I'm Called Out of Egypt.

March 5, 1897

Spiritual Egypt. - No. 4.

Continued…..

But what was in the hearts of Israel that caused their unbelief?-Egypt, Egypt, Egypt. What, then, has been in the hearts of these people that has caused this unbelief and this holding back from God?-Egypt, as certainly as Egypt ever did over yonder. Spiritually that which is Egypt-the world, idolatry, darkness, which is unbelief. The word "unbelief" expresses it all. You know that the very word "Egypt" is a symbol of darkness. 

Look again at this passage?

If all who had labored unitedly in the work in 1844 had received the third angel's message and proclaimed it in the power of the Holy Spirit, the Lord would have wrought mightily with their efforts. 

As the Lord wrought mightily with their efforts in the beginning of the work, what is the reason of the lack?-Lack of the Holy Spirit. The only lack is the power of the Holy Spirit. That is what gives us the power, and what works the mighty works. It is the Holy Ghost; and if that had been received, "a flood of light would have been shed upon the world." 

This is what is stated in Revelation, the eighteenth chapter; "Another angel came down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory." That is precisely the same that is pointed out here. What keeps back that flood of light? Has that flood of light been waiting to burst forth upon the world, ever since that time?-Yes. What has kept it back after 1844?-Unbelief.

What has kept it back since?-Unbelief. Is it not time, then, that we found deliverance from Egyptian bondage? O think of it! The message would have been proclaimed in the power of the Holy Spirit; the Lord would have wrought mightily with their efforts; a flood of light would have been shed upon the world; years ago the inhabitants of the world would have been warned, the closing work completed, and Christ would have come for the redemption of his people! O let us then no longer delay! Why shall we not have deliverance from Egypt, and from all that is implied in the word,-spiritual Egypt? Let the Holy Ghost be given and bring that mighty power to work for sinners; that that flood of light may lighten the world; that the world may be warned; that Christ may come; that we may be redeemed from this world of sin and sorrow. 

Now you see the situation so far. Egyptian darkness and bondage has been upon us all these years, as certainly as it was upon Israel after they had crossed the Red Sea, and while they were in the wilderness. And God has offered to feed this people also with bread from heaven-bread that he can approve, bread that he can give to them that will bring about such a condition that he can bless them with every spiritual blessing. But here so many even yet say, O, our soul loatheth this light bread. Let us go back to Egypt where we can have onions and leeks and garlics. If that is health reform, I don't want any of it. Where have we been?

Shall we allow the Lord to feed us? Shall we accept the bill of fare from God? Or shall we long for the leeks and onions and garlics, and the flesh-pots of Egypt? That is the question? 

You have agreed now that that is the situation, that Egyptian bondage is the cause of all this, and that unbelief is the cause of the Egyptian bondage. You have agreed that we need not now, as the others needed not, to wait longer to be delivered from Egyptian bondage. Now we will study a moment, how that deliverance shall be; and the key of it is in these words: "Here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus." 

Let us turn to the commandments of God, and look at them a moment, in the twentieth of Exodus. If any further evidence was wanted that we are yet under the influence of Egyptian bondage, certainly this thing is the cap-sheaf that fixes the evidence. Till very lately, you and I never saw a copy of the ten commandments, issued by the Seventh-day Adventists, that had all the ten commandments in it. I never did until very lately. And yet we have talked about keeping the commandments; we have preached to other people about the commandments; we have pointed out how Rome has changed the commandments and left out the fourth and divided the tenth, while all the time we ourselves, from our published copies of the commandments, or the ones that we bought that somebody else had published, have left out a part of the commandments ourselves. 

God spoke his law from heaven. Did he speak more than belongs with the commandments? Did he speak too much? Did he speak more than was needed?-No; for it was perfect, and there was nothing to be added when he ceased speaking. Well then, as there was nothing to be added when he ceased speaking, did he begin before he needed to? As there was nothing to be added when he ceased speaking, is there something before he began to speak directly to us for our good? In other words, did he speak a word too much or a word too little?-No! no! no! 

Let us see, then, what he said. Here it is: "And God spake all these words, saying, . . . Thou shalt have no other Gods before me." Is that where he begins? Does he begin speaking with, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me?-No. Have you begun there? You know you have. Well, if God did not begin there, and you and I do begin there, don't we leave out something that he said, that is essential for our good, too? Where did he begin? Read it. "And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God. which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me." 

Don't you see that we have left out the very thing that shows deliverance from Egyptian bondage? And why have we left it out? O, because we have considered that we have not been delivered from Egypt,-and that is so. We have considered that we never were brought out of the land of Egypt,-and by our unbelief that is so. We have thought, "We were never in bondage to any man." But we were. We were in bondage to ourselves, to the power of sin-to spiritual Egypt. But there is deliverance from Egyptian bondage to-night, and God calls you and me to this deliverance from Egyptian bondage. And he says to you and me to-night, with a voice thundering as it did from Sinai, with the salvation of Jesus Christ in it, "I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." Will you come out? Will you allow that he has delivered you from the land of Egypt? from the house of bondage? If not, why not?

 

Our enemies are throwing it at us,-O, those commandments are not for me. I never was brought out from Egypt. The enemies of the law of God, the enemies of the salvation of God, cast that at you. They have said it to me-to all of us-that that law is not binding on anybody but the Jews, because nobody was ever delivered from Egyptian bondage but the Jews. They say, O, you need not preach that to me, I never was brought from Egypt. That is true enough, of course; but that is no credit to them. You and I are to stand up like those that are redeemed from Egyptian bondage, and answer that thing with, Thank the Lord, I have been brought out of Egypt; and, my poor, forlorn brother, unless you are delivered from Egypt, you will perish in the corruption of Egypt. 

Of course no one can keep that law while he is in Egypt. They could not do it. God delivered them from Egypt that they might keep the law. To be in Egypt is to be in sin, and no man can keep the law of God in sin; for sin itself is the transgression of the law. Of course you can't keep the commandments while you are in Egypt. You can't; I can't. But let the Lord deliver us, and then we can keep the commandments, and not until then. The Lord knew that well enough; therefore, when he wanted Pharaoh to let the children

of Israel go, he said, "Let my people go, that they may serve me." Of course they could not serve God in Egypt. He wanted them delivered, not only bodily, but spiritually. And then, when he would give them his law to keep, the first thing that he says to them is, "I am the Lord thy God which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage," so that they might keep it. 

What kind of law is this anyhow?-A spiritual law.

"We know that the law is spiritual." What Egypt is it, then, in the first verse of the law?-It is spiritual Egypt. "The law is spiritual." The Egypt, then, named in the law is spiritual Egypt, and it means to you and me deliverance from spiritual Egypt, which is deliverance from the bondage of sin. 

S. H. Lane.-You think they were spiritually out of Egypt for a while? 

It is hard to say. Moses was always, of course; Caleb always was ; Joshua always was. 

E. J. Waggoner.-The seventy elders saw God. 

Yes; they saw God. It is hard to tell, though, about the people being out of Egypt. Moses always was. Even while he was in physical Egypt, he was spiritually out of it. Caleb and Joshua were always spiritually out of Egypt. In the triumphant song at the Red Sea, the whole denomination, I have thought, were spiritually out of Egypt, if they had held fast to that. As the Lord said, "O that my people had harkened unto my voice and walked in my laws, then I would have speedily subdued their enemies under them." But when their faith was tried, in the very first step they took, when they were at Marah, where there was bitter water, they threw their faith away, and wished they were back in Egypt again. When we come to a bitter experience, shall we take it as an evidence that the Lord has forsaken us?-No; thank the Lord that that bitter experience is for our good, and God is able to turn the bitter into sweet. 

(Voice) Pardon me, Brother Jones, but here is a verse-the twenty-seventh verse of the eleventh chapter of Hebrews-which shows that Moses did turn away from Egypt right there in Egypt. 

Assuredly. So that while bodily in Egypt, he was spiritually out of Egypt. 

E. J. Waggoner.-The ransomed of the Lord shall come with singing into Zion. 

Yes; and if they had kept on singing the song of Moses, and in the faith with which they sung it then, they would have gone on singing into the land. And that is what God wants us to keep in our minds. He wants us to put our hearts over in that good land; and then, our hearts being there, the longing of our lives will be there. And then God can soon fill our lives with the joy of that blessed land. And that is, God with us.

 

You know well enough that even now, instead of the heart being over in that land, it is here in this land. To some of our own folks, to ask a person to separate from this country seems like treason. To ask a person to separate from this country, and go over into that land, and let the offices and politics of this nation alone, seems to them almost like an imposition. That people are in Egypt, but God has called them out of Egypt, to set their hearts upon the better country, place all their affections there, and work for that country with every energy of their being; so that the streams of joy and glory from that land may flow into their hearts; so that all the world and all the universe may know that God is their God of a truth. When that is done, it will take but a short time for the work to be accomplished, and the Lord to come. 

When the children of Israel were at the Red Sea, the power of God there manifested, astonished the nations, insomuch that when the spies went into the land, Rahab said: The fear and the dread of you is upon all the land, because we have heard what God has done for you, and the hearts of the people are melted. That is true. Another thought as to spiritual Egypt: It is written of Jesus, "Out of Egypt have I called my son." Why is that written about Jesus? Why did Jesus go into Egypt? Why was he taken into Egypt? He could have escaped the slaughter of the children that were slain in Bethlehem, by going a short distance away from that place, and would not have had to go nearly so far as to Egypt. All of the little children in Palestine were not slain when the decree of Herod went forth. It was only Bethlehem, and its coasts, and its suburbs. Bethlehem was only six miles from Jerusalem, and the children in Jerusalem were not slain; so the Lord could have escaped if he had been taken ten or twelve miles away. 

Then why was he taken into Egypt?-O that it might be fulfilled that was written, "Out of Egypt have I called my son." He was ourselves; yourself and myself. He was ourselves; and as God met his people in Egypt and led them out, so our Saviour came to where we are, and was as we are, and was called out of Egypt, thus showing that whoever would be as he is, must likewise come out of Egypt.

He was the Son of God, and was called out of Egypt, thus showing that all who will be sons of God must also come out of Egypt; for it is written of all as of him, "Out of Egypt have I called my son." Are you a son of God? "Out of Egypt have I called my son."

A little while ago we saw that we must be brought out of Egypt, in order to keep the commandments of God. Now we see that in order to follow Jesus, we must be called out of Egypt. To keep the commandments of God, demands that we be brought out of Egypt; faith in Jesus demands likewise that we be brought out of Egypt. And both these are expressed in Rev. 14: 12: "Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." 

Thus you see that from beginning to end there is a spiritual Egypt; and the whole plan of salvation is simply deliverance from Egyptian bondage by the power of God; it is being called out of Egypt into the glorious liberty of the sons of God. Shall we then come out of Egypt, that we may serve the Lord indeed? Shall we have it so that we may in truth keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus? What shall we do? Shall we go away from this Conference in Egypt? Shall we remain at this Conference and remain in Egypt? O shall we not be delivered wholly from Egypt and all that is implied in the word?

 

Deliverance is free for us, it is given to us. O then, let every heart be opened, every soul be turned to God, and seek him by confession of sin, that we may be delivered from darkness; and thus that we may, before the Conference closes, be delivered into the glorious light and liberty of the sons of God; for, "Out of Egypt have I called my son." That is what he waits for. Shall we keep him waiting? And when that comes, this word will be fulfilled; the third angel's message will be proclaimed in the power of the Holy Spirit; the Lord will work mightily with our efforts; a flood of light will be shed upon the world; soon the inhabitants of the world will be warned; the closing work will be completed; and Christ will come for the redemption of his people. O, we are nearer to the time when God will deliver us than we have ever dreamed, I am thinking. God's deliverance is so near to us! Shall we walk into the land! Israel failed because they did not believe. They did not see wondrous things in his promises. Those promises are now for us. They are to be as real to you and me as they were to him when he gave them to Israel, to whom they were not real. 

You know it is written:- 

And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God. 

Ah, but the song of Moses, the servant of God, was the song of deliverance from Egyptian bondage; and those that get the victory over the beast and his name and his image and the number of his name,-from what are they delivered? They are delivered from Egyptian bondage, as surely as was Moses. And they sing the song of Moses, because they, too, are delivered from Egyptian bondage. The Bible is full of it. Spiritually we have been in Egypt, and O, may God deliver us out of it. Then shall we sing this song unto the Lord: - 

I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him a habitation.

Will you? will you? I will dwell in them, and walk in them; they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 

Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

 

But, "Out of Egypt have I called my son." 

[He is] my father's God, and I will exalt him. The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his name. Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea. The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone. Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy. And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble. And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as a heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea. The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them. Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters. Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? who is like unto thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? Thou stretchest out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them. Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed. 

That is what it says: "Thou hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed." Has he redeemed you? Redeemed from what?-Redeemed from sin.

And sin is spiritual Egypt. 

Thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation. [Let him.] The people shall hear, and be afraid. 

The time has come to sing the song of Moses. Shall we sing it? But we shall not sing it in Egypt. You cannot sing it if you are in Egypt, because they could not sing it until they were delivered out of Egypt. 

The people shall hear, and be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina. Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed: the mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them; all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away. Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of thine arm they shall be as still as a stone; till thy people pass over, O Lord, till the people pass over, which thou hast purchased. Thou shalt bring them in. 

Who shall he bring in? What do you say? Who shall the Lord bring into his habitation? You? Are you out of Egypt? "Out of Egypt have I called my son." Thou shalt "plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in." Then we will dwell there with the Lord, and so shall we ever be with the Lord.  In the sanctuary. O Lord, which thy hands have established. The Lord shall reign for ever and ever. For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the Lord brought again the waters of the sea upon them; but the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea. And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

"Out of Egypt have I called you," saith the Lord, and out of Egypt we have come. Now he says, I am your God, and you are my people. "I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage;" and, "Out of Egypt have I called my son." And this is what it means today when it says: Here are they, here are they, "HERE ARE THEY which keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." 

Congregation sings:-

Redeemed! how I love to proclaim it!

Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb; Redeemed through his infinite mercy, His child, and forever, I am.