Day 352
Genesis 15:13-14; Exodus 5:2; 12:31-36
"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/our hundred years;
And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance."
"And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go."
"And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel: go and serve the Lord, as ye have said"
"And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent them such things as they required And they spoiled the Egyptians."
God told Abram that his descendants would leave the land that enslaved them and carry with them great substance. In other words, they were not going to depart poor. As the time grew near for the Israelites to leave in God's timing, the prophecy seemed impossible. The devil, working through the king of Egypt, had enslaved them, and they were very poor. They did not have the resources to win a war against the mighty pharaoh, who had used their labor to build great cities for himself. When Moses crune as God's messenger and told Pharaoh to let the Israelites go, Pharaoh reacted as though it were a joke and refused to grant Moses his request. The king felt very powerful. He believed it was his decision as to whether the Israelites left or stayed.
When God makes a promise, the devil often moves to try to prevent it from corning to pass. If we are not wise, we may observe what the devil is doing and use that to determine whether or not God's Word can come to pass. Just like God had a surprise for Pharaoh, He has a surprise for everyone who thinks they can stop Him from being faithful to His Word.
Jesus said He would build His church and the gates of Hell would not prevail against it. He meant what He said. Communist governments have boasted against the God of Heaven and determined that the church was subject to them. One day the statue of a deceased communist leader named Lenin was broken down, as the thing he was sure would not happen crune to pass in the country he once ruled with an iron hand. He thought wherever communist government was established, the message of the gospel would be prevented from spreading. But, while his statue was being dismounted and broken, the gospel was being spread freely throughout communist Soviet Union. The country that once sought to rule the world was divided. Now, millions of Bibles are in that area and hundreds of preachers have been trained to lead the new believers that were saved in great numbers. Nobody tells God what He can or cannot do!
The Communist Chinese government is now attempting to crush a tremendous move of God in their country. The sick are being healed, the dead are being raised, and people are being saved and filled with the Holy Spirit in large numbers. Communism in China will fail before it stops the church of Jesus Christ from marching forward!
The Roman Catholic organization, like the communists, has ruled with an iron fist against the spread of the gospel in countries like Spain and Portugal. (The previous and following statements do not in any way reflect on individual Roman Catholics who love and respect people with different beliefs and are possibly unaware of what goes on in higher levels of their organization.} According to one Portuguese pastor; until about twenty years ago, Christians were openly physically persecuted for their faith. Zealous Catholic loyalists did not even rule out murder to stop the spread of the gospel. Persecution has continued in many ways. If they are still using physical force today, it is not done openly, but they still use various tactics to hinder the followers of Christ and are very determined to retain control of their territories. However, like the communists, they have a surprise coming. God has promised that in the last days His Spirit will be poured out on all flesh. By His mighty power, He will break through and begin to pour out His Spirit upon Spanish and Portuguese flesh and the gospel of the Jesus Christ will sweep those nations. The devil will flee, as one in terror.
The way things look now has nothing to do with what God has promised us. God is not moved by current events, and neither should we be. As Paul said in I Corinthians 4:18, we should not focus on the temporary things we see, but on the eternal things that cannot change. God's eternal Word cannot change. If he said it, that settles it. He will do it. If He spoke it, it will come to pass. Let us believe Him.
I refuse to allow what I see to change my mind about the promises of God. God is faithful to His Word. He cannot lie. I choose to believe Him.