7 December 2008 10AM

Apostle Andre Pelser

Ex 2:14

Moses grew up in the palace in Egypt, and with the education of Egypt. One day he saw a task master hit a Hebrew slave, and he went to help him. He hit the Egyptian so hard that he killed him, then he quickly buried the Egyptian and he thought that no one saw it. The next day, 2 Hebrew brothers were fighting about something, and he intervened and tried to stop them and break up the fight, and they said: “who made you a ruler over us?”. We know that he then fled, and dwelt in the dessert for 40 years and look after his uncle's sheep. Then the Angel of the Lord (which normally refers to Jesus Christ) appeared to him in a burning bush and said that He wants to send him back to Egypt, to set them free. We know how Moses complained, and thought that he wasn't good enough. He forgot who he was. The animation film they made of this story is called “the prince of Egypt”, but Moses had to discover that he was a prince with God, not just a in Egypt. Being a prince in Egypt, he couldn't lead them through the Red Sea. Being a prince in Egypt, he couldn't lead them through the wilderness. That worldly prince-hood, could not anoint him and give him the ability to do what God required him to do. He needed to discover that he was a prince with God. Yes, he murdered a man. Yes, he ran away. He did a whole list of things wrong, and yet when God appeared to him, He says that He will send him. By the hand of the Angel that appeared to him, the Lord used Moses and he delivered God's people.

Acts 7:35

Stephen talks about Moses. That same Moses that they accused and said: “who made you a ruler and a judge over us”; that same Moses led the people of God and became a prince.

Many times, the very thing that people accuse you of, and the very thing people speak badly about you of, is the very thing that God will use to promote you if you know that you're a prince with God. If you know who you are in Christ.

Pilate wrote “the king of the Jews” on Jesus' plaque, in 3 different languages: Aramaic, Greek and Hebrew. The leaders of the pharisees came and said that He wasn't their king, but Pilate said that he had already written it. So then Jesus wasn't then just the king of the Jews, but He became the King of kings, and the Lord of lords. He is the Great King. He is the King of kings because He is a greater king than Solomon. Solomon didn't do any miracles, heal people, raise the dead, and yet he was one of the greatest kings. Jesus is a King above that.

We have to realize that we made sons of the King. If you are the son of a king, it makes you prince. We forget who we are. The message is very simple. You are a prince with God. You are a princess with God. You need to begin to understand that, and grasp that, and begin to live, think, speak, and expect things accordingly. Yes, people might say to you: “who do you think you are”, and you might not look like a prince, or dress like a prince, of have what they have, but on the inside you can be a prince. You can start thinking, and speaking, and acting like one.

Looking at the life of Jacob. His name actually means: deceiver. He grabbed hold of his brother's heel when he was born. Tell you what, we all have a bit of Jacob in us. God can change that around.

The recipe of turning from a deceiver to a prince with God. Jacob deceived his brother. When his brother went out hunting, he was cooking lentil soup, and when his brother came back, he would only give him some soup if he gave him his birthright. His brother didn't regard his birthright as something special, he despised it for a plate of food. Now, in a sense, he was justified to steal the birthright from his brother because the brother sold it to him. His mother then, told him that it's almost time for Isaac to die and to bless them. So while Esau (his brother) was in the field hunting, Rebecca convinced Jacob to put on some hairy coats and to change his voice, and give Isaac some meat, and ask for his blessing. So Isaac ate, and he blessed Jacob. Finally Esau came with the venison he cooked and asked Isaac for his blessing, but Isaac had already blessed Jacob. Can you imagine what Esau felt like? He wanted to murder his brother, so Jacob had to flee just like Moses. There he went. He had to go and work, and he wanted to marry Rachel, but his uncle said: “no, only in the 7th year”. In the 7th year, they had a big party and the next morning he wakes up laying next to Leah, not Rachel. His uncle deceived him. The whole family were deceivers. They deceived each other around every corner. Why? It was his name, and it was his nature. How can God bless that mess? What can God do with a family like that? There is hope for us all when we see how bad they were.

Jacob was born in an answer to prayer – Gen 25.

Gen 32 – Jacob wrestled with an angel and his name was changed to Israel. He was reconciled to Esau and he erected an altar. He saw a heavenly ladder at a place called Bethel where he made a vow. Bethel means: church. Jacob constantly went back to Bethel to renew his vow.

It's a very good habit just to go to church. It's the best thing you can do in your life. If people can  understand the implications, the blessings, and the benefits of just going to church they will pay to come in. Jacob went back to Bethel from time to time.

People are very willing to pay whatever it takes to fix something in their house, but when it comes to giving into the church, what do they give? The whole value system is wrong. You don't see the benefits of what happens while you are in church, but when the eyes of your understanding are enlightened you will see.

Hosea 12:2 – Jacob wept and sought favor. He found it in Bethel. We always focus on the moment where Jacob struggled and wrestled with the angel, but Hosea saw something that we've never seen before. The change of Jacob happened at Bethel. It happened in the church. It happened in the place that he called church. Not just through his struggle with the angel. He wept and sought favor. Where did he find it? When he struggled with the angel? No. He found it at Bethel. It speaks volumes to us. Where do we find the favor of God? When we are part of a body, a church. This is where our natures change. This where we are changed from deceivers into princes with God. This is where we begin to understand who we are in Christ Jesus. Other might say: “who do you think you are?”, but on the inside we begin to know who we are. I am a prince with God. If you begin to believe it, it will change the way you think about yourself. If will change the way you think about your situation. It will begin to help you believe God to begin to treat you like one. If you are prince, you are taught to speak differently. There is a different protocol. There are different expectations.

If a mother believes her son to be a prince but treats him like a dog, it doesn't sound right does it?

A simple strategy is: respect breeds respect. If you treat your children with respect, even when you discipline them, they will have respect for you. You can discipline someone with respect or you can nail them and make them feel like mud, and they never recover from that. You can do it like a prince. Trying to savour life, instead of destroying it with the same words. It's the just the spirit behind it. Many time we speak out of our hurt, or out of our disappointment. But how can someone disappoint the Prince that rules over everything? He is above that? God wants us to rise up above our situation. To live above what t