Sunday 11 May 2014
Speaker: Pastor Chinwe Nwokolo
Key Passages: Exodus 8: 8-13;
“Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.2 And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. 3 Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.”
4 So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!”
And he said, “Here I am.”
5 Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” 6 Moreover He said, “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.
7 And the Lord said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. 8 So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. 9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.10 Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”
19 But I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand. 20 So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wonders which I will do in its midst; and after that he will let you go.”
The LORD SAW what Pharoah did to the children of Israel:
Verses 7-8
I have seen their affliction
I have heard their cry
I have seen their suffering
I have come to deliver
I have come to bring them out of that land to a good and broad land
The Lord has come and visited us by HIS MIGHTY HAND during the convention in April. The visitation was for a purpose and we have to arise and be MOSES to our PHARAOH.
DELIVERANCE BY HIS MIGHTY HAND WAS FOR A PURPOSE
1. THAT THEY MAY SERVE ME
Exodus 8:1
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let my people go, that they may serve me’.
It is for service that we experience his mighty hand.
We are Saved to Save
We are Healed to Testify and Save
We are Delivered to Deliver
We are Made Rich to Serve and Save
We are Empowered to Save
2. THAT THEY MAY GO TO SACRIFICE TO ME
Exodus 3:18; Exodus 8:29
We are set free to offer sacrifices to God
We may offer physical sacrifices like the children of Israel- livestock or money as in our times but sacrifice is beyond these:
Sacrifice of thanksgiving ( Psalm 50:14)
Sacrifice of a broken and contrite heart (Psalm 51:17)
Sacrifice of worship
3.THAT THE EGYPTIANS MAY KNOW THAT I AM GOD
God’s deliverance is not for showing off or effizzy as the next generation will say.
It is that they may know God.
Exodus 8:22
‘But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth’.
The miracles, healings and breakthroughs we obtain from God are meant to draw men to God.
Isaiah 60:2-3
“For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
and his glory will be seen upon you.
And nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your rising”
4.THAT MY NAME MIGHT BE PROCLAIMED IN ALL THE EARTH
The fourth reason his mighty hand is released on us is that his name might be proclaimed in all the earth. It is for his glory.
Exodus 9:16: “But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth”
1 Peter 2:9: “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light”
1 Peter 3:15: “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear”
HOW TO BE THE MOSES TO YOUR PHARAOH
1. YOU shall be a God to Pharaoh
Exodus 7:1: “And the Lord said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh.
You shall speak whatever I have commanded you”
Exodus 8:8-13
“Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, “Plead with the Lord to take away the frogs from me and from my people, and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.” Moses said to Pharaoh, “Be pleased to command me when I am to plead for you and for your servants and for your people, that the frogs be cut off from you and your houses and be left only in the Nile.” And he said, “Tomorrow.” Moses said, “Be it as you say, so that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God. The frogs shall go away from you and your houses and your servants and your people. They shall be left only in the Nile.” So Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried to the Lord about the frogs, as he had agreed with Pharaoh. And the Lord did according to the word of Moses. The frogs died out in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields”
Being a God to Pharaoh requires SPEECH……..WHAT ARE YOU SAYING TO THE CIRCUMSTANCES AROUND YOU???
To infirmity
Financial difficulties
Altars
Salvation of your children and loved ones: Acts 16:31
“And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household”
To the state of the Nation?
SPEAK WHAT GOD HAS COMMANDED!
2. WITH THE STAFF THAT IS YOUR HAND
Exodus 7:17-20
“Thus says the Lord, “By this you shall know that I am the Lord:
behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood. The fish in the Nile shall die, and the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will grow weary of drinking water from the Nile.”’” And the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, their canals, and their ponds, and all their pools of water, so that they may become blood, and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, even in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone. ’” Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded. In the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants he lifted up the staff and struck the water in the Nile, and all the water in the Nile turned into blood”
Exodus 8:16
“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, so that it may become gnats in all the land of Egypt”
WHAT IS THE STAFF THAT IS IN YOUR HAND?
IN BRINGING ABOUT THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE NATION THAT WE HAVE BEEN PRAYING FOR, WHAT IS IN YOUR HAND? In your area of skill, profession and business, we should exercise authority in our nation. If we live the life of Christ in our various offices and trades, Nigeria will be changed.
3. RISING UP EARLY TO MEET PHARAOH
Exodus 8:20
“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh, as he goes out to the water, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let my people go, that they may serve me”
Exodus 9:13
“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me”
Confront your problems before they confront you.
We have to be on the offensive and not on the defensive.
Start early to pray for your marriage partner, your marriage
4. STRETCH OUT YOUR HANDS TOWARDS HEAVEN
Exodus 9:22-23
“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, so that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, on man and beast and every plant of the field, in the land of Egypt.” Then Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. And the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt”
Exodus 10:12
“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, so that they may come upon the land of Egypt and eat every plant in the land, all that the hail has left.”
Exodus 10:21
“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.”
One way of being the MOSES to your PHARAOH is by stretching out your hands towards heaven in prayers.
PRAYER CANNOT BE OVEREMPHASISED
5. GOD WILL GO OUT
Exodus 11:4
“So Moses said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘About midnight I will go out in the midst of Egyptians.
When we have done our beat, God will arise as a man of war against our enemies”
FINALLY
Exodus 14:15-16
“The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground.”
The Lord is asking you the same thing- why are you crying out to him, complaining about your situation and the situation of the Nation? You have dwelt long enough on this mountain, it is time to arise and be the MOSES to the PHARAOH of your life.
YOU will be a GOD to Pharaoh
YOU will rise up early to meet Pharaoh
YOU will stretch out your hands towards heaven and towards the earth
GOD WILL GO OUT AS A MAN OF WAR
ARISE AND ACT
