 Well, I'm going to read to you a longer reading than I normally do but there's longer readings perhaps necessary to familiarize you a fresh with This part of scripture Dropping into Exodus 5 for a few minutes Exodus 5 1 to 21, let's read that together afterwards Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said This is what the Lord the God of Israel says let my people go so that they may hold a festival to meet 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 Then they said the God of the Hebrews has met with us now Let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God Or he may strike us with plagues or with the sword, but the king of Egypt said Moses and Aaron Why are you taking the people away from their labor get back to work? Then Pharaoh said look the people of the land are now numerous and you are stopping them from working That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and overseers in charge of the people You're no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks Let them go and gather their own straw But requirement to make the same number of bricks as before do not reduce the quota. They are lazy That's why they're crying out let us go sacrifice to our God make the work harder for the people So they will keep working and pay no attention to lies Then the slave drivers and overseers went out and said to the people this is what Pharaoh says I will not give you any more straw go and get your own straw wherever you can find it But your work will not be reduced at all So the people scattered all over Egypt to gather stubble to use for straw The slave drivers kept pressing them saying complete the work required of you for each day Just as when you had straw and Pharaoh slave drivers beat the Israelite overseer as they had appointed demanding Why haven't you met your quarter of bricks yesterday or today as before? Then the Israelite overseers went and appealed to Pharaoh. Why have you treated your servants this way? Your servants are given no straw yet. We are told make a bricks your servants are being beaten But the fault is with your own people Pharaoh said lazy. That's what you are lazy This is why you keep saying let us go and sacrifice to the Lord now get to work You will not be given any straw yet. You must produce your full quarter of bricks The Israelite overseers realized they were in trouble when they were told You are not to reduce the number of bricks required of you for each day When they left Pharaoh they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them And they said may the Lord look on you and judge you You have made us obnoxious to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us Now something very very complicated is going on here And I want you to turn on your complicated button Because in the church we have made complicated things simple for our own benefit Often in the church we have no stomach for complexity That's why we're like everything in life to be black and white and everything in life is not black and white There's a lot of gray in life way more than 50 shades There's a lot of gray in life And something very complicated is going on here Hence the way that God set in motion the deliverance of the Hebrew slaves from Egypt the way that God went about it is indicative of how complicated this is Just the last two verses in what we read tell you what's going on here is very complicated Because when Pharaoh decided to punish them because Moses is rocking up with let my people go And Pharaoh decides to shut down this distraction by increasing their hardship Because the Egyptians provided straw so that the Israelites were not distracted from producing maximum number of bricks to build Egypt cities infrastructure pyramids and so on So as part of making life more difficult for them Pharaoh increases their hardship by making them find their own straw But did not reduce the quarter of bricks. They were supposed to make each day And so it just said didn't it that when pharaoh introduced this new level of hardship It says the Hebrew slave masters the the Hebrew foreman That the Egyptians had appointed realized they were in trouble What a strange thing to say about slaves How can you not realize you're already in trouble? How can extra trouble Be required. How can you need extra trouble to make you realize you're already in trouble? You're a slave Then when they see Moses and Aaron They turn on Moses and Aaron and start saying to them we hit your guts You have made us obnoxious to pharaoh. Well, hang on a minute. You already were obnoxious to pharaoh So something interesting is going on here, which is this if you need more trouble To make you realize you are in trouble. It's because you've made friends with the trouble you're in Do you understand what i'm saying, which is what they've done Which is why this was never going to be easy for them to leave Egypt To to to think that pharaoh is your friend and moses is your enemy tells you how messed up They had become in their minds about who their friends were who their enemies were and about the oppression They were living under Now in fairness to them and in fairness to us and in fairness to millions out there this morning who are not in church Containment slavery bondage oppression of any kind is very difficult to get free from especially if it's generationally established Now this is minimum 20 generations 430 years. They had been in slavery in Egypt So it's minimum 20 generations if you measure a generation about 20 years It's 20 generations of containment and slavery and oppression Anything i have a theory anything established to a third generation by the way good or bad Takes on a permanence. It didn't have in the first two generations If you're a first generation believer You struggle to be the first one in your family to be a christian to play christian music in your home To go to church to carry a bible to have christian friends For you to be the first one in your family to do that was very difficult But when the second generation are born into a christian home, they have a different kind of challenge The challenge for kids born in a christian home is that they meet the church before they meet jesus And the church is far harder to love than jesus is Because the church is far less gracious and far less kind The church is far less welcoming and accepting than god is And kids get confused between god and the church and they believe they've given their lives to christ But actually they gave their lives to the church So often in teenage years as you know kids raised in a christian home in their teenage years Have a problem realizing i was drunk to church all my life But i don't know that i ever wanted to be there and now i'm individualistic enough to decide for myself But if the second generation make it who are a bridging generation All bridges in war are the first things to be bombed and attacked and controlled The second generation is a bridge. That's why kids raised in christian homes are a bridge They're attacked in a different way But if the bridging generation survives and makes it to a third generation So now glender and i's grandchildren if it makes it to a third generation it takes on a permanence Takes on an immovability that it didn't have in the first three This is why i believe god stopped introducing himself anymore after jacob God said i'm the god of abraham isaac and jacob and then stopped naming names He didn't go on and say and moses and joseph and joshua because after jacob the strain of faith that was in abraham After jacob who really struggled as you know for it to become permanent in his life But after jacob it's a done deal Once the thing takes on a takes on a third generational Establishment it's very difficult to shift for good or for bad now. These guys are 20 generations Of slavery i say this so that we are not unkind to them So that we don't just think well, this is crazy. Why would they complain against moses who came to help them? Why would they think ferro's their friend who was there who was the oppressor because freedom is complex I want you to know that freedom is complicated and in the church we deal with freedom the gospel is a gospel of freedom But that doesn't mean that's all we have to say about freedom We can't get up and pronounce freedom to the world when we don't understand how complicated bondage and containment and sin and confinement is Now in a more contemporary language, this will this will be interesting in this city In a contemporary language what's going on with the Hebrew slaves in their relationship with ferro in egypt could be called the stockholm syndrome You are famous for that round the world. Thank god for other things too The stockholm syndrome is a relatively new term in 1973 No one had heard of the stockholm syndrome. It was invented the term was invented after a bank robbery went wrong in stockholm And a number of bank robbers went into the bank and it went wrong and turned quickly into a hostage situation So they held the bank staff hostage for over a week What happened was what surprised everybody in sweden and in the world and in the justice system in this country Is that when the robbers went to trial none of the bank staff will give evidence against them Because during the standoff during the hostage situation that went on for a week in the bank The bank robbers took better care of the bank staff than did the police outside Because the people felt safer in the bank with the hostage takers who were looking after them Shedding out for food medication the hostage takers the robbers were kind of constantly trying to calm it down Negotiating with the cops and the cops kept threatening to storm the bank with a swat team So the people in the bank felt safer in the bank away from flying bullets And cops wanting to resolve it and politicians wanting to resolve it The people in the bank felt safer with the with the robbers than they did with the cops outside They felt safer with their captors than they did with their liberators Which is what's going on here It's the classic stockholm syndrome And when the bank robbers went to trial because no one would give evidence against them their sentences were quite small And the chief bank robber Jan Eric Olson Was given 10 years in jail. That's all he should have got longer 10 years in jail for armed robbery because no one would give evidence against him And when one of the bank robbers came out of jail check this out. He got married to one of the bank staff Who he took hostage And you laugh and you wow until I say this to you you have done the same thing All of us in life at different times have got married to our bank robber We got married to the pharaoh in our head We got married to a way of thinking that doesn't work and hasn't worked for years We settled into a behavior We settled into a lifestyle into a mindset into a habit That there's not worked for years, but it's like they're saying the world better the devil you know than the devil you That's their wisdom that's their way of saying what we're saying here Better the trouble you know than the trouble you don't know So the israelites felt happy with the trouble that they knew because the trouble that they were in was predictable So when moses comes and says let my people go the trouble got worse They didn't know it could get worse, but pharaoh made it worse And so what pharaoh did is that he disturbed their comfort He disturbed their attachment to the trouble they were in By creating more trouble to make them realize they are in trouble This whole idea is called bricks without straw by the way as you can tell already Bricks without straw for the purposes of the definition of this today I think bricks without straw to reframe it for you Is god's way of creating more trouble on top of the trouble you're in To make you realize that you are in trouble Bricks without straw is to make leaving egypt the best idea you ever had Because they don't want to leave egypt they want to stay They're resistant to moses. They're resistant to eran thinking moses and eran are the problem And pharaoh is looking after us because at least a nurse you all know don't you when they got free And got got you know after four after 20 generations. They're free They died in the wilderness after 40 years because they didn't die because they were slaves They died because they kept a slave mentality Because though they were free they were still married to the bank robber They died of a slave mentality. They died of a victim mentality and kept saying to moses. We were better off in egypt What we're better off in the bank With the hostage takers what And some of you find that incredible to listen to it But until you start to think about your own life Where you have felt safer with your own dysfunction With your own average with your own kind of not working life, but at least it's your life at least you feel in charge This is why people are reluctant to give up drugs and come off addictions and stop being alcoholics Because though they know it's not working and though they know their life is deteriorating at least they feel in charge of their habit And I understand that because because freedom giving that up and walking away from it is scary If you felt a dependence and an attachment on it, it's scary to walk away from it whatever it is This matters because I want you to know that god understands that freedom is complicated And the world need to understand that we know it is too So that as we speak to the world we don't come across so simplistic that they think I just wish that you knew what it was to be human Because many christians are bad humans Because we've removed ourselves from the shoes of humanity and we've put ourselves in the shoes of christians And we live and think and breathe and relate inside a bubble called church And most of the world are not in this bubble And so if all we do in this bubble is talk about things that only matter to bubble people In a bubble way and the only way we measure outcomes is inside the bubble Then I don't think we're serving you well. What we should be doing is is helping you become great humans not great christians Because Because we don't we don't want you we don't want you tithing on sunday and then you forget your wallet all week Never buy a round of drinks at the bar. You never pay for the movies. You never pay for dinner But you tithe on sunday. So it means you're generous in the bubble, but you're not generous in life So you're a good christian, but you're not a great human. You with me You're kind in here because people are kind to you, but then you're not kind when you're out there in the community So you're good inside the bubble. We made you good inside here. So really we made you a churchian Instead of a christian And we want you to understand and I think god is Is recording this narrative in the way that he does because he wants us to understand that freedom Is complicated and the issue was never going to be settled by let my people go That was moses's job to confront ferro and say let my people go But but we all know that ferro didn't let them go even though he wanted to Ferro was a great leader You don't get to be ferro in charge of the most powerful nation in the world If there isn't something about you Ferro's a great leader. He's not stupid. I think I think two or three plagues in ferro would have thought Wherever this power is i'm up against. I need to quit now Because on on the command of these two guys that came from the desert on the command of these two Shepherd non-important looking people Whatever they say happens and the whole nation comes under the plague they pronounce Including ferro's house. He had frogs in his bed, too He had blood coming out of his bathtub, too He had he had fleas and darkness in his palace, too So ferro you think three plagues in maximum would have thought wherever this power is it's going to ruin our economy It's going to destroy our nation. So you guys get out of here So ferro you've got to know ferro wanted to say go but he kept saying no Because the bible says god hardened his heart Because god knew ferro on day one would have said go any leader worth their salt would have said get out of here I can't be I can't win this battle. So god made ferro say no when he wanted to say go You'll never understand that if you have no theology for god making you do things you don't want to do If you if you've never felt god making you do things you don't want to do If you've never known god make you strong when you want it to be weak Or make you want to confront when you want it to step back or make you want to focus and go with something And everything said don't do it quit walk away if you've never known gods gods Hand on your life in that way with this internal compulsion To do something that made no sense to anyone everyone advice you against it and you think you know what I love you I appreciate you But I've got to do this and you were unreasonable You were not open to ideas and people thought you've lost your mind then you'll never relate to ferro Ferro's like a pussycat gods playing with him like a cat does with the mouse ferro wasn't the problem But but let my people go And the plagues was all theater god didn't need that the people needed that the people needed to see that god Was way more powerful than ferro and god took time and god rolls out these plagues to let them know Hey, by the way, you'll be okay with me. I can look after you all Ferro's not a problem egypt's not a problem. Let me show you how smaller problem egypt is so god rolls out these plagues And so ferro was never the problem let my people go was not the issue the issue was going to be will my people let go And that's the issue that god is knows is sending moses and erin into and so he doesn't want moses and erin hijacked By this complex scenario Only giving them plagues and the command let my people go god knew that would not be enough resources In these two leaders lives to to to create a movement out of the bank to create a movement out of egypt god knew that he had to back them up With something called bricks without straw God knew that he had to get ferro to make their lives harder so that they realized ferro is not and never was your friend And some of you and this is not great news. There've been no goosebumps when I say this But some of you I've got to tell you in order for you to move away from knots working You're going to need some trouble not less trouble. You're going to need some more trouble Something's going to need to not work anymore. Your boss is going to get worse than he ever He thought the boss can't get any worse than she is or he is it's going to get worse this week You think that situation can't get worse. It's going to get worse Or rather you see something that you need to sort of shabbat abadou more about You need to see it as maybe it's god's way of telling you it's time for you to step away I'm giving you more trouble to help you realize you are in trouble in the form of a bricks without straw scenario in your life And the only person that can do this to your life is an enemy not a friend Because friends create comfort The enemies create movement And some of you are crying to god for a change in your life for movement for progress for momentum But you're not going to find it in the company you're keeping Because friends are there to be friends. They're not there to disrupt you and disturb you and get you agitated and frustrated That's not what friends do friends. I love you. I'm for you. I'm praying for you You don't need any more of that some of you it's not helping you move It's becoming a mutual hostage situation where you are feeding each other stationary in us So the only way god sometimes can get you to move is not with more friends But with more enemies You need someone in your life who does not care about being your friend It is someone in your life who's not threatened by you deleting them from the friend's whatsapp channel Somebody who's gonna say something do something that makes your life more difficult than it is because that difficulty will make you realize I have got to get out of here. I have got to change my situation It's only an enemy that does that so so moses You go on Stop Okay, thank you So moses moses comes as their friend and god knew moses will never be enough. You've got to get fair or also involved And so moses comes as the liberation But feral comes as the irritation And the difference between where you are and where you want to be isn't just liberation. It's going to be irritation Some of you need some irritation in your life. You've got too much liberation. Some of you are liberation addicted And liberation and freedom are two different things Liberation is when the tanks roll in To the country they're liberating it's when sardamo sain's bronze statue is pulled down by ropes That's we see on tv. That's the moment of liberation, but that's not freedom Freedom's what comes next freedom is far more complicated and difficult to sustain Than an act an event a moment of liberation And what happens generally in churches like ours around the world? We major on liberation and we minor on freedom And what we do is we set the same people free every week And it gets all a little bit dysfunctional Where you think you can just you know You'd be okay. It doesn't matter that you're in debt And and that you're behind and and you're spending what you don't have you're just come and get declared debt free in jesus name Or you'll just have a hand laid on your head Or someone will declare and decree and proclaim something over your life And i'll tell you been there done. I got the t-shirt It doesn't work because the people you all monitor were not in the meeting Where you would declare debt free they weren't there they just want the mortgage paying And so we've built churches that that that park up we camp around Liberation and we get free we get liberator we got a touch we get an anointing We get a blessing we have an encounter And and we did all of that and the toronto blessing came and went all of that was based on Liberation liberation liberation touch anointing Presence all of that stuff. I believe in all of that but all of that is not enough for you to walk in freedom To walk in freedom you have to start taking responsibility For your life and working on stuff that that that liberation came to empower you to move into but now you need a lot more tools And and so and we know they're liberator, but they died in freedom They died in freedom. You think what was the point? They died in freedom all this liberation all these 10 plagues all this 20 generations later They're the first generation ever to get free And they walk free And and you think what was the point because they all died in misery It's because freedom is far more difficult to retain and to walk in than is simply liberation And I want you in your life to move away from and let's raise our kids and let's raise the next generation To not believe that the answer is you know Just just just go along in life and just get stuck and get struggling and then just go get liberated on sunday Or get liberated on sunday on a prayer line then go and get counsel All of which is about liberation and then you you get liberated and you're good for a week or two And then you back into you back into That situation you back into that mindset you back into that relationship you back into that failed habit And that's not working. So you think you know what what I need to do is I need to go to a conference Hello I'll go to summer camp I've got a hill song conference. I remember singing hills and conference years ago Most christians have two gods. They have a local church god and a conference god And they think those two gods don't know each other And the conference god is like father christmas and the local church god is like a father The local church god says, you know what you need to deal with this and work on this and grow up here The the the conference god doesn't doesn't do that the conference god just zaps you You know 30 plus years pastoring, you know how I know these things people would go to a conference around the world They said to me have you been to the move of god? I'm going to the move of god and they're going to toronto or pence the caller Argentina or somewhere else and I'd say, you know, I've got a question. Why is it the move of god is always where I am not What's up with that? It is god stuck can't god get a visa to england or something. What's the problem? Why is the move of god always somewhere else? Because we think that this local church thing this can't be called a move of god This is too ordinary This is where when you come out from the conference when you come out from the conference I was at the conference a stranger called me out prophesied over me told me I'm going to be the next Billy Graham Pastor, I'm ready when you are just show me the microphone. I'm here That's the conference god. Boom. I see Billy Graham in your future. You're the next Billy Graham That's the conference god. That's the one night stand christianity with a stranger with a stranger Who gets you pregnant and then leaves town impregnate you impregnate you with an idea No responsibility for what the impregnate you no responsibility to cash the blank check they gave you So you come back to the pastor pastor pastor never talk to the pastor for years only about him only about her Never went to an appointment because I got to tell the pastor. I had such an encounter I got to tell you this man called me out prophesied over me. I'm the next Billy Graham That's that's the santa claus father christmas conference god The local church god says well, you know what? We appreciate you glad you're here one day. You may be Billy Graham But right now you're an idiot You're a lovable idiot. We love you, but you're out an idiot right now. Maybe the best thing you should do is get a j o b There's no love in this church So I want you to know that that that there is liberation And there is freedom here Now In this room in your heart in your walk with god it is not over the seas. It's not in a conference It's not in someone's ministry. It's inside you Freedom liberation and freedom you are your own walking liberation movement And this church and our churches shouldn't be built on liberation This should be built on you getting free staying free living free and passing freedom on We should be conduits for freedom We are a walking freedom movement for our for our community for our world But if every sunday we're in here getting stuck and getting free getting stuck and getting liberated getting stuck getting liberated We we park up around liberation central And we never progress and we never carry anything to our world I want you to know without an enemy your present Is permanent If your life's going to look different then it does now In some areas where we're stuck i've got to tell you this week you need to look for the gift The administration the contribution of an enemy And reframe it Some of you should sit down in your mind if not in reality all right to thank you card to everybody They hated your guts Say thank you, you know david could have written a thank you card to goliath Thank you Thank you for being the biggest problem I've ever had because if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be king Let's stand together come on