God's Pattern For Deliverance Part 5 - The Uprooting Begins

God’s Pattern For Deliverance

 

Part 5 – The Uprooting Begins

 

Time to Start Pulling the Tares…

 

               So if we’ve followed the step-by-step Deliverance Pattern that God lays out in the Word up to this point, we’ve watched as God has turned the power of our oppressor against itself. We’ve also seen that its source of nourishment has become abominable to it, and how He’s made those things a source of weakness for it. So now what?

              

And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt. And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt. Exo 8:5-6

 

And the LORD said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt. And they did so; for Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man, and in beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt. Exo 8:16-17

 

Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are. Exo 8:21

 

And the LORD did so; and there came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants' houses, and into all the land of Egypt: the land was corrupted by reason of the swarm of flies. Exo 8:24

 

               At the time of the exodus event, the Egyptians believed that nature, and all things natural, consisted of four primary elements. These elements were water, earth, air and fire.

               By causing frogs to come from the water; lice from the dust of the earth; and swarms of flies to fill the air, Jehovah was teaching the Egyptians a very important lesson. He was proving to them that He was so powerful, that He could turn all of created nature into a weapon that could be used against the nation of slave-owners. If this had happened during our time, we would see a guy on every street corner holding a sign, reading “Repent! The end is near!”

               Water, air and earth were the three elements of nature that man had absolutely no control over. As a result, the ancient world both feared and revered them. Every civilization on the earth at the time worshipped gods of air, earth, and water.

In Egypt, the gods that were based in and around the Nile – the greatest source for water and nutrition in the land – were especially revered. In fact, only the god of the sun, the king of Egypt’s deities, was more powerful and more worshipped than the gods centered on the Nile. And even part of his worship was tied to the Nile. For the Nile to produce legions of frogs had to turn the spiritual and supernatural beliefs of the Egyptians upside down.

This whole process of nature turning against the oppressors is still part of the pattern that God uses today. Once the uprooting process has begun in earnest, God empowers His children so that our very nature; the one thing that any source of bondage cannot control, turns against the oppression.

 

Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? Rom 6:16

 

               Bondage of any sort may only enter our lives through our submission to it. In one form or another, we have invited our oppressor to begin operating in our bodies, hearts and minds. Usually, it is an act of disobedience to the word of God that opens the doorway for it to enter our lives.  

 

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Rom 3:23

 

               Because we have all sinned, we have all disobeyed the word of God at some point in our lives. As a result, all of us can be oppressed, because we have all opened doorways into our lives through disobedience. Oppression is not a “them” issue, it is an “us” issue

 

Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Intreat the LORD, that he may take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice unto the LORD. And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Glory over me: when shall I intreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses, that they may remain in the river only? And he said, To morrow. And he said, Be it according to thy word: that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the LORD our God. Exo 8:8-10

 

But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said. Exo 8:15

 

And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man, and upon beast. Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said. Exo 8:18-19

 

               It is at this point that we see cyclical effect on Pharaoh’s attitude. First, he is going to let the Israelites go. Then he decides not to. We see this time and again.

               Once our recreated nature, the nature of God within us, begins to rise up in holy indignation to our oppression, we see the same effect in our own lives. This cyclical effect of strength and weakness is a good sign. It means that our spirits and our flesh are starting to defy our oppressor.

               We see this manifest as a cycle that is repeated time and again. On some days, we will be stronger than the addiction, illness, etc. On other days, it will be stronger than us. This cycle will continue until the last stages of our deliverance.

 

And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth. And I will put a division between my people and thy people: to morrow shall this sign be.

Exo 8:22-23

 

We see at this point that God has drawn a line in the sand between the Egyptians and the Israelites. He has separated them so the plagues He sends against Egypt do not affect His children.

The same thing happens with our oppressor at this point in this process. God separates us spiritually from whatever bondage we have been struggling against.  This spiritual division, or breaking of covenant with it, causes its power over our lives to diminish even further. Now the cycles of strength and weakness begin to grow longer and longer in our favor. Whatever need that this thing used to satisfy, it cannot satisfy any longer. Deliverance is coming.

 

The Negotiations Begin

 

And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land. And Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the LORD our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us? We will go three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the LORD our God, as he shall command us. 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: intreat for me. And Moses said, Behold, I go out from thee, and I will intreat the LORD that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, to morrow: but let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD. And Moses went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the LORD. And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; there remained not one. And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go. Exo 8:25-32

 

               Now we notice that Pharaoh starts to look like he’s tired of sleeping with a bed full of bugs, and he becomes willing to at least talk about giving in to the demands of Jehovah and Moses. At least he’s willing to negotiate to see if he can get a little better terms than what he’s been offered.

               Our source of bondage will use the same tactic at this point. This will generally happen in the battlefield of the mind. This is usually where an alcoholic will begin to think, “I’ll keep drinking, but just on the weekends.” Other forms of oppression will use similar tactics to make us believe that we are being partially released, and that we’ll be given terms that we can live with.

 

And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go. Exo 8:32

 

               First of all, we need to understand that any attempt to negotiate with any form of oppression is doomed to end in failure.

 

And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 2Co 6:15-17

 

               If we are to be free from our bondage, we cannot be partially free. We cannot continue to associate with our oppressor in any form or fashion.

 

And Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the LORD our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us? We will go three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the LORD our God, as he shall command us. Exo 8:26-27

 

               Instead of accepting the terms offered in any attempts at negotiation, we must continue on the path to complete freedom. We must not waver.

 

This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be. Gal 5:8-10

 

               If we allow any oppressor room to operate in our lives, even under negotiated terms, we will soon find ourselves completely under its control again. A little oppression is still not freedom. We must continue with this process until we are completely free.

 

If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. Joh 8:36

 

               It is always God’s will for us to be completely set free. It was not His plan that we should continue to be oppressed by anything in any part of our life.

 

The Powerless Oppressor

 

Then the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. For if thou refuse to let them go, and wilt hold them still, Behold, the hand of the LORD is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very grievous murrain. And the LORD shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt: and there shall nothing die of all that is the children's of Israel. And the LORD appointed a set time, saying, To morrow the LORD shall do this thing in the land. And the LORD did that thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt died: but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one. And Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not one of the cattle of the Israelites dead. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.

Exo 9:1-7

 

               At the time of the exodus event, horses and cattle represented power just like tanks and helicopters represent power today. When God threatened the cattle and horses of Egypt, He was in fact, threatening their power base.

               Horses represented military power at home. Camels represented power to cover great distances to trade, and military power abroad. Oxen and donkeys represented power to feed the nation by plowing and reaping the harvest. They were also used to carry great loads for Egypt’s building projects. So when God threatened the health and welfare of Egypt’s herds, He was threatening to eliminate their military power, and their power to acquire or replace the wealth and power that had already been stripped from them.

               After we have successfully gone through all the previously outlined steps in this process, we will begin to see the power of our oppressor over our life begin to falter. It is at this point where many deliverance ministers feel the time is right to jump on whatever is binding us and cast it down. The time is not right just yet, however. We need to complete the process. Don’t be in a hurry to jump ahead of God.

And the LORD said unto Moses and unto Aaron, Take to you handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh. And it shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt. And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven; and it became a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast. And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boil was upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians. And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had spoken unto Moses. Exo 9:8-12

 

               Once God released the plague of boils against the Egyptians, their ability to do any sort of productive work was stopped cold. The power of their workforce was instantly brought to almost zero. As a result, all types of productive work needed to sustain the nation was ceased.

               As God continues to strengthen us against our oppressor, we will begin to notice that our new spiritual strength begins to manifest in our flesh, as well. Whatever is keeping us in bondage will begin to lose all of its ability to exert its power and authority over our daily lives. As it loses its ability to operate in any sort of power, it becomes weaker every day, just as the nation of Egypt did.

               As long as we continue in the steps of this process, it will be unable to ever regain the ability to operate as it once did. Just like the nation of Egypt, it has become a diseased, weakened opponent, unable to muster any sort of power to operate against us.

 

And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth. For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth. And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth. As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go? Behold, to morrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now. Send therefore now, and gather thy cattle, and all that thou hast in the field; for upon every man and beast which shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought home, the hail shall come down upon them, and they shall die. He that feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses: And he that regarded not the word of the LORD left his servants and his cattle in the field. And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt. And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt. So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field. Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail. And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. Intreat the LORD (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer. And Moses said unto him, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands unto the LORD; and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that thou mayest know how that the earth is the LORD'S. But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will not yet fear the LORD God. And the flax and the barley was smitten: for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled. But the wheat and the rye were not smitten: for they were not grown up. And Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread abroad his hands unto the LORD: and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth. And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go; as the LORD had spoken by Moses. Exo 9:13-35

 

               Fire is the fourth, and most powerful element in the natural world of the Egyptians. Although it is also the most fear-inspiring and destructive, it is the one element that the Egyptians had the power to control. At least to some extent. Now, we see that their power to control this most destructive of elements has been harshly wrested from their grasp, and is destroying their wealth and substance.

               To the Egyptians, Amun-Ra, the sun god and king of the Egyptian deities, appears to have broken forth upon them, destroying everything that makes them a wealthy and powerful nation. To make it even worse, their second most powerful gods, those of the Nile, are completely unable to assist them in putting the fires out. The fires of wrath that have descended upon their nation are consuming all of their belongings as they stand around helplessly and watch.

              

And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt. So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field. Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail. Exo 9:23-26

 

To the average Egyptian, it must have appeared that Amun-Ra and the rest of the Egyptian deities had either deserted their nation, or been defeated by Jehovah. This foreign God was destroying their nation, and all they could do was to watch helplessly as it happened.

               As God releases the purifying fires of His wrath against our powerless oppressor, He begins to destroy every outward sign that it ever had any life in it to begin with. And this all happens without any negative effects on us, His children. At this point, drug addicts will begin to notice that they are able to go long periods of time without any withdrawal symptoms. Alcoholics may see long periods of recovery where there aren’t any shakes or any of the other alcohol-related withdrawal symptoms. That doesn’t mean that the cure has been administered. It means that the process is working and we must continue with it.

 

And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. Intreat the LORD (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer. Exo 9:27-28

 

               Pharaoh appears to finally be getting the message. It appears that he has figured out that the only hope of saving what is left of his nation is to repent and set the children of God free.

               It is at this point in our deliverance that our oppressor will begin to repent, as well. Disease may go into complete remission. Drug and alcohol withdrawal symtoms may completely stop. But still, we must continue.

 

And Moses said unto him, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands unto the LORD; and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that thou mayest know how that the earth is the LORD'S. But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will not yet fear the LORD God. And the flax and the barley was smitten: for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled. But the wheat and the rye were not smitten: for they were not grown up. Exo 9:29-32

 

               We are not to be fooled by the apparently complete remission of our oppressor at this point in time. Notice from the text above that everything was not destroyed. The wheat and rye were still in the ground, not having grown up, yet.

               It is the same with our pattern of deliverance. If we allow ourselves to be fooled by the apparent remission of our bondage, we will find out later that it had planted seeds that we were not aware of. As a result, there are still roots which may spring up at any time, restoring life to it once again. This is how diseases like leukemia and cancer can spring back up after years in remission. This is also why a recovering alcoholic will fall off the wagon after five years of sobriety. The entire pattern must be completed for deliverance to actually occur.

 

And Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread abroad his hands unto the LORD: and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth. And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go; as the LORD had spoken by Moses. Exo 9:33-35

 

               Notice that as soon as Moses leaves the city and the pressure is off, the Pharaoh is no longer repentant. He no longer plans to release the Israelites.

               It is the same in our deliverance pattern. As soon as we turn our backs or stop this process, whatever is oppressing us will rise up again, no longer in fear of the consequences. As soon as we are no longer vigilant, it returns. It will return in power, and we will be captive once again. The only solution is to continue to the end of this process and let God have His full work in our lives.

               To those truly seeking deliverance please be on the look-out for the next article in this series: “God’s Pattern For Deliverance Part 6 – The Oppressor Humbled.”

 

 

 

 

              

              

 

 

 

God's Pattern For Deliverance Part 4 - The Power Encounter: The Beginning of the End

God’s Pattern For Deliverance

 

Part 4 – The Power Encounter: The Beginning of the End

 

If we are Free…

 

               If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. Joh 8:36

 

               If the Son shall make you free. How exactly does that happen? How does the Son go about bringing freedom to a life of oppression and servitude?

               We know that we serve a God that uses patterns to communicate His nature and His will for every given situation. By coming to understand the patterns that God has given us, we can always achieve the desired results in any situation.

               It’s just like making a dress from a pattern. Every time we follow the pattern we have, we end up with the same dress. The same is true for God’s patterns. If we follow His pattern for deliverance, we will always end up being delivered. And we will stay delivered. No exceptions.

Enslavement is Pride

 

               Back in the very beginning of things as far as man is concerned, satan was cast down. His downfall was due to a pride issue. Any time anyone rises up to defy Almighty God it is a pride issue, plain and simple. When we refuse to humble ourselves before the Lord Jesus Christ and do as He commands, it is an expression of pride in one form or another.

               Once he was cast down, he again defied the will of God and contributed to the downfall of man in the Garden of Eden. Obviously, he was still struggling with that whole pride thing.

               In order to cause man’s downfall, he played on Eve’s pride, as well as her lusts. It was her pride that was the real culprit, however. It was her desire to be like a god that caused her to take a bite of the forbidden fruit.

               Let’s face it: that tree had always been in the Garden. The fact that it was good for food and pleasant to the eye had never been a problem for her in the past. The difference this time was that she was promised the wisdom of the gods if she ate it. Like most of us would have done, her foolish pride manifested in her desire to be like God, so she took a bite. Pride was her downfall.

               Because of her pride, she and her husband fell from grace. As a result of the fall, sin, sickness and disease, and everything unwholesome was given authority to operate on the earth. Therefore, every form of sin, sickness and oppression is a direct result of pride. Either the pride of man or the pride of satan. Regardless of whose pride we’re talking about, someone’s pride is always at the root of every sin and every form of oppression, including disease. Had it not been for pride, none of these various forms of oppression would exist on the earth. If it were not for pride, they would not have the freedom to operate as they do.

               So when we begin to discuss the need for deliverance in any form – salvation, healing, or demonic deliverance – we must first address that what we really need deliverance from is pride. Whether it’s out pride, the pride of our culture, or the pride of the enemy, it is pride that is always the root.

               But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Jas 4:6

 

               Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. Pro 16:18

 

               Since we are talking about pride, we need to understand that God hates a proud heart (Ps. 101:5). As such, He is always willing to get involved in our situations in order to bring humility. If we are struggling with pride, God will bring humility through the working of His Holy Spirit as we learn to submit ourselves wholly to Him. If it is the pride of our culture that has taken up arms against us, He is more than willing to become involved in our situation in order to honor his Word and exalt the humble. If it is the pride of the enemy that has oppressed us, He is more than willing to put His hand on that thing and declare that it must let us go. It is all about bringing humility to a place where pride is oppressing us.

The Provision of the Promise

 

               One expression of man’s pride is the inability or the refusal to believe in the promises of God. We see this all the time in the church world. Some denominations refuse to believe that God still heals today. Others claim that the gifts of the Spirit are not for today. Still others say that apostles and prophets are no longer in operation.

               When we make the decision to walk with Jesus, we need to quickly come to a major decision in our walk. Either we’re going to believe the Word of God or we’re going to believe the doctrines of men and the doctrines of devils that are so prevalent in the church of today.

               If we’re going to believe the Word of God, then we need to decide we’re going to believe all of it. Not just selected passages that agree with what we’ve been taught. If what we’re being taught does not line up with the Bible, then we need to decide in favor of the Bible. Always. Every time.

               If we’re going to believe the doctrines of man, then there is nothing that I or any other minister can do to help. Sorry.

               Once we come to the decision to believe the Word of God, it is a short walk to believing that every promise that God made to the people in the Bible is still good today. 

              

 

               Once God makes us a promise, it as good as money in the bank. God has made us numerous promises that we need to hold onto. Many, many promises are contained in the Word. They are just as valid today as the day they were recorded.

               And the Word is not the only source that God uses to reassure us that He is taking care of something for us. Sometimes He will witness His promises directly to our spirits. At other times, He may use a prophetic voice to speak into our lives. It doesn’t matter how He communicates His promises to us. A promise from God is a promise from God; period.

               And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations. Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt: And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey. And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God. And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand. And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go. And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty: But every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians. Exo 3:15-22

 

               In this passage, we see a promise from God that He will lay His hand on the thing oppressing the Israelites to bring them out of their oppression. In addition, He is going to make sure that they are reimbursed for all their trouble. These promises to the children of God are still good, today. When we are being oppressed by something, all we have to do is to follow the pattern that God has given us. When we do so, we activate every promise that He has made for that type of situation. How do we know that the Old Testament promises of God are still valid?

               Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. Act 10:34-35

 

               God does not have more love for those in the Bible than He has for you. Everything that He did for those that are recorded in the Word, He is still doing for His children. It doesn’t matter what has happened in your past. It doesn’t matter where you came from. It doesn’t even matter that you are not worthy of His help. We have all participated in numerous sins worthy of a death sentence. We’ve all come from bad places in our lives. None of us are worthy to be called the sons of God on our own. Nevertheless, He loves us all the same. Just like He loved those in the Word. We are all His chidren, and we are all entitled by right of our spiritual rebirth to all of His promises. We just have to make the decision to believe the promise and then to stand on it until it manifests in our lives.

               In other words, with very few exceptions, everything that happened in the Bible can, should and does happen today. Everything.

               And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go. Exo 3:20

 

               If God was willing and able to strike down the thing oppressing and enslaving the children of Israel for their benefit, He will do the same for us. In fact, since we are covered by the blood of Christ Jesus, we have a right to expect even more because we are sons and not servants.

The Uprooting Begins

 

               And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness. 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 they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days' journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the LORD our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword. And the king of Egypt said unto them, Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their works? get you unto your burdens. And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them rest from their burdens. And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying, Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves. And the tale of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish ought thereof: for they be idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God. Let there more work be laid upon the men, that they may labour therein; and let them not regard vain words. And the taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers, and they spake to the people, saying, Thus saith Pharaoh, I will not give you straw. Go ye, get you straw where ye can find it: yet not ought of your work shall be diminished. So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw. And the taskmasters hasted them, saying, Fulfil your works, your daily tasks, as when there was straw. And the officers of the children of Israel, which Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and demanded, Wherefore have ye not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and to day, as heretofore? Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, saying, Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants? There is no straw given unto thy servants, and they say to us, Make brick: and, behold, thy servants are beaten; but the fault is in thine own people. But he said, Ye are idle, ye are idle: therefore ye say, Let us go and do sacrifice to the LORD. Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks. And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in evil case, after it was said, Ye shall not minish ought from your bricks of your daily task. And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh: And they said unto them, The LORD look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us. And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? why is it that thou hast sent me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all. Exo 5:1-23

 

               In this chapter, we are seeing the first stages of the actual power encounter between God and the nation of Egypt. The Power Encounter happens when the power of God directly confronts the oppressor in our lives. It doesn’t matter whether that oppressor is our own flesh, the world we live in, or the demonic forces of the enemy. The deliverance process is the same, and the reaction will be the same.

               Once God has seen our affliction, heard our cry for help, and come to an intimate understanding of our struggle, He comes down to deliver us. When He comes down to deliver us from our oppressor, the first thing that He does is to “fire a shot over the bow”. He does this in order to let that thing, whatever it is, know that He is about to set us free.

               When God first informs this oppressor that He is setting us free, the first thing we usually see happen is that it rises up in defiance. Because of its pride, it will rise up against the will of God in our lives. In short, the problem will become worse than ever. Sickness and disease will manifest more and usually worse symptoms than ever. Addictions will seem to become even harder to struggle against. Those that struggle against rage or similar issues will notice that for a time they are having even more trouble than usual. This is only a temporary situation, as we will soon see.

               The fact that it is rising up in defiance is actually a good sign. That means that God has pointed His finger at that thing and informed it that He has come down to bring us deliverance, healing, etc.

               Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. Mat 13:24-30

 

               When God comes into our lives, He immediately begins to sow good things into our lives. Unfortunately, all of us have had a life before Christ. As a result, we all have areas in our lives where we deal with things within us that are not of God. Many of us are broken, hurt, unloving, etc. Once God comes into those areas of our lives, He turns over the field and begins planting a new crop.

               Like most farmers, when God plants a seed, He is looking for a harvest. Unlike human farmers, however, God doesn’t just plant a seed and look for the harvest. He sets the date for the harvest. Just like God created corn and wheat and squash to grow in a certain time span, the seeds He creates and plants within us are assigned a certain amount of time to grow and bear fruit. Once God sets that date, He doesn’t change it. God doesn’t worry about coming up with a “plan B”, because His “plan A” always works out just like He wanted it to.

               So when we come to Jesus as Lord and Savior, God immediately begins to place seeds within us. He plants the nature of Christ within us; the fruit of the Spirit. He plants a new love within us. He plants many things that weren’t there before.

               Once God begins to plant seeds for righteousness within us, our flesh, the world, and the forces of the enemy will rise up to try and choke out those good things the Lord has planted. After God first plants for His harvest, we will suddenly seem to be battling on every front. Our flesh will rise up, and those things we haven’t struggled with in years will come back to haunt us. Our friends, family, and even our spouses will come against us. The world around us will start treating us like we’re lepers. Problems will arise at work. We will suddenly seem to be getting sick s lot more often than is usual, etc.

               It seems like the more we pray for relief from this uprising, the worse it gets. If we are not careful, we can come to believe that this is God’s fault. We can come to convince ourselves that He has abandoned us. If we listen to the voices of others, or the voice of our flesh, we will be constantly reminded that things weren’t this bad before God got involved in our lives. We may even allow ourselves to be convinced that the only safe thing to do is to turn around and walk away from God.

               And Moses spake before the LORD, saying, Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened unto me; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who am of uncircumcised lips? Exo 6:12

 

               If we’re not careful, we can allow ourselves to be convinced that the issues we are dealing with are bigger than us. We may even come to the conclusion that they are bigger than our God.

               Do not be intimidated by any of these things in your life. If God is sowing into you, then He has already planned and set the date for the harvest. On that date, He will pull up the things that are struggling against you and remove them from your life. Once the tares in our lives rise up in prideful defiance to His will, we can be assured that He can and will strike them down. We can also take comfort in the fact that the date for their destruction has already been set, and that their days are numbered. We can also rest assured in the fact that when God sets the date for the harvest, everything after that is His work. We can’t mess it up even if we try because it is no longer about us. It’s about Him versus the tares.

               Then the LORD said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land. And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD: And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them. And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers. And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant. Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments: And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the LORD. Exo 6:1-8

 

               Once God has set a date for the harvest in our lives, He never waivers. He never takes a step back. Even if every single thing which has power over our lives rises up in defiance, God never changes the schedule. He never forgets His covenant promises to His children, and His Word is as good as gold.

               So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Isa 55:11

 

               You can rest assured that when the mouth of God uttered those promises of freedom to the children of Israel, that He was speaking to you, as well. He had your exact situation in mind, and the date for the harvesting of the tares is set in stone, written in Heaven.

God Marches Forward – The Engagement Initiated

 

               And the LORD said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. Thou shalt speak all that I command thee: and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he send the children of Israel out of his land. And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt. But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth mine armies, and my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them. And Moses and Aaron did as the LORD commanded them, so did they. And Moses was fourscore years old, and Aaron fourscore and three years old, when they spake unto Pharaoh. And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Shew a miracle for you: then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent.

Exo 7:1-9

 

               Once any form of bondage rises up in prideful defiance to the Word and the will of God, God responds by increasing the pressure. Remember back in Chapter 5, God only instructed Moses to tell Pharaoh that the children of Israel needed to go three days into the wilderness to celebrate a feast. Now that Pharaoh has risen up against God and His children in prideful defiance, God changes the terms of His command to Egypt. No longer does He tell Moses to demand three days for a feast. Now He tells Moses that He is going to execute great judgments against Egypt until the Egyptians know that Jehovah is God. Once God has executed those judgments and the Egyptians realize Who they are defying, God assures Moses that the Egyptians will send them from Egypt, not just let them go to sacrifice.

               This pattern still works today in our lives. Once any form of bondage rises up, God begins the engagement by putting pressure on it. People we don’t even know will begin interceding for us. The Spirit of the Lord will come over us and minister rest and peace to us in the middle of its uprising. Those that God has placed in our lives will suddenly begin to hold us up when we start to falter. In short, God begins to pressure that thing until it is time to engage it.

               And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the LORD had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods. And he hardened Pharaoh's heart, that he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.

Exo 7:10-13

 

               Regardless of what rises up to defy the Lord, His power always dwarfs it and eats it up.

               The Hebrew word translated here as “serpent” (Strong’s #H8577) should have actually been translated as “sea monster, sea serpent, or dragon”. During the time of the exodus event, it was also used to describe very large crocodiles. We need to take just a minute to consider the implications of this.

               When God met Moses at the burning bush, He instructed Moses to throw down his rod and it became a serpent. In Pharaoh’s court, however, it is Aaron that throws down the rod. At the burning bush, the Hebrew word for serpent is used in the original text (Strong’s #H5175). In the court of Pharaoh, the same word is not used because the rod of Aaron became a very large crocodile, not a serpent.

               Why is this important? We must take into consideration that we are dealing with ancient Egyptians.  Ancient Egyptians revered the Nile crocodile as one of the most powerful gods in their pantheon. The crocodile god was worshipped by nearly every class of Egyptian, and was thought to be nearly undefeatable, even by other gods.

               When Aaron’s rod turned into a giant crocodile and swallowed up the crocodiles of Pharaoh’s magicians, it sent a very clear message to Pharaoh and his wise men that their gods had been turned against Egypt by the power of Jehovah. With this one simple act, Jehovah proved that He was so powerful that He could, in fact, turn the Egyptian gods against the nation that worshipped them. This sent a very clear message to the children of Israel to have faith in Jehovah. This also sent a clear message to the Egyptian magicians that all of their demonic power would be of no avail against this unknown God of the Hebrew slaves.

               This is always the next step in the pattern for deliverance. After the defiant uprising of whatever is binding us, God begins to turn the power of that thing against itself. For example, cancerous tumors will begin to devour themselves instead of the healthy cells of the body. The drugs that a person is addicted to will begin to exhibit unusual, undesirable side effects at this stage. The idolatrous things in a person’s life will begin to turn on them. There are many examples of how this step manifests in our lives.

               And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh's heart is hardened, he refuseth to let the people go. Get thee unto Pharaoh in the morning; lo, he goeth out unto the water; and thou shalt stand by the river's brink against he come; and the rod which was turned to a serpent shalt thou take in thine hand. And thou shalt say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness: and, behold, hitherto thou wouldest not hear. Thus saith the LORD, In this thou shalt know that I am the LORD: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood. And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall lothe to drink of the water of the river. And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone. And Moses and Aaron did so, as the LORD commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, neither did he hearken unto them; as the LORD had said. Exo 7:14-22

 

               The Nile was ancient Egypt’s greatest source of nourishment. In one way or another, it fed and watered the entire country.

               The Nile brought trade of foodstuffs from other nations. It overflowed its banks every year, creating the most fertile soil for farming in the Middle East. Irrigation ditches kept the Egyptian crops watered and healthy. It supplied drinking water for people and animals. Many of Egypt’s pantheon of gods were connected with it. In short, it was indispensible to the health, welfare and spiritual life of Egypt.

               For an ancient nation, the Egyptians were actually fairly civilized. They had a system of written laws that were enforced throughout the country. Their religious system was more advanced than most any heathen nation, with the priests becoming wealthier and more politically powerful as they progressed in rank. Egypt had a standing professional army of thousands, and by military standards, was one of the most powerful nations in the world. The country’s military machine was well organized and well funded. The country was well protected from outside invaders by a system of manned border keeps and an advanced early warning system of professional military messengers. Their roads and buildings were some of the most advanced architectural achievements in the old world. In short, they were far from being barbarians.

               They were so civilized, and their religious beliefs so strong, that the thought of drinking blood would have made most of them sick enough to vomit. When God turned the Nile to blood, He caused the one thing that nourished all of Egypt to become an abomination to it. By doing so, He also defiled the religious worship of a number of Egyptian gods in the process.

               So because Pharaoh has risen up in prideful defiance to the Word of Jehovah, the consequences are severe. God demonstrates that the Egyptian gods are not only powerless against Him, but that they are His to turn against the nation. In addition, the one thing that nourishes the entire nation has now become abominable to it.

               It still works this way. Once any form of bondage raises itself up in defiance, God turns the power of that thing against itself and then takes whatever is feeding it and turns that source of nourishment into an abominable thing. For instance, during these stages of this process, an alcoholic may begin having horrible hangovers when they drink (unusual, undesirable side effect). As a result, they will begin having days when the mere thought of a drink will make them physically ill (becomes abominable).

               Once these steps have been instituted, God begins the plaguing process to achieve the full working of deliverance.

               For those of you that are struggling against something in your lives, please take just a few moments to review your circumstances. Can you see yourself or a loved one in the steps of this pattern? If so, then you know that your answer to prayer is in the works. God is already working to bring your freedom from whatever it is that is oppressing you.

               I encourage you to continue praying and to keep seeking the Lord for your freedom. If you have progressed this far in this pattern of events, then you know that the date for your freedom is already on God’s calendar. Whatever is working against you has a limited number of days. Begin to praise Him for the things that He has accomplished and is accomplishing for you.

               I also encourage you to continue reading and studying along with this series. The next article, “God’s Pattern For Deliverance Part 5 – The Uprooting Begins” will be out soon. Blessings!