Who is your Pharaoh?

Montreal Baptist Church

“Who is your Pharaoh?”

 

        Good Afternoon.

        It is an honor to be standing in the pulpit of James Rose. This is such holy ground I should take off my shoes. No one is more highly respected in this county than your minister. His voice is heard at Commission meetings. His prayers are heard at the Sheriff’s office. He walks the halls of our schools. If you are sick, he is there. If you are discouraged, he is there. If you need a friend, he is there. To count James as a friend does not make me unique, for James is a friend to every person in Nelson County. But it does make me blest.  Thank you, my friend, for inviting me to stand in your pulpit. Thank you for inviting some members of the Rockfish Choir to sing to God and your folks.   We are here to serve you through our music, through our words, and through our prayers.

Will you pray with me.

Lord we have come to this holy place,

to be among holy people,

who thrive on Your Holy Word. 

        Touch my heart,

that I might be open to your spirit.

        Touch my lips,

                That Your spirit might find amplification.

        Touch my soul,

                That I might understand the difference between,

                        Your truths and my diversions.

                In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

What a joy it is to be here…..in the middle of the afternoon….. after many of us have been in church all morning…. And after all of us have consumed a mid-day meal.  Many of us would prefer to be snoozing in our easy chair pretending to watch football. But thank God for the women. They got us to church this morning. They fixed the meal at noon. And they told us if we came to church this afternoon we could snooze along with everyone else because some white guy is bringing the message. Well I am here to tell you it is worse than that. This white guy is Presbyterian. Let’s be honest. When James told you a Presbyterian was going to be preaching at your revival didn’t your heart sort of sink? Didn’t you turn to your husband and whisper, “Reverend Rose must have been out in the sun too long.” Whoever heard of a Presbyterian preaching at a revival? In the Presbyterian Church if you say “Amen”, folks think the service is over and we go home.  If you say “Thank You Jesus” or “Praise God” the elders will give you directions to the nearest Baptist Church.  So I can understand why you might be a little nervous about what’s happening next. Let me assure of one thing.  I don’t preach long. So no matter how painful the experience, it will be quick.  Can I hear an Amen from the choir?

The scripture I have chosen comes from the last three verses of the second chapter of Exodus. “After a long time the King of Egypt died. Another Pharaoh took his place. The children of Israel became slaves and they groaned under Pharaoh’s rule. Their cry for help rose up to God and God remembered the promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”  

The title of this sermon is, “Who is your Pharaoh?”

As I confessed, I know very little about Revivals. But I have seen people revived.   I spend a lot of time in hospitals. I have witnessed the miracle of a heart being revived when everyone had given up hope. I spend a lot of time doing counseling. I have sat with folks struggling with their marriage. I have witnessed lives revived when it seemed all was lost. I spend a lot of time with folks floundering with this thing we call faith. Sometimes the idea of God seems more than we can imagine. And then miraculously there is a spiritual transformation. Some folks call that born again. Presbyterians like to say we are revived to remember who we always have been, A Child of God.

The children of Israel needed to be revived. You know the story. Joseph made his brothers mad and so they sold him to slavers headed for Egypt. He could have become complacent and given up but Joseph remembered he was a child of God. He was bought by Potipher and won the confidence of his master. He also attracted the eye of Potipher’s wife. Joseph should have feared his master wife even to the point of giving in to her desires but he refused because, he was a child of God. Being a man of integrity got Joseph thrown into prison. He was shackled but not broken. He began to interpret dreams and his gift was noticed. Eventually Joseph was brought before Pharaoh and put in charge of preparing Egyptians for the drought Joseph had predicted. Joseph fought complacency. Joseph rejected fear. Joseph refused to be broken by slavery because he never forgot who he was.

As Joseph predicted, a drought came across the land. Thanks to the foresight of Joseph, the storehouses of Egypt were full. People from near and far came to barter for food. Then one day, the folks needing assistance were the brothers of Joseph. Joseph could have had them killed on the spot, but he didn’t. Joseph remembered who he was. In an act of compassion few can understand, he embraced those who had enslaved him and welcomed his family to Egypt. But not even Joseph, with all his ability to see into the future could imagine what would happen next.

Pharaoh died. Joseph lost his meal ticket. The next Pharaoh did not know Joseph. The descendents of Joseph should have jumped up and headed home. They should have known they were strangers in a strange land. But they had forgotten the stories of Abraham. They had forgotten they were a chosen people. They had even forgotten they were the children of God. They weren’t happy being in Egypt.  They were just to complacent to leave.

Ever suffer from the disease of complacency. You become satisfied with who you are. Oh you used to have dreams, but they have been forgotten. You used to have an appetite but now everything taste the same.  You used to see the sunrise as the opportunity for a new adventure but now you barely have the energy to get out of bed. You go about your business. You don’t even care that at the end of the day Pharaoh pays you less than your worth. That’s what happened to the children of Israel. They got comfortable living in Egypt. They let someone else do their dreaming. And Pharaoh watched, and Pharaoh smiled, because Pharaoh depends on us becoming complacent.

Then fear set in. Word began to circulate in the Israelite camp that Pharaoh was not happy. The production of bricks was less than satisfactory. The number of mouths that needed to be fed was cutting into Pharaoh’s profits. What good were these Hebrews if they couldn’t meet the Egyptian’s requirements? See the subtle change that has taken place. When Joseph and his brothers came to Egypt they were known as the children of Israel which means, “Willing to struggle with God.” Now they called themselves Hebrews which translates as, “From the other side of the water.” They had gone from a people defined by faith to a people longing for a place they couldn’t even imagine. They might have wanted to leave but to do so would mean crossing the water. If you are afraid, you don’t venture out. If you are afraid, you become satisfied. If you are afraid, you allow yourself to become enslaved. Pharaoh has no power unless we give it to him, and that was exactly what the Hebrews, the people from the other side of the water, did. They enslaved themselves to a new master.

Complacency leads to fear. Fear leads to enslavement. Enslavement leads to hopelessness and hopelessness is a very real sign of a people who have lost their memory. The Hebrew people had no idea who they were. No one could remember what was on the other side of the water. No one could remember Yahweh. They cried out into the darkness because they had lost sight of the light. They cried out because they had forgotten how to do anything else. Complacent folks don’t have a plan, just a complaint. Fearful people have pain and barely any hope. Enslaved people redefine the very definition of life. That is what living under the thumb of Pharaoh can do. We cry out, never thinking anyone will hear. We cry out, oblivious to the memories we have lost. We still cry out, never expecting that someone across river might hear our voice. We cry out because we have forgotten our name, Child of God.

Now don’t think the Hebrew people did anything to deserve God’s grace. Truth is they forgotten God. They cried out in the darkness never expecting a reply.  They knew Pharaoh had won. And they were right.

Pharaoh loves complacency. When we give up; when we blame everyone else; when we won’t even try; Pharaoh wins.

Pharaoh thrives on fear. When we are so afraid to change our ways because we are fear losing what we don’t even have, Pharaoh wins.

Pharaoh depends on us giving up. When we feel enslaved by life, when we feel everything is stacked against us, when we feel the weight of the world on our shoulders, Pharaoh wins. 

Pharaoh is happiest when we are a complacent, fearful, enslaved, and a quiet people. Pharaoh knows when we voice our complaint, we are still alive. Pharaoh knows when we lift our voice, somebody might be listening.

So let’s return to my favorite part of our scripture. Imagine God sitting way off in the corner of the universe playing poker with the angels. God picked up his cards and glances down at an Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten, all hearts. God coolly lay the hand face down on the table, picks up a cold bottle of his favorite adult beverage and takes a long drink. Then God checks out the faces of each angel and slyly smiles.  The chips began to grow in the middle of the table as each participant believes they possess the winning hand. God get’s ready to push all his chips in when a distant cry comes to his attention. God flips his cards to the middle of the table and declares, “I need to fold. My people need me.”

What kind of God relinquishes a winning hand to rescue a lost cause? A God who remembers.

The Hebrew people had forgotten that Abraham came out of retirement to risk everything on the promise of having a son. They forgot there was nothing complacent about that old man. But God remembered.

The Hebrew people had forgotten that when Isaac saw the knife above his heart as he lay on the altar, he never wavered.  The Hebrews forgot there was no fear in that young man. But God remembered.

The Hebrew people had forgotten that even though Jacob was born second, he would not relinquish his fate to cultural expectations. They forgot no one was going to enslave that rebel. But God remembered.

God remembered the deal made with Abraham. I will be your God and you will be my people. God remembered the birth of Isaac, sealing the deal. God remembered wrestling with Jacob and renaming him Israel because the rebel was willing to struggle with God.

Imagine worshipping a God with that kind of memory. It creates all kind of problems. A God with a memory knows us better than we know ourselves. A God with a memory isn’t likely to listen to a lot of excuses. A God with a memory is liable to look us straight in the heart and ask, “Who is your Pharaoh?   Who drives you into complacency? Who puts fear into your heart? Who shackles your dreams?”

  I wonder who Joseph saw when he looked into a mirror.  Did he see the boy thrown into the pit or a man who controlled his destiny? Did he see a slave who lost his identity or man who knew he was a child of God?

Who do you see when you look into a mirror? Do you see someone walking in the light or do you see someone broken down by Pharaoh’s whips? Do you see someone who thrives on God’s word or someone who struggles to even remember the holy promise? Don’t be ashamed to admit who you are. Pharaoh can wear you out. Pharaoh wants to leave you without hope. But Pharaoh can never quiet your voice.

If you look in that mirror and don’t like who you see, get down on your knees and pray, “Jesus, have mercy.”

If you look in that mirror and you are overcome by fear, cry out, “Jesus, still the storm in my life.”

If you look in that mirror and can’t remember who God intended you to be, scream until your lungs bleed.   

WHY, because you are a child of the living God. Despite having the winning hand, despite all the chips laying there for the taking, once God hears your voice, God will still stand up say, “Boys, I’ve got to fold. Someone needs me.”

Listen to the good news in this morning’s scripture.

Despite our complacency, God comes to us.

Despite our fears, God comes to us.

Despite our chains, God comes to us,

Because we are children of the living God.

Remember that!

Remember That!

        REMEMBER THAT!

                And be revived!            Amen.