Sermon Sketch for Sunday, Mar. 2

Goodbye
Procrastination,
Hello Today
Stop putting off the things
God can do today.

Exodus 8:8-10a
Readings:
OT - Psalm 119:57-60
NT – Hebrews 3:1-13

Why would Pharaoh choose tomorrow?
Why do we?

Do we delay because we doubt God’s claims or power? Maybe Pharaoh was procrastinating because he had trouble believing the truth.

Reasons Pharaoh may have doubted:
• Anybody can make claims
• The Israelites’ slavery didn’t seem like a very good argument for Moses’ God.
• Pharaoh’s own sorcerers claimed the same power.
Ex. 7:22; Ex. 8:6-7; Ex. 8:18-19
• Believing would have staggering implications for Pharaoh and Egypt.

Similar reasons we may have doubts:
• The world is filled with claims. Is Jesus just one more?
• What you see in the lives of many Christians doesn’t seem to argue that well for God’s power.
1 John 2:3-6; Titus 2:11-14
• It seems like other things are just as effective as God.
John 14:6-11; John 11:25-27; John 11:38-48; John 20:26-30
• Believing would necessitate major change for your life. Matthew 10:32-39

Do we delay because we believe things that are not true? Maybe Pharaoh was procrastinating because things he was deceived by lies.

Lies Pharaoh may have believed:
•The values of his own culture (based on its economic and political success)
• The religious beliefs and gods of Egypt
• The legends that declared Pharaohs and their offspring to be the incarnation of the god Horus

Similar lies we may believe:
• The values and beliefs of our culture (based on its economic and political success)
• The religious and secular gods and anti-gods of our age
Colossians 2:8; 1 Corinthians 1:20-24
• Self-Deification: “Believe in Yourself”
Proverbs 28:26; Proverbs 3:7; Phil. 3:18-19; Luke 12:16-21

Don’t put off what God can do today!
Stop doubting God. Stop believing lies. Start living salvation.
• Don’t harden your hearts or be self-deceived. Hebrews 3:12-13;
• Seek Jesus, humble yourself, repent, and respond. Be restored and renewed today. Luke 19:1-10