Sermon Central
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War Of The Gods Series
Contributed by Jerry Shirley on May 14, 2008 (message contributor)
Summary: 10 PLAGUES and the SIGNIFICANCE of each. This showdown is not just between Moses & Pharaoh, but between Jehovah God and the gods of Egypt. Link inc. to formatted text, audio, and PowerPoint.
War of the Gods
http://gbcdecatur.org/sermons/WarOfTheGods.html
Moses the deliverer is God’s selected man to lead His people to freedom. He made every excuse he could think of, and finally surrendered to do God’s will.
Moses says, “Let my people go.” Pharaoh refuses, and this sets the stage for a mighty conflict. This showdown is not just between these 2 men, but between Jehovah God and the gods of Egypt. It’s a spiritual battle.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
And on a daily basis there’s more going on that what meets the eye. Our lives aren’t just physical occurrences. There is a sinister battle going on. It’s between good and evil. If God were to pull back the veneer and allow us tonite to see w/ spiritual eyes we would see angels and demons right here in conflict!
Ill.—a servant in the days of Elisha had his eyes opened when Elisha prayed, ‘open his eyes that he may see’ and when he did he saw the hills filled with fiery chariots!
Spiritual warfare is everywhere. I see it in:
• Politics—issues like abortion, marriage, homosexuality, and war are not just political issues...they have a spiritual basis. There’s a battle going on for the hearts and minds of people.
• Entertainment—just turn your tv on and flip around and you’ll see it happening.
• Schools—my daughter asked me the other day how many millions of years it took the dinosaurs to die off. We had to have a little talk!
• Homes—Satan wants to destroy the home, the building block of God’s creation. He wants to end marriages, turn children against parents, and introduce poisons into our homes to destroy from inside out!
It must have been a dramatic scene. Moses grew up a prince in this kingdom, and now he’s returned as an adversary, an advocate for this group of slaves. Here stands Pharaoh w/ gold bands on his arms and his crown w/ a serpent on it. Moses makes his demand, and Pharaoh says no. Awkward!
“I don’t recognize your God”, he says. “You must need something to do.” He makes their tasks more burdensome, doubling their work load.
v. 21 The children of Israel didn’t care for Moses’ efforts on their behalf at this point. But leadership often requires you to make the hard decisions that aren’t very popular. You can’t please everyone at all times. And your efforts to help others the most are sometimes appreciated the least. A pat on the back, maybe, but sometimes it’s a kick in the pants you receive!
Ill.—I saw I had an email the other day from someone I did a lot for. Before I opened it I said to myself, that’s nice of them to write and thank me. I opened it and it was a criticism!
Leaders, parents, etc.: Expect to sometimes be unpopular, and don’t try to be a politician and operate based on polling numbers.
So, what does Moses do now? He does what we should do: He returns to the Lord!
v. 22 And the beginning of chapter 6 is God reminding Moses of His promises, and how he can count on them!
v. 9 At this point Israel still isn’t believing. God said it, but they don’t believe it...but that still should settle it, whether they believe it or not!
Chapter 7:10-12
Rod becomes a serpent, but Pharaoh’s sorcerers are able to do the same thing, but then they are eaten by Aaron’s rod. A very interesting NT verse actually names 2 of these magicians, operating in the power of Satan.
Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.
They could do miracles, but that doesn’t mean they were of God. All that glitters is not God! Satan is also powerful, but in the end God swallows him up in victory!
7:14 and following are the 10 plagues of Egypt, and they weren’t just pulled out of the air. There’s a very deliberate method and strategy to what God does now.
• He will demonstrate His power to His people.
• This is a preview of what God will do at the end of the world. The plagues of Revelation bear a striking resemblance to these from Exodus! This is a dress rehearsal for what it will be like...only in miniature.
• God is passing judgment on Egypt and its gods. [12:12] Pharaoh said, ‘who is the Lord’ and now he gets his question answered. God introduces Himself, hands him His card, and the plagues commence!
Let’s look at 9 of the 10 plagues now:
