Lessons From Israel

Lesson’s from Israel

Exodus 14: 10-12

(This is a message I preached upon returning from a Misison’s trip to San Loius Potosi Mexico).

This past week had to be among the most incredible weeks of my life. I preached a couple of weeks “What’s in your House?” And I stated that everything we need to receive our miracle is already in our house. We don’t need to run to and fro looking here and looking there. God has provided us more than enough to meet out every need.

This week past I saw the lame walk, blind eyes opened, deaf ears unstopped, tumors disappear, pain removed and on and on. Each night the intensity grew as people came expecting to receive. Many of these people walked for miles, rode in overcrowded buses or came in taxis. They sat in the rain and on hard seats hanging on every word that was being said. When time came for the altar call, they responded by the hundreds and hundreds. When it came time to receive prayer for miracles, they lined up by the thousands and waited to have hands laid on them for them to receive their miracle and they received. I literally sat intimidated at the simple child like faith in which these men and women, boys and girls came to God.

I asked God “what’s the difference between here and there? What is the difference in my praying for people here in Mexico and my praying for people in Cleburne? How come we are seeing many miracles every night here in Mexico and we only see a few over an extended period of time?”

Friend, when you ask God a question, be prepared for His answer. God began to give me a history lesson. God took me back to the children of Israel and walked me through our similarities. If ever a people saw the mighty power of God, it was the children of Israel. Think about it, for 430 years they had been held captive against their will. They were in bondage by Egyptian taskmasters. No matter how hard they might have tried to free themselves, it was of no avail. God said, “Mike, this is how I found you; this is how I found everyone who names my son’s name. You were lost, you were dead in your trespasses and sin and nothing you did could set you free.”

The children of Israel were in a hopeless situation. They desperately wanted to be set free; as I said a couple of weeks ago, when you don’t know what to do, at least know where to turn. They began to cry out to God. They had been told all their lives how good it was going to be one day. They long for that one day to be today. When they turned to God and began to cry out to Him, He heard their prayer. He raised up a man named Moses. He wasn’t just a man, He was a man of God, God’s chosen deliverer.

Moses presents his case before Pharaoh and tells him that God wants His people free. Friend, God is till in the freeing business. He is still breaking chains, undoing heavy burdens and releasing the captives. If you walked in here this morning bound and under a heavy load, you don’t; have to leave the way you came in Jesus name.

For the children of Israel, their long awaited time had arrived. God rolled up His sleeves and began to bring plague after plague to show Egypt and Israel that there is only one true God.

After the 10th plague, Pharaoh relents and tells the people to get out. Imagine how they must have felt. It was probably how we felt when we first got saved. How many can remember that day? Think about it, here they were slaves for 430 years. They were bound and as good as dead. The only future they had to look forward too was serving Egypt all the days of their lives and then dying.

This is the way it was for us, before we accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior, we were in bondage to sin and the world. Egypt represents the world. When we were in sin, we served the world; out future was one of servitude and bondage. All we had to look forward to was death and hell. Friend that is what happens to people who don’t know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. I know we don’t like to think about it, but it is the truth. But when we heard and responded to the old story of how a savior came and brought deliverance, Egypt had to let us go. Now, remember how you felt. It was as if chains fell off you. Something broke over you and that cloudy sky that followed you around now became rays of sunshine.