|
Hebrews 11:24-27 - By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, 25 choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, 26 considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward. NASU
Can you imagine all of the benefits he turned down by not allowing himself to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter? Just look at all the benefits the kids of the Presidents of the United States get compared to ordinary Americans. The second thing his faith did was choose for him to endure ill-treatment. In other words, he chose to suffer with the people of God rather that enjoy the passing pleasures of sin. Who does that? A person who has faith in God and is willing to suffer and suffer Moses did. Moses was not suffering without hope. Look at the last seven words: "for he was looking to the reward." What reward? The promises of God were Moses' reward. The third thing his faith did was "considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt…" Can we say, our faith says; bring on the reproach of Christ for it is greater by far than the treasures of the USA? One thing we will notice when we read about the life of Moses is here is a man who suffered. He suffered at the hands of his enemies. His enemies were those who had no faith (The Egyptians) and his enemies were from those who were supposed to be people of faith (The Israelites). His faith at the end of his life was stronger than the faith at the beginning of his life, but what is so unusual about that? I would say my faith is stronger today than it was in 1975. The last thing I want to say about Moses' faith is this it took him on a journey. When he left Egypt at 40 years of age until he left earth at 120 years of age during those 80 years his faith led him on a journey. He was constantly learning lessons that drew him ever closer to the LORD. At first he didn't believe he was the man to lead the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage, but later on he was the man that lifted his staff and parted the Red Sea, and a little later he climb Mt. Sinai and received the 10 commandments from God. As you journey in this life with the LORD your faith will grow and if you are like Moses it will be on account of you look to the reward that lies ahead.
If your faith is like Moses' faith then you know this is a journey and for Moses his journey last 80 years. Let your faith be like Moses and in so doing you will be able to say that you are: "considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt (USA); for he was looking to the reward." Keep your eyes on the reward and the reward is eternal life in Heaven with the Lord Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father. Always remember what the apostle Paul said, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us." (Rom. 8:18) All of God's servants seem to have this one thing in common and that is we all suffer, but once we arrive in Heaven and God's glory is revealed to us. We will not remember the sufferings that we had to endure here on earth. Think About This: We learn some things from prosperity, but we learn many more from adversity. FYI - January 30th - I will be preaching at the Severn Christian Church at 10:30 am in Severn, MD. I hope to see some of you there. They do livestream their services. Their website address is: https://www.severnchristian.org/ Look for the icon that says "Watch Live". Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God’s Word
0 Comments
Exodus 5:1-2 - And afterward 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.'" 2 But Pharaoh said, "Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, NASU
What is about to happen to Pharaoh, the Egyptians, and the Israelites is the Lord's answer to his question. The 10 plagues that the Egyptians are about to experience and the Israelites are about to view is the Lord's answer. He is the one and only true God of all creation. The Lord says, "For this time I will send all My plagues on you and your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth…."But, indeed, for this reason I have allowed you to remain, in order to show you My power and in order to proclaim My name through all the earth." Exo.9:14, 16 It has been said that each of the 10 plagues were attacks of Egyptian gods. The Lord started with the Nile River. The Egyptians worshipped Hapi, the god of the Nile River as one of their gods. She was helpless when the Nile River was turned to blood, the fish died, and the Egyptians could not drink from these waters and there was nothing Hapi could do to help the Egyptians The sacred bull Apis was likewise disgraced when the fifth plague brought the death of cattle. The sun god was named Amen-Ra or just Ra; he was discredited by the plague of darkness which lasted for three days.
He is the LORD God Almighty, Maker and Creator of Heaven and Earth. He not only freed the Israelites from the bondage of Egypt. He has made it possible for us to be free from the bondage of sin. In John 1:1 it says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word with God, and the Word was God…." In John 1:14 it says, "And the Word became flesh…" The Word was in Heaven with God and when the Word comes to earth He will become Jesus. In the Old Testament God sent Moses to be the deliverer of the Israelites. In the New Testament God sent the Word, who became Jesus to be our deliverer. God wants us to be freed from our sins so that we can be with Him for all eternity. Have you accepted Jesus' invitation to be your Lord and Savior? It is so easy even I was able to do it 46 years ago. All you have to do is say, I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the only begotten Son of the living God. We call that your confession of faith and then have someone immerse (Baptize) you into Christ. If you can't find someone to baptize you call on me by replying to this email and I will help you. You will remember the Israelites had to put lamb's blood over the doorpost and down the sides. This same picture takes place when you are baptized. The water represents the blood of Jesus and when you go in the water it is like going into the blood of Jesus and having your sins covered by the blood of Jesus. "Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice?" He is the one who is able to free you from your sins and has a place in heaven waiting for you. Think About This: The person who expects to go to heaven must take the time to study the route that will get them there. FYI - January 30th I will be preaching at the Severn Christian Church at 10:30 am in Severn, MD. I hope to see some of you there. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God’s Word Exodus 14:10-12 - As Pharaoh drew near, the sons of Israel looked, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they became very frightened; so the sons of Israel cried out to the LORD. 11 Then they said to Moses, "Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt? 12 " Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, 'Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness." NASU
Foreknowledge is a word you should remember. God has complete foreknowledge in all areas of life. He knew Pharaoh would chase the Israelites once they left Egypt. Pharaoh wasn't going to kill the Israelites. They were his work force. He was going to take them back to Egypt and once again they would be his slaves. Fear causes you to say things that shouldn't be said as they did in verse 11 - Then they said to Moses, "Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? In their minds some of them were thinking they were going to die, but to the contrary it is going to be Pharaoh and his army that is going to die. What the Israelites thought was completely wrong. If you let fear be your guide you will end up at the wrong destination.
Don't forget what God has done for you. Remember the great things God has accomplished in your life.
Exo. 14:13-14 - But Moses said to the people, "Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the LORD which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. 14 "The LORD will fight for you while you keep silent." Look at all the commands and promises Moses gives to the Israelites. First, Do Not Fear! Second, Stand by and watch God work. Third, the things scaring you will be taken out of the way. Fourth, believe the Lord will fight for you. Fifth, be quiet or in other words don't say dumb things "like we are all going to die". Trust God! And your fears will be conquered. Think About These: Our Fears Show Us The Littleness Of Our Faith. The Highway Of Fear Is The Shortest Route To Defeat. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God’s Word I Chron. 21:20 - He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years; and he departed with no one's regret, and they buried him in the city of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.
He was to earn what the guys had sacrificed for him. I am putting the conversation below for you to read: Old James Ryan: My family is with me today. They wanted to come with me. To be honest with you, I...I wasn't sure how I'd feel coming back here. Every day I think about what you said to me that day on the bridge. I tried to live my life the best that I could. I hope that was enough. I hope that, at least in your eyes, I've earned what all of you have done for me. Ryan's Wife: James? [looking at the headstone] Ryan's Wife: Captain John H Miller. Old James Ryan: Tell me I have led a good life. Ryan's Wife: What? Old James Ryan: Tell me I'm a good man. Ryan's Wife: You are. Ryan was concerned about his legacy. He wanted affirmation from his wife the one who knew him better than anyone else. He wanted to hear from her that he was a good man, and that he had led a good life. Isn't that what most people want when they know they are coming down to their last few years or days? They want to know if they have led a good life. Why is it that we wait until our life is about over before we start to think about our legacy? Why can't we concentrate on our legacy when we are in our 20's, 30's, or 40's? Don't we know our life could end in one of those decades?
Our scripture text is about King Jehoram who was going to die when he was 40 years of age and no one regretted his death. The verse says, "…he departed with no one's regret..." They didn't care that this man had died. In fact, most people were probably glad that he was gone. How sad is that? He lived 40 years and when he died no one regretted this King's death. This is such a different picture from when King David died.
Jehoram made choices that only benefitted him. In the end, he was stricken with an illness that lasted two years. He spent the last two years of his life in great pain according to the scriptures (I Chron. 21:18-19). We have begun a new year if you need to make some changes in your life there is no better time than right now. Give yourself and others a great gift give them - A New You in 2022. Think About This: We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God’s Word |
Archives
June 2024
AuthorGary A Serago. Categories
All
|
RSS Feed