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Sermon #27: THE BATTLE BELONGS TO THE LORD

  “But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. So I will stretch out my hand …” Exodus 3: 19-20 I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him,” God said to Moses. I rephrase this statement as follows: “I know that the devil will not leave you alone unless a mighty hand compels him.” That sounds totally true. Satan has to be compelled to leave you alone, to let you go. He will never willingly let you go. This goes to show the determination that Satan has when it comes to constraining the children of God; he wants to keep them in bondage forever. Christians, therefore, need to be more determined than the devil to free themselves from his shackles. Unfortunately, a number of Christians are too lukewarm or absent-minded to even think of getting their freedom; such Christians, therefore, remain under Satan’s bondage in various areas of their lives. The devil is determined to bind you forever. If the devil i...
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Sermon #22: STAY POSITIONED ACCORDING TO GOD'S WILL AND PURPOSE FOR YOUR LIFE

 The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live.” Genesis 26:2


I want you to picture the context.

According to Genesis 26:1, “… there was a famine in the land…” Genesis 26:1

Whenever there is famine in a given place, some residents emigrate. Some stick it out, and for some, it is because they have no choice – they just have nowhere to go.

Emigration happens regularly in developing countries. Sometimes the economies of developing countries, for one reason or another, collapse, compounding the economic hardships, leading many to seek greener pastures elsewhere.

We usually see on the news crowds of people from developing countries emigrating to developed countries, sometimes under very punishing and treacherous circumstances. Some of them would be quite vulnerable as they travel, in various respects.

It looks like Isaac had considered emigrating to Egypt, but before he could even make the necessary arrangements, the One who knows and sees everything dissuaded him from taking the trip. “Do not go down to Egypt” the LORD instructed Isaac.

“…live in the land where I tell you to live,” the LORD added.

“Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you ...” Genesis 26:3, the LORD added as if to leave no doubt in Isaac’s mind regarding where he should stay if he did not go down to Egypt.

This got me thinking.

Here are a few nuggets that I picked from this episode:

  • the place to be is the place in which God wants me to be, whatever challenges there might be in the place;

  • the things to have are the things that God wants me to have;

  • by extension, the person to be is the person that God wants me to be;

  • as long as I am in the place God wants me to be, God will be with me and will bless me – the same applies whenever I remain the person that God wants me to remain;

  • difficulties last for a season, but if the LORD is in the midst of the situation, the sun will eventually shine on me;

  • I can be at my best and be my best only if I stay positioned according to God’s will and purpose for my life.

Now this is quite illuminating!

Stay only in the land in which God wants you to stay, I urge you. It can only turn out for your good, I assure you.

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