The Plagues in our Lives affect us and the Things Around us
Our livelihood may be affected
Our health may be affected
DBF Sunday Sermon, 9/15/02
The last few months have been difficult for a lot of Christians in Alaska. We have had several of our pastors and families involved in accidents, suffering sicknesses, and losing loved ones.
I see this as a positive in that we obviously are starting to make headway in and around Alaska and the Old Deceiver is getting concerned and if it were possible he is trying to shift our attention from concentrating on the will of God and striving to accomplish God’s good and perfect will.
You see the biggest difference I see in the plagues that Satan bring into my life is that it is an extremely temporary situation.
Since I have come to revel in my weakness “When I am weak then am I strong…FOR I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGHTENS ME.” I take comfort in Philippians 4:13 and I am able to rest in what some would consider an infirmity.
Can you today praise God for what some would consider an infirmity?
When Satan attacks and tries to tear you down from the outside in, can you take solace through Christ Jesus from the inside out?
Take heart Brothers and Sisters, Jesus tells us HE will be with us to the end of times, in each and every situation we come into…as long as we walk with HIM and not away from HIM.
Let’s walk with Moses today and examine the fifth, sixth, and seventh plagues that God brings upon the nation of Egypt and the differences on the nation of Israel.
In awe I look and relate to the wonderful protection of God upon HIS people in the midst of the plagues that were brought upon the land by the hardness of heart of the nation of Egypt. I see this hardness of heart surrounding our people today and I pray for God’s strength in the midst of the plagues that are sure to come so that some may believe.
Our livelihood may be affected
Exodus 9:1-7 (KJV)
Then the Lord said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. [2] For if thou refuse to let them go, and wilt hold them still, [3] Behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very grievous murrain. [4] And the Lord shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt: and there shall nothing die of all that is the children’s of Israel. [5] And the Lord appointed a set time, saying, To morrow the Lord shall do this thing in the land. [6] And the Lord did that thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt died: but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one. [7] And Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not one of the cattle of the Israelites dead. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.
Then the Lord said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him…Praise God for His truth, we see again and again that God goes and tells the nations what is needed.
We serve a true and faithful God. God is not our trying to deceive you and I, it is not the way of God but the way of man to deceive.
I was listening Wednesday night to a gathering in New York City of people…this was on Sky Angel and one other Christian satellite network.
There was a prominent politician that was asked to speak to the crowd and I was amazed at the deceptions that are brought into supposed Christian gatherings.
The governor of New York told the gathering that the people had gotten the strength to come back from within themselves.
That is deception and of the deceiver. You and I have nothing within ourselves alone that will allow us to stand up under the types of plagues that were visited upon New York, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania.
Romans 3:23 (KJV)
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Romans 3:10-17 (KJV)
As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: [11] There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. [12] They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. [13] Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: [14] Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: [15] Their feet are swift to shed blood: [16] Destruction and misery are in their ways: [17] And the way of peace have they not known:
You see a politician can say what he wants to warm an ear, but the reality of our fallen estate tells us that we have nothing within ourselves that gives us any ability to do anything right apart from God.
Knowing this I was disheartened. I know that Jesus told the people of His time that if Sodom and Gomorrah had witnessed the miracles performed by Him they would have repented in sackcloth and ashes. “I am amazed that our nation has not come to this point of repentance and turning away from their wickedness?”
Polls tell us that people of our nation and the cities that the terror were visited upon directly have not changed in any noticeable way.
The church attendance did not increase, sinfulness did not decrease, and people relying on themselves is still predominant.
[2] For if thou refuse to let them go, and wilt hold them still, [3] Behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very grievous murrain. [4] And the Lord shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt: and there shall nothing die of all that is the children’s of Israel. …How much and how many will have to die for them to call upon the name of the Lord?
Even when things are plain to anyone who walks after the way of Christ, the world reals and man returns as the dog to its vomit.
We ask “Can’t they see the peace that comes by the hand of God upon His chosen people even in the midst of the plagues?”
The answer is most do not understand the peace that we possess. The world is unable to understand the ways of God apart from accepting Jesus they labor in vain.
[5] And the Lord appointed a set time, saying, To morrow the Lord shall do this thing in the land. [6] And the Lord did that thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt died: but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not...God gives set times and dates and is the righteous judge.
God does not go about seeking to deceive, He puts forth the truth plainly for all to see. He sets the dates and times of things.
God did not want Pharaoh wondering about what had happened…He wanted Pharaoh to have no doubt that the plague that came upon him and his nation was for his disobedience.
Do you understand that the people who do not accept Christ will be visited with a surety?
Romans 6:23 (KJV)
For the wages of sin is death
1 Cor. 15:56 (KJV)
The sting of death is sin
2 Cor. 7:10b (KJV)
…but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
Romans 14:11-12 (KJV)
For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. [12] So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
Philip. 2:10-11 (KJV)
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; [11] And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
We all face a certain judgment and will receive either eternal damnation in Hell or glorification in the presence of God. It has been so from the very beginning of time. God has given you and I His clear word on this.
Just as He gave Pharaoh the certainty that at a specific time and date the plague would come upon the cattle of Egypt, He gives today the certainty of a specific time when all will be judged and a sentence proclaimed.
Our health and crops may be affected
Exodus 9:8-12 (KJV)
And the Lord said unto Moses and unto Aaron, Take to you handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh. [9] And it shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt. [10] And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven; and it became a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast. [11] And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boil was upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians. [12] And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had spoken unto Moses.
When God visits plagues in or around our lives then things are effected.
There are so many things being visited upon the citizens of New York. Many sicknesses from the ash and smoke and mental anxiety and anguish.
These are not different in any extent from the anxieties that were visited upon the people of Egypt at this time.
Don’t you think there were people standing up with their fists raised to the sky screaming “Where is God in all this calamity that has befallen our nation and our people?”
The answer probably comes back the same as it does to you and I…”What is your God…what has dominion over your life?”
Matthew 6:21-24 (KJV)
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. [22] The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. [23] But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
[24] No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Luke 16:13 (KJV)
No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
We must all come to a point in our lives where we recognize or accept who will be the master of our lives.
If you believe “He who dies with most toys wins.” You have chosen the world and it’s master, not God.
If you believe “The world is my oyster.” You have chosen the world and it is your master, not God.
If you believe “The world owes me something.” You have chosen the world and it is your master, not God.
Only when we die to ourselves and come to the foot of the cross can we revel in the beneficial hand of God upon us. Then no matter the plagues that occur around us, whether all the crops fail around us, we know with certainty that the one who calls us is and will be faithful to the end…even if that would be today or tomorrow…Praise God.
Beware the ashes in your life, the itch of sinfulness. If you do not settle the matter of who is the master of your life…it will always be there.
Exodus 9:13-35 (KJV)
And the Lord said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. [14] For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth. [15] For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth. [16] And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth. [17] As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go? [18] Behold, to morrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now. [19] Send therefore now, and gather thy cattle, and all that thou hast in the field; for upon every man and beast which shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought home, the hail shall come down upon them, and they shall die. [20] He that feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses: [21] And he that regarded not the word of the Lord left his servants and his cattle in the field.
[22] And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt. [23] And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt. [24] So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. [25] And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field. [26] Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail.
[27] And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. [28] Intreat the Lord (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer. [29] And Moses said unto him, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands unto the Lord; and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that thou mayest know how that the earth is the Lord’s. [30] But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will not yet fear the Lord God. [31] And the flax and the barley was smitten: for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled. [32] But the wheat and the rie were not smitten: for they were not grown up. [33] And Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread abroad his hands unto the Lord: and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth. [34] And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants. [35] And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go; as the Lord had spoken by Moses.
And the Lord said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. [14] For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth…
Do you recognize that there is no other like our God in all the world.
Remember when we discussed God’s statement to Moses “Tell the I AM That I AM”.
Only God is able to make this statement. For you and I have to say “I am _____ son/daughter of _________. Adam said “I am Adam, created by God…and we are all the benevolent recipients of God’s creation.
Recognize this fact, turn to the creator in all things.
Then God unleashes the power of nature. It amazes me the nations that held the powers which God displays as gods they worshipped. The wind, storms, lightening…where all worshipped, yet each is controlled by our awesome creator. If you turn to anything, I pray that you turn to God.
Of course, you can’t really turn are start to understand the mysteries of God without first accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. No one comes to the Father but by Jesus Christ. If you would like to settle the fact of who is Master of your life, we ask you to come forward today.
We would also like to pray for your needs and for your family. Anyone with specific prayer requests please let us know.
Closing Prayer.
