The Mighty Hand of God – Dr. Charles Stanley

sometimes we read the Bible and we know that the story is true but somehow we don't get the message very important you get the message of this passage of Scripture because all of us could be guilty of doing the same thing that these Egyptians did and so when we look at this passage do not look at it just as some historical fact but is God saying something to me is there a pattern here that was found in the wife of Pharaoh that could be a pattern I found in my own life so let me catch you up on where we are God spoke to Joseph who is in prison who interpreted it a dream ended up Pharaoh of Egypt freed him took him his family of about 70 put him in Goshen in Egypt the best of the land and now almost 400 years have gone by so a number of Pharaohs this particular pharaoh looked around and thought those israelites those Hebrews are growing and growing and they're probably somewhere around 2 million by now and they're in the best of the land if we were to have an enemy they may saw that with our enemies so in order to prevent any problem here I'm just going to enslave that whole crowd and so he put Israel in the enslavement building him monuments to himself and so forth well somebody grew up in his family that is in the family of Pharaoh's daughter and he happened to be a Hebrew he grew up and was educated in Pharaoh's Palace then he made a mistake he got banished on the other south of desert and now God is speaking to his heart and as a burning bush God gave him his next big task that is here to go back to Egypt I'm going to set my people free that naturally Moses had lots of questions to ask but the truth is that was his commandment so what we have here is God using Moses to work in the life of Pharaoh in a way that isn't just something distant from the way you and I live but it should be a lesson to us and so I want us to notice what's happening God says to him he said Lord said to Moses and when you go back to Egypt see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders which I'll put on your in your power I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go know what kind of a commander said well that doesn't sound very fair but God is not a matter of fair not being fair that's his command because he wanted to do something he wanted to subject Egypt the submission to Almighty God and to know that he's the one through God so that's exactly what happens after his Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharaoh thus says the Lord the God of Israel let my people go that they may celebrate a feast to me in the wilderness and so Pharaoh said who is this Lord that I should obey his voice to let people go I do not know the Lord and besides I will not let us we'll go well I can't do that so it was going to happen in fact God begins his work in Pharaoh's life and begins his whole process of liberating the Jews that is Israel the Hebrews from Egyptian bondage what happens is that hearing this Pharaoh increases their labor causes them to make bricks without straw so everything's getting worse and naturally Moses is not very popular for making this happen but God says four times in the sixth chapter i am the lord i am the lord i am the lord i am the lord i'm gonna i'm gonna fix all of this and so as a result God begins to sin pestilences the word as a that is he sends like an era on the Egyptians and so one by one he begins to work in Pharaoh's heart in order fun to let the people go and you now know the end result is that they were released so I want to certain notice what happens here and that is Moses goes to Pharaoh and says here's what God said let my people go and as a result he naturally says I'm not young let him go and so God says alright and what happens is God turns the waters of the Nile River to blood now the now was like a life stream for them it was for food and the transportation and the Nile River they worshiped and so here's what he did they turned it into blood and the people had dig around the edge of the river to find a water to drink seven days pass after that and then God sent Moses back again said look I want you to let my people go and if you're not here's what you can expect and so they wrote naturally said no I'm not letting them go so then they came this flock of frogs and so the Bible says that there were frogs kept coming from everywhere the people everywhere they went Moses said their house is yours to tell me when shall I entreat for you and your servants and your people that the frogs be destroyed from you and your house and so what happens is frogs were everywhere can you imagine going to bed at night and all of a sudden you feel something down your feet then on your legs no pity party they're frogs frogs frogs frogs on the floor frogs in the street frogs frogs frogs everywhere and so what does Pharaoh did he calls for Moses and says you know get these critters out of here and I'll let him go and what does he do he decides not to now watch this they lessen see about making a decision and then not keeping your word he says I will let them go get rid of the frogs I'll let them go but he didn't let them go and so Moses had to confront him again and spider of all the things that were going on and so the next thing that happened was he said Nets and so all of a sudden all over Egypt that's just think about gnats all of you and this is what was happening it had to be so bad that even Pharaoh said you know they get rid of the gnats and I'll I'll let them go well he didn't mean that so over and over and over again yadi gives Pharaoh an opportunity to do the right thing but they ruin us what a lot of people do they make God promises when they're really hurting badly and they keep him about two weeks maybe a month have you ever told God if he'd take the pressure off you and here's what you would do did you ever make God a promise amen did you ever break it say Amen that's exactly right and so that's what pharaoh did think about the pattern we followed the pattern of a pagan we made promises to yard and they'll keep them and so he says I'm not gonna let him go and the Bible says it then he sends insects all kinds of insects begin to penetrate all over agent and so what does he do here in digs again he doesn't let them go so they have a confrontation and then there are difficult problems coming because what happens he says if you don't let them go I kill all your livestock all the Egyptian livestock gonna kill all of your cows I don't have anything to eat you're gonna suffer results and so watch this Pharaoh and his arrogance he says oh not yawn do it and so they suffer the results now all the people in Egypt are suffering the results of all of these things as a result of one man's decision that is to have his way to deny God his command and to deny God's people their freedom because what they ask a player O us we want to we want to go for a season and worship and praise the God he went let him go and so session after session with Pharaoh they confront Pharaoh of the fact that he's disobeying Almighty God so then Moses confronts him again and says God says let his people go you go let them go or not and the Bible says that God let's boil this brick out so all over Egypt this is not just moms and dads and grandfathers for children everybody's breaking out with boils so imagine what they've gone through by now and that is the water turned to blood get frogs and that's and insects and livestock in boils and still nothing's happening and then of course that he's confronted again in this silent there hail storms hail Psalms everywhere when she would beat down the crops and beat the animals whatever it's all about of devastation to say to Pharaoh let my people go now God knows he's not going to he knows he's not going to and so he keeps giving him an opportunity and he keeps saying he will but then he does not so then of course comes the grasshoppers and I think about you know grasshoppers everywhere grasshoppers Kildare it's covered everything think of all the innocent people who were suffering because of one man's decision and I think about sometimes our whole families suffer because either it's just the dad or the mother or the son of the daughter it's hard to disobey God privately it's hard to disobey God alone because all of us have influenced our relationships in life our testimony and we disobey God it isn't you may think it's profit but it's not and everybody in the family suffers when somebody disobey is God well here's the head of Egypt Pharaoh himself and he refuses to let God's people go and so everybody suffers as a result he's made promise after promise after promise and God knows that all these promises are gonna fall apart that's not gonna be true and then he comes to the last one I want to mention in this message and that is people wake up one morning and they think this is a long night and God has cast darkness all over Egypt except down in Goshen where God's people are and it's interesting what he says about it because it is so dark listen to this it's so dark that when the people reached out to touch each other they couldn't nobody could see anything absolute total blackness total darkness now I would think of all the things that happened that would be one of the most frightening am I blind is this that I can't see and then your husband to your wife had children but what's wrong with we can't see anything but three days could nobody could see anything did he let them go no he did not and then of course there's one last one which I will not deal with today on purpose and so nine of these strikes that's what a plague was called have happened to all of Egypt everybody has suffered except that band of Hebrews down in Goshen so let's think about this for a moment when God confronts you with something or when he tells you something are you prayed and asked him about something and he's required something of you do you take that really seriously most people think well yeah I did prayer but I ask God to forgive me and on and on they they had no intention of changing their activity no intention of changing their behavior but they said lord please forgive me and Jesus name Amen God knew that you did not mean to change or you may have had a momentary feeling would yes I will change I want things to get better but you don't is God showing us the fallacy of making promises to God we do not intend to keep or even if we intend to keep them we don't keep them there was let's call it what it is willful deliberate disobedience to God when he has made his way clear of what he's required of me and it's amazing how people think they can make promises to God and just move on and act like nothing ever happened making a promise to God is serious business and we watch this happen all through these chapters Pharaoh is not going to live up to his promise because that's his heart nosey what does it take to finally convince Pharaoh to let the people of God go a major major major challenge but the important thing is this what's our lesson here what is God saying to us and I think probably all of us have said it some time no yes Laura yes I thank you very much thank you for forgiving me you can count on me God and in our hearts we might think we possibly would but we're not all that convinced we gonna be a bit into it how many times do we have to confess our sins before we're forgiven how many well most people don't know what the answer that if we confess our sins he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness but if my confession is only this deep God doesn't even recognize that if my confession is heart deep soul the spirit deep that's one thing and if I just say well you say well no this is the Bible say confession means to agree with yes but if I really and truly agree with God out of my heart out of my spirit out of my soul genuinely confessing genuinely agreeing with God I am going to make a change in my conduct and my conversation my character if I really mean that so all of us make mistakes all of a sudden times probably something that may be brief are not really a big serious kind of situation uncircumcised so maybe so but whatever we ask God to forgive us for and we know in our heart we just we just here's what we won't we won't relief for the moment and so I think many people find themselves in a lifestyle of sin who've been confessing it for years and years and years confessing that same thing well the Bible says if we can test our sins which means that we agree with him about it agree with him about it and changing it to different things and Moses confronted Pharaoh Pharaoh would finally have to agree and yet he had no intention of changing until the final and last plague and even then he did not change you said what do you spend all the time on all that but the simple reason I think many people are living in life that they think is pretty good but the question is what's the condition of your heart that is when when you abide by yourself you're alone it's just you and God are you genuinely truthful with God when you deal with sin in your life when something comes along you know that you have to deal with it then you just make him a promise and claim the promise or do you really and truly deal with it if I deal with sin that means not only am I going to confess it but I am and I'm going to agree with him but I will turn away from it I may falter but I'm going to turn away from it if my if my confession is all that I do and I know in my heart I'm going to send again to the same thing again is it is it acceptable to God to confess and to agree knowing in your heart it's going to be right back again now look at this when you see what God did to a whole nation of people because they would not recognize Jehovah God as God would not free God's people in order for God to accomplish his purpose he was willing to cause great harm great suffering great trial in order to accomplish his purpose when I look at this passage of Scripture thank God how much gospel have we heard in America who in America wants to know the truth they can't hear they can't turn on the television on the right I go to church I talk to a godly friend if they one of tho and are we not slipping and deliberately walking in a direction as if we know what God said we've had churches gospel preaching all these years and we keep moving the same way same direction will we move it in the direction to a point at which God says no law no one has ever lived in a society like this and yet we are gradually drifting and our attitudes and things that we accept is ok deliberate willful disobedience to God that God is very clear in his word about thou shalt not editor's dress a whole moral fiber falling apart and we say they were Christians and we say we love God and it isn't just the lost people but God's people compromising their convictions and thing well you know if I ask God to forgive me I'm sure he will and I think about our whole nation where we're headed if ever we needed to be revived a genuine revival a whole new awakening in our nation this is a time when when you listen to all the people who are giving their speeches and all the things that they're promising and all the rest you think where are we headed we headed the wrong direction we are going to suffer the consequences for deliberately willfully disobeying God his ways his Commandments his truth his rules and his opportunities and so when I read these chapters I can't stop with just these chapters as far as the truth is concerned because the truth goes all the way through this book and whether it's a nation or an individual sin against God has a penalty now I'll say this briefly we are headed in a dis a stress direction in the life of this nation unless the people of God began to pray and cry out to God but God to change people's minds and attitudes so the principle is here you obey God be blessed you disobey God as a nation and you suffer the consequences all of Egypt suffered the consequences of their disobedience to Almighty God it's the principle not just a story it isn't just an event that happened years ago it is also principle if a nation disobeys God turns turns their back on God now thinking about all the nations that have and God's people are the key in this country God's people are not politicians God's people God knows how ignorant many people are but he knows that all of us have heard the truth heard the truth and heard the truth and heard the truth and our prayers must our prayers must come not from here but from our heart and our prayers must be sincere asking God to awaken the minds and hearts of people I think it's just time for us to wake up to realize there are alternatives that choices we make choices we make as individuals choices we make as a nation and we are headed in the direction of which we're gonna have to make a big choice will we continually be blessed or will we choose to do something that would deepen our hearts we know is not right your family your friends your life everything hangs in the balance of obedience to God may God grant us the wisdom to make the right wise choice whatever that may be not what suits me not what pleases me and not what profits me but Lord what pleases you what honors you that's what we want to do father we thank you for loving us forgiving us but God open the eyes of people on all across this nation let us not be as stubborn as Pharaoh and suffer the results as they did but father let us be honest obedient submissive committed to your will standing for truth in spite of what the consequences may be and father help us to be honest about what we know is right your precious Word is the guide god we pray in Jesus name don't give us what we deserve but turn the hearts of the leadership of this nation all across this nation people all around this nation that we would ask what is the wisest thing to do what is the will of Almighty God for a nation and we pray this in Jesus name Amen [Music] you

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Keywords: Charles F. Stanley, Charles Stanley, In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley, In Touch Ministries, Preaching, Bible teaching, Dr. Stanley, Intouch ministries, intouch

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Length: 25min 36sec (1536 seconds)

Published: Fri Nov 15 2019