Acts 7:1-51 / 17-10 – As the time drew near for God to fulfill his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt had greatly increased. 18 Then ‘a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.’ 19 He dealt treacherously with our people and oppressed our ancestors by forcing them to throw out their newborn babies so that they would die.
Family, we know that God continuously and always is blessing us. Even when we are going through the toughest trials God is with us, loving us and blessing us. God is good all the time and all the time He is good. God is faithful even if we have not been faithful. He decided to love us and He will love us to the day we die and for those who love Him, we will be loved by Him in His presence for eternity. God had made a promise to Abraham, he had told him “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” (Genesis 15:1) Family, even to Adam and Eve, who ruled the world before the fall, the world and the things of it have never been our precious and high reward. It has never, not ever, been that way. The great promise of God is that He would love us and care for us and complete us as only He can. We greatly err when we think that the beauty of the earth, and of the things in it, including us, are our reward. No, many things in the earth God can bless us with but the true and highest reward that God has given us is Himself. That is why nothing else can complete us, can satisfy us, can bring us the joy and peace that God brings because we were created to have deep fellowship with God.
King David wrote “…The LORD is my light and salvation-whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life-of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1). What can man take away from us? Our income, our homes, our friends, our loved ones? Yes, all this can happen but it is not the determination of man. All is in God’s control. The question is whether or not God is our greatest treasure. Some may say “As long as I have my dear spouse, though I have nothing else, I will be happy.” However, although we may love our spouse more than our own life, we have no control over how many years we will have our spouse with us. If the spouse is our highest love, and then dies, then what? Do we become a lost and hurt soul that no longer knows its purpose? Do we become a soul that has lost all purpose for life? No, we hurt at the loss but we are thankful that the greatest love of our life, God Almighty, is with us and we can never be separated from Him because He has said so! We walk by faith and not by sight! (2 Corinthians 5:7) We know He is with us because He has said so (Matthew 28:20, Deuteronomy 31:6, Hebrews 13:5). Yet, it is deeper than that. We should know “His voice.” (John 10:27) We should have a relationship with God and we should be aware of His loving hand upon us. God wants us to know of His love by His Word and also by the experience of walking in His love. Whatever may come, we are not broken because He is with us.
In the midst of the hardest trials He is with us and can prosper us. While living in Egypt He kept His promise to Israel and continued to prosper and grow Abraham’s descendants. Even being slaves under cruel men, nothing could prevent God from growing and blessing Israel, and in the right time, delivering the Jews from their now cruel captors. Family, no one can take from us what God promises us and the highest promise we have is that through Jesus Christ we will forever be loved and protected by God, and because of Jesus we will one day be forever with Him (John 14:2)
A people, or a person, may find favor in man, but that is a blessing from God and only He is the originator of the blessing. We are grateful for the kindness of others but God is the originator of all blessings (James 1:17). Thank people for kindness, but know that the greatest gratitude belongs to God.
Family, let us be wise and see without sentimentality the situation that surrounds us. Let us accurately assess the times we live in. We believers have been blessed in this land, but now the generation that we live in has forgotten the blessings that God has given this land through His people. That the rights and freedoms came not through ungodly men but through people who loved and sought after God. This generation has grown to hate our God and so hate us. The rulers of this land espouse evil beliefs. Some have stated that children belong to the government and not to the parents. That children are given to the parents to raise at the blessing of the government. Now men moved by evil are increasingly demanding the death of babies. Sound familiar? Yes, we are following the same pattern as Egypt. The new leaders don’t know, they don’t believe in the greatness of God. Many new leaders have no regard for God or His people. In fact, many despise God’s people. A famous quote by writer and philosopher George Santayana is “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Egypt and its leaders paid a big price for forgetting how blessing came to their land. God blessed their land through Joseph. God blessed our land because of His children and how He would use them to bless others. In the past, like Pharaoh of Egypt, our leaders understood that it was God and not man or anything else that blessed our land. Now our leaders do not acknowledge God, the one True God, and they even insist and demand on the right to kill children, just like Egypt. Family, pray for our nation. Let us not battle against flesh and blood but against powers and principalities (Ephesians 6:12). Let us pray for the will of God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit to rule in this land. Let us love and pray for souls to be saved. In this is the hope for our land and so much more. Such favor only comes from God. Moses was a type of Jesus as God used him to deliver the Jews. Jesus delivered all mankind. Jesus is coming back and will deliver again, let’s pray that all of us, throughout our lands, shall be faithful and looking for His return. Woe to those who are not. God is good and He is our hope. Praise our good, righteous, and loving God who keeps us unto that day. Praise God! Praise God every day and every way! Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.