Focus: The Same Rod!

Text: Ex.7:15

"Get thee unto Pharaoh in the morning; lo, he goeth out unto the water; and thou shalt stand by the river's brink against he come; and the rod which was turned to a serpent shalt thou take in thine hand."

In the world of sports it is not likely that a coach would change a winning team. God tells Moses to go to Pharaoh, using the same rod that turned into a serpent in front of the Egyptian magicians. Apart from Moses' rod becoming a serpent before their eyes, it also swallowed up their own serpents. 

In chapter 4 of Exodus we read that Moses took the rod of God in his hand. When you give your rod over to God, it becomes His own. God possesses it as His own. In verse 17 God says to Moses, "And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs." God turns an ordinary stick of Moses into something divine, sacred and significant - a rod ordained and anointed by God for signs and wonders. In the hand of Moses this rod works miracles. In Numbers 20 we read that "Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him" (Num.20:9). Moses maintains the sacredness of the rod by leaving it with God each he is done using it, and at God's command he picks it up from the presence of the Lord.

The same rod that turned into a serpent can also turn the waters of the Nile River into blood right in the presence of Pharaoh. The anointing that worked yesterday is still very much effective and efficacious for today. The same faith in Christ that saved our souls from the damnation of sin can also heal our bodies from all kinds of diseases. The same Jesus who died on the cross to save us is coming back again to reign on earth with us. 

Let me say it again that the same faith by which God saved you is the same faith that He will use to do wonders in your life. Saving faith is also a healing faith, a winning faith, an obedient faith, a praying faith, a loving faith, an expectant faith, and a reigning faith.

The psalmist says, "For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death" (Ps.48:14). He says again, "But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end" (Ps.102:27). This our God is ever real. He turns a rod into a serpent and uses the same rod to turn the waters of the Nile River into blood to teach Pharaoh a lesson about who is really in charge in this world.

Use the power that God has given you. It will work before Pharaoh's magicians and before Pharaoh at the Nile River. God is God always!

by Bishop Moses E. Peter