When God Gets Your Attention

Exodus 6:28–7:9

Exodus 6:28–7:9 NLT

28 When the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, 29 he said to him, “I am the Lord! Tell Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, everything I am telling you.” 30 But Moses argued with the Lord, saying, “I can’t do it! I’m such a clumsy speaker! Why should Pharaoh listen to me?” 1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pay close attention to this. I will make you seem like God to Pharaoh, and your brother, Aaron, will be your prophet. 2 Tell Aaron everything I command you, and Aaron must command Pharaoh to let the people of Israel leave his country. 3 But I will make Pharaoh’s heart stubborn so I can multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. 4 Even then Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you. So I will bring down my fist on Egypt. Then I will rescue my forces—my people, the Israelites—from the land of Egypt with great acts of judgment. 5 When I raise my powerful hand and bring out the Israelites, the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” 6 So Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded them. 7 Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron was eighty-three when they made their demands to Pharaoh. 8 Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 9 “Pharaoh will demand, ‘Show me a miracle.’ When he does this, say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down in front of Pharaoh, and it will become a serpent.’ ”

INTRODUCTION:

What does it take for God to have your undivided attention?

For many of us, we become so focused on ourselves and our personal persuits, that we lose our eternal focus. Our ears are so tuned in to the voices in the world, we fail to hear the voice of God. Our vision become so set on earthly treasures or problems, we can no longer see the hand of the Savior working in our lives.

The bottom line is this:

God never ceases to call us to himself and never quits seeking to get our attention.

The pre-exodus judgments of God upon Egypt clearly demonstrate this truth. Let’s see some basic truths we can learn from this historical event.

I-GOD DESIRES TO COMMUNICATE WITH YOU. ( Exodus 6:28–29)

Exodus 6:28–29 NLT

28 When the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, 29 he said to him, “I am the Lord! Tell Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, everything I am telling you.”

A- God wants to speak to you.

(The scriptures are full of references that God speaks to people.

1- If you don’t know him, he will call you to salvation through his Holy Spirit.

(John 16:7-9)

John 16:7–9 NLT

7 But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. 9 The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me.

2- If you are child, he will speak to you to guide and teach you. (John 14:26; John 16:13)

John 14:26 NLT

26 But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.

John 16:13 NLT

13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.

B- God has a specific message for you. (Exodus 7:5, 16)

Exodus 7:5 NLT

5 When I raise my powerful hand and bring out the Israelites, the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.”

Exodus 7:16 NLT

16 Then announce to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to tell you, “Let my people go, so they can worship me in the wilderness.” Until now, you have refused to listen to him.

1- A message of warning.

a. For Pharaoh

b. For us

(Luke 13:3)

Luke 13:3 NLT

3 Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God.

2- A message of hope.

a. For Israel

b. For us

(1 Corinthians 2:9)

1 Corinthians 2:9 NLT

9 That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”

3- A message of mission.

a. For Moses & Aaron

b. For us

(Acts 1:8)

Acts 1:8 NLT

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

II- GOD WILL DO WHAT IS NECESSARY TO GET YOUR ATTENTION. (Exodus 7:1-12:32)

A- He will use other people. (Exodus 7:1)

Exodus 7:1 NLT

1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pay close attention to this. I will make you seem like God to Pharaoh, and your brother, Aaron, will be your prophet.

1- God used Moses and Aaron to speak to Pharaoh and the people of Israel.

2-He will use others to speak the word of God to us.

a- God used other believers to speak to the Apostle Paul. (Acts 21:10-11)

Acts 21:10–11 NLT

10 Several days later a man named Agabus, who also had the gift of prophecy, arrived from Judea. 11 He came over, took Paul’s belt, and bound his own feet and hands with it. Then he said, “The Holy Spirit declares, ‘So shall the owner of this belt be bound by the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem and turned over to the Gentiles.’ ”

B- He will use use miraculous intervention. (Exodus 7:3)

Exodus 7:3 NLT

3 But I will make Pharaoh’s heart stubborn so I can multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt.

1- God sent mirculous signs to get Pharaoh’s and the people’s attention.

2- Sometimes God sends extraordinary events to get our attention.

C- He will use economic hardship. (Exodus 7:17-18)

Exodus 7:17–18 NLT

17 So this is what the Lord says: “I will show you that I am the Lord.” Look! I will strike the water of the Nile with this staff in my hand, and the river will turn to blood. 18 The fish in it will die, and the river will stink. The Egyptians will not be able to drink any water from the Nile.’ ”

1- For Egypt:

The Nile River tuned to blood (Exodus 7:17-21)

The Plagues of pests (Exodus 8:1-32)

Frogs (Exodus 8:1-15)

Gnats (Exodus 8:16-19)

Flies (Exodus 8:20-32)

The livestock. (Exodus 9:1-7)

The boils (Exodus 9:8-12)

The crops. (Exodus 9:13-10:20)

Hail (Exodus 9:13-35)

Locusts (Exodus 10:1-20)

Nature

Darkness (Exodus 10: 21-29)

Personal Pain (Exodus 11:1-10)

2- For us:

God will take away whatever we’re trusting in instead of Him.

He took away Sampson’s strength so that He would look up. (Judges 13-16)

He took away Uncle Harry’s stores and money so that he would surrender to Him.

Fact to remember:

While every adverse event is not necessarily God’s judgment, it is always an opportunity for Him to speak to you!

III- HARDENING YOUR HEART LEADS TO MORE EXTREME JUDGMENT. (Exodus 7:1-12:32)

A- Seeking natural explanations to supernatural events will cause you to become hardened toward God. (Exodus 7:22-23)

Exodus 7:22–23 NLT

22 But again the magicians of Egypt used their magic, and they, too, turned water into blood. So Pharaoh’s heart remained hard. He refused to listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had predicted. 23 Pharaoh returned to his palace and put the whole thing out of his mind.

1- It is easier to find other explanations than to face our accountability to God.

a- Pharaoh continually sought to get his magicians to duplicate the activity of God, in order to avoid the reality of the situation.

(1) Ultimately this did not work. (Exodus 8:18-19)

Exodus 8:18–19 NLT

18 Pharaoh’s magicians tried to do the same thing with their secret arts, but this time they failed. And the gnats covered everyone, people and animals alike. 19 “This is the finger of God!” the magicians exclaimed to Pharaoh. But Pharaoh’s heart remained hard. He wouldn’t listen to them, just as the Lord had predicted.

b- America ignores the ways God has worked to bring us back to him, calling them tragedies and natural disasters.

God is trying to get America to repent and turn back to him.

America’s behaviour doesn’t even leave food to debate about the reality of God’s judgment.

As a country, we have rejected his clearly revealed will.

He is sending events designed to call us back to Himself.

(2 Chronicles 7:13-14)

2 Chronicles 7:13–14 NLT

13 At times I might shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or command grasshoppers to devour your crops, or send plagues among you. 14 Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.

c- You and I find “natural causes” and blame other people for the circumstances God sends to get our attention.

God wants us to stop and listen to his voice.

He is trying to keep us from self-destructing.

He loves us too much to let us continue toward destruction.

B- Hard-heartedness leads to dire consequences. (Exodus 7:23-24)

Exodus 7:23–24 NLT

23 Pharaoh returned to his palace and put the whole thing out of his mind. 24 Then all the Egyptians dug along the riverbank to find drinking water, for they couldn’t drink the water from the Nile.

1- With each time that Pharaoh hardened his heart, Egypt’s judgments grew in intensity and proximity.

2- With each time we harden our hearts, God intensifies the adversity he sends.

a- He is trying to get through to our hard hearts.

(1) He wants to bring us back to himself. (Romans 2:4-5)

Romans 2:4–5 NLT

4 Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin? 5 But because you are stubborn and refuse to turn from your sin, you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself. For a day of anger is coming, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

CONCLUSION:

A- If you do not know the Lord Jesus as Savior and Lord of your life, He is calling you to trust in Him today.

B- If you are a child of God and have allowed the world, its allurement and its cares to become your focus, He is calling for you to turn back to Him.