2017 Daniel Fast: Awakening
Day 9 Journal Writing Reflection:
Read Genesis 15:13. Why did God allow the Israelites to be in bondage 400 years?

Week 2 Bible Study:
Exodus Chapter 1:1-10

Week 2 Memory Verses:
1 John 4:1 (NIV)
Matthew 24:24 (NIV)

Spiritual Gift of Knowledge

It is imperative that we are strong in our convictions about who Jesus Christ is –
the Son of Man
born of a virgin through the Holy Spirit
the Son of God
Our Lord and Savior
God in the flesh
The Word in the flesh
He was crucified for our sins and resurrected with all power in His hands.
His blood still has power.
He is the Messiah who is seated at the right hand of God.
In His 2nd coming, Jesus will return with a double-edged sword in His mouth
He will rule for one-thousand years
Then He will send the devil and his armies into the fiery lake of sulfur to be tormented forever more.
He will rule and reign in the New Jerusalem on the throne next to God forever more

We absolutely will not waver on those beliefs. We will stand firmly in our faith. We will not be shaken. We will die for Jesus and the kingdom of God.

There are some things of this world, however, that have been twisted, changed, distorted, abused, manipulated, adulterated, whitewashed, covered up, hidden, removed, inserted, and disregarded. Why? Because the ruler of this world is Satan the deceiver and he has people who are influenced by his spirits or who willingly work on his behalf. The last episode of deception was NOT in the Garden of Eden people of God. Do you remember how Satan used the body of a serpent to come against the kingdom of God? Come on now! Satan is the father of lies and he has been lying from the beginning to now. If we are children of God then we value the truth. When we say, “What difference does it make” regarding a new idea or paradigm presented to us, from now on we should be convicted. I know I am. I have said, “As long as I believe in Jesus, I’m not worried about anything else. I only read the Bible.” Wrong! Why? Because a child of God should always, always, always desire and seek the truth in everything. Why? Because we don’t live in a vacuum. Because the devil’s modus operandi is to deceive and lie and if we’re not interested in the whole truth, change, paradigm shifts, or a challenge of our mental status quo, then we are susceptible to being deceived by Satan himself. Matthew 24:24 (NIV)  says “For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” If we know the truth, then we can’t be deceived by manipulated and corrupt “truth.”

There have been people from the beginning who have been under the control of Lucifer. He brought a slew of fallen angels with him when he was thrown from heaven. There are people now – even us sometimes when we are in our flesh – who are used by Satan to accomplish his purpose. Remember when you looked at the battle in Revelation chapter 7? Satan had an army that was as great in number as the number of sands. Remember Dylan Roof, the murderer who went in the church in Charleston and killed those innocent people? He was operating under demonic influence. It was a demonic terrorist attack.

Have the territorial lines or landscapes of the world changed? Can places that were originally in one location have a line drawn and the landscape (territorial lines) change? Who made these decisions over time? Can one group of people be enslaved and oppressed and as a result have their entire history wiped out? Can textbooks depict one race and omit others? Can private political systems be set up behind the scenes and make decisions (i.e., laws) to oppress a specific group of people? Can laws that go against the Word of God be passed, legislated? So, you are aware of the deception and lies that pervade our world. We have to rely only Holy Spirit to reveal the truth to us because the world is filled with lies. It is called psychological warfare.

The Awakening

The Israelites Oppressed
1 These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family:
2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah;
3 Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin;
4 Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher.
5 The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy[a] in all; Joseph was already in Egypt.
6 Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died,
7 but the Israelites were exceedingly fruitful; they multiplied greatly, increased in numbers and became so numerous that the land was filled with them.
8 Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.
9 “Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become far too numerous for us.
10 Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.”

In Genesis 15:12-14, God tells Abram that his descendants would be oppressed and enslaved for 400 years. “Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him. God said to Abram, ‘Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years. But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions.'”

God always has a plan when He allows His people to suffer. Can you still trust Him though He slays you? Remember, Satan and the fall of man (Adam and Eve’s sin) caused suffering in this world. Not God but God does allow it and uses it to judge His people. God had a plan for the Israelites to grow and become a great nation while in Egypt. He was also going to use Egypt to show His own power and might through signs, wonders, and miracles. All know who God is and His sovereignty because of Egypt. Will you be content knowing that God is using your natural bondage (not spiritual bondage because believers are set free from spiritual bondage through Jesus Christ) for His glory and power to be displayed when He delivers you? When God delivered his people from the Egyptians, they were wealthy. The came out of bondage with many possessions. What a blessing!

God spoke to Jacob (Israel) and told him to take his family to Egypt and that He would make him a great nation there in Egypt. Genesis 46:2-4 says “And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, “Jacob! Jacob!” “Here I am,” he replied. “I am God, the God of your father,” he said. “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And Joseph’s own hand will close your eyes.”

Josephs’s family numbered at 70. Names, genealogy, and race is extremely important to God. Why else are we inundated with lineage and tracing of history, the lineage of Jesus and census counts, and names throughout the Old and New Testament. Wake up. Israel’s sons, who form the tribes of Israel are listed (Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher). At that time, Joseph, Jacob’s (Israel’s) son was 2nd in command to Pharaoh. Joseph was able to go to Pharaoh on behalf of his family of 70 and make the best accommodations for them. But Joseph and all his brothers died, that generation, and the Israelites were fruitful and multiplied greatly.

A new king came to power who didn’t know anything about Joseph and his family and their special privileges. The number of Israelites became so numerous that it was intimidating to the new pharaoh. So wait! God allowed a pharaoh to come to power who was intimidated by, or who ultimately hated his chosen people. Wait! Intimidated? Hated? Why is a large group of people intimidating or detestable to another group of people? Why is the color of one’s skin threatening to another race? There was no indication that the Israelites were doing anything except multiplying and growing and become greater. But the king feared that they had become too great. So the king imposed laws or rules that would oppress the people who had previously received the favor of the previous pharaoh to prevent them from becoming too numerous. Wake up. Don’t just think of your individual situation; think globally. We have four prophets and over 16 teachers in our fasting group so far. You’ve been activated to go deeper.

As you read Exodus 1, look deeper than the text itself – not with your own mind but with your spirit. Pharaoh, in verse 9 says, “Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become far too numerous for us. Come let us be more prudent (cunning) than they.” The language, no the spirit of pharaoh was oppressive and despotic. The spirit comes from Satan. And what spirit was underlying the spirit of despotism? Fear. So in the case of some future war, they feared that the Israelites would join with the enemy. The Israelites served the one and true God and the Egyptians had their own pagan religion. There was no indication of conflict in this area although when Joseph, a Hebrew Israelite had a child with Asenath, an Egyptian the children – Ephraim and Manasseh – were Hebrew Israelites. So there was a dominance in race and/or religion with the Hebrew people.

So if you ever ask the questions, “Why would anyone lie about where a country is located? Why would anyone oppress a specific race of people? Why would there be a counterfeit group of religious people, posing as the original chosen people? Why would a place be declared a state when God says that when this happens, certain other events would take place that haven’t yet? Why would anyone change textbooks and manipulate tests to favor one race over another? Why do people need to be awakened spiritually? Why doesn’t everyone see the same thing?” I pray that Holy Spirit will remind you of this study. Pray and ask God to give you revelation about the text and the deeper meaning of the text for awakening. Dr.J.