From Comfortable To Cursed

Our difficult times increase our longing to live in a better place.

Genesis 47:4-6  We have come to live here in Egypt for a while, for there is no pasture for our flocks in Canaan. The famine is very severe there. So please, we request permission to live in the region of Goshen.”  

5  Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Now that your father and brothers have joined you here,  6  choose any place in the entire land of Egypt for them to live. Give them the best land of Egypt. Let them live in the region of Goshen. And if any of them have special skills, put them in charge of my livestock, too.”

Genesis 47:11-12  So Joseph assigned the best land of Egypt—the region of Rameses—to his father and his brothers, and he settled them there, just as Pharaoh had commanded.  12  And Joseph provided food for his father and his brothers in amounts appropriate to the number of their dependents, including the smallest children.

Exodus 1:8  Eventually, a new king came to power in Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph or what he had done.

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Nobody wanted a rescue when they first got to Egypt, why would they want to, they just got rescued from the famine in Canaan. Life has been good ever since Joseph saved them from the famine and now they have been living in the best area of Egypt, their livestock were in the best pastures and their families were well fed. But God would soon make sure that they were not comfortable there forever. 

There is a new Pharaoh in town and he isn't as smart as the previous one. The previous one was impressed with the God given wisdom of Joseph but the new man didn't know anything about Joseph or about his God. Just as Joseph was unfairly forced into slavery, now his ancestors have been unfairly put in the same situation.

Pharaoh feared what the Canaanites should have feared. If Pharaoh knew the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob he would have realized that the land that God's people were supposed to take away from it's current residents was not Egypt. The promised land that they would conquer is the place where the Canaanites currently reside.

Pharaoh attempted to shorten the life expectancy and slowdown the birthrate of God's people through slave labor and infanticide seemed like a wise plan but he didn't achieve the intended results. God's people continued to increase despite the harsh treatment.

Pharaoh assumed that he was in charge and that his plans would have the desired outcome. Man's wisdom is wrong so much of the time that we should be very careful. Sometimes God allows the wisdom of evil men to prevail for a long time before he steps in and proves who is really in charge.

Pharaoh's plans were used by God to create a desire to live in a better country Pharaoh didn't have any idea that God would use the persecution to create a longing within his people to live free in the land that was promised to their father Abraham. (Hebrews11:13-16)

God's people need a rescue but their leader that will take them out of bondage isn't even born yet. God's people don't have any idea that they are waiting for a slow plan that will allow them to suffer for many years as they wait for their deliverer.

God's rescuer will come as a baby, babies have to grow up, which means they have to be protected from the plans of evil rulers. Ironically, instead of being killed by the evil ruler, this baby would be protected and become a member of the family of the man that wanted him killed.

God’s grace and sovereignty made a way for Moses’ mother to nurse her own baby, get paid for it, and guarantee that the baby would not be killed. God put Pharaoh's daughter in the right place at the right time and gave her the compassion to care for Moses.

God's rescuer will have to be prepared, he will have to grow up physically and spiritually, he will need time to learn from the mistake of following man's wisdom, and he will have to go to God's classroom in the wilderness to learn godly wisdom.

2 Peter 3:8 But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.

God isn't concerned with our clocks or calendars, God's people have always been in God's waiting room, he almost always moves much slower than we want. Our faith gets stronger when we don't get instant answers to our prayer request.

God's glory shines the brightest when it looks like the desired outcome is completely impossible. Very often he allows our situation to get as bad as possible before it looks like he is reacting and then he reacts in a small way that doesn't even seem to help. 

Isaiah 64:4 For since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him!

God is at work and he is competent and faithful to complete what he has promised. Life is hard but how much desire would we have for a deliverer if we lived in comfort all the time?

It is difficult to understand how God could be merciful to the Canaanites and hold back his judgment on them while his people lost favor with the world around them which resulted in them being persecuted. The world doesn't tolerate us as well as it used to, the church is being persecuted more and more while God delays in delivering us from this evil world.

All of the difficult times remind us that we are not home yet. Our trials increase our longing to live in a better place, a place without bondage to sin, a place with justice for all, a place where we will fully know God and enjoy the rest of his promises that we have not received yet. 

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God Works for Those Who Wait for Him (desiringgod.org)

Faithfulness In Adversity

Government programs quickly prove that they are no match against God's people.

Exodus 1:8-10 Eventually, a new king came to power in Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph or what he had done. 9 He said to his people, “Look, the people of Israel now outnumber us and are stronger than we are. 10 We must make a plan to keep them from growing even more. If we don’t, and if war breaks out, they will join our enemies and fight against us. Then they will escape from the country. ”

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We saw in the previous post that it looks like God is blessing his people as they settle down in Egypt but it didn't take very long for all of that to change. The appreciation for Joseph was gone as the Egyptians and the Pharaoh's attitude changed from thankfulness to fear. We will see today that Godless people can quickly become capable of outrageous and cruel behavior. 

All of a sudden the Hebrews went from freedom to slavery in the land that they called home for hundreds of years. This generation was born in Egypt and this is the only home that they have ever known so it was incredible to them to suddenly become slaves. It's pretty amazing that the government decided the majority of the people living in Egypt were dangerous to the minority so somehow they transitioned the majority into slaves.

Exodus 1:11 So the Egyptians made the Israelites their slaves. They appointed brutal slave drivers over them, hoping to wear them down with crushing labor. They forced them to build the cities of Pithom and Rameses as supply centers for the king.

We are not talking about making them become household servants of the ruling class, this was full on abusive slavery that took away all of their rights, this harsh treatment was probably an attempt to downsize the population by survival of the fittest.

Government Programs 

Ill conceived government programs quickly prove that they are no match against God's purpose for his people. The oppression didn't slow down the growth of the Hebrew population despite the demands of the new government program. 

Exodus 1:13 So the Egyptians worked the people of Israel without mercy.

Pharaoh's godless actions cannot change the fearful situation that he is trying to fix. Instead of admitting they were wrong the government program was expanded and became more harsh as he extends the government program to include infanticide.

Civil Disobedience

It seems incredible that such an important government leader of one of the greatest nations in the world is not named in our Bibles but we do know two of the midwives by name. We don't know which Pharaoh was in charge at the time but the Bible tells us about Shiphrah and Puah.

The irony of it all is that God chose to bless the midwives by giving them children, so instead of them killing Hebrew boys, they probably gave birth to their own boys. The man with the political and military power didn't stand a chance of being successful against lowly women with God on their side.

Pharaoh's Servant or God's Servant

Your government leaders and their programs may change and you may find yourself threatened as a result but we have the only God that is truly powerful and in complete control of our destiny. Pharaoh's plans that were meant for evil are going to be used for God's good purpose, does that sound familiar? (Genesis 45:5, 50:20)

We have a choice to make everyday, we can serve God and be a part of his purpose and plans that cannot fail or we can serve any number of other choices that Satan has to offer. We need to keep in mind that the decision will be more difficult on days when Satan seeks to intimidate us.

The perspective of the Hebrew midwives should be our model. While they did not understand all that was going on, they did fear God, and they refused to obey the orders of Pharaoh when they were contrary to the will of God.

 

The midwives were obedient at a time when God's silence didn't give them a boost in their faith. Their faithfulness in adversity should inspire us to follow their example even as our world becomes more oppressive to God's people.

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Pharaoh’s Fears and Israel’s Faith (bible.org)

Jesus Children Are Overcomers

Trouble is going to happen but it isn't the end of my story.

John 16:29-33 Then His disciples said, “At last You are speaking plainly and not figuratively. 30 Now we understand that You know everything, and there’s no need to question You. From this we believe that You came from God.”

31 Jesus asked, “Do you finally believe? 32 But the time is coming–indeed it’s here now–when you will be scattered, each one going his own way, leaving Me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with Me.

33 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in Me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

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The fact that you have the technology to see this blog post says that you probably have a very comfortable life. The odds are that you probably live in a culture that offers you a comfortable lifestyle and instant everything.

But none of the toys and conveniences that are so abundant can guarantee you an easy life. There is heartache and misery all around, some of you have had a miserable existence, people that you loved and trusted have let you down, friendless, beat up and unloved, you find yourself all alone and hopeless.

That is the kind of people that Jesus had around him during his stay on earth, His people were beat-up and tired, they had been raided and pushed around by foreign governments, they were being used by their own religious leaders, His people were desperate and He was sad for them. (Matthew 9:36, 11:28-29, 15:32, Luke 7:13, 19:41, John 11:35)

Jesus Was A Man Of Sorrows
Isaiah 53:3 He was despised and rejected--a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.

Imagine coming to live here after being in Heaven for all of eternity past, imagine starting life over as a child, a child that is fully God but also fully man. Suddenly you feel pain, hunger and you require sleep just like everybody else yet, you are also God.

When Christ came into the world the first sound He heard was woe-the wail of those mothers in Bethlehem; and from the manger to the Cross, He was surrounded with sorrow.

-Dwight L. Moody 

Imagine leaving the perfection of the best place ever to come to a broken world so that you can go head to head with your worst enemy. What would it be like to know that you were here to die for people that don’t like you and for friends that would turn their back and run? (John 13:37-38)

Jesus gave up a lot to come and be “God with us” but he didn’t show any sorrow about what he lost by leaving Heaven. The main source of his sorrow was for the condition of mankind and the fact that His people rejected the only hope that could ever help.

Jesus Disciples Overcome
1 John 5: 4-5 For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

Followers of Jesus have the big picture, their immediate circumstances are not the end of the story, the trials and sorrows that they have today isn’t how it is always going to be. Jesus told the disciples that you will have these troubles but don’t let it get you down because He has overcome the world.

God is still governing this world, don’t let the daily battle get you down and cause you too much grief, there aren’t any term limits on God’s reign. He is in charge of the circumstances around us and He always will be. What we see as chaos isn’t a surprise or a source of concern to him.

This is not my home, and I will never feel perfectly at peace and perfectly comfortable here but I must continue to the the good works that He has planned or me to do until the day I die and overcome this world just as Jesus did.

The Compromising Church

A difficult environment never justifies compromise.

Revelation 2:12-17 "Write this letter to the angel of the church in Pergamum. This is the message from the One with the sharp two-edged sword: 13 "I know that you live in the city where Satan has his throne, yet you have remained loyal to Me. You refused to deny Me even when Antipas, My faithful witness, was martyred among you there in Satan's city.

14 "But I have a few complaints against you. You tolerate some among you whose teaching is like that of Balaam, who showed Balak how to trip up the people of Israel. He taught them to sin by eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sin. 15 In a similar way, you have some Nicolaitans among you who follow the same teaching.

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Everyone worships someone or something, Satan knows about this God given desire and he has limitless options to help you direct your worship where it doesn't belong, religious beliefs is a wide open category where you can pick and choose.

The church has always been in a battle to keep everything that isn't truth away from their beliefs. It is so important that most churches have a page on their website to tell you what their essential core beliefs are.

Compromised beliefs have been around from the beginning of time when mankind decided to turn away from God's rule. From that day on world history has been filled with substitutes for the truth that we find in God's Word.

2 Timothy 4:3-4 For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will reject the truth and chase after myths.

Jesus was pleased with the church in Pergamos for their stand for the truth in spite of severe persecution but they were not faultless. False teaching from the pagan culture that they lived in was being tolerated.

They didn't get any extra credit because they lived where Satan had so much influence. Judgment will come upon every church that accommodates the culture and seeks acceptance from man.

The world doesn't need a compromised church, they need to know that we have something that is worth living and dying for, the message of the gospel is too important. Jesus doesn't tolerate compromise, Jesus didn't look at their good side and ignore the bad and he didn't make excuses for them because of their difficult environment. The church must be a pure bride without blemish if it is going to attend the marriage supper of the Lamb.

The world doesn't need a judgmental and unloving church either, they need to hear the truth that will save them from eternal punishment but they also need to know that the church people are sinners that haven't forgotten their condition before the Gospel.

Let’s not compromise by seeing how close we can get to right; let’s stand on God’s promise to walk so close to Him that almost right becomes evil in our sight.

-Franklin Graham

God doesn't want any compromise at all but most of us look for the minimum amount of good that we need to do to please him. We go so far as to judge others that look less good to us but we don't know their circumstances. It is easier to look Christ like in some situations more than it is in others, we don't know what they have been called to stand against, they may have resisted far more than I have ever encountered.

Instead of just good enough we need to be seeking to become more like Jesus and stand for truth when it destroys our popularity. There isn't any room for this faulty logic when you realize our mandate is to be holy just as our God is holy. If we are new creations then we shouldn't look so much like our old self. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

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The Suffering Church

Their suffering increased their riches in Jesus' eyes.

Revelation 2:8-11 "Write this letter to the angel of the church in Smyrna. This is the message from the One who is the First and the Last, who was dead but is now alive: 9 "I know about your suffering and your poverty--but you are rich! I know the blasphemy of those opposing you. They say they are Jews, but they are not, because their synagogue belongs to Satan.

10 Don't be afraid of what you are about to suffer. The devil will throw some of you into prison to test you. You will suffer for ten days. But if you remain faithful even when facing death, I will give you the crown of life. 11 "Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what He is saying to the churches. Whoever is victorious will not be harmed by the second death.

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It is easy for the cool and comfortable church to draw big crowds and be successful in the ways that man measures success but that isn't the kind of church that Jesus is pleased with. The church that did not get any reprimand from Jesus was the church that was the least cool and comfortable.

The church at Smyrna was doing church right, all of the potential trouble makers are already long gone from this congregation, if church isn't going to be cool and comfortable then the hypocrites are not going to stick around. The casual attenders that rarely come except at Christmas and Easter are not going to attend this church.

Eighty and six years have I served Him and He has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me? You threaten me with the fire that burns for a time and is quickly quenched, for you do not know the fire which awaits the wicked in the judgment to come and in everlasting punishment. Why are you waiting? Come do what you will.

-Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna

The members of the congregation were persecuted by the Romans and the Jews. They were persecuted by one group for refusing to say, “Caesar is Lord” and the other group persecuted them for saying "Jesus is Lord." The Romans would take away absolutely every material possession for not bowing to Caesar and the Jews would throw them out of the synagogue for their belief in Jesus. Historians tell us that Smyrna was the location of mass executions of Christians who refused to bow their knee to Caesar.

2 Corinthians 6:10 Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything.

Just as the church is Ephesus appeared to be an awesome church through the eyes of man the church in Smyrna seemed to be poor from a human perspective but Jesus saw them differently. God's ways are always opposite from our ways, in God's economy the poor are rich, the lost are found and the dead are alive and the circumcised are the uncircumcised. (Romans 2:27-29, John 8:44)

Their stand for Jesus caused them to lose everything but in reality their suffering only increased their riches. This church was serious about storing up riches that the world cannot take away. (Matthew 6:19-21, James 1:12)

“To everyone wanting a safe, untroubled, comfortable life free from danger, stay away from Jesus. The danger in our lives will always increase in proportion to the depth of our relationship with Christ. Maybe this is why we sit back and settle for a casual relationship with Christ and routine religion in the church. It is safe there, and the world likes us there. The world likes us when we are pursuing everything they are pursuing, even if we do put a Christian label on it. As long as Christianity looks like the American dream, we will have few problems in this world.”

-International Mission Board President David Platt

The prized American dream can get in the way of our dreams of working for our eternal kingdom. We have our roots dug down so deep that it doesn't look like we are planning to leave. If we really believe our Bibles then we should live like we are leaving and we should be sending our treasures ahead of time instead of being so attached to the world's treasures.

The church in America should use it's freedoms to serve more and make disciples more zealously both in our country and abroad. If your church is a cool place to be where life is easy and safe and the biggest persecution that you have is from another church attender that doesn't affirm your worship preferences then your church is due for a makeover.

God's Children Are Hated

Jesus prophesied that the world will hate his people.

John 15:18-20   “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first.  19 The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.  20 Do you remember what I told you? ‘A slave is not greater than the master.’

John 16:1-3  "I have told you these things so that you won't abandon your faith.  2  For you will be expelled from the synagogues, and the time is coming when those who kill you will think they are doing a holy service for God.  3  This is because they have never known the Father or Me.

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Jesus has been preparing his disciples for his death by teaching them one more time, he has taught them to serve and love each other, he has assured them that he is in control of the events that are about to take place and he has attempted to strengthen their faith for the difficulties ahead. Now he talks to them about the hatred that they will soon experience.

Hate is a strong word, there probably are not very many people that I know that would say that they hate Jesus, they would point to his good deeds and morality and say nice things about him. If you asked the same group of people if they follow the devil they would probably say that they would never do that.

These people really are not followers of Jesus but they don't have any idea that they are actually following the devil. There are only two possible states that you can be in, Jesus doesn't give you the option to be neutral, he says that if you are not for him then you are against him and you either love the light or you love the dark. (Matthew 12:30 / John 3:19-21 / 1 Thessalonians 5:5)

Looking back at the history of the world it doesn't take long to realize that Jesus prophecy about the persecution of his followers would be proven to be true. The same persecution that killed Jesus begins in Acts 3 to come against Peter when he begins to preach the gospel and the persecution is not going to stop until he returns.

Why does the world hate us so much?

✔  Because we are not part of their system

"I chose you to come out of the world"

We do not blend in with the rest of society, we act different, we talk different and we refuse to be a part of things that don't please God. The ways of the world and the things that they accept are not acceptable to us.

In the Old Testament God had a people, their diet, clothes and religion were all different from the rest of the culture. In the church age God still has a people, they don't have to maintain the differences of his Old Testament people, but they are still different.

The world cannot stand it! You don't love what they love, you don't live for pleasures, achievements and possessions and you have been moved to a new kingdom. (Colossians 1:13-14 / 1 John 2:15-16)

✔  Because they hated our leader

"They will do all this to you because of Me"

Jesus made it clear that the world is going to treat us like they treated him, from the time he was born and the king set out to get him by killing every baby, to the day he was tortured to death. Christians are the most loved of all people by God and they are the most hated of all people by Satan.

His followers in the early church made huge sacrifices because of their faith. In the United States we have been blessed with the best treatment that a followers of Jesus has ever enjoyed. While Christian brothers and sisters around the world are persecuted we live with comfort and pleasures that are unthinkable to them.

It is very tempting to stay away from persecution by telling people the stuff about our faith that doesn't offend, prayer and faith are okay but if you cross the line and talk about the reality of death, and judgment, and hell then the ability to be friends with the world starts to fade.

✔  Because they don't know God

"they have rejected the one who sent me" 

Think about the audience that Jesus was speaking to when he said that they do not know God. The religious leaders were paid professionals that should have known God better than anyone.

They should have known God, they had the Torah, the teachings of the Rabbis and the prophets but with all of that evidence God still wasn't well known. (John 7:28-29, 8:19, 54-55, 16:3, 17:25 / 1 John 2:3-4)

Overcome The Hate
John 15:26-27  “But I will send you the Advocate, the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me. And you must also testify about me because you have been with me from the beginning of my ministry.

All of this bad news was difficult to handle, the disciples had abandoned all for Jesus, he didn't want to leave them without hope. If they decided to give up and walk away from everything that Jesus had taught them then the Christian faith wouldn't get beyond Ancient Palestine.

He tells them that he will not leave them as orphans but instead he would send them help that would be through his power living inside of each of them so that they could endure the hate that they would face.

How to treat your enemy

(Exodus 23:4-5 / 2 Kings 6:22 / Proverbs 25:21-22 / Luke 6:27-28, 6:34-35, 23:34 / Acts 7:60 / 1 Corinthians 4:12-13, 13:4-8 / 1 Peter 2:23, 3:9)

Romans 12:17-21  Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable.  18  Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.  19  Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, "I will take revenge; I will pay them back," says the LORD.  20  Instead, "If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads."  21  Don't let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

The Bible has a lot to say about treating our enemies much better than they deserve. We were all enemies of the King but God so loved the world that he came to love us anyway. The extravagant love of Jesus demands that I treat people the same way and the Holy Spirit is my help so that I can do it.

The Holy Spirit will always be with us helping us through this evil world, the promise that we have is that we will never be alone, the Holy Spirit will be with us even when our faith and obedience takes us to places that are not safe to love people that are not very lovable by the world's standards.

I need to be ready to follow Jesus anywhere he ask me to go, beyond where it is safe and easy, I need to be ready to forgive, pray for and do good to anyone that wants to treat me wrongly because of my faith.

Dear Jesus, I pray for believers around the world that are taking a stand for you, I pray that they will stand strong, I pray that you will change the hearts of those that are persecuting them and I pray that the gospel will continue to spread.

International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church - November 6, 2016