EXODUS 1:8-14 – Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel. So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves.”
THEME OF THE DAY: SIN IS A RUTHLESS MASTER.. It promises pleasure but only delivers pain. It promises fulfillment but only creates emptiness. It promises contentment but only leads to discontent. It promises happiness but brings sorrow. It promises satisfaction but produces regret. This “it” is sin and it is ever so deceiving. For the believer, the penalty of sin is gone. When Jesus proclaimed from the cross, “It is finished”, salvation was complete, condemnation removed, and we are forever free from sin’s penalty (John 19:30). Someday, we will be free of sin’s presence in heaven – Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you (1 Peter 1:3-4). In this life, sin’s domineering or controlling power in our lives has been defeated – For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. (Romans 6:14). However, and it is a big “however”, sin isn’t done with the believer. It will continue to hound us each day until we are removed from its presence externally and purged internally. As such, we need to keep before us a couple things about remaining sin in the world and ourselves.
Our call from God to do spiritual warfare is against three formidable foes – the devil, the world, and our flesh. None will ever surrender the battle, even when we enjoy those seasons of obedience when we defeat all three. But when it comes to close combat, it is our flesh and remaining sin which will be our greatest foe. And in order to consistently defeat it, or put it to death as the Apostle Paul would tell us – For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live (Romans 8:13), we need to see sin for what it truly is and that is wonderfully illustrated in today’s scripture.
God’s people of old were imprisoned in Egypt. Cruel leaders kept them in bondage. In fact, the text mentions twice what type of leaders the Egyptians were and what it did to the Israelites – they ruthlessly made them work as slaves. They had no freedom, only bondage. They were oppressed and held in captivity as slaves. Now think about sin. That is exactly what sin does to the unbeliever, but if we, as Christians, are not diligent in recognizing and fighting sin, we will find ourselves under its ruthless influence again. Granted, we will never be in total bondage again, but we can be in bondage. Think about it, and a good thing to do is go back and read my opening six sentences. They will give you a good understanding of what type of master sin is, making us all the more diligent to defeat it every time we feel tempted by it.
PRAYER: “Father, make me mindful of the deceptive power of sin, even as Your child who has been freed from it.”
QUOTE: “Sin isn’t over in the life of a believer at salvation. It still seeks to distract, devour and destroy Christians.”
Because of Him,
Pastor Jim