Sunday Morning December 28, 2008 Bel Aire Baptist Church
Series: “Moving With God (Exodus)” [#1]
WHEN THE ENEMY IS THREATENED
Exodus 1:1-22
Introduction:
We are going to begin on this Sunday before the New Year, a series entitled “Moving With God”. As we travel through life, how are we going to do it in a victorious way that God gets the glory and honor?
Do you ever get the idea that the enemy is working overtime while attacking you; but seems to be letting others “off the hook”? Why does that happen? One of the things I have discovered is that when I am moving with the Lord, the enemy will always attack. When I’m being disobedient, doing my own thing, or just simply being spiritually lazy; I don’t experience as much attack from the enemy. Why? That’s really a simple question to answer. Why would the enemy waste time attacking people who are not a threat to his cause? The enemy is not God. Satan cannot be everywhere at once. Satan cannot “read your mind”. Satan has to plan his attacks out and he is trying to shut down those things that bring glory and honor to God. When the enemy is threatened, he will attack.
Exodus 1:1-9
A good thing to know about our enemy is that he is not creative. He has been using the same tactics for thousands of years and we can see his patterns and ways in the Bible.
In our text, we find that the enemy was threatened. The Israelites living in Egypt had started out with 70 residents, but had grown to approximately 2 million people. The enemy feared a take over and so he had to begin to destroy the Israelites.
Exodus 1:10
When the enemy is threatened…
1. He will use fear.
Pharaoh wanted the people to be scared of what the Israelites could do to them if they wanted. Instead of realizing the value of the Israelites within the country, they were jealous of them; and therefore had to get rid of them. The enemy will gather his forces through the use of fear. Unfortunately, he can lure people from the church simply with the use of pride and fear.
1 John 4:18 (NIV)
“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”
Christians, we have nothing to fear. The enemy cannot destroy us. The enemy cannot take us from God. We are made perfect through Jesus Christ. We are more than conquerors through Christ Jesus who loves us!
* Love destroys fear.
* Fear and love cannot coexist.
Exodus 1:11-14
When the enemy is threatened…
2. He will use oppression.
The enemy wants to burden you down with work. He wants to make your life a dread. The devil loves to see you get up, survive the day, go to bed, and try again tomorrow. The devil wants to rob you of any joy you might have.
Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
We have no reason to struggle through life oppressed by sin, worry, etc… No matter how hard the enemy attacks, we can find rest in Jesus.
* Jesus leads us to a place of rest.
* A rested soul brings peace and joy.
Exodus 1:15-16
When the enemy is threatened…
3. He will use destructive force.
The enemy loves to kill and destroy God’s people and he will go to any means to do so.
1 Peter 5:8 (NIV)
“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
There are 2 distinct groups that the devil always tries to kill off:
* The babies- If the devil can kill off new life, then he doesn’t have to worry about the potential of that baby. This is applicable physically and spiritually. New believers in Christ need to be protected, nurtured, and grown by mature believers.
* The men- Why male children? God has placed man in a leadership role within the family, the church, etc… If the devil can neutralize that role through “women’s liberation”, homosexuality, etc…; then he can destroy a nation. A nation is only as strong as the families that make up that nation.
Exodus 1:17-22
The Lord always has people who love Him positioned in the right place at the right time. The enemy cannot have victory over us, when God’s people serve Him faithfully.
Deuteronomy 31:6 (NIV)
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."
What do we do when under attack?
Ephesians 6:10-18
Conclusion:
When the enemy is threatened, he will fight; but in the power of God, we have the victory. If we are going to move forward with the Lord, we must not allow the enemy to keep us down.
