3 SAYINGS OF PHARAOH - DON'T GO TOO FAR! - PART 2

Here is Part 2 of my son John's message.

The devil and the world are continuously speaking to all Christians the same message, saying - "DON'T GO TOO FAR!"

However, you have got to decide - once and for all - whom you are going to serve and please.

This message is a wake-up call from Jesus to His people.

It's time like never before to get on-fire for God...to sell-out for Jesus...to become all that He wants you to be... to become rock-solid in your beliefs and convictions...and to not care who likes it either!

C'mon, Saint of God! How far away from Egypt are you willing to move? How long are you going to let "Pharaoh" dictate to you just how far you can go in your relationship with your God?

Who is Lord over your life - Jesus or Pharaoh?

May you hear Holy Spirit speaking to you as you read this message.
Connie

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3 Sayings Of Pharaoh - Don't Go Too Far! - Part 2

by

John Giordano

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Many Bible scholars have said that, in the Bible, Egypt can be a type of the world, and Pharaoh can be a type of Satan - the one who wants to keep God's people enslaved in bondage to the world. This point can be well illustrated by the next saying of Pharaoh that we look at in Exodus 8:28 -

"And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: entreat for me."

Obviously, Pharaoh's only reason for not wanting the people of God to go too far away was so that he could control them and send his army after them to bring them back into slavery.

Just like Pharaoh, Satan wants to do the same to you. See, Satan does not want you to be all in with God and far away from the world. He knows that when you are in this state of being spiritually, it is harder to make you succumb to temptation. Also, it's harder to condemn you; it's harder to put you in bondage to fear, doubt, and unbelief. So he tries to convince you to not go very far with God.

He tells you things like: "You don't want to be too extreme about this Jesus stuff. What will your friends think? You don't see anyone else in your church as radical and on fire for Jesus as you are (and they're wonderful Christians); maybe you should calm down. You don't see anyone else seeking God as much as you do. Maybe you're a little extreme. You don't see your good Christian friends witnessing all the time - why should you?"

Now let me explain. There are some people who are flaky. These people get into extreme Charismatic nonsense in the name of being close to God. They go off the deep end doing crazy stuff - all with the excuse of "God told me." Many people have been hurt in church by these types of individuals.

Yet Satan tries to convince normal Christians that are truly on-fire for God that they are too radical or extreme and that they shouldn't go any farther with God. This is, of course, in an effort to get them to stay close to Egypt (the world) and eventually drift back into it.

I have seen and heard examples of this all throughout my Christian life. I have heard of youth who go back to their church from summer camp on-fire for God. These guys and gals used to cut themselves, drink, take drugs, engage in illicit sexual activity; but now they're saved, speaking in tongues, and want to tell everybody about Jesus. Yet, when they get back to their church, they are told by the dry-hyde, dead, lukewarm pew sitters to calm down and "be like all the other normal youth."

Now what is that?

It's Satan using so-called Christians to say - "Don't go too far with God. Stay close to Egypt. Be like all the other normal young people."

The truth is that "normal" young people, "normal" middle-aged people, and "normal" old people are on the road to Hell, and it's time to become an abnormal, radical, on-fire, devil chasing, and mountain-moving kind of Christian.

My friend, do you think the Apostle Paul was just a nominal "Christian" who went to church once a week? Do you think Jesus looked normal to the people of His day?

After all, this is the Man Who said - "if you don't eat of My flesh and drink My blood, you have no part in Me" (John 6:53-58). This is the Man Who said - "If you don't follow Me, carrying your cross, you can't be My disciple" (Matthew 10:38; Luke 14:27).

The truth is Jesus, Paul, and countless others in the Bible were abnormal to the people of their day, and that's how any true Christian will look to people close to Egypt.

I have also seen men and women of God get excited about Jesus and get a compelling burden for the lost. They began to get some tracts together and started handing them out on the streets of their town or city. Soon these soul winners were told by other "Christians" that what they were doing was too extreme, and that they needed to be more like everyone else. Many times these saints of God succumbed to the pressure and went back to doing nothing for God or His harvest fields. Some of these people later fell away from God because they were trying to fit in and be a "normal" pew sitter instead of an on-fire soul winner.

My friend, I believe that Satan's greatest fear is that you would go all the way with God. For, you see, if you go all the way with God, there is no chance of the enemy getting you back. Therefore, Satan uses people (even well-meaning Christians) to try to stop you from getting as far away from the world and the flesh as possible. He knows that, if you live a lukewarm Christian life - just outside of Egypt - he can soon take you back and enslave you again in sin.

Don't be afraid to get radical for Jesus. Don't be afraid to show that you are extremely in love with Jesus.

I was thinking the other day about the fact that no one tries to calm down fans at a sporting event. Some of them even have their faces (or other parts of their bodies) painted up with the team colors. Most of them are screaming at the top of their voices. But no one tries to calm them down. Why? They are fans - fanatics for their team.

My friend, be a fanatic for Jesus. Represent Him well to the world.

It never ceases to amaze me how people have two standards - one for the secular and one for the holy.

Let me explain. When people are watching their favorite shows on TV, I never hear them say - "I'll only watch this for five or ten minutes because, after all, I don't have too much time for this show. Besides, I don't want to be too extreme when it comes to watching this show."

Yet, when it comes to Bible reading and prayer, the same people say they don't have time for too much of that. They are content with five minutes a day with God. After all, any more than that would be extreme.

Christian, are you serving God on the border of Egypt? Has someone calmed you down and told you to not go too far with God?

Realize that Satan wants you to stay close to the world, so that soon he can take you back.

Get on fire for Jesus.
Come back to your first love for Him.
Go all the way with Him - as far from Egypt as possible.
Determine that Pharaoh won't stop you from getting to the Promised Land.

May God Bless His Word,
John

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