“NOT A HOOF SHALL BE LEFT BEHIND!”
Ex. 10:26
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. A family from Houston bought a ranch out in West Texas. Some friends went to see them a month later. They asked, “Have you named your ranch yet?”
2. The father said, “Well, I wanted to call it the “Flying W, but my wife wanted to call it the Suzy-Q. Then the boys wanted it to be the Bar-J or Lazy-Y. So we compromised and called it the Flying-W, Suzy-Q, Bar-J, Lazy-Y Ranch.”
3. The friend asked, “Wow! What a name! So where are your cattle?” The rancher answered, “None of them survived the branding!” [oh – the cost of compromise!]
B. THE FOUR COMPROMISES OF PHARAOH
1. This morning we’re looking stepping into the middle of a huge dramatic Bible story: Moses (God) contending with Pharaoh to let the Israelites go, from being slaves to being their own, free nation, in their own land. This wasn’t something Pharaoh or Egypt wanted to do.
2. God’s command to Pharaoh was, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the wilderness.’” Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.” Ex. 5:1-2. Pharaoh’s resistance brought the 10 plagues on Egypt.
3. Pharaoh offered Moses FOUR (4) COMPROMISES, during the 10 plagues, to keep Israel from getting free:
a. 8:25; “SACRIFICE to your God IN THE LAND” (Egypt). This is the same advice you hear, “You can stay in sin and still be a Christian.” Obviously, that isn’t true, since God said to leave it behind!
b. 8:28; “GO into the wilderness, BUT NOT VERY FAR.” Many people will discourage you from 100% commitment, saying you’re being extreme, but God says it’s necessary & right!
c. 10:8,11; “LET THE MEN GO.” People will tell you that not everyone has to be sold out, in order to please God. God says there’s only one price tag and all must meet the same requirements!
d. 10:24; “Go SERVE THE LORD, BUT LEAVE YOUR FLOCKS & HERDS BEHIND;” in other words, sacrifices aren’t necessary to complete your obedience! You don’t need to lose anything, or give up anything. Not so! We’re to be living sacrifices to God!
4. A compromise is where both parties get to keep some of what they want. Christ won TOTAL VICTORY! Why would we GIVE the enemy anything that Jesus purchased at so high a price? We won’t leave Satan even one, sick dying cow!
5. BIG PICTURE. This morning’s message is about spiritual warfare. When Adam & Eve fell, our spiritual territory was invaded. Our friends and family have been captured by sin. Shall we resign any of them to the enemy? Shouldn’t we fight to regain all of them, and every blessing the enemy has stolen?
C. MOSES VOCALIZED WHAT CHRIST SAYS ABOUT YOU
1. Ex. 10:26, “Not a hoof shall be left behind!” When Jesus redeemed us on the Cross, He paid to buy back every blessing that was in Paradise. Jesus intends for us to have all of it!
2. So what would Jesus mean by the statement, “Not a hoof shall be left behind” in our lives?
I. CHRIST CLAIMS “ALL” OF THE CHRISTIAN
A. HE WILL REIGN, WITHOUT RIVAL
1. Many people think that if they let Christ save one corner of their life for God, that is sufficient. But it’s not true! Christ says, “Not one part will be left in sin!” HE WILL HAVE ALL OF US, OR NONE OF US! He won’t be a part-owner, with the devil owning the other part.
2. ILLUS. F.B. Meyer had a dream where Christ came to him and asked him for the keys to his life. “Yes, Lord,” said Meyer, and handed him a bundle of keys. Jesus asked, “Are these all the keys?” Meyer said, “No, I have only one small key left to a very tiny room. Surely you wouldn’t want that key?” Jesus handed all the keys back. “No, I must have all the keys or none of them at all.” Meyer awakened with hot tears streaming down his face. He knelt by his bed and surrendered every part of his life. Dr. Meyer said, “From that hour, there came a new power in my life!” [Source Unknown]
3. If you’ve never experienced the delivering power of Jesus, it could be because you’ve never surrendered all the keys to Him! He won’t take over until you fully surrender!
4. If your watch gets broken, you put it into the hand of the watchmaker. God made you and He knows how to fix you.
B. CHRIST WILL NOT SPARE A SINGLE SIN
1. The natural man assumes, that if 90% of sin is removed from their life, that the good outweighs the bad.
2. Not so! It’s not a matter of outweighing. If you got 90% of the strychnine out of the water, would it be ok to drink the 10% of strychnine? NO!
3. ILLUSTRATION: “But I can manage my sin.”
a. In 1890 in London, there was a fantastic live animal performance. In one scene, where the stage was made to look exactly like a jungle, a 35 foot Burmese Python was seen gliding through the brush.
b. The trainer came on set as a tourist. The snake reared-up its head and attacked the man. A fearsome wrestling match ensued with the snake thrashing in a frightening manner.
c. Then the snake coiled its body around the man and pretended to squeeze him. The man pretended to be crushed, with a slight shout and collapsed.
d. It was a great show and drew big audiences for years, until one night when the python’s basic nature reasserted itself; it actually crushed the trainer in its coils! So don't be fooled that you can manage your sin! The true nature of SIN is to kill, to steal, and to destroy! [Paul Tan, Encycloped. of 7,700 Illus., #128]
4. Christ says, “Not one SIN shall be left unconquered!” Someone asked Billy Graham, “How many of the 10 Commands must I keep?” Billy correctly said, “All 10!” Just because WE’VE chosen to reduce our standards doesn’t mean God has lowered His. [McHenry, In Other Words, #375]
5. Don’t quit battling sin in your life! As long as you’re fighting it and asking for forgiveness, God’s grace is on you. But know that Jesus has provided the power for full victory over sin.
6. The 2nd meaning of “I won’t leave a hoof behind” is:
II. NOT ONE PROMISE SHALL BE LEFT UNCLAIMED
A. ALL LOST IN ADAM, IS REGAINED IN CHRIST
1. YOU WERE CREATED FOR PARADISE! Adam & Eve were created without sin and put in the Garden of Eden – a place of perfect joy, health, peace, and fellowship with God. But when they sinned, it brought judgment and all the problems that are in the world.
2. The main thing is, God wants you restored to that former condition. God doesn’t care whether you have a Ph.D. or a G.E.D., He wants everyone to have a B.A. – “Born Again!” Being Born Again is like an old car with a new motor.
3. THINK: God wants you to have His Spiritual Goals for your life, for you to be...
a. LIKE CHRIST, to grow up in Christ, to have character formation into the image of Jesus -- in love, sacrifice, patience, prayer, generosity, faith, fervor, humility, etc.
b. For you to have your MIND TRANSFORMED, your spirit FREE FROM SIN and darkness, to have LIBERTY to be all Christ wants you to be (not to be twisted by sin).
c. FOR YOU TO IMPACT YOUR WORLD FOR CHRIST, bring light and love to everyone around you and taking as many souls to heaven with you as possible.
d. To make YOUR HOME an earthly REPLICA OF HEAVEN, with a holy, loving atmosphere where all feel safe and loved, and where God’s presence is felt.
e. To contribute TO the ADVANCEment of THE CHURCH, the Bride of Christ, His vehicle for reaching the world.
4. You may feel like, “How can I ever attain to those things?” YOU CAN’T, BUT JESUS IN YOU CAN! You’re like a train boxcar; you’re not going anywhere until you’re hooked up to the Engine. That Engine is Jesus Christ!
5. A Song says, “EVERY PROMISE IN THE BOOK IS MINE, every chapter, every verse, every line. As I’m walking in His love divine, every promise in the Book is Mine!” God promised us healing, salvation, BHS, our family’s salvation, prosperity, & victory! WE’RE NOT GIVING UP ONE INCH OF PARADISE! We’re going to have it all by faith & obedience!
B. ILLUS.: DO YOU HAVE A BIG GOD?
1. One Sunday as they drove home from church, a little girl turned to her mother & said, "Mom, there’s something about the preacher’s message this morning that I don’t understand." The mother said, "Oh? What is it?"
2. The little girl replied, "Well, he said that God is bigger than we are. He said God is so big that He could hold the world in His hand. Is that true?" The mother replied, "Yes, that’s true, honey."
3. "But Mom, he also said that God comes to live inside of us when we accept Jesus as our Savior. Is that true, too?" “Yes, honey.” With a puzzled look the girl asked, "If God’s bigger than us, & He lives in us, shouldn’t He show through?"
4. If we’re walking with Jesus, He should show through!
III. NOT ONE SOUL SHALL BE LEFT UNSAVED!
A. OUR COMMISSION
1. Acts 16:31 promises, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you AND YOUR HOUSEHOLD.” Fight for your sons and daughters! Fight for the next generation, that they have the same powerful Gospel that we received.
2. Paul told the Corinthians, “Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame” (I Cor. 15:34). Wake up and get those around you saved!
3. “God is not willing that any should perish,” 2 Pet. 3:9. That’s why He told us to “Preach the Gospel to every creature.” “Go into the highways and byways and compel them to come in...” Lk. 14:23. We have an obligation to reach them.
B. COMPROMISES ON MISSIONS?
1. The Enemy whispers, “Just preach to your country; leave those Muslims and obscure, backward peoples alone.” Christ’s answer is, “NO! Not a single soul will I abandon!”
2. Satan says, “Don’t worry about the street people, the drug addicts, those with alternate lifestyles, the gang members, the young, lost generation who’ve never heard of Jesus. They’ll never believe anyway.” “NO! ONLY GOD KNOWS WHAT THEIR FUTURE IS. NOT A ONE SHALL BE LEFT BEHIND!”
3. We’re not giving up on one grandchild, one son or daughter, one atheist, one homosexual, one soul that Jesus died to save!
4. ILLUSTRATION
a. I read about an apartment house that caught on fire. A young man was able to get six people out. As he stood outside, a young woman ran up to him and cried, “You must save my baby!” He looked at her and decided.
b. He disappeared back into the smoke and fire, to possibly die there. Moments later, a window was kicked out, and the infant was lowered to the ground.
c. The young man had to be dragged out of the inferno. He suffered burns and smoke inhalation, but a life was saved. He was a hero because he didn’t leave a single person behind!
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: “From Tragedy to Triumph”
1. Marguerite Barankitse’s harrowing journey began in Oct. 1993. In her country of Burundi, tensions had heated to a boiling point between the two major ethnic groups, the Hutus and the Tutsis, and 100 days of bloodshed took place.
2. Maggie, a Tutsi, went to the house of the Archbishop of Ruyigi for safety. She tried to protect her seven children as well as 72 Hutu friends and their children. But Tutsi rebels invaded the building.
3. They tied her to a chair then stripped her. They wouldn’t kill her because she was a Tutsi. But they did murder the 72 Hutus in front of her and threw her best friend’s head into her lap. Few people would not be emotionally devastated by such a horrible event, but Maggie prayed to God for strength.
4. Maggie negotiated with the rebels to save 25 of her friends’ children which she ransomed. Her own seven children also survived.
5. With no resources, Maggie took in 200 children to feed, clothe, and house. She founded the “House of Peace” in Ruyigi for both Hutu and Tutsi orphans. It grew from one home to a compound with over 3,000 homes plus schools, farms, a hospital, and even a bank.
6. In the last 20 years, the “House of Peace” has provided a safe, loving home to over 20,000 children. Maggie wants the children to be educated so they’ll have better lives. But she also works to successfully reintegrate them into the outside community.
7. “I know I can die in peace now,” says Maggie, “because my children will continue to pass on the message of peace and love wherever they are.” SHE DECIDED – “I WILL NOT LEAVE ANY BEHIND! I will make a difference!” What about you? [https://listverse.com/2014/12/23/10-inspiring-stories-of-people-who-turned-tragedy-into-triumph/]
B. THE CALL
1. If you’re here this morning and you’re not saved, God is saying, “I don’t want you left behind.” Does Jesus have all of you? Have you surrendered all aspects of your life?
2. Satan says, “You can be a Christian but still stay in the world. You can have the best of both worlds.” No, you know that won’t work! The devil wants to keep you in bondage! Jesus says, “Not one hoof!”
3. Is there a person you love who’s not a Christian? Will YOU make sure they’re not left behind? PRAYER.
