Exodus 8-9:7
Notes
Transcript
Exodus 8-9:7
Exodus 8-9:7
Last week, we started the plagues of Egypt. Today we’ll walk quickly thru them, but it started with Aaron throwing down the gauntlet, and by gauntlet I mean his staff and it became a serpent. Do you remember about the serpent though? The word used here is different than when Moses’ rod turned into the serpent. Moses’ rod turned into a snake, Aaron’s rod turned into a crocodile like creature. And the magicians of Pharaoh shrugged their shoulders and threw down their staffs and theirs turned into a crocodile too. Then Aaron’s rod swallowed up the others. Didn’t fight with them, didn’t eat them, just gulped them with no problem.
That wasn’t the first plague, the first plague would not only effect the Nile, which is mythically the lifeblood of the god Osiris, but also every pitcher and bucket in all of Egypt also.
We started the plagues of Egypt with the first plague turning the Nile river into blood. We talked about the plagues having major significance to the people of Egypt and would be signs for Israel of who God really is, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. This would prove God’s power of Osiris, but is also a symbol of the reason for the worship of God taking sacrifice. The blood means something to the Lord. It covers and cleanses the sin of the worshipper, BUT it also proves power over our enemy, the devil.
The blood is poison to him, and all he can do is deflect it and deceive us and drive us away from it. We find that Pharaoh, who is a representation of the devil in this story, has magicians that can duplicate this miracle. How they did it when all of the water is blood in the land for 7 days I don’t know.
Did they use a cup and do a little David Blane - Tadaa? I believe, because God soon will make the distinction between the land that Israel is located and the rest of Egypt, but I believe that Goshen is where they found the clean water to do the miracle. It’s not in the Bible, but I don’t know where else they could have found water to do their little fakery. Either way, their little magic tricks are nothing compared to the works of the Lord.
Our God is mighty in power, much more mighty than the puny gods of this world, but we must be wary of the power that the enemy holds in this world over us. I’m going to try to get thru all of these, if I have to cut it short I will though, let’s get started with plague #2: (2 SLIDES)
1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me. 2 But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all your territory with frogs. 3 So the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into your house, into your bedroom, on your bed, into the houses of your servants, on your people, into your ovens, and into your kneading bowls. 4 And the frogs shall come up on you, on your people, and on all your servants.” ’ ” 5 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up on the land of Egypt.’ ” 6 So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. 7 And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs on the land of Egypt.
8 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, “Entreat the Lord that He may take away the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may sacrifice to the Lord.” 9 And Moses said to Pharaoh, “Accept the honor of saying when I shall intercede for you, for your servants, and for your people, to destroy the frogs from you and your houses, that they may remain in the river only.” 10 So he said, “Tomorrow.” And he said, “Let it be according to your word, that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God. 11 And the frogs shall depart from you, from your houses, from your servants, and from your people. They shall remain in the river only.” 12 Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh. And Moses cried out to the Lord concerning the frogs which He had brought against Pharaoh. 13 So the Lord did according to the word of Moses. And the frogs died out of the houses, out of the courtyards, and out of the fields. 14 They gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. 15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not heed them, as the Lord had said.
This second plague was an affront to the goddess Heqt, frog goddess of fertility. I guess they didn’t have rabbits there, but they had frogs, which are very prolific. Now, these frogs weren’t just crawling around, they got everywhere. In their beds, in their ovens, making the whole of the land unsanitary even.
Pharaoh calls on his magicians again and they duplicate the feat. Like the first one with the water of the Nile into blood...I don’t know how you would tell if these men duplicated the plague of the Lord. I don’t understand why they would do that either. Remember, last week, we talked about the fact that Pharaoh, being a synonym of the devil in this story, can the devil perform miracles? You bet he can. Some things he can’t duplicate, but he can manifest terrible things, all the more reason to be right with the Lord.
Pharaoh wants the frogs to go away, and he has to ask Moses if Yahweh can take care of them. Moses asks “You just tell me when” and Pharaoh says what? “Tomorrow.” So the next day the frogs are struck down by God, but they didn’t return to the water. And they made the land stinky.
Pharaoh promised he would let the people go, but then went back on his word once the hardship was over. Just like us, when the heat is on, we seek the Lord’s face. When things are great, we stop looking for Him, and sometimes He has to humble us to keep our eyes on him.
This stink in the land though, we don’t know how long that lasted. Could have been the whole time for the plagues. Scholars say it was at least 40 days, but could have taken as much as a year considering some of the events, and we’ll get to that in a bit. It’s reminiscent of the stink that’s left behind when we do the enemy’s bidding, isn’t it? We learn to know that smell...sometimes we get used to it, and we don’t smell it anymore, but the people around us do. Our sin stinks on us, there’s only one way to wash it clean.
Let’s continue to Plague #3
16 So the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your rod, and strike the dust of the land, so that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.’ ” 17 And they did so. For Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod and struck the dust of the earth, and it became lice on man and beast. All the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt. 18 Now the magicians so worked with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not. So there were lice on man and beast. 19 Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, just as the Lord had said.
This is an affront on the god Geb - god of the earth. This is the first plague that comes without a warning. God says “do it” and they do.
What is dust? It’s everywhere, isn’t it? My wife can find dust on the cleanest surface. It’s one of her many super powers. But that dust became like lice, the word directly translated is gnats. How many of you like fruit flies or gnats all over your house? Not a chance...kinda makes you sick sometimes thinking what they’re landing on.
The magicians are frustrated, they try and try to duplicate this one, but they can’t. They recognize this a sign from some unknown God. When the finger of the God is used, people take heed. When else do we hear of the finger of God?
The 10 Commandments were written on tablets of stone with the finger of God.
Our ladies will know, in Daniel the finger of God writes a warning out on the wall for Belshazzar, prophecying the end of his reign.
How about John 8 when the woman is caught in adultery, what does Jesus (God) do? He writes with his finger on the ground.
They recognize this is a sign of judgement. Why did the magicians give up on this? Because this also meant this God of Israel had power to bring life from non-life. Only God can do that.
But wait, there’s more! Plague #4 (2 SLIDES)
20 And the Lord said to Moses, “Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh as he comes out to the water. Then say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me. 21 Or else, if you will not let My people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand. 22 And in that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there, in order that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the land. 23 I will make a difference between My people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall be.” ’ ” 24 And the Lord did so. Thick swarms of flies came into the house of Pharaoh, into his servants’ houses, and into all the land of Egypt. The land was corrupted because of the swarms of flies. 25 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God in the land.”
26 And Moses said, “It is not right to do so, for we would be sacrificing the abomination of the Egyptians to the Lord our God. If we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, then will they not stone us? 27 We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as He will command us.” 28 So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. Intercede for me.” 29 Then Moses said, “Indeed I am going out from you, and I will entreat the Lord, that the swarms of flies may depart tomorrow from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. But let Pharaoh not deal deceitfully anymore in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.” 30 So Moses went out from Pharaoh and entreated the Lord. 31 And the Lord did according to the word of Moses; He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. Not one remained. 32 But Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also; neither would he let the people go.
This plague was against the god Kepheri - god of the creation, verse 24 says the land was corrupted, that word can also be translated destroyed or compromised. The word “flies” is in italics, so it was swarms of something, it was either flies or mosquitos of some sort. I read that the flies in Egypt lay their eggs in the skin of animals including humans and their bite is painful. These flies would have driven the people mad.
There was a warning given here, as well as a proclimation that the land of Goshen where the Israelites lived would not experience this calamity. I mentioned last week with the first plague, there is no mention that Goshen experienced those first 3 plagues, but now for sure, God draws attention to it. These are MY people.
Something else happens here too...who is it that talks to Pharaoh? Who gives the command? It’s Moses. 3 plagues in, and God now has Moses right where he wants him. Thruout these chapters, pay attention to how Moses talks to, and responds to Pharaoh. As a man of God, not a coward, not timid. Moses was not a timid man.
Pharaoh says they can stay and sacrifice, knowing they will be killed if they do, but Moses sees thru it, so Pharaoh tries to get Moses to give in to him instead of what the Lord had commanded, but Moses commands Pharaoh how it will go. Just like the enemy, to come at us again and again to get us to compromise. It started in the garden of Eden. Like we talked about last week, little compromises, little steps can get you so far away quickly. Before you know it, you’ve got a big problem on your hand.
The enemy will not let you go, though, he has a vested interest in keeping you in bondage.
On to plague #5:
1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me. 2 For if you refuse to let them go, and still hold them, 3 behold, the hand of the Lord will be on your cattle in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the oxen, and on the sheep—a very severe pestilence. 4 And the Lord will make a difference between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt. So nothing shall die of all that belongs to the children of Israel.” ’ ” 5 Then the Lord appointed a set time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.” 6 So the Lord did this thing on the next day, and all the livestock of Egypt died; but of the livestock of the children of Israel, not one died. 7 Then Pharaoh sent, and indeed, not even one of the livestock of the Israelites was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh became hard, and he did not let the people go.
This is against Hathor and Apis - goddess and god of cattle, the pride and joy of Egyptian culture. Again, God distinguishes Israel from Egypt. This time the warning has a time limit. Let the people go TODAY or TOMORROW I will do this. Pharaoh had a chance to get this right and his hard heart kept directed him to hold onto God’s people.
Now, this portion of scripture seems problematic, because we’ll run into livestock being struck again in a few verses. We just saw the finger of God, now the hand of the Lord gets involved. That mighty hand of Yahweh is exhibiting his dominance over all of the major gods of Egypt in fantastic and very public fashion. Everyone now knew that there was a battle going on and there was a distinction between Egypt and Israel. People were taking notice and hearts were changing.
Plague #6
8 So the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take for yourselves handfuls of ashes from a furnace, and let Moses scatter it toward the heavens in the sight of Pharaoh. 9 And it will become fine dust in all the land of Egypt, and it will cause boils that break out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt.” 10 Then they took ashes from the furnace and stood before Pharaoh, and Moses scattered them toward heaven. And they caused boils that break out in sores on man and beast. 11 And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the magicians and on all the Egyptians. 12 But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh; and he did not heed them, just as the Lord had spoken to Moses.
This plague was against Sekhemet - god of disease, Sunu - god of healing, Isis - goddess of health.
The furnace talked about here is also translated as a kiln. It could be that they took these ashes from one of the kilns that fired the bricks that the Israelites would make for Pharaoh. We don’t know for sure, but this ash would prove God’s power over man and beast.
Even the magicians were done now, they turned their backs on Pharaoh and we would not hear from them again.
All of the plagues up to this point reverse creation. Man was given dominion over the animals, now their own bodies were being turned against them with these sores.
After all 6 of these plagues, the Lord steps in and hardens Pharaoh’s heart. There’s a reason why He’s given him now to a reprobate mind. Plague 7: 2 SLIDES
13 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me, 14 for at this time I will send all My plagues to your very heart, and on your servants and on your people, that you may know that there is none like Me in all the earth. 15 Now if I had stretched out My hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, then you would have been cut off from the earth. 16 But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth. 17 As yet you exalt yourself against My people in that you will not let them go. 18 Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause very heavy hail to rain down, such as has not been in Egypt since its founding until now. 19 Therefore send now and gather your livestock and all that you have in the field, for the hail shall come down on every man and every animal which is found in the field and is not brought home; and they shall die.” ’ ” 20 He who feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his livestock flee to the houses. 21 But he who did not regard the word of the Lord left his servants and his livestock in the field.
22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt—on man, on beast, and on every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.” 23 And Moses stretched out his rod toward heaven; and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire darted to the ground. And the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt. 24 So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, so very heavy that there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. 25 And the hail struck throughout the whole land of Egypt, all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail struck every herb of the field and broke every tree of the field. 26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, there was no hail. 27 And Pharaoh sent and called for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “I have sinned this time. The Lord is righteous, and my people and I are wicked. 28 Entreat the Lord, that there may be no more mighty thundering and hail, for it is enough. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.” 29 So Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands to the Lord; the thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, that you may know that the earth is the Lord’s. 30 But as for you and your servants, I know that you will not yet fear the Lord God.” 31 Now the flax and the barley were struck, for the barley was in the head and the flax was in bud. 32 But the wheat and the spelt were not struck, for they are late crops. 33 So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and spread out his hands to the Lord; then the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain was not poured on the earth. 34 And when Pharaoh saw that the rain, the hail, and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet more; and he hardened his heart, he and his servants. 35 So the heart of Pharaoh was hard; neither would he let the children of Israel go, as the Lord had spoken by Moses.
This plague is against Nut - sky goddess, and Set - storm god, chaos. Some would also say Osiris, the god of the underworld and afterlife too.
God tells Moses to address Pharaoh differently in this passage, doesn’t he? Verse 16 and 17 - I’ll put it back up on the board:
16 But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth. 17 As yet you exalt yourself against My people in that you will not let them go.
God raised Pharaoh up to bring the Lord glory. Men are evil, so are women, I want to be an equal opportunity offender here. God will either hold us up or crush us to demonstrate His Glory. Why does God allow this kind of behavior? Isn’t he just and fair? He is. The last thing we want, though, is His justice. We want His Grace. Justice means we all go to hell. Mercy and Grace only God truly understands. We think we do, but we screw that up too. We make it a condition, like a treat we’re offering to someone. It’s so much more than that.
Why does God allow evil to happen to people? To prove that He alone is Good. If there is no evil, there is no good. It’s a dichotomy. That word means it pits two opposite forces together. If there is evil in this world, there must be good too. I’ve touched on this before too, God had already written your birth date on the calendar before He even started writing this book. He could be saying this to us too: Exodus 9:16 “16 But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.”
Isn’t that cool? Good or bad choice we make, His power will be on display. Why not choose to fight evil instead of letting it overcome you?
Now, with this plague, there has to be some time lapse. Either another season of livestock has been produced, or the Egyptians purchased livestock again from a neighbor or the Israelites. This would enrich the Israelites if that’s what the Egyptians did. Preparing them for their journey.
We also get a strange passage in verses 20, 21
20 He who feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his livestock flee to the houses. 21 But he who did not regard the word of the Lord left his servants and his livestock in the field.
The Israelites didn’t have to worry about this hail, so this must mean that SOME of the Egyptians were starting to believe in Yahweh. We’ll see in future chapters that there are Egyptians that go with the Israelites when they leave. The Lord is changing the hearts and minds of Pharaoh’s people. That’s a powerful message to him as well. It even cut to his heart.
This hail struck the livestock, broke trees, shredded the spring crops, but left the late crops for another devistation. The Egyptians were being economically destroyed, and this opened Pharaoh’s eyes MOMENTARIALY to the fact that he has sinned against the Lord.
The enemy knows he’s always in sin and in opposition to the Lord. But Pharaoh tells them to get out, go pray for him, and as soon as the hail was done, he called them back and his heart was permanently hard.
The 8th plague: 2 SLIDES
1 Now the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his servants, that I may show these signs of Mine before him, 2 and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and your son’s son the mighty things I have done in Egypt, and My signs which I have done among them, that you may know that I am the Lord.” 3 So Moses and Aaron came in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews: ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, that they may serve Me. 4 Or else, if you refuse to let My people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory. 5 And they shall cover the face of the earth, so that no one will be able to see the earth; and they shall eat the residue of what is left, which remains to you from the hail, and they shall eat every tree which grows up for you out of the field. 6 They shall fill your houses, the houses of all your servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians—which neither your fathers nor your fathers’ fathers have seen, since the day that they were on the earth to this day.’ ” And he turned and went out from Pharaoh. 7 Then Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not yet know that Egypt is destroyed?” 8 So Moses and Aaron were brought again to Pharaoh, and he said to them, “Go, serve the Lord your God. Who are the ones that are going?” 9 And Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old; with our sons and our daughters, with our flocks and our herds we will go, for we must hold a feast to the Lord.” 10 Then he said to them, “The Lord had better be with you when I let you and your little ones go! Beware, for evil is ahead of you.
11 Not so! Go now, you who are men, and serve the Lord, for that is what you desired.” And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence. 12 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land—all that the hail has left.” 13 So Moses stretched out his rod over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind on the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. 14 And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt and rested on all the territory of Egypt. They were very severe; previously there had been no such locusts as they, nor shall there be such after them. 15 For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they ate every herb of the land and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left. So there remained nothing green on the trees or on the plants of the field throughout all the land of Egypt. 16 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste, and said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. 17 Now therefore, please forgive my sin only this once, and entreat the Lord your God, that He may take away from me this death only.” 18 So he went out from Pharaoh and entreated the Lord. 19 And the Lord turned a very strong west wind, which took the locusts away and blew them into the Red Sea. There remained not one locust in all the territory of Egypt. 20 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go.
This is against Neper and Nepheri, the god and goddess of grain. Again, Moses gives Pharaoh a chance to change or things would get worse still. Pharaoh’s circle is getting smaller and smaller, his magicians have left him, now his servants were pleading with him to give in and let them go. Like King Saul, when power gets to your head, it hardens your heart. That power can corrupt anyone, and the Lord will make an example out of it. He ALWAYS does. Your sin will find out out, hope it isn’t made public. Repent while you have the chance. Not like Pharaoh did: forgive me this once! No, Lord, forgive us EVERY SIN! Right?
Pharaoh again tries to get Moses to compromise on doing what the Lord had called him to do, but the Lord knew his words were empty.
Swarms of locusts can consume a whole country’s vegetation in days. This plague fully encompasses the land in darkness. They came from the east, as the Israelites would come from, and they would return to the Red Sea, where the Israelites were being sent to.
God was showing His power over the land by leaving them with nothing. Just as those of us without Jesus in our lives will be left with nothing. Our God is a consuming fire. It will burn and melt away anything that is not of Him. All we can hope for is that we have anything precious that survives the fire. That depends on us and how we use the gifts the Lord has entreated us with. We have an outreach coming up, come serve with us! It will be difficult for some of you, but the Word will be preached, Worship will happen, AND people might just get to encounter Jesus thru you. Wouldn’t that be sweet?
We will close with the 9th plague:
21 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness which may even be felt.” 22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. 23 They did not see one another; nor did anyone rise from his place for three days. But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings. 24 Then Pharaoh called to Moses and said, “Go, serve the Lord; only let your flocks and your herds be kept back. Let your little ones also go with you.” 25 But Moses said, “You must also give us sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God. 26 Our livestock also shall go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind. For we must take some of them to serve the Lord our God, and even we do not know with what we must serve the Lord until we arrive there.” 27 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. 28 Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me! Take heed to yourself and see my face no more! For in the day you see my face you shall die!” 29 So Moses said, “You have spoken well. I will never see your face again.”
This plague is against Ra - sun god, Pharaoh identifies with Osiris and Ra - begins and ends with him. This darkness lasts 3 days. What does 3 mean in the Bible? It signifies divine completeness. Always remember the 3’s. It symbolizes the trinity. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 3 in 1. When things happen in 3’s, it’s important to pay attention to them, a lesson is being taught most times.
These 3 days would point to the spiritual darkness that would befall the world after the crucifixion of Jesus. The enemy thought he won and was taking his victory lap. Little did he know that Jesus was setting the captives free and making a way for us to be His Righteousness in earth by putting our faith in Him.
Pharaoh wants another compromise...make sure you come back here. Just like the devil to hold something from us to keep bringing us back. He will never quit that, though.
The choice in our lives is real. What will it take? What does he have hold of that you keep returning to him? What do you need to give up?
The devil wanted to be like God, didn’t he? That’s why he was cast out of heaven Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 show this. Pharaoh was his own god, and he made his own decisions. Do you not see, he can make you god of your life and let you be everything you want to be?
What is more powerful? What we think we can be, or what God can do with us? He doesn’t call us to be like this world, but to be different. What do we do when our light in this world is turned off? There’s nothing we can do at that point. Whom will you serve?
The devil is OK with everything you’re doing right now. With the stuff you watched on your phones that you’re keeping from your spouse. He knows he doesn’t need to wait out the Lord, he just needs to wait out you...how long are you willing to wait? Today could be the day. 2 people die every second on earth. You could be one of those 2. What do you do then?
You kids in the room, realize your parents may be trying to control you in your eyes, but they want what’s best for you ALL THE TIME. They’re not breaking your spirit, they’re molding your habits. Your spirit is dangerous. Look at your parents generation, most of us had parents that wanted more to be our friends than our mentors. Our society is in the decline it’s in because of one generation. Them being here means they are different, they don’t want to be conformed to this world. And they want you to be better than they were.
Learn from them, listen to them. Most of the advice my parents gave me growing up sounded stupid at the time...but they were right on everything. I know now how right they were. If they’re willing to impart wisdom on you, listen to them, and you’ll recognize when you’re being deceived by the world.
Parents, being a mentor and imparting wisdom doesn’t mean “do as I say, not as I do.” It means taking your kid around the yard and showing them what you want it to look like, and doing it again, and again. That’s training. That’s why training is so hard. The Word says God’s chastening is profitable for those trained by it. Trained, that means over and over again until you get it right.
Make positive gains. Recognize when you are putting yourself in the place of God. Identify the idols in your life and cut them down, uproot them and leave no trace, because the enemy will resurrect any foothold you leave behind. Christ died for us, not so we could continue in our sin, but so that we would be grieved by it. We can’t take on the devil by ourselves. We need Christ covering us, and brothers and sisters around us to help us. That’s what the church is all about, that’s what the church is for, turning people to Christ and helping them stay on the narrow path. One at a time gets in, the enemy takes them by the truckloads. You alone must work out your salvation with the Jesus.
