Good morning, brothers and sisters; it's always a delight to see the pews crowded on Sunday morning, and people eager to get into God's Word... Turn with me please in your Bibles, if you will, to the 47th chapter of Genesis; we'll begin our reading at verse 13 and go through verse 27.
Brother Ray, would you stand and read this great passage for us? .... Thank you for that fine reading, Brother Ray.
So we see that economic hard times fell upon Egypt, and the people turned to the government of Pharaoh to deal with this for them. And Pharaoh nationalized the grain harvest, and placed the grain in great storehouses that he had built. So the people brought their money to Pharaoh, like a great tax increase, and willingly gave it all to him in return for grain. And, this went on until their money ran out. Once again, they were hungry.
So when they went to Pharaoh after that, they brought their livestock - their cattle, their horses, their sheep, and their donkey - to barter for grain. Verse 17 says this took them only through the end of that year.
But the famine wasn't over, was it?
So the next year, the people came before Pharaoh and admitted they had nothing left, except their land and their own lives. "There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our land. Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we with our land will be servants to Pharaoh." So they surrendered their homes, their land, and their real estate to Pharaoh's government, and then sold themselves into slavery to him, in return for grain.
What can we learn from this, brothers and sisters?
That turning to the government instead of to God to be our Provider during hard times only leads to slavery? Yes..., this is the reason government wants to become our provider; it knows it can ultimately become our master. Yes! Yes! Yes!
But now look look here, how that passage ends, brothers and sisters! "Thus, Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen. And they gained possessions in it, and were fruitful and multiplied greatly." God provided for His people, just as He always has! They didn't end up giving all their possessions to the government. No! It says they gained possessions!
But I also tell you a great truth today, and an ominous one. We see the same thing happening today. Once again, the government wants to "share the wealth," to take it from us, and to redistribute it back to us. It wants to take control of healthcare, just as it has taken control of education, and ration it back to us. And you know, brothers and sisters when government rations it out, then government decides who gets it, how much, and what kind.
And if we go along with it, and do it willingly, then we will wind up no differently than the people did in Egypt some four thousand years ago. We will become as slaves to the government --and as slaves to the government's leaders.
What Mr. Obama's government is doing now is no different from what Egypt's Pharaoh did then; and, my brothers and sisters, it will end in the same way...
A lot of people like to call Mr. Obama a "Messiah," don't they? I ask you, is he a Messiah? Is he truly a Savior?
After Pharaoh made the Israelites his slaves, did they ever say, "You have saved our lives, Pharaoh!" Did they ever say, "If it pleases our lord, we will be servants to you, Pharaoh"?
Well, I tell you this - I know the Messiah; the Messiah is a friend of mine; and Mr. Obama is no Messiah! No, my brothers and sisters, if Mr. Obama is a character from the Bible, then he is Pharaoh.
Bow with me in prayer, if you will.
Lord, You alone are worthy to be served, and we rely on You, and You alone. We confess that the government is not our deliverer, and never rightly will be. We20read in the eighth chapter of 1 Samuel when Samuel warned the people of what a ruler would do; where it says "And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you in that day." And, Lord, we acknowledge that day has come. We cry out to You because of the ruler that we have chosen for ourselves as a nation... Lord, we pray for this nation. We pray for revival, and we pray for deliverance from those who would be our masters. Give us hearts to seek You and hands to serve You, and protect us, Your people, from the atrocities of Pharaoh's government.
In Jesus Holy Name we pray. AMEN.
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