be used of God here in the deliverance of Egypt.

He's been molded and made by God. It's a process that took two-thirds of his life. If you take your life in years right now and think of two-thirds of it were only in preparation for the last third, well, that's a lot of time. A lot of time of development. It's true as we were studying in the beginning of Exodus, he was reluctant, like he was hesitant, and he really didn't even want to do what God called him to do.

But that's part of the process. Go ahead and tell God no, I dare you. Go ahead. No, I don't want to be used in that way. And some of you, go ahead and say it out loud: I never want to be a leader. Go ahead, say never. I'd love to see it. And then write it down and email me and let me know. "I said it, Pastor." And I can't wait to see in a couple of years where God equips you and prepares you and uses you as a leader in His church. That's His heart for you.

God is developing Moses. And Moses, in his own—I wonder how hard it was for him to write this, but Moses in his own writing talks about him being the most humble man. Can you imagine if God said, go ahead and write that about yourself. You are a humble man. He's like, but Lord, I'm writing it and it makes me kind of proud and arrogant. No, no, no. You know, you're humble because you're doing what I told you to do.

You don't worry about the outcome or what people think about you. You just do what I tell you to do. And in his humility and spiritual dependence and that total surrender is what helped Moses in the ministry here. And as we will learn in coming studies, he's going to need it. This episode with Pharaoh actually is a lot easier than what he's going to face in the next 40 years. It is going to be a difficult season for him.

One that will require him to trust in the Lord in his leadership. One that will require him, what we would say in the new covenant, to have an agape love for the very people that he has been called to serve. It's going to be difficult for him. But like Micah said in Micah 6:8, He has shown you, O man, what is good, and what does the Lord require but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.

That's a great description of Moses. And may it be a great description of us. Our last study now, as we jump into the chapter, the children of Israel celebrated the Passover. They did as they were told. It was a wonderful feast, a time of celebration, recognition. But remember, most importantly, the Passover was a time of substitution. The spotless lamb without blemish offered as a sacrifice, and the blood was spread over the door, pointing to Messiah Jesus Christ.

Pick up with me in verse 1 of chapter 13. Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Sanctify to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and animal; it is Mine." And Moses said to the people: "Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out of this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten.

On this day you are going out, in the month of Abib. And it shall be, when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, which He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, that you shall keep this service in this month. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord.

Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days, and no leavened bread shall be seen among you, nor shall leaven be seen among you in all your quarters. And you shall tell your son in that day, saying, 'This is done because of what the Lord did for me when I came up from Egypt.' It shall be as a sign to you on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the Lord’s law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt.

You shall therefore keep this ordinance in its season from year to year." The very first thing that comes out of Moses' life is God's desire for the first. This is very important to God. God wants the first, the best, whatever He says opens the womb. In his commentary, Matthew Henry put it this way, and I quote: "God, who is the first and the best, should also have the first and the best, and to Him we should resign that which is most dear to us and most valuable."

God wanted the best and the most important. He wanted the first animals, the first kids, and so each firstborn had to be redeemed and consecrated. And this is a pattern with God. He desires our best, the first fruits, the best of the best. Not leftovers or things we don't even want anymore. And you know, for years we'd get calls here at the church, and maybe we still do and they don't reach to my desk, but we get calls in the church: "Hey, Pastor, church, hey, we've got an old couch. We bought a brand new couch and we have an old one. Can the church use it?"

Let me tell you right now: No. Keep the old one and give the church the new one. No, Pastor, that's not how it works. We got a new one for the house and we got this ratty old one. If you just turn the cushions over, it'll be great for the kids. No, why can't the kids have something new? You go, Pastor, what are you talking about? Like, are you telling me to go buy a new couch? I'm not telling you anything. I'm talking about the heart of the matter.

We don't want your old couch. You don't even want it. Why would we want it? You don't even want it anymore as you've judged in your own home. We do not want this stinky, ratty old thing. But we think we can give it to the church. Now, I understand that there's a lot of motives there, and I'm certainly not suggesting that maybe there isn't a good motive to bless the church. But the pattern is: give your best. Give your best.

And when you pray along those lines, who knows how God will lead you? But to have it in the mindset, you know, the church can get my cast-offs. The church can get my old stuff. You know, I don't want to give it—I don't want to give it to Goodwill or anyone, I'll give it to the church. But we're not Goodwill. We're not the Salvation Army. This is the church of the risen, holy Lord. This is the house of God.

And I know, and sometimes we do, on occasion, do take, you know, donations and stuff. I know that. But here's the thing: Why would the kids—and I think of the high school, junior high upstairs in the rooms we have up there—why wouldn't they be enough for you to give them—buy a couch for you and buy a couch for the church? I mean, if you really want to give to the church. Not you're just looking for a place to take your old couch, but like if you really want to give to the church, then is that in your heart, a desire to give the best?

Same thing happens with tithing, you know. It's more common and actually in your giving. It's much more common. Even our government understands this because they don't let you get away without giving to them first. Did you notice that in your paycheck? Do you remember when you were a kid and you got your first job and they told you how much you were making, then you saw your first check and you said, "What is this?" And your parents or somebody sat you down and said, "Well, let me talk to you about taxes."

And the idea that the government won't let you keep it and pay you later; they're going to take it first. But you know, the Lord isn't like that. He's not going to take it first. He doesn't have His hand in your pocket. He actually says this: I'm going to bless you, I'm going to give to you, I'm going to overflow in your life. Everything about your life is from Me, and you're going to enjoy life to its fullest, and I'm going to require you to give, but I'm not going to make you do it.

I'm going to require you to give your first fruits, but I'm not going to make you do it. Because if you don't give from a giving heart, God would say to us, if you don't give from a cheerful heart, it's almost like God would say, just keep it then. Just keep it. If you've got reasons why—you just keep it then, because you've missed the whole point. It's almost like God says to us, I don't need your money; I want your heart.

And it's like, maybe that's what I'm saying as a pastor. We don't need your old ratty couch; we want your heart to serve the Lord. We want your heart. We want you to think about the kids here in our church like I think about the kids. Let's make sure they're taken care of. Let's remember them. And you know, I'm sharing this Bible study for us, for our church. I know it goes out, and we already know this is a generous, giving, loving church.

That's not the point. The point is for someone, somewhere, that's having heart issues with the things that they have. God says right here, I want the best. He says it more and more. This is just another example. I want the best. I want you to remember that everything you have—you're leaving Egypt and it's going to be very fast, you're going to forget Me. So this is a way you can remember how good I've been to you. I want the best.

And doesn't God deserve the best? He gave the best. I love what Matthew—that's why I thought Matthew Henry had such a great comment. Because God is the first and the best, He should have the first and the best. I just thought that's so good. That's my heart for Him. That's my desire. This is His pattern. For all that He's done, He deserves the best. And if we're not careful, we begin to offer God what's left over, what's used, what we're going to throw away anyway, what didn't sell at the garage sale.

People at your garage sale didn't even want it. I drive through the neighborhood; there's always something on the curb that says "free." Nobody takes it. I don't know why they just don't throw it away. Nobody takes it. It's like, man, if you're giving—no, no thanks, I don't want that. I don't want your old toilet. No thanks, man. Just throw it away. I don't want that. I don't want that cabinet with three legs. Just throw it away.

I don't need it. I'd rather have no cabinet at all than that one. And there was a coffee machine recently, and you're like, what is that thing? What days has that thing seen that it ends up on the curb with a sign that says free and it's there for two days? That poor guy. He's like, somebody take me! And you're like, no, man, you're all messed up and—like, no. But you think about it in our own lives.

Do you really think God needs your money? Do you really think this church needs your money? God's going to take care of—I've been here 25 years. I've raised my family here. I quit my job to serve this church by faith, as every other person has—almost every other person that's worked has worked outside the church at some time and quit that position to step into faith. And do you know there's never been a bill that's been unpaid?

There's never been a—I've never had to bring my kids up and tear their clothes and go, look what you've done to my kids! They're not eating. Look how skinny they are. Like, what's wrong with you? You've got to give. We've never used gimmicks here to beg you to give. We never said, take your checks in the air, wave them like you just don't care, bring them up here and then have somebody check them: "This isn't enough, you guys got to give more."

You laugh, but there was a guy in town here—he's gone home now, I mean, he's no longer alive. There was a guy in town here in his church that literally had everybody raise their dollars and their checks and they sang that song. Like, this stuff happens in churches. But here, God has quietly and faithfully and generously not only provided for every need that we've ever had, but exceedingly abundantly above all that you can think or ask.

So that now for 13 years or so, for 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in addition to the life of the church, you, your church, provides spiritual nourishment to 80% of Colorado, including the cows and the goats and all the wheat out there. Even the cows are getting saved out on the eastern plains out here because God gave us even more when we were looking—when we were paying off a building and we were adding staff and we were responding to the growth.

God said, here, I want to see if you guys really trust Me. I'm going to drop something in that's going to make you really seek My face, because you can't afford it, but I know you want it, and I'm ready to give it to you. And God's given—you have that testimony, don't you, in your own house? Different numbers. So don't let the numbers—millions, thousands, hundreds, tens—none of the numbers matter. It's what God is doing to bring you to a place of trusting Him.

God wants the firstborn. God wants the best. And He wants you to continually—He says when you get into the land, keep doing this. And notice what He says: when you get into the land, don't you forget. No leaven. And we learned leaven's a type of sin. No quarters of your house. You need to search through your house. No leaven. He repeats it again because when they get into the land, they're going to enjoy the milk and honey.

That's going to be good. And then they're going to forget. The next generation and the next generation's going to forget the slavery because it wasn't theirs. They weren't making the bricks. It's just stories, and by the time generational stories come through, it wasn't as bad, it wasn't as bad, it wasn't as bad. It's the milk and honey now. It's the excess. And get rid of the leaven.

Guest (Male): So glad you've joined us today for Abounding Grace with Pastor Ed Taylor. If you enjoyed the message, hear it again online at aboundinggraceradio.com or wherever you get your podcasts. Or listen through our app. You can search for that in the App Store or Google Play. Just look for Ed Taylor. At Abounding Grace, we're committed to bringing the truths of God's Word to the radio and internet every day. But we can't do it alone. We look to the Lord and our listeners to help us provide these daily studies.

And today, when you give a donation of $25 or more, we'll send you Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung. Has this thought ever crossed your mind: Why won't God reveal His special will for my life already? Kevin DeYoung would answer: because He doesn't intend to. With pastoral wisdom, he debunks unbiblical ways of understanding God's will and points to a wonderful and biblical alternative: live like Christ.

He also exposes the frustrations of our waiting games and underscores the freedom of finding God's will in Scripture and then simply doing it. Request a copy right now by calling us at 877-30-GRACE. That's 877-30-GRACE. You can also order it online at calvaryco.store. Then join us next time when we'll have another great study in the Word from Pastor Ed Taylor here on Abounding Grace.

Abounding Grace is brought to you by Calvary Church Colorado, here in Aurora.