The Lord forewarned believers to be wise as serpent but gentle as dove: that none should be so ignorant of the devises and cunning craftiness of the serpent in dealings with the people of the world and the with some believers inside the church, lest as the Serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, somebody should fall into his trap and deception to mislead and corrupt.
The word Satan (tempter) was only mentioned fifteen times in the Old Testament, and we learnt more about him in his discourse with God in the first chapter of Job verses 8-9. Also his diabolical and prideful influenced on David to numbered Israel in order to move God to act against David as one of his objectives and interests is to cause enmity between God to sow discord and enmity between him and his children.
Satan orchestrated all the damnable and destructive abominable practices and unfruitful works of darkness on earth in order to stir up the anger and the outpourings of divine justice with holy vengeance against the past, present and future unrighteousness of man on earth. Without doubt, he must continues in those evil works until his time on earth is over according to the eternal counsel of God – woe unto the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea, because the devil has come down unto you having great wrath, because he knows that his time is short.
From the garden of Eden where man fell out of God’s favor: (b) back to the evil action of Cain which slew his brother Abel: (c) the strife between Lot’s’ servants and Abraham’s servants: (d) the Sodomites homosexual practices: (e) Judah’s two sons, Err and Oman killed by God for their wickedness: (f) evil idea and ambition to construct the tower of Babel by fallen men to reach heaven in their corruptible soul and body which was disrupted by God: (g) the brutality and envy of the Philistines against Isaac’s prosperity after the death of Abraham for the wells of water which they violently took and stopped: (h) the envy and contentious resistance of the brutality against Joseph’s glorious destiny from his blood brothers aimed to stop him from reaching his divine destiny in life: (i) the false sexual accusation and scandalous report of Portiphar’s wife against Joseph in Egypt: (j) the killings of the Israelis male children in Egypt: (k) the making and worship of the golden calf suggested to Aaron by the Israelis when Moses was delayed by God at the mountain where he went to receive the tables of law: (l) the wilderness sins as recorded in 1 Corinthians Chapter 10 verses 1-13: (m) Balaam who was once a genuine prophet of God, but for filthy lucre sake compromised his walk by going for enchantment (demonic and evil power to cast spell) to curse the children of Israel in their passage to the promised land: (n) Moses ungodly – provocative destructive anger: (o) the rebellious attitudes of Dathan, Koran and Abiram’s in the wilderness against Moses and Aaron ministries and authorities: (p) the decision of Achan to steal in the invasion and conquest of Jericho which brought trouble and defeat against the whole nation of Israel: (q) David’s adulterous sin and his murderous act of Uriah, – David’s son (Ammon) raped her half sister Tamar, – Absalom secret resentment and bitterness kept for the period of three years against his half brother Ammon until the opportunity arose to kill him for the vengeance of Tamar his sister whom he raped: (r) Absalom revolt against David and his top of the roof open sex displayed with his father’s wives in the sight of all the Israel: (s) Naboth who was killed for his vineyard by Jezebel because of King Ahab’s covetousness of his vineyard, the inheritance which he refused to give out: (t) the betrayal of our Lord Jesus by Judas Iscariot etc while the list is endless of the mischievous and calamitous missions of Satan on earth.
The devil is an expert in counseling and negotiating half obedience to God. As a devoted liar and deceiver, he always seek to bring believers into any kind or form of bondage in order to limit their growth and spiritual fruitfulness if they don’t have a very strong resistant capacity against him, for he will never stop in his proposition and negotiation in exchange for your success and full reward before God. If Satan negotiated with Christ to bow down to him in exchange for the glory of this world, you should be ready to resist his offers for the pride of life. He passed through king Pharaoh to negotiate with Moses to prevent the full and total redemption and complete deliverance of the Israelis out of the land of Egypt through the four damnable compromises he suggested and presented before them as options, the same game plan he devises to derail believers from reaching their full potentials in God by obtaining full and total freedom from the flesh, world and sin or from the corruption that is in the world through lusts.
As the offspring of God, we are created to know him, serve him and to do his will, and to worship and live for his glory and purposes while we live; but because of the envy and wickedness of the devil against mankind, he fight and seek to divert our affection and destiny away from God’s will and purposes to perish together in hell with him, if we will allows him because we will not put up a fight to resist him – no negotiation whatsoever with Satan, – God or nothing.
After the judgment of the swarms of flies upon Pharaoh household and the entire palace, and upon the entire land of Egypt, but not on the land of Goshen which has been spiritually separated and protected by divine power in order to send a strong warning message to Pharaoh and Egypt that Israelis are special people who are separated unto God: though they lived in the outskirts, but they are God’s apple eyes, safe and secure under the shadow of his wings, defended and well preserved by their refuge.
(1) Overcoming the compromises of worldliness with unequally and ungodly yoked in the world. Exodus 8:25
Pharaoh now understood that Israelis must serve God because they belongs to him (Israel is my firstborn, says the Lord), nonetheless he tried to strike a deal, suggested that Moses and the Israelis can now serve God in the land of Egypt, but are not permitted to go out from the land: this is the ‘compromises of worldliness and of an equally yoked with the world – And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, oo ye, sacrifice to your God in the land. Exodus 8:25.
If we are delivered from the world (Galatians 1:4) we must practically come out of the world by separation from all appearances of evil such as the ungodly festivities, beach outings with other social and carnal sinful cultural events which promotes self indulgence and worldly lusts. They should never partake in any of the Egyptian’s abominable deeds which are likely possible to open doors for evil spirits to forcefully come back into the life of a believer. There is nothing in the land of Egypt apart from the vain conversations received by traditions from our unsaved parents? Such behaviors or ways of life, if not separated from, is to provoke the Lord to jealousy and to move him to anger against us, – you adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity against God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Do ye think that the scripture says in vain, the spirit that dwells in us lusts to envy? James 4:4-5.
First, we see the Israelis faith in demonstration through the participation and celebration of the Passover in the land of Egypt, and the slaying of the Lamb, and the sprinkling of its blood on the door posts for protection from the angel of death, the symbol of accepting Christ as the Lamb of God, and by faith appropriating his blood over us for salvation from the wrath to come. Second, they must go after the Lord as far as into the red sea where they are expected to cross over the sea as the symbolic spiritual exercise of translation from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God’s dear Son, when they will be received under the cloud to pass through the sea, which is also the symbol of baptism unto Christ in the cloud and in the sea: for they must drink continually from the supply of the Rock of their salvation as they walk through the wilderness for an onward journey to the Promised Land.
If any man drawback, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. Hebrews 10:38. Once the second step of crossing over the red sea is done, there is no way to reverse such action for whatever reason to think or try to go back once again into Egypt as it was providentially designed for them to be dead to Egypt after crossing the red sea. This is very crucial for their complete and total deliverance, – to go or come out of Egypt is not negotiable as the first condition to start walking after the Lord into the wilderness because they are no more of the world, even as the Lord is not of the world, neither his kingdom of this world.
Spiritually speaking, Egypt represents the world of bondage, sin, corruption, defilement, spiritual slavery, idolatry and ungodliness of all kinds. The Israelis are expected to be delivered from those things and to come out of it in total separation from the Egyptians as well into the wilderness after the Lord (therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her. And I will give her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt. Hosea 2:14-15).
Believer’s coming out of Egypt (world) is the commencement of his spiritual formation and training, and the process of purging or brokenness unto the likeness of Christ in a progressive journey or pilgrimage in preparation for the possession of the Promised Land. Jesus loves us and died for us while we were yet sinners: but this same Jesus is holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners. Hebrews 7:26. This shows that the nature of our new birth and our new identity as new creatures in him have some logical consequence of changes in our relationship, association, affinity, interests and purposes and pursuits in the world, as well as with the people of the world, – can two walk together, except they agreed? Amos 3:3.
Everything in the world, and everything concerning us are affected by the changes wrought by the new birth or being born-again; the component part of it is to know how to walk and to please God in a crooked and perverse nations and people among whom we are called to shine a s light. Though we are in the world, our new home and citizenship is now from heaven, and we should not think to do like the old proverbs suggested to ‘do as the Romans do while at Rome’.
Though we live in the world, the truth is that we are no more like them, and we should therefore stop to think, to live, to appear, to speak, to dress and to show characters like the people of the world by portraying godliness through the indwelling Spirit of God which is not of the world. We should be renewed in the spirit of our mind, not desirous to be like them or be with them in any way or form of ungodly yoke, for this is the reason we have been chosen and called unto separation to come out from among them. Once spiritual translation has taken place (Colossians 1:13) there should be no common interest and attachment with the world or her people: Jesus said, if the light in you is darkness, how great is that darkness? Luke 11:35. Therefore, there is nothing like half or incomplete deliverance, you are either completely delivered out of the world, or you are still in your sins of your entanglements with the world. If the half part of you is in the world, and the other half part of you is in the kingdom of God, this is an indication that your whole body is full of darkness, you are still in your sin; you have not yet escaped the corruption that is in the world through lusts.
This is the folly a worldly believer and the foolishness of a stubborn Christian who is still emotionally, socially and physically bond to his old friends of the world for whatever reason against the word and commands of God to come out of Egypt and be separated from the Egyptians. Carnal believers are emotionally, physically and spiritually drained: being confused and restless as been taken over and easily swayed by the enemy because they wrestle against the word of God to create spiritual instability for themselves, because they will not be steadfast, rooted and grounded in the word of God to be sanctified unto God. Any unwillingness and refusal to come out of the world in separation from the worldly unsaved friends will cause the believer to miss his/her full son ship, Father’s approval and acceptance. Moreover, he will miss the promised glory and power of the ‘abundant life’ in Christ Jesus, having been defiled by the unequally yoked with the world through association with the unsaved old friends of the world.
Christ promised of abundant life has nothing to do with material blessings and possessions because those the ungodly prosper in the world, and they enjoy immense wealth and riches. The Lord warned us against covetousness, and to live in contentment, that the life of a man does not consist in the abundance of his possession. Christ who asked you to seek first the kingdom of God and its righteousness, and every other things shall be added unto you, knows that from the abundant of the spiritual blessings and growth, comes the increase of material blessings from God such that makes man rich, yet without sorrow. Note: true riches are the riches which are of eternal values, such as the riches of faith, the riches of love, the riches in good works, and the riches in the word of Christ, if it dwells richly in you in all wisdom.
If the abundant of life which was promised by Christ is only found in perishable gold and silver, then his sacrificial death is amounted to nothing, and the price of redemption is equal to such corruptible things such as gold and silver, God forbid: for we are not redeemed with corruptible things such as gold and silver. Though our God gives us all things richly to enjoy, the life in Christ is more than food and clothes, therefore the abundant life is not in any of the physical material or in any financial possession of the world: for the life in Christ is a life and love in the Spirit, not in the flesh nor of this present evil world.
The abundant life in Christ Jesus is the over-flowing life of his righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy-Ghost in us. Romans 14:17. The constant and the continuation of living the abiding life in the vine is to bring forth much more fruit, which is the growing towards the completeness and fullness of Christ in us. Abundant life is a spiritual language of a spiritual life which is fully lived in total surrender to God’s will, purposes and pleasure, that such might discover true essence of life and the true fulfillment of it in Christ Jesus, even as he once lived in the fulness of that life in total surrender to his Father’s will, purposes and pleasure.
Those who are living daily for Christ will, pleasure and purposes will testify that all that is needed to walk into abundant life is to be broken, but first, you must come out of the world – Egypt. The life of a man does not consist in the abundance of his possessions; therefore, the abundant life cannot be quantify or monetize because it is a spiritual life of an unbroken fellowship irrespective of the storms of darkness, and of increasing inner peace and outward rest of God in a sinful, restless and chaotic world.
The abundance of life in the kingdom can be seen through believer’s progressive growth in Christ Jesus, being established in spiritual gifts, for to him that has, more will be given (Matthew 13:12) as the effects of his present spiritual fruitfulness in his onward pressing and advancement to eternal life in the increasing prosperity of the soul and in the increase of his spiritual wealth and riches: beloved I wish above all things that you prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers. 2 John 1:2.
Once again, let us take a look into the life and action of the prodigal son after his departure from his father’s house for the pleasure of sin with the hope to find a much better life away from the company of his brother and Father. After the failure of his insatiable and unfulfilled desired, he finally came to himself, and went back home, having considered and confessed that even the hired servants of his father lived comfortably in surplus; that though, he might not be received back as a full pledged son, but will be content to live close in communion to his brother and his Father as a servant for the continuation of the former abundant enjoyment and satisfaction he foolishly abandoned by his curiosity to live corruptible lifestyle with the uncircumcised and the unclean people of the world. All it takes to remain in the abundant life is to keep doing the Father’s pleasure and never to listen to the stranger’s voice or the voice of the flesh and of the world aim to take you out of that true life in the spirit. This was the life lost by Adam and Eve, the incorruptible life of God. John 10:10.
Believer is required to separate himself from the lusts of the world in total consecration to the Lord, to renounce the mentality, practices, lifestyles, perception and customs of the Egyptian which is fleshy, devilish and carnal. Many of their laws are ungodly and unholy, therefore should no sons and daughters of Zion be found in alliance and obedience to such immoral laws which are in contrast to the word and laws of God. He should not be un-equally yoked together with the un-circumcised in heart to disqualify his stand and acceptance before the Lord who has commanded him to separate from every ungodly men, acts and customs of this present evil world that he might shine as light in the world: ‘I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world’. Esther 3:8. 1 Corinthians 5: 9-11.
Moses response against Pharaoh’s option and suggestion to serve God in Egypt (and Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the Lord our God: see, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us?) shows that we cannot be genuinely loved by sinners as long as we are not running into the same excess of riot or lifestyle with them as we were in the past time. 1 Peter 4:4. As a new creature in Christ, we are now ashamed of our old disgusting lifestyle, hence the need to come away from them because an unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked. Proverbs 29:27.
There should be nothing in common: and in agreement between Christ and Belial, between a believer and an unbeliever! Should you keep company with those that tolerate evil and call darkness light, it is to your own confusion. Where is the God of the early church of the Acts of the Apostles in our today’s church? Today, the sinners are standing in the ways of the righteous and they seat comfortably in the congregation of the just, for gone are the days like the days that though sinners admired believers a lot, but they (sinners) were wary about joining them. Acts: 5:13.
The body of Christ is the congregation of the righteous where sinners shall not be able to stand: it ought to be a dangerous gathering place for any sinner who is not ready to forsake his sins; but a city of refuge for the wicked that seeks freedom and rest from his laborious sinful life. Separation to the Lord is a must if we seek to be guiltless from partaking in the errors and rewards of the wicked.
Old unconverted friends of the world must not walk with you into the wilderness if they are not born again: otherwise, such shall be considered as the mixed multitudes in your life. They are now in your past, lest a little leaven leavens the whole lump. To escape the defilement by association in the corruption pattern and lifestyle of the people of the world, we must come out from them in separation unto God.
The believer should not only confess that he is a stranger and pilgrim on earth, he must also sanctify the Lord’s name in his daily walk, offering the world and her pleasures of sin unto God as the sacrifice of faith. This is a living sacrifice which consist of offering (wasting, denying and avoiding or abstaining from) the abominations (lifestyles, customs, mentalities, ungodly festivities, unholy and ungodly manners, carnal view points, carnal frame of mind and worldly ways) Egypt and the Egyptians to the Lord. Whatsoever is abomination is unacceptable, detestable, disgusting and damnable before the Lord, having an awful eternal repercussion or consequence.
Unbelievers or the unsaved are abominable, they are unclean, and their life and actions are cursed if they are not being bought over by the blood of the Lamb. Mingling with old friends in the world is a continual transgression against the word of God: it is defilement of the flesh likely to facilitate successful demonic attacks and residence of demons into a believer’s life. Abominable men are cursed and damned: they must come to God in humility and repentance: they must denounce and renounce their abominable act (s) and be washed by the blood of Jesus from its pollution and defilement before we can have anything in common with them. Revelation 21:27.
The abomination of the Egyptians is defilement to our spirit, soul and body. It is the filthiness of the flesh and of the spirit from the corruptible lifestyles we once received by tradition from our ancestors and parents……….if a man also lie (sexual intercourse or carnal knowledge) with mankind, as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. Leviticus 20:13.1 Corinthians 6:9 (b) the graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shall not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to the Lord thy God. Neither shall thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shall utterly detest it, and thou shall utterly abhor it; for it isa cursed thing. (Deuteronomy 7:25-26: (c) there shall not be found among you any one that make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that uses divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee. Thou shall be prefect with the Lord thy God. Deuteronomy 18: 10-13: (d) the woman shall not wear that which pertained unto a man; neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abominations unto the Lord thy God. Deuteronomy 22:5: (e) thou shall not bring the hire of a whore (prostitution gain or money, offering or tithes of promiscuous sexual life) or the price of a dog, into the house of the Lord thy God for any vow: for even both these are abominations unto the Lord thy God. (Deuteronomy 23:18: (f) you shall not have in your house divers measures, a great and a small. But thou shall have perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure shall thou have: that thy days may be lengthened in the land which the Lord thy God gives thee. For all that do such things, and all that do unrighteous, are an abomination unto the Lord thy God. (Deuteronomy 25: 13-16: (g) these six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: a proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, an heart that devises wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, a false witness that speaks lies, and he that sows discord among brethren. (Proverbs 6:16-19: (h) he that kills an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrifices a lamb, as if he cut off a dog’s neck; he that offered an oblation, as if he offered swine’s blood; he that burns incense (to pray or for whatever reason) as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighted in their abominations. Exodus 8: 20-27. Isaiah 66:3.
(2) Overcoming the compromises of lips service. Exodus 8:28.
‘And Pharaoh said I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: entreat for me’.
Though the enemy now sees that you are born again, he will not stop at anything to make you a superficial Christian. If you remove practicality away from Christianity, all that will be left is shallowness – lack of spiritual depth, lack of depth of character, transformation, insight and soberness. The enemy suggestion not to go too far from Egypt cultural heritage and lifestyles: not too far from the trending ungodly fashion in Egypt, not too far from Egypt mode and code of dressing, not too far from Egypt extravagant and prideful ways of life overshadow by high and proudly mentality: not to go too far away from wearing the attire of harlots: not too far from Egypt raps, jazz and rock music: not to go too far away from Egypt electric dances, not to go too far from Egypt lustful television channels and programs: not to go too far from Egypt erotic movies, pornography and horror films: not to go too far from Egypt cinema houses and the beautiful beach for the summer sunbath: not to go too far away from Egypt diabolical extra hair attachments and wigs for your daughters and wives head covering: not to go too far away from Egypt hilarious, crazy and funny stylish hair cuts for your men is to keep the believer guilty of and damnable for the sin of conformity to the world – worldliness.
If you go too far from us, says the enemy, it is likely possible that you detach from our lifestyles and other resemblances, abandoning our ways of life and be dead to our culture. Though you desire to go and serve the Lord your God in the wilderness, it is my demand that you will not make it too hard on you by going into the deep things of God, not giving up yourself in total consecration to God because of your past relationship and bond with us. Moses, you may now go and serve your God, but you should retain and keep up with our customs, practices and traditions, that at least, you do not totally wipe away our traits and commonness we once shared together. If you go far away from us, everything you’ve learnt and known about us shall be forgotten and ultimately be abandoned, out of sight is out of mind!
This new demand and option given by Pharaoh to Moses and the Israelis not to go too far and deep in their spiritual life and walk with God is contrary to the will and plans of God for his redeemed people. The Israelis should not only go far away from Egypt, but they should be dead to Egypt. Note: any spiritual desire to separate from the world and to go farer and higher with the Lord shall not go unchallenged by the gates of hell, the hosts of darkness, and by the morkery of some brethren who are lovers of pleasure more than God in the church – resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Whether you are ready and prepared for it or not, it is God’s will and expectation that you should go deeper, further and higher in your spiritual life and spiritual growth daily, weekly, monthly and yearly to the end. There are different stages of divine fullness and glory attainable and accessible to those who have given themselves to live or die for him. Though the devil will never stop to oppose and assault you in one way or the other from going deeper and moving higher and walking farer with the Lord. The truth is that the farer you go, and the higher you move toward the high calling of God in Christ Jesus determines the increase of his glory, grace and power. It is only those who have chosen to look into the fire burning in the bush and the bush burnt not will hear him for the next assignment. It is only those who are ready to enter into the furnace of fire for their Christ that will find him awaiting them as the forth man in the fire. You must be daring, for this is the only way to make it hard for the enemy to stop you, therefore, quit you like men, be strong. James 1:27. James 4:4.
The spirit of ‘not too far with the Lord’ operates to prevent the believer from having any serious and total commitment and relationship with God. This spirit is to render him as a superficial, immoderate, common, usual, sensual and worldly and an ‘afar off’ disciple (and Peter followed him afar off, even into the palace of the high priest: and he sat with the servants, and warmed himself at the fire. Mark 14:54) instead of keeping a ‘closer side by side walk all the way as the Lord is leading in total subjection in a progressive and serious walk with Christ in an increasing obedience. The not too far believer’s faith is built on the wisdom of men; and not in the power of God. We should come out from such a pretentious and detrimental spiritual state of life, damaging to spiritual growth, fulfilling divine will, hampering to transformation and completion of God’s works in our life to eternal glory.
We are warned against spiritual slothfulness of the ‘compromises of lip’s service’ by dedicating and occupying for the Lord, seeking continually after him as the hart pants after its water brooks, like Caleb, the son of Jephnah cleaved to the Lord with all his heart and followed him fully from Egypt throughout the entire wilderness to the Promised Land. If a believer failed to go deeper and farer away from Egypt into the wilderness after the Lord, and to go deeper from one stage of growth into another in his spiritual life and experiences with God, he is not doing things that accompany salvation (Hebrews 6:9): he is not making his calling and election sure (2 Peter 1:10): he is not working out his salvation with fear and trembling. Philippians 2:12. These three spiritual indifference behavior portrays any believer as an half Egyptian and a half spiritual Israeli to impede the work of grace for gradual transformation of a visible glorious manifestation of Christ likeness through the fruits of righteousness which are Jesus Christ in his life.
Those who will not go far in the Lord will not any meaningful progress in the spiritual life. Can a servant serve two masters? Can we have dual spiritual citizenship – being a child of God and a child of the devil and being godly and worldly at the same time? No, because we are called and saved to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts. It is possible to be led by Pharaoh and be led by the Lord at the same time? Can we partake from the Lord’s Table and at the same time eat from Satan’s table? Can we put on the sinful garment and garment of righteousness at the same time? Can we be a child of light and of darkness at the same time? If the light in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! You should increasingly shine as light in the world, or else, you are not going far off with the Lord. Those that has chosen to go far with the Lord will cleave or hold fast (Deuteronomy 4:4) to him, and nothing nor anyone shall be able to snatch them away from God, for all that the Father has given Christ will he preserve to the end, and none shall get lost or perish.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled: but if you will not thirst after the Lord, and will not go far or run after him, you will not be filled. Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face forevermore. The best things of the Lord are reserved for those that will go as far and as long as it takes to be with the Lord unto the end. These type of Christians have sold themselves out for Christ to receive what is best from him. Every upward and progressive spiritual step is an increase of his fullness and glory upon his children until they behold the King in his beauty, until they see and enter to dwell forever with him in the land a far off.
The believer can only keep his deliverance and be able to shut the door completely against Satan through his personal determination to keep going as far as, and as long as it will take him to be with the Lord, to keep himself in the love and mercy of God to the end. He should not behave to live ungratefully like Ephraim, of whom the Lord testified to his pride against the word of God: ‘I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing (Hosea 8: 11-12), but to pray earnestly like David to the Lord, O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsted for thee, my flesh longest for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; to see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. Because thy loving-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips: when I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches. Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. My soul followed hard after thee: thy right hand upholds me. Psalms 63:1-8. Hosea 8:11-12.
Those who will not go as far as to see the end in their walk with the Lord shall not make it to heaven at the end of time, for whosoever endures to the end, the same shall be saved. Consider the sufferings of Job and his patient; see how the Lord was gracious to bless his end: there is no room for negotiation whatsoever with the enemy, than to go far with the Lord – deep calls unto deep. It is written that they followed the Lamb wherever he goes. Revelation 14:4. We are called and expected to go as far as the Lord desire to take us with him on earth like Enoch walked with God until he was taken up to heaven. It is saddened to see people leaving good churches for wrong reason and unscriptural excuses just and deeper in the word. The scriptures cannot be broken that many shall cleave to them with flattering, men having itching ears, and they will not be able to endure sound doctrine. Proverbs 21:16. 2 Timothy 4: 3.
(3) Overcoming the compromise of parental negligence and foolishness. Exodus 10:8-11.
It is important not to forget that there is nothing in Egypt than the pleasure of sin (Hebrews 11:25), so if you leave your child or children behind in Egypt, you leave them under the care of the prince of this world, the prince of the power of the air, the spirit working in the children of rebellion.
The third spiritual negotiation and bargain by the enemy by king Pharaoh was the compromise of ‘parental negligence and foolishness. It is insane, ridiculous and unimaginable that King Pharaoh should made this suggestion that Moses and the adult should leave Egypt for good and that their children should be left behind in the land. What an insult and a foolish and senseless option this bargain was against the children’s deliverance from Egypt? This is the manifestation of the spirit of insensitivity and irresponsible parental negligence and duty to teach and order their children in the way of the Lord as Abraham once did. Genesis 18:19.
If you are coming out of Egypt into the wilderness, you must fight in prayer to bring your children out of Egypt together with you, walking after the Lord into the wilderness as far as it takes. How can you teach the children in the ways of the Lord if you leave them to enjoy the youthful lusts because they are young? Did you not know that childhood and youth are vanity? Parents are responsible for their kids until the age of maturity, afterward will they be accountable to speak, to think and to make critical life decisions for themselves. Even until death, the parents are still responsible to give godly counsels to their adult children which the bible warns not to despise the person of his mother or father when they are old. Proverbs 23:22.
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my womb for the sin of my soul? The Lord shall require spiritual welfare of the children entrusted to the parents from them: he will hold them responsible for any spiritual negligence of responsibility, ungodly and evil tolerance and indulgences of their children. How saddened that the parents should set their faces to the Promised Land while their children are left behind in Egypt, on their way to hell? As long as the children are in Egypt (world) they are bent or destine for the second death or hell fire – and I saw great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God, and the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. Revelations 20; 11-12.
The children that died prematurely from this world as from the age of accountability of twenty years old upward without Christ passed away with no justifiable cause for excuse before the throne of God (rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment. Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanities. Ecclesiastes 11:9-10) not to perish throughout all eternity. If the parents should make it out of Egypt (got saved), the salvation of their kids is non- negotiable with the enemy. It is their sole duty and responsibility to fight for the salvation of their children, and should be involve in the spiritual life, faith and journey, for the Lord’s promise of salvation was to us and to our children, – all your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of thy children. Isaiah 54:13.
We must bring our children out of Egypt, and also to bring Egypt out of them. But we should first do this by our own separation out Egypt unto the Lord. Foolishness is already residing in the child’s heart as soon as he is born: it is practically impossible to train a child the way he should go when the parents are a burden unto themselves, if they are not living rightly before their children. We cannot teach the child to do what we are not setting the pace or example before them to do: this is provocative and hypocrisy which won’t work: fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Ephesians 6:4.
Parental lifestyles of godliness and righteousness speak volumes before their children if efforts to get them saved should be hopeful, fruitful and meaningful, that we may have boldness to say before them- be ye followers of me, even as I also of Christ. 1 Corinthians 11:1.
Affection and love for our kids should not defer us to discipline or correct them in measure according to their offense, but prayer and godly lifestyles works best. God’s fear and not ungodly sentiment affection would stir us not to spare the rod of correction when necessary, neither should our soul spare from their crying- he that loves his son, chastises him many times. Proverbs 13:24. (19) 18.
The Lord says, whosoever loves his son or his daughter more than me is not worthy of me. This means the words of God should be the rule and guide by which we relate to educate and bring up our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Parents are just the caretakers; it is expected of them to direct their children attention and love at all times to the owner and maker thereof – God.
Satan is the tempter as well as the accuser or the persecutor of the brethren; he will accuse any believer before God in any way they are spiritually negligent or careless with their blessings, including their children. Children should not be allowed to be at the football pitch or tennis lawn court for sporting and training on Sunday morning while the parents are at the church service to serve and worship God. While some parents go to church, they leave their children behind at home on Sunday morning to keep sleeping just because they are allowed to sleep late for watching the late Saturday’s night movies – either been permitted to attend a neighbor’s or family’s friend party on Saturday’s night and become weak and tired for Sunday’s morning service. This is not good for the parents and the children in the sight of God. They should be taught from their very tender age that God is above all and should comes first in everything; that their affections and love for other things should not overrides their worship and devotional time with God and his people on the Lord’s day – train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22: 6.
God established parental authority to shape the life of the children in a godly way, and no child should be left to himself, lest he bring shame to his parents. The parents, by not showing God to the children, shall occasion the failure of the child against the pursuit and accomplishment of the purposes of his existence before God, and in the discovery of his true identity in life which is found in Christ, and in fulfillment of his destiny in God. Parental authority should be prayerfully, dutifully and wisely be enforced over the children, just as the Lord testified about Abraham’s dutiful spirit and faithful discharged of his parental authority, so that we might have a good conscience that we have done our best over the children given and entrusted to our care: ‘for I know him, that he will ‘command his children and his household’ after him and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him’. Genesis 18: 18-19. Proverbs 29: 15.
Parental caring, goodness and tolerance are not meant to indulge the children to go on their own way or live uncontrollably while they are still under our roof: this is spiritual foolishness. There is a limit and extent to which we should spiritually tolerate our children. They should constantly be taught, disciplined and trained up in the ways of God. We must take up and deal with any act of stupidity, childishness or any moral lapses found in them before it becomes a deep rooted seed of wickedness in them. Time should be sought and spent with them for their spiritual trainings and exercises as we teach them how to pray; and to allow them to pray at home during the family devotional time. That is going to be their greatest blessings and lasting inheritance inherits from us when our time here on earth shall be over. They shall be blessed by our righteous life and be blessed much more for their continuation in the righteous way of life and their memory of us shall ever be sweet: in the fear of the Lord is a strong confidence; and his children shall have a place of refuge: the just man walking in his integrity, his children are blessed after him. Proverbs 14:26. Proverbs 20:7.
Moring and nightly family devotional prayer is a must. When was the last time you prayed and study the bible with your children before going to bed at night, and in the morning before they go out to school? Your kids did their home works from school under your watchful eyes; but when was the last time you gave them biblical text to study with new verses to memorize from the scriptures under your hearing ears? ‘Is it not written, And these words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up’? Deuteronomy 1: 19. (6) 6-7.
There are lots of edifying and illustrative biblical stories on Christian books, d.v.d’s and c.d’s that are spiritually educative to make the scriptures more desirable and understandable for our children; and on such things we should spend our resources to teach and instructs them upon. What type of family friends and company do you allow your children to spend their week-ends with? With the uncircumcised school and families friends, or the good and zealous church’s family’s friends and godly neighbors who can positively impact their faith life and increase their affection for the Lord in all godliness? Love your neighbors as you love yourself do not mean that you should commit the keeping of your children to the care of them that will teach or acts indecently by their ungodly lifestyles to corrupt them.
It is just the matter of time before we discover that all the seed of God’s word that are sown into our kids shall yield fruit of increase and bring us great joy and praises and satisfaction before God. Then shall the word of God be fulfilled as it is written; as for me, this (is) my covenant with them, says the Lord; my spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, says the Lord, from henceforth and for- ever. It is the enemy’s idea not to force our beliefs on our kids, leaving them to decide on their faith when they shall grow up. It is important that they should know the Holy Scripture from their childhood and to possess the unfeigned faith like the young Timothy inherited it from his mother and grandmother – train up your child in the way he should go, and when he grow up, he shall not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6. Isaiah 59:21. 2 Timothy 3:15.
Parents should learn from the error and the horrendous punishment of Prophet Eli who chose to honor his sons above God and refused to chastise them to follow the right way of the Lord. We should not leave our children behind in our walk and devotion and fellowship with the Lord, if we are not to be ashamed for the reproach of it emotionally, mentally and punished for the pain of their waywardness. They must be strictly brought up in the ways and admonition of the Lord, lest we be found guilty of parental spiritual negligence. They must go alongside with us in the ways of God and into the house of the Lord as long as they are under our roof like Joshua once said as for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord. We must not leave our kids behind in Egypt (world) to eat from the idols table while we as parents dine on the bread of life before the Lord. The children should not be allowed to be fed and be satisfied with the lusts of the flesh, and the lusts of the eyes while the parents are fulfilling the will and pleasure of the Lord: never to leave them to choose for themselves whom they must serve! Joshua 24:15.
(4) Overcoming the compromises of stingy worshippers. Exodus 10:24-26.
The enemy’s demand of the last compromise to oppose Israelis total deliverance was the ‘compromises of a stingy worshipper’. And Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said, go ye, serve the Lord; only let your flocks and your herds be stayed: let your little ones also go with you. And Moses said, thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt offering, that we may sacrifice unto the Lord our God. Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not an hoof be left behind, for thereof must we take to serve the Lord our God: and we know not with what we must serve the Lord, until we come thither.
The time of financial deficit and difficulty is the time a believer is vulnerable to financial and material temptation. He should be very careful against the love of money and any unrighteous profit or sinful gain, lest he bring a curse upon his household. The enemy will not stop at anything including unlawful pursuit after gain to have our attention against the soul, just as he distracted and tricked Shemei and made him to travel out of Jerusalem to the land of the Philistines in pursuit of his servants that revolted and ran away from serving him contrary to the deal made to preserve his life with King Solomon, that he should die in the day he go out of the city of Jerusalem – where your treasure is, there also shall your heart be. 1 Kings 2:41-44.
Satan owns the world ever since Adam fell into his trap (Luke 4:6): he will not hesitate to introduce anything that will keep you doing business one way or other with him, whispering to the ears of many believers today that they don’t have to serve and honor God with their substance because the pastor is only after their money. Believer should not be stingy, selfish worshipper and giver. Today, the enemy is saying that the pastors are only out there to enrich themselves at the merit of your charitable gift to discourage and stop you from exercising your spiritual responsibility of giving. This is the ‘compromises of a stingy worshipper’ when he listens to the voice of the enemy; much more, if he stop giving to the church because of by the corruption and financial scandals of the filthy lucre pastors, while the poor people in their flock are not taken care of. The fault and condemnation falls on the greedy shepherds that feed themselves and not the flock, and we should not allow the devil to use the unscrupulousness of the greedy shepherd which cannot have enough to stop us obeying the call to give generously for the kingdom’s work.
Stingy believers and worshippers are seen as the thieves in the house of God because they rob and dishonor him through their failure of tithing, being disobedient to collaborate with Satan to sabotage the economy of the kingdom of God – church. Malachi 3:8. The devil made such people to forget that everything in heaven and on earth is God’s: that all that we are, and have, and ought to be should be for the Lord. We must be willingly to dedicate everything we possess unto the Lord for the promotion or advancement of the kingdom: no inheritance or blessings that are ours should be left behind in the world for the use of the old master and king of the world- Satan. We must honor the Lord with our substance and to serve him all the days of our lives with our materials and other possessions to advance his kingdom on earth. We must lay up treasure for ourselves in heaven by investing in the kingdom purposes, interest and vision, and not using our money for worldly and ungodly amusements and purposes which in order words signify that we have left our cattle behind in Egypt to expose our divided heart and be found faulty before the Lord. 2 Timothy 4:10. Hosea 10: 2.
Anti-Christ and anti-prosperity agents of Satan are increasingly propagating scandalous financial reports in the media to war against the worshippers of the principles and doctrine of tithing.
Gold and silver belongs to our God: his cities and kingdom shall yet be spread abroad through prosperity. Your tithe is different to your offering, and the two are not the same with your alms giving. If the believer is not paying or given his tithe in the church or to the ministry he is a member; or, he refused to give where he is led to give; but give his tithes to the poor as an offering contrary to the commands of ‘bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse (not to the street) that there may be meat in my house’, then such are establishing their own rule of law against the rule of God’s law.
The servants of God are required to be faithful and answerable to their calling and stewardship by providing honest things in the sight of all men while their final judgments should be left to God in regards to their accountability in the administration of the materials and financial blessings entrusted to them as we follow the scriptures to lay down everything that belongs to God for the use of his kingdom at the apostles feet – in our local churches. Acts 4:35.
There are so many little but good flocks – churches thriving financially out there; we ought to pray and be led to give our tithes in such good places to promote and advance the kingdom of God, and to strengthen the hands of the builders in those communities to comfort and to encourage their hearts in God . We should prayerfully discern and avoid the ministers whose god is their belly, and are never satisfied in their greediness to make themselves fat by the sacrifices and offerings of the Lord. We should seek to give to the churches and ministries that are sound in doctrine and are truly in need while catering for the poor brethren, widows, the fatherless and the homeless under their care: what shall one then answer the messengers of the nations that the Lord has founded Zion, and the poor of his people shall trust in it. Isaiah14:32.
Materials provisions and supply ought to be in abundance in Zion, and distribution should be made according to the need of the inhabitants thereof for the sincere and honest ministers of the gospel willing and ready to reach out to the poor to make the world a better place for the under-privileges and the poor brethren in the household of faith. The scriptures command is that none should appear before the Lord empty handed (as everyman has proposed in his mind, so let him give, not grudging, neither of necessity or of compulsory, but God loves a cheerful giver) and to honor the Lord with our substance and with the first fruits of our increase which are the tithes. Proverbs 3:9.
In Amsterdam in 2008 in Amsterdam, I personally witnessed a very big branch of the Dutch reformed congregation closed down because of financial in-capacity to run the church. Sadly to say, some Muslims gathered themselves and contributed a million plus Euros to buy the property which they made a mosque. How many true churches have been financially shut down and the faithful ministers were forced by the enemy to abandon the temple work and declined from their consecration to fetch for themselves? How many that ought to live by the things of the temple are deprived of their rights and reward for their services before the Lord because the worshippers wickedly neglected to minister to them through their carnal things in exchange for the spiritual blessings they partake and shared from the true minister? This is the truth, if we don’t use our resources for God’s work, we will certainly waste it or use it for a useless cause or lose it to another who will either squander it or use it even for the purpose of advancing the kingdom of God.
This is always the outcome when we listen to the enemy’s voice to leave the Lord’s cattle behind in Egypt while the household of God is financially and economically bankrupted and his ministers ate and were not satisfied for scarcity of supply in the temple – totally left uncared for. Why are there so many compromiser preachers, the adulterated and flattering messages from many pulpits and churches today who are known for their fair speeches and sweet words to deceive the hearts of the simple? Money of course to pay their bills and the desire for material gains are the answers. ‘But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingered not, and their damnation slumbered not’. 2 Peter 2:1-3.
Like the lying, covetous and greedy pastor Benny Hinn who came out publicly of recent to confess his deception to collect healing and prosperity seed of faith from millions of people all over the world, many of today’s preacher will deceive and lie by God’s name and by his word to exploit others because his interest is to take the possession of the worshippers away from them for his selfish use.
Some years back in Turin where I was invited for three days revival program, the pastor in charge politely counseled me on certain messages to preach and certain teachings to avoid in order to draw many people, and not to scare them away with the word of God (sound doctrine) so that the cattle in their possessions might be easily taken without much stress because he has a lot of bills to pay. This is the problem behind the doctrinal corruption of many wide gate and broad way messages and preachers to deceive the itching ears believers to give money and gifts freely after hearing what they loved to hear through comforting, entertaining, deceptive, manipulative and comforting gospel: they say still unto them that despise me, the Lord hath said, ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walks after the imagination of his own heart, no evil shall come upon you…..but if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings. But such men shall have greater damnation for the sin of flattering with the word of God and leading the simple astray in their foolishness. Jeremiah: 23:17 & 22.
All should come out of Egypt (world) with everything that belongs to us in order to serve and to honor the God of creation. Do not be afraid to come out completely from Egypt, and be sure that you are not leaving anything or anyone in your family behind in the world as you prepare your heart to go as far as the Lord will take and led you to the fairer worlds on high because there is no way back to Egypt once you cross the red sea into the wilderness heading towards the Promised Land.