KEY SCRIPTURE: Exodus 5:1 ” And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness”.

Moses finally gets to Pharaoh and tells him to let the children of Israel go to hold a feast unto the Lord. Coming back to Egypt was Moses worry, yet getting to the presence of Pharaoh was his dread but He broke that fear and got to him and told him what God had for him. Fear and shyness have been the biggest setback for many people. Fear will rob you of your opportunity to greatness. We fear when we take God out of the situation leaving ourselves and the condition. The word of God to Moses was that I would be with you. The Lord Jesus word to us is that he would be with us even unto the end of the age or world (Matthew 28:20).

It would just be good for us to take some time each day to practice the presence of the Lord with us. This is an act where you allow your mind to imagine the presence of the Lord being with you. Make his presence so real that nothing should make you fear.

In Exodus 5:2 Pharaoh asked who is the Lord. Always arm yourself with the understanding that anytime you seek to act in the name of the Lord, Satan would raise an opposition. Be certain about who you have believed and the fact that He has sent you. It is normal to have an opposition because that would give you a testimony.

King Pharaoh did not only ask about who the Lord is, he decided to ask the Egyptian task masters to make the Jews make bricks without straw. He decided to make their lives difficult. Satan’s oppositions no matter how frightening it may be cannot stop what God has for you, all you need is to believe God. Satan is always darkness. God almighty is always light. When he comes on the scene Satan’s power and activities is purely vanity. Please in such times try never to listen, look or consider what the enemy may be saying. Just focus on what God has said.

The leaders of the Jews went to Pharaoh to plead with him (Exodus 5:15-20), but did not listen. Note: Never beg the devil for mercy. He would rather punish you the more. They went to accuse Moses of making their lives more terrible. Moses did the right thing; he never went to Pharaoh but to God. When Satan opposition gets worse go to God and listen to what he has and just do it. In Exodus 6:1 the Lord told Moses now shall you see what I would do. God’s resolve is always strong and perfect when the enemy shows his resistance.

Be confident of a great deliverance.

CONFESSION

O God my trust is in you, I will never be moved by whatever opposition that the enemy may raise against me.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Isaiah 59:19 ” So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Exodus 4:20 ” And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand”.

Moses set off to go to Egypt. One significant phrase in our key scripture is that “……..and Moses took the rod of God in his hand”. Moses had been using this rod to tend his flock. From the moment he met the Lord who manifested His miraculous signs to him, that rod no longer was called Moses rod but the “rod of God”.

Moses himself from that moment was no longer the old Moses but Moses the man of God. When we come to Christ, we cease to own ourselves. Our minds, bodies and every physical faculty we possess becomes the Lord’s, and must be identified as such. This is the reason we cannot use our bodies for any unrighteous acts. It no longer belongs to us. 1st Corinthians 16:19 “what? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, and you are not your own”. We have been bought by the blood of our Lord Jesus and must use our bodies solely to honor Him. The bible says we must present our bodies as living sacrifices unto the Lord (Romans 12:1)

In Exodus 4:22, 23 the Lord asked Moses to tell Pharaoh that Israel is my first born and he must release him to go and serve Him. God our father owes all things yet the first things or the first place of everything belongs to Him. James 1:18 says “of His own will begat He us with the word of truth that we should be a kind of first fruit of his creatures”. We are a kind of first fruits of his creatures. This makes us very special unto Himself. We must also show ourselves as special unto Him by dedicating our lives fully to His control and influence. He must always have the first place in our lives.

The clear understanding of Exodus 4:24 remains hidden, but looking at the whole story we can see Moses was almost killed probably by a sickness that attacked him. This happened mainly because he had not observed the rite of circumcision for his son. The wife quickly took a sharp stone and circumcised the son and threw the foreskin at his feet. This relieved him. Note: Moses until his encounter with the Lord had no problem with God over. the circumcision of his son. The moment he became God’s man meant every ordinance of God had to be met. Dear child of God you cannot play down on any biblical instruction. We would have a stricter judgement. God is no respecter of persons and it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. God’s judgement would begin in His house.

 PRAYER

I pray for all children of. God to know how severe the wrath of God is, and so must depart from all ungodly acts or ways.

FURTHER STUDIES.

James 3:1 My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.

1 Peter 4:17 ” For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begins at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Exodus 4:21 ” And the LORD said unto Moses, when thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go”.

The Lord told Moses that his brother Aaron who was very eloquent was coming to meet him. God is a master planner. He works things out before you even know you have such a challenge. All we need as men is to trust His wisdom and follow His instructions.

 Are you a child of God? Have you committed yourself to do that which pleases Him? then be very confident that He is also working everything out for your good. Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for the good of those who love the Lord and to them who are called according to His purpose”.

The Lord assures Moses that He will be with his mouth, moment by moment and instruct   him on what to say. In our work as witnesses and agents bringing salvation to others, we must be very dependent on the Holy Spirit. (John 16:13)

After God has given all the instructions to Moses he decided to go back to Egypt. Moses acted in obedience. The vital part of every instruction, is doing what you are told. What would have happened if Moses had decided not to obey what he was told?  God would have found another man to execute the job, but Moses’ part in history would never have been heard at all. Many of us would have been changers of the course of history if we would have taken the instructions of scripture, daring every fear of failure or shame to go and affect many lives for God.

Archbishop Benson Idahosa of blessed memory is one man whose life affected millions in his day and even now. He responded positively to God’s commission. He started his redemption ministry when he decided to obey the scripture that said a believer in Christ has power to raise the dead. He was not a pastor, but a member of his church. He set off on a particular day looking for a dead person to raise. He found one in the late afternoon. He told the people he had come to raise their dead child. The people gave him the opportunity to raise this child. He could not do it in the first instant, but went back to the Bible and reread how Jesus raised the dead. He said, he asked everyone to leave the room and then in the name of Jesus commanded the dead child to rise up. The girl rose up and from then gained boldness to do so much for the Lord. God used him to save many lives. Every Christian is a candidate to deliver others if, he or she would be obedient to the great commission as stated in Matthew .28 :18-20.

  CONFESSION

I accept God’s commission to go into the world and make disciples of all men. I allow the Holy Spirit to work through me bringing life and deliverance to many.

FURTHER STUDIES

Matthew 28:19-20  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Luke 9:1-2 Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Exodus 4:14 ” And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart.”

The Lord was angry with Moses for putting various impediments through many excuses. Why was God angry with him? Because he was abstracting his deliverance plans for His people.

The Lord showed by this action that, He is the one who is concerned about the salvation, healing and deliverance of every captive. God does not want anybody bound or under Satan’s control. God does not want you sick and helpless because of the works of the devil in your life. As he expressed the dislike for Moses unbelief and fears God is moved towards anybody lost in sin, and hurting especially in this ACCEPTABLE YEAR. In Luke 4:19, the Lord Jesus on announcing His mission statement as He read the prophecy of Isaiah said “He has come to preach the acceptable year.” The acceptable year is also called the year of Jubilee. The year of Jubilee is the fiftieth year after they went to the promised land. Leviticus 25:10″ And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.”

In the year of Jubilee, every slave must be set free. Every debtor must be relieved off the debt. It is a time of total liberty. The Lord Jesus in that great proclamation in Luke 4:18-19 said He had come to proclaim the acceptable year. What is the acceptable year in His time? The acceptable year began the moment he died and resurrected. From the moment of his resurrection till His return everyone in bondage to the devil is to be freed because He has made payments for everyone’s release. It is not just one physical year, but the whole period spanning his resurrection till he comes back for the church. No one must continue to be under Satan’s tribute. He defeated the devil through His death. It is the acceptable year for everybody. Today you can be free from whatever holds you in captivity.

We the children of God must go about telling men that we are in the year of Jubilee or the acceptable year and no one must continue to be under Satan or demonic rule. He or she can be freed.

God gets angry with us when we give Him various excuses why we can’t go. He has finished everything in Jesus: (John 19:30). Just go in His name. We are in a better time than Moses time. Moses was going to be used to set the people free, but we are supposed to go and tell the people that Jesus has already set them free and must turn to Him, to realize their deliverance and salvation.

  *PRAYER *

Oh God, may your church be enlightened about the great power and glory already deposited in us, as we go about the Lord’s commission. Help the church to forsake traditional believes to take our place as saviours”. (Obadiah 1:21)

FURTHER STUDIES.

Obadiah 1:21 ” And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S.”

John 19:30 ” When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Exodus 4:10 ” And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue”.

After Moses had made various enquires for God to give him more proofs to authenticate His commission, Moses comes out to say he is not eloquent slow of speech and of slow tongue”. Was this true? Let’s read what the Holy Spirit says about him in Acts 7:22 “And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptian and was mighty in words and in deeds”.

The Holy Spirit reveals these outstanding qualities about Moses yet he claims he is not eloquent. Why was he behaving like this? This should teach us that Moses and for that matter all these great heroes of faith were men and women of like passions as we are. James 5:17 “Elias (Elijah) was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months”. This immediate scripture was about Elijah. He did so many powerful things, yet God says he is like any of us.

Dear child of God we are living in a better dispensation or under a better covenant and must do far better than they did.

Just consider another action of Moses in Exodus 4:13 “And he said, O my Lord send I pray thee by the hand of him whom thou will send’. The next verse says “And the anger of the Lord was kindled against him…”. This was a man who has been commissioned by God to go and do a task. The truth is all he had to do by virtue of the great commission God gave to him, was to go present himself and say what God asked him to say just as another helper would have done. The rest lies with God. I believe our heavenly father gets angry with us when we give excuses for the task, he has given to us to do. That is, to go into the world, preach the gospel, heal the sick, cleanse the lepers and raise the dead. These feats are not to be done by us, neither in our name. All we need to do is to go, present ourselves and say what He has asked us to say. The rest is His business. Healing the sick, cleansing the lepers and raising the dead is His part after we have spoken His word authoritatively in His name.

How wonderful our world would be if Christians would get on the streets, the shopping malls, hospitals and bring healing and restoration to various people who are aching.

 CONFESSION

It is my part to go and speak for Him. I will dedicate my life to doing this work with all my strength, and He would also confirm His word.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Matthew 10:1 ” And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.”

Mark 16:20 ” And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Exodus 3:13 ” And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?”

Moses kept asking God for various clarifications. He asks what should I tell them when they ask of your name? The Lord was very open to tell him His name.

One thing many of us have been failing is, to ask God various questions on our minds. In this issue we see God answering him by saying He is the I AM THAT I AM. Children of God would experience a better life if they would be prompt to ask God various questions that borders them.

Ask God anything that you do not understand or have no solutions to. If certain issues have refused solutions over a long time, ask Him the way out. The Holy Spirit is present with us to guide us into all truth, and so is ready to answer various questions on our mind. (John 16:13)

In chapter 4:1 Moses inquires further that the Israelites will not believe him if he just goes to them telling them that the God of their fathers has appeared unto him and is ready to deliver them. He had to show them something tangible to prove that this God is able to deliver them.

In Exodus 4:2 the Lord asked him to cast the rod in His hands on the ground and it became a snake. The Lord asked him to put his hand in his bosom and when he put it out it was leprous. He put it back again and it became whole again. With God all things are possible. He can create life out of dead things. He is able to do what He says.

One other lesson we learn about Moses is that he would stay through till he is convinced about an issue. Moses will not settle on mere words he wanted proofs.

The Lord says in Isaiah 1:8 “Come now, and let us reason together saith the Lord…….”. The Lord is ready to go whatever lengths with us. Do not just leave God’s presence. Wait for answers to whatever you are requesting. The Lord will surely show up. Jacob after wrestling with the angel of God did not allow the angel to go until he blesses him. Jacob did not give up but had his blessing.

You would be blessed if you do not give up.

   CONFESSION

I will always stay through with God to obtain whatever God has for me. Delays are not denials .

FURTHER STUDIES.

Genesis 32:26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.

Luke 11:8 ” I say unto you, though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Exodus 3:12 ” And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain”.

The Lord assures Moses that He would be with Him. This is all the assurance he needed to get. God will be with him as he goes about the task God has given to him.

My question to every one of us today is; what is the difference between what the Lord told Moses and what He said to us in Matthew 28:20? “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and lo, I am with you always even unto the end of the world Amen”. The Lord Jesus told the disciples that all power (authority) in heaven and on earth has been given unto me”. He says Go ye therefore. He says He has all the authority in heaven and on earth therefore we must go and make disciples of all nations. Nations in this context is talking about various groups of people. It could be people of the same tribe, work, school, class or a whole nation. Any form of identifiable groups is referred to as nation or “ethros” in Greek.

We would learn that when Moses had this assurance of the Lord’s presence with him, he went and did great exploits in Egypt. We also have the same assurance and there is nothing more that we need again. We must go with that assurance of His presence with us, and likewise set men free from Satan’s power.

When the Lord called Apostle Paul, he said the following to him. Acts 26:18 “To open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me”. This commission which was originally given to Paul, is given to every Christian too. Our ability to fulfill it is to be aware that the Lord is with us and He will do whatever He says. In Mark 16:20 the disciples after the Lord had commissioned them, the bible said “And they went forth and preached EVERYWHERE, the Lord working with them and confirming the word with signs and wonders following. Amen”. The Lord worked with them because He was with them, and He is also with us now. We must never lose awareness of that.

  CONFESSION

The Lord Jesus who has every authority in heaven and on earth is forever with me in whatever I do for him. I will never be afraid to act in His name.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Matthew 28:19 ” Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them” in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:”

John 20:21 “Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Exodus 3:10 Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.

The Lord God tells Moses of the fact that the cries of the children of Israel has gotten to Him and He has come to deliver them. The Lord said in our key scripture that Moses should come unto Him and He would send Him to Egypt and bring the Israelites from slavery. Please note God’s words carefully in the statement of commissioning. He said COME and I will send you…….”. Why did the Lord didn’t just say go to Egypt and bring my people but first said COME? The statement come can, mean leave everything you are trusting, leave your very self and depend solely on me.

God cannot do much with anyone who has self and the influence of his flesh. The Lord said if anyone will come after me, let him deny himself take up his cross and follow Him. (Matthew 16:24,25). No one can do any significant service unto God who has not first forsaken other dependencies especially self. The Lord Jesus died so that we would be free from ourselves. Apostle Paul said in Galatians 2:20 “I am crucified with Jesus……” In effect he was saying i have come out of myself.

In verse 11 Moses said who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt”. The very thing the Lord was asking him to come out from is what he is complaining cannot do the job, that is SELF. He asks, who am I? Moses by himself will be like a mouse before a lion to Pharaoh. He needed to come out of himself and unite with God to fulfil   the mission. Forsake the I and identify fully with God and His Power.

Dear child of God, you have been commissioned to go out to the world and set men free from Satan’s bondage but unfortunately many of us are failing to do this task. The reason is most of us are still hooked to ourselves. Tell yourself today, I turn around from everything holding me back and give myself totally to God to do God’s assignment for my life. Apostle Paul says in Galatians 1:15,16 that when the Lord called him, to reveal His son in Him he did not confer with flesh and blood”.

 YOU WOULD DO MUCH FOR GOD IF, YOU STOP ALLOWING ALL FLESHLY INFLUENCES AND DEPEND FULLY ON THE LORD.

CONFESSION

God has commissioned me to bring deliverance to the lost. I depend on the Lord and trust in Him to get His work done. The self is crucified with Christ and I freely serve the Lord.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Galatians 1:15-16 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:

Matthew 16:24 ” Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Exodus 3:8  “And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.”

The Lord introduces Himself unto Moses for the first time, for Moses did not know Him. He introduced Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. These were people He had covenanted with on behalf of the Jews. Whatever He did for the Israelites was on the basis of the covenant He had with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

 In this new covenant time God does not address Himself on the basis of the covenant with these patriarchs, but the covenant with Jesus. The blood of the Lord Jesus Himself was the token of the covenant (Matthew 26:28) “for this is my blood of the new testament (covenant), which is shed for many for the remission of sins”. Jesus Himself is also God. His name is the covenant name that gives us access to God. Acts 4:12 “Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved”. It is only the blessings of Abraham which we have had access to through our Lord Jesus that we may claim in Abraham’s name. Christians do not relate to God on the basis of His covenant with these Patriarchs. Please get this clear, a number of Christians erroneously make prayers addressing God as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Yes, He is the God of these men, yet now we pray to the father in the name of Jesus.

In Exodus 3:7 the Lord said he had seen the afflictions of His people in Egypt. This was after four hundred and thirty years. (Exodus 12:40. Meanwhile God gave Abraham the promise that they would be in Egypt for four hundred years. Genesis 15:13 “And he said unto Abram, know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs and shall serve them and they shall afflict them four hundred years”. We see that God’s promise to Abraham was four hundred years but they were there for four hundred and thirty years. Many times, when a prophecy is given the people involved have a part to play in its ultimate fulfilment. 1st Timothy 1:18 “This charge I commit unto to thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee that thou by them mightest war a good warfare”. It is not automatic for the prophecies to come to pass, you must stand on those words that the spirit of the Lord gave to pray through. This is what Apostle Paul said Timothy must war a good warfare.

 CONFESSION

I stand on the scriptures on every prophecy spoken over my life that it will come to pass in its time and will not delay.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Exodus 3:9 ” Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them”.

The bible in one year.

Numbers 30:1-31:54, Luke 4:1-30, Psalm 63:1-11, Proverbs 11:20-21

KEY SCRIPTURE: Exodus 3:4 ” And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.”

Chapter 3 verse 1 says, Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian……” Moses came to Midian because he ran away from Pharaoh who would have arrested and killed him, because Moses killed an Egyptian who was beating up a Jew. Many times, we commit certain acts with sincere minds, yet those acts fall foul of the law. The result may not be pleasant yet God works out something good. If Moses had not gotten to Midian through the result of his action the Lord would not have had him for that divine encounter.

Moses saw a bush burning yet the bush did not get consumed. Please note the bible says our God is a consuming fire. The picture of this burning bush is exactly how we appear in the spirit. The spirit is like fire that burns within us although we are not consumed. We must never underrate the mighty power of God at work in us.

Moses decided to turn aside and look at the burning bush. The bible said the moment Moses turned his attention from other things to observe the burning bush, the Lord called him. Many of us are not having any supernatural encounters because we are not giving God our full attention. God always tells those who are concerned. This is the reason those who fast properly have divine encounters. God always want your full attention so he could speak to you. A man who is occupied or having a divided attention cannot have the spirit communicating with him. Many people do not get anything out of their devotional moments, because they are in such a hurry to finish and go do other things. They only read to satisfy their conscience that they have read something. Such an attitude would not invite the Spirit to give any special package to you.

The Lord asked Moses to put of his shoes from his feet before getting close. Some people have made doctrines out of this act and claim we must remove our shoes before going into God’s house. Now God’s presence is not in a building but in us. Acts 17:24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; He dwells in our hearts. Our hearts must rather be pure.

 It is the wrong things we put in our hearts that defile us not the shoe we wear into church.

  CONFESSION

Everything about God is so important to me, and I give my total attention to him and He also manifests himself to me.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Exodus 3:3 ” And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt”.