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Here is a clean transcript of the sermon, with timestamps, speech disfluencies, repetitions, and filler words removed:

Now hopefully my cough won't be an issue today. I put a cough drop in my mouth, so hopefully that won't be a problem either.

I remember a pastor telling a story one time about how he always used a lozenge as a timer for his sermons. One Sunday in particular, the sermon was just running long and long, and people were thinking, "Man, what is the deal with this?" When he finally finished, he realized that he hadn't put a cough drop in his mouth, but a button! I assure you, mine is a cough drop so that we're on the right page together today.

Have you ever thought about what it means to be ordinary? I mentioned that in the text last night—the concept of being ordinary. I remember one time in particular, when I was seven years old, I had been to church here with my grandfather. We were living in Bakersfield at the time and visiting here, and I was feeling so down—just ordinary, like there was nothing special and nothing good about life. I remember going home with my grandfather that day. It was just the two of us in the car, and while I don't remember exactly what he said, I know he made me feel better. He made me feel not ordinary. He made me feel special in the things of life, showing how God works and accomplishes His plans.

Maybe you have felt ordinary. That sense of, "I don't know what to do," or "I don't know why God would use me; He couldn't use me." Those thoughts come up in our lives. In Acts, it says that God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul. Paul was an ordinary person, just like you and I. It was God who was being extraordinary.

We need to realize that God uses ordinary people. He doesn't look for the best, the brightest, or the most powerful. That's why when Jesus came as a baby, He didn't come to a king's palace. He came to the ordinary—to a young girl and her husband. Joseph was just a carpenter, which is what he taught Jesus to be, and Mary was just a young girl. God works through the ordinary.

Acts 4:13 speaks about the disciples: "The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men who had no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus." God used ordinary men who had been with Jesus to accomplish something extraordinary because of who God is in our lives. That is what He still does for us today. He takes us as ordinary men and women to accomplish His extraordinary design and plan.

In 1 Kings 11:38, it says: "Then it will be that if you listen to all that I command you and walk in My ways and do what is right in My sight by observing My statutes and My commandments as My servant David did, then I will be with you and build you an everlasting house as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you." This was spoken to Jeroboam regarding the kingdom, but it applies to us today too. The key is listening to all that God commands, walking in His ways, and doing what is right in His sight—not our sight, not someone else's sight, nor society's or culture's sight, but observing the statutes and commands God has given us. He does extraordinary things through us.

Today, let's look at two ordinary people found in the book of Exodus, chapter 1, beginning at verse 8. Turn there in your Bibles with me to Exodus chapter 1 to see ordinary people whom God used in extraordinary ways.

Beginning at verse 8: "Eventually a new king came into power in Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph or what he had done." The Israelites had been in Egypt for a long time—long enough that Joseph, his father, and all his brothers had died. A new king came into power who was not alive during Joseph's time and did not know how Joseph had saved the kingdom and the known world during the famine.

Verse 9 continues: "He said to his people, 'Look, the people of Israel now outnumber us and are stronger than we are. We must make a plan to keep them from growing even more. If we don't, and if war breaks out, they will join our enemies and fight against us. Then they will escape from the country.'" Fear filled the new king's heart regarding what the Israelites might do. That same fear exists in society today—fear of people we don't know, uncertain of their attitudes or actions.

"So the Egyptians made the Israelites their slaves. They appointed brutal slave drivers over them, hoping to wear them down with crushing labor. They forced them to build the cities of Pithom and Rameses as supply centers for the king. But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more the Israelites multiplied and spread, and the more alarmed the Egyptians became."

The king's plan to overcome his fear backfired. He kept them as slaves, oppressed them, made them work extra hard, and tried to control every portion of their lives, yet the Israelites multiplied even more. So the Egyptians worked the people of Israel without mercy, making their lives bitter by forcing them to mix mortar, make bricks, and perform all kinds of field work. They were ruthless.

It might have seemed like a practical choice for the king to protect his kingdom from people he didn't know. Even though the Israelites had never shown any intent to attack Egypt or cause problems, fear drove his reasoning.

Verse 15 says: "Then Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, gave this order to the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah: 'When you help the Hebrew women as they give birth, watch as they deliver. If the baby is a boy, kill him. If it's a girl, let her live.' But because the midwives feared God, they refused to obey the king's orders. They allowed the boys to live also."

"So the king of Egypt called for the midwives. 'Why have you done this?' he demanded. 'Why have you allowed the boys to live?' 'The Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women,' the midwives replied. 'They are more vigorous and have their babies so quickly we cannot get there in time.' So God was good to the midwives, and the Israelites continued to multiply, growing more and more powerful. And because the midwives feared God, He gave them families of their own. Then Pharaoh gave this order to all the people: 'Throw every newborn Hebrew boy into the Nile River, but you may let the girls live.'"

The story of the Hebrew midwives is a story of heroic resistance. So noteworthy is their courage that their personal names are recorded: Shiphrah and Puah. Interestingly, the name of the new Pharaoh is never mentioned in the text. Even when referring to the elders of Israel in Exodus 3:16 and 4:29, their specific names are not listed. Yet these two midwives, along with Jacob's family and Moses's family, are among the few explicitly named in the early chapters of Exodus.

When Pharaoh's first plan to control Israel through heavy labor failed, he moved to a secretive, murderous Plan B: having the midwives kill the male babies at birth. When that failed, he moved to Plan C: commanding all Egyptian citizens to throw newborn Hebrew boys into the Nile.

Throughout this narrative, God's purpose for Israel is confirmed. Before this section, God is not mentioned once in Exodus. Here, He is mentioned twice as the object of the midwives' faith and once as the establisher of blessings upon them and their families. Just as Abraham's faith was reckoned to him as righteousness, the midwives' reverence for God protected His purpose for Israel and brought blessing upon them.

The midwives may not have had exhaustive knowledge of the patriarchs' traditions or formal scriptural training, but they understood that right and wrong are not human inventions—they are part of a divinely created order. God is the author of right and wrong; it is not merely a cultural construct. The Egyptians, lacking a recognition of a moral Lawgiver, found it easy to rationalize killing infants. We see a similar perspective in society today when God is pushed out of government, schools, and public life, or when those who proclaim objective right and wrong are ridiculed.

Many proverbs throughout the ancient world reflect the truth that the fear of God is the foundational orienting principle. Fearing God does not mean being terrified of Him in a general sense, but recognizing the weight of disobeying Him. Since disobeying Pharaoh meant potential death, the midwives demonstrated a conviction in an authority higher than earthly power.

Jesus said in Luke 12:4–5: "Dear friends, do not be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot do any more to you after that. But I'll tell you whom to fear. Fear God, who has the power to kill you and then throw you into hell. Yes, He is the One to fear."

In sports, there is a phenomenon known as "tanking," where a team intentionally slows down or alters performance to avoid a certain outcome. In a sense, the midwives "tanked" their orders from Pharaoh. They intentionally moved slowly enough to ensure they wouldn't be present when the boys were born. When we serve God, we may find it necessary to go against systems that contradict His command. The midwives could have complied and justified it as "just following orders," but they refused, and God used them in extraordinary ways.

Recall the post-WWII Nuremberg trials involving the Einsatzgruppen—the mobile killing units. Twenty-four leaders were tried, and their primary defense was that they were merely following orders. More recently, in December 2022, a former secretary at the Stutthof concentration camp, Irmgard Furchner, was convicted of complicity in the murders of over 10,000 people. Claiming "I was just following orders" was not an acceptable defense.

Likewise, we cannot simply say, "I was just following orders." James 4:17 tells us: "Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it." Edmund Burke famously noted, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Proverbs 24:11–12 reminds us: "Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to die; save them as they stagger to death. Don't excuse yourself by saying, 'Look, we didn't know.' For God understands all hearts, and He sees you. He who guards your soul knows you knew, and He will repay all people for their actions."

Consider current events: Planned Parenthood recently presented Joe Biden with the Sonia Shore Sloan Service Award at a gala where he urged attendees to continue advocating for abortion access following the overturn of Roe v. Wade. Just as the midwives were instructed to take the lives of newborn infants while their surrounding culture accepted it, similar debates over the sanctity of life continue today.

C.S. Lewis observed that the human heart is the battleground where good and evil clash every day. We see cultural shifts toward policies advocating for abortion, euthanasia, and assisted suicide—initiatives that often begin voluntarily but risk sliding further. In Virginia, a proposed amendment regarding third-trimester procedures highlights how deeply these issues impact our legal landscape. This is not merely a political contest or a debate between candidates; it is about God's standard of right and wrong.

Fifty years ago, in September 1976, Congress first passed the Hyde Amendment, offered by Representative Henry Hyde, to prevent federal Medicaid funds from subsidizing abortions. When introducing it, Hyde stated: "An innocent, defenseless human life in a caring and humane society deserves better than to be flushed down a toilet or burned in an incinerator. The promise of America is that life is not just for the privileged, the planned, or the perfect."

In 1 Corinthians 16:13–14, Paul writes: "Be on the alert. Stand firm in the faith. Act like men. Be strong. Let all that you do be done in love." How does this apply to us today? Few of us are directly commanded to end newborn lives as the Egyptian midwives were, yet we are all called to exercise our responsibilities as citizens, including voting.

As Christians, we are called to align our decisions with the principles God has given in His Word and to stand for those who cannot stand for themselves. In past elections, tens of millions of Christians chose not to vote, assuming their vote didn't matter or declining to participate due to dissatisfaction with candidates. However, failing to take a stand effectively allows whatever outcome occurs to prevail. As Paul exhorted, we must stand firm in the faith.

Hillel, a Jewish scholar, famously posed three questions:

  1. "If I am not for myself, who will be for me?"

  2. "If I am only for myself, what am I?"

  3. "If not now, when?" He also taught: "That which is hateful to you, do not do unto your fellow man."

Faithfulness to God may require us to disregard the pressure of powerful influences around us. It is easy for people to say, "It's just the law," or "That's just the way things are." About a year ago, I was speaking with a California legislator who suggested that if something is legal, it is ethical. I asked him, "If a law were passed today re-legalizing slavery, would that make it ethical?" He replied, "Yes, because it's the law." That perspective misses the truth: right and wrong are not determined merely by human legislation. They are established by God.

As Christians, will we stand for what God defines as right and wrong in His Word? Or will we simply yield to pressure and say, "I was just doing what I was told"? Faithfulness to God requires us to be like Shiphrah and Puah—to stand for what is right, knowing that God has called us to live according to His truth.

Prayer: Father, we thank You for who You are and for Your presence with us. Thank You for defining right and wrong, for guiding us, and for calling us to stand firm in the faith and follow Your commandments. Help us when we are weak or faced with strong influences pressing us to do wrong. Remind us that Your Word is what matters, not popular opinion. Strengthen us in Your Word as we read, study, and live it out. We give You all the honor and praise today. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.