Emmanuel Okoro (aka MrLift)

Every man according to his needs "but when they measured out what they had gathered, those who gathered more had no extra and those who gathered less weren't short--each person had gathered as much as was needed." (Exod.16.18)  The concept of a family where everyone carters to the need of everyone is especially God's idea. We see this thread run all through scripture. We see in the Garden of Eden how God put the first family together and how Cain was supposed to care for his brother Abel. And we see subsequent families emerged from that one family until the whole earth is full of families.  The early Church in Acts of the Apostles was seeing practicing this concept as shown in our text.  "And so it turned out that not a person among them was needy. Those who owned fields or houses sold them and brought the price of the sale to the apostles and made an offering of it. The apostles then distributed it according to each person's need." (Acts.4.34 - 35) Our ...

Daily ration, daily routine  "GOD said to Moses, "I'm going to rain bread down from the skies for you. The people will go out and gather each day's ration. I'm going to test them to see if they'll live according to my Teaching or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they have gathered, it will turn out to be twice as much as their daily ration." (Exod.16.4 - 5) What you do daily determine what you become permanently. God had told the children of Israel that he was going set up rules and procedures for them to follow. In this day and age, we would have said structures and systems but rules and procedures communicate the same intentions.  So God says to Moses in response to the complaint against God about not having enough to eat. God says He will rain bread down from the skies but these bread are to be taken by the people on a daily basis and on the sixth day, they will take a double portion. Take only what the day requires. This will set them in ...

The wilderness is not for complain  "The whole company of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron there in the wilderness." Exod.16.2  One way you know it's wilderness time is that you begin to complain. But the wilderness is not a place for murmuring and complains, it is a place where you should be speaking God's word.  Notice the children of Israel had just let Elim, where the Bible tells us has twelve springs and seventy palm trees.  "They came to Elim where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees. They set up camp there by the water." (Exod.15.27)  This was a cozy place, it was a place of great comfort. And they were beginning to become complacent but that was not where God had in mind for them. It was just a temporary solution, it was a place for them to rest and refuel and get ready for what was ahead. So when God moved them from this comfort zone and was taking them through the wilderness, they began to complain.  Jesus showed us ...

Rules and precedures "That's the place where GOD set up rules and procedures; that's where he started testing them. GOD said, "If you listen, listen obediently to how GOD tells you to live in his presence, obeying his commandments and keeping all his laws, then I won't strike you with all the diseases that I inflicted on the Egyptians; I am GOD your healer." (Exod.15.26 MSG)  God is a God of purpose and design. He is a God of process and procedures. Little wonder, the planetary bodies are aligned the way they do. God is never unaware, unprepared and taken by surprise.  God told Israel in our text that He is going set rules and procedure. On the grounds of these rules and procedure comes testing that will result in promotion or otherwise. Rules and procedures help regulate us. Furthermore, our text says if we live within these rules and procedures that God sets for us we will live in health. "GOD said, "If you listen, listen obediently to how GOD tel...

This road was made for you "Yes, Pharaoh's horses and chariots and riders went into the sea and GOD turned the waters back on them; but the Israelites walked on dry land right through the middle of the sea." (Exod.15.19)  God has your name on your blessings. Nothing anyone can do to undo what God has done for you. And when it seem the enemy is having his way on what God has done for you, just keep calm and remind not only yourself but also the enemy that this road was made for you.  God had parted the red sea for the children of Israel, sucked off the moisture from the seabed so the children of Israel could travel safely, freely and without drag. But the enemy assumed that road was made for him too but he was wrong. As he thruges on in an attempt to sabotage what God had for the children of Israel, God allowed him, his chariots and riders in and then turned the waters of the sea back on them.  This is why I am confident that what God has for you, nothing the enemy can do ...

We need to believe to know  "GOD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea and the waters will come back over the Egyptians, over their chariots, over their horsemen." Moses stretched his hand out over the sea: As the day broke and the Egyptians were running, the sea returned to its place as before. GOD dumped the Egyptians in the middle of the sea." (Exod.14.26 - 27 MSG)  We need to believe to know but a lot of us want to know to believe. When Israel was before the red sea, they believed what God had said to them but after hey crossed the sea on dey ground, they knew what it was God said. Little Wonder, as God commanded Moses to stretch his rod the second time to bring the red back on top of the Egyptian, he did in the very next verse. Why? Because now he knows.  We need to believe to know but a lot of us want to know to believe. This reaffirm the assertion of our Lord Jesus Christ when he told Thomas that it is better to believe before you see instead of ...

Yours is to stretch  "Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea and GOD, with a terrific east wind all night long, made the sea go back. He made the sea dry ground. The seawaters split." (Exod.14.21)  When God gives us instructions that is not logical, we try to drag that instruction to a logical realm so that we can relate and act on it. Imagine God had told Moses to stretch his rod over the sea in. Verse 16 "Hold your staff high and stretch your hand out over the sea: Split the sea! The Israelites will walk through the sea on dry ground." (Exod.14.16)  But he did not act on that instruction until five verses later. Is it possible that Moses struggled at the absurdity of the instruction? May be he told himself, "this is not turning the sea to blood, or stretching the rod to bring frogs, darkness and hail upon the land. Maybe he struggled but he acted. And he stretched, and when he did his part, God did His part.  Once Moses acted on God's instructions...

God's got your back Exod.14.19 And the Angel of God Who went before the host of Israel moved and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before them and stood behind them, (AMP) This is what it really means to get one's back literally. The Bible says the Angel of God Who went before the host of Israel moved and went behind them and the Pillar of Cloud went fron their front and stood behind them.  God is not only going before you, He is standing behind you. We can confidently say that "God's got our back".  It is important to note that God had instructed Israel to move forward but Egypt was coming behind them. As such, God went and stood behind them. So that, though Israel's back was against the enemy, their face were toward the assignment and instructions they had received. As long as you keep your focus on what GOD's has asked you to do, you can go to sleep knowing that He's got your back.  Little wonder there is no armour to cover you...

Get moving, God has fought for you  "GOD will fight the battle for you. And you? You keep your mouths shut!" GOD said to Moses: "Why cry out to me? Speak to the Israelites. Order them to get moving." (Exod.14.14 - 15 The song by Ron Kennoly rings true in this verse. He sings "If you catch hell don't hold it, if you're going through hell don't stop. Remember no weapon fashion against you shall prosper, every tongue that rises against you, you shall condemn". This is exactly what our text is instructing us to do this morning.  God told the children of Israel to keep their mouth shut in trouble. This is not the time to complain and lament as most people do but it is the time to be reflective and focus on God. God says to Moses "Why cry out to me?"  This is because God had instructed Moses what to do. Just like most of us already have instructions from God's word but still wait for what I do not know. God's word to you is permissi...

For God's glory  "Then I'll make Pharaoh's heart stubborn again and he'll chase after them. And I'll use Pharaoh and his army to put my Glory on display. Then the Egyptians will realize that I am GOD." And that's what happened. (Exod.14.4 MSB) Everything God does is for His glory, including situations that seem to work against you in the physical. God Orchestrates the situations of your life for His glory. We just need to stick with the plan.  We see in our text how He told the children of Israel that He will make Pharaoh stubborn again and Pharaoh will chase after the children of Israel. Let's purse for a bit - when Pharaoh becomes stubborn again and purse the children of Israel. If the children of Israel were not aware of this, they will become perturbed, troubled and alarmed. But truly, it is a controlled environment. God is in charge.  Similarly, when we get into situations where God has already made provision for our deliveries, we get perturb...

God will go ahead of you  "GOD went ahead of them in a Pillar of Cloud during the day to guide them on the way, and at night in a Pillar of Fire to give them light; thus they could travel both day and night." (Exod.13.21)  Many believers read through this magnificent experience and wished they were a part of it. But they fail to recognise that the God who went ahead of Israel as a Pillar of Cloud during the day to guild them on their way, and as a Pillar of Fire at night to give them light resides on the inside of them.  I want you to take a moment to let that truth sink in and then truly appreciate and acknowledge this truth by saying it aloud to yourself: "The Pillar of Cloud by day and the Pillar of Fire by night lives on the inside of me in the person of the Holy Spirit." God is not just on the inside of you but has also gone ahead of you so that you will have both the advantage of relating with Him and fellowshiping with Him. God has gone ahead of you but He al...

The wilderness again  "So God led the people on the wilderness road, looping around to the Red Sea. The Israelites left Egypt in military formation." (Exod.13.18 MSG)  The wilderness is not thought to be a road, but God led the people on the wilderness road. So we see that the wilderness is a road. Our text called it the wilderness road. And they left in battle formation because they were ready to fight for their destiny as a people.  No one wants to travel on this road, but we've often seen that when great destinies were to be fulfilled, God often takes us through the wilderness road. Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Spirit. Not by an evil spirit but the Spirit of God to be tempted by the devil.  "Then Jesus was led out into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tempted there by the Devil. (Matt.4.1 NLT) The bible tells us that the Apostle Paul went into the Arabia desert where he stayed for abou three years before he began his ministry. (see Gal. 1.17-18)...

Life happens  "It so happened that after Pharaoh released the people, God didn't lead them by the road through the land of the Philistines, which was the shortest route, for God thought, "If the people encounter war, they'll change their minds and go back to Egypt." When God answered that prayers that you have been praying, He may not answer it the way you expect Him to. The children of Israel had prayed and cried to be released from the captivity of slavery and our text says it finally happened but God did not lead through the shortest route because He knew of they encounter war, they will change their mind and go back to Egypt.  Most of us in our most logical selves, have concluded we can do better. We know our way around the bend, and in a giffy we will get to our destination. But the Bible say that God thought - for God to think presupposes that He wasn't all-knowing. But the intent of that expression is that God did not fully trust the children of Israel...

When an entire army is enslaved "At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, GOD's entire army left Egypt." (Exod.12.41)  It is interesting that at the end, as the children of Israel left Egypt, they are described as -God's entire army. That it was God's army that had been held captive for the past 430 years. It is noteworthy to mention that when an entire, especially God's entire army was enslaved, the battle was not theirs to fight  but for God.  When you have done all there is and it doesn't seem like the situation is getting any better, you've prayed and fasted, you've quoted scriptures and given offerings, you've consecrated and taken time out to pray, yet it is as though it is going from bad to worse, you must realise that God's entire army is held captive, meaning the battle is not yours to fight, but the Lord's.  And when the battle is the Lord's what do we do as seen when God told the children that the battle is His, they...

Be mindful of the crowd of riffraff "GOD saw to it that the Egyptians liked the people and so readily gave them what they asked for. Oh yes! They picked those Egyptians clean. The Israelites moved on from Rameses to Succoth, about 600,000 on foot, besides their dependents. There was also a crowd of riffraff tagging along, not to mention the large flocks and herds of livestock." Exod.12.36 - 38) These verses bring to mind the parable Jesus told about the wheat and tares. The Bible says the farmer planted good seed but at mid night while men slept the enemy sowed tares among the good seed. When he was asked if the tares be uprooted, he told them no, but that they should grow together. The operative word been grow.  "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. (Matt.13.30 ) The israelite came out of Egypt not just ...

Worship God on your own terms  "Pharaoh called in Moses and Aaron that very night and said, "Get out of here and be done with you--you and your Israelites! Go worship GOD on your own terms." (Exod.12.31)  As God chose to show His power in Egypt to prove to Pharaoh that He is God, Pharaoh at different times called Moses and told him how Moses and the children of Israel should worship God. One time he says to them, "only the men should go and sacrifice (Exo. 10.11) Another time he says "sacrifice to your God in the land" (Exo.8.25) that is the land of Egypt. And yet another time, he say "you shall not go far" (Exo. 8.28) But at all thses instances, Pharaoh was wrong. It is very important that you worship God on your own terms and by that I mean the the terms God has specified for you to worship Him. God told Moses and Aaron how to worship Him but the authority figure was switching on them for his own benefit. Paul asked the Galatians if someone put...

Wild wailing  "Pharaoh got up that night, he and all his servants and everyone else in Egypt--what wild wailing and lament in Egypt! There wasn't a house in which someone wasn't dead." (Exod.12.30)  In this day and age, and I dare say it wasn't much different in those olden days, when one losses someone, people rally around such a one to comfort and support that one. But I imagine when in every house and every family someone just died because of the disobedience of one man....  Who will comfort the other?  Actions indeed have consequences. Act wisely, better still obey God.  Pharaoh refused to obey God, so God chose to reveal His power so that there won't be a shadow of doubt in the whole of Egypt that there is buut one God - Yahweh.  The singular action of obedience on the part of the children of Israel saved their lives. Take a bunch of hyssop dipped in blood and smear it on the lintel and the two door posts saved their lives.  "Take a bunch of hysso...

They did it all  "The Israelites then went and did what GOD had commanded Moses and Aaron. They did it all."(Exod.12.28)  What we do is more important than what we say we will do. What we say we will do is still not done yet. But what we do, have been done. Actions takes us further and farther than intentions do. What has God said to you that you have or have not done yet?  The Bible in our text say that the Israelites went and did what God commanded Moses and Aaron. Now you must understand that some of the things they were asked to do, did not make sense. For example, they were asked to go to their Egyptian neighbours and asked them for their gold and valuables.  "So here's what you do. Tell the people to ask, each man from his neighbor and each woman from her neighbor, for things made of silver and gold." (Exod.11.2)  What God may asked you to sometimes do may not make logical and rational sense but you must like the isreality do it. The most interesting part ...

When I see the blood...  "The blood will serve as a sign on the houses where you live. When I see the blood I will pass over you--no disaster will touch you when I strike the land of Egypt." (Exod.12.13)  The children of Israel were instructed by God to put the blood on the doorpost and the lintel of the house they were in so that when the angel of death passed through the land of Egypt, he will passover every house that had the blood on the doorpost and on lintel.  Why?  It was not altogether because of their obedience and kindness and righteousness but rather, the blood was a sign that judgement has been served on this house and as a result those in that house could not be judged again.  When was judgement served?  When the lamb was slain and the blood drained and smeared on the doorpost and lintel of the house. That slain lamb took the judgement so that everyone in the house is free from condemnation of death. This was a shadow or a symbolic of what Chri...

gods of Egypt  "I will go through the land of Egypt on this night and strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, whether human or animal, and bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am GOD." (Exod.12.12)  The Bible says that the magicians of Egypt were able to replicate some of the wonders that Moses and Aaron performed, little wonder they did not move Pharaoh as they ought. But God was at work.  God was working behind the scene to harden Pharaovs heart because He wanted to show not just Pharaoh that He is God but too especially bring judgment on the gods of Egypt. So God did something that was far from what they could imagine. God allowed death to pass through the land that every firstborn died. Even some of the magician who were firstborn died. God brought judgement on the goods of Egypt.  This was to serve notice and put the fear of the children of Israel not only on the Egyptians but also pave the way for the children of Israel as they journey through t...