Introduction

Last time, we talked about how Moses saw God in the wilderness, and God spoke to him, sending him back to Egypt to bring the Israelites out. If we were in the same situation, how would we react? So, Moses argued with God for a long time, refusing to go even though God commanded him. It's not an easy task! Take today for example, asking you to find U.S. President Trump and bring out millions of workers, would that work? Or, for instance, if you went to the Singaporean President and said you wanted to take all the Filipino maids away, what would happen to Singapore? (In Singapore, almost every household has a maid; it's as if they can't live without one. Maids are an important part of their lives.)

Moses argued back and forth with God, but in the end, he went. During the process, he encountered the matter of circumcision, and as a result, Jehovah wanted to kill him. The events described in the Bible often leave us puzzled. Let's continue with our overview of the Bible from where we left off last time.

Where there is God, there must be miracles and wonders

God is invisible and intangible. Moses went and said, The God of your ancestors has sent me to lead you out of Egypt. The people of Israel might not necessarily be willing! Moses received a miracle from God: he threw his staff on the ground, and it turned into a snake, causing Moses to run away in fright. God told Moses to pick up the snake, and it turned back into a staff. On the ground, it's a snake; when picked up, it's a staff. I ask you, if you put this staff at your bedside, would you feel safe? What if it turns into a snake at night and bites me?

God often does things that are beyond our imagination. Moses must have thought, Why doesn't it bite me? Oh, it listens to me! I am the master! This staff God gave me represents authority.

Recently, some people have made confusing statements, such as, God and miracles bring great confusion. Therefore, some preachers say, If we limit the work of the Holy Spirit to miracles and wonders, we will miss His presence in everyday life. This statement is perplexing. If you don't place the work of the Holy Spirit in miracles and wonders, but only look at the mundane affairs of daily life, will that work? Can you bring the Israelites out? You can't. I don't know why this is even being said. How can we live if there are no miracles in everyday life?

For example, in our daily lives, who needs God when things are going well? You and I are doing fine, with food and drink, who needs God? But when the New Year comes, my phone keeps ringing with problems related to colds, fevers, children, family issues, a whole pile of them!

Later, I discovered something: my theological view is a bit peculiar. I think, a God without miracles doesn't quite seem like God. In life, do people want to experience transformation? I certainly do. I think when living in misfortune, what I want most is transformation! I don't want to see a mediocre God. What can you see in ordinariness? I sought God in my poverty and distress!

Later, I understood: it wasn't that I found Him, but that God was already waiting there, waiting for a long time! What are miracles and wonders? Things that defy common sense are miracles and wonders. Things that follow common sense are human traces, ordinary matters. We humans, what we can do, we do. What we can't do, don't we need God? We must have a clear view of God and miracles! We see the sun rise every day, and some people say that's a miracle. I think it's just mundane.

If Moses went to the Israelites and said, The God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has sent me to bring you out, the Israelites would be skeptical, Why should we believe you are sent by God? If Moses said, The sun rises every morning, so am I not sent by God? If he said that, it would be very chaotic. For example, if you go to the U.S. President and say, I am sent by God, the Holy Spirit has moved me to tell you something: I want to take millions of your people away, leave this place. Look, the sun will rise tomorrow morning, and every breath of oxygen you take is created by God... I think they would send you to a mental hospital.

What Moses received from God was to pick up a staff, and when thrown on the ground, it would turn into a snake, and when picked up, it would turn back into a staff. How wonderful it is for Christians to have miracles and wonders!

Years ago, when I was in poverty and distress, I had a friend who was a monk. I asked him, What should I do about my current situation? He said, Nothing can be done, this is what you have cultivated in your past life. I said, If nothing can be done, what am I looking for you for? I need to find someone who can do something. Among us, those who owe millions, don't you hope God will help you? Of course! Otherwise, if people keep coming to you to collect debts, how can you bear it? Miracles and wonders are inseparable from God! Don't engage in those ambiguous things. How much does a person need miracles in their life! We must know that God will surely transform you!

So Moses went, and his brother became his helper. When they arrived among the Israelites, they were delighted to hear these words! Moses threw the staff on the ground, and it turned into a snake; when he picked it up, it turned back into a staff. When the people saw this, they thought Moses was very powerful and believed in Moses.

Later, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.’ But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go.” (Exodus 5:1-2) When Moses told Pharaoh this, Pharaoh thought, If millions of people leave, who will do the work? And he began to punish Moses.

They said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God, lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.” But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people away from their work? Get back to your burdens.” And Pharaoh said, “Behold, the people of the land are now many, and you make them rest from their burdens!” The same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their foremen, “You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as in the past; let them go and gather straw for themselves. But the number of bricks that they made in the past you shall lay on them; you shall by no means reduce it, for they are lazy. Therefore they cry, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.’ Let heavier work be laid on the men that they may labor at it and pay no regard to lying words.” The taskmasters and the foremen went out and said to the people, “Thus says Pharaoh, ‘I will not give you straw. Go, get your straw yourselves wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced in the least.’” So the people were scattered throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. The taskmasters were urgent, saying, “Complete your work, your daily task each day, as when there was straw.” And the foremen of the people of Israel, whom Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, “Why have you not done as much brickmaking today and yesterday as in the past?” Then the foremen of the people of Israel came and cried to Pharaoh, “Why do you treat your servants like this? The taskmasters give us no straw, yet they say, ‘Make bricks!’ And behold, your servants are beaten; but the fault is in your own people. But he said, “You are lazy, you are lazy; that is why you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ Go now and work. No straw will be given you, but you must still deliver the same number of bricks.” The foremen of the people of Israel knew that they were in trouble when they said, “You shall by no means reduce your number of bricks, your daily task each day.” (Exodus 5:3-19)

When Pharaoh heard the Israelites' request, he made them work, and if they didn't work, he beat them. The Israelites were immediately dumbfounded. The Israelites said, What did you two come to do? Isn't this making us suffer? People are like that, if you want to experience God, it's quite troublesome! Moses and Aaron both lost face. The snake turning into a staff and the staff turning into a snake, Pharaoh didn't take it seriously at all, and made the Israelites suffer even more. Without straw, they still had to do the same amount of work.

When Seeking God, Things Get Worse – An Opportunity

Moses then returned to the Lord and asked, “Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.” This is the norm for how God works. I tell our brothers and sisters, if you want a turnaround, and in the process, things get even worse, and the oppression of the devil is even more severe, do not be afraid. If you are doing healing and deliverance, casting out demons, and the situation worsens, you should know that there is hope, not that it is over. If things get worse, do not be afraid; once something changes, there is hope.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.” This is the awesomeness of God.

God also said to Moses, “I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself fully known to them. I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, where they resided as foreigners. Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant. “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’” Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor. (Exodus 6:2-9)

Moses told this to the Israelites, but could they listen to it? The Israelites were worried about not having materials to make bricks; where would they have time to listen to Moses' nonsense? They simply did not listen. If we lack faith, we cannot accomplish things with our God. Moses said before the Lord, “If the Israelites will not listen to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips?” The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and charged them to go to the Israelites and to Pharaoh king of Egypt to bring the Israelites out of Egypt. This is our God.

The Israelites did not like Moses, and the Egyptian Pharaoh completely ignored him. How could this work be done? But Moses actually went. The Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh.” That is, to speak on behalf of God. God said, I will lead out my divisions, my people Israel. I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions, my people Israel. And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded them. They went, and at that time Moses was eighty years old, and his brother Aaron was eighty-three.

The Ten Plagues: The Authority God Gives Us Is Great

After they went, Moses performed a miracle before Pharaoh, throwing the staff on the ground, and it became a snake. When Pharaoh saw what they did, he had the magicians and sorcerers do the same. In the spiritual realm, it is not only God who can perform miracles; evil spirits can also perform miracles. But the staff in Moses' hand swallowed up the staffs of the Egyptian magicians. The authority our God gives us is mighty. Did you think Pharaoh would listen? Next, God did something unprecedented and unparalleled.

Pharaoh still refused to let the people go. The next day, Pharaoh went to the seashore, and God told Moses and Aaron to go to the riverbank and say to Pharaoh: The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the wilderness. The Lord says, “By this you will know that I am the Lord: With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood. The fish in the river will die, and the river will stink; and the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water. All the water in Egypt, whether in wooden or stone containers, turned into blood. The Egyptian Pharaoh's magicians could do the same, but they could turn it into blood but not back into water, so they became anxious and dug around for water to drink. Still, Pharaoh did not allow them to go.

Moses went in again. This time, all the land bred frogs. Closing the door tightly was useless; Egypt was full of frogs. But Pharaoh was a man and did not care much, but the Egyptian women were in chaos. After Moses did this to Pharaoh, Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said he would allow the Israelites to go. What did Moses say? When should I pray for the frogs to be removed? Pharaoh said tomorrow. Moses and Aaron did as he said. Moses said I did this so that you may know there is no one like the Lord our God. Then Moses left Pharaoh and went out, and the next day they were really gone. All the frogs died, and the land was full of frog carcasses and stank. When Pharaoh saw that the frogs were gone, he thought, What Lord? Forget it. Did I just say I would let you go? No. Three million laborers still have to make bricks for me.

The Lord commanded Moses again, “Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the ground, and throughout the land of Egypt the dust will become gnats.” As a result, those practicing magic also tried to use magic to produce gnats, but they could not. Magic can perform miracles, but it is limited. If you have the opportunity to serve indigenous people in the Amazon rainforest, do not be afraid. Our God is much more powerful than the local witch doctors who practice magic.

Some people preach the gospel like this: You should believe in Jesus with me. Then the person asks, Why should I believe in Jesus with you? Believing in Jesus can make you a good person. The person replies, But we are already good people! As a result, these people dare not pray for others when they are sick. What God do you believe in?

The Egyptian magicians could not produce gnats. Later I discovered that when I believed in the Lord, I was not very powerful. When those practicing magic did not like me being around, because they could not perform magic when I was there. But Pharaoh still did not allow them to go. The Egyptian Pharaoh was very persistent and very patient, but there was no glory. Some Christians live under a curse and still endure it. Do not think that all suffering is glorious. Some suffering is God's punishment.

The next day Moses came again and said, Let my people go, so that they may worship God. The purpose of coming out of Egypt was to worship God. These concepts must be clear. As a result, Egypt was filled with flies, but there were no swarms of flies where the Israelites lived. God wanted the Egyptian Pharaoh to know that He was the God of the Israelites and that God would separate His people from the Egyptians.

But the Egyptians would not listen and were very stubborn. Pharaoh had great faith. As a result, Pharaoh said: Go! Sacrifice to your god in the land. Moses said to go on a three-day journey. Pharaoh said, Go, but don't go very far. Pray for me. As a result, Moses went out and prayed to the Lord, and the next day the flies were gone.

But Pharaoh still would not allow the Israelites to go. In fact, it was also difficult for Pharaoh. If the Israelites left, there would be no one to make bricks. Some people may have questions: Why didn't Pharaoh kill Moses and Aaron? Because Pharaoh also believed in God. In this generation, everyone knows there is God, and some people do not talk about atheism, but they are also very afraid of ghosts and curses. In the end, they still couldn't leave. How stressful. Don't think the problems Pharaoh faced were small; they were bigger than the problems the common people faced. Don't think that if you become a high official, life will be better. Life is not easy either.

As a result, the fifth miracle occurred. Moses went again, Let my people go, so that they may worship me. Moses went but they still didn't listen. The next day, the Lord God sent a plague on the livestock, and all the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not a single livestock of the Israelites died. Whether livestock are blessed or not is related to people.

Summary

The turnaround of any family requires a great battle, but our God will manifest His glory in the conflict. Do not be afraid!