How Precious To You Is Life

“How Precious to You is Life”

Exodus 1

Intro: You know, there is one thing that is common in all of mankind. Whether rich or poor, young or old, in America or Africa or Australia. Life is precious!

Sometimes the lives of others don’t seem precious to us, but when it comes down to our own lives, we suddenly find ourselves realizing that our life is very precious to us.

This is the “Sanctity of Human Life” Sunday. A day we set aside to consider how precious life is.

Let’s see from our reading this week some individuals who considered life to be precious. Turn with me to Exodus 1 to see the lesson of Shiphrah and Puah. Read Ex. chapter 1 - whole chap.

I. Lessons from Egypt - let’s look at what truths we see taught in God’s word here today.

A. Satan Attacks - lest we ever forget it, Satan is an enemy. No matter how good he looks, or how good he makes sin look, let’s remember that he is the enemy, he wants to hurt us, he is o the attack. How does he attack in Egypt?

1. Fear - vs.9 - Then a new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power in Egypt. "Look," he said to his people, "the Israelites have become much too numerous for us.

*Satan gets Pharaoh to develop wrong feelings. He feels fear. He is afraid of the Hebrews. Was there any reason to be afraid? None at all. Yet, Satan plays on the fears of the Egyptians.

How many times has Satan come against you to attack you in the area of your fears? What is it that you are afraid of today? Your boss? The dark? What other people think?

Ps. 27:1 - The LORD is my light and my salvation--whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life--of whom shall I be afraid? When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.

Let’s look at the next attack in verse 10. Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country."

2. Foolishness - Satan attacks again, this time by trying to bring wrong thinking. If Satan can get you to feel bad, he can get you to start thinking wrong thoughts. All it takes is a little wrong thinking, and you will find you start believing things that you really know are not true.

*I once worked at a warehouse for Hershey Foods - after graduating with my Seminary degree, I had moved back to PA. Wanting to work a little before getting into ministry, I wanted to get into the Hershey Chocolate Factory. To do this, the doorway in was through their warehouse. All kinds of underachievers worked there. Many times, they hung in groups, gaining strength from mutual encouragement. When they made fun of someone, you felt bad, even though you knew they didn’t have a clue to what the best choices in life were. We all want to be liked. When we’re not, we start having wrong thinking. We think that maybe we are wrong. Maybe we should do something different. Satan loves to use wrong thinking to attack us.

Look in verse 11 with me to see the third attack of Satan

3. Forcefulness - Satan tries to make Pharaoh think self-reliance is the answer.

So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly. They made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their hard labour the Egyptians used them ruthlessly.

Satan comes with the third attack - wrong action. After feelings and thinking have changed, action will come. Satan attacks Pharaoh by getting him to act - to think he can take care of the problem himself.

But, the second lesson we learn from Egypt, is that whenever Satan attacks,

B. God Empowers -

1. Overcoming Obstacles - look in verse 12 - But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly. They made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their hard labour the Egyptians used them ruthlessly.