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SCRIPTURE – Exo 8:22-23                                                                                                                                                                        APRIL, 2020

And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth.
And I will put a division between my people and thy people: to morrow shall this sign be.

SUBJECT – THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD!!

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In the classic Bible story of God sending plagues on Egypt to punish them for the actions of, not the people, but Pharaoh, for not taking heed to His commands to ‘let My people go, so that they can worship Me’, there is a little known aspect, that says a whole lot about Him.

Most of us are aware of the fact that during the part of the plagues, when He sent the death angel through the land, He isolated those that followed His directive that they put blood over the doorposts of their houses, so that death would pass over them.

This is the reason the Jewish people celebrate Passover!!

What isn’t talked about that much is the fact that before that, God isolated His people from the majority of the plagues that He sent on Egypt, simply because they were His people.

As the subject verses reveal, He told Pharaoh what He was going to do, for one reason, and that was to show him, there was no other god that could duplicate what He was able to do, because He is God over all others!!

The significance of this scenario is not immediately recognized, but, I would say it carries with it, a lot of promise that can be passed down from generation to generation, through to us, today.

That significance is the foundation of our faith in Him and His Word. And that is, when those that put their faith in Him, are in a land that is cursed by Him, when the Devil is running wild, God has put a barrier of protection around His people, that the enemy can’t get around.

Now what is the difference between this and the final plague that required them to put the blood over their doors???

It all had to do with the severity of what was going to happen, talking about a matter of life and death.

During what could be called an inconvenience, all of the people, regardless of whether they were fully committed to the Lord or not, were essentially protected because they were His people.

Today, the same thing is true, in that when it comes to minor things and inconveniences that take place in the land, we Christians, might feel a little of the effects of those things while the rest of the population is being adversely affected.

Now, how much we get affected by them, depends on several factors.

The first one would be, how close are we to Him?

By that I mean, when it comes to our walk with Him, how close do we remain to Him by adhering to His purpose and direction for our lives??

The closer we remain to Him, the harder it is for the enemy to get ahold of us and do us harm.

Most of us can remember as children, how that when we went out to play, a lot of times our parents told us to stay close to home. They did this for several reasons. The main one being that they could keep their eyes on us and protect us from danger. That also meant that we can have peace of mind in knowing that if/when trouble comes, we can run in the house and be safe.

Quite obviously, the further we went from the house, the more distance we had to go to reach safety, and as such, the greater the danger to us, if someone or something wanted to do us harm.

Now while I am using a physical example, there are spiritual ramifications that I want you to see.

There are many Christians today, that even though they claim to be saved, they are not totally committed to completely abandoning their carnal way of thinking.

There are certain things that Christ asks or commands us to do that to them, is a little too extreme. So, they pass on that.

Now, if Jesus Christ is supposed to be the Lord of your life, that means He is your Master/Boss, and as such, what He tells you to do, you are supposed to do. It is not up for debate. Luke 6:46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

Can you imagine a servant, ignoring what their master tells them to do? Or what about the employee telling their employer what they are not going to do? What do you think the end result would be for them?

One could be punished, and the other fired.

Now depending on the master/boss, and the relationship with the employee/servant, there is always the possibility of reconciliation and forgiveness.

However, as time goes on, and this becomes a pattern, then the consequences will be more harsh.

Going back to our story, there were many of God's people, who were not totally committed to all that He wanted them to do. Yet, because they were His people, He protected them anyway.

Now, we know that God knows all things. And as such, He knew that many of the same people, would be a major thorn in the side of Moses, once the people were free and in the wilderness.

Yet, He protected them as part of the group. You have no doubt heard the saying that there is protection in numbers. And that is true.

The greater the number of people in a group, the more protection there is for the individual. However, that only goes so far.

For some people, the idea that they are His people, and that He extended His protection to them, even in their wrongdoing, gave them a sense of 'I can continue doing what I'm going because it doesn't matter to God. Because, I am His servant/child!!!'

It is this type of thinking, that is at the root of most of our problems in society today.

In this time of Grace, many of us that are Christians tend to believe, that because we are Christians, that we can pick and choose what we want to do, when it comes to what God says, and there will be little or no consequence for our actions.

Today, as back then, as this type of thinking began to spread, seeing that those that were being obedient to God, were seeing the disobedient, apparently not suffering for their actions, started losing the will to obey God themselves.

However, we must remember, God knows who is doing what, and He will deal with them, when and how He pleases.

God does these things, to show all the ungodly that He is God, and God alone!! He also does it to show His people, that He is Righteous and Just, and will when the time comes, allow those of His people, to suffer for their disobedience.

This is the sovereignty of God.

It doesn't matter how large the group is that you are hiding in, you can't hide from God. He knows where you are, He knows what you're thinking, He sees what you were doing, and He knows, if it is out of ignorance or deliberate, because He knows your heart.

The Bible tells us, Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

This means, as a servant/employee, it behooves us to make our master/boss happy.

As such, when they are happy, things will go well for us. The more we please them, the more they will do things to show their appreciation for what we are doing.

This scripture tells us, that the only way to please God is by faith in Him and His word.

Now why is this so important?

Because, if we know God, then we know that anything He tells us is for our own good. He would not tell us to do anything that would put us in danger. Therefore, when people reject what He says, that is telling Him that they have no faith in what He is saying.

People that take a position like this, are essentially telling God that they know what is better for them than He does. And you ought to know, God is not going to let that stand.

He will make an example out of you to the whole world, to let them know, that He doesn't condemn what they are doing, while at the same time excusing his own people.

In fact we are told,

1Pet 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

1Pet 4:18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

What we are told in these two verses, should be a warning to every one that names the name of Christ. When the time comes, God is going to deal harshly with His people first, before He turns his wrath on the world.

Also, notice the term in verse 18, where it says, the righteous are 'scarcely saved!!'

This is telling me, that none of us, are in a position to be boasting about how good we are. We are, as the saying goes, 'hanging on by the skin of our teeth.

It is when the ungodly see what He does to His own for their disobedience, that they will have no complaint about Him not being Justified in what He does to them.

At the same time, we understand that the only way to go through the times in which we find ourselves, is to put our faith and trust into someone that holds the keys to our future and that is Jesus Christ!!

Only He knows what is coming tomorrow, and only He can put us in a place of protection, and solitude. But, if we choose to not follow His directions, then, we will lose out on that protection, and peace of mind.

As I see all the turmoil going around today, with the panic over the spreading of this Coronavirus, and medical experts are telling people to stay at home, don't get within 6 feet of each other, be careful in how you do things, all for the sake of defeating this virus, very few of them are mentioning that we need to turn to God.

Oh sure, many are doing that but, they are doing it because of fear. As soon as the threat abates, they will be right back doing their usual things until the next crisis comes along.

I hope that you are not one of those. If you are, you best take heed, because your future depends on it.



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