Who is he who rules...and who is he who is enslaved...and to whom?

May we be careful where our trust is put
May we be careful what "man" we think can save
May we be careful what "man" we think can deliver
May we be careful what "man" we think brings change

Oh Lord turn our eyes to you
Oh Lord soften our hearts to hear your word
Oh Lord forgive us, deliver us, save us
Oh Lord grace us with mercy of those who seek your face

May we be your servant
Serve for your glory
Love our neighbors
Pray for our enemies
Lord may we not forget our first love...You

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Message below from a Pastor in Virginia - Makes you think -


"Good morning, brothers and sisters; it's always a delight to see the pews
crowded on Sunday morning, and so eager to get into God's Word. Turn with me
in your Bibles, if you will to the 47th chapter of Genesis, we'll begin our
reading at verse 13, and go through verse 27.
Brother Ray, would you stand and read that great passage for us?
....(reading)...
Thank you for that fine reading, Brother Ray... So we see that economic hard
times fell upon Egypt , and the people turned to the government of Pharaoh
to deal with this for them. And Pharaoh nationalized the grain harvest, and
placed the grain in great storehouses that he had built. So the people
brought their money to Pharaoh, like a great tax increase, and gave it all
to him willingly in return for grain. And this went on until their money ran
out, and they were hungry again.
So when they went to Pharaoh after that, they brought their livestock -their
cattle, their horses, their sheep, and their donkey - to barter for grain,
and verse 17 says that only took them through the end of that year..
But the famine wasn't over, was it? So the next year, the people came before
Pharaoh and admitted they had nothing left, except their land and their own
lives. "There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our
land. Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and
our land for food, and we with our land will be servants to Pharaoh.." So
they surrendered their homes, their land, and their real estate to Pharaoh's
government, and then sold themselves into slavery to him, in return for
grain.
What can we learn from this, brothers and sisters?
That turning to the government instead of to God to be our provider in hard
times only leads to slavery? Yes.. That the only reason government wants to
be our provider is to also become our master?
Yes.
But look how that passage ends, brothers and sisters! Thus Israel settled in
the land of Egypt , in the land of Goshen .. And they gained possessions in
it, and were fruitful and multiplied greatly." God provided for His people,
just as He always has! They didn't end up giving all their possessions to
government, no, it says they gained possessions! But I also tell you a great
truth today, and an ominous one.
We see the same thing happening today - the government today wants to "share
the wealth "once again, to take it from us and redistribute it back to us.
It wants to take control of health care, just as it has taken control of
education, and ration it back to us, and when government rations it, then
government decides who gets it, and how much, and what kind. And if we go
along with it, and do it willingly, then we will wind up no differently than
the people of Egypt did four thousand years ago - as slaves to the
government, and as slaves to our leaders.
What Mr. Obama's government is doing now is no different from what Pharaoh's
government did then, and it will end the same. And a lot of people like to
call Mr.Obama a "Messiah," don't they? Is he a Messiah? A savior? Didn't the
Egyptians say, after Pharaoh made them his slaves, "You have saved our
lives; may it please my lord, we will be servants to Pharaoh"?
Well, I tell you this - I know the Messiah; the Messiah is a friend of mine;
and Mr. Obama is no Messiah! No, brothers and sisters, if Mr. Obama is a
character from the Bible, then he is Pharaoh. Bow with me in prayer, if you
will...
Lord, You alone are worthy to be served, and we rely on You, and You alone.
We confess that the government is not our deliverer, and never rightly will
be. We read in the eighth chapter of 1 Samuel, when Samuel warned the people
of what a ruler would do, where it says "And in that day you will cry out
because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will
not answer you in that day.."
And Lord, we acknowledge that day has come. We cry out to you because of the
ruler that we have chosen for ourselves as a nation. Lord, we pray for this
nation. We pray for revival, and we pray for deliverance from those who
would be our masters. Give us hearts to seek You and hands to serve You, and
protect Your people from the atrocities of Pharaoh's government.
In God We Trust..."

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May we love with a love everlasting
May we seek you and find you
May we remember...there is always a "price" for "freedom"
May we not give up that freedom for "change",
May we not be deceived
Protect us, guide us, provide for us

Lord may we remember WHO is our keeper of souls,
Lord may we willingly serve you
Lord may we only be enslaved to the eternal crown, not on earthen treasures and comforts

Lord may we be mindful of whom we serve
Lord may we be conscious of whom we follow
Lord may we be careful whom we seek
Lord may we be not deceived in whom we think gives justice
Lord may we see you as our great provider
Lord may we remember you allowed the ruler of this earth
Lord may we desire to be enslaved to you and no other
May we graciously accept your sacrifice for freedom and not squander it away nor defile it
May we return to our first love, for we know who formed our inner most parts.

Psalm 73:28