Divine Protection: Embracing Faith Amidst Adversity

Er, and he enslaved them. And so now Moses is standing before Pharaoh, and he's declaring the word of the Lord: "Let my people go." And Pharaoh, of course, is not going to let them go. So God sends a series of plagues.

In Exodus chapter 8 and verse 20, this is the text we're going to study today. It says, "The Lord said to Moses, 'Get up early in the morning and confront Pharaoh as he goes to the river and say to him, "This is what the Lord says: Let my people go so that they may worship me. And if you don't let my people go, I will send swarms of flies on you, your officials, and your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of flies; even the ground will be covered with them." But on that day, verse 22 says, "I will deal differently with the land of Goshen, where my people live. No swarms of flies will be there, so that you will know that I, the Lord, am in this land. I will make a distinction between my people and your people, and this sign will occur tomorrow." Verse 24 says, "The Lord did exactly that. Dense swarms of flies poured into Pharaoh's palace, into the houses of his officials, and all throughout Egypt. The land was ruined by the flies."

I believe prophetically we are headed into a new season in the body of Christ, and today the title of this message is that we are declaring a no-fly zone over God's people. I want you to open your heart as we pray.

Lord, we thank you for your word. We thank you for revelation that comes to life and transforms us. Holy Spirit, that's what we want. We're not here to check a box on a to-do list. We desperately need a word from heaven, so we thank you that as we open scripture today, you'll make it come to life and we'll see the truth that brings freedom and change. God, we thank you for how good you are and for this amazing journey you have all of us on. We love you today. In Jesus' name we pray. And all God's people said, "Amen. Amen." Come on, one more time and give God praise.

The Bible tells us that a new Pharaoh came to power in Egypt who did not know Joseph. This Pharaoh enslaved the Israelites and made them bake bricks and build walls and palaces for him. This is a beautiful picture of what happens to us in the New Testament Church. We are slaves to sin, and God sets us free and takes us on a journey to have the promises that he has sacrificed his life to bring us.

To wake up Pharaoh and to make sure that the people of Israel realize there is no other God that is worth serving, God brought the ten different plagues against Egypt. The first plague conquered the goddess of the Nile, as they believed that this goddess provided for their life and brought fresh water and the fish. When the water turned to blood, all the fish died, and the Nile smelled terrible for seven days.

The second plague was the frogs. God caused an enormous amount of frogs to come out of the streams and the river, and they were everywhere in the land. It was against the law for Pharaoh or any other Egyptian to kill a frog, so Pharaoh did not have his magicians or sorcerers try and eradicate the frogs. Moses wanted to prove a point that Pharaoh had no power over nature and that there is no such thing as a frog god. Not only did Moses and Aaron get rid of the frogs, but they also showed that there is only one God that is worth serving and that God has power over all.

God allowed His people to suffer the same as the world in the first three plagues. Why? Exodus 12 gives us the answer. When the Israelites left the land, there was a mixed multitude that went up with them. This included Egyptians who had watched the nation of Israel go through the adversity of the plagues. Pharaoh said enough is enough and told them to leave and worship their God. The Egyptians gave them all of their money and wealth and blessed them on their way out.

God can predestine the exact time that the suffering ends, and, fascinatingly enough, Pharaoh says tomorrow. That's a whole message all by itself. One more night with the frogs, one more night with the persecution, one more night with the idolatry, one more night tolerating sin, one more night to get me by. Of course, the next day all the frogs died. The Bible says that they piled these frogs everywhere, rotting frog carcasses all over the nation of Egypt, creating this disgusting smell.

The third plague was gnats, and on and on we go, one god after another. Yahweh brought them to their knees, proving there's only really one God that's worth serving.

We were at a conference for pastors a couple of weeks ago, and one of my heroes in the faith, Pastor Jensen Franklin, was there ministering, and he brought this word out of this passage. The moment that he spoke it over us, I knew I wanted to bring it to the church, and so I've been meditating on it and praying about it and have rewritten it for you today because he brought out something that I have never seen before, and I've studied this passage a million times.

We all suffer, yet they suffered so well that the Egyptians said they wanted to travel with them, serve their God, and have what they had. This brings me to a thought-provoking question: Have I suffered well enough to make an Egyptian convert? Are we living our lives in a way that the world looks at us and says, "I want the God that you serve"?

From time to time, God allows us to walk through pain and brokenness so that we can suffer well and be a light to a world that doesn't know Him. The last several years have been tough on everyone, including the church and the unchurched. We have all lost opportunity, friendships, and finances. Our children have had to walk through setbacks. We don't know exactly where God was in the middle of all this, but He has called us to suffer well.

By the power of the Holy Spirit, we should suffer differently than the world around us. When things don't go our way, the world responds by using potty words, getting frustrated with people, gossiping, medicating their pain, binging on television, overeating, getting involved in sex, drugs, or alcohol, cheating, lying, and stealing. But we should respond differently.

Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:8, "We are hard-pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed." We have pressure and stress, but it will not take us out. We may be perplexed and not understand, but we will not give up. We may be persecuted by people, but we will never be abandoned. We can suffer differently because of the Holy Spirit.

Paul and Silas were ministering and preaching the gospel in a city when they encountered a demon-possessed girl who could tell the future. People had enslaved her and were making money off of her ability to tell fortunes. The devil loves the presence of God and was likely drawn to the Spirit-filled church. Paul and Silas were annoyed by the girl following them around and saying caustic things. Paul finally turned around and said in the name of Jesus, "Come out!" and the girl was set free.

My grandfather used to always say, "Don't be intimidated by the devil; the devil's easy. People are what's so hard." We have authority over the devil and don't have to bow to him or be controlled by demonic spirits. In the name of Jesus, the devil must go.

In times of trouble, we can turn to God for help. He is a friend that sits closer than a brother and will never leave us or forsake us. His rod is there, comforting us, strengthening us, and bringing a blessing into our lives. We may have had some setbacks in life, but the devil will not get the last word. We are not destroyed and will make it through. Paul had a different perspective about life and entrusted himself to the one he chose to serve. We can suffer well knowing that God is with us.

Jesus came out immediately when she was in her right mind and could no longer tell the future. Instead of celebrating this miracle, the people taking advantage of her lashed out against God's people. Don't be surprised when people start getting set free and the world hates you for doing what's right for people who are hurting.

Paul and Silas were arrested, stripped naked, and then beaten with rods and put in prison. I can relate to this story in my own life. I have had conversations with God where I'm asking for help and for Him to do a miracle. I have been battling injuries, and I'm asking for just one miracle out of the three.

In Acts 16:25, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns in the prison. They thanked God for never abandoning them and for the opportunity to suffer for the kingdom. They knew that God was with them, and they prayed for His Holy Spirit to empower them. It is a blessing to suffer all kinds of persecution and to worship God with every breath.

Paul and Silas were in jail for preaching the gospel and doing what's right. Other prisoners were listening, and Paul and Silas were a walking billboard for the gospel. When people lie about you, cheat on you, and do you wrong, everybody is watching you. They are hoping that you suffer well and that there is something to this Jesus that you follow.

You don't just fall into the same pattern of addiction that they fell into. They hope that the same words don't come out of your mouth that comes out of theirs. They're hoping you don't turn to the bottle like they did because they're desperately grasping to the hope that this Jesus is real and that his power could change their life. And they'll believe it if they see it in yours. They're watching, they're listening, they want to know the words that we speak; they want to know the worship that's in our hearts.

We're supposed to suffer differently; our life is a testimony. The Bible goes on to say suddenly in verse 26, and I love that word because I want you to know. I think that's prophetic for some of you here. You're stuck in prison; you feel like you've honored God, you're worshiping him, and you're thinking, "I don't deserve to be here. I'm trying to keep my head up, trying to keep my attitude right, but it feels like there's no end in sight."

Suddenly, I want you to know God moves. It's just one of those things that you don't sometimes see it come really slow; just all of a sudden opportunities come, all of a sudden God opens the windows of Heaven, all of a sudden you get favor in a relationship, all of a sudden an earthquake comes into your life like Paul and Silas, and the prison doors open and the chains fall off, and you have the opportunity to step into something you could never see before that moment suddenly.

And that's what happened. The Bible says that the jail shook, the chains fell, and Paul and Silas ministered to everybody in the jail. I'm reminded of one of my favorite Bible stories in all of scripture. We've studied it many times: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They're pulled out to the plain, and Nebuchadnezzar says, "Everybody's going to bow to this statue; this is what's most important in this country at this moment. We don't care about your God; we don't care about your Jesus; we are all going to bow our knee to this, and if you don't, we're not going to let you use your bank account, we're not going to let you on social media, we're not going to let you participate in society, we're not going to give you the opportunity that everybody else has; we're going to lock your way in prison. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, we're going to throw you into the fiery furnace and end your life if you don't bow your knee."

Same things happened, and today the devil is playing his music and demanding that you bow. I love their response; they said, "Look, the God we serve is able to save us; he's so much more powerful than your stupid statue of gold, but we want you to know that even if he doesn't save us, we'd rather burn than bow. We're not compromising our values; we bow our knee for Yahweh; that's the only name that's worth worshiping, and we are not going to do what you tell us to do; we're not bowing."

If I was writing the story right about that moment, Jesus would have appeared on a white horse with lightning out of his mouth, and Nebuchadnezzar would have gotten blown up, and all of a sudden, Chad would have said, "The Lord is my strength, and I'm not going to be moved by the fire; I'm not going to be moved by the attacks of the enemy; I'm not going to be moved by the people that leave me; I'm going to stand on the word of God, and I'm going to trust in the one who judges justly."

Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego were thrown into the fire, but God moved in a miraculous way. Despite the fact that they didn't know about the Rapture back then, they still had hope and faith in their hearts. Nebuchadnezzar looked in and saw four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed. The fourth man looked like the son of the gods. This showed that even though they were thrown into the fire, they were going to be okay because Jesus is an ever-present help in trouble.

They came out of the fire and saw that they had not been harmed, that the hair on their heads wasn't singed, and that their robes weren't scorched. There was no smell of smoke on them.

We suffer differently today. We may get thrown into the fire, but it doesn't have to steal our joy or kill our faith. We don't have to be marked by everybody that walks out of our life. We can still have our shoulders back and our head held high because we are not defined by the attacks that the devil brings against us. We can have joy in our hearts that the world can't understand, and a peace that guards our heart and our mind in Christ Jesus.

First Peter chapter 2 tells us about Jesus. When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate. When he suffered, he made no threats and just entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. We have lived in an era of the first three plagues, and we should ask ourselves if we suffer well. Do we have something that's magnetic that the world wants? Do we still have hope and faith in our hearts?

The joy of the Lord is our strength, and we should not be moved by the fire, the attacks of the enemy, or the people that leave us. We should stand on the word of God and trust in the one who judges justly.

I believe we are stepping into a moment where God is about to turn our mess into a miracle. We should suffer differently, but if we go back to our text in verse 22, there is something about to happen in the spirit. On that day, God will make a distinction between His people and the people of the world. He will guard and protect His people and surround them with His Holy Spirit. This is a day of distinction, and whatever we are going through, God is about to turn it around.

The plague of the flies was the first step in destruction. They were all over everything, crawling in the ears and noses of the Egyptians, in their beds and underwear, and crawling all over their food. Yet, there was a line that delineated the Egyptian households from Goshen, God's people. On the other side of the line, there was a no-fly zone. God's people were not dealing with the same thing the world was dealing with.

God surrounded His people with His favor and protection. As the plagues began to wreak havoc, God's people were protected. The flies represented decay and deterioration, the signal that death was coming. But, with the strength of the Lord, we will know that He is the Lord in this land. God said there will be no flies in His people's land.

Today, we need to examine our lives and ask the question, where are the flies beginning to come together? Is there a little crack in our marriage? Are our children headed down the wrong path with the wrong friends and influencers? Are we having financial struggles with more month than money? The Bible says in John 10:10 that the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. He wants to steal the dream and vision God has placed in our hearts and tell us the promised land is too far away.

Today, we need to declare that there will be no more flies on our vision, no flies on God's promise, and that His protection and provision will surround us. No matter what happens in the world, God will be with us.

1 Peter 5:10 says to be alert and sober-minded because our enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. We must resist him and stand firm in the faith. God promises that after we have suffered a little while, He will restore us and make us strong and firm. We all have to suffer for a little while, but then the Lord Himself will rescue us and build us up. We must believe that He is there.

Do you believe that He'll touch you? Do you believe that He's more than able? Come on, sing this out together: "You are more than able." Come on, sing it as a prayer: "God, we believe it today. Thank you. You are more than anything. You can do exceedingly and abundantly above all that we could ever ask, think, or imagine."

Come on, sing it to Him. Are you well? Can you imagine? Stick it out; there's faith in the room. There's nothing that's impossible; it's gonna happen.

Okay, what's happening? Come on, open your heart. Through the day, He wants to touch you; He wants to set you free; He wants to heal your body.

Hello. Come on, sing it out: "Anything is possible." Nothing lost. One more time: "Anything is possible." Come on, open your hands.

At all of our campuses, let's pray:

Lord Jesus, create an atmosphere and a posture of faith. We believe that anything is possible, and we know that You're here in this place. So right now, in this moment, we pray that You would give hope and faith and courage to those who are suffering.

God, I thank You that by Your grace, by the strength of Your Spirit, that we can suffer well. There'll be something different about us that the world would see and be encouraged in their faith.

God, I pray that our lives would be inspiring to a world that's looking for hope, and I pray that You would encourage us today. For those that are discouraged, for those who are frustrated, for those who feel like You're a million miles away, God, in this moment, I pray that You would give them strength, give them peace, give them wisdom.

Even in prison, God, we thank You that You can give us joy. Let us worship for all to hear.

But God, we celebrate today that we are nearing the end of the third plague and that we are entering into a season that You have declared that there will be no flies in the land of Goshen.

We declare today over Your people that this is a no-fly zone, that the attacks of the enemy will be stopped in the mighty name of Jesus. We thank You for Your angels that surround us and protect us in every environment.

We thank You that Your word promises that no weapon formed against us would prosper, that when the enemy comes in like a flood, You would raise up a standard against him in the name of Jesus. We speak that over Your people.

God, I pray for a time of refreshing, a time of repentance, a time that You would set us apart. Some of us followers of Christ have wandered from Goshen into Egypt. We've fallen prey to allowing other gods into our hearts, other loves to take God's place.

And I want You to know, God wants you to see that He is greater, but He is either Lord of all or He is not Lord at all. It is time for us as the church to stop living like the world, medicating like the world, coping like the world. We are to be set apart.

In Second Corinthians, Paul says, "Come out from them and be separate." God says, "And I will give you My own name." Something special that God wants to do in.

Maybe you've convinced yourself that you'll never be free or that part of your life will never change. I'm telling you that the Holy Spirit is here to do a deep and permanent work in your life. That things can be transformed in this moment. Change that maybe have held you will be broken today as we pray. You will be transformed into a new person.

Maybe others of you have lived your whole life far from God, and you're trying to manage these setbacks and the pain and the fallout of sin. And yet I just want you to know the devil is real, and there's no way you'll survive this life without the one who came to rescue us, and his name is Jesus.

He didn't come to get even. He didn't come to punish us for our sins. He came to die in our place so that we could be forgiven and set free. That's what salvation is. It's this miracle of transformation where God makes you into a brand new person.

And I believe that there's no accidents in life. I think some of you are here today because this is your moment. God loves you, and he wants to live on the inside of you. Maybe this is the time for you to surrender completely to him so that we can cross over into the land of Goshen.

For all of our campuses today, I want to pray with you. Whether you're a believer that just has something in your life you need to repent from or if you're a person that's far from Christ and need him to be your Lord today, we're going to repent, we're going to pray, we're going to ask God to cleanse us and purify us and save us.

I'm not going to make you come to the front, but I do want you to have a point of connection where you cross that line in your heart.

At all of our campuses today, if that's you, with no one looking around you, say, "Dave, that's me. It's time. I'm ready to surrender." Would you just put your hand up high for just a moment? Come on, right now, just put your hand up across this place. Time for me to give you my whole life.

Yeah, great job. So proud. If you can put your hands down if you haven't already, here's what we'll do. I'm going to lead you in this prayer. You can pray it in your heart because God will hear you. Just say, "Lord Jesus, I repent. I need to change, and I can't do it on my own. So save me, rescue me, fill me with your Holy Spirit."

Just take a minute to surrender to him. Just tell him, "God, I give you my entire life. I give you control. Come and have your way. Help me to be set apart for you. In Jesus' name, I pray."

God, I pray that you and Marcus in this moment with this simple reminder that you are more than able. No matter what it is that we're facing, no matter what it is that we're walking through, whatever plague or adversity or betrayal or rejection or insecurity or sickness or disease, there's nothing that we face in this life that you are not greater than.

So we invite you wholeheartedly into the brokenness and pain and chaos of our lives. We surrender to you and ask that you would touch us, empower us, strengthen us, heal us, deliver us. We are your people set apart for your purpose, and today we declare a no-fly zone in Jesus' name.

And all God's people said, "Amen. Amen." Come on, church, if you receive it, would you give God praise one time? Come on, give Him what He deserves.

Thank you so much for joining Itown Church online today. We would love to have the chance to meet you and your family in person at one of our campuses, or of course, you can join us streaming live online this weekend.

Now for more details about times and locations and even some of our streaming options, you can go to itownchurch.com. I sure hope to see you soon, and God bless.